Learning About the Garden with Sleeping Beauty
by Štěpánka Sekaninová, Linh Dao (Illustrator)
4 out of 5 stars

In this retelling of Sleeping Beauty, the princess spends her childhood tending the palace gardens and learning about all the plants and flowers there. But when the evil witch introduces a thorny plant into the garden, the princess pricks her finger and falls into an enchanted slumber.

The reader learns all about flowers, herbs, thorny bushes, fruit trees, and flowering shrubs. There is even a vegetable garden in the palace!

Discovering the Underground with Snow White (Fairytale Encyclopedia, #4)
by Tom Velcovsky, Jakub Cenkl (Illustrator)
4 out of 5 stars

This book combines the fairy tale retelling of Snow White with information about underground structures, animal burrows, plant root systems, underground rivers, caves, subways, and mines. There is even a section about mythological creatures who traditionally live underground like trolls, gnomes, and dragons.

I love the design of the pages, where the main page has the fairy tale story, and then you can pull out the big folding page to reveal all the information about the garden plants and underground burrows.
The illustrations are all so delicate and graceful! I love the soft art style, and the beautiful colors.
The fairy tale retelling is delightful, and the information about the garden is organized into small paragraphs that make it easy to read.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of both these books from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

How It Works: Rocket
by Amelia Hepworth, David Semple (Illustrations)
5 out of 5 stars

This cute board book teaches all about how rockets can go to outerspace, how astronauts can land on moon, and how they reenter earth’s atmosphere for a safe return. The die-cut pages are layered to show the inside of the space ship, and all the different stages of space travel.

I love this such interesting little book! This is the perfect way to introduce rockets and space travel to little readers. The illustrations are bright and fun with a little mouse hidden on every page. The design is simple and clear, and the text is easy to understand.

The Stories of Musical Instruments
by Štěpánka Sekaninová, Jakub Cenkl
4 out of 5 stars

This book tells the history of musical instruments around the world with short bios about famous musicians and composers. My favorite part is the development of the piano since I am a pianist. There are sections about rock bands, percussion, woodwinds, string orchestras, jazz bands, brass bands, and military bands. There are chapters about beautiful instruments from India, Russia, Scotland, Mongolia, China, Japan, and Africa.