Ollie’s Haffiness by Riya Aarini

June 23, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Ollie’s Haffiness by Riya Aarini
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Childrens
Length: Short story (36 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Ollie receives a chameleon he calls Haffiness. When Ollie forgets to give Haffiness the attention he deserves, the lizard disappears! Ollie searches high and low for his beloved pet. Out of the blue, Haffiness returns. Ollie learns to take care of what makes life meaningful. He also discovers that Haffiness can be found in the most unexpected places!

When Ollie’s second tooth falls out the tooth fairy brings him a wonderful surprise – a pet chameleon. Ollie loves Haffiness – his pet – but one morning he forgot to close the door to Haffiness’ tank. Can Ollie find his pet Haffiness?

This is a fun and very sweet children’s story. The illustrations were brightly colourful and I enjoyed how they were consistent and really showed clearly the story graphically so smaller children should easily be able to follow along as the adult reads the words. I also liked how the story itself was written simply but still conveyed multiple items in a sentence. I feel this is a story that children will relate to and enjoy and can be a good tool for adults/parents to teach kids why it’s important that they take care of their possessions.

I feel the age range for this story is about right – kindergarten and prep for children to be read the story by adults and Grade 1 and Grade 2 level the children should be able to read it themselves, but I feel the strongest part is the lesson parents can explain to the children about how why taking responsibility and care of possessions and pets is important. I feel this story is strong because it’s clear and simple but has a critical lesson underpinning it.

Brightly colourful and with a simple but important message this is a great story and one I enjoyed.

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Imagination Vacation by Jami Gigot

June 3, 2020 By 1 Comment


Imagination Vacation by Jami Gigot
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Genre: Childrens, Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sam has a very busy family. Mom works late; Dad’s projects pile up. Even Sam’s younger sister Marla is always doing something. Everyone in Sam’s family has their own idea of what the perfect vacation would look like. But there’s one thing they all agree on: they just can’t get away right now. So Sam comes up with a different kind of getaway. With a little planning, a few supplies, and a touch of creativity, she finds that her family’s dream vacation wasn’t so far away after all.

Nobody needs a passport or plane ticket for these adventures!

I adored Sam’s dedication to researching the places her family dreamed of visiting someday. She was such an intelligent and persistent kid. The fact that she imagined every detail of these trips and insisted on making them come true for her family only made me love her even more.

So many things in life can be made better if we approach them with the right attitude. This family wasn’t able to physically visit places like Paris, but that didn’t mean their imaginary trips were any less fun than the real ones. Seeing how they turned a negative situation into a positive one made me smile. There is definitely something to be said for looking for the good in the world and responding to it with gratitude.

Having a vivid imagination is a wonderful gift. There were so many things I enjoyed about these characters, but by far my favorite part of them had to do with how joyfully they mixed their imaginations into ordinary settings in their home and nearby places. Any place can be exciting if it’s viewed in the right light and allowed to shape shift into something truly special in the minds of everyone who is experiencing it.

To make things clear, this tale was written last year before the Covid-19 pandemic began. There were no references to it in the plot itself, but it could certainly be interpreted as a creative response to current travel restrictions by readers who wanted to discuss that topic with the children in their lives.

Imagination Vacation is the perfect picture book for anyone who wants to find new ways to see their old, familiar surroundings no matter what their reasons are for doing that.

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Ollie’s Backpack by Riya Aarini

March 10, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Ollie’s Backpack by Riya Aarini
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Childrens, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (36 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Ollie carries his trusty backpack wherever he goes. Soon enough, his backpack starts to fill with worries! Eventually, Ollie begins to feel the weight of his cares. How does young Ollie handle all his woes, from his broken toy to his wilted sunflower? He learns to let them go! Be a part of Ollie’s heartening journey toward discovering what cares to hold onto and which ones to let go! Pick up this delightfully illustrated early reader for your little worry wart!

Some days seem doomed to be filled with disappointment and bad luck from the beginning.

This was such a poetic and thoughtful picture book. Some of the imagery in it made me laugh because of how creative it was. Other scenes made me pause and think of the ways I’ve been guilty of carrying negative experiences around with me longer than I should have. I truly enjoyed seeing how everything unfolded. There was a lot of food for thought included in this storyline, and it showed.

