library – Page 2 – One Chapter

Harry and the Guinea Pig by Gene Zion

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

Who doesn’t love Harry? You know that white dog with black spots who lives with his family. In this story, the guinea pig who lives in the neighborhood comes over to visit and Harry gets jealous. The guinea pig is getting all the attention and treats from his family, and Harry is not liking that.

Harry decides that he will try to be like a guinea pig so he can get in on the action. Ha! Oh Harry, you’re a dog and not a guinea pig!

Harry tries to act and look like the guinea pig, but his family doesn’t notice. The guinea pig is even going to show-and-tell at school. Now, Harry has to share that time too! Harry thinks he has a way to solve this issue but instead he causes a bigger problem.

A problem that Harry (because he is a dog) can solve and come out looking like a hero!

This is a great story that has some great key points in it. The issue of jealousy and sharing are brought up in the story. You can also talk about how they could have included Harry when they were playing with the guinea pig so Harry would not have felt excluded. The idea of playing together or setting time apart to play separately could be addressed as that would have helped Harry feel better and not so jealous. I like the illustrations in these books are they are bold yet not playing with a lot of colors. Great book!

Fright School by Janet Lawler

5 stars Children’s Holiday Picture Book

We liked all the interesting Halloween creatures that were included inside this book.

There were lots of fun cartoon creatures practicing how to be scary at this school as their teacher gave them different tactics. I liked how the book was filled with action and the individuals in the book were not all standing around or sitting but they looked like they were in motion on the pages.

The characters were all having fun with one another, which made the book enjoyable to read.

A rhyming book, this book only had a few sentences per page, so it wasn’t’ heavy with text. A fun, lively holiday story with a ending that I knew was coming but the grandkids did not.

Dasher and the Polar Bear by Matt Tavares

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

This is such a sweet story! I think I almost cried at the end. Dasher the reindeer is so caught up in watching the Northern Lights that he ends up in polar bear territory. Dasher thinks that the Northern Lights look like Christmas lights.

George, the polar bear, wants to know how Dasher got there, and he explains that he was flying around and got sidetracked by the Northern Lights. Flying? What?!? Dasher can fly?! George is intrigued by the notion of flying and soon, Dasher tries to teach George how to fly.

There are many great attempts by George as Dasher tries many ways to get George into the air. Every attempt ended with George’s feet still on the ground.

It’s the end of the day and Dasher must go home. Dasher, like George, was disappointed that George wasn’t able to fly. In the end, Dasher was able with his connections to help George feel what it is like to fly and that my friends is what it’s all about.

The illustrations were fantastic and the pace of the story was intriguing and tranquil as you wondered what was going to become of this pair. A great friendship that is sure to last. 5 stars

Cat Nap by Brian Lies

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

I think this book is great for older elementary readers but for younger readers, I think it needs to be explained to them. My 3-year-old grandson picked it out as it had a cat on the cover and well, it was a bit slow for him. I added a few words here and there as we read, relying on the illustrations to tell the story, so he did enjoy the story by the time we got to the end of the book.

Mouse wants to remain undetected as he slips into the painting on the wall, but Cat sees him and follows. Yes, they both go into the painting.

Going into the painting, they come out on the other side of the wall, into another piece of art. This art is a limestone carving which they end up destroying. This artwork is supposed to be carved but somehow the cat, the mouse, and the rats which are in the carving have knocked the items in the carving down. The chase is on!

Cat continues to chase mouse everywhere! Cat ends up having a conversation with a clay dog, an ornamental mask, and multiple pictures.

Cat is on the prowl. Does he ever catch the mouse? Will he ever get back home?

I enjoyed the concept that the author had with this book. Altering items that the cat and mouse encountered in the book was very entertaining and creative. I appreciate the author’s notes at the end of the book as he shows the reader how he made the art to complete this book. Sure, he could have relied on AI or computer images but as the author notes, “where’s the satisfaction in that?” The author goes on to say that if you like to make things, keep practicing. Use your imagination to create an idea and then take the time developing the skills to create what you want. “You can make pretty much anything you want to, if you teach yourself how.” There’s also information on the actual art pieces that the author used in his book.

Interesting concepts and a book that should be appreciated for what it does.

Fish Don’t Go To School by Deb Pilutte

5 stars Children’s Picture Books

Henry had a fish named Marigold. This fish looked almost exactly like his suit. Henry loved his fish suit; he wore it everywhere. He loved the way his suit sparkled, its secret pocket, the way the suit felt like a hug and protected him when he wore it.

