Frank E. Armadillo (the E stands for Expert, Explorer Extraordinaire) knows about a lot of stuff. Like flamingos. Or as he refers to them pretty, princess birds who are practicing to be ballerinas and are pink because they eat cotton candy. But when he is interrupted by a real flamingo, Frank begins to question if he really knows about flamingos and learns that real experts ask lots of questions.

An entertaining book with facts about flamingos which also teaches readers that they don’t need to have all the answers and it is good to ask questions to become an expert. This book could be used as a starting point for animal research.

Spencer moves to a new town and instantly makes a friend and then more friends. His friends are just not the type that the adults in his life expect. Spencer’s friends are plants. The adults around him asks if he would like friends that are more human, but Spencer is content with his friends. One day while visiting his friend Eugene (an oak tree), Spencer sees someone else at the tree. Will this be another friendship for Spencer?

A sweet book about friendship and being true to yourself. The illustrations are colorful and feature diverse characters and a wide variety of plants.

When Fanny Goldstein was six years hold her family immigrated to America from Russia seeking a safe place to practice their Jewish religion. Fanny started attending the North End Settlement House to learn about American customs. What Fanny loved best their was the library. Eventually Fanny started working as a librarian’s assistant and eventually became the first Jewish director of a Boston branch library. Noticing that Jewish families rarely checked out books about their heritage and stories, she decided to host a celebration of Jewish books and culture. This celebration has been going on for over 100 years.

An introductory biography with more information about Fanny and Jewish Book Week at the end. The author also includes a biography that he used for his research to write this book. The illustrations are welcoming for children without being cartoonish. An excellent choice for the biography section.

This is book 3 in a series about a friendship between young girl named Coco and a Bear. The first book is Share Some Kindness, Bring the Light and the second is Find Your Brave.

Bear and Coco are walking in the snowy wood when Bear suggests building a castle. Coco says building a fort is a great idea. Coco gets carried away with her ideas and isn’t listening to Bear until Bear yells at her. An excellent story about communication and really listening to someone.

The watercolor and digital ink illustrations are beautiful and create a softness about the story even when Bear and Coco are having their first argument.

Penny’s family is always on the go. They are always in and out the door and no one stops to do puzzles, play the banjo, or scratch Bo-Belly’s ears. One day something green sprouts in the floor. Unsure what it is, but feeling that it is something special, Penny starts to nurture it. Soon a tree is growing in their house and the family starts to slow down, feel a sense of calm and spend more time at home.

The watercolor illustrations help evoke the sense of calm and wonder surrounding the mysterious tree that sprouts in the house. A wonderful reminder for overscheduled families to slow down and spend time together.

Proper Badger is off to school. He would never trash a classroom, but of course that is what inadvertently happens. Proper Badger thinks he is doing things right, but of course he is just creating chaos. Did he burrow under the desks? Did he eat the class pet for lunch? Of course not! Proper Badger would never! The illustrations add to the tale showing all of the mischief Proper Badger gets into.