Yes, there is a heaven designed specially for animals and it’s everything you’ve ever imagined it to be. In this beautifully written book, you’ll see some of what heaven has to offer our four-legged loved ones when they leave this physical world behind. With fantastic illustrations, this picture book can help ease the pain and offer comfort to those who pick it up.
The illustrations inside this book are wonderful. I enjoyed how the author included the child in each of the interesting images. From playing in the ocean with a pair of elephants, to jumping on a trampoline with a kangaroo, to playing hide-n-seek with a snow rabbit on a winter day, all of the pictures in this children’s book have a playful, magical feeling to them.
This book is about love and how that love continues wherever someone may travel. I have to admit that the first couple pages felt quirky to me as I read them. I didn’t quite understand exactly what the author was trying to say. It wasn’t until a few pages later that I finally understood where this book was headed and I ended up enjoying the book. I liked that this book rhymed, as it helps creates the mood and the rhyming didn’t feel forced. I thought this was a sweet book with a great message.
You are perfect just the way you are. I believe that’s what every parent tries to instill in their child but it’s hard when their child is trying to figure out exactly who “they are.”
This is a book geared for children about loving yourself as you are. It’s about being yourself and that it’s okay to be unique, you don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. As you’re searching for who you are, this might take some time. You’re not going to find out who you are overnight. You might have to experiment and try something and see if that fits. Does that feel right? If not, then it’s not you?
I thought this sentence says a lot as a child attempts to find what themselves.
“And sometimes a someone will give you the feeling
that his bells and whistles are much more appealing.”
I liked how the author made this topic easier for children to understand. I thought the illustrations were humorous and entertaining to look at.
It all began when Jose spotted this thick book while out on his route. After digging the book out of the trash, Jose was hooked. He had been whisked away from his life as a garbage collector, as he read the words on the pages and now, as he drove through the streets of Bogota, he looked for other books that individuals had discarded and he carried them home in his truck.
It wasn’t long before Jose was bringing home stacks of books after his nightly route. Jose has his favorites among the stacks that he has rescued but he also just loves adding to the collection. We will refer to him as Senor Jose.
Let me introduce you to a younger Jose, first Jose. He looks forward to Saturdays. On Saturday, all the neighborhood children get up and they run down the street. It might look like they’re in a race and they are, to some extent. They’re racing to Paradise. With a warm smile on his face, Senor Jose is holding open the door to Paradise while the children race inside. The children don’t know exactly what Paradise holds for them this Saturday but they do know that they will love the journey they will experience while they are there.
What a beautiful tribute to this wonderful man who saved hundreds of discarded books from the trash. He thought not only of himself when he discovered these treasures but he opened his doors, so that others could enjoy his riches too. His story is inspiring, it emits an energy as you’re reading it. The illustrations are attractive and they add to the storyline. There’s an informative Author’s Note, Selected Online Sources, and Featured Books sections located in the back of the book that should be read also. 5 stars
What’s a pirate to do when she walks up her gangway and discovers that someone has been aboard her ship? It seems as if a Prince has come aboard while she was away and tried to take over her ship. Grabbing everything royal, she rids the ship of anything that’s not the life of a buccaneer and she’s ready to find her treasure.
What’s a Prince to do when he walks up to his moat and discovers that someone has invaded his castle? He has some work to do before he can enjoy his royal feast with his friends and he was looking forward to a day of music and fun. Prince finds one of his invitations on the floor with a map scribbled on it. He finds other Pirate items inside his castle and he now must dispose of them so he can get his party started.
How funny! The two children are using the same fort in the woods, only they’re using it for different scenarios, at two different times. One child uses the fort as a castle and the other one is using it as a ship. I had to think that eventually they’d run into each other at the fort and they did. How are they doing to work this out? It’s quite easy but what really happens, is something quite different than I had expected. The illustrations are bright and colorful. If you look at the fort, it really is basic, it’s the children that make it into something special. A fun, entertaining read that kids will love. A book that kids will be able to relate to also. 5 stars
What a great book by Pumpkin and Ollie, as these two friends discover a new friend while outside playing. They both enjoyed having their new friend around but its Ollie who realizes that perhaps their new friend can’t stay with them forever.
I liked how the book included a few cutouts on its pages and the use of the foil-colored details on some of its other pages really stood out. I thought the illustrations were crisp and adorable. The use of shades of white, orange and black throughout the book worked for me also. I like this series.
There is a nice surprise at the end of the book. While this book could be seen as a seasonal book, I wouldn’t read it only during October. 5 stars
Ahhh, I felt a change within myself as I read this book. I noticed that slowly, I had picked up a rhythm. The words had their own tempo. The book seemed dark, based on my first impression but it’s not the pictures that I should be concentrating on. It’s a combination of the two of them put together, the illustrations and the text with all its elements, that make this book special. What began as a wintry friendship between a young child and a bison, develops into a lifelong sense of security and affection.
She saw him again, as she walked with her mother, out by the forest. She’d meet up with him every day, inching closer and closer to him, until she was able to finally feed him. He was her bison. Spring is coming and the bison must leave with his herd. The girl knows that he will return to this spot, like before, but that doesn’t stop the bison from enjoying this moment with the girl before he leaves.
