[ARC REVIEW] Don't Drink the Pink by B.C.R. Fegan (@TaleBlade , @bcrfegan )

Title:  Don't Drink the Pink 

Author:  B.C.R. Fegan

Artist:  Lenny Wen

Genre:  Children's / Family / Magic / Fantasy

Year Published: 2019

Year Read:  2019

Publisher: TaleBlade

Source:  eARC (NetGalley)

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

I would like to thank NetGalley and TaleBlade for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have been enjoying many of TaleBlade’s children’s books and I had just recently read their newest book “Don’t Drink the Pink” by B.C.R Fegan along with artwork by Lenny Wen and it was quite an amazing and emotional book to read!

Every year, Madeline’s grandfather would come and visit Madeline on her birthday and he would give her some special potions.  However, Madeline’s grandfather would always tell Madeline to never drink the pink potion.  Madeline would then start drinking the potions that her grandfather gave her, like drinking the red potion would make Madeline breathe fire or drinking the orange potion would make Madeline control the weather.  But, when the time comes for Madeline to finally drink the pink potion, Madeline will soon discover the true magic of the pink potion that her grandfather gave her.

Wow!  This was seriously one of the most unique children’s books that I had ever read!  B.C.R Fegan did a fantastic job at writing this book as the narrative is told in rhymes and I loved the way that B.C.R Fegan involved both numbers and colors into the narrative.  I also loved the fact that B.C.R Fegan made this story extremely emotional and heartwarming as it is about a young girl spending a lot of time with her grandfather and we get to see how close their relationship is with each other. I related so much with Madeline because she loves her grandfather and her grandfather loves her back and it reminded of all the times where I used to visit my grandparents.  Lenny Wen’s artwork is adorable to look at as all the characters have rounded faces and eyes and I loved how colorful the images were as they captured the innocent and fun nature of this story.

Overall, “Don’t Drink the Pink” is a truly adorable and heartwarming story about the importance of family that both adults and children will enjoy for many years!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this story.

You might also like:

• Henry and the Hidden Treasure by B.C.R. Fegan

• The Day that A Ran Away by B.C.R. Fegan

• The Very Bad Bunny by Marilyn Sadler

Book Depository

[BOOK REVIEW] Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia by Herman Parish

Title:  Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia

Author:  Herman Parish

Artist: Lynn Sweat

Genre:  Children's / Humor / Cars / Birthday

Year Published: 1995

Year Read:  2019

Publisher:  Avon Camelot 

Series: Amelia Bedelia #13

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I have been reading the “Amelia Bedelia” books ever since I was little and I used to read this series at my school library.  I had actually forgot that I had owned one of the “Amelia Bedelia” books ever since I was little and it was a little book called “Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia,” which was written by Peggy Parish’s nephew, Herman Parish along with artwork by Lynn Sweat.  This book was such a treat to read through!

It was Amelia Bedelia’s birthday and Mr. and Mrs. Rogers decided to give Amelia Bedelia the day off to celebrate.  It was then that Amelia Bedelia told them that she will go and visit her cousin Alcolu and Mr. Rogers said that he will come with Amelia Bedelia to see her cousin.  Unfortunately, Amelia Bedelia has not driven a car in a while and whenever Mr. Rogers tried to give Amelia Bedelia directions to take on the road, Amelia Bedelia would either get everything mixed up or would take certain phrases seriously, such as when Mr. Rogers asks Amelia Bedelia to look for a fork in the road, Amelia Bedelia thought that Mr. Rogers meant to find silverware in the road.

Will Amelia Bedelia and Mr. Rogers be able to make it to the birthday party?

Read this book to find out!

