William by Claire Harrison and Illustrated by Felicity McElroy

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William William by Claire Harrison and Felicity McElroy.  Ages 2+.  Indepenpress Publishing Ltd.  May 2013. 48 pages.  ISBN-13: 978-1780036137. Fiction. $12.54

At a Glance:

This is a sweet and loving book that celebrates little boys.  It is a beautifully told account of a wonderful little monkey, William.  The illustrations are as playful and fun as the story.  The images and font are huge making it a very accessible book for very young children.  My son and I both loved this book and I highly, highly recommend it.

Summary:  

William is a boy.  He’s like a lot of little boys.  He is cherished, loved, and wonderful.  He isn’t perfect, but he is perfect just the way he is.  His family adores his rambunctiousness, his dirty laundry, and his love of collecting things.  Sometimes William doesn’t listen, but he’s learning.  It’s a love story of a family to their little boy.

Our Experience Reading this Book:

This book is a joy to read with my son.  My son identified with William immediately.  The pictures are huge and the writing, while it dances around the page, is well-designed and easy to follow.  (In some picture books, when the writing is all over the page, it can be a pain to read. This is certainly not the case here.)  The large font makes it easy for me to point to the words as I read it to my son without it feeling forced or me covering up any other words.  My son is beginning to be able to identify words here and there and he especially enjoys how big the words are.  My son also enjoys yelling out, “Be careful William!” when William is high on a cliff.  He also consistently snuggles up closer to me towards the end of the book when it says, “He just loves the cuddles and kisses his Mummy gives him!”  It’s very sweet without ever being sappy or over the top.  It also does a great job of celebrating little boys without being too stereotypical.  I’m impressed with how well it is executed.

The more picture books I read with my son the more I come to appreciate books that promote goodness and love.  I am so glad that this book crossed my path.  It is a true joy and promotes the happy, wonderful things about having a little boy.  I hope you get a chance to check it out.

Author/Illustrator Websites:

Where Obtained:   I received a review copy from the publisher.  No other compensation was received.  The opinions expressed here are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

FTC Disclosures:  Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” If you click on the link and purchase the book, I will receive an affiliate commission.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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kidlitbloghopI’m linking this post to the Kid Lit Blog Hop hosted at Motherdaughtbookreviews.com.  This happens on the first and third Wednesday of the month.  Please go check it out and post a review of your own!  There are lots of great reviews, ideas, and activities for children here!

The Great Summer Library Challenge For Kids Hosted by WhatDoWeDoAllDay.com and NoTwiddleTwaddle.com

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summer-library-challenge91 WhatDoWeDoAllDay.com & NoTwiddleTwaddle.com are hosting The Great Summer Library Challenge.

We’re all signed up and looking forward to seeing what challenges they have for us.  I hope you join, too.

To read more about The Great Summer Library Challenge:

Click here to read the post from WhatDoWeDoAllDay.com

Click here to read the post from NoTwiddleTwaddle.com

Cheers and Happy Summer Reading!

Interview with Jori Sams, Author of the L’il Lingo Series

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P1010112Jori Sams has written a bilingual ebook series featuring, L’il Lingo. lingotour You can learn more about the books here.  I’m very interested in this series and think bilingual books are a great way to introduce and teach children languages.  You can also visit her Amazon page to learn more about her and see a list of all of the books she’s written.

Have you always wanted to be an illustrator and author of children’s books?

No, though I had fiddled about with drawings and done a lot of painting, it was never an

aspiration. Literally, while meditating on heavenly things in bed one night, unable to sleep, a

picture of her came to my mind, and title after title. Right then I grabbed my notebook, which had

notes for other projects all over it. I flipped to the back of it and drew her out, with some other

token objects for her, like a backpack, bicycle and guitar. I jotted down all the titles, too. The next

day I began with the first book, Li´l Lingo Sleeps. If you guessed that is because I was having severe

sleep problems and created a character I could identify with.

What other projects do you have for Li’l Lingo in the future?

Years ago I created this book in print for my young niece. I would be nice to go to print, but it has

to be at the right moment. I also made a doll. Branding Li’l Lingo would be wonderful, because so

many people think she is darling. I would like to animate her, too.

What do you hope to achieve with your children’s books in a highly saturated market?

