The daughter of a knight goes on an adventure searching for her lost father. All alone, she travels to the desolate land of the stone giant, knowing that anyone who looks in the giant's eyes will be turned into stone. She is clever and brave, and has a plan to defeat the giant and save her father.

I really liked this fairy-tale story, especially because it is a brain vs. brawn kind of story. The fearsome giant doesn't stand a chance when the knight's daughter uses her clever mind to devise a plan for defeating the giant. I liked her character. She is resourceful and smart! The plot line is simple, but with whimsical details that make it fun to read.

I didn't like the illustrations though. It has a very amateurish look. The artwork is not polished or consistent. The characters' hands and feet look lumpy. If the illustrations were more professionally done, I would have enjoyed this book more.

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 traditional Inuit story, an old woman begins to create some animals when the world is first being formed. She makes a walrus with antlers, and a caribou with tusks, but these cause too many problems. The walrus' antlers overturn all the kayaks in the water. The caribou use their tusks as weapons against the hunters. How can the woman correct her creations?

I loved this funny story! The silly illustrations really make it hilarious and fun. The poor woman is so frustrated with her unruly creatures, but she is determined to do whatever it takes to make them behave.

I loved the cartoony artwork. The caribou and walrus have such silly expressions! The art really tells the story in an engaging way.


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.

Adin and Dina are best friends "like twin cherries on the same stem". They love to climb the cherry trees on the family fruit farm and pick cherries together. When Adin's family moves away to the big city, the two friends start to plant cherry pits along the road, and in the spring the cherry blossoms create a trail leading the two friends back to one another.

This is such a sweet book about friendship and loyalty. I just love how close Adin and Dina are. They like doing everything together and can almost read each other's thoughts. Such a precious friendship! I love how this book deals with loneliness and disappointment in such a healthy way. The two friends are separated, but they still can remain connected. A beautiful story!

The illustrations are truly special. Such gorgeous colors and soft lines! The artwork is so delicate and enchanting. The scenery of the fruit farm and the beautiful cherry blossoms is absolutely exquisite. Even the setting in the city has a kind of urban charm. The changing of the seasons throughout the story really gives a strong feeling of the passing of time, and that is all due to the artwork with the falling leaves, and snow, and budding trees in each season. Even the quality of the light changes through the seasons, so that each season has its own color scheme.

I'm so impressed with the artwork and the beautiful story! This book is truly a masterpiece in children's literature.


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 gives details and statistics about underground subway systems around the world. There are 10 large subway systems featured, including New York, Mexico City, London, Paris, and Tokyo. The statistics include when the subway system was first opened, how many passengers it carries a year, how many lines are in the city, and the distance the tracks travel.

Each subway system includes a search-and-find illustration with objects to look for hidden in the artwork. I love the cartoon illustrations and how the objects are hidden so cleverly in between train cars or behind passengers. The art is brightly colored, and there are tons of little details in each scene that make it special and interesting.

I am really impressed with how this book is organized. Some of the pages are cropped so that you can flip to see the people inside of the subway trains. It's a smart and effective design.


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's hair is falling in his eyes, so he takes a trip to the barbershop with his father. He is a little scared at first, but he sees other customers getting their hair cut and he likes the way the chair goes up high. He holds his father's hand and has his hair cut. He gets a lollipop after his hair cut, and is glad that his hair is out of his eyes.

This book is so adorable! The little boy is so cute and cuddly. The story is very simple for little children, but has a charming plot.

I love the sweet illustrations with a soft art style. The colors are bright, and the lines are flowing and clean. I don't like when there is too much visual clutter on the page, so I appreciate that this book keeps each scene's design simple and clear.

This book would be perfect for a toddler getting their first haircut at a barbershop or hair salon!


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.

Each day Afiya wears the same white frock, and washes it clean each night, and hangs it up on the clothes line to dry. But her white dress never appears to be white for long. It is magically imprinted with the beautiful things she sees each day. When she goes to the zoo, tiger stripes are imprinted on her dress. When she walks past red roses, the leaves and blossoms are entwined in the fabric of her white dress. Colorful butterfly wings and white pigeon wings are imprinted on her dress. Fish and the waves of the sea are imprinted, and leaves from the trees decorate her dress. Afiya carries each memory with her, and in the morning her dress is white and clean again.

