Something's Wrong! By Jory John 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

All children love stories about underwear. They are “hilarious” to quote my grandson. A Bear, named Jeff leaves his house and he knows something is “wrong”. As he walks through the woods, he lists all the things he did that morning thinking that he forgot a task. As Jeff greets his friends, they return the greeting as if everything is fine with Jeff. Once Jeff continues his walk, they all have the same question, “why is that Bear wearing underwear?” Finally, Anders, the rabbit tells Jeff he is walking around the forest in his underwear. By the end of the book wearing underwear, with no pants has become the new “style” and all the animals are doing it.

“Something’s Wrong!” teaches kids how true friend treat each other. They do not make fun of you for being different but rather accept you even if your fashion statement is a bit odd. The book also points out how friends help each other out of jams, like when you forget something.

My grandson liked this book. It was not at the top of his list, but he enjoyed the story. I felt it was a solid tale and the messaging was important. This book has a place in your home library especially if the reader likes books about animals.

Fun Activity: Take a walk in the woods and see what animals your can find.

Published In: 2021
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers
Age Level: 3-7 years
AR Level: 2.1
Pages: 40
Stars: 5

The Rainbow Hunters by Andrea Farotto 🟊🟊🟊🟊

A boy named Bill sets out on an adventure to find a rainbow. As he embarks on his journey, he runs into three of his friends who join him on his adventure. The last child to complete the group is a girl named Liz who in my mind is the smartest of the group because she knows there is treasure at the end of the rainbow. After many attempts to find the elusive “end of the rainbow” the children return home without any gold but instead with a treasure of a different kind, a new friend in the form of a dog.

The children are optimistic and adventuresome, they are not disappointed when they can’t find the treasure. I like the way each child adds something to the journey, a butterfly net, binoculars, a wagon and candy. They follow their quest with cheerfulness and no complaining. My grandchildren (age 9 and 5) enjoyed the story and listened intently. This is a great book to get from your local library.

Fun Activities: Next time it rains look for rainbows. You and your child draw a picture of a rainbow.

Published In: 2022
Publisher: Milky Way
Age Level: 3-7 years old
AR Level: N/A
Pages: 44
Stars: 4

Mouse Mess By Linnea Riley 🟌🟌🟌🟌🟌

I love this book; the rhymes actually make sense. My granddaughter giggled throughout the book. Once everybody is in bed for the night the mouse makes his way into the kitchen. He then proceeds to get out and eat all the foods he loves and leaves a great big mess. When he looks around the kitchen, he has the nerve to say, “These people need to clean their house”.

The simple story line will not hold the older kids’ interest but the 3 and under crowd will enjoy the book. The rhymes are easy to remember so that the non-reader can memorize them. The one-line per page makes this book perfect for the one last book before bedtime. It gets five stars from me.

Fun Activities: Create a mouse mess collage on a paper plate with pictures of a mouse and various foods from the book. Second idea is to have some of the mouses favorite snacks on hand to eat while reading the book.

Published:  1998
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Age Level: 2-5 years old
AR Level: 1.6
Stars: 5

No Moon, No Milk! By Chris Babcock 🟌🟌🟌🟌

Goals are a great thing to have, and Martha the cow really has a big one. She wants more out of life then just eating grass, she wants to go the moon! So, she refuses to give any milk until Rob the farmer takes her there. Rob really needs Martha’s milk. So, he comes up with all kinds of adventures to satisfy Martha’s desire to walk on moon. According to the book the only cow to even get close to the moon was Martha’s Great-Great Grandmother and she jumped over it.

The adventures that Martha and Rob take are fun and do allow lots of discussions about different places in the U.S. When Martha and Rob end up at a museum with a Lunar Surface exhibit, Martha pushes her way on to the exhibit. This gives the cow the experience of being on the moon. Martha is satisfied with the adventure and is ready to return home especially with the museum guards chasing them.

My granddaughter age 5 and her brother age 9 both enjoyed the story. The 5-year-old tried to dance like a Rockette and had fun saying the exaggerated “mooooon”. The 9-year-old wanted to know more about the American Museum of Natural History.

Overall, I liked the book. There is some adult humor that kept me engaged. If I have one complaint it is that I wish Martha would have shown some gratitude to farmer Rob. A simple thank you goes a long way.

Fun Activity: Watch a video of the Rockettes preform or recite the nursery rhyme the “Cow Jumped Over the Moon”.

Published In: 1995
Publisher: Dragonfly Books
Age Level: 5-6 years
AR Level: 3.2
Pages: 3
Stars: 4

What Moms Can't Do by Douglas Wood 🟌🟌🟌

A child dinosaur lists numerous things that its mom can’t do but really, she can. The story line is cute but predictable and the humor in the story is missed on the children. The one point that comes across loud and clear is that a mom’s love for her child is absolute. She will help her child with anything, even if it seems impossible.

My granddaughter, age 5 was OK with the book. She was engaged but not enthralled. More than half of the things that moms can’t do her dad does. He wakes her in the morning, he makes her lunch, he does the grocery shopping, etc. My grandson thought that the dinosaurs looked more like lizards. Overall, an OK book but would rather get this from the library then have it in my grandchild’s bookshelf.

Fun Activities: Make a list with your child of things they things you can't do and then tackle them together.

Published In: 2001
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Age Level: 2-6 years
AR Level: 2.0
Pages: 32
Star: 3

Baking Day at Grandma's By Anika Denise 🟌🟌🟌🟌🟌

Perfect book for the younger toddler, 2-3 years old.  The rhymes are easy to follow, and the pictures make the bears feel cuddly without looking like cartons. The bears seem so happy that the reader comes away with a sense of love and happiness. The warmth that oozes from this book makes you wish for a cozy winter day with snow, a fire in the fireplace, and frosted windows.

I make a lot of cupcakes with my grandchild, so this was a perfect book to read while the cupcakes are in the oven. The younger grandchildren do enjoy the book a bit more than the older ones, but the book has almost become a tradition on baking day.

Fun Activity: Do some baking with your child/grandchild. 

          

Published In: 2014
Publisher: Philomel Books
Reading Level: 3 – 5 years

Pages: 32
Stars: 5

 

A Walk in the Words by Hudson Talbott - 🟌 🟌 🟌 🟌 🟌

 The boy in the book who loves to draw is also the slowest reader in the class, he must “picture every single world”. The boy struggles with reading and the author leads us on an adventure of how he overcomes this fear. The anxiety that any child feels about not being able to keep up in school is stressful, whether its math, spelling, gym class, or reading. Once he can face his fear of words the boy figures out a solution, take the words one at a time and break them down.  Overtime the words become less scary and the boy becomes more comfortable with them. He wasn’t thinking about reading but instead he wants to know what was happening in the story. The illustration in the book matches the story perfectly and the walk in the words, otherwise known as the forest, is clever and imaginative.

Every 1^st-4^th grade classroom should have this book on hand to help those students who do struggle with reading. My 9-year-old grandson liked this book and told me we should get if for his cousin that muddles through his reading assignments. The book is a great example of how to conquer fears with a realistic approach. It opens the discussion about what to do when a child is not reading at his/her grade level. “A Walk in the Words” does not need to be in every home but for some families it would be a sound investment.

Fun Activity: Online find a cross-word or word search puzzle to do with your child.

Published In:  2021

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Age Level:  4-8 years old
AR Level: 2.9
Pages: 32
Stars: 5