picture books

Picture Book Review: Maisy’s Christmas Party

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Maisy's Christmas Party by Lucy Cousins
Maisy’s Christmas Party: With 6 Festive Letters and Secret Surprises!
by Lucy Cousins

5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

Maisy is inviting all her friends to a Christmas Party, and they each reply with a special letter. Eddie sends Maisy a little calendar to count down the days until the party. Cyril sends her a recipe for gingerbread. Tallulah sends Maisy a star to put on her tree. Charley includes a joke book with his letter, and Maisy laughs and laughs at his jokes. Finally, it’s the day of the party, and the friends have a good time together.

This is such a special Christmas book, with pockets for each of the letters the friends send to Maisy. Inside each envelope/pocket is a letter and a different decoration, recipe, or tiny booklet. Continue reading →

Picture Book Reviews: Disney Stories for 2 and 3 Year Olds

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Disney Stories for 2-Year-Olds by Editors of Studio Fun Inter...Disney Stories for 3-Year-Olds by Editors of Studio Fun Inter...
Disney Stories for 2-Year-Olds
by Editors of Studio Fun International

5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

With 14 stories about Mickey Mouse and his friends, this picture book is the perfect treasury of Disney stories for young toddlers. Each chapter is a simple story about Mickey and his friends as they go on a picnic, ride a fire truck in a parade, visit a pet shop, and work on a dairy farm. Donald Duck, Goofy, Daisy, and Minnie are along for the ride too, ready for each adventure!

I love this adorable collection of short stories about Mickey! The stories are simple and easy to read with colorful pictures that make it perfect for little readers. I especially enjoyed that each story has a little lesson about being true to yourself, sharing with your friends, working as a team, or being brave in difficult circumstances. The writing makes this easy to read out loud, and the colorful illustrations are designed to capture a child’s attention. Continue reading →

Picture Book Review: Frankie’s Scared of Everything

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Frankie's Scared of Everything by Mathew Franklin
Frankie’s Scared of Everything
by Mathew Franklin

3 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

Frankie is afraid of every noise that he hears in the dark, imagining that there are monsters after him. But his mother assures him that there is nothing to fear from nightly noises, and his imagination can be his greatest tool in fighting off his fears, instead of letting his imagination run wild.

I really enjoyed the story, especially how Frankie’s mother encourages him to harness his imagination and control his fears. The writing is excellent, and I appreciated all the alliterative noises the monsters make, like “crashing, creeeaking” and “scraping, scratching”. Those details make it fun to read, and paint a vivid picture.
Continue reading →

Picture Book Review: How Winston Delivered Christmas

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How Winston Delivered Christmas by Alex T. Smith
How Winston Delivered Christmas: An Advent Story in Twenty-Four-and-a-Half Chapters
by Alex T. Smith

4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


Winston is a little mouse, just trying to stay warm on the streets of the city. On Christmas Eve, he finds a letter addressed to Santa, and determines to make sure the lost letter reaches Santa before it’s too late! Along the way, he meets other creatures who advise him on his journey, and finds help in the most unexpected corners.

I loved the story! Winston is so adorable and sweet. He’s very brave and spunky, and I loved all the quirky characters that he meets. The plot really moves along with different twists and turns, and lots of descriptions of beautiful holiday decorations and food and toys that Winston gazes at longingly.

The illustrations are beautiful and colorful and entertaining! I love the cute expressions on Winston’s face, and how each character comes to life in the artwork. Continue reading →

Board Book Review: Yum Yummy Yuck

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Yum Yummy Yuck by Amanda Jane Jones
Yum Yummy Yuck 
by Amanda Jane Jones, Cree Jones

4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


This baby board book teaches little toddlers what is okay to eat and what is yucky! Fruit, veggies, icecream, donuts, and pizza are all good to eat, but boogers belong on a tissue, NOT in your mouth. Coins go in a piggy bank, NOT in your tummy. Crayons are for drawing, NOT digesting; and even toothpaste has to be spit out.

Each page has a simple silhouette of an item with the caption of “yum, yummy,” or “yuck”, perfect for teaching little hands to keep certain things out of their mouths.

