Lilly is a confident little girl, who is not phased by her friends questions about her appearance. Is she Hispanic, Black, White, Indian, Brazilian, or Italian? Lilly is happy with her beautiful dark skin, and her curly hair, and fierce eyebrows. She kindly reminds her friends that what is important about her is found on the inside with her big heart and smart mind.

I love that the writing tells the story in rhyme! It's well-written and fun to read.
The illustrations are a little amateurish, but colorful and full of energy!

Lilly is such a wonderful character! She is kind and generous with her friends. She is a rambunctious little thing, vivacious and fun! On almost every page, she is jumping and skipping and running. She is proud of her looks, and knows that she is strong and resilient.

I love that this book has such a positive message to young kids, that no matter what you look like, and no matter if your friends come from a different race or heritage, we are all strong and beautiful just as we are!

This book includes children from many different races and ethnicities, also including a child in a wheelchair. I would recommend this book for children ages 4-10.

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

Little Tiger isn't afraid of nightmares, because she has a friendly Monster under her bed who fights the nightmares and keeps them away. But what happens when a nightmare comes along too big and bad for Monster to fight off? These two friends must work together to keep the nightmares at bay, and discover their own true inner power.

This is so cute and wonderful! Tiger is such an adorable little thing, and I love the sweet conversations she has with her parents about the Monster under her bed.
Monster is brave and resourceful, and he supports Tiger and lovingly protects her every night. They play and work together as a team, so that the camaraderie between them is palpable. Their friendship is so lovely!

The colorful illustrations really breathe life into the story, and I love the art style! There are some really cute details in the illustrations, like the "Fang Wash" that Tiger uses to brush her teeth.

The story has a deep impact for me even as an adult, because I suffer from terrible nightmares quite frequently. I wish I had a friendly Monster under my bed!

This book would be perfect to read to children ages 5-12, and a good one to read together before bed.

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

Kaylee is a prankster who tries to trick the Tooth Fairy, but the Tooth Fairy has a few magical tricks of her own, and the two begin a prank war with disastrous results. Can Kaylee and the Tooth Fairy put an end to their endless pranks, become friends, and clean up the mess they've made?

The cuteness! The adorableness! The hilarity! I fell in love with this darling book the second I saw the glittery cover art. The illustrations are utterly delightful on every page, with cute little details that bring the story to life.

Kaylee is mischievous, but never mean with her practical jokes, and she loves to play pranks on her friends and family. Her impish facial expressions show her delight and glee every time someone falls for one of her crazy gags.
But she has met her match in the illustrious Tooth Fairy, who meets every pranking challenge with her own magical shenanigans.

I love this book from start to finish! It would be perfect to read aloud to children ages 4-10, especially as they reach the age where they begin to lose their teeth, and are excited for the Tooth Fairy to visit them.

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.

In this retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, a little girl named Blossom sets out to take a peach pie to her grandmother up the river. She encounters a wily alligator, and uses all her intelligence to outsmart him.

I loved this funny retelling, with a decidedly Southern charm! I especially liked that Blossom does not rely on anyone else to save her and her grandmother, but instead she outsmarts the alligator herself.

The dialogue is funny, and enchanting, as it mirrors the dialogue from the original Little Red Riding Hood with a new twist. Instead of “Grandma, what big teeth you have.” Blossom asks, “Grandma, why are your nails so long and sharp?”
She’s a smart little cookie!

There are even recipes included at the end of the book for peach pie and other Southern delicacies, like fried Alligator Tail. Haha!

The illustrations are beautiful and unique, because they look like cut out pieces of paper. I liked the art style, but at times it was too busy and not clear enough. I found myself staring at the same page for awhile, squinting at the illustration, trying to figure out ...is that a flower? Is that the little girl’s basket? A lot of the forest has all the same colors and everything blends in together. I would have liked more clean illustrations, and less busyness.

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.

Taco is a squirrel who loves to eat tacos, and he agrees to be in this book to teach young children about squirrels, with the understanding that there will be tacos in the book! But Taco gets more than he bargained for when he is mistaken for a flying squirrel, forced to eat tree bark, and hunted by a ferocious hawk. Can Taco take back control of the narrative before it's too late?

I love books that break down the fourth wall, especially picture books. As Taco becomes increasingly anxious about the chaotic turn the story is taking, he does a beautiful job of addressing the reader directly and including the audience in the book narrative. The writing is quite clever, and similar to another favorite picture book, [b:The Monster at the End of this Book|44186|The Monster at the End of this Book|Jon Stone|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388193494s/44186.jpg|640276] !

The illustrations are so lovely! Colorful and funny, each page has a charm all its own. Taco is so cute!! He's cuddly and adorable, and I love his funny facial expressions.

I like that Taco is single-minded about wanting his tacos, and he takes charge of his own story to make sure he gets the happy ending he desires. He's a fun and likable character, with some slapstick jokes and general silliness.


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

Robert Smalls is born as a slave, but the chaos of the American Civil War gives him a one-in-a-million chance to escape to freedom with his family. A moving true story of how one man had the ingenuity and determination that inspired others to join him in a desperate flight towards a free life.

