Little One’s Book Review: Usborne Lift-the-Flap “Sharks” by Kirsteen Rogers, illustrated by Peter Scott

Mama’s not too embarrassed to admit that she was a little scared to turn the page sometimes, the artwork was so detailed!! She’s not crazy about sharks but she liked the book because it was so informative and engaging. We recommend!

BOOK DETAILS
Usborne Lift-the-Flap Sharks
by Kirsteen Rogers, illustrated by Peter Scott
2005
Hardcover, 16 pages
Usborne

OUR CHALLENGE
Read together: May 15, 2020
Book #29 in our 1000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge

Rating: 5 / 5
coffee beans

Hey friends,

Mama and I are here with a quick book review.

Mama, Mimi and I read a great science book about sharks recently, and now we know more about this species than we thought possible!! Of course, the reason we loved this book so much is because it’s one of the awesome titles offered by Usborne Books and More!

The book is thoroughly researched with so many shark facts that when I’m older, I’m going to really dive into this one again. This is a Lift-the-Flap title and offers a fun, interactive way to explore the underwater world of sharks. We learned about some of the most recognizable players in the shark world (for example, great whites and hammerheads) but the book also highlighted some less well-known (but just as potentially dangerous) species as well.

We also learned that sharks rarely attack humans and when they do it’s because they’re mistaking them for food — not because sharks naturally enjoy snacking on humans. (In fact, they’d much rather have a fellow sea creature for lunch!)

The book is a nice size, full of colorful artwork and best of all, is as interactive as any kid would like! The Lift-the-Flap feature makes this already wonderful book a full 5/5 coffee beans for us.

Mama’s not too embarrassed to admit that she was a little scared to turn the page sometimes, the artwork was so detailed!! She’s not too fond of sharks but she liked the book because it was so informative and engaging. We recommend!

Until Next Time,

Mama & Logan

Little One’s Book Review: “Cats” (Usborne Beginners Series) by Anna Milbourne, designed by Michelle Lawrence

This Usborne Beginners Series book is a great children’s introduction to the exciting world of kittens and cats. It’s a detailed book, heavy on the science and biology of the feline species, but still elementary enough for little people. We enjoyed it and rated it 5 stars.

Cats
Usborne Beginners Series
by Anna Milbourne, designed by Michelle Lawrence
2006
Hardcover, 32 pages
Usborne Books

Read together April 25, 2020
Rating: 5 / 5 ⭐️
Book #25 in our 1000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge

This Usborne book is a great children’s introduction to the exciting world of kittens and cats. It’s a detailed book, heavy on the science and biology of the feline species, but still elementary enough for little people. (Note: At almost 8 months, Logan is definitely not the target audience for this title — or most of the titles we read — so it is much more appropriate for an older child).

The book is interesting and full of facts, and I read some things that I didn’t know about cats, even as a cat owner. The graphics include both photographs and artwork and fill out the book in a streamlined way. It’s a good primer for cat newbies and lovers alike, or for anyone eager to learn something new about their feline friends. We will revisit this one when Logan is older, maybe about 4-5.5 / 5 ⭐️ for being richly informative and entertaining.

Another book review on the way. Continue to stay well and healthy, friends 🌼

xoxo,

Mama & Logan (almost 8 months old now)

Mama’s Book Review: “Dinosaur vs. Bedtime” by Bob Shea

A scenario any child can relate to, this super-short and simple book is appropriate for the youngest of children and shows how hard a little dinosaur will fight bedtime. Spoiler alert: bedtime eventually wins.

Dinosaur vs. Bedtime
by Bob Shea
2008
Hardcover Board Book, 40 pages
Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Read together February 20, 2020
Rating: 2 / 5 ⭐️
Book #21 in our “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” challenge

A quick little board book about a red dinosaur who doesn’t want to go to bed. A scenario any child can relate to, this super-short and simple book is appropriate for the youngest of children and shows how hard a little dinosaur will fight bedtime — although it will conquer him in the end. We gave it 2 stars because it’s such a simple, elementary reading experience and we’re striving for more. This book, part of the Dinosaur Vs. series, is cute but not great.

Spring has almost sprung! More titles coming soon!!

xoxo,

Mama & Logan

Little One and Mama’s Book Review: “The Finger and the Nose” by Paula Merlan and Gomez (illustrator)

Originally published in Portugal, “The Finger and the Nose” tells an amusing tale of extreme nose-picking and a child’s (forced) mission to evict her troublesome friend from his nose-home. You’ve never read anything like it!!

The Finger and the Nose
by Paula Merlan
Gomez (illustrator)
2019
Hardcover, 44 pages
NubeOcho

Read together February 2, 2020
Rating: 3 / 5 ⭐️
Book #19 in our “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” challenge

Little One’s Book Review: Sophie has a little problem…that’s quickly turning into a big problem. She loves picking her nose; a common enough habit for most children, Sophie has taken her picking to the next level. She loves picking her nose so much that she has named her nose-picking finger Tom, and he’s become a rather close friend.

