Filippo, the pink flamingo, wants to play with some other animals, but they won't let him because they say pink is for babies, pink gives them a headache, and pink doesn't mix with their colors. Filippo goes home to his family, who encourage him and remind him of all the beautiful things in the world that are pink. A shy lemur approaches Filippo to make friends, and Filippo learns that friendship can bloom anywhere and you can be accepted just the way you are.

This sweet book has such a great message about acceptance, but it's told in such a fun and entertaining way that it doesn't feel preachy at all. Filippo is an adorable main character, and I loved going on this emotional journey with him. His flamingo family are wonderful at encouraging him and pointing out how great his color is.
Pink strawberry icecream, cotton candy, sunsets, roses, and a dozen other things are mentioned as having a lovely pink color. His family prove to Filippo that his color is beautiful and he is worthy of having good friends.

Each time that Filippo approaches the animals and asks to play with them, that shy lemur is in the background of the illustrations watching the encounter as Filippo is taunted and teased because of his color. Finally the lemur gets up the courage to talk to Filippo and they become good friends!

I love the adorable illustrations! Most of the artwork is in black and white and grays, so that Filippo's bright pink color stands out. Each member of the flamingo family has a slightly different shade of pink feathers, making the illustrations really special. The expressions on the characters' faces are so vivid and full of energy! The illustrations really deepen the story and add a lot of humor to the book!

I love this cute book!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

Princess Jill is so full of energy that she cannot sit still. She runs through the garden, jumps on the beds, plays with her food, bangs on pots and pans to make music, and climbs all over her royal throne without ever sitting in it. The wise men and witches and sorcerers give her potions and try making her wear iron boots, but nothing keeps the princess still for longer than a moment. When a neighboring kingdom bring their little prince to make friends with the princess, the king and queen don't know what to do! But the foreign prince has a secret of his own that might just make them all friends.

This picture book is hilarious and full of fun! The poor king and queen have no idea what to do with their unmanageable princess, and the princess just grins and happily speeds along from scene to scene. This story is perfect for children who have a lot of energy and find it difficult to keep still! It sends a positive message that having a lot of energy is a good thing, but you need to focus that energy in good ways.

Princess Jill sprints through the illustrations at a fabulous rate, and every line in the artwork shows the energy and movement of the characters. The expressions on the faces of the other characters really shows their exasperation with the wild princess, and I love how vivid the illustrations are. They combine black and white lines with colored-in portions of the art that focus the attention on one aspect of the scene, and the background remains black and white. I just loved the cartoony style. There is a silliness in the art that is perfectly juxtaposed with the elegance of the palace and the elaborate attire of the refined king and queen.

Everything about this book is completely adorable!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

Max and Xam are the best of friends, until one day their friendship is ruined by a big fight. Max decides to make some new friends out of rocks and tree limbs and some paint for their faces. Xam makes some new friends out of old tires and umbrellas and milk cartoons with buttons for eyes. But the made-up friends just aren't the same as a real friend. You can't have a tea party with a rock, or say good night to a broom. Max and Xam decide to repair their friendship, and find a way to reconcile.

This picture book is hilarious and sweet! The two characters are so imaginative in the way they create various "friends" out of materials around their house and garden, painting faces onto old bottles, rocks, boxes, and even cardboard toilet paper rolls. The text is just right for little readers with a simple story told in a few vivid words.

The illustrations are adorable with funny expressions on the characters' faces, and little details in the background that add depth to the story! I love the bright colors and soft lines in the artwork. The characters' movements are vibrant and full of energy! The story and art combine in such a seamless way to make this book truly special.


Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

Evie, the Strawberry Fairy, has a special entry for the strawberry fair contest. Along the journey to reach the fair, she stops to help a lot of other creatures and loses her contest entry. When she arrives at the fair, she has nothing to contribute, but some friends might be able to save the day!

I loved this imaginative book! The sweet story and the lovely characters made the whole book adorable! Evie's character is so cute and funny. I fell in love with her right away, and was truly interested in all the ups and downs of her journey to the strawberry fair. She is so good-natured and generous.

The artwork is enchanting with soft lines and beautiful colors. I loved all the little details in the background of each scene that add so much depth to the story. Fairy houses, little gardens, flowers, and tiny bugs and magic creatures all dot the landscape in various places, and add to the charm of this magical fairy world.

I also love the subtle message that when you are generous with others, you will be rewarded for your kindness. I love books that have a positive message without being preachy.

This book is absolutely captivating! I can't wait to share this with my little nieces!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

A little boy mistakenly wishes on a firefly instead of a shooting star, and the firefly hears his wish and determines to fulfill it. The boy wishes for his father to come home safely from the war, and the firefly goes on a journey to find the boy's father. The firefly's wings are too small to fly, so it bounces and glides from place to place searching for the soldier. The message is that even when you seem too small and weak to do any good, you can always do something and help in some small way.

This touching story is such an emotional and sweet tale of a little boy longing for his father, and a tiny firefly full of determination and bravery. I really loved the writing style and the direction the story took. The writing uses many descriptions to pull the reader into the story; things like smells, feelings, light and darkness, and movement. It's a story full of hope and emotional connection!

