book review

Board Book Review: Let’s Pretend Animal Hospital

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Let's Pretend Animal Hospital by Nicola Edwards

Let’s Pretend Animal Hospital
by Nicola Edwards, Thomas Elliott (Illustrations)
4 out of 5 stars

In this board book, the veterinarians are busy in the animal hospital. They have to care for all kinds of animals from big horses to little bunnies. They need special tools like nail clippers, a stethoscope, and rubber gloves. They can set broken bones or just give a doggie a much-needed bath.

The children in the photos are caring for animals and dressed up like little vets. It’s so cute! Each page is full of bright pictures of different animals and the tools the vets use to heal them. And the pages all have different edges outlining the animals or background scenes, making it a lot of fun to turn the pages!

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Board Book Reviews: Zoom Rainforest Adventure and Dinosaur Adventure

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Zoom by Susan Hayes
Zoom Dinosaur Adventure by Susan Hayes

Zoom: Rainforest Adventure
by Susan Hayes, Susanna Rumiz (Illustrations)
5 out of 5 stars

Lin goes on an adventure through the rainforest, meeting all kinds of animals, and seeing amazing plants and foliage. She canoes down the Amazon river, hikes through the jungle, and sets up a camp near a beautiful waterfall.

I love the clever die-cut openings in this book! The illustrations are so colorful and vibrant, and each opening reveals something on the next page. I love all the little details in the background of each scene. When I was reading this with my little 3-year-old niece, she kept pointing out butterflies and monkeys in the background.

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Board Book Reviews: Count on Me 123, and A Caravan of Camels

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Count On Me 123 by J.B. Frank

Count On Me 123
by J.B. Frank (Goodreads Author)
5 out of 5 stars

This board book explores the different types of people that you can always count on. Firefighters, doctors, teachers, grandparents, friends: all these people will be there to help you when you need them. We count down from 10 as the book shows us people working, teaching, and healing.

What a sweet book!!! It’s just so adorable and meaningful to hear about the sweet siblings helping each other, and the moms and dads taking care of their children. I think it’s cool that the book ends by saying that you can also count on yourself, and there is a little mirror on the last page.

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Board Book Review: Farm Train

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Farm Train by Susanna Covelli

Farm Train
by Susanna Covelli 
5 out of 5 stars

This board book folds out to be 56″ long! The reader learns the sounds for each animal on the train. There are sheep, bees, horses, cats, frogs, bunnies, and mice, and a bunch more! And of course, the farmer’s tractor pulls the train along and “goes vroom vroom.”

This is such a cute book! I just love the adorable illustrations and sweet animal characters. It’s colorful and full of interesting little details in the background of each scene.

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Classic Review: Mystery of the Blue Train

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The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie

The Mystery of the Blue Train (Hercule Poirot, #6)
by Agatha Christie
4 out of 5 stars

Poirot is traveling on the blue train when one of the passengers is murdered and a famous ruby called the Heart of Fire is stolen. There are several mysterious clues in the case that only the great Hercule Poirot can bring to light.

Poirot really is one of my favorite detectives! He definitely shines in this book, and I love the way that he is so protective of the innocent victims. He is wonderfully shrewd. His strong temperament pulls the story forward. Even if he is just having tea with some friends, every word takes on a special meaning when Poirot is part of the conversation!

I love the complex characters in this book! There is a lot of focus on unraveling their personalities and there are so many good scenes where they interact and react to one another. I just love the way each person has their own vivid and memorable personality.

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Classic Book Review: Early Days

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Early Days by Miss Read

Early Days
by Miss Read
3 out of 5 stars

The author tells the story of her own childhood growing up in London and then later in the country. She describes her grandparents, her aunts and uncles, and the little joys and sorrows of her childhood. There is a lot of interesting description about the 1910s, how people lived, how their homes were organized, how they cooked and cleaned and dressed.

In the second half of the book, she goes to a new school which she loves. She makes new friends and discovers the beauties of the countryside. This began a life-long love of nature for the author. There are many descriptions of favorite plants and animals and country fairs.

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Classic Book Review: Perelandra

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Perelandra by C.S. Lewis

Perelandra (Space Trilogy, #2)
by C.S. Lewis
4 out of 5 stars
In this second book of the trilogy, Ransom travels to another alien planet at the request of Maleldil. This time he goes to Perelandra (Venus), and encounters a new race of aliens, who are struggling with the same temptations from the Evil One that Adam and Eve fell victim to in our own world. Ransom must battle against the Evil Presence in order to protect the innocent new society that is just beginning to form.

I love the imaginative world-building in this book! There are so many different settings and alien animals and weird plants. Perelandra is such a strange planet with a perpetually cloudy sky and rolling islands that float on the seas. And even when you are more than halfway through the book, and you think you’ve seen all the scenery and met all the animals that Perelandra could possibly have, then there are still more mysteries and wildlife and extreme mountains and rivers to be explored.

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Book Review: War of Kings and Monsters

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War of Kings and Monsters by Christopher Keene

War of Kings and Monsters
by Christopher Keene (Goodreads Author)
3 out of 5 stars

Nathan has no idea who he is. He is an apprentice Caller in the king’s home and best friends with Prince Michael, but he has no memory of his family and assumes he is an orphan. He studies under the Master Callers to summon Melkai monsters from another world. Some of the monsters are massive, and others are miniscule, like Nathan’s own little Melkai, a small lizard. The barrier between the world of humans and the world of the Melkai is weakening. Nathan is sent on a quest to find the other half of the magical key that can seal the barriers between worlds before the destructive Melkai are unleashed to roam freely across the land.

I enjoyed the plot of this book, because there are some clever twists and turns. There are several times when some particular character or object or connection is revealed and it was just so satisfying. The plot is full of fantasy tropes, but I didn’t really mind that because I like tropes. Some of the plot devices were obvious, but again, I don’t mind that as long as it is set up in an interesting way.

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Classic Book Review: Aunt Jane’s Nieces and Uncle John

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Aunt Jane's Nieces and Uncle John by Edith Van Dyne

Aunt Jane’s Nieces and Uncle John (Aunt Jane’s Nieces, #6)
by Edith Van Dyne (Pseudonym), L. Frank Baum
3 out of 5 stars

Patsy and Beth are on a cross-country automobile drive with their father and uncle John, when they encounter a disabled young girl searching for her distant relatives. They decide to help her, and the group travels across the Southwest, finding adventure on their way to California.

The plot can be a little slow with all the descriptions of travelling, and the scenery, and the mountains and deserts and the plants and wildlife, etc… If you enjoy travelling-style books, then you would like this one. I found it interesting to hear about all the different places they visit, but it definitely slows down the main plot.

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