I loved this story! Robert Smalls was so brave and smart. He persevered through many obstacles to protect his family and friends and help them escape together. I was captivated by his touching story!

But I found a few typos in the writing. These might be changed as newer editions are published. And sometimes the writing felt flat and simplified for a very young audience. I think the story could have been told for a slightly older reader, and would have been more engaging with a little more depth to the story, and more historical details.

I also did not like the illustrations. They’re done in a mushy kind of style that’s a little blurry. The colors are garish and blend together, so that I had to stare at the page for a bit to figure out what I was seeing. There aren’t many clear lines, and it makes some of the aspects of the scene confusing. Is that a tree limb hanging OVER the water, or a fallen log floating IN the water? I don’t know. It’s too blurry to tell.
Is that the person’s mouth? No, wait that’s their beard. I think? 🤔

Also several of the illustrations do not line up with the subject of the writing on the same page. The writing says all the people are on a boat, but the adjacent illustration shows a woman running through an orchard. ??? Where did SHE come from? Why isn’t there a picture of them all on the boat?
Three or four of the illustrations look almost the same too. Showing the same scene from slightly different angles. Why am I looking at the exact same boat again? Why can’t I see inside the boat? Or inside the fort? Or a picture of the sentries? Or a picture of the slaves hiding below? Out of all the possible scenes to paint, you had to show me the same one four times?? Lazy.

The story itself is wonderful! The writing is just okay, not great. The illustrations are disappointing and confusing.

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 owntrue thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

Grandma just wants some peace and quiet so she can finish her knitting without grandchildren crawling all over her house! She finds a quiet spot in the woods, but the bears come around, annoying her. She finds a peaceful cave in the mountains, but the goats start eating her yarn. She finds a comfy rock on the moon to sit on, but the aliens start bothering her. Finally Grandma finds the perfect place to finish her knitting.

I LOVED this picture book! So adorable on so many levels. First of all, the story itself is brilliant and funny and interesting. The illustrations are vibrant and engaging, with rich background scenes and funny expressions on the grandmother's face.

To me, one of the most important things in a picture book is that there should be little hidden details on each page, and this book has those details in abundance!
The grandchildren are all running around, doing random things, and getting into trouble in the background. A goat follows Grandma to the moon, and hides behind a rock. A runaway ball of yarn ends up in a corner somewhere. All these details add depth to the simple story and makes the story come alive!

The Wild Zoo Train is leaving the station, and the conductor calls out, "All Aboard", while the children pile into the cars. One little girl is very concerned that their stops are not on the Zoo Map, but the conductor safely shepherds the children through the jungle, the desert, savanna, and
Antarctic, with a surprise destination at the end that is definitely NOT on any Zoo Maps.

When the children disembark at each place, the conductor tells them to look out for various indigenous animals, and the cartoon illustrations of the animals are colorful and they each have funny expressions on their little faces.

One of the best things about this book is that each time the train leaves the station for a new journey, the writing describes the sounds of the train speeding up, whistling and tooting, clackety-clacking along the tracks, and finally slowing down with a long whoosh at the new destination. Reading this book out loud and making all the train sounds would be the most fun part!

I recommend this book for ages 3-6, and I insist that readers make the train sounds out loud while they read!! haha! Adorable and fun!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publishers 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 children's picture book takes the reader along for a hike in the woods, searching for animal tracks, noticing interesting plants and animals, and exploring through the streams and bushes and trees. Each two-page spread focuses on one animal or group of plants, with a story that follows the hiking trail, and little factoids about the animal/plant written in a border around the edges of the page.

The illustrations are full of smoky greens and browns of the forest with little detailed sketches along the border that depict each factoid. On every page, the reader can search for hidden deer tracks, which lead to the final page of the book when the hikers encounter a white-tailed deer! I love picture books with hidden things to look for!

I loved how the main story flows along, but you can also stop and read the interesting facts for more information about each forest dweller. For a younger child, you could only read the main storyline, and for an older child, you could stop and read the extra details too.

I like that the writing pulls your attention to particular details in the illustrations, like the specific shape of a flower petal, or the coloring of a bird's wings. It really makes the reader look closely at each page and learn something new!

There is one page with a snake on it!! And I'm scared of snakes, so I skipped that page. But maybe other readers would be interested to learn about snakes. Not me!

I thoroughly enjoyed this delightful book with its soft illustrations and thoughtful writing. I would recommend this book for readers ages 5-10.

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.

So much cuteness!! Adorable baby fairies take a bath, play hide and seek, slide down a mushroom, fly with a bird, and finally fall asleep on their rose petal beds.

Their cute little wings are just as unique and bright as their own little fairy selves. Each baby fairy is diverse and colorfully dressed. Such sweet illustrations with pretty little details will keep any child interested looking for butterflies, inchworms, and ladybugs on each page. The plant-life gives the perfect background for this fairy world with acorn hats and leaf showers for the tiny folk.

A charming board book that teaches little ones to count, and play and fly with the fairies!

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 influenced by anyone.