I liked the soft illustrations with a blue and yellow color scheme. Sometimes I wished the illustrations were a little more clear instead of so watery and misty, but I understand that the dreamy style is a beautiful reflection of the story.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

This book is much too chaotic, with a lot of random text all over the page and wild illustrations of random things. The whole thing is aimless, and doesn't tell a story or have any structure other than to group colors together. It's too busy for a child to be able to focus on anything. If it were 20 or even 30 items on the page, I would have enjoyed it more. I counted over 50 separate items on one page, not counting the text.

The text doesn't always make sense. There's a picture of a rabbit coming out of a hat, and the text says, "Rabbit with prunes?" I have no clue what that means. The text next to a paint can reads, "Is this soup? Red soup is a fact of life." Next to a blue airplane, the text says, "Can you fly through a faucet? These days almost all mail travels by cloud." A blue swan has the text, "These swans don't sirens or flashing blue lights." That's not even a sentence! And there is nothing else on the page that I can see that does have sirens and flashing blue lights. So what are they comparing it to?

I'm not really sure who this book is for. It doesn't seem to be for children, because a lot of the pop references to the Beatles or National Geographic Magazine would be over their heads. But it's not for teens or adults either, because the drawings and organization is too juvenile. There were a lot of pop references that I didn't even recognize, and popular sayings or idioms that I didn't know.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

Ant and Ladybird find a seedling that won't grow, and they encourage it to sprout and grow into the sun. Gradually leaves begin to appear, and the little plant grows out and up looking for more sunshine away from the shade of other taller plants. The little plant begins to blossom and flourish with the help of her little animal and insect friends.

I loved the sweet story of encouragement and growth in this book! It's such a simple story, but with a powerful message. I also love that the growth doesn't happen all at once. The little seedling has to gradually journey up to the sun, in small steps day by day. The animal friends stay by the side of the little plant, guiding the growth, clearing the ground, and offering help and support.

The illustrations are beautiful! I like the soft colors and misty style. There are lots of plants in the background, so that the entire page is full of brown and dark green and soft yellow. Then in the foreground there are mice, butterflies, crickets, and of course, the Ant and Ladybug.

Once the plant reaches the sunlight, the illustrations are much lighter in color, and the whole page is bathed in sunshine with lighter greens and more vibrant yellows. Birds, grasshoppers, beetles, bees, and caterpillars all come to live and play inside the leaves and branches of the newly grown plant. The details are gorgeous!

Then the fall and winter come, and the illustrations are transformed into orange fall colors and then white snow. The whole journey is dazzling!

The construction of the hardcover book itself is quite sturdy, with thick pages and lovely green endpapers.


Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

Luis is a suave cat who lives on the streets and hangs out at the firehouse, but when he falls in love with Tabitha, a house cat, how can the two ever be together with the doors that separate them? Tabitha's owner shoos Luis away whenever he comes near Tabitha, but Luis never gives up.

I just adore how dashing and gentlemanly Luis is, and how gentle and elegant Tabitha is. I was really rooting for those two and their forbidden romance! Luis brings sardines and flowers and does everything he can to woo Tabitha, but she is trapped inside the house, mournfully watching him through the windows. Luis' cat friends tell him to just accept the situation, but Luis is indefatigable! I loved his energy and determination!

The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous and they really enhance the story. The characters have such eloquent body language and facial expressions. I love the cartoony style and the bold lines. The artwork is truly special, and I was drawn in by the deep colors.

I just adored everything about this book! The story, the artwork; it all comes together for a truly unique and exceptional picture book.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

"You are strong. You are brave. You are so incredibly good." A father whispers words of affirmation to his baby daughter as she falls asleep every night. She grows into a toddler, then a teen, and a young woman. Through every step of her life, she hears his voice encouraging her.

This book is so sweet and heartfelt that it actually made me cry! I am blessed to have a kind and loving father like the one in this book, and it brought back old memories of times that my Dad encouraged and supported me.

I love the soft illustrations and the muted color scheme. The artwork really brings the story home, and draws the reader into the emotions of the characters. There are delightful details in the background of each page, like the bunny rabbit stuffed-animal the little girl keeps even as an adult and then passes on to her own son.

The story covers a lifetime as the girl grows up and the father becomes a grandfather, but the continuity of the theme keeps the story cohesive and meaningful. I just love the beautiful writing! It's simple, but powerful, evoking strong emotions with each sentence. This book is full of family love!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

This board book features finger holes where the reader can make leg movements for the ballerinas in the illustrations. There are even little "finger tights" that you can wear like little ballet slippers to match the costumes of the dancers!

I can't stop playing with this book! It's so adorable!
The ballet scenes are taken from famous ballets and includes characters like Romeo and Juliet, the Snow Queen, Coppelia, and Cinderella. The text also includes ballet terminology like "plies, grande battements, grand jete, pirouettes, chasse steps", and more that I didn't understand but would be fun to learn about!

One thing that I really appreciate is that the "finger tights" are included in their own separate little plastic container that opens and closes easily without ripping or tearing the book. This makes it easy to store the "finger tights" and hopefully not lose them.

The illustrations are beautiful with graceful lines and lovely colors! There are many little details in the background of each ballet scene that really captured my attention.

I can't wait to share this with my 2-year-old niece who is obsessed with ballet right now!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.