Prince Zal is left for dead when he is a baby, and the magnificient Phoenix raises him with her own little chicks in her nest atop the mountain. She teaches him art, science, poetry, music, and history as well as how to survive in the wild. He grows up to find his true parents in the end.

I liked this traditional story from Iran with its message about the sanctity of all human life. The story is told with strong writing and vivid words.

I liked the art style of the illustrations with bold strokes and bright colors, but I didn’t like the faces of the characters. Their eyes are distorted, and their mouths are crooked, giving them a creepy look! The rest of the artwork is lovely, but all the people have weird faces. Continue reading →

A little elephant child describes all the ways his mama plays with him, helps him, and guides him. But he describes it all wrong! He says that his mama loves to play cars with him, and he likes for HER to tidy away the toys afterward. He “helps” his mama with the grocery shopping, but eats an entire bag of chips behind her back! He has to push his mama on the swings, so SHE can go higher and higher. He says that HE is the one always in charge, as he rides his mama like a pretend horse galloping around the room. The illustrations prove that the little elephant child is mistaken, and the cheeky text has a silly charm.

This sweet book has soft illustrations and a simple story. There isn’t a linear plot, but little snippets of scenes between mother and son. At the end, the mother elephant tucks her son into bed and a peaceful little elephant gazes up at the stars. Continue reading →

As we countdown from 10 to 1, each little farm animal finds their mother in the barn, at the pond, in the stable, or in the fields, and rejoins their family in their own home after playing with their friends. At the end, only rooster is left, and he calls out to his animal friends to join all together again!

The text rhymes and has a lilting rhythm that I enjoyed reading aloud! I really like the pleasant writing style, and it would be a joy to read with a child. It’s a fun way to teach children to count, and to teach about farm animals and scenery. Continue reading →

Filippo, the pink flamingo, wants to play with some other animals, but they won’t let him because they say pink is for babies, pink gives them a headache, and pink doesn’t mix with their colors. Filippo goes home to his family, who encourage him and remind him of all the beautiful things in the world that are pink. A shy lemur approaches Filippo to make friends, and Filippo learns that friendship can bloom anywhere and you can be accepted just the way you are.

This sweet book has such a great message about acceptance, but it’s told in such a fun and entertaining way that it doesn’t feel preachy at all. Filippo is an adorable main character, and I loved going on this emotional journey with him. His flamingo family are wonderful at encouraging him and pointing out how great his color is.
Pink strawberry icecream, cotton candy, sunsets, roses, and a dozen other things are mentioned as having a lovely pink color. His family prove to Filippo that his color is beautiful and he is worthy of having good friends. Continue reading →

Princess Jill is so full of energy that she cannot sit still. She runs through the garden, jumps on the beds, plays with her food, bangs on pots and pans to make music, and climbs all over her royal throne without ever sitting in it. The wise men and witches and sorcerers give her potions and try making her wear iron boots, but nothing keeps the princess still for longer than a moment. When a neighboring kingdom bring their little prince to make friends with the princess, the king and queen don’t know what to do! But the foreign prince has a secret of his own that might just make them all friends.

This picture book is hilarious and full of fun! The poor king and queen have no idea what to do with their unmanageable princess, and the princess just grins and happily speeds along from scene to scene. This story is perfect for children who have a lot of energy and find it difficult to keep still! It sends a positive message that having a lot of energy is a good thing, but you need to focus that energy in good ways. Continue reading →

Max and Xam are the best of friends, until one day their friendship is ruined by a big fight. Max decides to make some new friends out of rocks and tree limbs and some paint for their faces. Xam makes some new friends out of old tires and umbrellas and milk cartoons with buttons for eyes. But the made-up friends just aren’t the same as a real friend. You can’t have a tea party with a rock, or say good night to a broom. Max and Xam decide to repair their friendship, and find a way to reconcile.

This picture book is hilarious and sweet! The two characters are so imaginative in the way they create various “friends” out of materials around their house and garden, painting faces onto old bottles, rocks, boxes, and even cardboard toilet paper rolls. The text is just right for little readers with a simple story told in a few vivid words. Continue reading →