School was starting soon and Henry was worried about his first day of school. He didn’t tell anyone about his concern except his fish, Marigold. When the first day of school arrived, Henry finally told his mom how scared he was. Henry told her too that he wasn’t going to school unless he could wear his fish suit.

Wearing his fish suit, Henry arrived at school. Everyone stares at him. He needed to wear that suit but as the day progresses, Henry starts to realize that he’s braver and stronger than he thought. Little-by-little he begins to shed pieces of his suit so that he can enjoy his day more. By the end of the day, he’s not wearing much of his fish suit. Henry is having a fantastic day.

I loved the transformation that Henry made in this book. He used the suit for stability and comfort. As he gets used to his surroundings, he starts to shed his suit, and he stands up stronger on his own. The illustrations are wonderfully done and show the confidence and excitement that Henry feels as the day progresses. At the end of the day, as Henry looks back over his day, his progress is shown. His comfort level has increased. A great book!

Prince and Pirate by Charlotte Gunnufson

4 stars Children’s Picture Book

I liked the idea behind this book, but the language used was a bit over the top for my young readers. I ended up having to condense the text as they were losing interest as I read it to them. For older elementary students and up, this might be a great read, but for my little ones, they didn’t care about it.

What was this book all about? Prince and Pirate had their own separate fishing bowls and they were happy. Prince had a castle, a carriage, and some lovely green plants amongst his yellow rocks. Pirate on the other hand had his schooner ship, a skull, a telescope, some green plants and a treasure chest beaming with treasure amongst all his black rocks. They were each the rulers in their own kingdoms. One day, that all changed when their human dumped them into a larger tank…..together!

This was a big surprise to be moved but a bigger surprise awaited them. They now were sharing living quarters! They instantly became enemies when they discovered each other. Name calling, superior behaviors, yelling, just about everything you can imagine, these two threw at each other.

Finally, a line was drawn, a physical line down the middle of the tank. There would still be two separate kingdoms in this larger tank, one for each of them. They would each have half of the tank and life would be good. And it was, until……..

One day a new house is lowered into the tank. A new dogfish is introduced into the tank, and his house, well it sits right between these two-bickering fish. Now what? The dogfish is scared. Dogfish is in new surroundings with new fish, so he hides inside his house. How do Prince and Pirate react to their new tenant? It’s a cute ending to this book, something I didn’t expect to happen so quickly.

I enjoyed the pirate slang and listening to prince’s higher-than-though approach as they slung their comments back and forth. There are lots of great words in this book: majestic, horn-swoggled, keen, splendiferous, frisky, jeered, hiney. These are just a few of the powerful words that are used throughout the book that might need some clarification for younger readers.

“Ye best be keeping clear of me treasure!” Pirate bellowed. “Egad! Keep your filthy fins off my carriage!” Prince exclaimed.

It’s a cute book for the right reader. For me 5 stars but for my grandchildren who liked the fun, bright illustrations but failed to understand and follow the text 2 stars. Middle of the road 3.5 stars- rounded to 4.

The Wild Robot on the Island by Peter Brown

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

When I saw this book at the library, I was so excited! A picture book of the Wild Robot, yes!! Now, I can share the Wild Robot with my grandchildren! I hoped they loved it.

They absolutely loved this book and so did I. The illustrations are so frickin’ cute and perfect! Opening the book, we see a ship in a horrible storm. A wild, dark storm has caused a white crate from the ship’s deck to fall into the ocean. On the next page, the storm has ended, and the crate has floated close to an island. The land is lush with life and full of activity.

There are forest animals everywhere, birds are in sky, animals are swimming in the ocean, a waterfall curtain is in the distance and there are birds circling the white crate. Roz pops out of the box and well, this is where she belongs.

The island is dangerous and wild so Roz must learn to adapt to her new surroundings. Roz is a smart robot, so she studies everything around her and begins to fit right in.

She even discovers an orphaned goose egg which she decides to adopt and soon, she is a proud mother. Brightbill and Roz make a great pair, but Brightbill is a bird, and he must migrate with all the other birds.

Leaving Roz behind is a sad turn in this story. My grandkids had all kinds of questions about what Roz would do with Brightbill there and who would take care of Brightbill when he flew away.

