BOOK REVIEWS

Illustration from Bears Don't Read by Emma Chichester Clark. 

CLICK TO READ THE LATEST REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS!

A QUICK LOOK AT SOME OF OUR MOST RECENT REVIEWS ​(UPDATED 1/17/2025)

THE ALPHABET OF PECULIAR CREATURES (Katie Abey)
Imagination Soup: "Kids who like wacky and weird will adore this book of unusual creatures, starting with A for Axolotol and continuing to J for Jerboa and Z for Zebu. Each page shows an illustration of the animal plus the pronunciation and a sentence or two of information about the animal. I love this book!"

ESCAPE ROOM: CAN YOU ESCAPE THE MUSEUM? (Dr. Gareth Moore, Beatriz Castro)
ESCAPE ROOM:CAN YOU ESCAPE THE THEME PARK? (Dr. Garteth Moore, DGPH Studio)
​Jamie Bills: "These books are AWESOME. They can be done alone or as a group. Inside the back cover, there are press-out models to help solve the puzzles throughout the book. ... How fun is this? My family LOVES escape rooms."

EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN (Molly Oldfield)
Shelves of Color: "Whether your kids want to read one question/answer every day, or flip through when they’re feeling curious (that’s Ishaan’s style), this is a book for your coffee table all year around. As a bonus, it’s also beautifully illustrated!"

THE HUNT FOR THE NIGHTINGALE (Sarah Ann Juckes, Sharon King-Chai)
Youth Services Book Review: "[A] great middle grade book to hand to a kid who might be going through a loss in their own life, or who is experiencing anxiety. … To whom would you recommend this book? Any middle grade reader who enjoys books with random facts in it and is open to a book that deals with some heavy feelings."

I SAY OOH, YOU SAY AAH (John Kane)
Imagination Soup: "Readers get to participate in telling this very silly story — and they’ll be cracking up the whole time. Meet the narrator’s best friend named OOH, who you’ll scare away. Then you’ll help him find his underpants… Or are they YOURS? What a crack-up! I love it!"

I'M THANKFUL FOR MY BODY (Lindsay Sagar)
Nanny Miss Monique: "[E]ncourages learning, play, imagination, and gratitude."

MILLIE-MAE THROUGH THE SEASONS and MILLIE MAE LOVES TO PLAY (Natalie Marshall)
​Nanny Miss Monique: "...picture book series created by Natalia Marshall following all the fun with the fashionable Millie-Mae. With rich, descriptive storytelling with natural colors and friendly surprises this little girl is all set to discover the world around her–just like your little one!"

NIBBLES THE VERY HUNGRY BOOK MONSTER (Emma Yarlett)
Storymamas: "My kids giggle and laugh at his antics! They loved recognizing some of stories he ran through …"

SEÑOR ROSCOE (Jim Field)
Shelves of Color: "Whether you’re going on a ski trip or beach vacation, Señor Roscoe’s got you covered. Join him and his goldfish Fry on a bilingual (English-Spanish) adventure to visit many friends. ... Parents of toddlers: you’ll also love that this book has reinforced pages (somewhere between a board book and a picture book) in case your little one tends to be a little rough on their books."

YOGA ANIMALS: AT THE SEASHORE (Christiane Kerr & Jason Hooke, Julia Green)
Imagination Soup: "This is a social-emotional and yoga story about a crab’s day. His fish friends support his many feelings–grumpy, alone, frustrated, etc.– by sharing yoga poses that can help. His initial emotions move into other emotions as he does the yoga poses. For example, he moves from tired to energized and from shy to brave."