This is the autobiography of a lone child in China. Part of what makes it interesting is that the lone child is female and what we learned in the US was that male children were preferred. This story is about a young girl learning to be her own friend and recognizing true friends. The story is interesting but slow. We see Yinfin as a child with a family, both large and small. This book is about the everyday things that make life. It’s an interesting look and an interesting autobiography, but not one I think will be long remembered. 

 I love these books and the newest book in the series is another example of why. The girls in the neighborhood each like to do things but like to do them in different ways. And at first, they don’t get along and it’s only by talking things out and working together that they realize they can be better as a team. These are written in such a way that it’s understandable. You can feel each character’s, frustration, and their hope when they realize that they’re not as different as they think they are. I love these books and I think they are an essential set for any Library to have. 

 This story is about the water cycle. There is a vaguely rhyming story of the cloud telling you the type of mood that they’re in from beginning to end. But then there’s also a little red bird telling the reader about the water cycle. For storytime purposes, you could choose to read one without the other and for bedtime purposes maybe we both. The book is OK. I’ve seen better. I’ve seen more. The illustrations are interesting but once again nothing amazing or unique. 

 This is a nice little rhyming story about what a baby does in their day. The illustrations are lovely the story rhymes quite well and altogether it works. 

 I love the sloth and squirrel books. I also love the illustrations. They share an illustrator with the Steve the Horse books. In this book, the pickle booth has been so fantastic that Sloth and Squirrel need a vacation. They decide to stay close to home and as you know, sloths do certain things very slowly and like to nap. But squirrels are very active and busy. They find that they both get a fantastic adventure when things don’t go as planned. I love these books and can’t wait for the next one. 

 This book is translated. And I think it’s done very well. Octavio has had a problem seeing, but they have a new pair of glasses and now they get to explore the world. They explore the world through the stories in the books that they read and the dreams they have while sleeping. This was a great book to bring to US audiences. And one I could see being read for storytime for years to come. 

 This book was adorable. Small Saul wants nothing more than to be a pirate. But even after finishing pirate school, he doesn’t have an easy life at sea. He’s eventually kicked off his boat when the rest of the pirates realized how good they had it they go back and rescue Saul. While I like this book, I also do not like this book. I love that Saul chases his dream and makes the way he does things work into getting his dream. However, this book shows Saul being constantly bullied by others for being different. And he takes it. He never stands up for himself. So, he is kicked off the boat and when the bullies come back going, oh, we shouldn’t have done that he goes right back to being their best friends. I think the message in this book does not come out the way the author intended. I think there are two dueling messages one that was meant one that wasn’t. And while I normally absolutely love this author’s books, I think this one’s a mess. This sounds more like a bully story where the bullies win then a story about being yourself. 

 This is a nice mixed used book. It’s both a picture book with an adventure club as well as a nonfiction book with facts about sea turtles. It altogether works quite well. You can leave out the info bit if you want to read it for story time or just read the info bit if you’ve got a kid really interested in sea turtles. 

 This book is too long and while I would not say it’s  inappropriate it’s just not one I think most parents want to read to their kids. Freya sees a snake. She tells her parents. Dad spends a few pages trying to catch the snake. Instead of catching it, he kills it. Freya calls him a murderer And after that I don’t care anymore. I understand the need for books like these but first off this is too long. Secondly there’s no specific reason given why the snake has to be caught. It appears they’re in nature where snakes should be and the lesson should be leave the snake alone and it will leave you alone. Instead, we have a fear of snakes that ends up with Dad being portrayed as a murderer. this is not a book I enjoyed or whatever recommend. 

 When you have a kid that won’t go to sleep, and you tell him to count sheep this is the book you get. Our little person is determined not to go to sleep, and their mom says count the sheep. When they get to 68 the sheep does not want to be counted. And the kid gets to experience what mom experiences when it’s time to go to bed. This book was fine. There are kids that love it and kids that don’t. It’s a tad bit long but for the right audience, it would be perfect.