This seems like it’s supposed to be a Valentines book, but I find it does not work. Otto is lonely and really wants to make friends but is too scared to try and make friends. When the group see an otter off by themselves, they go find them, but the more otters approach the more other runs away. Eventually they get close, and one tells the other that it’s OK that I’m alone I’m not lonely. But this still makes them go off happily ever after. it seems like the beginning of a toxic relationship. One flat out says I am not lonely yet the other still wants to play together. This is meant to be a fun cute kids book and it is the adult and me thinking we should be teaching about boundaries and consent. 

 

This book is all over the place. There is no cohesive storytelling. The book starts out with some front piece about genealogy and history and definitions, which are lovely, but I think should be at the end of the book. Wombat is given a project to learn about his family history and create a family tree. And he realizes that his family members do various things, he’s trying to find his thing. At the end, they have a family reunion and wombat shows everybody his family tree. For me the best part of this book is the art. The artwork is fantastic. It puts a smile on your face and has a happy feel. I just wish the storytelling lived up to the art. 

 

This book seems to start in the middle of the story. It’s about a young teacher who has a new assignment and she’s going to go teach school in the middle of the Amazon. She packs her books and teaching supplies with her and off she goes. But one night the rain is coming and destroys all of her books and the community helps create new ones out of cloth and embroidery. And she realizes that these books are just as important as the books she had used before. The story is nice and interesting however, it is very long. 

 

Bear is a masterful piano player. All the animals in the forest sit around and listen and when bear wants to take a break all they say is more, more, more! But all bear wants is solitude. After yelling and arguing the other animals scatter. But the zebra stays behind, offering bear a story. This begins in a weird spot. It ends with bear saying let’s be alone together. Stating that bear is never alone, but sometimes just needs peace and quiet. This book is lovely, but it feels unfinished. The illustrations are amazing. The illustrator is a master artist, bringing black, red and white to help set a theme and a tone for the story. I just wish there was more of the story. 

 

This is a fun math concept book. A new reindeer joins the school and it’s put their number at 13 so when the groups are told to pair there is always a remain-deer. The book rhymes well and gets it’s lesson across.  Kids will understand it and the play on words of remainder and remain – DEER. All in all, this was a fabulous math book that got the concept of prime numbers across in an excellent understandable way. 

 

This was a charming picture book about girls fighting to be girls. About how they can take on the world and be whatever they want to be because nothing is going to stand in their way. That they need to believe in who they are and what they can do because they can accomplish great things. This book was fantastic, I love the illustrations. They are soft but vibrant and have a quality that’ll keep kids coming back. 

 

This book is about the way your face looks different under different emotions. The story rhymes decently even though it does have some sand in its cadence. The story is nice and so are the illustrations, but it feels very self-published, and not in the complementary way. The message as an adult seems convoluted. This almost seems like a book you’d give to a little girl about not needing makeup or not needing augmentation. It feels like it’s halfway between what it wants to be and what it should be. 

 

This is an exact repeat of I can say dada book except the pictures changed. Once again, I understand the concept of this book and have had thoughts of my niece who is turning to and isn’t speaking yet, but this was not Helpful. It seems so rudimentary like every parent should automatically be doing. 

 

Part of me can’t believe anybody would pay for this. The book is simply pictures of fathers doing something with simple words like looked at, up dada, poo, poo dada, etc. It’s supposed to help reiterate who dada is. Most interesting part of the book is the one page at the end that tells you how to use the book and why it works. I understand all that, but I still cannot see spending any money on this book. 

 

I remember when the first don’t push the button came out. I was reading it with my three-year-old nephew on my iPad, so when he pushed the button the page would change and things would magically happen. The push the button books are about the only time I have found this style of book that can live up to Press Here. So I have a bit of nostalgia in my heart for this series. Don’t push the button on the farm was super cute and just as addictive as the original title. I only wish it had gone on longer. Change from a chicken into a cow or into a duck or Into a goose. We could’ve had a few more pages. But this short sweet, very interactive book will be loved by children whether read as a go to bed book or read and story time.