About

About The Picture Book Review:

I started The Picture Book Review in 2012 when my eldest son was two-and-a-half years old.  The two of us fell in love with picture books and he would let me read to him for hours and hours on end.  I would go to the library and max out our library cards (200 books) and bring them home and we’d just go through stacks of books together.  I didn’t know about The Horn Book, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, or even Kirkus Reviews until much later.  We’d just grab whatever looked interesting to us.

I started this blog because I wanted to talk to people about the picture books we were reading and especially about books that were appealing to my son.  I was so impressed with how he was developing, how he was embodying the lessons he was learning from picture books at such a young age, and how his verbal skills were exploding. At two, he’d say crazy things like, “I’m playing in my topiary garden!”  I wanted to share this with other parents because, at the time, I didn’t know there were blogs – or professional review journals – about picture books. For whatever reason, my internet searches for picture book recommendations and picture book reviews were pitiful and of no help at all to me. I used Amazon a lot to find books I’d like, but it was slow and frustrating.  I wanted to be helpful, so I thought maybe blogging about the picture books we liked would be useful to other parents.

I named the blog The Picture Book Review because every single other name I wanted was taken.  Finally, after the twenty-seventh try, I found this name available.

In the beginning, I blogged about whatever we were reading and enjoying from the library or the bookstore.  Then after blogging for awhile people began emailing me and asking me to review their books.  Now, I primarily blog about books that we love and are sent to us for review.  I only write reviews about books that we really enjoy and I only accept books for review that look interesting and intriguing to us.

I accept books from self-published, small publishers, large publishers, and everyone in between.  I use the term picture book pretty loosely — and only require that the book has pictures of some sort.

The blog is set up so you can just scan through the covers.  If you see a book that looks interesting to you, click on the cover to read the review.

The Picture Book Review is a hobby blog and I don’t get paid for the reviews.  I just write reviews because it is interesting to me, I learn a lot, and it’s a fun way to connect with others.

The Picture Book Review was recently added to the list of the top 100 children’s book blogs by Feedspot.com and Rankedblogs.com. Go check them out, they have curated a fantastic lists of chldren’s book bloggers.

About Me:

Hi, I’m Tiffa.

Once upon a time I was a department chair and a director of review and assessment at a small university.  I spent my days writing exams and teaching physics, chemistry, anatomy, and board exam review classes.

Now, I am a stay-at-home mom.  I have two sons.  One is six and the other is rounding his way into being a pre-schooler.

I started reading to my first son when he was a month old and the habit took.  The second son hasn’t had much of a choice and we’ve been reading to him since he was in utero.  We got rid of our television when my first son was born and we spend a lot of time reading and playing.  We’ve read thousands of picture books, board books, and comic books at this point and there are still so many I’m looking forward to reading with my sons.

I hope you find my reviews helpful.  Thank you for reading!

90 comments

  3. Life's amazing journey

    My kids also love having books read to them and two of the kids are old enough to read for themselves and they plough through the books from the local libraries. I think reading to kids gives them a great start to life.
    I love the idea of getting rid of the television though 🙂

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  4. From an ink smeared page

    Thanks for dropping by my blog! I your idea of reading to your child from such a young age. I’ve done the same thing with my kids and they now have a love of reading, and of writing their own stories.

    Like

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  7. jillsbooks

    You have a terrific blog going here! I love your enthusiasm for reading with your son. Sharing books is an incredibly sweet bond. Thanks for following Orange Marmalade!

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  8. Mommabel

    I started reading to my daughter at an early age. She is now in kindergarten and excelling at learning to read on her own. I know that reading and speaking to her at a higher level all these years has helped. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

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  12. Omaira

    Thank you for the follow. What an awesome resource. I would have loved something like this when I was starting out with my son. We are a family of readers so this is great!! 🙂 Looking forward to reading more of your recommendations and reviews.

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    • The Picture Book Review

      My pleasure! You’ve got a great blog! Wonderful! I hope you enjoy. One of the many nice things about picture books is that you can get through a lot of picture books in a short time. (Tends to make me feel guilty that I can read through something in 10 minutes that took people HOURS to create.) 🙂

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  15. Julie

    What a wonderful blog. One of the great things about hosting the Carnival of Children’s Lit is that I get to discover great new blogs. Keep up the good work. I too, am an academic-turned-picture-book-crazed mama. 🙂

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  16. Cathy Ballou Mealey

    Like Julie (comment above) I’m another post-academic picture book-crazed parent. Look forward to reading more from you!

