BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
The music is dreamy as the train rides through the night to take its passengers to Dreamland.
I don’t understand the order of the pages. It starts with the passengers snuggling into bed, but as they get closer to Dreamland they start eating and dancing - the opposite of what you should do to get ready to go to sleep.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
A young exuberant girl takes a joyful trip to the beach with her parents. She greets the ocean. She greets everything she encounters. What should she do when she discovers a pile of marine debris and garbage?
Hello Ocean! is a cute story celebrating the wonders of the beach and ocean from a young girl's eyes. Luyken's illustrations are unique and capture the breezy, colorful coastal atmosphere.
PGPowers
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SOME
Subtitle: A Seriously Silly Book of Opposites. Bright and colorful illustrations of a variety of colorful monsters include lots of background details. Little friends will have a great time looking over each spread and checking out the opposites.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: MANY
Can Mud Be That?! explores how eleven different animals use mud in surprising ways using fun questions and answers. Swallowtail butterflies drink it as a mineral-rich "slushie", elephants use it as sunscreen, hippos use it as a cooling pool and many more.
Can Mud Be That?! reads like a fun engaging story with cool facts on every page. The back matter covers human uses for mud. Colombo's illustrations are humorous and creative.
PGPowers
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Join Avocado, Pineapple and others of the Party Time crew.
Since I have a pdf copy of the book to review, I can’t speak to the promised textures and sliders. I do know that my grandson loved having this Youtube channel on in the background when he was under 1, but now that he is two, he doesn’t watch it any more. So the appropriate time for this book is very short.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL
APPEALS TO: MANY
Rocco isa rocket that loves all of the different ways he can play in space. Except, when other space things get pushy and greedy and noisy, sometimes he needs to take off to the edges where nothing else is, so that he can relax and refresh and feel more like himself again.
Lovely way to teach about needing a place and time to regroup without being preachy. The back matter is a nice mix of space facts and giving yourself space facts.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Two travelers arrive in Poppyville, a town where midnight is morning, milk is blueberry flavored, and the residents are wonderfully strange. It's the grand opening of Delilah's toy shop and everyone is going.
Wake Up, Poppyville! is a quirky tale with not much direction or storyline. I did enjoy the imaginative characters and objects, and the unique art style of cut paper and limited palette.
PGPowers
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
A young girl whistles to her pony. Her pony runs over and gets a sweet apple. The pony nuzzles and licks the young girl. Several kids assemble with their ponies for a ride down the trail. They experience Thumping hooves and other sounds made by horse and rider. The young girl's pony stops suddenly. There is something in the bushes ahead. What could it be?
Milo writes a bouncy, lyrical, rhyming story about friendship and trust between a child and an animal, and about exploring the outdoors. I really enjoyed Kaulitzki's beautiful illustrations.
The girl is white in the illustrations.
PGPowers
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Jingle is not the youngest reindeer, but she is the smallest. Each Christmas Eve, young reindeer compete in three tasks to earn their magic flying bells so that they can help pull Santa’s sleigh. Being so small, the other competitors think she has no chance at all.
Jingle is adorable and Santa’s words to her are kind and uplifting. For me this is a new Christmas classic.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: MANY
Zora is soaring high on her favorite swing when it begins to rain. Zora notices an umbrella under a bench at the park. A young boy asks her if he can join her. Then two more kids want to join as well. Zora includes more and more kids with the umbrella magically getting bigger each time. All of a sudden the umbrella blows away in the wind. Will Zora and her new friends be able to find it?
The Umbrella is a cute, magical story about the value of friendship, and working together. I liked Walker's illustrations and colorful and expressive illustrations.
The young boys and girls of this book are of many ethnicities.
PGPowers
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SOME
A boy and his grandfather set sail for an early morning sail and an all day adventure.
The author only uses words starting with “S”, so each page only has a few words on it. The story isn’t really about the sailing, but about the adventure of the whole day. Do I believe that the dog could accomplish what it did? No - but I won’t give it away.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Piggy has been with its human for a long time. Piggy has been on lots of adventures and many times through the washing machine until it is --- beautiful.
A nice homage to stuffy friends who go through so much with their human friends.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
As the reader turns each page, more of three animals appear in turn.
I would have liked fewer pages per animal and more animals, please!
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre- K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
The other animals are excited for Bear to wake up, so they decide to go to his den and help him. They try everything they can think of, but nothing seems to be working.
I love the animals’ creativity and patience when it comes to waking Bear. A lovely ode to a coming spring.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Subtitle: The Curious and Amazing Ways Nature Avoids Poo-llution
Sweeney explores several animals and the way that their scat is used in nature. The words and illustrations seem simplistic enough that this would make a great board book. There are added details for each creature and some back matter.
Little children are pretty poo-oriented. The end of the book includes a poo song, celebrating the many different words we use for animal feces - odd, but could be catchy.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: PreK, EL (K-2) – ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: MANY
This is a book of spells, guarded by a little black dragon named Jesse. However, only a wizard is allowed to read it! Young readers will cast spells on their parents and crazy things will happen with each turn of the page. Be careful!
I loved this book and I think young readers will especially love having this book read to them. There is silliness and joy and magic in this story that celebrates the very act of reading aloud.
Kiera, ELA teacher, #bookswithbeddes
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Waffles, a dog, loves giving hugs and receiving them. His friend Julius, a cat, does not like hugs - ever. Waffled tries all kinds of ways to get a hug, but Julius doesn’t relent. WHen Waffles finally gives up and takes a nap, Julius realizes that Waffles is also soft and warm - a perfect place for a nap, NOT a hug.
I am glad that Vere didn’t have Waffles get his way by something that he overtly does. Instead, Julius approaches Waffles on his own terms. Could be easily used as a way to talk about consent.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Vlad is mad and he is taking out on everything around the castle. WIth intervention and some time to be still and breathe, Vlad turns his mood around.
Moon’s book seems ready-made to be a board book. Simple illustrations, a couple of words on each page. Vlad’s mood is turned around with a little bit of deep-breathing, no complicated or detailed explanations here. Not really a Halloween book, despite the vampire characters.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: MANY
Bitsy Bat wakes up to see her first-ever snowfall. She's excited to go to school and try out wintry activities with her friends. She doesn't like being cold and wet, but she tries out making snow angels, sledding, and making snowmen. She pretends to have fun until a snowball fight pushes her over the edge. She retreats inside worried that her friends won't like her anymore. Inside the school a surprise awaits her. Enzo Owl and Mo are inside too. Will she get the courage to be honest with her friends outside?
Bitsy Bat, Snow Star is a cute story told from an autistic perspective, and celebrates emotional honesty and how individual differences make everyone shine. I love the adorable, expressive illustrations.
PGPowers
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
When fairies are young they train to find out what kind of fairy they are so they can become a fairy godparent and help a human folkling. All the other fairies seem to have useful magic, except Dazzle. Other fairies practice growing pumpkins and getting mice out of kitchens; Dazzle's magic turns pumpkins into giant carriages and mice into horses. Will she ever find someone who needs her magic?
Fairy loving kids will enjoy the colorful illustrations in this cute Cinderella prequel. While it's not a spectacular book, I didn't hate it.
The fairies are illustrated with different skin colors.
Rachel, Elementary school librarian
