Childrens – Carol's Notebook

Full Moon Pups by Liz Garton Scanlon

March 28, 2025March 28, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I enjoyed this one and I think Amber would have loved it when she was little. We follow the lives of a new litter of wolf pups for a lunar month. Between the full moons, we learn all about how the pups grow and how the wolf pack takes care of the. The illustrations are lovely and the wolf pups are adorable. We also learn about the phases of the moon and there was a bit in the back talking about the Yellowstone Wolf Project and offering other sources for more information on wolves....

Just Try One Bite by Adam Mansbach and Camila Alves McConaughey

February 20, 2025February 20, 2025 by Carol1 Comment

I made an unofficial resolution to review every book I read this year. I don't usually review kids books. They are typically ones I just happen to pick up and read without much planning. I work at a United Way and we're the local partner for Dolly Parton's Imagination library, which means books with wrong address get returned here. Just Try One Bite is one of those. It's a book about smart, healthy kids trying to convince their parents to eat better. I will say the bits about the parents not liking broccoli and trying to feed it to the dog hit a little close to home. The illustrations are cute, colorful and feature a multi-racial family, which is nice. I don't have any kids in the household and don't know how much they would enjoy it. And it did not convince me to eat my broccoli - I can just buy donut holes on my own and eat them all myself....

Coronavirus: A Book for Children by Elizabeth Jenner, Kate Wilson, and Nia Roberts

April 27, 2020April 27, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

Coronavirus: A Book for Children is free from Nosy Crow publishing to download or read-online. The book answers key questions in simple language appropriate for 5 to 9 year olds: • What is the coronavirus?• How do you catch the coronavirus?• What happens if you catch the coronavirus?• Why are people worried about catching the coronavirus?• Is there a cure for the coronavirus?• Why are some places we normally go to closed?• What can I do to help?• What’s going to happen next? The facts are presented in a clear, easy to understand way, even while admitting that we don't know everything about the new illness yet. It's calm and concise. It talks about how we can catch the virus and what happens if we do, but isn't scary about it. The illustrations are colorful and inclusive. We learn why it's best to stay home right now, but acknowledges we, children and adults, can be worried and bored and angry and that's...

Hibernate with Me by Benjamin Scheuer

February 12, 2019February 12, 2019 by Carol9 Comments

Hibernate with Me is a wonderful picture book. The story features a little bear and his mom/dad. No matter how rough life can gets or how shy the little bear feels, little bear always has a safe, warm home to go to. The words have a gentle rhyming pattern, and the illustrations accompany it perfectly. They are detailed, colorful and fit the moods, seasons of the story. The story was originally a song. The melody is in the back of the book. The lullaby quality of the story makes it a perfect book for bedtime. I think I'm going to give my copy to either my brother or my mom. A couple of my brother's kids are still young enough for picture books and I really like this one. Hibernate with Me is a gentle reminder that no matter how sad, small, or scared you feel, you are always worthy of love, and that brighter days are always ahead. I have one copy to...

Scampy Doodle and the Reindeer by G. J. Barnes

December 3, 2018December 3, 2018 by CarolNo Comments

Scampy Doodle is a happy dog who has helped his best friend Jemima get ready for Christmas. They decorated and set out treats for Santa and his reindeer and they went to bed, Jemima to her room and Scampy Doodle to his bed in the kitchen. Then, Scampy Doodle gets woken up by a strange sound. This is a fun little Christmas story. It's about helping and giving and the magic of Christmas. I do wish they had left hot chocolate for Santa instead of a whiskey, but that's just me. I liked when Scampy Doodle decided to be brave and pushed the door to the living room open to peer around and see there the noise came from. It reminded me of my dog, Scrappy, who is also bigger than a snowball and smaller than a snowman. The illustrations were bright and simple and cute but there were more words than pictures. The print was odd for me. It was bold, fun...

Schmuck the Buck by EXO Books

December 1, 2018October 18, 2018 by Carol4 Comments

I'm not quite sure who the audience is for Schmuck the Buck. It seems like a children's Christmas book. We have a cute rhyming text and bright colorful illustrations. We have the underdog (or under-reindeer) who saves the day. There's even a lesson: Schmuck said, "We have our differences, that's for sure, But we're all the same at the core. Christmas isn't just about gifts, but the love underneath, So it really doesn't matter your religious belief. We give because we care, we love, and want to please, So there's room for every one of us under out Christmas trees." I'm not sure it's a good lesson. I think it probably depends on the family. I know a lot of people celebrate Christmas, even people who don't call themselves Christian. In our house, however, it's definitely a religious holiday. It's about love and giving and family too, but this is not a book I personally would buy. So, on the one hand it seems like a kids book,...