Oh, Bother! Someone’s Messy!

Oh, Bother! Someone's Messy! by Betty Birney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

A messy room. A child who doesn't care. A frustrated mommy.

Sound familiar? Here is a cute and somewhat "back door" approach to talking to your child about his/her messy room. Bright colors, adorable characters, and a simple little tale explain the importance of keeping your room clean in this short children's book. Not only does Roo find out that it's more fun to have a clean room, but Piglet shows him how to have a tidy room!

This fun little book with a lesson tucked into it's pages is great for ages 3 to 6 - give or take on either side depending on siblings.

Biscuit Loves Father’s Day by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Biscuit Loves Father's Day by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

This is another cute book in the series about a little girl and her dog named Biscuit. The theme of this book - as the title says! - is about Father's Day. It's a simple, yet very sweet, storyline that is wonderful for helping young children understand what Father's Day is all about. As usual, Biscuit will keep their attention with his cute antics. My kids enjoyed this short story with the interactive flaps that show more action on each page. It's a cute book to borrow or own and to read each year just before Father's Day.

The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle

The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

Another cute animal story by Eric Carle with delightful pictures to enjoy. This story about a little cricket is fun to read and better to own than borrow. The little ones will be wanting to read it again and again. Especially with the little noise chip that works in new ones...but not library loans!

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Related books:

• The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle (readornotread.blogspot.com)
• Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle (readornotread.blogspot.com)
• 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle (readornotread.blogspot.com)
• Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle (readornotread.blogspot.com)
• How Do You Tuck In a Superhero? by Rachel Balducci (readornotread.blogspot.com)
• See How They Grow Books By DK (readornotread.blogspot.com)

The Very Clumsy Click Beetle by Eric Carle

The Very Clumsy Click Beetle by Eric Carle

MY REVIEW:

This is a cute little story and a great introduction to a neat insect. The storyline is simple, silly, fun, and entertaining. The pictures are bright and catchy as usual. The only "caution" is that if you borrow this book from the library, see if they have one with the working sound affects. It would probably make the story even more fun!

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Related articles:

• Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle (readornotread.blogspot.com)
• The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle (readornotread.blogspot.com)
• 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle (readornotread.blogspot.com)
• Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle (readornotread.blogspot.com)

Hello Red Fox by Eric Carle

Hello Red Fox by Eric Carle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

We did not finish this book. It was a silly story, which in of it's self is not the point. But to read this story and enjoy it you had to stare at a dot for 10 seconds and then look at another dot and supposedly you would see the same picture in a different color. It did not work for us and without that the story did not make sense. Maybe if you have perfect vision this might work for you! I say it's pretty hard for younger children to understand let alone "see".

Biscuit Loves Mother’s Day by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Biscuit Loves Mother's Day by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

This book cute book in the Biscuit Series is a perfect way to introduce and talk to your children about the meaning of Mother's Day. It's a sweet story featuring the little girl and her adorable puppy, Biscuit, and how they spend the day with Mommy. Each page has a flap that allows interaction and fun. My kids enjoyed the cute antics of Biscuit and thinking about what they could do for Mother's Day!

Driving Force by Craig Robert Carey

Driving Force by Craig Robert Carey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

Tonka did well with this book! My three-year-old son had me read this book over and over and then he sat down and poured over the pictures on his own. Each page is about one or two pieces of large equipment and the storyline is simple yet interesting, even for Mommy! If you have a boy this is one that you will want to at least borrow and possibly buy to own.

Bitsy’s Harvest Party by Melody Carlson

Bitsy's Harvest Party by Melody Carlson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

Bitsy's Harvest Party is a sweet book about appreciating and using the gifts that God has given us and to others. Bitsy wants to have a party but feels discouraged when her friends answer her question about what makes a good party. However, when all the friends use their abilities together it is a great Harvest Party!

The kids and I enjoyed the simple story line and the sweet spider character friends. They were probably the nicest spiders we have ever known! The story is bibically based and straightforward in a charming way. The only thing that I would change would be the font size for all the words - they are slightly hard to read! I would recommend it's target audience be 4 to 6-year-olds, but think there is plenty of flexibility when read to a mix of ages.

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MORE BY MELODY CARLSON:

• Anything But Normal by Melody Carlson
• 12 Pearls Of Christmas: Perspective

Animals Animals by Eric Carle

Animals Animals by Eric Carle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

Eric Carle is known for his unique illustrations and this book continues on with the bright colors and sometimes silly pictures. Animals Animals is full of just what you would expect - animals! Ocean-living animals, dessert-living animals, jungle-living animals, zoo-living animals, barn-living animals and more are all found in the 88 pages of this book. However, rather than have a traditional storyline to it, each page holds one more poems.

Now, if you are a poetry-loving person you will enjoy this book, but if not, you can easily just talk about the pictures and/or make up your own words as you go. While my kids enjoyed the fun illustrations, they poetry was too long for their attention span and some of it was rather hard for them "to get".

It's a cute book, but not one of Carle's best.

