4 ⭐ I like that the Spanish comes first in this book. The English is an offshoot like it‘s just there for those who can‘t read the other. The illustrator does a fantastic job, including images such as breast-feeding that are normally considered taboo in picture books. Overall, this is a fine book and it‘s a nice dual language book for any library collection.

2.5 ⭐I don‘t like this book. I guess the message is OK. However, it makes it seem like this child wouldn‘t get many of the same things they get by being homeschooled. It makes everything out to be fun and games rather than educational. Especially the double refrain of I‘m free to be me. I don‘t disagree with homeschooling in general, but by saying I‘m free to be me. I disagree with that line. Being homeschooled doesn‘t

4 ⭐Our dinosaur loves to surprise people, but people do not love being surprised by dinosaur. With help of another human, surprise dinosaur finds the perfect job where it‘s perfectly OK to be a surprise. This book was fine. It was fun, but did feel a little long.

3 ⭐Mole wants a hat, but none are quite right, so they decide to make their own. This book is typical. Nothing special, nothing new. The illustrations are also typical. Nothing special, nothing new, nothing unique. This book will get checked out, but has no long-term staying power.

1.5 ⭐This feels like a money grab. The author uses wordplay such as shelf and book and latte to make this rhyming story work. Instead of working, it‘s just annoying. I can‘t espresso myself. It‘s like bad Ray done poetry in a TJ Maxx book. It needs to be left on the shelf.

4 ⭐ This is a Sesame Street book. No fault to find but it‘s a Sesame Street book. You buy it because you know it‘s going to be good, and that people are going to want to read it over and over again.

4 ⭐This book will get so much play at story time. It‘s simple but it‘s fun. The illustrations are like modern day Dr. Seuss. The kid and their hair remind me of Thing One and Thing Two. And while nowhere is “wacky wow squiggle noodle caboodle day” the idea is the happiness of that word flow throughout the story. This book has a nice refrain that anything is possible that will get kids saying along every time it comes up.

4 ⭐ This book looks at grandma‘s around the world and what they cook for their family. This book is simple but a great way to share a culture.

3 ⭐These are fine. My favorite is “Let‘s Go” about where books take you all over. The spring and the gnome or the goblin is also really fun and that is probably my favorite illustration in the book. I‘m not really a fan of the illustration and altogether this would not be a book I would pick up frequently. It‘s hard to compare to Shel Silverstein and this author doesn‘t come close.

2 ⭐The only redeeming quality in this book is the various words in various African languages that are presented on the pages. The story is over long. It‘s supposed to be about a princess who learns it more to life than crown, but it is so overdone. The ending doesn‘t make up for it and neither do the illustrations. The illustrations are fine, but they feel like a college student still learning.

4 ⭐In this book, we have a kid who loves to make art. They make art everywhere. So much so it gets out of hand, and they must be curtailed. They discover that there are places to make art as big and bold as you need it to be. This book is just as colorful as one would expect. What I really like is the main character Kenji is always listed as they. Children can read what they want into it or see themselves.

4.5 ⭐This is probably one of the most unique picture books I‘ve ever read. When the very first illustrations are of a little girl in a gas mask all expectations go out the window. This book feels like a dystopian future but could very much be now. A young girl has a baby sibling who is not breathing well and needs lots of attention, so she goes off to play. She wanders the woods and finds the witch who explains about the cycle of life.

4 ⭐ Chris Pine did a decent job of writing a kid‘s picture book. He has fantastic rhyming skills, but he needs to practice his cadence skills. Digs an adopted dog, and Zorro the neighborhood squirrel finding their spots in their homes and become friends in this adorable story. However, a reader finds himself tripping over the text because there is no flow. There will be sections of flow in cadence that by the next page is completely gone.

3 ⭐If Julian wasn‘t the son of rockstars, I‘m not sure he would have gotten this book published. The book is fine. It‘s very similar to Press Here. Except in this instance, they‘re in a plane going to different places on earth. Each place has an issue. It could be pollution in the water driving the fish away, a desert that needs irrigation to grow crops, etc. In this book, I like the illustrations better than I like the story.

