Bunny's Book Club Goes to School review

Bunny and his forest friends meet at the town library every Saturday morning for book club. But one summer day, their library buddy Josie confesses to Bunny that she's nervous about starting school. Bunny has an idea: He'll go with her!(goodreads summary)





Bunny's Book Club meets at the library every Saturday.  He also made a new book reading friend named Josie.  She recommends good book choices to Bunny and helps him learn the hard words.  One day, Josie tells Bunny that she is going to go to school soon and she is nervous that she won't make any friends.  Bunny comes up with a helpful plan that he will go to school with her.  Unfortunately, all the forest friends want to help Josie too and end up at her school as well.  What happens during the school day makes for an exciting new adventure for the animal friends.

I am so happy to see a second book added to the Bunny's Book Club series.   This sweet story is about friendship and concern for others as Bunny finds a way to help Josie with her first day of school butterflies.  What Bunny didn't expect was all the other forest animals wanting to help Josie too.  Despite the many distractions, the group is finding that school has so many wonderful things to offer.   Each one finds their niche' in special places and shows what a wonderful place school can be.  Especially at the start of the school season when kids are a little unsure of going off for the first time.  The softly colored illustrations are gentle and sweet with cute character expressions that adds a happy feeling while reading about their fun adventure.   Best of all it shows kindness, friendship and what others can do to help someone feel better about an uncertain situation.  I think this is a "just right book" for ages 3-7.~


You might like to read Bunny's Book Club  which is the first book introducing Bunny and his friends.


Title:  Bunny's Book Club Goes to School
Author:  Annie Silvestro, illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss
Pub. date:  June 2019, Doubleday Books for Young Readers
Genre:  picture book
Hardcover,32 pgs.

I'm Trying to Love Math review

Do multiplication tables give you hives? Do you break out in a sweat when you see more than a few numbers hanging out together? Then I'm Trying to Love Math is for you!(goodreads summary)




Where would our world be if we had no math?  Math is everywhere around us from baking to music to space to even pizza.  I know from experience that math is not my thing and I dreaded it when I was in school.  Reading this book just might help kids, who don't like math either,  understand how important it is to us in our everyday lives.   The likable three-eyed purple alien talks to the narrator of the story explaining how math fits into our daily life. The narrator does try a few attempts to avoid it and express their displeasure.  On a couple of pages, we need to shake the book when some numbers go awry.  Through humor and fun illustrations, the persistent alien offers an informative perspective on how math comes up in many situations we don't think of.  The book is quite busy with lot's of things to see and read making this a good choice for the older elementary reader.   Kids may still not necessarily like math but this book has history, facts and relatable usage that may offer them a different viewpoint to the importance of learning the subject.  I think this is a "just right book" for ages 7-10.~

Title:  I'm Trying to Love Math
Author:  Bethany Barton
Pub. date:  July 2019, Viking Books for Young Readers
Genre:  non fiction
Hardcover, 32 pgs.

Bears Book review

A story about stories, writing, reading,  and friendship.(goodreads summary)








Bear has a favorite book that he loves to read over and over again.  Unfortunately, it becomes so worn that the pages start to fall out and a gusty wind blows them away.  He decides he should make his own story but once he sits down to write, Bear doesn't know where to begin.  Looking for a little inspiration, he heads off to the forest for a good back scratch.  Along the way he encounters several friends who just may give him a few ideas for an exciting new story.

This sweet and charming picture book is not just about writing but also of kindness and friendship.  The illustrations are soft and gentle with friendly expressions on the cute forest animals.   I did wish though that the text was a bit larger or bolder because it was hard to read on the bottom of the darker pages.  After Bear helped his friends in need he finally realized the cure for his writers block.  This will help young writers understand the "write what you know" adage giving them their own inspiration for a wonderful story to write.  In the end, we get to read Bear's new story from the pull out flap which was a pleasant surprise.  Kids will be excited to hear what he wrote about and to visually see Bear's actual story within the book.  I think this is a "just right book" for ages 5-7.~

Title:  Bear's Book
Author:  Claire Freedman, illustrated by Alison Friend
Pub. date:  May 2019,  Templar Books
Genre: picture book
Hardcover, 32 pgs.

Snowy Race review

Cozy up with this wintry journey.  A girl and her father race their plow through a snowstorm!(goodreads summary)







There is a snowstorm outside but the girl and her father in this story have a very important job to do.  They have to plow their way through town to pick up someone very special at the train station.  The little girl is so excited she gets to ride in the big plow truck her dad drives.  The text was short and simple but the illustrations inside reminded me of the books I used to read.  They have a bit of a vintage feel to them and the plowing of the mounds of snow brought back memories of the big snowstorms I had when was a child.  This was a happy and cheerful story but when the girl finally picks up that someone special it gave a warm and cozy feeling  at the end.  I think this is a "just right book" for ages 3-6.~


Title:  Snowy Race
Author:  April Jones Prince, illustrated by Christine Davenier
Pub. date:  November, 2019  Margaret Ferguson Books
Genre:  picture book
Hardcover, 32 pgs.

Snowball review

Miles up, all alone on a hill, looking down, a little round snowball gazed toward town.(book jacket summary)

A funny and easy-to-read rhyming story about a cute snowball who is looking for some playtime and spies a town below his mountain top that could offer some exciting fun.  Unfortunately, he takes an unexpected tumble on his way down while gaining momentum. Besides accumulating extra snow,  he is also picking up other things along the way and growing bigger and bigger!   The illustrations are funny and the text flows smoothly.  Could be read aloud to a preschool group easily.  This board book is the perfect size for little hands to hold and look at all the silly things snowball picks up along the way.  I think this is a "just right book" for ages 2-5.~

Title:  Snowball
Author:  Sue Hendra & Paul Linnet
Pub. date:  October 2019, Grosset & Dunlap
Genre: picture book
Board book