[ARC REVIEW] The Tale of the Tiger Slippers by Jan Brett (@PutnamBooks , @byjanbrett)

Title:  The Tale of the Tiger Slippers

Author:  Jan Brett

Genre:  Children's / Animals / India / Family

Year Published: 2019

Year Read:  2019

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons    

Source:  eARC (Edelweiss)

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I would like to thank Edelweiss and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It has been awhile since I last read a book by Jan Brett.  I used to read many books by Jan Brett when I was little and for a while, I thought that Jan Brett had taken a break from writing books.  But, lo and behold!  I had just discovered her most recent book “The Tale of the Tiger Slippers” and it was such a wonderful book to read!

The story starts off with a wealthy tiger telling his friends the story of how he got his raggedy old slippers that is put in a display case in his garden.  The tiger used to be poor as he had lived with his mother and he worked hard every day to make ends meet for him and his mother.  One day, his mother noticed how the stones and thorns in the ground were hurting her son’s feet.  So she decided to weave him a pair of beautiful slippers to protect his feet.  The young tiger wore the slippers and as he continued working, he noticed some white clay near the river and he decided to use the white clay to build houses for the other animals, which made him into an extremely wealthy tiger.  The tiger then continues wearing his slippers, until a couple of other animals would start questioning him about why he wears such “ugly and raggedy” slippers and the tiger would throw the slippers away.  But every time the tiger threw the slippers away, they keep on coming back to him.

Can the Tiger get rid of his slippers or is there something more to his slippers that he does not realize yet? 

Read this book to find out!

Wow!  Jan Brett’s writing is still as beautiful and as intriguing as ever!  I loved the fact that this is based off a folktale from India since I love reading folktales from other countries.  I also loved the way that Jan Brett wrote this story as it is about a wealthy tiger trying to remember his roots through his old slippers that his mother had weaved for him.  This story really resonates with me because I always liked to keep items from my childhood since I do not ever want to forget about my roots or about the fun times that I had as a child.  Jan Brett’s artwork is as usual gorgeous to look at as all the animal characters looks so realistic and beautiful.   I especially loved the images of the tiger’s beautiful house as it conveys the essence of the culture of India and it is gorgeous to look at, especially with all the vegetation that surrounds his home.

Overall, “The Tale of the Tiger Slippers” is a truly wonderful story about the importance of remembering your roots that children and parents will enjoy reading for many years!  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

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[BOOK REVIEW] The Big Balloon Race by Eleanor Coerr

Title:  The Big Balloon Race

Author:  Eleanor Coerr

Artist: Carolyn Croll

Genre: Balloons / Adventure / Family / Children's

Year Published: 1981

Year Read:  2019

Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers

Series: I Can Read Books

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Some Complex Terms)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

When I was little, my parents used to buy me and my sisters a couple of books from the “I Can Read” book series.  We have quite a lot of books from this series and one of the books that we had owned for a long time was “The Big Balloon Race” by Eleanor Coerr along with artwork by Carolyn Croll.  This is definitely a book you should read if you are a huge fan of aeronauts!

The story starts off with Ariel begging her mother Carlotta the Great to go into the balloon race with her.  But Carlotta the Great thinks that Ariel is too young to be in the race and tells Ariel that as soon as they get to the race, she should stay in the Odds and Ends box until it was time for the race to begin.  When the Myers family finally made it to the balloon race, there was a huge celebration for the competing balloonists, which was between Bernard the Brave and Carlotta the Great herself.  Ariel then slept in the Odds and Ends box until the mayor’s speech was over.  But Ariel accidentally overslept and Carlotta the Great ended up going into her balloon and taking off with Ariel inside the basket.  When Ariel finally woke up, she noticed that she was now in the air with her mother and now she has to help her mother win the race against Bernard the Brave!

Wow!  I was quite impressed with this book!  Eleanor Coerr did a fantastic job at writing this book as the book is full of excitement and wonder as we get to see how the balloon races were set up during the 1880s!  I enjoyed seeing the excitement that the protagonists have for the balloon race and I loved the fact that they gave it their all in competing in the races.  I especially loved the way that Eleanor Coerr wrote both Carlotta the Great and Ariel as they were the most intriguing characters in the book.  I loved the fact that Carlotta the Great was a strong female protagonist who kept her cool throughout the entire race and even tried to protect Ariel throughout the race.  I also loved the fact that Ariel was so determined to be in the race and when she finally got into the race, she may have panicked at some moments, but she eventually got herself together when the situation got tough.  Carolyn Croll’s artwork is adorable and creative to look at as all the characters have nice rounded faces and I enjoyed seeing all of the different types of balloons that were used in the race.