Jennifer Aniston surprises me. This book was really well done. It‘s not a rhyming book, but the story has great flow. The author does not use too many words to get their point across and the illustrations are fantastic. This is about a dog trying to find their thing while taking an I‘ll try anything once approach to life. It‘s a great lesson for kids and adults alike. But at the same time, it‘s a fun story to read.

5 ⭐ I am not sure what is better the story, the rhymes, or the artwork. This was a really fun book that I would have an amazing time reading at story time.

3 ⭐ This book was fine. The little Labradoodle family takes in a grumpy cat and shows it the true meaning of Christmas. The book rhymes and has a nice cadence. The pictures are lovely. The only thing that does not make sense is the title. This book is about the cat not the dogs. The dogs wake up to presents but otherwise Why does this book have this title.

2.5 ⭐This book is half done. The author does a decent job rhyming and while this story has a cadence there was about four cadences that the author switches around. The illustrations feel old-fashioned but at the same time go well with the story. However, the story ends in the middle of nowhere. It feels like the book isn‘t finished. However if it were to get an ending, it would probably be too long.

4 ⭐ This book is about the bucking bronco of a horse named Steamboat. Steamboat became the symbol of Wyoming that is still used today. This book is about family and not breaking anyones spirit just because you can. This book is a fine biography of a horse. What sets this apart is the artwork. It‘s a goofy somber western comedic style artwork not usually seen in children‘s picture books. But it goes perfectly with this story.

4 ⭐Do you ever get bored of the same ham and Swiss on rye. . This cookbook not only explores the history of sandwiches, but some of the most unique things ever put on them and the recipes to make them.And of all the recipes I‘ve seen the one that sounds most intriguing is the cucumber pineapple sandwich. And the most WTF sandwich is probably the hotdog sloppy Joe‘s sandwich. Also trigger warning: this book is on the side of hotdogs are sandwiches.

3 ⭐Having said that what I have read of this book I think it‘d be nice for like a public library collection, but I wouldn‘t add it to my own. It really didn‘t add anything to what I already knew, and I thought the parts about educating on color hue etc. were long and drawn out. This felt more like sitting through professors‘ class, then picking up a new hobby.

3 ⭐ This book is exactly what you get from the title. Our main character Sarah has never been kissed. She is a senior in high school and it is a very big deal to her and her friends. Her best guy friend makes a bet with her to kiss a random stranger. Sarah cannot say no to her friends‘ bets which gets her in a lot of trouble. Most of this book is Sarah feeling down or anxious about herself: I can‘t do this, I‘m too scared. There‘s two boys,

4 ⭐This is book 3 in the Peapod farm series. Winter has set in there‘s snow, firewood to collect, and farm chores to do. If you‘ve read the other two books in this series, there is nothing new but a deeper appreciation of Lucy and her family. I like the points where you can see the real artist‘s real hands as they draw the panel that you‘re seeing and how it‘s incorporated into the story. I also like how the author answers

2 ⭐The artwork reminds me of the Loud House. This is about a town known for its skateboard gangs or crews. A not-so-great crew of misfits are trying to level up and find a place to shred. The way this book is drawn makes the gang seem like they‘re from the movie Grease or from West Side Story rather than what most modern gangs are like. There is some narrative and in all honesty this book is boring. I am DNFing at 24%.

4 ⭐Boys Town Press has been getting some better authors. This book was a tad long all of Boys Town books are about learning a lesson. In this book, we have two little girls who come home from school. They were left a note of instructions and told to wait for Mom. When they skip part of the instructions, it causes a problem. They use this problem to learn a lesson. The illustrations are bright and colorful and will keep kids‘ attention.

