picture books

Picture Book Review: Is a Worry Worrying You?

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Is a Worry Worrying You? by Ferida Wolff
Is a Worry Worrying You? 
by Ferida Wolff, Harriet May Savitz, Marie Letourneau (Goodreads Author)(Illustrations)

5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

This is such a fun and hilarious book about dealing with anxiety and learning not to worry. I love how the more serious advice is interspersed with funny examples. The advice includes simple things like activities to take your mind off your worries, and encouragement to face your worry and see if it really makes sense.
The silly examples include things like, If you are worried about a hundred elephants coming over for tea, but you don’t have any teabags, then offer them lemonade instead!

The cute illustrations make the book so fun to read, and really enhance the advice given.
Above all, this book encourages children to talk about their anxiety with a friend, and share their worries with parents, so that those fears lose their power over you. Continue reading →

Book Review: The Little Red Wolf

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The Little Red Wolf by Amélie Fléchais
The Little Red Wolf 
by Amélie Fléchais (Illustrator)

2 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


What the hay kind of bedtime story is this?!?! The last line reads, “In his rage, misfortune struck. So sad and horrible, that he could never forgive himself.”
And that’s it! That’s the end. Everyone depressed and distraught forever. OMG, what is WRONG with this story?

The artwork is so lovely, so beautiful. Subtle colors and lines, pretty little details of forest flora and fauna. The beginning is whimsical and sweet as a little wolf travels through the forest to take a dead rabbit to his grandmother’s house. He follows a butterfly, and explores a little mousey hole, and stops to look at a beetle.

Then it gets gross.

First of all, dead rabbit in every scene, just laying there in the basket, being dead and all. Also, the little wolf gets hungry and decides to eat just one of the rabbit feet as a snack. Oh, yum. Dead bloody rabbit feet. Never mind the bones. Continue reading →

Book Review: I Hate Reading

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I Hate Reading: How To Get Through 20 Minutes of Reading A Day Without Really Reading
I Hate Reading: How To Get Through 20 Minutes of Reading A Day Without Really Reading by Arthur Bacon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Whahahahaha! This is hilarious! The perfect book for kids who hate reading and would rather play outside. This book offers tips on how to trick your parents into thinking you are reading, when really you are just moving your eyeballs from side to side on the page. Such a funny book with almost no illustrations, but still colorful and clever.

What a great way to take the pressure off when a kid doesn’t care for reading, and get them interested in reading again! This book is very sneaky about getting kids to read, because when you’re laughing you will WANT to read. Continue reading →

Picture Book Review: Chicken Does Not Want to be a Chicken

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Chicken Does Not Want to be a Chicken
Chicken Does Not Want to be a Chicken by Elsa Takaoka

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This cute little picture book is perfect for beginning readers, and it’s hilarious to see the little chicken trying so desperately to be a dog! The illustrations are colorful and funny, drawing the reader into the story. I love that the sentences are short and easy to read, which is perfect for building confidence in young readers.

I can really imagine reading this out loud to a child and doing all the voices, barking, clucking, meowing, and doing other sound effects along with the story. It would be so fun to read with any little kid!

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Picture Book Review: The Three Things

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The Three Things
The Three Things by Annie Ruygt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is such a cute little children’s book! Three friends, (Something, Everything, and Nothing) are all determined to prove that their own way of creating a world is the best way. But their creations don’t turn out quite the way they had hoped, and they realize that it’s only when they work together and appreciate their differences that the world will be balanced and beautiful.

The artwork is whimsical and delightful! It really draws your eye and brings a bright feeling to the story. Such lovely lines and colors! I especially liked how the background is made of book pages with some kind of watercolor over it. (I guess it’s watercolor? I know nothing about art, except that it looks pretty and I like it.) It looks so cool! Everything is sort of hazy and swirly, like the magic of creation pushing into being.

My only problems with this book were several Continue reading →

Picture Book Review: Pirates in the Library

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Pirates in the Library
Pirates in the Library by Nadia Ali

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When a librarian makes a treasure map to help people find books in the library, a pirate crew thinks they will find real treasure, gold and diamonds, and they storm into the library! The pirate crew soon finds better treasure in the books they read and enjoy, but the pirate Captain is harder to convince. It’s up to the courageous librarian to show the Captain just how precious books can be.

This cute little story is full of fun and laughter, and I like the way that the crew all pick very different books on many subjects, and all their choices are detailed both in the text and in the illustrations. The cook finds a recipe book, the first mate reads a book about mutiny, and even the parrot finds a book about birds! Continue reading →

Picture Book Review: Rapunzel

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Rapunzel
Rapunzel by Bethan Woollvin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, my goodness! This is wonderful!!! There is Rapunzel, stuck in the tower, with that evil witch visiting her every day. But does Rapunzel need a Prince to save her?? NO! Rapunzel figures out a way to defeat the witch and free herself from the tower, all on her own.

Rapunzel is resourceful and brave! She’s really quite ingenious, and (dare I say it?) full of spunk.
She makes friends with some forest animals, and with their help, she becomes a scourge to witches everywhere. I just love seeing a story where the princess takes action and saves herself! Continue reading →

Picture Book Review: Stolen Words

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Stolen Words
Stolen Words by Melanie Florence

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Such a beautiful book! This emotional little story shows a grandfather explaining to his granddaughter that he cannot teach her to speak his native language, Cree, because he has forgotten it. As a boy, he was placed in an Indigenous boarding school, separated from his culture, torn from his family, and punished if he spoke Cree.

In just a few poignant words, this book had me crying. It deals with a very dark issue in such a sweet and loving way, and shows that while cruelty may impact our heritage, there is also healing to be found. The story is told in a simple way that is appropriate for young children, but also has an emotional impact for good. Continue reading →

Picture Book Review: Don’t Dangle Your Participle

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Don't Dangle Your Participle
Don’t Dangle Your Participle by Vanita Oelschlager

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A hilarious and silly way to teach children about participles and what makes them dangle! Any English teacher would be incredibly happy to use this book in their classroom.

The bright illustrations are hilarious, and the various weird situations that the incorrect sentences describe are brought to life in every picture. If you leave a participle dangling in the wrong place, it could be the children at the zoo who are growling over their snacks, instead of lions growling as they should be!

One of the best things about this book is that it demonstrates how important it is to communicate clearly with language, and what silly results you will get if you aren’t careful with your words. Continue reading →

Picture Book Review: Argyle Fox

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Argyle Fox
Argyle Fox by Marie Letourneau

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So much adorableness!!!!! I want to read it again and again, and I’m 35 years old. I don’t care! So cute!
Little Argyle wants to play outside, but the strong wind keeps messing up his games, knocking down his fort, and blowing away his hat. He decides that he hates playing in the wind, and sulks indoors until his mother tells him to think carefully of something that would be good to play in the wind. Argyle thinks carefully and creatively to come up with the perfect solution!

Cute little Argyle!! So sweet!! He’s full of imagination and really pours himself into his games. Reminds me of me when I was little; I was a very imaginative child who played lots of elaborate games of “pretend” with my siblings. Argyle plays pirates, dresses up like a spider, builds a castle fort, becomes a famous soccer star, and fights a dragon! I love this kid! Continue reading →