The Happy Shop by Brittany Long Olsen
The Happy Shop by Brittany Long Olsen was a book I had on my TBR for awhile now. I didn’t know what to expect, except it was a graphic novel and would have some type of magic in it. And in the short run, that is what it is all about: A girl finds a magical shop, magical things happen, she makes magical friends. Yet, there is a bit more. It is about how and why the girl is in need of a magical shop. […]
Papilio by Ben Clanton, Andy Chou Musser and Corey R. Tabor
The concept of coming of age is told through the eyes of a butterfly in Papilio. Ben Clanton, Andy Chou Musser, and Corey R. Tabor created a unique read (the coming of age concept) but still is a book about a butterfly and its life cycle. We follow Papilio from the changes they have from egg to a falling (though feels like flying) caterpillar, to an actual flying butterfly. Told in three “chapters” these sections show us the stages of going from caterpillar, to caterpillar […]
Grandpa’s Magic Mask: A Story of Growth and Bravery in English and Chinese by Siping Wu
A House Just for Mommy: A Bedtime Story Told in English and Chinese by Dayong Gan
The Boy, the Deer, and the King: A Legend Retold in English and Chinese by Xiaochun Tang
Little Malan’s Debut: A Story of Courage Told in English and Chinese by Lumin Qian
I do not speak a second language. As an adult, I regret not working harder on that, but I take solace in the fact that there are bilingual books out there and I can read the English part and admire the second language. Usually this is French or Spanish, but I have noticed that Chinese is taking its place. I’m not sure if the Chinese in these four books is Mandarin or Cantonese, so please let me know if you know! All will be available […]
Max and the Purple Worry by Kitty Black
Sometimes When I'm Jealous by Deborah Serani
Emotions are an interesting thing. And recently I read two picture books that dealt with them in different, but equally well presented ways. Both books are available, but I read them via an online reader’s copy. “Is that a seven or a chicken?” Worry asks in Max and the Purple Worry. Well if Max does math the way I do? It is a chicken. And like Max, I worried about my math work, too. The numbers (or me) didn’t run away, but I wanted to. […]
Thank You, Night by Dan McCauley
Thank You, Rain by Dan McCauley
B Is for Belonging by Shannon Anderson
Hello, Beech Tree! by Rasha Hamid
A while back I saw two online reader copies that had intriguing covers (or thumbnails of the cover as it was only a small image). I liked them, but figured I knew what they were about by judging the cover. Thank You, Night and Thank You, Rain looked like they would be nice father and child stories. One set at night and one set in/around a rainy day. And I was not wrong. (Yes, I read them eventually.) They had more to them than those […]
Farty Pants: A Stinky Book of Monsters by Eric Geron
Huck and Loona by Emily Kilgore
Books should be fun, but they can also be educational. Of course, if they are both you have the best of all worlds and memorable stories. Farty Pants: A Stinky Book of Monsters by the team of Eric Geron and Dean Gray (illustrations) who are a gas (I mean to read with, not you know are gassy…then again…) It is currently available but I read via an online reader copy. Thankfully we haven’t gotten to “smell-o-book” yet, though there were sound buttons (that I was […]