Promotion for eBooks is a bear. For a while I will be on this end of the project. I have dozens of

titles for Lingo, but until I get more exposure, the task is to market her wisely. This takes more

time than you can imagine. It can also rob one of creative motivation. That said, I think the thing

that makes Li’l Lingo unique is two-fold. First, she is available as a language learning tool for kids or

adults wanting to learn Spanish as a second language. Second, she is hip. And that is the very thing

that either repels or attracts readers. She is too grown-up for some. Even so, she maintains her

purity and her spirit of adventure. Li’l Lingo is wholesome, colorful and cool.

Thank you so much, Jori!

Perfect Picture Book Friday: Roasted Peanuts by Tim Egan

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roastedpeanuts Roasted Peanuts by Tim Egan Ages 4 – 8 (2.5-year-old son adores it). Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. April 2006. Fiction. 32 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0618337187.  $16.00.  (Available used for $.01)

At a Glance:

This is a wonderful story about two friends who take a less-than-happy situation and turn it into a fantastic one.  We highly, highly, highly recommend this book.

Summary:  

Sam and Jackson are great friends and they love baseball more than anything else.

When they are old enough they try out for their local baseball team.

© 2006 Tim Egan. Used with Permission.

© 2006 Tim Egan. Used with Permission.

Sam is fantastic and makes the team.  Jackson doesn’t make the team.  He’s just not a very good (actually, he’s the worst), but he is able to throw a ball very well.

This is hard for both of them.  Jackson feels sorry for himself while Sam is off at practice, and Sam doesn’t enjoy baseball as much without Jackson.

Then one day Sam sees an ad on a poster for a peanut vendor.  The main requirement is that the peanut vendor MUST THROW WELL.  Sam tells Jackson about the job and that he can get into all of the games for free.  Still feeling sorry for himself, Jackson declines.

Then the problems really begin.  Without Jackson, Sam just isn’t as good anymore.  He begins to strike out and his team starts losing.  People begin to blame Sam.  Jackson overhears some of the comments that people are making about Sam’s poor playing.  This inspires Jackson to take the job as the peanut vendor.   Just when Sam is about to strike out again, he hears his friend Jackson call to him from the stands.  As soon as he sees Jackson, he’s back to being himself and hits a perfect home run.

It turns out that Jackson has an amazing knack for throwing peanuts.  He’s able to set new records and then break them.  People are just as interested in seeing Jackson throw as they are in the game.  Jackson is even able to help out Sam during a particularly close game.  In their own way, each becomes a legend.  Sam on the field, and Jackson in the stands.

Themes/topics:

Friendship, Making the most of life, Failure/Success, Using your talents

Opening Sentence: 

“Of all the things that Sam and Jackson loved, nothing beat baseball.”

Synopsis: 

Sam and Jackson are the best of friends and they love to play baseball.  When they try out for their local team, Sam is chosen and Jackson is not.  At first, both are sad and baseball just isn’t as much fun anymore for either of them.  However, Sam finds a poster that changes this all and helps to make both of them legends.

Our Experience Reading this Book:

After reading this book to my son, my husband declared that it was a, “perfect book.” (My husband very rarely uses such strong words for anything.)  I could not agree more.  Beautifully illustrated, great characters, interesting problems and situations, and a wonderful ending.  It leaves us feeling inspired and happy each time we read it.

We read a lot of picture books — if I had to guess, we’re reading about 200 different picture books a month.  The more picture books we read and the older my son gets, the less my son wants to read the same book over and over again.  He’s ready to move on to the next book.  This is the first book in a while that my son has asked me to read to him over and over again.  When I attempted to return it to the library he protested, “NOT Roasted Peanuts!  It’s my favorite!”  My son doesn’t usually get upset when we have to return books to the library.  I always assure him that we can just check it out again. This book was different, he declared that he NEEDED this book.  Far be it for me to separate a boy from his book, especially a book that promotes wonderful values, resourcefulness, and making the best of your talents and situation in life.

This is one of those books that we’ll pack for trips and that we’ll have readily available for when friends and family comes over.  Everyone can (and hopefully will, have a chance to) enjoy this book.

Author/Illustrator website:

Resources:

Some of My Favorite Reviews of this Book:

Where Obtained:  First, the library and then I purchased it online.
FTC Disclosures:Some of the links in the post above are Amazon affiliate links. If you click on the link and purchase the book, I will receive an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Perfect-Pic-Book-Badge
I’m sharing this post with Perfect Picture Book Fridays over at Susanna Leonard Hill’s fantastic blog!  Her website is an incredible resource for picture book reviews and all things children’s books.  I’m always impressed at what I find on her site.  Please take a moment and check out lots of other picture book reviews.