As beautiful as the writing was, I do think it would have benefitted from a clearer explanation of how the things Ollie carried around in his backpack were related to what other children who read about his adventures might worry about. I understood the metaphor well, but I did wonder if the age group it was written for would have the same reaction to it. One additional page of explanation would have been more than enough to drive the narrator’s point home in my opinion.

The ending was well-written. I liked seeing how Ollie reacted to all of the disappointing and hard things that happened to him on this day. Honestly, I would have been just as frustrated as he was if I were in his shoes, so it was interesting to see what he learned from these experiences and how he decided to respond to them.

I’d recommend Ollie’s Backpack to any young, or not so young, reader who carries worries around with them.

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Meeting Grandmom by Jessica D. Adams

February 26, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Meeting Grandmom by Jessica D. Adams
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Short Story (28 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Jessica’s two daughters, Janiece and Janelle, never met their grandmother. She had passed away when their mother and Aunt Jenny were just teenagers. Could Jessica’s old toys from the past take Janiece and Janelle back in time to meet their grandmother?

The past might be closer to them than these two young sisters think.

Janelle and Janiece were such sweet girls. I enjoyed seeing how they reacted to their unexpected time travel and how they adapted to life before computers, smartphones, or any of the other conveniences of our modern age. There was so much fodder here for funny misunderstandings or for either of these characters to be mystified by 1980s technology like VCRs. I’d sure be interested in reading a sequel in which this stuff is explored if the author is ever interested in writing it.

This story would have benefited from having more details included in it. For example, the narrator never really explained how Janiece and Janelle managed to accidentally travel back into time. They bumped their heads together, but nothing else was mentioned about how a small accident could have had such a huge consequences. Their conversations with their grandmother about life in the 1980s was similarly brushed over. I saw so much potential in scenes like these. If only the narrator had described exactly what happened in them.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about it had to do with how many different age groups it could appeal to. There were sections of it that would be perfect for children who are just learning how to read chapter books, and there were other sections that I thought would appeal to readers several years older than that. This seems like something that would be a great choice for a family, daycare, or other group of listeners that has both younger and older elementary students in it.

Meeting Grandmom should be read by anyone who has ever wondered what their parents’ childhoods were really like.

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The Underground Toy Society by Jessica D. Adams

February 24, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Underground Toy Society by Jessica D. Adams
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (26 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

What happens to toys when children don’t play with them? Where do toys go when their children grow up? What happens when there are too many toys in one house? Find out when Samantha goes on an exciting underground adventure as she tries to find her best friend after they were separated.

Toys have minds of their own. Sometimes this includes doing things their humans would never expect!

The relationships between the children and their dolls, stuffed animals, and other objects were so sweet. I especially enjoyed the opening scene that described what Samantha and Stacey’s lives were like when their human children were young enough to want to play with them every day. There were some important clues placed there about what life is like for dolls in general in this world. It was also simply a sweet memory of what sounds like had been a wonderful time in their lives.

I would have liked to see more details included in the tale. The thought of toys getting up and moving around at night is a fascinating one, especially since they can communicate well with each other in this universe. It sure would have been nice to know where these abilities came from, what exactly the toys said to each other, and how their society worked. There was a lot of room here for adding more details about all of this.

It was interesting to find out what happens to toys who have too much competition for their child’s attention. This wasn’t a potential source of conflict I’d ever thought about before, but the author’s approach to it was a creative one. The more I learned, the more curious I became about the sequels.

This story is the first instalment in a series.

I’d recommend The Underground Toy Society to anyone who has ever had a favorite toy they want to keep forever.

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But What if I Don’t Understand? by C.P. Siebenhuener

January 13, 2020 By 1 Comment


But What if I Don’t Understand? by C.P. Siebenhuener
Publisher: Book Publishers Network
Genre: Contemporary, Children’s
Length: Short story (21 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Honeysuckle

But What If I Don’t Understand? introduces us to an adorable little girl who learns the very important lesson of honesty, communication and self confidence. Author C.P. Siebenhuener interestingly depicts a child’s insecurity and fear of admitting to not always understanding what is being taught in school and demonstrates how Danielle’s mom lovingly and patiently explains the importance of asking questions and having the confidence to ask for help. A wonderful and educational story for all ages!

But what if I don’t understand? Parents and grandparents raising school age children will have certainly or will most certainly be faced with this question by their children at some point in their education journey. As a mother of three, I’ve personally had frank discussions with all of my kids about how to deal with school subjects that they were not strongly versed in.

