A gentle introduction to many different people praying in many different places and ways and for different reasons. In the end, we may pray the same prayer or look at the same stars. And, it all can unite us.
Accompanying illustrations are colorful and appropriate. An author’s note and glossary help explain and give context for readers. Add this to your collection. Recommended.
Hugo is an adorable puppy, who is ready for a perfect day with his human. Starting with a stretch and a yawn, he proceeds to have a day that may not be perfect. But, it’s wonderful anyway. He may grab a snake when he’s looking for a stick and gets too close to a skunk. He doesn’t let the “downs” of the day get in the way of the “ups” that are part of it as well. The day ends with a bath and a snuggle with his human – a perfect ending to a nearly perfect day.
Bright, bold illustrations add to simple text to create a wonderful story of perseverance and not letting the little stuff get you down. Hugo keeps chugging along and has a great day, ups and downs included. Recommended.
We begin at the end of the story. Wait, that can’t be right. Nope, it is. The narrator is finishing up the story and out bursts Piggypine, who was drawn on a scrap of paper and left in the book. Piggypine really wants to be in a story and the narrator is starting a new one about Ruby and her first dog. The narrator and Piggypine go back and forth (hilariously) about the piggy porcupine’s attempts to insert himself in the story. Fortunately, Ruby saves the day and decides that Piggypine is exactly what she wants as a pet. Now, to teach that rascal how to spell – cow is not spelled “m-e-a-t-b-a-l-l”.
This book is a delight and the ending is absolutely as it should be. Piggypine is silly and sweet and deserves a story. Young readers will love the humor and the beautiful colored pencil-like illustrations. The last page has a hint about a future book (I hope!). Highly recommended.
You may think you see a seemingly cheerful, smiling rodent. But, you would be wrong! The quokka, an Australian marsupial, is much more complex than that. And, the main character of the this delightful picture book does his best to show a (seemingly) grumpy frog that truth through a variety of examples. Dropped his ice cream? He may look happy. But, nope, definitely not. Someone stepped on his tail? Nope, he’s not happy even though he’s smiling. And, people don’t seem to understand that they shouldn’t wake him up for selfies. He’s nocturnal, for goodness sake! Fortunately, he finds a newspaper with an article stating that quokkas are not, in fact, the happiest animals. Now, he’s happy! But, the grumpy from? That frown is just the way he looks and it doesn’t mean he feels that way. Wait, didn’t we just read a story like that?
This wonderfully hilarious picture book introduces a rather misunderstood Australian animal in a way that makes learning fun. Accompanying illustrations are somewhat cartoon like and so good! The text is very accessible, with a sentence or two per page and there is a very informative author’s note at the end that describes the quokka in more detail, including its vulnerable status as a species and what we can do to help it, including leaving it alone and not bothering it for a selfie like in the story! This would be a great book to share when teaching about conservation and boundaries with human-animal interactions. Highly recommended.
Raccoon feels ITCHY! Luckily, his great-grand raccoon knows what to do. He asks Raccoon to describe his symptoms and tells him he has rash. Raccoon panics a bit and wonders if he’ll need to get a new leg, move to Alaska or wear armor. Luckily, his great-grand raccoon has some medicated lotion and fixes him right up. Whew! Then, Raccoon’s friend, Fox, feels icky and we check the symptoms. Fox panics – does he have an enemy making him feel bad? Who can he blame? This is a little tougher and requires a visit to the doctor, who can give him antibiotics for strep throat and he feels better. Lastly, Fox’s baby sister visits the doctor for a well baby check and gets a vaccine, medicine to prevent illness.
All three scenarios are beautifully presented and explained through simple text and bright, energetic illustrations. Unfamiliar words are bolded with an accompanying glossary in the back of the book. In addition to the medicines described, there are additional health tips to alleviate symptoms. For example, Raccoon can take a baking soda bath or use a cool washcloth to alleviate the itching.
