Susan Verde and Peter Reynolds are a bestselling team for a reason. Their books are colorful and heartfelt and have an important message that all kids need to hear. The message in this book is that “I am me” no matter what. That everyone is different and that’s exactly the way it should be. That everyone is unique and have the things that make them special. And that no matter who you are or how you look or how you act I am me and you are you and we are exactly as where I meant to be. 

 

This book is all about the graphics. This is a simple board book where each page illustrates a different member of the family, including grandma and grandpa and uncle, brother, sister, etc. What really brings this book to life is the illustration of the various human and Sasquatch characters and what they are doing with that family member. This is a simple board book that will last the ages and will go off the Library shelves for years to come. 

 

This grumpy monkey is a graphic novel. It’s an early chapter book and it was lots of fun. It’s perfect for students who are not quite ready for Dog Man, but definitely ready to get away from easy readers. I find the subject in the way it’s treated interesting. If you listen to teachers on social media, there’s lots of talk about how kids aren’t where they should be both in reading math and every other subject. How kids are behind. It’s so happens this book is about a grown-up Jim who has to go back to school because he didn’t learn the first time he was there. The topic is irrelevant and handled in an interesting way I think kids and adult adults alike will enjoy. 

 

This is career exploration for children. It does have more than usually found in books like these. It includes things that do and don’t need college degrees which is a nice change of pace. I do find it a little dated and wish they would’ve had some of the ultra-modern upcoming expected to be big-time jobs for kids. 

 

This book is a little long, but it really works. There are pages with the stories told entirely by illustrations and other where it’s a little wordy. But altogether it works well for an interesting, fun, and a bit crazy story that I know I want to read again so kids are gonna wanna read it again. The illustrations are Masterful. They bring terror but life and help the story live on after the words have stopped. 

 

This book is an allegory for nap time. Harper is a little robot that is grouchy and causing problems. They need to recharge. Everyone knows they need to recharge except for Harper themselves. Harper refuses to recharge until they absolutely can’t do anymore. And then realize that once they recharge, they feel completely better. This book is fine. The illustrations are quite fun. In fact, the illustrations are better than the story. 

 

This book is about a fire hydrant who thinks they’re worth more than being peed on every day. They consider themselves a toilet. The illustrations are what really makes this book move. The words are a fire hydrant feeling like they’re different and they deserve more than to be a dog toilet, but the illustration show that this fire hydrant is going to be used for what it was designed for in just a few more pages. This book was an interesting read, but not one I think I would go to frequently unless I was doing fire safety storytime. 

 

A monkey has poop land on their head and goes about the Savannah asking their animals who flung dung. Most of this book is that line repeated. And while I do see kids liking this book and having fun, this book has already been done and done better. The book “The Mole Who Went In Search of a Who Done It” also sometimes called “Who Pooped on my Head” is this story by an Indie author and an indie publisher is way better done than this one. 

 

This book is deceptively simple. First off it took me three pages to realize the story rhymed and then it took some odd children’s names to realize they’re an alphabet hidden on these pages. This book is tongue-in-cheek fun. An alphabetical list of kids tries to top each other with what they bring in for a show and tell. The person with the best show and tell wins a prize. But when you find out what the prize is and who won, it’s the icing on the cake that is this book. And as great as the words are, the illustrator master craftsmanship takes the story up a notch. The things that are hidden so well in these pages kids are going to love and want to read again and again to see what new they can find. 

 

This is an early chapter graphic novel. It is simply lovely. This is not my first Otis and peanut book but I think it’s the first in the series. There are three mini stories. The second story the swing is heartbreakingly beautiful. It’s about loss. Otis, misses Pearl. We don’t know who Pearl is or why Otis misses them. We just know that Pearl is not around and Otis is sad. Peanut tries to help the best way that they can. Comes up again in the last story, but only momentarily. This book was beautiful both in illustration and in wording. This is a group of characters. I hope to see more in the future.