Brutus Finds a Collar by Tif E. Boots


Brutus Finds a Collar by Tif E. Boots
Publisher: ShelteringTree.Earth, LLC
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Brutus and Scrump are playing tag.
Charlie watches from above.
Something is waiting to be found.
An adventure and new friends await.

This book includes discussion questions and fun map skills.

Farms don’t have a lost and found, right?

Kindness comes in many forms. I liked the way the narrator framed what a good deed can look like and how much space the audience was given to come up with our own interpretations of what Brutus was doing and what we thought of his choices. There is definitely something to be said for stories that trust their readers to do such things, and it makes me eager to read more about these characters in the future if the author decides to keep their adventures going.

When I reviewed Brutus Finds a Friend, the first tale in this series, earlier this year, I mentioned wishing that more details about the setting had been included. This was something I noticed happening in this instalment, too. While the illustrations were adorable, there was still a lot of room left in the story itself to describe the setting and characters. I would have happily gone for a full five-star rating if this had been done.

I was once again pleased with how the author balanced creating an engaging story with making sure the vocabulary in it was appropriate for young readers. The lovely simplicity of the text made it something that I’d be happy to give to the kids in my life who are just beginning to read on their own, and the exciting subject matter makes me think they’d like it quite a bit! It’s difficult to balance these two concerns, so good job to the author for accomplishing it.

This is the second picture book in a series. It can be read as a standalone work.

Brutus Finds a Collar was a delightful adventure.

Brutus Finds a Friend by Tif E. Boots


Brutus Finds a Friend by Tif E. Boots
Publisher: Sheltering Tree . Earth
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Brutus is a puppy in need of help. He can’t find his new ball.
Scrump is a bunny that was told to stay away from puppies.
Will Scrump help Brutus? Will Brutus find his ball? What adventure awaits?
Will a friendship be found? Open the book to discover what is waiting for Brutus and Scrump.

Friendship is a gift.

One of the most memorable scenes happened early on when a frightened Scrump ran away from Brutus. I’ll leave it up to other readers to discover why Scrump made this decision, but his reasoning made me curious to learn more. It was also interesting to see these characters get to know each other as Scrump calmed down and explained why he was scared. Talking things out is such an important skill for people of all ages, and I liked the way it was shown here.

I would have preferred to see more descriptions included in this book, especially when it came to the setting. Farms are filled with so many different things to experience. There was plenty of material for the author to dig into. I simply didn’t see quite enough development here for me to go with a full five-star review even though I enjoyed everything else about it.

The ending was perfect. It made me nod in appreciation as this is not always an easy accomplishment when writing for this age group. It left plenty of space for future stories about Scrump and Brutus if Ms. Boots decides to write one while also making it perfectly clear that this particular adventure was finished. That’s exactly the sort of clear writing I like to see for kids who are just beginning to read on their own and who are not quite ready yet for more subtle hints.

Brutus Finds a Friend was a heartwarming tale.