If Elephants Disappeared by Lily Williams - ADVISABLE

If Elephants Disappeared by Lily Williams.  PICTURE BOOK/NON-FICTION Roaring Brook Press, 2019.  $19.  9781250143204  

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL – ADVISABLE  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

Two kids give a tour through the African Congo Basin Forest.  They explain the impact that elephants have on not only the ecosystem of the Congo Forest, but how that forest ties into the well being of our planet in general.  The simplified explanation of how seeds germinate in elephant excrement is also accompanied with statistics on how the elephant populations around the world are diminishing.  

Lily Williams does a good job giving a simplified account of the importance of elephants to our planet.  Each page is interesting and ties the different stages of the system together with lots of green foliage in the illustrations.  The back of the book has ways all readers can contribute to preserving these beautiful and amazing animals.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson. 

Bedtime for Baby Sloth by Danielle McLean - OPTIONAL

Bedtime for Baby Sloth by Danielle McLean .  PICTURE BOOK. Tiger Tales , 2019. $18. 9781680101508

BUYING ADVISORY:  PRE-K -OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

A baby sloth doesn’t want to go to bed, but the sun is going to rise soon, so its time. The patient mother allows the baby to have a snack, say goodnight to the moon, sing to the birds and more before settling down to sleep for the day.

I reviewed a picture book format version, but wish this was a board book format as it is suited to much younger readers. Lovely artwork and a cute bedtime story, I would rate this as advisable to parents but it’s not a good fit for a pre-school library.

Reviewer: Stephanie MLS & Author

The Evil Princess vs. the Brave Knight - OPTIONAL

The Evil Princess vs. the Brave Knight by Jennifer L. Holm, illustrated by Matthew Holm.  PICTURE BOOK  Random House, 2019.  $18.  9781524771348  

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

The Evil Princess and her brother, the Brave Knight, share a castle, but it’s a very chaotic existence.  The Evil Princess likes to trip her brother and cause mischief, but when they decide to work together and go on a quest, they have fun together.  The only problem is, the Evil Princess returns to her old ways in order to stay evil.  

I wanted to like this story because of the cute premise.  The illustrations are fun, and the plot is interesting, but the overall message isn’t a good lesson.  When the Evil Princess trips the Brave Knight in the end, I felt like it was teaching kids to be unkind.  I also felt like the Brave Knight didn’t have many opportunities to be brave, but the Evil Princess took many opportunities to be evil.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson. 

The Piano Recital by Akiko Miyakoshi - ADVISABLE

The Piano Recital by Akiko Miyakoshi.  PICTURE BOOK Kids Can Press, 2019.  $17.  9781525302572  

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

Momo is nervous about her first piano recital.  While she is waiting for her turn on the side of the stage, a little mouse invites Momo to her mouse recital behind the wall.  Momo passes through a small door and finds herself in a theater full of performing mice.  Momo enjoys the performance and when it is the little mouse’s turn to go on stage, Momo goes with her so she won’t be scared.  Momo plays her piano piece while the mouse performs and when Momo is done she looks up and finds that she has performed in her recital.  

What an enchanting read!  I loved how Momo used her imagination to overcome her stage-fright and the illustrations of adorable performing mice were magical.  This is a fun way to discuss stage fright with younger kids.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson.

No Room for a Pup! By Elizabeth Sunby and Laruen Molk – OPTIONAL

No Room for a Pup! By Elizabeth Sunby and Laruen Molk. PICTURE BOOK. Kids Can Press, 2019. $17. 9781525300295

BUYING ADVISORY:  EL (K-3) –OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW

Mia wants a puppy but her mom says their apartment is too small. Mia and her grandma hatch a plan. All the neighbors in the building bring their pets over to be babysat. The small apartment is in chaos. By the end, Mia’s mother is worn down and realizes that a puppy isn’t much at all compared to all the pets they watched.

I like that Mia came up with a plan when she wanted something instead of just asking again and again. That being said, from a parent perspective, this story irritates me. If a single mom doesn’t have time, money or energy to help take care a dog, then a better lesson would be that Mia gets to dog sit or volunteers at the animal rescue. Of course picture books aren’t reality but as the one with the purchasing power, I probably wouldn’t pick this one up. The cover looks really dated and unappealing as well.

Reviewer: Stephanie MLS & Author

Animals are People Too - ADVISABLE

Animals are People Too.  PICTURE BOOK  Odd Dot (Macmillan), 2019.  $20.  9781250318633  

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH  

A cute compilation of photographs that portray different emotions.  Sometimes descriptions aren’t as effective as pictures, so in this book there is a variety of synonyms for different emotions that are expressed in funny photographs of animals.  The first couple of pages explain how emotions are hard to describe, but sometimes easier to show and there is a graph that categorizes some of the stronger emotions and their synonyms.  

I think emotions are a complicated topic for young kids and this thesaurus of words is one way to help kids understand feelings.  By using fun animal pictures, it leads to a less pressure conversation about how we feel sometimes.  Each page spread contains one word and a picture.     

