This is a wonderful, true story about a man who rescued an oil laden penguin. This penguin became São Paulo’s friend for the next seven years. This true story is written to help people understand more about penguins but also about the damage caused by humans to the penguin population. The story is sweet and well done. 

 

This is the story of a young man and his grandfather. They did everything together except school. They were each other’s everything until one day grandfather got sick and didn’t come home from the hospital. And life is sad, but there are ways to remember and ways to share that love with others. This book was very sweet and the illustrations Match it perfectly. It makes you smile and fond memories rather than tear up his sad memories which only the best books can do. 

 

When I saw the title La Bamba, I thought the 80s tune. It’s not, but I don’t care. I do not recognize the song that this is or this comes from and I think that made it so much better with the two different languages since most the time you have something that’s very well known in English being transcribed into Spanish and this time it’s the other way around.  This book is just another great addition to the series that you should check out 

 

The reason that I like these board books are because they’re bilingual. So, even if you don’t read or know Spanish, you have the story told in both languages at the same time. This helps kids learn and recognize these other languages. This is just part of the series that I continue to love book after book. 

 

This is a fun book about being yourself. Lu is a beaver. They’ve grown up in a family where beavers do what beavers do. They gather sticks, they cut wood, they build dams. But secretly Lu wants to be an artist. They want to write stories and paint paintings and build things but they’re a beaver and beavers don’t do that. Their friends work hard to convince Lu that they can be anything. At first the story seems a little bit long, but there are rhyming fun patterns that kids will enjoy plus the illustrations are amazing. I love the type of art that is done because it feels both vibrant and soft but also with edge. Those sound contradictory, but they really do work in this book, and I think anybody reading it will enjoy it. 

 

This picture book biography is different than most picture book biographies about author Ashe. This book made sure to tell the story of his younger brother Johnny as well. If it wasn’t for Johnny’s sacrifice and willingness to do more time in Vietnam, Arthur may never have had a chance to win the U.S. Open. The story lovingly looks at both men and their belief in each other, and in breaking the barriers that they needed to break. This book was a fantastic look at a family that helped change history for the better. 

 

I went into this thinking it was a picture book and it’s not. It’s a short graphic novel about a boy and his grandmother. His grandmother is a Jew who immigrated from America and her memory isn’t always what it should be. These two spend the day going around New York City collecting things they  will need for dinner, but a lot of the stores and things have disappeared. The reader sees many flashbacks of grandmother’s life and her adventures and her not liking modern things. This was a lovely day in the life, and while I may not understand all the Jewish elements, I understand the grandmother and the grandchild. The story was lovely, and the illustrations are quite bleak, which I think fits the story. It makes one feel that time is passing and how the illustrator has done the modern times, and all these grays in browns in the past and bright vivid colors really works and helps set the story off. While I have no idea who I would recommend this book to. I am glad that I have read it and I think it has helped me grow more as a person. 

 

I really wanted to like this book. This book is about a student who is not happy that it’s picture day. They wear their hat all the time. She uses this hat to because she has a face full of freckles.  They feel different from their classmates and the last thing they want is to have their picture taken. Her classmates take her in hand, and they come up with a perfect idea to get the perfect picture day. The story is nice but it has been done better. First off it is way too long for a picture book. It also takes too long to set up that the big hat is because of freckles. I do love how the kids all get in on making our main character feel better about themselves, but overall, this book has been done better, and this one is not memorable. 

 

This is a so-called interactive children’s picture book where the reader is given instructions to do with the book that creates the action on the next page. Press Here was the best, and now the standard which I measure these books against. While the illustrations are lovely and top-notch, the story is a bit long and the instructions don’t seem to be as playful as the standard bearer. For that reason, while I like this book, I don’t think it’ll have staying power and won’t be remembered in the next few weeks months and years. 

 

This book is supposed to be about processing loss and I’m not sure I get it. I’m lost. This character has a balloon. They have fabulous adventures, but the character knows that eventually the balloon will go away. We follow along the adventures until one day, the balloon is handed off to another character, as if instead of saying goodbye, it’s saying it’s time to move on. This book is written by a psychologist who helps children with their mental states. The book in general is lovely. I don’t think it gets the point they’re trying to make. I will say the watercolor illustrations are amazing. They would look good on any wall as art outside of the book.