Fans of the Disney channel’s Puppy Dog Pals series will enjoy this retelling of Happy Birthday, Puppy Pals!  from season one in 2017.

Puppy Pals Rolly and Bingo are excited about having a birthday. It never crosses their minds they should be giving each other a gift until their sister Hissy the cat brings it up. In the end, both Rolly and Bingo trade their favorite thing to get a present for their brother in true ‘Gift of the Magi’ fashion. This time though, Hissy trades her own things to get the puppies favorite things back.

Fans of the Disney channel’s Vampirina series will enjoy this retelling of Vee is for Valentine from season one in 2017.

Vampirina, or Vee for short, is part of a vampire family who has moved to Pennsylvania from Transylvania. This is their first Valentine’s Day. They have always celebrated Ghoulentine’s Day, in the past. Vee has made two sets of holiday cards to give out for the occasion. One set for her human friends at school and another different spookier set for her Transylvania friends and family at home. When one card from each set gets into the wrong grouping Vee must retrieve the spooky card from a classmate before it is opened.

“Loving our friends is what monsters do best… and what VALENTINE’S DAY is all about.”

Fans of the Disney channel’s Doc McStuffins series will enjoy this retelling of Brontosaurus Breath from season one in 2012. Written for beginning readers (Level Pre-1), there are pictographs inserted into the sentences of characters and their names.

Lambie and Bronty want to give their toy friends ‘cuddles’, but three sets of friends run away, while the last friend ‘passes out.’ It turns out Bronty has some salami stuck in his teeth from lunch causing bad breath. Doc McStuffins removes the salami and teaches Bronty how to brush his teeth. The toys “have a toothbrushing party!” when Bronty is afraid to use a toothbrush.

Libby Wimbley and her friend Becca spend time trying to decide what Libby can enter this year in the upcoming county fair. Libby’s cobbler won’t work, nor will her knitting. The farm animals do not seem to be interested, either. Then, Fred, the calf, ‘nudges‘ his way into becoming Libby’s fair entry.

Libby does not pout or cry when Fred does not win a prize. This is refreshing in a day when everyone receives a prize. ‘ “Looks like we didn’t win. But you did great!” Libby smiled at Fred. Then the judge announced, “And fourth place goes to Libby Wimbley and Fred!” ‘ (31)

Cow Girl is part of the Libby Wimbley series. Libby is a person-of-color, though this book does not address it. I am not sure if it is addressed in any of the other books in the series. Cow Girl is written in five short chapters with a medium-large size font.

Smash!:Exploring the Mysteries of the Universe with the Large Hadron Collider by Sara Latta, illustrated by Jeff Weigel uses the graphic novel format to excite readers about physics.

When Nick travels to see his cousin Sophie in “GENEVA, SWITZERLAND–HOME OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST PHYSICS LABORATORY” (8) where her parents are scientists, they will both help each other. Nick needs an idea for a comic contest back home and Sophie knows all about the physics behind the Hadron Collider but is not good at art. An art trade-off for a science trade-off is about to begin. ( Since this reviewer is not good at creating art or physics, the use of ‘kid dialogue’ is an important part of this book’s experience.)

Sophie breaks down the Standard Model consisting of a collection of theories into smaller and smaller parts, while Nick figures out how to turn them into Super Heroes.

“WOW! IT’S LIKE SOMETHING FROM A SECIENCE FICTION MOVIE! [Nick] BELIEVE ME– THE STUFF YOU’RE ABOUT TO SEE BEATS ANY MOVIE YOU’VE EVER SEEN…” [Sophie] (39) Yes, this reminds me of two different Star Wars movies. First, when Darth Vader and Luke face off with Luke falling, falling, down, down the humongous shaft and second, when Han Solo and Kylo Ren face off with Han falling, falling, down, down a humongous shaft. Some of the equipment in the Geneva laboratory remind me of those shafts.

The reader will be familiarized with the particles and forces in physics through the graphic novel format, given five more pages to review once Nick and Sophie are done, a glossary, and given a few books, visual media, and websites to check-out.

Just by looking at the cover of The Bug in the Bog by Jonathan Fenske readers will think they know this book’s plot. The frog is slyly looking at the bug with a toothy grin. When I read Jonathan Fenske’s dedication “For Epomis beetles everywhere.” I did not know there are, in fact, beetles that eat frogs. Surprise! Guess what happens to the frog in this book when the fog bank rolls in and nothing is visible?

Chuckle away at the illustrations, too. It is a book of few words. After all, it is a pre-level one, Ready-to-Read book by a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Winner.

Can Zip, the young outer-space humanoid, out wit his mother when it is time to go inside for the day and go to bed? David Milgrim has done it again! This very easy to read story set in outer-space will connect with young playful children. It is magical on more than one level.

Parents and teachers will be able to help their early readers succeed in reading this book by using the pre-story tables of sight and bonus words.

“Don’t miss the questions about the story at the end of this book.” is the last thing stated before the story begins, but in this copy of the book there were no questions. Perhaps because this book only contains thirty-nine different words total.

My Bed :Enchanting Ways to Fall Asleep Around the World fills the eyes with cultural customs and treasures from around the world through the theme of beds. They are candy for the eye.

Each of the twelve pages, representing twelve distinct regions of the world, are filled with painstakingly made hand sewn, embroidered, figures with sleeping areas created using felted wool as a starting point. The Netherlands’ bed sits in a floating houseboat. “Brazil[‘s], Mexico[‘s], and other countries[‘] of South and Central America” are sleeping in hammocks. Afghanistan’s bed consist of “soft, hand-woven rugs”. Each page is a lesson in culture from the living quarters, to the native plants and animals of the region. They are candy for the eye.

We Love Fishing! presents the delightfully charming story of the reluctant odd-man-out. “Bear, Porcupine, Otter, and Squirrel love fishing.” Squirrel just wants to hang out with his friends. After all, squirrels do not eat fish, no matter how they are prepared. Squirrel keeps his lack of enthusiasm to himself and goes fishing, to be with his enthusiastic fish loving friends.

Marc Rosenthal’s illustrations gave this reader laughs, chuckles, and giggles throughout the book!