babyleo's reviews
1689 reviews

This review was published on Lost in a Good Book - https://wp.me/p3x8rS-2TW
 

This is the book for me because it highlights my own pet peeve about calling koalas koala bears. It frustrates me to no end, so I sympathise with this koala. It’s worse too because for all the people joking about it, or saying it knowing it isn’t true, there are people out there believing it. There can only be koalas. Unless there is some cross species with a drop bear that gets a koala bear sub species a koala is a koala is a koala.

But that is beside the point.

The writing makes this a great book to read aloud or to yourself, it flows wonderfully, you keep the rhythm going as the story read like a poem. Blabey gets the humour, the melody and the tone right even as his characters become exasperated and frustrated it still works perfectly.

What also makes this book great is it plays with the formatting, the font, and the size. The position of the characters and the layout of the full page illustrations all play into the reading experience. I adored the illustrations, they were cute, creative, and they told a story themselves. Koala is a great character, their frustrations and exasperation add to the delight of reading without ever become over the top. Their humour and temper work well, and being adorable in little outfits is always a bonus. There’s fun facts, there’s jokes and a little bit of history in there, but there’s also delight in watching the little koala try their best to educate and still falling short because it’s hard to escape how they look. 

This review was published on Lost in a Good Book - https://wp.me/p3x8rS-2VD
 

I am fascinated how I can love some of Aaron Blabey’s work and dislike others. I am not a huge fan of Pig the Pug. At All. I don’t know what it is but that dog gets on my nerves. And yet, I love Blabey’s other works. This book in particular is amazing because it doesn’t go where you expect it to go.

With an echidna looking for a hug there’s laughs abound. Of course no one will hug him, they dismiss him, they are rude to him, they practically flee from him. You feel so bad for this echidna.

The rhyming verse makes this an easy page turner, but Blabey has a remarkable skill in saying a lot with only a few lines of verse. There is emotion and heart, a whole story is captured in a few words. It’s funny but filled with heart at the same time.

The illustrations and formatting doing great work conveying story and meaning as well. The characters move around the page to show action and the text shows emotion and tone through stylisation and size choices. That is a benefit of picture books, they are allowed to play with form so much more than many novels. Not that this has a lot of change to regular form, certainly I have seen more dramatic shifts, but I was reminded how clever it can be in telling a story. Especially one like this where heart and humour work together so well.

The ending is beautiful. I love how two ostracised people find comfort in one another. I liked that they had each other, and I also actually quite enjoyed how no one else learnt their lesson about being rude and mean spirited. It is always wonderful if you can show people changing their minds or being taught about their wrong behaviour/opinions, but sometimes you can’t convince people to like you, to be nice or compassionate, but you will find others like you who will support you. Which is a great lesson to show kids, especially one hidden in an otherwise humorous book. 

A longer version of this review was published on Lost in a Good Book - https://wp.me/p3x8rS-2Xp
 

First up, I adored the illustrations. Who knew you could show so many expressions on a fish. Kudos to Blabey for giving me pure delight just looking at those little green faces.

There wasn’t any malice or taunting, this is a fun book about one piranha’s love of fruit but not about the other piranha’s teasing them for the choice. The rhyming was fantastic, the narrative flow got you turning the pages but the rhymes were clever, the dialogue was clever, and the story, while simple, was fun.

The illustrations were brilliant. As I said, the expressions on these little green piranha faces was divine and I liked how they were individuals. Each fish had their own personality and looking at the pictures was as enjoyable as the text, even if the illustrations were simple, they filled the page and complimented the text so well that you don’t even notice.

This might be my favourite Blabey picture book, I loved everything about it, I even loved the little information pages where Blabey with both humour and interesting fact, tells the reader about piranhas as well as bananas and how the two rarely meet, citing both the dangers of banana skins, and the lack of piranha usually feasting on them. 

A version of this review was published on Lost in a Good Book - https://wp.me/p3x8rS-2V4
 

Every time there is a new book published I have no doubt I’m about to go on an incredible adventure. The team does a fantastic job translating this story from podcast to visual medium and they’ve smashed it once again. This a continuation of The Adventure Zone series and takes our trio of heroes onto their next adventure. For all the goofs, jokes, and magical D&D content, this a powerful story about consequence and how decisions we make impact our lives.