Overall, “The Big Balloon Race” is a truly joyous read for anyone who loves reading books about balloon races and want to know what aeronauts are.  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since some small children might not understand what the term “aeronaut” means, unless it was explained to them by a parent or a teacher.

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[ARC REVIEW] Your Happy Heart: How Helping Others Helps You, Too by Amie Dean (@NCYI)

Title:  Your Happy Heart: How Helping Others Helps You, Too

Author:  Amie Dean

Artist:  Susan Keeter 

Genre:  Children's / Self Esteem 

Year Published: 2018

Year Read:  2019

Publisher:  National Center for Youth Issues

Source:  Physical Copy Received from Publisher

Content Rating:  Ages 4 + (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

I would like to thank the National Center for Youth Issues for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I just love reading books that are given to me by the National Center for Youth Issues since they are always publishing fantastic children’s books that deal with social issues that small children will have to face.  So, I just recently got my copy of “Your Happy Heart: How Helping Others Helps You, Too” by Amie Dean, along with artwork by Susan Keeter and this book was an absolute treat to read through!

Javon, a young boy who is in the fifth grade, is happy that he has been chosen to become a Book Buddy to a young kindergartner named Richard. But unfortunately, Richard seems to have problems communicating with Javon as Richard would not say anything to Javon and would just sit there and sulk.  It was then that Javon remembered how he acted when he used to be in Ms. Sammons’ class.  He also had trouble communicating with other kids and often hit them and Ms. Sammons had to put him in the Zen Zone to calm down.  So, Javon decided to use his past experiences to help connect more with Richard and even teach him about writing down some good things about himself on a piece of paper.

Will Javon be able to get through to Richard?

Read this book to find out!

Wow!  Another fantastic book from the National Center for Youth Issues!  Amie Dean has done a fantastic job at writing this book! I always enjoyed reading children’s books that help children try to deal with their anger issues and trying to find activities that would make them happy.  I loved the way that Amie Dean wrote Javon and Richard’s relationship with each other as it shows that Javon is willing to do whatever it takes to make Richard happy, while also finding out what made Richard so upset towards other people.  It shows how much Javon himself has matured as a person as he uses the experiences he had when he was in kindergarten in order to understand Richard better.  Susan Keeter’s artwork is gorgeous to look at as all the characters and backgrounds are so realistic.  However, even though I think that the characters’ eyes look a bit too big for their heads, the artwork overall really captures the inspiration that the characters give to each other.

This is a small nitpick, but I am curious about why Richard is so upset about talking to other people. The book does not really explain about why Richard is having a hard time talking to other people and what kind of problems he has at either home or at school that would make him so antisocial.  It would have been nice if the book had explained more about Richard’s situation and why he acts so antisocial since it would help children have a better understanding about Richard’s situation and how they can deal with their own anger issues.

Overall, “Your Happy Heart” is a truly amazing book about how to deal with anger issues and is definitely a book worth reading for young children!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

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[ARC REVIEW] A.B.C. Worry Free by Noel Foy (@NCYI)

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Title:  A.B.C. Worry Free

Author:  Noel Foy

Artist:  Olga and Aleksey Ivanov

Genre:  Children's / Self Esteem 

Year Published: 2018

Year Read:  2018

Publisher:  National Center for Youth Issues

Source:  Physical Copy Received from Publisher

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (One Intense Scene)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

I would like to thank the National Center for Youth Issues for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had previously read the book “Worry Says What?” from the National Center for Youth Issues and I really enjoyed that book!  It is always nice to have children’s books that deal with children being worried about certain situations and how they should handle it.  So, imagine my surprise and delight when the National Center for Youth Issues sent me a copy of “A.B.C. Worry Free” by Noel Foy along with artwork by Olga and Aleksey Ivanov and it was such a brilliant story that deal with the issue of being scared and worried!

The story starts off with a young boy named Max who loves playing hide and seek with his two best friends Casey and Sam.  During the game, Max found a hiding place among the bushes and believed that he found the best hiding spot when suddenly, a swarm of bees attacked Max and he ended up running to his mother after he got stung by the bees.  This incident was so traumatic to Max that he decided not to go outside at all and he even avoided his friends to do so.

Will Max ever go outside to play again?

Read this book to find out!

