One is lesser, gender-bent Hannibal Lecter and the other is a stupid, annoying girl who thinks she’s smart. I couldn’t decide who I was rooting for because I disliked both characters equally.

Great for the itty bitties who are learning colors and foods.

Bob Shea is always great for read aloud books.

A very breezy non-fiction picture book about sharks that is at a reader level.

The pictures are adorable and there are a delightful assortment of sharks. 

To really push this book to the top it needed one more line as the solo line at the end messes up the rhythm of the book. It think it is trying to pair with the first line of the book (the first line ends with “today”, and the last line begins with “today”). However this isn’t very successful since the rhyme scheme in the rest of the book is so strong.

Ann Patchett and Robin Preiss Glasser what a lineup. Love the art so so much. 

As an introvert I am squinting my eyes at Estie commandeering Ivan’s birthday and throwing a party. Because just because I don’t want a party doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have wanted to do SOMETHING with my family or one friend on my birthday. 

This book also discludes the existence of social introverts which is typical and sad ( the twist could have been that after the party was over Estie needed alone time to recharge her social battery).

Ivan is the only one clearly coded as an introvert (you could also make a case for Mrs. Vert) which makes Ivan seem like the odd one out. And I’ve never been in a gathering where only one introvert is present (including parties).

With all that ranting you might think I didn’t enjoy this but I actually did. I like that the parents are accepting and loving of their children as they are (Mr. Vert could do a little more because Mrs. Vert is the one always checking in on Ivan). I love the quiet diversity of the friends and neighbors. And again, I really, really love the art.