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Showing posts from November, 2023

PICTURE BOOK REVIEW: Simon Says Good Night by Orit Bergman, translated by Annette Appel

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  SIMON SAYS GOOD NIGHT written and illustrated by Orit Bergman, translated by Annette Appel Amazon Crossing Kids, 2023 ISBN: 978-1662514289 Source: Blue Slip Media/publisher Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & illustrations provided by Blue Slip Media. Book summary provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Simon didn’t say go to sleep…did he? After he’s tucked into bed, Simon and his favorite toys get ready to play…Simon Says! The nighttime comes alive, and imaginations run free as Simon issues his commands to his little friends. There’s just one you’d better make sure he said “Simon says,” or else it’s your turn to go to sleep! ABOUT THE AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR & TRANSLATOR Orit Bergman is an Israeli author and illustrator. She was born in Jerusalem and lives and works in Kerem Maharal, Israel. She writes and illustrates children's books, adapts her stories for the theater, and frequently meets children across the country. Her boo

PICTURE BOOK REVIEW: Who Made This Mess? by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Aleksandar Stojsic

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  WHO MADE THIS MESS?      written by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Aleksandar Stojsic Capstone, 2023 978-1-68446-629-0 Source: Blue Slip Media/Publisher Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover and summary provided by publisher through goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Mud splattered everywhere, tangled-up wool in huge piles, and carrot tops strewn about--what in the world is happening in this animal village? It's quite a mystery! But thanks to rhyming clues, everyone will be able to easily guess the animal culprits--or will they? In this laugh-out-loud, expectation-defying picture book, Laura Gehl (May Saves the Day and The Hiking Viking) uses a rhyming mystery to help readers adjust their outlook, keep an open mind, and learn not to make assumptions. REVIEW Books with fun surprises like this one make for laugh-out-loud story times. The way the text is written, the reader immediately feels like the answer is obvious as a rhyme, but it turns out that such assumption

#MMGM: Christopher Columbus and the Taino People (History Smashers) by Kate Messner and Jose Barreiro

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  CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS AND THE TAINO PEOPLE History Smashers written by Kate Messner and Jose Barreiro Random House, 2023 ISBN: 978-0-593-56426-4 Source: purchased Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by publisher through goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Myths! Lies! Secrets! Uncover the hidden truth about Christopher Columbus, and learn all about the Taino people. Perfect for fans of the I Survived books and Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed across the ocean and discovered America. Right? WRONG! Columbus never actually set foot in what is now the United States. His voyages took him to islands in the Caribbean and along the coast of South America. The truth is, when Columbus first arrived, Indigenous peoples, including the Taino, had been living there for thousands of years, raising their families, running their societies, and trading with their neighbors. He didn’t “discover” the lands at all! And his

#MMGM: The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry by Chad Morris & Shelly Brown

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THE WILD JOURNEY OF JUNIPER BERRY written by Chad Morris & Shelly Brown Shadow Mountain, 2023 ISBN: 978-1-63993-099-9 Source: ARC from publisher for review Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by publisher through goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Juniper Berry knows how to handle bobcats, bears, and mountain lions, but can she survive the toughest predator of all—middle school? Eleven-year-old Juniper Berry lives with her family deep in the wild woods. Living off the grid is pretty exciting, but her happy life in the wild ends abruptly when her younger brother gets sick, and they move to the city to be closer to the hospital. Juniper and her older sister end up living with cousins they hardly know and attending public school for the first time, which is harder to navigate than the wild woods ever were. Juniper feels like a wolf cub separated from her pack. As the hospital bills for her brother start piling up, Juniper knows they’ll need

PICTURE BOOK REVIEW: The ChimpanSNEEZE by Aaron Zenz

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  THE CHIMPANSNEEZE A Hiccupotamus and Friends Book written and illustrated by Aaron Zenz Two Lions, 2023 ISBN: 978-1662518225 Source: Blue Slip Media Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover and illustrations provided by Blue Slip Media. Book summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK A chimp’s big sneeze wreaks hilarious havoc in this delightful companion book to the Amazon bestseller The Hiccupotamus . A chimpanzee and a kinkajou took a walk one day through the wild. The kinkajou spotted buttercups, so he plucked them up and smiled. But when the chimp takes a big sniff of those buttercups… Ahhh-CHOO! The giant ChimpanSNEEZE sends the kinkajou flying, causing a chain of disasters for all their animal buddies. Can the kinkajou find his way back to his chimpanzee friend? Author-illustrator Aaron Zenz has done it again with this zany, rhyming read-aloud that’s perfect for family story time. Revised. This edition of The Chimpansneeze incl

PICTURE BOOK REVIEW: The Big Cheese by Jory John and Pete Oswald

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THE BIG CHEESE The Food Group Series #7 written by Jory John and illustrated by Pete Oswald Harper, 2023 ISBN: 978-0-06-335517-0 Source: purchased Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover provided by publisher through Goodreads.com, book summary provided by publisher through Amazon.com. ABOUT THE BOOK The Big Cheese is the best at everything, and brags about it, too. When the annual Cheese-cathlon comes around, the Big Cheese is prepared to win, as always. But what happens when the quiet new kid, Wedge Wedgeman, comes out on top? Is a slice of humility all the Big Cheese needs to discover that some things are better than being the best?  Jory John and Pete Oswald serve up another heaping plate of laughs and lessons with this empowering, witty, and charming addition to their #1 New York Times bestselling series! REVIEW If you love picture books and haven't yet discovered Jory John's and Pete Oswald's Food Group series you have been missing out. I've

MIDDLE GRADE MYSTERY: The Night Raven by Johan Rundberg & translated by A.A. Prime

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  THE NIGHT RAVEN The Moonwind Mysteries #1 by Johan Rundberg, translated by A.A. Prime Amazon Crossing Kids, 2023 ISBN: 978-1662509582 Source: Blue Slip Media & Publisher Ages 10-14 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover, author bios & photos provided by Blue Slip Media. ABOUT THE BOOK Mika is not your average orphan—and she’s about to prove it. It’s 1880, and in the frigid city of Stockholm, death lurks around every corner. Twelve-year-old Mika knows that everyone in her orphanage will struggle to survive this winter. But at least the notorious serial killer the Night Raven is finally off the streets…or is he? Mika is shocked when a newborn baby is left at the orphanage in the middle of the night, by a boy with a cryptic message. Who is he? And who is this “Dark Angel” he speaks of? When a detective shows up, Mika senses something even more sinister is going on. Drawn in by Mika’s unique ability to notice small details—a skill Mika has always used to survive—the