animal characters

Picture Book Review: We Love Babies!

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We Love Babies! by Jill Esbaum
We Love Babies!
by Jill Esbaum,  National Geographic Society 

5 out of 5 stars

This adorable picture book features dozens of baby animals from familiar species like the Elephant and Rabbit, to strange species like the Long-Eared Jerboa and the Serval. The photographs of these cute little babies are colorful and sweet! There are tiny cartoon characters drawn into the corners of the pages who cheer for the babies.

The text describes all the things we love about animal babies, their soft fur, their stripes, and fins. Their hooves, and paws. Their snuffles and snorts, their squawks and peeps. “Big or tiny, fast or slow” we definitely love animal babies!

Photographs of the animal babies are placed in a colorful background design that is sure to capture the attention of little readers.

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Book Review: Poppy

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Poppy by Avi
Poppy,   by Avi

4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

Poppy and her large mouse family are held in servitude to the formidable owl, Mr. Ocax. When Poppy and her boyfriend, Ragweed, decide to flaunt Mr. Ocax’s rules, it means trouble for the whole mouse family. Only Poppy can discover the truth behind Mr. Ocax’s secret fear, and save her family from starvation!

This story was so cute! I loved the whimsical plot, and the funny characters. The writing is charming, and the illustrations are beautiful.
Poppy is such an idiotic little fool, but she has a good heart and she is brave in the middle of terrifying circumstances (well, terrifying to a mouse).
I loved grumpy old Ereth, and his hilarious insults! He brings so much comedy into the story.

I enjoyed this so much that I’m going to continue on with the sequel, Poppy and Rye.

Book Review: Freddy the Politician

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Freddy the Politician by Walter R. Brooks
Freddy the Politician 
by Walter R. Brooks, Kurt Wiese (Illustrations)

4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


Freddy the Pig and the other barnyard animals decide to start an Animal Republic and elect a president to oversee the farm while Mr. Bean is away on vacation. But the scheming rat Simon has a plan to upset the election, and a group of meddling woodpeckers threaten to take over the farm. It’s up to Freddy to come up with a plan to save the farm!

I love the old-fashioned charm of the Freddy books! It’s reminiscent of Winnie the Pooh in some ways. The animal characters are all interesting and funny. The writing style is simple and charming.
Freddy is a really hilarious character who can be silly at times, although he’s so much smarter than the other animals. He’s dignified and ridiculous at the same time!
The election plot really kept me guessing, and I was delighted with the story!

Book Review: The Wonderling

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The Wonderling by Mira Bartok
The Wonderling 
by Mira Bartok

4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


I was delighted with this book about a half-human, half-fox orphan in search of a destiny beyond the four walls of his grim orphanage. Known only as Number 13, the Wonderling is forced to work in the orphanage factory, until a new friend, a tiny bird creature named Trinket, convinces him to escape into the wide world and seek his destiny in the big city.

One of the best things about this book is the rich language and beautiful writing. It really evokes a magical mood into the story, and makes even little details seem important and meaningful. Even though some of the elements of the story are not exactly original (the grim orphanage, the tough streets of a Victorian city, the Dickensian tropes), it’s the writing style that gives it a fresh feeling and an authentic voice.

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