As we continued with this story, they loved the ending and wanted to read it again. YES! I can’t wait till they get older and we can read the chapter books together.

We loved this book – from the illustrations to the condensed version of the story. Such a wonderful story and yes, I really want to get this one for myself. 5 stars for sure!!

The Couch Potato by Jory John

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

Funny story but a great lesson learned. Couch potato was exactly that, a couch potato. Potato liked to sit on his comfy, cozy couch all the time. Since he has everything within reach from this spot, why would he ever want anything different.

In front of Potato is a wall full of screens.

Screens that he can do anything he wants on: watch TV, talk to his best friend, use his computer, and even play video games. Life was fantastic for Potato!

When his latest purchase was delivered to his house, Potato went to install it and he lost power. In total darkness, Potato was forced to open his curtains, where…..he discovered the outside world. Hey, there’s life outside the walls of his living room!! Ha, this was funny! Potato decides to venture outside and soon, he’s enjoying the fresh outdoors again. Holy moly, there is more to life than just sitting on the couch! Potatoes life has changed forever!!

We laughed over this story but in reality, I can see this story actually taking place. Some individuals prefer to stay inside and stay connected to the internet when there is the great outdoors calling them. I liked everything about this book. The illustrations were fun and simple, nothing extra was added to illustrations. The story had a great flow and it was high energy. 5 stars.

The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas by Laura Murray

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

Super cute story!! I can’t wait to read the other Gingerbread stories, that are out there. Told in graphic novel style, this children’s pictures book was fun to read to the grandkids. They were into this story, and they wanted to know what the Gingerbread Man had made and they loved how the baker fixed him up.

It’s Christmas and the Gingerbread Man’s teacher is talking to the students in the class about giving. She wants the students to give the individuals in their neighborhood gifts that can be either something that they have made, something that they do, or something that they say to them. They will then deliver them at the end of the day.

Everyone gets busy creating. Gingerbread Man makes a surprise with glue and glitter while his classmates make cards, bake items and some even practice some songs to sing. When they are completed, they head outside to deliver their gifts. As they are delivering, a snowstorm begins and the teacher turns the children around and they head back to school. The Gingerbread Man is upset; he hasn’t delivered his gift yet! Sneaking away from his class, the Gingerbread Man proceeds to deliver his gift by himself. He gets into a mess as the storm progresses but at last, he finds his destination. It’s so sweet, the person he picked!! The rest of the book is amazing as he surprises this person, and the surprises don’t stop there. Lots of different surprises fill the rest of the book and the Gingerbread Man along with his class is ecstatic that they had such an amazing day.

Big bold illustrations that complement the text and provide energy for the story. I loved the use of all the different text fonts that were used in the story and how large the fonts were. A great story 5 stars

The Haunted Scavenger Hunt by Steve Patschke

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

Super fun and funny story. My grandson wanted to read this book repeatedly. It’s not so much a scary story as the front cover suggests but it’s the anticipation of what each turn of the page will bring that makes this story so fun. The ending brings it all together making it a funny story.
Friends Sammy, Jenny, Sara, and Pete are out on Halloween. It’s interesting but looking at the illustrations, none of the children have costumes on nor is there any mention of trick-or-treating. It’s a spooky night nevertheless and they discover a strange box. There are words written across the top of the box which draw their attention. “Don’t look at it! Don’t touch it! Don’t open it!” The friends talk amongst themselves about what they are going to do with the box. The author then, asks the reader, “So what did the friends do?”

Turning the page, you discover that YES! They looked, they touched, and they opened the box! HA! So much for listening to what the box said. Now, what did the friends find inside that box? A key. A key with a message that again tells them what NOT to do. So, “what did the friends do?”

Yup, they did exactly what you think they would do. If this wasn’t funny enough, the characters in this story start to disappear. Yes, they are here in the story and then, suddenly they’re gone. The grandkids enjoyed the laugh when the characters weren’t listening to what they were supposed to do and they loved chiming in when the author asked them questions. So, where does this all lead them to? A great ending, where again…….”Don’t look at them! Don’t touch them! Don’t open them!”

I think this a great for a first and second read through. I would then put the book away for a while and then bring it back out, so it’s entertaining again. I can see this story becoming boring if read repeatedly as the anticipation could be memorized and not so much fun. We loved the illustrations and the text was simple yet, entertaining. I loved the facial expressions on the characters and the anticipation that grew throughout the book. Fun story. 5 stars