[ARC REVIEW] Jungle Kali by Amie White (@LiteraryTitan)

 

Title:  Jungle Kali

Author:  Amie White

Artist: Olena Oprich

Genre:  Children's / Animals / Adventure / Family

Year Published: 2026

Date Read: 4/21/2026

Publisher: Noctilune Publishing 

Source:  eARC (Author)

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon 

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

So, I had read Amie White’s previous book “A Friend for Hope” and I really enjoyed that book!  So, of course, I was so happy to receive a copy of another children’s book that was written by Amie White and it is called “Jungle Kali” and man, was this book a treat to read!

The book starts off with a young leopard cub named Kali who is about to take swimming lessons with her mother.  But when Kali and her mother went into the jungle, Kali ends up getting separated from her mother and she spends most of the book trying to find her mother, while meeting up with the other animals in the jungles of the Congo, such as elephants and hippos.

Amie White did a great job at writing this book as the book was both adventurous and cute to read.  I loved the fact that we get to meet so many different animals that are found in the Congo Rainforest, such as elephants, hippos, leopards and bongos and it was interesting getting to learn about these animals and how they eat or clean themselves in the jungle.  I also loved the fact that this book took place in Africa, since I love reading books that take place in different countries and it was great seeing the beauty of Africa through this book.  Olena Oprich’s artwork was beautiful to look at.  I especially loved the drawings of the jungle itself as everything looks so lush and beautiful and I really loved how each of the animals were drawn in this book, especially Kali herself.

Overall, “Jungle Kali” was a great book that has lots of adventurous moments and beautiful artwork and if you are a fan of books that take place in Africa or you love reading books that features different animals, then you will definitely enjoy this book!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing problematic in this book.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

• A Friend for Hope by Amie White
• The Speckled Feather by Johanna Ries
• Your Happy Heart: How Helping Others Helps You, Too by Amie Dean

[BOOK REVIEW] One Way Ticket to Earth by Daniele Vaccaro (@DanieleAuthor)

 

Title:  One Way Ticket to Earth

Author:  Daniele Vaccaro

Genre: Science Fiction / Family / Drama

Year Published: 2023

Number of Pages: 25 pages

Date Read: 1/29/2024

Publisher: Daniele Vaccaro

Source:   eARC (Author)

Content Rating:  Ages 13+ (Discussions of Suicide)

Buy on:  Amazon 

I would like to thank author Daniele Vaccaro for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So, I had received a copy of a short story from author Daniele Vaccaro and this book was called “One Way Ticket to Earth” and man, it was such an emotional and fantastic read!

The story starts off with a young boy named Max who ends up dying and his death ends up badly affecting his parents. But suddenly, Max ends up being reincarnated as an alien being named Sveern and he ends up on a faraway planet called Anturn.  During his time on the planet Anturn, Max longs to return back to Earth and go back to his parents, but the alien beings on the planet Anturn forbid him to return to Earth.

Can Max find his way back to Earth?

Find out in this emotional story!

Wow!  I was quite amazed by how unique and emotional this story was! Daniele Vaccaro does such a fantastic job at writing this story, as this story is full of emotional moments and some surprising twists!  I never would have thought that I would read a story that started off with parents grieving their child’s death and then, the second half of the story focuses on said child being reincarnated as an alien being who lives on another planet.  This is such an interesting and unique premise to the usual story line about the death of a child and how the parents struggled with their child’s death, except that in this case, said child is reincarnated as someone else.  I especially loved all the emotional moments throughout this story, especially the moments where Max’s parents are saddened by their child’s death as those moments hit me so hard since I lost a lot of loved ones over the years.  Also, seeing how Max is homesick for Earth and his struggles with being on a different planet are also emotional moments that can strike a chord with anyone who has to move away from their homes to a new place and are struggling with getting used to their new location, while missing their old homes.

Overall, “One Way Ticket to Earth” is a truly fantastic short story about dealing with the loss of a loved one and also trying to get used to a new home.  I would highly recommend this short story to anyone who wants to read a book about dealing with the loss of a loved one.

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• The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman

[ARC REVIEW] My Brother and Me by Taghreed Najjar (@TaghreedNajjar)

Title:  My Brother and Me

Author:  Taghreed Najjar   

Artist:  Maya Fidawi   

Genre:  Children's / Humor / Family / Arabic

Year Published: 2019

Year Read:  2019

Publisher:  Crackboom!

Source:  eARC (NetGalley)

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

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

I have always loved reading children’s books that dealt with families and I stumbled upon this unique little book called “My Brother and Me” which was by Taghreed Najjar along with artwork by Maya Fidawi and it was truly an amazing and sweet read!

Aloush is the youngest member of his family and he has an extremely close relationship to his older brother Ramez.  Ramez would drive Aloush to school on his way to work every day and he would allow him to hang out with his friends whenever they were watching a football game.  But one day, Ramez started getting too busy to hang out with his little brother Aloush and it turns out that Ramez has actually fallen in love with a woman named Deema and is planning on marrying her.  Aloush is upset at this because that would mean that Ramez would spend even less time with him and it was then that Aloush decided to come up with a plan to ruin Ramez’s relationship with Deema!

Wow!  I never expected to enjoy this book as much as I did!  Taghreed Najjar did a fantastic job at writing this story as I was interested in seeing Aloush’s relationship with his older brother Ramez and I even felt a bit sad for Aloush when his brother Ramez started spending less time with him.  I always enjoyed reading books that dealt with families and Taghreed Najjar made me really love both Aloush and Ramez and their close relationship with each other.  I also sympathized with Aloush as he was afraid of losing his older brother to Deema, even though he should not have tried to ruin his brother’s relationship with Deema in retaliation.  I also loved the fact that this book apparently takes place in the Middle East since it is rare to read books from the Middle East and this book did a great job at conveying the culture of the Middle East.  Maya Fidawi’s artwork was quite creative and cute to look at as all the characters have a scratchy yet adorable look to them and it made the artwork really stand out to me.

Overall, “My Brother and Me” was a truly cute children’s book about the importance of family and how you should not be afraid of anyone new moving into the family.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

You might also like:

• Lilly's Big Day by Kevin Henkes

• The Very Bad Bunny by Marilyn Sadler

• It's Not Easy Being a Bunny by Marilyn Sadler

[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

[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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• One Grain of Rice by Demi

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