Reviews written by Connie Reid, Site Manager

Mine! Is a relatable story for young children. Sally has a friend coming to play and does not want her favorite toy to be played with. Her mother suggests it go into the closet until after her friend leaves. What happens next is a fantastical exaggeration of Sally’s desire to...

Gotta Go! Is a relatable story of a child not going potty before leaving the house and then needing to go when there is no easy way to get them to the toilet in time. This is often a very frustrating situation but it was handled humorously with the advice...

Maizie’s Amazing Machines is perfect for inspiring a sense of creativity and exploration of engineering principles. I like that it emphasizes that inventions are created because you see a problem you want to solve. This can be a small problem like not wanting to get up early in the morning...

The Little Tiger is a fanciful tale of Ollie and her adventures after receiving a tiger suit for her birthday. Her trip to the woods where animals celebrate her birthday is perfect for fans of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are. This whimsical tale is gentle with a calm...

Wilderness is a fun tale about a family who loves outdoor adventures and Oktober who would rather stay inside. The illustrations are detailed and fun to stop and peruse. The book contains many fantasy elements that make you want to turn the page to see what will happen next once...

Ethan and the Strays follows the story of Ethan who worries about the stray cats he sees on his way to school each day. With a heart of gold and a supportive older brother, he does further research to learn more about helping them. He ends up getting them to...

Loud! Is a book that so many children can relate to. Abigail gets frustrated during schoolwork because there are so many other things that would be more interesting. Then she acts out and gets sent out to the calming room. This creates a spiral situation where she is late to...

Bear and Bird is the perfect next read for fans of Frog and Toad books. This book has four short stories about the friends, Bear and Bird. This allows children to stop and take a break or keep reading depending on their attention span. The stories center around friendship and...

Shapes and Shapes was hard to read without immediately being motivated to gather up shapes and a small child to make art. It was incredibly inspiring and I can see it being so useful in a math, STEM, or art lesson with Preschool-Kindergarten students to learn the names of shapes...

Where’s Randolph is a cute lift-the-flap book about a little bear learning to play hide and seek on a snowy day. He is easy to find so even the youngest readers can feel successful. Older Toddlers and Preschoolers may even find it funny that his hiding spots are obvious. There...

This version of Heidi was a condensed and simplified version of the classic novel enhanced with illustrations. The text hits on the main action points of the original story with appropriate length and word choice for a younger audience. The story has a happy ending but in the condensed version,...

Powerless was a delightful first book in a trilogy. The premise of the magical world is unique and timely post-pandemic. In this world, there was a plague that killed many, and most of the people who survived developed super abilities and are now called elites. Those who did not develop...

The Light Within You is a gorgeously illustrated book that centers around one girl's excitement to travel back to her home country and celebrate Diwali with her beloved Nani. This book touches on themes of being an immigrant looking different from others and not having people familiar with your special...

A Cruel and Fated Light is a lengthy book that takes our characters from book one and gives them time to develop. Arlo is tutored by Luck on how to use her magical die to know how to become the Hollow star. Her relationship with Nausicaä also fully develops into...

Ups and Downs is the perfect book for introducing the language of our emotions to toddler and preschool children. The text is a single word per page and the illustrations perfectly encapsulate the emotion. The scenarios are common so children can identify them easily with how they also experienced or...