Geo Librarian

PRINCESS CORA AND THE CROCODILE by Laura Amy Schlitz, illustrated by Brian Floca Candlewick Press, 2017 ISBN: 978-0-7636-4822-0 Ages 6-9 Source: publisher for review All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK A Newbery Medalist and a Caldecott Medalist join forces to give an overscheduled princess a day off and a wicked crocodile a day "on."  Princess Cora is sick of boring lessons. She's sick of running in circles around the dungeon gym. She's sick, sick, sick of taking three baths a day. And her parents won't let her have a dog. But when she writes to her fairy godmother for help, she doesn't expect help to come in the form of a crocodile, a crocodile who does not behave properly. REVIEW What do you get when you combine a Newbery Medalist and a Caldecott Medalist?  You get a book that is an absolute delight from beginning to end.  That cover alone is bound to make the book fly off the shelf.  And the story and ill...

WHEN I AM HAPPIEST by Rose Lagercrantz, illustrated by Eva Eriksson Gecko Press, 2016 ISBN: 978-1-927271-90-2 Ages 6-9 Early Chapter Book Source: publisher for review (Myrick Marketing) All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK A standalone follow-up to the acclaimed and beloved chapter books My Happy Life and My Heart is Laughing. Dani is very happy—it's the last day of school, and summer is about to start. But then there's a knock on the classroom door, and Dani is told her father has been in an accident. He's in the hospital! How can she possibly be happy now? A warm and heartfelt story about Dani's love for her dad and her ongoing friendship with Ella. It's a story about sorrow and joy—and how life really is. REVIEW Lagercrantz has written another cute book about the joys and sorrows of a young girl.  As school ends for the year, Dani is focused on finishing the book about the year that she has been writing, but she...

DETECTIVE GORDON, THE FIRST CASE by Ulf Nilsson, illustrated by Gitte Spee Gecko Press, 2015 ISBN: 978-1-927271-49-0 Source: publisher for review (Thanks!) Ages 6-10 Middle grade mystery All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Someone's stealing nuts from the forest, and it's up to Detective Gordon to catch the thief! Unfortunately, solving this crime means standing in the snow and waiting for a long time... If only he had an assistant? someone small, fast, and clever? to help solve this terrible case REVIEW I enjoyed reading this chapter book mystery that looks at how a crime might really be solved.  Detective Gordon is the police chief who must solve the theft of nuts from multiple victims.  But he's older and has a hard time leaving the office.  So he recruits Buffy, a young, hungry mouse to help him.  Together, they work to find the guilty party will dealing with a rather obsessive victim (he knows how many nuts he has ...

MY HAPPY LIFE by Rose Lagercrantz, illustrated by Eva Eriksson Gecko Press, 2013 ISBN: 978-1-877579-35-6 Source: publisher for review (Thanks!) All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Dani is probably the happiest person she knows. She's happy because she's she's going to start school. Dani has been waiting to go to school her whole life. Then things get even better - she meets Ella by the swings. After that, Dani and Ella do everything together. But then somethings happens that Dani isn't prepared for. REVIEW If I could describe this book in just one word it would be: GENUINE.  It feels so real. Dani seems so much like a real child with real fears and hopes. When Dani and Ella become friends they behave exactly like many of the children that I actually know.  Like all of us, Dani and Ella have their ups and downs as well as personal struggles.  Still, Dani remains happy until something happens that is truly devastating and then every...