For my daughter, it was always math and for my sons, it was always reading but my suggestion on how to deal with what they didn’t understand was always the same. Ask questions. That’s what I liked about this simple short story. The mother doesn’t try to take on the role of the teacher, she doesn’t make excuses for the child, she doesn’t make the child feel unintelligent for not doing well on one test. She gives her sound advise that teaches her to take responsibility for her work and to learn good communication skills and she does this by example.

The mom in the story doesn’t get over agitated and stress out the already anxious child. Instead, she calmly sits down and gives her time to explain what she, Danielle, feels went wrong with this particular assignment. I loved that Mom didn’t make the child feel worse about a situation that had already put a sad face on the child’s day. The age of the child in the book isn’t disclosed but she looks to be about ten. That’s a very impressionable age.

While most parents will agree that sometimes children will run into a teacher who doesn’t like to repeat themselves, most (especially elementary age) teachers want to help. They want to know what the children don’t understand so they can address it. The Mom in this story points out that there are other children in the class who may not have grasped the concepts either who would have benefited from the teacher explaining again, maybe in a different way.

This story felt like many of the conversations that I’ve had with my own children and is very good advise for parents who may not be sure how to calm and advise a child who’s having difficulties in school. I highly recommend this short tutorial. Be sure to read the last page. It puts a very nice bit of closure on Danielle’s story.

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Anna at the Art Museum by Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert

January 10, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Anna at the Art Museum by Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert
Publisher: Annick Press
Genre: Childrens, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Going to the art museum with her mom is no fun at all for Anna. Everything is old and boring and there are so many rules: Don’t Touch! Do Not Enter! Quiet! A vigilant guard keeps a close eye on the energetic little girl, but even so, Anna manages to set off an alarm and almost tip over a vase.

A half-open door draws Anna’s attention, but the No Entry sign means yet again that it’s off-limits. This time, however, the guard surprises her by inviting her to go in. Here she finds a “secret workshop” where paintings are being cleaned and repaired. Staring out from one of the canvases is a girl who looks grumpy and bored―just like Anna herself. With the realization that art often imitates life, Anna discovers the sheer joy to be had from the paintings on the wall, especially those that reflect what is happening all around her.

Filled with representations of paintings from many world-class galleries, this charming book is the perfect prelude to a child’s first visit to an art museum.

Following the rules isn’t always easy.

Anna had an amazing imagination. I was impressed with all of the different methods she came up with to amuse herself while her mother was looking at what she considered to be old, boring paintings. Some of the best scenes were the ones where Anna tried to mimic her mom’s interest in this topic only to break one of the many rules that exist for people who visit galleries. The combination of her imagination and the broken rules often made me smile.

The relationship between Anna and her mother was such a lovely one. Anna’s mom had tried to prepare her daughter for this excursion, but it clearly hadn’t worked as well as she’d hoped. Her patience with her daughter as she explained the rules again was lovely. I also appreciated her attempt to introduce her child to art at such a young age.

This book couldn’t have had a better ending. I loved the way the adults responded to this character when they realized she was having trouble following social conventions at the museum. They clearly seemed to remember what it’s like to be a small child who is terribly bored and growing more frustrated by the minute. While I can’t go into any further detail about that without wandering into spoiler territory, their compassion made me want to read more about them and this character’s life.

I was delighted by Anna at the Art Museum and think anyone who will be going to an art museum in the near future should give it a try.

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Dasher by Matt Tavares

January 6, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Dasher: How a Brave Little Doe Changed Christmas Forever by Matt Tavares
Publisher: Candlewick
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Historical
Length: Short Story (40 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Dasher is an adventurous young reindeer with a wish in her heart. She spends her days with her family under the hot sun in a traveling circus, but she longs for a different life — one where there is snow beneath her hooves and the North Star above her head. One day, when the opportunity arises, Dasher seizes her destiny and takes off in pursuit of the life she wants to live. It’s not long before she meets a nice man in a red suit with a horse-drawn sleigh — a man named Santa. And soon, with the help of a powerful Christmas wish, nothing will be the same.

Hope can be found in even the darkest night.

This story handled the sad parts of its plot beautifully. In the opening scene, Dasher and family were owned by a man who did not always treat them kindly. The details of their lives were kept to an age-appropriate level while still allowing older readers to pick up on subtle clues about why that traveling circus was not a nice place for a reindeer to live.

