Scruff
by Alice Bowsher
4 out of 5 stars

Scruff is a scruffy dog, and his owner is scruffy too. But Scruff likes to be polished and pampered and clean. So Scruff’s owner gets polished and clean too. But is it enough for them to win a prize at the dog show with all the fancy dogs?

This book is adorable! It is told in a few comical words, and the writing is just perfect for little readers. The story is engaging and fun!

Rosa’s Big Pizza Experiment
by Jessica Spanyol
5 out of 5 stars

Rosa and her friends make pizza dough with yeast and flour. They let the dough rise, and then roll it into shape. After the toppings have been put on, the friends bake their pizzas. Each pizza comes out a little different, but they are all delicious.

Bibbit Jumps
by Bei Lynn
3 out of 5 stars

Bibbit is a frog who has forgotten how to swim. His frog friends try to teach him, but he gets confused. His tadpole baby sister tries to teach him, but he doesn’t have a tail anymore. Bibbit might not be able to swim, but he loves to jump! He jumps to the highest tree to collect a banana. He jumps up to help squirrel collect nuts in the trees. He even jumps high enough to touch a rainbow.

I Am Darn Tough
by Licia Morelli, Maine Diaz (Illustrations)
4 out of 5 stars

A girl begins running a race. But she falls and scrapes her knee. She gets a cramp in her side. She has to call up all her fortitude to continue the race. She discovers strength within herself, both internal strength and outward strength to keep going.

Calvin Gets the Last Word
by Margo Sorenson (Goodreads Author), Mike Deas (Illustrations)
4 out of 5 stars

Calvin’s older brother tells a funny joke right when Calvin takes a drink of milk, making Calvin squirt milk out of his nose at the family breakfast table. Calvin searches the dictionary for the perfect words to describe his annoying brother and plots a way to get his revenge.

I’m confused about the messages in this book. One minute Calvin is standing up to bullies who took a child’s pencil case, not allowing them to tease a younger child. The next minute Calvin is pranking his older brother by dumping an entire cup of water on his head while his brother is sitting in bed reading. How is that any different than the bully who pranked the other kid by taking their pencil case? And then the two brothers laugh about it and sit on the wet bed looking up the word “Family” in the dictionary. And who is gonna get out dry pajamas for the brother, and change those sheets, and dry out that mattress? What a mean prank to sneak up behind someone and dump a glass of water on their head! It’s way too destructive. I think it is supposed to come across as mischievous, but it is more malicious.

Last: the story of a white rhino
by Nicola Davies
4 out of 5 stars

A rhino is taken into captivity and kept in a zoo with other endangered species. He thinks he is the last of his kind, but when he is released and returns to his wild home, he discovers that there are others like himself.

This book was very emotional, told from the rhino’s perspective. You can feel the joy in his free and wild life with his herd family.

Penpals Forever
by C.K. Smouha, Jürg Lindenberger (Illustrator)
4 out of 5 stars

Freddy the mouse and Annabel the elephant become penpals and write letters back and forth. Freddy tells Annabel about the bullies in his neighborhood who stole his skateboard, and when Freddy stops writing altogether Annabel is worried that something must have happened to him.

I love that Annabel’s letters are humongous and taller than Freddy. And Freddy’s letters are tiny, and Annabel has to read them with a microscope. That made me laugh! Nothing can stop those two from being friends!

Now You See Me, Now You Don’t
by Patricia Hegarty, Jonny Lambert (Illustrations)
5 out of 5 stars
Chameleon uses his disguise skills to play tricks on the other jungle animals. He plucks feathers, steals food, hides away during chore time, and even makes poor sloth fall out of his tree. But when Frog plays a trick on Chameleon, he learns that it’s not so fun when the tables are turned.

I love the positive messages in this book, and how Chameleon learns a good lesson about playing tricks on people. The moral in the story is not too preachy, and the story is light and fun.

I LOVE the rhyming text in this book!

Why Do We Worship?
by Miranda Nerland, Hayley O’Neal (Illustrator)
3 out of 5 stars

This book details all the reasons why Christians should worship God for his goodness, his power, and his love. God is strong even when we are weak and tired. God is good and loves us even when we make bad choices. God is big and all-knowing so we can ask him for help with anything we need.

Why Do We Pray?
by Miranda Nerland, Hayley O’Neal (Illustrator)
This book gives reasons why Christians should pray, and ways that prayer helps us to become closer to God. Prayer brings us peace, and is a way for us to talk with God and tell Him our wants and needs. Through prayer, we can thank God for everything He has given us. We can confess when we are struggling to do right, and ask for forgiveness. We can pray with confidence that God always hears us.

Why Do We Sing?
by Miranda Nerland, Hayley O’Neal (Illustrator)

This book details all the reasons why Christians should sing together and learn lessons and tell stories through song. Singing together helps us to worship God and thank Him for His blessings to us. Songs about God’s goodness and power can make people more courageous and happy. Sharing our joy through music can comfort people who are sad.

I love how these books take big spiritual ideas, and puts them into simple language that a child can understand.