Blog Archives
Oscar the Osprey: The Bird Who Was Afraid of Heights
![Oscar the Osprey: The Bird Who Was Afraid of Heights by [Edward Martin Polansky, Jean Rosow]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41OnXT23zrS._SY346_.jpg)
Oscar the Osprey follows a year in the life of a newly hatched osprey. This wonderful children’s book takes readers through a full year of life following a young bird named Oscar, with each chapter taking up a season. Oscar is different, and other birds make fun of him for it, but he learns to adapt to his impairment and survives the winter in his own unique way.
This is a wonderfully educational book that will teach young readers many things about ospreys. This is an inspiring coming of age tale that I really enjoyed because Oscar was left to overcome his inequities on his own. This conveys a fantastic lesson on self-reliance that is not often taught in children’s books. Readers will learn many things about birds, and all the educational elements are delivered within a heartfelt story that follows Oscar’s journey. Readers will immediately connect with Oscar, not only because he’s the underdog, but because of his amazing outlook on life and his amiable personality. The illustrations were all black and white sketch art that was very fitting for the story and simply charming.
Author Edward Martin Polansky has written a children’s book that reminds me of classic children’s literature stories. This thoughtful and inspiring tale educates as well as it entertains and will surely delight young readers. This is perfect for readers moving on to chapter books, or a great story to read to your child at bed time.
Pages: 50 | ASIN: B0793PK7RT
Five Mile Charlie: A Special Pony for Carly
![Five Mile Charlie: A Special Pony for Carly by [Kimberly Adams]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51gOc894ZEL.jpg)
This is a very creative and fun story following a little girl named Carly who has everything she ever wanted except a pony. Luckily Queen bee Nora is near by and sets out to fulfill Carly’s wish by finding her a pony. But the white fluffy animal she finds for Nora is not a pony, it is a llama named Charlie.
I really loved how Charlie and Carly become fast friends. It really shows kids how to be accepting of others and the gifts they are given. Carly is also a fantastic character that shows how to work hard and be thankful for the things in your life. She could have easily been upset that her wish for a pony was not fulfilled but instead she accepted Charlie into her life with zeal.
Every page of this delightful book has charming art with a soft color palette that is very appealing. Every animal is cute and I had a hard time turning the page because my child did not want to stop looking at the cute critters that litter the pages. She was especially fond of the Yorkie.
Five Mile Charlie: A Special Pony for Carly is a fun children’s book that will take young readers on a cute farm adventure where they will meet interesting characters and learn valuable lessons in fun ways.
Pages: 26 | ASIN: B09G6S7V8X
Pippin’s Country Adventure
![Pippin's Country Adventure (A Poodle Called Pippin) by [Julia Seaborn]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51oH6lmmuwL.jpg)
Pippin’s Country Adventure follows a spry poodle named Pippin that heads out on a fun filled adventure where he meets a variety of animals, learns something new from each of them, and gets to practice his counting skills along the way.
This lively children’s book deftly combines several educational aspects into a fun story that will delight young readers as it teaches them something useful. I enjoyed how counting was part of the story. It not only lets readers practice counting, but it allows them to also recognize the word for the number, rather than just showing the number on the page like many other children’s books. On top of learning to count, children will also get to learn a fun fact about each animal they encounter. All of this is told with simple language and vivid illustrations on each page that really captures the fun Pippin is having.
This is an educational picture book that will help readers with counting, teach them about animals, and will also help them with their reading comprehension as there are several questions in the back of the book that will prompt a good discussion about what happened in the book.
Pippin’s Country Adventure is an enjoyable kids book that I highly recommend for parents and teachers working on reading comprehension as there are a lot of fun things that happen in this book.
Pages: 32 | ASIN: B09DPXTDGK
The Colored Water Fountain
The Colored Water Fountain is an intellectually and emotionally stirring children’s book that follows Asher and Adeline after a great flood has remade the world. Humans have no memory of the old world, but some remnants of that world remain, like a water fountain with a sign above it that says ‘colored’. Innocently they believe it means that the fountain will dispense colored water, but when it does not provide colored water they go off in search of the truth. What they find is a sad fact about the people that came before them.
This is quite a profound children’s book with a sophisticated backstory that sets up this story. I would recommend this story to more advanced young readers as there are some concepts in the book that require some thought, but all of the ideas expressed are very important and speak to humanities capacity to both love and hate, and how that choice is left up to us. This book provides a unique opportunity to view our actions from a different worldview, one that is naïve of our past transgressions against one another. How would we see ourselves from this point of view?