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MORE BOOKS BY ERIC CARLE:

• 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle 
• Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle 
• The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
• Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle

Tail, Toes, Eyes, Ears, Nose by Marilee Robin Burton

Tail, toes, eyes, ears, nose by Marilee Robin Burton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

It would be easy to look at this book and pass it up, but it's a treasure. The story line is simple - tail, toes, eyes, ears, and nose. Each page shows all of those things and when you turn the page it shows what it is. The fun of this book is watching you child guess what the animal is before you turn the page. It looks like a book made for young children - toddlers - but my 4-year-old loved this book and had so much fun with it. I recommend this book for it's fun, it's interaction, and the thinking skills that it makes kids use.

Dawdle Duckling by Toni Buzzeo

Dawdle Duckling by Toni Buzzeo

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

While this sports the adorable illustrations of Margaret Spengler, the story line leaves much to be desired. It may be cute, but there is an ugly side to this book when the little Dawdle Duckling tells his Mommy "no" over and over again. I used this book to point out how naughty Dawdle was being, but really, this book could be left unread and you could enjoy other ones instead. I would suggest another book by this author and illustrator titled Little Loon and Papa.

Smile a Lot! by Nancy Carlson

Smile a Lot! by Nancy Carlson

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

Smile A Lot! is a cute book with what seems to be a really cute storyline. It's all about how smiling makes your day better, makes friends easier, and makes bad situations better. While all of that may be true, the book also gives examples of deciding to play on the monkey bars when the swings are full and "smile a lot" so that the kids will think you are having more fun than they are and then the swings will open up and you can swing. In reality, this is teaching children to smile to get their way. It's manipulating.

Most of the book is okay, but there is enough that represents manipulation that I would rather not read this to my kids.

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Related articles:

• I Don't Like To Read! by Nancy Carlson (readornotread.blogspot.com)

The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

The Grouchy Ladybug is the story of a ladybug who is very grouchy. So grouchy that he is ready to pick a fight with everyone he comes upon. That is until he realized just how big they are!

I liked this cute little story because of it's fun storyline and unique way of teaching time to children. On each hour the ladybug meets someone else and the story tells what time it is while showing a traditional clock in the top of the page. There are also some neat features like a whale's tale page that make this an attention capturing book for kids.

This would be a good book to use as a teaching tool as well as for some cute and colorful entertainment.

Little Loon and Papa by Toni Buzzeo

Little Loon and Papa by Toni Buzzeo

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

What drew me to this book is the illustrations! Margaret Spengler is an amazing illustrator! The story is cute, too, as Little Loon learns to dive. This book provides a cute story, lots of lovable animals, and adorable pictures to make a simple and quick read for young children and toddlers.

Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle

Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

Have you seen my cat? is a simple picture book with a short story of a boy asking "have you seen my cat?" Each page takes you to another country with another breed of cat before ending with "my cat". The pictures are unique and bright in typical Eric Carle fashion. While this book does not stand out in anyway, it's also not a bad book either.

Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle

Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

While Mister Seahorse is a simple and straightforward storyline, it is irresistible with it's unique overlay pages that show how various fish blend in and hide in their surroundings. It presents interesting facts about a handful of fish while keeping it all in the story. My 6-year-old daughter was telling her Dad all about the fun fish facts in this book after we read it together. The bright colors add to it's appeal for younger eyes and help make it not just a good book, but a great book for little minds!

I Don’t Like To Read! by Nancy Carlson

I Don't Like to Read by Nancy Carlson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

BOOK OVERVIEW:

This is one of several books about Henry the mouse and his school day adventures. This book - I Don't Like to Read! - is about just what it says. However, with a little extra help and some motivation, too, Henry soon finds that he does want to read.

MY REVIEW:

The name caught my attention right away and I was not disappointed by this book. We also enjoyed reading other books in this series to help set the stage for who Henry was and his school struggle. This one is a simple and fun way to start a conversation with your kids about reading or not reading; especially with a child who also may not want to read. I appreciated the way it addressed the struggle without making a big deal about it and then in the end showing how Henry, with a little extra work, learned how to read and then could enjoy it.

MORE BOOKS:

There are several more books in this series.  We have read a few of these and like what we have read so far.

10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle

10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

10 Little Rubber Ducks combines a simple story line, counting to 10, bold illustrations, and makes a fun children's book out of it all! I enjoyed how the story was based on a real life incident and how through telling a simple story, Carle was able to add so many learning elements that make this simple entertainment and easy teaching all in one. There are such unique elements to this book (like the whales tale page) that keep the kids attention and excited to turn the page. This book is easy to read to young children and older children alike.

Otis by Janie Bynum

Otis by Janie Bynum

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

BOOK OVERVIEW: T

his is the story of a little pig who doesn't like to be dirty. He has no one to play with since all the other pigs like to get dirty. Just before this story comes to a sad close, Otis meets someone else who doesn't like to get dirty.

MY REVIEW:

Otis is and adorable story with cute illustrations that bring it to life. It was a fun story to read and had enough twist in the storyline to make my 4-year-old anticipate the next page. I also liked how the story, in a back door manner, brought out the fact that while you may be different, you are never alone - there is always someone else who understand - you may just not have met them yet. Over all, this book is fun to read just to enjoy the cute little piggy pictures!