Board Book Review: Cows on the Bus

Cows on the Bus by Tiger Tales

Cows on the Bus
by Tiger TalesValerie Sindelar (Illustrator)
5 out of 5 stars

The cows on the bus go moo moo moo, and the pigs on the plane go oink oink oink, and the dogs on the train go woof woof woof. This board book is the perfect sing-along story!

There are pull-out flaps that reveal hidden pictures of all the animals. I’m so impressed with the clever way that the pictures are hidden. It really is special and thoughtfully designed. Even the backs of the pull-out flaps have special illustrations on them that show a real attention to detail.

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Board Book Review: Let’s Pretend Animal Hospital

Let's Pretend Animal Hospital by Nicola Edwards

Let’s Pretend Animal Hospital
by Nicola EdwardsThomas 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

Zoom by Susan Hayes
Zoom Dinosaur Adventure by Susan Hayes

Zoom: Rainforest Adventure
by Susan HayesSusanna 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

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

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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Picture Book Series Review: Giraffe and Bird


Giraffe and Bird
by Rebecca Bender 
5 out of 5 stars

Giraffe can’t stand Bird, and Bird completely detests Giraffe. These two pester and annoy each other all day long! But when a big storm comes rolling in, they begin to miss the companionship they had in teasing each other. These frenemies might hassle each other, but deep down, they are truly good friends.

These picture books are all so cute! It’s funny to see how Giraffe and Bird play pranks on each other and annoy one another, but always in a good-natured way. The stories are silly, and I love the hilarious characters! It reminds me of the way that siblings will sometimes tease each other, but they really love each other underneath it all.

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Picture Book Review: Zee Grows A Tree

Zee Grows a Tree by Elizabeth Rusch

Zee Grows a Tree
by Elizabeth Rusch (Goodreads Author), Will Hillenbrand (Illustrations)
5 out of 5 stars

Zee and her fir tree grow up at the same time. When Zee is born, her seedling tree is in a greenhouse nursery. When Zee goes to kindergarten, her fir tree is planted outdoors. As Zee grows up, she measures her height and the height of her little tree. When there is a drought, Zee does everything she can to help her tree survive. She waters it and builds a shelter around it, and even camps outside in a tent to be near her tree in the night. With special love and care, Zee’s tree recovers from the drought.

I loved that this book has the main story about Zee, and includes little side text on each page about Douglas fir trees and how they grow. I like that it doesn’t slow down the pace of the main story, but also gives such good information about trees and tree farming.

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Children’s Book Review: Bruno the Beekeeper

Bruno the Beekeeper by Aneta Františka Holasová

Bruno the Beekeeper: A Honey Primer
by Aneta Františka Holasová
3 out of 5 stars

This book gives detailed information about how to care for your own beehive. It includes the lifecycles of worker bees, drones, and the queens. We learn how to harvest honey, how to use the wax to make candles, and how to keep bees happy and healthy all year round.

The book is very text-heavy in some places. It does not read like a children’s picture book, but more like a textbook. It’s very interesting and thorough, and I enjoyed learning all about beekeeping. However, I don’t think you could really use this book to start beekeeping on your own. It doesn’t always explain the exact details of how to do things.

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