Bella Saves the Beach by Nancy Stewart and Illustrated by Samantha Bell

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Bella Saves the BeachBella Saves the Beach by Nancy Stewart and Illustrated by Samantha Bell. Ages 4 – 8. 24 pages. Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.  Feb 2013. ISBN-13: 978-1616333713 Fiction. $11.95.  Paperback.

Summary:

Bella loves living at the beach.  She becomes increasingly upset about all the trash on the beach.  She tries to find others to help her, but no one is either available or interested.  Bella realizes that if she wants the beach cleaned up, then she is going to be the one to do it.  She starts by herself picking up trash and putting it into bins.  Then she makes signs telling people that they need to put trash in the trash can.  When her friend Britt comes back from vacation she enlists the help of a lot of people from her community.  Working together, they are able to clean up her beach.

The story is followed by tips about cleaning up the beach.  It ends with interesting facts about animals and things found at the beach.

Our Experience Reading this Book:

I enjoyed reading this book to my son.  I appreciate how it is one girl wanting to make a difference and even though no one is there to help her in the beginning, she doesn’t quit.  I love that Bella has the motivation and initiative to begin cleaning up the beach herself.  She is a great character and I hope is able to inspire all of the children who read this book.

The illustrations are beautiful.  They’re done in watercolor.  They are done in a cartoon-yet-realistic style that makes this story accessible to the very young but are richly done.  The art in this book does an excellent job of complimenting the text of this story.

My son loved this book.  He had lots of questions about why there was trash on the beach and later on I was pleasantly surprised to find him picking up his toys pretending that  he was picking up trash off the beach.  (Unfortunately, this was a one time pretend play.  I could have gotten used to him picking up his toys without having to ask him.)

I will happily read this book to my son again and again.  I hope the values of Bella osmose into him.  It’s a lovely book and any child will find it inspiring that they can make a difference when they see a problem.

I was inspired to look at different ways we could help.  Living in the San Francisco Bay Area, we’re never too far from a beach and I was wondering how we could help.  Below you’ll find a list of resources if you’re interested in volunteering in a beach clean up in your area.

Author Website:

Here Other Reviews of this book on the Blog Tour:


http://www.pumpupyourbook.com/2013/04/01/pump-up-your-book-presents-bella-saves-the-beach-virtual-book-publicity-tour/

Resources:

Where Obtained:   I received a review copy from the publisher.  No other compensation was received.  The opinions expressed here are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

FTC Disclosures:  Some of the links in the post above are Amazon affiliate links. If you click on the link and purchase the book, I will receive an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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childrensbookshelf

I’m participating in The Children’s Bookshelf.  This is  a weekly Linky party that connects parents with great books for their kids.  Please add one of your book-related posts to the Linky party.

Click here to enter your link and see links others have added.  It will be added to all of the following co-hosts listed below.  This is a fantastic group of people and I am always impressed with the book recommendations they have.  You can find more details here.

Please also follow  The Children’s Bookshelf on Pinterest or visit The Children’s Bookshelf’s co-hosts:

What Do We Do All Day?

No Twiddle Twaddle

Smiling Like Sunshine

My Little Bookcase

Sprout’s Bookshelf

MeMeTales

Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns

Please Note: Kindly link up to an individual post, not your blog’s homepage. The hosts reserve the right to delete any links to homepages, commercial links, repeat links or otherwise inappropriate links. Thank you for your understanding.

Our Favorite (Fiction) Penguin Picture Books

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This past Thursday (4/25/13) was World Penguin Day.  So I went to the library and checked out as many picture books I could find with penguins in them.

Here are our favorite fiction penguin picture books (so far!).

Baby Penguins Everywhere

Baby Penguins Everywhere! by Melissa Guion

Cute and active baby penguins + having a moment to yourself = enjoying baby penguins even more!  Such a good book!    My full review is here.

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It’s World Penguin Day and There Are Baby Penguins Everywhere!

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Baby Penguins EverywhereBaby Penguins Everywhere! by Melissa Guion.  Ages 2 – 5. 28 pages. Philomel.  December 2012.  ISBN-13: 978-0399255359 Fiction. $16.99 Hardback out now. Board book $6.99 due out October 2013.

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