Reviews written by Olivia Farr, Assistant Blog Manager & Staff Reviewer

SMALL STEPS, BIG CHANGE is a cute picture book about ways that children can make a difference in the world around them. The book begins by describing climate change, before going into the little things you can do in every day life to help, such as buying local produce and/or...

COLOR MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND is a charming and colorful picture book. The story imagines a world without color and how sad it would be by juxtaposing color pages on the left with black-and-white images on the right of each page spread (until the reader participates in a little...

ALL ABOARD THE BEDTIME BUS is a cute picture book that turns getting ready for bedtime into something magical. The reader takes a rhyming journey along with the animals who board the bedtime bus and take it on to Slumber Land. What I loved: The...

THE ARMADILLO WHO CAME FOR DINNER is an entertaining picture book about friendship and kindness. Wolf, Little Lamb, and Omelet are having a picnic when a boulder rolls through - except it is not a boulder but an armadillo named Dizzy! Dizzy makes a bit of a mess of things...

DIG, DIG, DINOSAUR is a delightful picture book with basic facts about select dinosaurs. The book invites children to dig by turning cut-out pages to reveal the dinosaur skeleton before showing what the dinosaur looked like and giving some basic facts about it. Key dinosaurs shown include the diplodocus, tyrannosaurus,...

PASCAL THE VERY HUNGRY PENGUIN is an overall cute picture book about sharing food and the joy of eating. Nabil is visiting the zoo when a penguin calls out to him about the smell of his lunch. Pascal the penguin is tired of eating fish all the time, and when...

THE LITTLEST CHRISTMAS TREE is a cute picture book celebrating the joy of the holiday and the wait for the next year. Cubby and his father select their Christmas tree along with the rabbits and the badgers. They decorate their tree and have a wonderful Christmas. After it is over,...

THE THIRTEENTH CHILD is a moving and intricately woven YA fantasy about life, love, and fate. Hazel was born the thirteenth child in a poor family, and her parents did not know how they could afford to keep her with twelve other kids to care for. When they found out...

HANK GOES HONK is a colorful picture book about manners and being kind. Hank is a goose who is labeled obnoxious due to the behaviors he does, such as interrupting others, only talking about himself, and popping other people's balloons. Hank begins to realize that this is making him lonely,...

MAGICAL MUSEUM: ANCIENT EGYPT is an illustrated nonfiction book that takes the reader through what we know about Ancient Egypt. There is a light plot throughout of the things in the museum coming to life due to the magical golden scarab, which must be caught to put things right. A...

CHICKA CHICKA HO HO HO is a fun holiday twist on an old classic. CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM takes all the letters up a coconut tree, and this new book takes them to decorate a Christmas tree. The plot remains largely similar, as they all go up but then fall...

WE HAVE A DULL-EMMA is a charming graphic novel about perseverance and friendship. Pencil and Eraser are friends, and as they introduce themselves to the reader, Eraser notes that Pencil has gotten dull. Eager to be sharp before Stella comes back from recess, Pencil sets out on a quest to...

MY BIG BOOK OF HAPPY SOUNDS is a clever board book that presents 100 sounds with buttons that can be pressed to hear it read aloud. Each page or page spread includes a setting, such as playtime or spring, with key sounds from the scene shown. ...

NED AND THE GREAT GARDEN HAMSTER RACE is a cute picture book about helping others. Ned is very excited for The Great Garden Hamster Race, and he is determined to win. As he begins racing, he is in first place, so he ignores the lost slug, pigeons asking for food,...

THE BIG FLAPPY EARS is an interesting picture book about listening. Mini has very large ears, but they are not very good at listening. She is very excited for the upcoming field trip, but when her teacher is giving instructions, her mind is racing thinking about the museum. The next...