I love this book. From the first page to the last the story is solid.  Running through my head the entire time was “In the Night Kitchen” by Maurice Sendak. (you know, the Where the Wild Things Are author). I think anybody could see the compliment in the artwork, but even the story harkens back to the kitchen.  I love it and it’s the best compliment I can give. 

 

This was exactly what it reports to be. It is a book on being a good sport. It shows this by definitions and by actions. So many parents are so focused on winning it all cost that they forget that sport is a chance to play. This book gets at that and says everybody has more fun when everybody is playing to play. Everybody has more fun when they use good sportsmanship and have a good game. This is a lesson some parents need but kids will understand. 

 

The beginning of this book is very promising. Hazel loves and plays with the sun. After the first five or six pages, the story gets very wordy. It started out as a lovely simple story and turned into an overdone complicated mess. The illustrations are lovely. They have a 70s feeling that really gives that sunny type of charm. If only the story could have stayed in simple sentences instead of getting overburdened by its own words. 

 

I love a biography about someone I didn’t know about. In this case it’s two women. The first Althea was the first black woman to win Wimbledon, and the second also faced her own hurdles as a Jewish tennis player. These women took on Wimbledon and one. It led to a lifelong friendship and a story perfect for any kid that likes sports. 

 

I could see kids wanting to read it over and over however I think it works better as a spoken story. The pictures are timeless and match it well, and I think this is a book that would live on in other formats. 

 

This book is wonderful. It is fiction, but it is based on true events. It’s based on the war in Syria and families that chose to stay. The children collected books from the bombed-out buildings and created their own library. It’s sad that stories like this exist but it’s through books that we lose our ignorance. This book was wonderful, the illustrations match and, I’m glad the story exists even though I wish it didn’t 

 

This book is made for the youngest of children. It is well done, and the illustrations are bright and colorful and will attract the audience it’s made for. However, this book is really long, and younger kids might find a hard time sitting through it. 

 

I normally love the wolf in underpants graphic novels. They are a fun short graphic novel for early chapter readers. However, as I believe these books are translated. I think this addition should go through a sensitivity read in the US. Based on the title, I knew this was going to have a holiday theme, and I thought it would follow the nutcracker which it kind of does. But it’s about fighting the “man”. You have some characters who are held prisoner and Wolf helps them escape. This is all great however, at one point in time these now free individuals are called  pale people and of course a wolf is brown. I see nothing wrong with this, however in the US some parents will infer a racial divide or reverse racism. It puts a target on the book for book banners. Overall, I like this story. I think it’s a fun read and I think kids will like it as long as certain parents don’t get a hold of it. 

 

This is a new spinoff series from battle Royale. It takes place 20 years later. The beginning is a little confusing. All you know is there are students in multiple classes, and class F is the worst.  Each class is made up of multiple squads between five and six people. Originally Class   is to clean up the island but after an earthquake, they’re all sent to a basement for their lesson. It’s while locked in this basement they find out that their goal is to kill everybody and only the survivor gets to win. What do they win? No idea. The beginning of the books a little shaky but when you get into the action and what’s going on, it moves rather quickly. If you liked battle Royale or Alice in Borderland, or Squid Game you might enjoy this book. 

 

Another fun picture book in the Smart senses woke babies books. This one is about the sense of seeing. It does get into people need dogs to act as their eyes and others read with their fingers. It’s nice to see those type of things mentioned in a board book.