The Colored Water Fountain tells an important story with beautiful illustrations throughout and a Christian themed mythology that explores truth, kindness, friendship, hope and love in a one-of-a-kind way.
Pages: 42 | ASIN: B09F2Y37QG
The Grate Adventure of Lester Zester
![The Grate Adventure of Lester Zester by [Mark Dantzler, Julia Pelikhovich]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/517TEgIEZEL.jpg)
The Grate Adventure of Lester Zester by Mark Dantzler is the perfect parent and child read-a-long! Follow the story of the kitchen tool, Lester Zester, as he finds his place in his new home. While you are reading, there is a secret message to decode, but you have to pay close attention!
I fell in love with this storybook! At first glance, it looks like every other children’s book, except with a bit more of a unique premise. That is until you realize there is a hidden message to be found both literally and figuratively.
Dantzler engages the reader’s mind and emotions with this charming tale. Lester Zester trying to find his way in the kitchen is wholly reminiscent of what people go through in the real world. And the puzzle you have to solve makes it entertaining for both parent and child.
The Grate Adventure of Lester Zester is a fun and creative children’s picture book that will delight young readers and inspire the imagination.
Pages: 60 | ASIN: B09FMXGSF5
Magic in Windowland
![Magic in Windowland (Pip's Adventures in Windowland Book 1) by [Rupamanjari Majumder]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51GArmvbvyL._SX260_.jpg)
Magic in Windowland follows a window doodle who is magically, and accidentally, brought to life by a pixie. Pip bursts into life on the page and realizes that he has the ability to bring other window doodles to life. But when he trips and accidentally brings a doodle dragon to life Pip must use his magic, imagination and wits to defeat it.
I really enjoyed the creativity in this book. The idea of window doodles coming to life is unique and executed in a fun way that makes the entire story awesome and charming. Pip is just a stick figure but there is so much action going on in each page that you hardly notice that he’s just a simple drawing. Even I, as an adult, was drawn into the story and wondered of the possible adventures they can encounter in Windowland as it is filled with doodles pulled straight from children’s imaginations.
The story is told with simple language that beginning readers will be able to read. Every page is accompanied by cute art that illustrates the point of the piece of the story, which should help young readers place the words they are reading in context.
This is an imaginative adventure story that children will surely enjoy. You can be sure that after kids finish this book they will be running to the nearest window to create doodles of their own.
Pages: 31 | ASIN: B097QHGPW2
An Explosion of Ideas
The Mistaken Monster is a fun adventure story following three kids who think they see a monster but discover something heartwarming instead. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
A family holiday, a conversation with my 10 year old daughter Sarah, an explosion of ideas, and the book was born.
What scene did you have the most fun writing in this book?
The scene where they all realise that stye have mistaken the old man for a monster. The interaction between him and the group reminds me of so many conversations with over people about how much they value company.
Was there anything from your own childhood that you placed into this story?
The snake going across the year din the opening is right out of my childhood. That was a really common occurrence where I grew up.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from the story?
Don’t judge, kindness is our best defense.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website
No Dinosaurs Allowed
![No Dinosaurs Allowed: (B) by [Deborah Hunt, Ashleigh Heyns]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Yg3OFxBVS.jpg)
No Dinosaurs Allowed follows a young boy named Bobby and his dinosaur friend named Teddy. They both head out to go to a party and meet several people along the way, but everywhere the places they go are not suitable for a dinosaur as big as Teddy. He is too big for the birthday party, he is too scary for the animals at the zoo, and the library does not allow dinosaurs. With nothing to do, Bobby and Teddy are starting to feel left out. What are they going to do?
This is a charming and poignant children’s book that teaches a wonderful lesson on inclusivity and making adjustments for others to fit in. While Teddy is first turned away from many activities, later on he is invited back to those same activities after they have made some minor adjustments. This is a fantastic way to show children how to accommodate other people that are different from them.
The story is told through simple words and brightly colored images that look to be hand drawn and colored, which adds a fantastic handcrafted feel to the story that children will be able to really connect with. All the characters are also very emotive as well, which helps children see and understand the emotions that each character is feeling in the different situations.
No Dinosaurs Allowed is an educational picture book that teaches an important lesson to children and does it in a fun way.
Pages: 32 | ASIN: B097HPZHY3
LITERARY TITAN 