Reviews written by Connie Reid, Site Manager

This final book brought the house down! It was a gripping read from start to finish as Eve works to learn how to survive on the surface and to free her entire compound from tyranny. The surface and the community that Michael has created feel like paradise to Eve. She...

Five books into the series and the storylines are still gripping and on point for a great mystery. I am impressed with the characters Maureen Johnson has created because there are so many cold cases in which Stevie Bell’s potential for more stories is unlimited. Stevie is so relatable as...

Book Two of the Escaping Eleven Trilogy unfolded much differently than I expected. I thought now that Eve and Wren were on the surface they would join with other escaped humans and plan for a way to free the compound. The plot wasn’t as straightforward as that and as a...

The colorful illustrations are high-quality and look like the Sesame Street characters we would expect. The text has a simple sentence on each page as Elmo and his friends arrange a surprise birthday party for Tango the dog. The material of this book is perfect for teething, rough play, and...

The Sesame Street characters go see Abby Cadabby perform a magic trick. The rhyme she uses is fun to say and little readers learning language may enjoy repeating the phrase. It engages the imagination and an older toddler may want to perform for their grown-ups after reading. The material of...

This book has a great premise. It was a new thought that our pets understand many words, but maybe not if they are said in different languages. I loved that this was a way to show many English and Spanish words and I loved the side-by-side words on post-its on...

This book goes beyond a quick ABC concept book about wild animals. Each page features a lift-the-flap to delve into interesting facts about each animal’s important features. There was common information for younger children but more unique facts for an older child to find interesting. This book would not likely...

The illustrations are bright, colorful, and full of whimsy as the color of the kittens changes each season. The simple text paired with detailed illustrations will invite conversation opportunities as a grown-up can ask a young reader what the kittens are doing in each season, or what the child likes...

The rhyming text makes for a humorous delight as a polar bear and mouse’s ideas of decorating a Christmas tree clash with each other. The author is not afraid of stretching the language to harder words that make for a great vocabulary builder with a grown-up such as what incendiary,...

This was a very punny-book filled with jokes about pirates. Anyone who has a father who tells dad jokes can relate to this kid whose dad has decided to bring out every joke surrounding going to the beach that he can. Many of the jokes are best understood by seeing...

Things are falling apart but never fear, Supergran! Comes to save the day. Each colorful illustration provides details to peruse over and the fun rhyming on each page makes for a speedy read. This is a great book celebrating the wonderful grandma in these children’s lives. She can help around...

The Ready to Read beginning book featuring the cartoon character, JJ, from Cococmelon, is a great way to get pumped for the first school experience. I like that the words are simple and possible for a young reader to read them with help or after practice. I like that the...

Perfect for fans of Mo Willems. This Early Reader provides a controlled vocabulary to help new readers gain confidence while reading a book that feels substantial. It is humorous throughout as the mighty wind blows items off the page and a ghost scares everyone (including itself), but a fairy helps...

This book makes me want to get outside and explore the great outdoors and encourages the many ways you can engage your baby's curiosity and their senses as they join you. There is a dual text, one to read to your young readers, but almost more importantly the parent text...

I love the photographs of babies engaging in play. The text support was more for the parents with simpler text to read to your young readers making it contain something that both ages can learn from reading this book. Using simple play this book defines basic principles of engineering that...