Wow!  I never would have thought that Herman Parish would be able to bring out the same type of humor that was present in Peggy Parish’s “Amelia Bedelia” books! Herman Parish did a fantastic job at writing this book as we get to see more adventures from Amelia Bedelia and the Rogers and the adventures here are just as hilarious as ever! When it came to the “Amelia Bedelia” books, I was always laughing out loud at Amelia Bedelia constantly getting things mixed up or not quite understanding what other people are saying. So, when I came across a “Amelia Bedelia” book where Amelia Bedelia is learning how to drive, I just had to see how this situation will turn out with Amelia Bedelia at the helm!  Lynn Sweat’s artwork is truly cute to look at as I loved the clothing style of Amelia Bedelia herself as she is always dressed in a black dress with a white apron that shows off her status as the Rogers’ maid.

Overall, “Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia” is a treat to behold, especially if you are a huge fan of the “Amelia Bedelia” series!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

You might also like:

• Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

• Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

• The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

[BOOK REVIEW] Battle Bunny (Birthday Bunny) by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett

Title:  Battle Bunny (Birthday Bunny)

Authors:  Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett

Artist: Matthew Myers

Genre:  Animals / Violence / Alternative Narrative / Cute

Year Published: 2013

Year Read:  2015

Publisher:   Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Fight Scenes)

       

After reading Jon Scieszka’s famous children’s books “The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales” and “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs,” I was really excited to check out some of Jon Scieszka’s latest works!  Lo and behold, I happened to stumble upon one of Jon Scieszka’s most recent children’s book “Battle Bunny (or Birthday Bunny),” co-written by Mac Barnett along with illustrations by Matthew Myers (along with some help from Alex) and this was a pretty interesting read!

 

Story 1: Birthday Bunny

Today is a special day for Bunny as he realizes that today is his birthday and spends most of the story going to his friends Crow, Badger, Squirrel, Turtle and Bear and telling them that today is a special day indeed! Unfortunately, all of Birthday Bunny’s friends do not seem to realize that today is his birthday and Bunny is upset over this.

Will Bunny’s friends remember his birthday?

Story 2: Battle Bunny

Today is a special day for Battle Bunny as he starts plotting to take over the world by cutting down all of the trees in the forest!  Battle Bunny meets up his enemies Crow, El Tejon the Badger Wrestler, Sergeant Squirrel of the Robot Police Force, Shaolin Bear and Ninja Turtle and he ends up beating up all of them.  It seems that no one will be able to defeat Battle Bunny and his plans of world domination until a small boy named Alex steps up to take down Battle Bunny!

Will Alex save the day?

Read this book to find out what happens in both of these stories!

 

I have actually heard about this book through one of my book friends’ reviews and as I was reading their review on this book, I was immediately interested and I went right away to my library to pick up this book!  This was probably one of the most creative picture books I had ever read as the format is quite unique from what I usually read from picture books.  I loved the way that both Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett wrote this story as you have the story about Birthday Bunny being the actual story going on here while the story about Battle Bunny is the one that is being written over the “Birthday Bunny” story (with childlike drawings and multiple crossing out of words being shown in loving detail).  I must admit that I enjoyed the “Battle Bunny” story a bit more than the “Birthday Bunny” story because well, the “Birthday Bunny” story is your typical “main character is celebrating their birthday with their friends” plot, while the “Battle Bunny” story is full of awesome moments of Battle Bunny battling his enemies while that was the story that was being written over the “Birthday Bunny” story with childlike drawings being drawn all over the pages!  Matthew Myers’ artwork is truly creative and cute at some parts as the drawings of Birthday Bunny are drawn in a cute and realistic way while the artwork for Battle Bunny are drawn in stick figures and has militaristic accessories being drawn on the birthday bunny characters to make them all look tougher than how they are really drawn.

 

The reason why I gave this book a four star rating was because there were times where it was difficult to read through this book due to having to read two different stories going on at the same time.  Now, this is a pretty creative way to write a story, but this might be pretty hard for some children to read through, especially if they are not used to reading two different stories going on at the same time.

 

Overall, “Battle Bunny (Birthday Bunny)” is a truly creative story for both children and adults to read as it is full of comedy and action that will last for years!  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the writing style might confuse some children.