I am dazzled by the beauty and whimsy in this book! Afiya is a glorious little girl, dancing and laughing across each page. I love the sweet story that draws your attention to the beauty in everyday life and how precious each experience is.

The illustrations are truly special, with bright colors and misty lines. The artwork makes every little detail magical. Afiya herself is absolutely beautiful, with her pretty hair and pink cheeks and soulful eyes. I love her little earrings, and how she walks around barefoot like a dainty fairy.


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 child claims to have seen a dragon, but his friends around the world say they'll believe him when pigs fly, or when frogs grow hair, or when cows skate on ice. There are delightful idioms from Germany, India, Philippines, Netherlands, Spain and many more. Each idiom is accompanied by an illustration showing a frog with hair and pigs flying and cows skating and fish climbing trees.

I love the whimsy and silliness in this book as a child from each culture refuses to believe that there is a dragon, and we get to learn a fun saying from their homeland. Language is such a crazy thing, and often doesn't make sense, but that is what makes it fun!

I love the cute illustrations! The artwork is colorful, and each page made me laugh and chuckle at all the ridiculous things going on in the background.


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 wild bird with blue feet finds a discarded mirror and begins to worry that his feet are too blue, his wings are too big, or his beak is too long. He tries to hide his body image problems with hilarious results. Eventually, he learns to appreciate that his wonderful feet allow him to swim, his long beak is perfect for catching fish, and his big wings lift him into the air to fly with his family.

I loved this adorable book! Poor Benjamin gets so confused about his body image, but I love how he is curious and resourceful and he is willing to learn and accept his own wonderfully-created body. He tries to use trash to hide his wings and feet and shorten his beak, so there is also a good message about human trash affecting animals.

The best thing about this book is the rich wording and silly descriptions! Benjamin finds the old mirror and promptly calls it a "twink-um-doodle" because it twinkles in the sunshine. There are some fun descriptions as Benjamin "wobble-waddles" or "kick-flips, flap-slaps" or "churn-turns, worm-squirms" to get the pieces of trash off his body. It's a delight to read aloud and sure to bring giggles and chuckles to little readers.


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.

Usually I love Robin Hobb's books, but there are so many things that annoyed me about this one. It's entirely too long and repetitive. It could have been about 200 pages shorter. There are too many POVs flip-flopping all over the place in every chapter. I HATE it when a POV changes in the middle of a scene! And there are about 10 or 11 different POV characters in the book. Too many!

My main problem with this book is the same as with the 2nd book in this trilogy... a female character is raped. Why is that ugliness necessary? It serves no important purpose in the plot that I can see, and it doesn't propel the character development. It ruined my enjoyment of this book. So now there are three women characters in this series who have been raped, and several more women who have been threatened with it. That is sickening. I don't want to read about it. And it makes me angry because what could have been a very good book is ruined, and I did not like the way that the subject was handled either.

That being said... I'm doubly disappointed because I love Robin Hobb's writing. I love her characters. I am fascinated with the imaginative fantasy world, and the detailed and complex plots. When you love and enjoy a series like this, it's even worse that the author ruins it with something nasty.

Grace tells the story of how her brother disappeared, and how she followed him into a land where she was tiny as a bug. She befriends some silly insects, but is then kidnapped by a monstrous crab and forced to dive deep into the river looking for pearls. How will Grace ever escape the crab and find her lost brother?

This story is so whimsical and imaginative! I love the mellow story-telling and the rich writing. The story has a positive message that together we can overcome any obstacle and rescue ourselves if we work together.

The characters are memorable, and some of them are very funny. The insect friends keep mixing up words, saying "shrug" instead of "bug", or "unravelling" instead of "travelling." It's really cute and silly! The insects remind me a little bit of the insects in "James and the Giant Peach", but these characters have their own charm and style.

I adore the beautiful illustrations! The art is warm and delicate, and makes me think of sunny summer days and cool shade by the water. It's a little window into a fantasy world.

One of the things I loved most is that Grace's brother plays the flute, and his music is depicted in the illustrations as tendrils of leaves and blossoms with little rain clouds. As though the sounds had come to life as imagery floating on the air, the melancholy music grows and moves through the story, bringing the two siblings together once more.


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.