One day, she looks in the mirror and notices that her nose is getting bigger; she compares it to a large radish. It has beyond doubled in size and the growth doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Her parents told her this would happen if she didn’t stop letting Tom the Finger in her nose to root around all the time. Of course, Sophie didn’t believe them but now she thinks there might be something to it.

Sophie has made a nice home in her nose for Tom the Finger and he’s starting to explore and expand every day. That’s why her poor nose is getting bigger; Tom is upgrading his habitat!! Upon closer inspection, he’s got quite a nice place to live in Sophie’s nostril: he enjoys a large living room where he reads books, among other nice amenities.

If Sophie wishes her nose to return to normal non-radish size, she’ll have to stop her constant nose-picking and Tom will have to help out. Eventually, she figures out a way to occupy Tom in other pursuits. Things go back to normal when he behaves as properly as Sophie’s other fingers.

Mama’s Book Review: This is a cute book about a rather unsavory habit that many children will relate to and chuckle at while reading the story. I’m willing to bet that both children and adults have not encountered any subject matter quite like it in a children’s book, although the idea (plot) is pretty unique.

Originally published in Portugal, “The Finger and the Nose” tells an amusing tale of extreme nose-picking and a child’s (forced) mission to evict her troublesome friend from his nose-home. You’ve never read anything like it!! The artwork isn’t really a draw for us but it actually matches the story perfectly.

The artwork and the ick factor (which is a bit over the top) are why we rated it 3 / 5 ⭐️ However, we think the “grossness” won’t bother young children too much, as they pride themselves on this kind of behavior sometimes. And the book is perfect for a nice laugh.

Can you believe it’s almost the end of February?! We’ll be back soon with more reviews; marching toward March (and Spring).

xoxo,

Mama & Logan

Little One’s Book Review: “A Big Bed for Little Snow” by Grace Lin

Mama and I read this book a few weeks ago and thought it was pretty good. The story taught a lesson about listening to your mother and not jumping on the bed. It’s a hard rule to follow for many children, as we learn from the main character.

A Big Bed for Little Snow
by Grace Lin
2019
Hardcover, 40 pages
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Read together February 2, 2020
Rating: 3 / 5 ⭐️
Book #18 in our “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” challenge

Mama and I read this book a few weeks ago and thought it was pretty good. The story was a little bland but the illustrations were incredibly beautiful; the artwork was the biggest draw for us, and although we’re not sure, the medium might have been watercolor. The story taught a lesson about listening to your mother and not jumping on the bed. It’s a hard rule to follow for many children, as we learn from the main character.

A little boy named Little Snow has a very special new bed to sleep in during the winter: a big blue bed made out of soft feathers. His mother gave him the bed and warned him to take care of it and sleep carefully in it. Beds ARE just for sleeping, right? Ordinarily that’s true, but Little Snow has discovered how bouncy his new bed is and he can’t resist jumping up and down on it!

Each night during the winter, Little Snow gets ready for bed, and his mother thinks he’s going to just SLEEP in his bed. The sneaky boy waits for his mother to leave before he does his naughty little deed of jumping on his big blue feather bed. He has such a great time jumping up and down and seeing how high he can soar; the fun seems endless.

Unfortunately, to his mother’s chagrin and quiet amusement, she knows exactly what Little Snow is up to each night and she tells him he’s being a naughty boy and he’s going to ruin his wonderful new bed. But Little Snow just can’t help himself; when he should be sleeping, he’s bouncing up and down on his bed like it’s a trampoline!

Soon enough, Little Snow’s bed starts to lose its feathers and go flat. However, his mother isn’t upset with him; it’s the end of the winter season and it’s time to store the bed away. Now that the feathers have all escaped the bed, it’s much easier to do so. Little Snow knows he’ll jump to his heart’s content on the big blue feather bed again next season, and he’s already looking forward to it. (We’re pretty sure his mother knows his plans as well.)

More book reviews on the way!!

xoxo,

Mama & Logan

Little One’s Book Review: “Squirrel’s Secret” by Susie Linn

This is another cute book by author Susie Linn about the important difference between hearing and listening. We read it with Mimi and learned that gossip ruins the day — at least it does for Squirrel!

Squirrel’s Secret
by Susie Linn
2019
Board Book
Little Hippo

Read together (with Mimi) January 24, 2020
Rating: 4 / 5 ⭐️
Book #17 in our “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” challenge

Little One’s Book Review: This is another cute book by author Susie Linn about the important difference between hearing and listening. Squirrel has a dilemma: he has a big secret to tell his forest friends and he’s so excited to share it with them. The problem is, nobody will actually LISTEN to what he’s saying! They are each too busy going about their day to pay attention to his words.

By the time the news passes down the line from animal to animal, a completely different message from what Squirrel said is circulating throughout the forest. Now it’s up to him to make the rounds to correct the skewed secret, one forest friend at a time. It’s not easy, but eventually Squirrel fixes the communication problem and things are back to normal — and he’s super-tired for his efforts!!

“Why won’t my forest friends just open their ears and LISTEN?!” 😂

This is a non-rhyming book that teaches us that we should not gossip and spread information that might not be true, lest we contribute to the daily chaos and confusion surrounding us all. Life is hard enough without miscommunication, folks. Just ask Squirrel!