This book does a fantastic job of demystifying medicine and when and why we use it. Readers will recognize their own emotions and fears in the animal characters as they navigate through their medical issues with the help of the caring adults around them. So many questions are answered clearly and succinctly, with a bit of humor along the way.
Highly recommended for library collections. And, show this to your school nurse – she’ll want her own copy!
Willa the ostrich and Wade the penguin discover a shiny golden button on the ground and proceed to gather more treasures (a rock, toy dinosaur, artwork by Wade) for a museum (a box). They are so excited about their collection that they invite the other animals to their museum (Museum of Willa and Wade – MOWW). The Grand Opening of MOWW was a success, especially the snacks. And, would it be possible to borrow a rocket ship for the MOWW? Hmmmm..
This simple story of enthusiastic friends, imagination and a few treasures is wonderful. Add in the bright and bold illustrations and you have a winning combination. Readers will enjoy this book and look forward to Book #3 in the Willa and Wade series. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long! Recommended.
Doggie pals Elvis and Romeo head to dog school to learn some new tricks. While Elvis is open to the idea, Romeo experiences some anxiety when the lesson is about catching a ball. Elvis does a great job of working through it with Romeo and gives him concrete steps to follow. Ultimately, Romeo is successful and enjoys dog school with his good friend.
Simple text accompanies digitally rendered illustrations that are sweet and expressive. Young readers will cheer for these newfound canine friends and eagerly await the next adventure. Recommended.
Who would have thought that a picture book about measurement could be so fun? Blue Whale and Supersaurus are arguing over which of them is longer. Inchworm comes in and offers to help with the winner buying lunch. It takes inchworm (who is an inch long) 12 hours to measure Blue Whale, who is 1,300 inches long. Inchworm can’t measure Supersaurus, because he has to go into his cocoon. So, in comes centipede (who is a centimeter long) and he measures Supersaurus. It also take 12 hours and Supersaurus is exactly 3302 centimeters long. Wait! What does that mean? Dragonfly saves the day by doing the math and determines that the two behemoths are the same length!
This wonderful melding of math and science into a picture book is hilarious and educational. Readers learn the difference between the customary and metric systems as well as some cool science and end with some little known math terms (check out “zeptosecond”). Accompanying illustrations are cartoon-like and fun. Buy this book and start measuring. Your students will love it! Highly recommended.
Vera, (the cat) is playing contentedly alone with her catnip mouse and Gipp (the dog) is sneakily watching her. She notices and calls him out. He asks her to play and she makes it clear that she was playing alone. He doesn’t take no for an answer and waves around his wand (stick) which he swings around and accidentally breaks Vera’s catnip mouse. While trying to make things better, he comes up with some hilarious alliterations while trying to say ‘catnip mouse’. All of this is not hilarious to Vera, who walks away and Gipp sits dejectedly by a tree. Fortunately, Vera can’t stay angry at her friend for long and they apologize to each other. They get another magic wand (stick) and create even more silly word combos together – friendship fixed.
The boldly drawn characters are comic-like with word bubbles telling the story as a dialogue and their facial expressions helping to show their feelings. Their silly word play is illustrated along the way – envision a cattle blouse or massive louse! Endpapers hint at the storyline, with Vera playing alone with her catnip mouse (Gipp hiding in the background) at the front and both playing together happily at the end.
This is a very sweet and silly story about aspects of friendship. Sometimes, a friend just wants some alone time and it’s ok. Communication and empathy are part of being a good friend. Great for SEL discussions. Recommended.
A, B, C and all the rest are together again in a Halloween story based on the original “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault. The alphabet is climbing a creaky tree and ready for Halloween with costumes, spider webs and pumpkins. They fall to the ground when a ghost shouts “Boo”, who then encourages them to come back up. They climb again and the story ends with “Chicka chicka tricks treat. Everybody – time to eat!”.
Colorful illustrations and catchy phrases will entice young readers to delve further into this amusing story. They will enjoy the extra fun of looking for the Halloween elements throughout the book. Each letter is ‘costumed’ in some way and there are spiderwebs, pumpkins and ghosts along the way. Recommended.