Reviewer, C. Peterson

Eee-Moo! By Annika Dunklee – OPTIONAL

Eee-Moo! By Annika Dunklee and Illustrated by Brian Won. PICTURE BOOK. Paula Wiseman (Simon), 2019. $18. 9781534401747

BUYING ADVISORY:  EL (K-3) –OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

When an egg drops out of the sky at the zoo, the little critter that hatches is given the name Eee-Moo. The animals know that Emu’s are from Australia, so little Eee-Moo takes off on a long journey to get home. When he arrives, he discovers that he isn’t quite in the right place. Will Eee-Moo find out where he belongs?

First of all, the illustrations are incredibly adorable and done in harmonious colors which are a joy to look at. The plot itself isn’t very interesting to me, with only one small plot twist. Why does Eee-Moo belong with his own kind anyway? I prefer something like Are you a Horse? By Andy Rash, if there is to be an animal search, at least that one has some small lesson about living vs non living, plant vs animals, etc.

Reviewer: Stephanie MLS & Author

Nuts! By Lou Peacock - ADVISABLE

Nuts! By Lou Peacock.  PICTURE BOOK. Nosy Crow, 2019. $16. 9781536208245

BUYING ADVISORY:  Pre-K - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

With a simple message about sharing, readers discover two squirrels are both claim all the nuts. They fight back and forth, with their friends taking sides, before coming to an impasse of anger. Finally one of them relents are asks “Ours?” With that, the two squirrels agree to share. Features extra large illustrations, easy to share with a group.

Pre-K teachers might enjoy sharing this book about sharing with a group of children. It features a fall theme as well. The words are incredibly simple and short, with much of the plot being in the illustrations. But the page are so large that even a group of children could infer what is happening. The illustrations themselves are pretty cute.

Reviewer: Stephanie MLS & Author

Bugs Don't Hug : Six-Legged Parents and Their Kids by Heather L. Montgomery - ADVISABLE

Bugs Don't Hug : Six-Legged Parents and Their Kids by Heather L. Montgomery, illustrated by Stephen Stone PICTURE BOOK, NON FICTION Charlesbridge, 2019. $15. 9781580898164 

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

What kind of parent is a bug? Do they feed their children yummy things? Do they clean up dirty diapers, tuck their babies in, or keep them safe and sound? Actually, some do! What starts as a silly statement with a bug "parenting" in a human household, turns the page to a great illustration and description of a specific bug in context doing their version of the same skill, like preparing dinner, making soup or managing picky eaters. 

 Stephen Stone's illustrations are both whimsical and accurate, pairing perfectly with Montgomery's text, which is engaging and full of great information. Includes an appendix with more information about the featured bugs, a list of books about bugs, and an author's note.

Lisa Librarian

Hey, Dog by Tony Johnston - ESSENTIAL

Hey, Dog by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Jonathan Nelson, PICTURE BOOK, Charlesbridge, 2019. $17. 9781580898775 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

When a boy discovers a homeless dog hiding in the bushes, he carefully tries to care for it. Slowly and surely, by talking softly, being patient, bringing food and waiting, the boy hopes the dog will stop being afraid and let the boy give him a home. 

I was so invested in this story I worried right along with the boy when his mom made him post "lost dog" signs. Jonathan Nelson's illustrations are so sweet - the tiny little bit of the dog that you see in the bushes tells so much even though you see so little. A heartwarming story about waiting, perseverance, kindness, quiet and love.

Lisa Librarian

Milton and Odie and the Bigger-than-Bigmouth Bass by Mary Ann Fraser - ESSENTIAL

Milton and Odie and the Bigger-than-Bigmouth Bass By Mary Ann Fraser PICTURE BOOK Charlesbridge, 2019. $17. 9781623540982 

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre K, EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

Milton and Odie are each going ice fishing. Milton is a pessimist- everything is terrible, the day is too cold, there’s probably nothing under the ice anyway so he’s not likely to catch anything. Odie on the other hand is more optimistic- it’s a beautiful day, he’s got options for bait when his worm needs a break, and there’s a lot of chances under the ice - of course he’ll catch something, eventually. Milton learns a lesson about growth mindset when Odie loses his pole, and joins Milton for another try at catching a big fish. 

How do you look at things? Do you see growth in a problem or do you see imminent failure? I love this look at positive approaches (mirrored with poor Milton’s fixed attitude). Fraser’s illustrations are adorable, reflecting both bright and sunny and dark and gloomy - which side of the lake are you on? I’m reading this to the middle school kids tomorrow - can’t wait to share it!

Lisa Librarian

You Are Home with Me by Sarah Asper-Smith, Mitchell Watley (Illustrator)- ADVISABLE

You Are Home with Me by Sarah Asper-Smith, illustrated by Mitchell Watley. PICTURE BOOK. Sasquatch Books, 2019. $17. 9781632172242

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3)- ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

You Are Home With Me is an endearing picture book that discovers the many ways that animal parents create homes for their young.  “If you were a moose, we would find a new place to sleep every night, stomping down the ground in a circle to form a bed.” There is a side note on each page that gives some interesting insight to each animal featured.  “Flying squirrels don’t actually fly, but glide from tree to tree with their arms and legs outstretched.” Parents and children alike will love reading and exploring this informational picture book. 

The text in You Are Home With Me is simple yet informative.  The illustrations are very detailed.  You Are Home With Me can be used in a unit on families and on animal habitats.  Our favorite part of the book was reading new information about each animal. 

Reviewer: SL