My rating: 4 of 5 stars
When four siblings find a talisman that grants wishes, they discover it will only give you half of what you wish for. This troublesome magic takes some getting used to, and the children make mistaken wishes with hilarious results! But is the talisman purposefully creating trouble, or is it pushing them towards a happier destiny?
A rollicking magical adventure through time and space and the children’s own backyard!
The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another amazingly wonderful book in this series! Little Batty is in 5th grade, and she’s no longer the youngest Penderwick sister. Lydia is the baby of the family, and clings to Batty and Ben as they form a group of Younger Penderwick Siblings. Batty discovers a love of singing and wants to surprise her family with a vocal concert on her birthday, but things don’t go as planned and poor Batty suffers as old family wounds are revealed.
As always, I adore the quirky intelligent varied personalities of every Penderwick character. That whole family is so adorable! Continue reading
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Books for MKs is a charity organization that donates books to missionary kids on the foreign mission field all over the world.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book is charming and cute, but I am not a “dog” person, so most of it was bleh for me. If you love dogs, then you would love this story!
The story is wholesome and sweet, but there are many grammatical errors that had me cringing. When you say “He waked up” instead of “He woke up”, I’m definitely judging you.
The plot itself is interesting and fun, full of little adventures, but it’s also very predictable and obvious.
Pinky Pye by Eleanor Estes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a cute little story about a kitten named Pinky who is abandoned on Fire Island, and adopted by the Pye family while they are on vacation there. Pinky and the other family cat, Gracie, are the only ones who know the secret hiding in the attic of the Pye’s vacation cottage. Pinky astonishes everyone on the island with her feline prowess and intelligence. The little family adventures keep the story interesting and fun!
The plot is fairly obvious, and the writing is nothing special; but the wholesome charm of this story kept me reading and enjoying it!
Terrible, Horrible Edie by Elizabeth C. Spykman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A completely marvelous harbor summer on the beach, messing around with boats, camping out, fishing, surviving a hurricane, and of course catching a burglar or two. When the Cares spend their summer by the ocean, one thing is for certain, that the incomparable Edie will get into trouble in every chapter.
Edie is curious, resourceful, courageous, and has a deliciously rebellious and independent spirit. She is always generous and does her duty, but somehow trouble seems to follow her around. Her hilarious misconceptions about the world lead her into ridiculous situations, such as when she was certain that another Civil War must have started and the enemy were breaking into her house! Haha! Continue reading
Dot And Dash Play Together by Emma Dodd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Dot is a little dog with spots, and Dash is a kitten with stripes, and the two friends find a lot to do when they go out to play with their friends. They swing and slide and skate and see-saw the whole afternoon!
An adorable picture book with pull tabs and pop-ups and little windows that open. I loved stuff like that when I was a kid, amazed that a simple piece of paper in a book could magically move and enhance the story.
Dot and Dash are sweet characters, and the colorful pictures show all the bright fun in the outdoors on a sunny day. The animal friends (elephant, mouse, and giraffe) that come out to play add another layer of interest to the story.
I love how clean and bright the artwork is!
This would be the perfect book to read aloud to a child 3-5 years old. Old enough not to destroy the pull tabs and pop ups, but young enough to enjoy the simple story.
One Little Penguin and His Friends: A counting board book by The Top That Team
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A cute little board book for counting Artic animals! This one would be fun to read aloud to a child learning their numbers, because the book asks questions of the reader. (“Who is swimming in the ocean?” and the answer is 10 whales, etc…) Since the book is full of animals, the child is also learning types of artic animals; seals, polar bears, artic fox, reindeer, artic hares, puffins, orca, etc…)
The illustrations are colorful and with backgrounds of wintery snow and ice for the animals, and at the end is one little Eskimo in an igloo! That little surprise ending was so charming and cute! After all the animals, there’s one Eskimo child in the middle of this frozen wonderland.
I’m not sure why the title only mentions Penguins. It makes it sound like one particular penguin is the main character or something, but penguins are NOT mentioned once in the entire book!!
Love is You & Me. by Monica Sheehan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This sweet little board book, told in rhyme, is all about what love means, what it looks like, and how it works. With adorable illustrations of a dog and mouse who care about each other and express their friendship and love, this book is perfect for a parent to read aloud to their child, or even for a gift to any loved one.
Love is smiling together. Love is fun and free. Love holds us together. Love makes us belong. Love wipes away tears. Love means sharing. The book tells these and many more with colorful pictures and rhymes that trip off the tongue.
The pictures are lovely, some are a little bittersweet, and some are so funny they made me laugh! I love the art style and the expressions of the dog and mouse. They really captured my attention and made me look closely.
The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Every Penderwick is a phenomenal person! I have so much love for this beautiful Penderwick family, I can’t even contain my emotions long enough to write a decent review. Every book in this series is absolute gold, every character is delightfully unique, and every single word in every chapter is genius. I love how the author takes small everyday doings and makes them dramatic and interesting and fun! Just building a campfire on the beach and toasting marshmallows becomes an adventure fraught with peril and meaning. Continue reading
God’s Gift by Lee Ann Mancini – 5 stars
Christian is a little turtle who is excited to get presents at Christmas, but the starfish Jacob says that he gets more presents at Hannukah because he is Jewish. The boys start to fight about who gets more presents, until their parents teach them the true meaning of Christmas and Hannukah combined.
I thought this was a sweet little book about not being greedy during the holidays, and celebrating God’s love together. It’s well-written, with a coherent plot and interesting details. Each character is distinct and lovable.
The illustrations are colorful and beautiful, and there are hidden symbols on every page for readers to hunt and find! This would be perfect to read aloud to children! g
Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for a free and honest review. The opinions stated in this review are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
These MKs in Cambodia just received a package of books, and they have huge smiles on their faces! They obviously love reading!
“We were all absolutely thrilled! Since they arrived a few days ago our son has been asking to read books first thing after breakfast (instead of asking for cartoons). Love it! And our daughter adores all things science so she’s been fascinated by the book about the Human Body. ” -Missionaries in Cambodia
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