A Loud Winter’s Nap by Katy Hudson

December 21, 2022 By Leave a Comment


A Loud Winter’s Nap by Katy Hudson
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Every year Tortoise sleeps through winter. He assumes he isn’t missing much. However, his friends are determined to prove otherwise! Will Tortoise sleep through another winter, or will his friends convince him to stay awake and experience the frosty fun of winter? Best-selling author Katy Hudson’s charming picture book, now in a board book format, will convince even the biggest winter grouch that winter can be magical if you have friends by your side.

Hibernation isn’t supposed to be this difficult.

Tortoise was such a patient little guy. No matter how many times he was woken up or prevented from falling asleep, he calmly explained his needs yet again to the friends who were being noisy. That can be a tricky thing for people of all ages to master, so it was nice to see such a good example of how to do it here.

While many of the interruptions were creative and adorable, I found myself wishing that this picture book would have included a discussion about the importance of respecting other people’s boundaries even if you don’t necessarily understand them. Tortoise made it clear that he needed to sleep through the winter and didn’t want to be disturbed, but his friends refused to listen to him. It’s one thing when this occasionally happens between friends or relatives who feel guilty and learn from their mistakes. Deliberate and repetitive refusals to respect boundaries are quite another. This was something I’d read to the little ones in my life after discussing what healthy relationships look like and why it’s wrong to try to push past people’s limits. If not for that caveat, I would have loved to go for a higher rating as the plot itself was a great deal of fun to read.

I did enjoy all of the sound effects included in this story. They made the dialogue come alive in my imagination and were a great deal of fun to say out loud. It was also interesting to see how including words like tap or thud added a layer of humor to something that was otherwise pretty serious.

A Loud Winter’s Nap was a humorous look at winter life in the forest.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

We Just Had a Baby by Stephen Krensky

June 24, 2022 By Leave a Comment


We Just Had a Baby by Stephen Krensky
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

It’s not easy getting used to a new baby in the house. Everyone in the world thinks whatever the baby does is amazing! And if you aren’t the baby, everyone acts like you’re invisible. This clever, funny picture book is told from a slightly older sibling’s point of view. The observations about living with a new sister or brother are poignant, spot-on, and will make even the youngest reader chuckle.

Change isn’t always easy, especially for children who had no say in the matter.

One of the things I liked the most about this picture book was how honest it was about the positive and negative aspects of becoming an older sibling. The main character loved his sister, but he also had some perfectly reasonable reasons to be occasionally irritated with how she had affected his life. For example, some adults favor babies over older children, and all babies cry. Acknowledging the difficult portions of this experience can make it easier to also notice the benefits of it.

I found myself wishing that the narrator’s parents would have been a little more involved in the storyline. Yes, this was about the creation of a brand new sibling relationship, but parents influence how these things develop in both helpful and unhelpful ways. It would have been nice to see the mom and dad encourage their children to become close as the baby grew up.

The ending made me smile. I enjoyed seeing how the main character had matured as a result of his experiences. He was a kind kid who ultimately needed some time to adjust to his family’s new routines. This was such a realistic take on the subject matter. It made me wish for a sequel about these siblings as they grow older, but I was also satisfied with how the reader left them in the final scene.

We Just Had a Baby was a well-balanced look at how a family changes after they have another child.

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A Different Pond by Bao Phi

October 14, 2021 By 1 Comment


A Different Pond by Bao Phi
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A Different Pond is an unforgettable story about a simple event – a long-ago fishing trip. Graphic novelist Thi Bui and acclaimed poet Bao Phi deliver a powerful, honest glimpse into a relationship between father and son – and between cultures, old and new. As a young boy, Bao and his father awoke early, hours before his father’s long workday began, to fish on the shores of a small pond in Minneapolis. Unlike many other anglers, Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation. A successful catch meant a fed family. Between hope-filled casts, Bao’s father told him about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam. Thi Bui’s striking, evocative art paired with Phi’s expertly crafted prose has earned this powerful picture books six starred reviews and numerous awards.

Fishing isn’t always just a fun hobby. Sometimes it’s the best way to hopefully feed a family!

Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that gently but realistically showed the reader what life was like for Bao’s family as low-income Vietnamese immigrants. His parents worked incredibly hard to keep their family fed and housed. What made them even more admirable were the subtle signs of the better lives they hoped their children would have in the years to come. The various ways these moments could be interpreted was one of the biggest reasons why I chose such a large age range for this picture book. Young children can understand the basic storyline, but older readers will have the opportunity to dig much more deeply into these characters’ lives.

I adore tales that present a moral dilemma or a complicated topic to their readers but then leave it up to the audience to think critically about it. There were plenty of opportunities here to get to know Bao’s family and the many struggles his parents faced in improving their English and finding jobs that would make it easier to financially support their children. The compassion the narrator showed for this family was quiet but unrelenting. I felt the author’s love for these characters shining through strongly, and it cemented my opinions on the issues he raised quickly.

The final page couldn’t have been written better. While I was expecting it due to everything Bao had shared about his childhood earlier, it was nice to have my educated guess reinforced. This scene made me want to crawl into the story and give him a big hug. He was such a brave and hardworking kid. Seeing how the author acknowledged that was satisfying.

A Different Pond was a beautiful read.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,