As with the first book we read by this author, we loved the story and illustrations; we appreciated the moral behind the story and feel that it teaches a good lesson about learning to listen.

xoxo,

Mama & Logan

Mama & Little One’s Book Review: “I Need A Hug” by Susie Linn

We joined Gma (Mimi) again for this reading session and enjoyed another cute story about the love and comfort between a mother and child.

I Need A Hug
by Susie Linn
2018
Board Book
Little Hippo

Read together (with Mimi) January 16, 2019
Rating: 5/5 ⭐️
Book #16 of our “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” challenge

Mama’s Book Review: We joined Gma (Mimi) again for this reading session and enjoyed another cute story about the love and comfort between a mother and child. We always love reading books with Mimi and ask her to read one or two every few weeks. She’s happy to oblige and seems to get as much as fun out of it as we do. The story and illustrations matched up perfectly for a great introduction to the author/illustrator Susie Linn.

Little One’s Book Review: Boo, the nocturnal bushbaby, wakes up one morning to find Mama Bushbaby missing from the zoo where they live. The day can’t proceed in the normal fashion until Boo finds Mama, because Boo needs her good night hug; she simply can’t go to sleep without it. There’s no one around to satisfy Boo with her much-needed embrace — which isn’t surprising, because Boo’s good night hug can only come from Mama.

Boo spends most of the day trying to locate an appropriate good night hug, wandering from various zoo animals, trying out different hugs from each. One hug is too tight, another too scratchy, another too wet, too this, too that, until she comes across the just-right hug from Mama Bushbaby herself. Finally, Boo the bushbaby can relax in her mother’s arms and fall asleep.

I personally understand how Boo is feeling, as I need my Mama often and won’t accept comfort from anyone else. Boo better not lose sight of her Mama again!!

Marching toward February!!

xoxo,

Mama & Logan

Mama’s Book Review: “Remarkably You” by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrations by Patrice Barton

Logan and I are off to a great start in the New Year with our recent children’s book selections. Our first book was another great reflection on the power of being oneself.

Remarkably You
by Pat Zietlow Miller
Illustrations by Patrice Barton
2019
Hardcover, 32 pages
HarperCollins

Read together January 12, 2019
Rating: 5/5 ⭐️
Book #15 of our “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” challenge

Logan and I are off to a great start in the New Year with our recent children’s book selections. (We are so blessed to have so many wonderful books to choose from at our local public library.) Our first book was called “Remarkably You,” and it was another great reflection on the power of being oneself.

This rhyming book teaches children the importance of accepting and embracing their unique personalities and strengths. Every child is entitled to their individual expression of life. The book focuses on childrens’ wide array of personalities, emotional dispositions, talents and strengths.

Some children are creative and want to paint pictures all day, while just as many others want to build or play instruments. The end point being that there is absolutely no “right way” to be oneself. In other words, if we were all the same, it would be such a boring world.

The book spends the perfect amount of pages to get its important message across, and the illustrations are beautifully rendered. We enjoyed it and rated it 5 stars for the feel-good message and delivery. We never get tired of reading uplifting children’s books!!

See you next time. Yikes, it’s mid-January already!!

xoxo,

Mama & Logan

Mama’s Book Review: “The Night Before Christmas” by Clement C. Moore, illustrations by Dana Regan

It was the first time sharing the classic holiday book-poem “The Night Before Christmas” with Little One on December 24th, 2019.

The Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore
Illustrations by Dana Regan
Board Book, Hardcover, 26 pages
HarperFestival

Read together December 24th, 2019
Rating: 5/5 ⭐️
Book #13 in our “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” challenge

We read the classic holiday book-poem “The Night Before Christmas” on December 24th, 2019. Although I had read this book before, it was the first time sharing this little board book with Little One during the holidays. We enjoyed the tradition of reading this one on Christmas Eve and certainly appreciated the rhyming of the poem (we have a preference for rhyming books). Our copy is a little green board book I found on the cheap a few years ago. We will try to make this an annual holiday read.

xoxo,

Mama & Logan

Little One & Mama’s Book Review: “Memories of the Manger” by Michelle Medlock Adams, illustrated by Doris Ettlinger

Mama and I read a really good rhyming holiday book about the birth of Baby Jesus. It was good enough to make it an annual seasonal read. (Plus, it rhymes!)

Memories of the Manger
by Michelle Medlock Adams
Illustrations by Doris Ettlinger
2000
Hardcover, 32 pages
WorthyKids

Read together December 12th, 2019
Rating: 5/5 ⭐️
Book #12 in our “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” challenge

Little One’s Book Review: Mama and I read a really good rhyming holiday book about the birth of Baby Jesus. The birth story is told by one of the older barn animals named Mrs. Dove, who begins the tale as soon as the younger animals gather round. We liked it a lot and gave it 5 stars for the rhyming and sweet illustrations throughout.

Mama’s Book Review: Logan and I liked this one a lot. It’s a simple concept and one of the sweetest stories we’ve read lately. We highly recommend it for the illustrations as well. We might read this book annually.

Wrapping up the holiday reads but never the holiday spirit!!

xoxo in the New Year 🎉,

Mama & Logan