3.5 ⭐This book is a bit of a bait and switch. It starts out with twinkle a star who is not very bright and is dim. She‘s ostracized and not allowed to join other groups because of how not bright she is. She goes off and finds her own way until the day an angel comes and says shine your light. Turns out she‘s a guide for the newborn king. I say this is a bait and switch because without reading the descriptions and based entirely on cover,

2 ⭐This book is overly long. The author does a decent job trying to rhyme but does not pay attention to the cadence. The story itself is fine but nothing new. The illustrations are not bad, but then the type set of the words and the way they‘re laid on top of the illustrations, not in bubbles, not in tone with the picture, but it as a field that has been erased , makes the book look self-published in a bad way.

2.5 ⭐Apparently this graphic novel is based on a movie. I have not seen the movie. The artwork in this book is lovely. However, the story is at times hard to follow. I think so much has been cut from the movie to make the book fit within a certain set of page numbers. Parts of the story are confusing, and it feels like we‘re missing pieces. Overall, the book is beautiful, but it was not as satisfying read.

3⭐This was not the happiest book to start 2025 with. From the very beginning, we know that Greta is dead. We don‘t know why but the story is being narrated by her friend Shane. This story is of a girl who had a picture-perfect life on the surface, but a troubled family underneath. The story revolves around what happens after she dies. It‘s her friend Shane telling us about Greta about her friends and how all these interconnected stories take place

4.5 ⭐This is a sequel full speed to a crash landing. We follow the same characters just a little time after we left them. Ada cannot be found at a fancy gala on one of the Earth ready to pull a giant heist. Ryan‘s not far behind her. While the rest of the crew is not with him, he has a new team and his goal is to get back what Ada took and prevent her from stealing anything else. The fate of the original earth is on the line.

4.5 ⭐Every generation needs a parent trap. Let it glow is a new take on the parent trap without trapping parent. We have two young girls, one whose grandmother lives at an assisted living facility and another whose grandfather is looking at living in the assisted living facility. They are both adopted. They are both 12 years old. And they meet for the first time at the assisted living facility and go you have my face.

2 ⭐ I wanted to like this. I like the previous book in this series. In this book, we have a woman constantly worried about her weight. When she wakes up as a vampire Hunter, she ends up weighing more because it‘s muscle but constantly worried about she put on all this weight in these ounces… it got exhausting. I‘m sure there‘s a good story in there someplace as the first book was fantastic.

3.5 ⭐ Climbing the cornfield three takes us to a cult. This cult feels like an Amish society. They worship Frando and there was just weird crap that goes on. Like cannibalism and other things. There are a lot of leftover questions from this book. I know there‘s going to be a book for but this book barely connects to the other too. It does connect, but it‘s getting out there. It‘s like when Freddie met Jason in space.

4 ⭐ Cursed luck is in Indy book of Kelly Armstrong‘s. In it we have Kennedy who owns an antique shop. She specializes in removing curses from antique objects that she can then resell. One day Aiden comes in to make her approve that she can actually do as advertised. The two end up on a wild urban fantasy adventure that sends her back home to her sisters and the rest of her family.

4 ⭐ Killjoy takes us back to the world of a good girls ‘s guide to murder. This is a prequel story that tells us when our main character decided they were gonna look into this murder. It all starts with a how to host a murder party thrown by a friend. This was a novella put out for world book night, and it was a nice story to the series. I didn‘t like book number three so revisiting the main character from book number one was perfect.

4 ⭐ Maisie book is a Maisie book. in this book, she goes to the eye doctor. The book is exactly what one expects it to be. The only thing they don‘t get into is glaucoma testing, and that little puff of air. Now odds are that‘s not happening on kids, but still it‘s something I think should be noted because some kids might have to have that.

4 ⭐ This book is exactly as the title explains. It‘s about a little kid going from being the passenger in a baby seat to having their own two wheels. This book is lovely. You don‘t see kids riding bikes around neighborhoods anymore, like they used to once upon a time. To see a love for bicycles and the need to get out and ride one is lovely. The illustrations bring back the nostalgia of being a child riding their first two wheel bike.

3 ⭐ This book is long. It is about a grandpa bear and a cub. The cub sees the postcard that‘s always been on his grandfather ‘s fridge and ask him about it. And they decide they are going to train and get ready to go to Faraway Valley. Once they finally find faraway valley, grandpa decides to stay because the place is beautiful and he wants to help take care of it. This book is overly long for no reason.