I can really imagine reading this with a young child, and making faces as we read each page together; licking our lips and rubbing our tummies for the yummy pages, and making gross faces and gagging at the yucky pages. haha! Even a simple book like this is fun when read with a child! Continue reading →

Picture Book Review: 5 Minute Stories

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Margaret Wise Brown 5-Minute Stories by Margaret Wise Brown
Margaret Wise Brown 5-Minute Stories 
by Margaret Wise Brown

4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

This collection of picture books for children includes: Count to 10 with a Mouse, A Song for All Seasons, Sleep Little Angel, Away in my Airplane, Wish Upon a Dream, Sleep Tight Sleepy Bears, All the Families, and The Tickly Spider.

There are eight adorable stories with the same author, but different illustrators and artists. Each story is unique with artwork to match the style and mood of the writing. Continue reading →

Picture Book Review: Neil Armswan

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Wild Bios by Courtney Acampora
Wild Bios: Neil Armswan 
by Courtney Acampora, Maggie Fischer,  Zoe Persico 

5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

“One small step for swan, one giant leap for birdkind.”
This colorful board book tells the story of Neil Armstrong’s journey to the moon, but with a cast of animal characters, and hilarious animal puns.

This book follows his life story and legacy, starting from when Neil “Armswan” grew up as the oldest of his “flock” with two siblings. Neil learns to fly, becomes an Eagle Scout, and serves in the Korean War where he receives three air medals as a naval aviator. He becomes a test pilot, and falls in love, starting his own “flock” with his lovebird “Gannet”. They “migrate” to Houston with their “cygnets”, where Neil launches into orbit in the Gemini 8 and Apollo 11 missions, leaving “webbed” footprints on the Moon.

I loved the silly puns and adorable animal characters! The whole book is so bright and funny, and the legacy and accomplishments are truly inspiring. The writing is perfect to read aloud with young children, and the illustrations are engaging with interesting details in the background to capture the attention of little readers.

This book is also well-timed with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, when so many people are celebrating that national accomplishment, and little ones might be wondering what it’s all about. Continue reading →

Book Review: Lost Kitties Collector’s Guide

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Hasbro Lost Kitties Collector's Guide by Maggie Fischer
Hasbro Lost Kitties Collector’s Guide 
by Maggie Fischer

3 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


This collector’s guide give the details of every Hasbro Lost Kitties toy, along with their bio, their favorite food, their hobbies, motto, life dream, and a hilarious meme for each kitten. The book includes various half-page kitty memes and a poster in the back that says “You have cat to be kitten me right now.”

The illustrations are bright and colorful, and the memes are full of silly misspellings and puns. Each kitty is different and the designs are adorable!

Although most of them are cute and fun and innocent, I found a few slightly questionable kitties with weird bios. For instance, there is Drizzle, the kitty with an OCD paranoia of germs who is constantly bathing. He’s “gripped with the inescapable horror that [germs] are everywhere and on everything. Drizzle once downed a whole bottle of bubble mix because he thought it was just super-clean soap, and farted bubbles for three days.”
Another kitty, Peekerz, is terrified of open spaces, and stays inside her cardboard box all the time. Continue reading →

Picture Book Review: Lost Kitties #NOMZ

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Hasbro Lost Kitties Level 3 Squad Goals by Maggie Fischer
Hasbro Lost Kitties Level 3 Squad Goals: #NOMZ 
by Maggie Fischer

4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


The Lost Kitties are having some eating issues. Some kitties only want to eat fish, others make their hot sauce way too hot, and one kitty can’t get his toaster to work. From tacos to fancy caviar, these hungry kitties need their tummies filled with delicious food!

The illustrations are bright and colorful with adorable kitty characters on every page. I thought the reading skill level was perfect for young readers, and the chapters are short and fun. I liked the silly little problems that the kitties face, and how their kitty friends join in to help solve their difficulties together.

The only part that I didn’t like was the story about Stuffs, the kitty who works as a food critic. He is known for his reputation as a fancy eater, but his secret favorite food is French fries. He gorges himself on massive amounts of French fries. At one point, he eats “…twelve extra large cartons of fries” in one sitting.

Continue reading →