Its Winter again, finally! She knows that her bison will be arriving soon. She has missed him terribly and she can’t wait to talk to him again. The bison listens patiently as the girl tells the bison all of her stories. With soft illustrations, they work perfectly with the text.
As the years go by, I liked how the two of them continued to meet, their friendship deepening and strengthening until the year when her bison doesn’t show-up. This was a sweet story about a unique friendship and losing someone important. 4.5 stars
I loved this little book. I didn’t know what to expect as I thumbed through it but now after reading it, I want to see if my library has more in this series. I didn’t expect such great scary stories inside this book.
There are 5 stories in this book: Shadow in the Woods, The Monster in My Room, Fingernails, The Writing on the Wall, and The Animal Behind the Locker. One of the them, gives me chills, just thinking of it now. The other four stories were fun and entertaining stories that kids will enjoy.
I have read a lot of short scary stories to my own children, to my granddaughter, and to the children I sub for as a substitute teacher. I liked how these stories kept the action going throughout yet the stories were not that long. The illustrations were colorful and enhanced the story. The font is big and easy to read. Great scary stories to put a smile on your face.
In Shadow in the Woods, Hugh knows he’s not supposed to walking in the woods at night by himself, yet he does it. He has to. It seems to be a long walk and he’s supposed to be by himself. In The Monster in My Room, Ruby is sure there is a monster under her bed, she’s sure of it yet no one finds anything when they look. In Fingernails, Tommy has a problem with biting his fingernails so grandmother thinks she can help him. In The Writing on the Wall, Sophie doesn’t like her new house and she thinks that no one is listening to her. In The Animal Behind the Locker, Emma hears noises behind her locker so she climbs in to investigate.
They reminded me a bit of the stories of In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories, only these stories weren’t that dark. I hate comparing books to other books but I don’t want people missing these books because they think they might be too scary, they’re not. These stories make the reader use more of their imagination making them ideal for younger readers. They’re fun, engaging stories that I really enjoyed. 5 stars.
Now, this was fun! I’m so glad to see these books on the shelves. I have always wondered why they didn’t market these younger adventure stories sooner. I remember reading and loving The Choose Your Own Adventure Stories that my sons would read, when they were younger. They’re wonderful and addictive, once you get started.
Reading a You Choose Your Way book is like being the captain of a ship, as you’ll get to choose your own destiny in the book. You, yes you, are a character in the story. After reading a section in the book, you’ll be asked two questions and you’ll have to decide which one of the questions you want to do. Don’t think too long, just put yourself in the story and act. It’s pretty simple yet your consequences are another story as they could be simple or severe. Oh, there’s no peeking, so you shouldn’t look ahead to see if you should do the first task or the second one, just make a decision and go for it. Continue in this fashion until you reach the page where the book tells you that you’ve reached The End. Now, you won’t be at the end of the book heck, you haven’t even read all the pages, so start the book over and choose some different options this time and see how you do this time. It’s really quite fun!
In this You Choose story, you are in the science museum with your class, looking at a dinosaur fossil exhibit with your friend Eduardo, who is dinosaur obsessed. Eduardo shows Jasmine that he knows his dinosaurs, after she expressed her reaction to the exhibit. The class is moving on but the three of them stay at the exhibit. Eduardo sees this as the perfect opportunity for which he makes a suggestion and now, the three of them are reaching for the dinosaur fossil. Black-Out!
They awake to a blue sky, ferns surrounding them and a shadow flying by. Wait, that was not a shadow! That a pterosaur!
Reading a You Choose story, you get to choose your own path throughout the story. I was cautious my first time through and I lived a long life. A long, studious life. I reread the book over and over again, taking different paths each time and well, I didn’t do so well in my other lives. I had great adventures, saw many things but living a long life was not one of them. “As you faced your doom, you can’t help but feel cheated.” So, yes, you can get eaten in this book but it’s not in a gross and descriptive way, you die.
The illustrations in the book are gray, dark green and white in color. Again, nothing gross in nature but the dinosaurs look fierce and they’re not cartoonish. You need to be aware of this when letting young ones read this book. These books are like having a collection of stories at your disposal. I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series. 5 stars.
I thought this book would be like Wreck This Journal which I really liked but it’s not. I have mixed feeling about this book as I didn’t care how this book was structured. I thought it was confusing. I liked the messages the author was trying to get across but the approach, didn’t work for me.
I felt that the whole moral of this story is that as you read a book, it becomes an adventure, as the person who reads the book shapes the story. That being said, a person can read a book today and reread the same book a year later and they can have a totally different experience because hopefully, they have grown during that year. In that year, that individual has had many different experiences to shape them.
That being the case. The author tries to get the reader to use their senses to explore this particular book at times and also, to expand this insight into the role of reading. Excellent! I love this message but how this is expressed in the book confused me.
The author gets the reader engaged into her book by physically doing things to this book: smelling, touching, etc. which is a fun activity and I can see individuals engaging in them but then, there are pages that confused me. Go ahead and take a look at this book, its very creative. Books are all about personal taste and this one, I just didn’t love. 3 stars
One Chapter 