Wow!  This book was simply amazing!  As I mentioned before, it is nice to have children’s books that deal with the issues of being worried and scared of certain situations as many children do go through these situations every day.  Noel Foy had done a brilliant job at writing this book as the story is extremely relatable to children and adults who had been through a situation where an experience had traumatized them and they were afraid of going through that situation again for fear of being hurt again.  I can actually sympathize with Max in this story as I also got into certain situations that terrified me and I was so afraid of going through those experiences again that I never bother tried getting over my fear of that situation.  I also loved that fact that Noel Foy introduced a new strategy about how to deal with being worried called “A.B.C. Worry Free,” which basically means:

“A” stands for “Accept,”

“B” stands for “Breathe,”

And “C” stands for “Change.”

Olga and Aleksey Ivanov’s artwork are adorable to look at as all the characters look so cute, especially Max himself.  I also loved the way that Olga and Aleksey Ivanov drew the backgrounds in this book as they look truly realistic and fit so well with the heartwarming atmosphere of this book.

Overall, “A.B.C. Worry Free” is a truly fantastic book for children who also have to deal with being worried about certain situations and how to deal with being worried.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up, since the scenes with Max being stung by bees might scare some smaller children.

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[ARC REVIEW] Worry Says What? by Allison Edwards and These Little Piggies Go to the Beach by Amy E. Sklansky

Title:  Worry Says What?

Author:  Allison Edwards

Artist:  Ayesha L. Rubio

Genre:  Children's / Self-Esteem / Monsters / Imagination

Year Published: 2018

Year Read:  2018

Publisher: National Center for Youth Issues

Source:  eARC (NetGalley)

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Some Bullying)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

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

The book starts off with a young girl mentioning about how there is a monster called Worry that would set up camp inside her brain and say things that would worry her.  Whenever the girl receives a math test, the Worry monster would tell her that she cannot do the math test and the girl ends up not finishing the math test due to being worried.  Another time was when the girl wanted to play with the other kids at recess and the Worry monster would tell her that the other kids will not like her and the girl ends up not playing with the other kids.

Can the girl overcome Worry?

Read this book to find out!

Allison Edwards has done a fantastic job at writing this book as the narrative is both imaginative and emotional!  I like the fact that Allison Edwards tackled the issue of being worried about certain situations as many kids in real life do worry about whether or not they can do a certain task.  I also liked the fact that this book help teaches children about how to deal with being worried as many children do get concerned about what they can and cannot do and it is great that there is a children’s book out there that helps children overcome their worries about a particular situation.  Ayesha L. Rubio’s artwork is adorable to look at as I loved the images of the girl herself as she looks truly adorable and her facial expressions were so well done as I enjoy seeing her confident and worried expressions throughout the story.  I also like the way that Ayesha L. Rubio did the artwork for the monster itself as it does not look threatening and it actually looks like a humorous gray furry creature that mostly has a mischievous look on its face.

Overall, “Worry Says What?” is a truly fantastic book about dealing with your worries that children who go through the same thing will definitely enjoy!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

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Title:  These Little Piggies Go to the Beach

Author:  Amy E. Sklansky

Artist:  Christine Davenier

Genre:  Children's / Family / Animals / Fantasy / Beach

Year Published: 2018

Year Read:  2018

Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group

Source:  eARC (Edelweiss)

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

I would like to thank Edelweiss and Quarto Publishing Group for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story starts off with a pig family going out to the beach to have a good time and the story is told in the same rhyme as “This little piggy” like this:

“This little piggy said, “Beach time!

This little piggy agreed.

This little piggy packed a picnic.

This little piggy stopped to read.

And this little piggy cried, “Me, me, me! I have what we need!”

Amy E. Sklansky’s writing was adorable to read through as I loved seeing the pig family going out to the beach and seeing what kind of adventures they get into at the beach!  I also loved the fact that Amy E. Sklansky wrote this story in a rhyming scheme that is based off the “This Little Piggy” poem. It reminded me quite a bit of Jill Sardegna’s book “The Roly Poly Spider” which was a book that was also written in a rhyming scheme that was based off of an old nursery rhyme called “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider” with a modern twist.  Christine Davenier’s artwork is scratchy, but in an extremely adorable way.  I loved the looks of the pigs themselves as they all look adorable and I really enjoyed seeing them doing various activities while on the beach such as reading, building sandcastles and playing ball.

Even though I thought that this was a really cute story, I thought that there should have been more adventurous scenes with the pig family or at least more humor in the story.  I felt that there were some parts of the story that felt a bit empty, meaning that I wanted to see more excitement in this story, even if it is just about a family going out to the beach (if that makes sense).

Overall, “These Little Piggies Go to the Beach” is a truly cute read for anyone who is a fan of the “This Little Piggy” poem and wants to see a more modern take on the classic nursery rhyme!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

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