I was thrilled to have a female protagonist in a Christmas story! Most people assume that all of Santa’s reindeer were male, so it was refreshing to have a female reindeer running the show. Dasher was a wonderful role model no matter what was happening around her. I also appreciated the fact that her gender wasn’t made a point of conflict in the plot. She simply existed and went about doing all sorts of heroic things without giving a second thought to the reader’s assumptions about the creatures who pull Santa’s sled.

Speaking of Santa, I adored the scene that showed how he and Dasher first met. Not only was it wholesome, it added so much joy to a storyline that hadn’t included a great of joy up until that point. Seeing how his mere presence made Dasher’s life better brought a smile to my face. I already loved Dasher by that scene, but all of the characters became unforgettable after it.

Dasher: How a Brave Little Doe Changed Christmas Forever was a heartwarming tale that I can’t recommend highly enough.

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The Wish Tree by Kyo Maclear

December 2, 2019 By Leave a Comment


The Wish Tree by Kyo Maclear
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Action/Adventure, Historical
Length: Short Story (40 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Charles wants to find a wish tree. His brother and sister don’t believe there is such a thing, but his trusty companion Boggan is ready to join Charles on a journey to find out. And along the way, they discover that wishes can come true in the most unexpected ways.

The poetic text and heartwarming illustrations evoke the true essence of the holiday season and will inspire wishers everywhere. This gem of a book deserves center stage year round.

There’s something about all winter holidays that sprinkles a little magic into the air.

Charles was such a kind boy. He wandered into the woods with his toboggan in order to find a wish tree. When none of the trees matched that description, he put his energy into doing nice things for the animals who lived in the forest instead. I thought it was wonderful to read about him spending his time helping others with no expectation of getting anything back in return. It really captured the meaning of the holiday season nicely.

I would have liked to see just a little more world building when it came to the wish tree and how Charles knew about it if everyone around him was convinced it didn’t exist. This is a very minor criticism of something I loved reading, but I did find it a little unusual for a kid his age to come up with such an idea without anyone mentioning how he’d heard of it or why he was convinced it really existed.

One of my favorite things about this book was that it never specified which holiday Charles was celebrating. There are any number of winter celebrations his family might have called their own. The specific festive occasion wasn’t important to the plot. What mattered was that the main character was having the time of his life and wanted to make sure he shared those happy feelings with everyone he met. Leaving things open like this was the perfect way to include every reader in his good will towards all living things.

Anyone who looks forward to this time of the year should give The Wish Tree a try.

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How to Catch a Turkey by Adam Wallace

November 20, 2019 By Leave a Comment


How to Catch a Turkey by Adam Wallace
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Genre: Childrens, Action/Adventure, Holiday, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (40 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A turkey is running loose in a school right before a Thanksgiving play. Can YOU help catch it? Follow along as students turn their school upside down trying to catch the turkey, ending with a twist that ensures no turkeys are harmed (or eaten!).

Thanksgiving time is here again,
but there’s a turkey on the run!
Can you catch this tricky bird
before the school play has begun?

Who would have guessed that a turkey would be so good at running away?

The turkey in this tale had one major problem: stage fright! He was so frightened at the thought of being taken onstage that he had to figure out a way to avoid that fate. As someone who shares that fear, I totally understood why he wanted to avoid the spotlight. The fact that he worked so hard to avoid being brought onstage only made me like him even more.

I would have liked to see more attention paid to the ending. The beginning and middle really didn’t give any hints about why the turkey was going to be paraded in front of the entire school. My theory about what was happening there turned out not to be correct at all. While the author’s version did make sense, it would have been more meaningful if the audience had some idea of what to expect from the beginning. The final scene as it was written sort of came out of nowhere, and it made me enjoy the plot less than I had been before I reached that portion.

The human characters came up with so many creative attempts to get the turkey to slow down and hopefully return to his cage. Some of their methods made me laugh out loud. I enjoyed seeing how they tried to capture him and what happened when even their most clever traps and tricks didn’t seem to be working at all. I wasn’t expecting to laugh when I first started reading it, but I sure had a lot of opportunities to do just that.

This is part of a series, but it works perfectly well as a standalone story.

How to Catch a Turkey is the funniest Thanksgiving picture book I’ve read in years. This is something I’d recommend to anyone who is in the mood for something lighthearted.

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