There is a quick and cute catch up if you can’t recall what happened in the previous book, helpful considering the early scenes reflect the events of The Crystal Kingdom. I am always amazed at how the introduction to each book and the reminder of our key players can be so seamless, clever, and funny. It’s a skill of the format and the layout, between McElroy’s adaptation and Pietsch’s illustrations, that creates the winning combination.

The interlude has been woven into the story again and we learn how the characters have levelled up and gained new items, but other interlude moments have also been slotted into other parts of the story is key moments which keeps the original story and character development without taking away from the new arc. 

 Spoiler free but the use of the layout in telling this story is remarkable. You get to keep all the moments that make the learning process and story unfold, each increment and bad choice, every cycle, all with the benefit of not taking up page after page and too much space. This happened with the podcast too, but the summarised version of the graphic novel makes it funnier and saves time without abridging the story.

Pietsch again has phenomenal illustrations. I love the hints and guides to let us know who is talking, with each character designated a symbol to help readers know who is speaking if they aren’t visible on the page. The colours are vibrant and the scale is beautiful. Large double page spreads that show vast caverns, the epic heights of temples, or the power of a detonation. Pietsch’s rough sketches and designs have also been included at the end of the book so you can pour over the process of creating the stunning visuals for the book and how layouts and town planning came about.

This arc has huge reveals in terms of overall story, but also, ironically, is a little patch of time by itself. There is a complicated story being told in between the humour and the stunning visuals which is what makes it such a beloved arc. We’re nearing the end and as more information is uncovered, more questions are asked and the cogs of conspiracy start turning in your brain.

This review was published on Lost in a Good Book - https://wp.me/p3x8rS-2Yg
 

This is a gorgeous little book. From the start I immediately fell in love with Grum. His design is perfect, Goodman did a great job on his character. His downfall is, of course, that he’s against Snuffy’s love and desire to sniff every single thing they pass on their walks. But I still absolutely adore him.

The layout is fun and easy to read, the pictures and the words working together and adding to the reading experience. I loved the visualisation of the smells Snuffy can sense, it helps show how intriguing the world is for him and adds some great visuals.

Dittmer’s story is simple but sweet. I liked how Snuffy’s apparently annoying behaviour is a plot point and even though readers know it’s an endearing trait, Grum gets to see it be something charming, thereby changing his feelings towards Snuffy.

There is a simple message about understanding and maybe being less of a grump. It’s sweet and fun and adorable. Everything you want from a cute picture book. 

A longer version of this review was published on Lost in a Good Book - https://wp.me/p3x8rS-2Vz
 

only knew Applegate from her incredible Animorphs series so I was surprised when I came across this book. It is a beautifully told story. It looks like a big book but since it’s told in verse it’s a fairly quick read, but at the same time it is one you can easily take your time with.

It is amazing how Applegate can tell such a beautiful story of an otter’s life with so few words, but each one is important and captures the right mood and tone. The world under the waves, the actions, instincts, and dangers of an otter’s life are told beautifully. You don’t need paragraphs of descriptions about the ocean or what it feels like tow swim through the water, Applegate captures it with a few lines and you’re immediately there alongside Odder and her friends, experiencing the underwater world for the first time.

Verse reads completely different than poetry, and of course separate again from prose. The lyrical nature makes the words flow, and it feels melodic as you read. The short sentences and the limited words don’t hinder understanding at all and Applegate chooses the right words to capture mood, tone, and action perfectly.

There is heartbreak, love, and joy and I continued to be amazed how such a beautiful and complex story could be told in such an apparently simple style. You really don’t need it to be a novel though, free verse is lyrical, flowing and perfect to feel like you are riding the ocean waves, and swimming sleekly through water like an otter.

Applegate brings Odder to life so well as we experience her thoughts and her desires. Her curiosity at the world around her and her love for the ocean captivates you and you get to experience what life as an otter would be like. We understand other otters through her perspective and even understand the humans through Odder’s observations and experience.

I was surprised to find myself becoming emotional towards the end. Seeing Odder grow up, see her life change as she lives in the sea, experiences danger and loss, as well as her time being cared for by humans. It’s a journey for her but also for the reader and those around her. After you’ve gone on this journey with her you feel proud of her resilience and achievements. And the fact she can still find hope after giving up was surprisingly impactful. Applegate pulls some incredible emotional punches through so few words. It truly is an art.