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  17. Abbey Olson

    I just stumbled upon your blog, and it’s so much fun! I taught third grade for three years, but chose to take time off of work to raise my twins. I enjoyed doing read alouds in my classroom, and I continued them in my home. The moments cuddled up with my kiddos and a book are priceless. They’re growing up now (almost 7!), and they both absolutely love reading.

    Using your experience as a mom and including your son in your posts make your reviews genuine and trustworthy. It’s one thing for an adult to review a children’s book, but it’s a whole other ballgame when you have the child’s opinion.

    I’m a new follower, and I wanted to thank you for putting the time and effort into this delightful blog.

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  18. Otis Goes to School

    Hey there Picture Book Review! THANK YOU so much for the like yesterday! I hope Otis Goes to School will find its way to your book collection. He’s finding a special place in hearts of all ages of folks, and it’s an incredibly fun journey. Blessings from one mama to another!

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  19. covingtoncynthia73

    Thanks for following my blog. I write about different topics from homeschooling to small business and everything in between. I hope you enjoy it. I’m always open to suggestions.
    Thanks,
    Cynthia~

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  24. jjspina

    That is wonderful that you read so much to your children. They are blessed to have such a special mother. To give up TV is quite a feat! I babysit my grandson and I do not put on the TV. We play, read and have fun all day. Did I say I was old? When I am with him I feel young again. Bless him! He just turned one.

    Thank you for following my blog. So nice to meet you. Let’s connect. I have five children’s and just published my first novel – something for you and your children! Best wishes! 😊 http://Jemsbooks.com
    http:// amazon.com/author/janicespina7

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  26. sabina ayne

    Thank you for liking my post on By Spaceship to the Moon. I love picture books as well and have written and illustrated a few myself. When I have extra money I get them printed through Blurb.com. right now they’re posted over at my Orangemarmalade Press blog. I have an extra copy of Simon Finds a Forever Home that I had printed at OfficeMax (very low-tech!) that I would love to send to you. Let me know if you would like to read and review (and keep!).

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  28. ahouseofbooks

    Really glad I found your blog. I have two children two (ages 6 and 2.5) and I love reading with them – and I’m delighted that my 6 year old is becoming an avid reader like me! I’ve enjoyed looking at your reviews and it’s made me think I may add children’s book reviews to my blog ahouseofbooks too.
    Look forward to reading more from you!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • The Picture Book Review

      Please do add reviews! I love reading reviews and I am always looking for books to read to my sons.

      My favorite thing about doing these reviews is seeing what others have thought of the same book. It adds a lot of depth to my understanding of what I’m reading to my children.

      Your blog is wonderful! I love your reviews! The Rabbit Back Literature Society looks interesting. I will have to check it out!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  41. Pingback: One Lovely Blog Award | Juliana Lee

  44. Elizabeth Mason

    What a fun idea! As a mother of two young boys myself, I am always looking for great books to share and read to them, and now that I’ve found this blog, I have a place to search. I have a page in blog dedicated for my son, who, like me, loves to read. He blogs about a book per week. Blogging is new to the both of us, so he has only posted a paragraph about him, but he will be posting his first book review soon.

    follow my blog at readwithmeromancenovels.WordPress.com

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  46. Nils-Johan Jorgensen

    Thank you for your review of my children’s book West of the West Wind and in appreciation I would like to send you my other two books in the series for possible reviews.
    Let me know an address I could send them to.
    Nils-Johan Jorgensen
    (Ambassador ret.)

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  49. Wayne

    Hi ,

    Your site is very helpful for a single dad, so thank you. I know it’s a new book, but I just found a very nice book called “Cooking With Mr. C. by John Contratti. It has a wonderful message for kids. I found it on Amazon. My boys love it. I thought I’d share it with you. I check out your site frequently.

    Wayne

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  50. Wayne

    I just ordered the new 2016 children’s picture book, “Cooking With Mr. C.” by John Contratti. (Mascot Books) I’ve been hearing lots about it. He has a big celebrity following. He also has a cooking blog as well. “Cooking With Mr. C.” Facebook as well, I believe.

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