4 ⭐This book is hard. It‘s about a child that continuously spends a lot of time in the hospital. And how they feel going between the hospital and regular school. How they feel they have to keep things separate or be like other children and try to forget their hospital time. But the story is useful. First off, the note from the author in the beginning about hospital kids being a little different and needing the public to understand that things

4 ⭐ This book is lovely. While it looks like a picture book it‘s a small chapter book that is fully illustrated in color. It tells the story of evergreen a little squirrel who must go deliver medicine to Grandma Oak. To do so they must cross the forest which is dark and scary and has strange and dangerous things happen. But Evergreen learns that adventure awaits if you‘re only brave enough to take it. This book was lovely w excellent illustrations

3 ⭐ A ghost loves being in the meadow, making friends collecting flowers, etc. Their dream job is to take over the haunting of a very important castle. Upon landing their dream job they do it and they love it until they realize that they‘re losing part of themselves. They need to go back to the meadow. I understand the allegory of this book. That sometimes what you dream of doing is not actually right for you. But I‘m not sure if it‘s the phrasing

4 ⭐I might need to keep this one a little longer for my niece. Who‘s really gotten into dinosaur and also has a tendency to get very emotional very quickly. This would be entertaining at a story time. The book rhymes well, it has a nice cadenc,e and the illustrations are bright and colorful. Altogether, this is a great book that I could see being at storytime for the next 20+ years.

2 ⭐ This is not one of Wells ‘s better books. It‘s four vignettes of little kids who like to do stuff and what they may become when they grow up. The illustrations are classic Wells. They are lovely. They‘re memorable and recognizeable characters from other books she has written. However, there‘s not really a story. It‘s more informative.

4 ⭐ This book was wonderful. It was rhyming fun. The cadence was spot on. The story was entertaining. This would be great fun at storytime. Between the story itself and all the sound words that kids will get into and want to beatbox along with. Add some colorful, exciting illustrations and I‘m surprised I haven‘t heard more about this book.

3 ⭐Some kids and a dog play a game of “go and yet”. The narrator says go and get something with a letter. The kids bring back something obvious, and the dog always brings something back not as obvious. This book is repetitive but in a way that makes sense. It is cute and the illustrations are lovely. However, it‘s not special. It feels like something you have seen and read before. That‘s not a bad thing. It‘s just a usual thing.

4 ⭐This wonderfully illustrated picture book is about a little girl waiting for EID, which is a celebration of the end of Ramadan. The story is nice but as someone who is not Islamic, I needed more information. That information is provided at the end of the book which makes the story more understandable. It‘s well done. It‘s entertaining and it‘s interesting. It can be a little long, so this is not so much a bedtime story for a lot of people

4 ⭐This is a fun rhyming book. The best part of this book is probably the illustrations. There is so much to talk about. First off the dog is done in paint while the cat is done in colored pencil. And the two are separate, but together on the page. As the story progresses, or the animals find safety, their art forms merge creating a third form of art within these books. The way the author has welded the art in this book to tell a story of the

4 ⭐This book is full of the Mother Goose nursery rhymes children love and enjoy. What makes this book unique is the inclusion or the replacement of some words with their Hindi counterpart. This is a great way to learn new words in Hindi as well as a chance to enjoy some amazingly beautiful artwork.

2⭐This is about an introverted little girl who doesn‘t want to make friends or be around other people. She gets a new dog that must be taken outside and she slowly gets used to people and eventually makes her own friend. I understand this story and maybe because we‘re going through this with my niece I don‘t like this story. Mainly because we already have dogs and that doesn‘t help. The story is fine. Illustrations are nice. It‘s just not my thing

4 ⭐It took just the right book for a goat to start reading and stop eating books. The same goat became a book seller and found a love of picking the right book for the right person. Until the day another goat comes into the bookshop and starts eating every book they‘re handed. But goat number one must figure out how to get goat number two to like books to read and not eat just as much as go one. This book was fun. There‘s no other way to put it.