Book Review: How to Avoid Being Eaten by Sharks

How to Avoid Being Eaten by Sharks . . . by John Larkin

How to Avoid Being Eaten by Sharks . . .: And Other Advice
by John Larkin (Goodreads Author), Chrissie Krebs  (illustrator)

The author gives humorous and silly advice on various topics such as avoiding sharks and aliens, deciphering your parents grammatically incorrect threats, and answering questions such as whether or not the earth is really flat. There is also a section about writing that will help you with your creative writing assignments… if you happen to be writing about zombies.

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Picture Book Review: Surprise

Surprise by Mies van Hout

Surprise
by  Mies van Hout

5 out of 5 stars

Birds wait in anticipation until the little eggs can hatch. Then the parent birds care for their little ones and comfort them and encourage them. They listen and tease and enjoy their time together cherishing one another. Eventually the little birds learn to fly away on their own, and the parents must let them go.

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Book Review: This is My Treehouse

This Is My Treehouse by Guillaume Guéraud

This Is My Treehouse
by Guillaume Guéraud

5 out of 5 stars

A child with a vivid imagination has wild adventures in their treehouse. They pretend to be a pirate and the treehouse is their ship. They enjoy watching the rain from inside the treehouse. They pretend the treehouse is a helicopter or a fairy tale palace. They pretend to be a monster hunter or a scientist who can talk to giant bugs. They read books and eat their snacks and find peace in their daydreams.

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Picture Book Review: Miro/ I Look

Miro / I Look by Gavin Bishop

Miro / I Look (English and Spanish Edition)
by Gavin Bishop

5 out of 5 stars

This board book has English and Spanish words side by side to teach small children to identify the parts of the face and different objects. We learn about ears, nose, and eyes, chin, hair, and eyebrows, etc… We learn about spots, stripes, and all the colors. We learn the words for various toys and objects like eyeglasses and keys.

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Picture Book Review: Barnaby the Runaway Sheep

Barnaby the Runaway Sheep by Maria  Antonia

Barnaby the Runaway Sheep: A Parable of the Lost Sheep
by  Maria Antonia (Goodreads Author), Sayani Mukherjee (illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Barnaby is afraid of getting his wool sheared off, so he runs away from the farm. While Barnaby lives out in the wild, his wool gets longer and longer until he can barely see or move around. He gets homesick for his shepherds, and he misses their gentle care. The shepherds find Barnaby cowering in a cave and they take him home. Barnaby discovers that the shears don’t hurt at all, and he feels so much lighter without all that wool weighing him down.

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How Do? Series from Flowerpot Press

How Do Seeds Grow Into Gardens? by Clayton Grider

How Do Seeds Grow Into Gardens?: A Hands-On Book About Gardening
by Clayton Grider, Srimalie Bassani (illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

This book takes you step by step through instructions for planting a garden, and explains how seeds grow. Different plants need different temperatures, watering, or sunlight. The illustrations show little cartoon seeds sprouting and soaking in the sun. We also learn about the types of insects that are good to have around for your garden, as well as ways to deter pests like squirrels and slugs.

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Book Review: Penguin and Panda Winterfest

The Adventures of Penguin and Panda by Brenda Maier

The Adventures of Penguin and Panda: Winterfest: Graphic Novel (3)
by Brenda Maier (Goodreads Author), Fanni Mézes (illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

Penguin is very nervous about trying any new winter sports, because she thinks she will get injured. But Panda helps her to find the fun in winter sports! They go to buy a Christmas tree together, but the best tree is really expensive, so they take on some extra jobs to make some more money. Penguin has a very long list of holiday activities to do, but Panda helps her to relax and let go of the busy holiday schedule.

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Sherlock Holmes Children’s Collection

The Engineer's Thumb by Stephanie Baudet

The Engineer’s Thumb (The Sherlock Holmes Children’s Collection, #14)
by Stephanie Baudet  (Adapted by), Arianna Bellucci (Illustrations)

An engineer comes to Holmes with a terrible story to tell. He was lured to a house in the middle of the night and attacked, and his thumb was cut off! Holmes and Watson listen to his story with horror, and they quickly get the police on the track of the criminals, but only Holmes can make sense of the strange circumstances.

A Scandal in Bohemia by Stephanie Baudet

A Scandal in Bohemia (The Sherlock Holmes Children’s Collection, #11)
by Stephanie Baudet  (Adapter), Arianna Bellucci (Illustrations)

When the royal family of Bohemia needs help, Holmes is on the case tracking down a photograph being used for blackmail. The blackmailer is the beautiful Irene Adler, and she might be the only person to ever fool Holmes and beat him at his own game.

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Picture Book Review: Let’s Celebrate Korean New Year

Let's Celebrate Korean New Year! by Michelle W. Park

Let’s Celebrate Korean New Year!
by  Michelle W. Park, Hyewon Yum (illustrator)

Two sisters get ready for the Korean New Year. They put on traditional dresses, and make delicious mandoo pork dumplings. Everything must be ready before their family all arrive to celebrate. The sisters get everything ready for the Yutnori game and make special greeting cards for their grandparents. But they forgot to write a special poem to share with the family! Quickly, the two sisters put their heads together and write a poem. When they recite the poem for the family, everyone claps in delight and they all celebrate their favorite traditions together.

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Three Book Reviews from Nosy Crow

This is NOT a Polar Bear! by Barry Timms

This is NOT a Polar Bear! (This is NOT a…, 3)
by  Barry Timms, Ged Adamson (illustrator)

A child befriends a wonderful creature, but be warned… it’s NOT a polar bear. It’s a roller skating bear, a viola-playing bear, a bumper cars, skiing, train driving bear. This bear can do acrobatic dives into the pool. You can play with puppets together, blow bubbles, eat jiggly desserts together, and he might even save you from a fire-breathing dragon. You could go to space, research important books, dance to disco music, and you might even find buried treasure. But this bear is NOT a polar bear. You will have to think up a good name for your bear.

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