Reviews written by Bethany Wicker, Listings Manager & Staff Reviewer

A FLOWER IS A FRIEND uses poetic wording to show young readers how beneficial plants are to creatures. They can hide a mouse, feed a hummingbird, blow in the wind, and shade a frog. Some open during the day and close at night. After each line of what a flower...

When a mother pigeon arrives in Paris, she realizes that it's going to be her new home, even if the skies are grey. So, she gathers the necessary materials and builds her nest high up in a tree. She has the perfect scenery while she sits on her eggs. It...

"In every sadness, blessed is the comfort." This powerful sentence is one of many in this children's book. The author focuses on the positives in every situation we go through, like with this phrase. While sadness isn't fun, the comfort we receive during this moment is wonderful and heartfelt. It's...

After the events in THE OTHER MERLIN, everyone seems to have their own issues going on. Emry feels like she has to walk on eggshells to avoid being kicked out of the castle. She worries because her brother isn't the greatest at following directions, but she's counting on him to...

Erin absolutely loves her cloud babies and sharing them with her dad because it's usually something they can bond over. When she gets sick, Erin has to spend some time in the Children's Hospital. Even though they're apart, she and her dad can still see the same cloud babies. However,...

MY FIRST BRAIN QUEST ABCS educates children on the letters of the alphabet while engaging them with different questions. Not only does the author incorporate each letter, but they also teach different colors and counting up to five through questions. For example, "what color is the balloon" and can you...

There are so many different crawly critters right under our noses. This book touches on a few of them and brings children interesting facts through poetry and standard text. The variation in the text helps hold the interest of children and the poems give it that extra touch of artistic...

Entering into her senior year, Eloise has one goal in sight which is to get into USC. The only problem is that according to her guidance counselor, Eloise needs to put in some community service to make her application stand out. Her counselor suggests Lifecare as a great place to...

Chloe wants nothing more than to join her mother in America to attend USC to chase her dream and passion for art. However, her aunt is insistent on finding her a guy so sets her up with “Kaishao” dates which is like going on blind dates. Along with the stress...

HOW OLD IS A WHALE? is perfect for children aged six and up whole love animals because it teaches about the different lifespans of a variety of animals. It opens with a section called "Our Time on Earth" that puts the idea of time into an intriguing perspective that will...

Under a full moon, a mama wolf raises her pups. They start out whining and unable to see until they grow and develop enough to explore their surroundings. Slowly, they get more and more adventurous but wolves are pack animals so they always tend to stick by one another. ...

HUSH-A-BYE NIGHT: GOODNIGHT LAKE SUPERIOR celebrates the life and environment surrounding Lake Superior. While I've never had the pleasure of visiting it, this book definitely makes me want to take a trip there. The melodic writing style and repetition of "Hush-a-bye" makes it a perfect bedtime story where it almost...

WHALE FALL is a morbid yet informative book that teaches children about the circle of life and what happens after a whale dies. Whales life a long life, about seventy-five years, and their death helps the entire ocean floor ecosystem for decades. At the end of their life, the fall...

YOU ARE A RACCOON follows the lifespan of a raccoon from the time they're babies to when they're grown and ready to live on their own. It teaches children anything they want to know about raccoons, such as their diet and sleep schedule. It's engaging by encouraging children to move...

WHERE'S WALDO has morphed into a one versus one challenge where children can face off to determine who's the faster search and find. There's a scenario on either side of the page with three things to search for, that way two people can start at the same time and are...