How to Shrink the Doubt Monsters: Novo the Space Robot Book 1

Written by Charity Froh

Illustrated by Zuzana Svobodova

This book is part of a picture book series that helps young children gain confidence and solve problems.

Novo is a space robot from the planet, Infinata. When a group of self-doubters invade his planet, the happy robots begin to doubt themselves. Soon after, they can no longer enjoy their favorite pursuits because they no longer believe in themeselves. Novo makes a trip to the planet earth but discovers self-doubters are present there as well. However, the children of earth teach him a valuable lesson. Will Novo succeed in teaching that lesson to his robot friends and save their planet?

The vibrant illustrations pop and the alliteration sentences are so much fun to read aloud. This book invites rereading and its lessons open up children’s minds to discussion of problem-solving.

Highly recommend this series to readers ages five through seven and their caretakers.

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The Last Fairy Door (Bok 1 of the Titania Series

Written by N. A. Davenport

Amy’s dad is ill and she must temporarily move in with her grandmother. She cannot anticipate the adventure that awaits her when she discovers the fairy land of Titania.

This is the first book of a well-written series. The characters, whether human or fantasy, are carefully detailed and endearing. Language is descriptive and appealing with enough twists and turns to keep the plot lively and interesting.

I would highly recommend the book to its middle-grade target audience, but I must admit adults will find it just as enjoyable.

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Harley James and the Trouble in Paris

Written by Leah Cupps

Another fun, fast read from the mystery adventure series that features Harley, an almost twelve-year-old cryptologist and official member of The Society for Mysterious Objects. She is the daughter of a famous, archaeologist, Russell James. Harley and her dog, Daisy are accompanying her father on a new job outside of Paris.

An announcement that an object has been stolen from the Louvre sets the plot in motion. Harley joins an educational group of young explorers and meets Veronica, her partner for this adventure. They feel duty-bound to explore the clues and solve the mystery. The setting of underground catacombs provides an eerie background for the middle-grade target audience but this fast-moving adventure will hold the interest of any age reader. Likeable characters, entertaining black and white illustrations, and short chapters appeal to beginning or reluctant readers. Each book of the series stands independently and apart from the rest.

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Shh! We Got a Dinosaur

Written by Anjeanette Carter

Illustrated by Chau Nguyen

A picture book that is a feast for young eyes. The pictures come in brilliant colors that seem to pop off the page.

A brother and sister come across a Tyrannosaurus Rex on the way home from school. Quickly deciding that he is hungry, the female sibling names him Henry and offers him a sandwich. When she decides to bring Henry home to her kitchen, the mischief escalates.

This book is part of a series of fanciful adventures for young children. Rhymes are crisp and sharp. While the vocabulary is challenging, it serves to enrich a young child’s language skills. Recommended especially for children with active imaginations in the three to six-year-old range.

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How to Fight a Cold

Written by Adam T. Newman

Illustrated by Susan G. Young

It’s no fun to have a cold. Children are not the best of patients. In this whimsical tale, the protagonist is a young boy who wakes up with all the symptoms of a bad cold. His mother tucks him back into bed and informs him he will not go to school today.

The little boy does not know how to fight a cold, but he meets Boogie in a dream. Boogie takes him on a journey to meet the worst elements of a cold. He shows the boy how to defeat them.

This book has beautiful illustrations that will have both children and adults amused. The rhyming text and large font are pleasing to the youngest reader. Children learn a lot about colds and how to combat them.

This book is a sequel to How to Catch a Cold and part of a series that will appeal particularly to boys but appropriate for all elementary school age readers.

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Celebration Babies: Highlighting Special Events for Babies, Toddlers, and Children, from Around the World

Written by Stephanie Seidler

Illustrated by Pete Olcyzk

This picture book packs a lot into forty pages. The author covers countries from around the globe and their cultural celebrations. These include celebrations connected with religion, holidays, heritage, and environment.

The description mentions that the book is appropriate for babies and toddlers. While the illustrations will enthrall that age group, the vocabulary and length of sentences are too complicated for that audience. Parents and teachers will need to adapt it to make the concepts clear for them. I would suggest making the font of the text a bit larger so that new readers might be able to handle it better.

Nevertheless, this is a beautiful book to place on a parent or teacher’s bookshelf to celebrate the best of all our cultures and remind children of the beauty of diversity and multiculturalism. I especially recommend it for ages five through nine.

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The Amazing Snowman Duel (bedtime story, children’s picture book, preschool, kids, kindergarten, ages 4-8, Snowman Paul): A humorous tale about friendship, bullying and rejecting violence

Written by Yossi Lapid

Illustrated by Joanna Pasek

Another fabulous adventure in the Snowman Paul series written and illustrated by this talented team. This time around Bill and his friend, Snowman Paul are challenged to a duel by a Nick, a local bully, and his Snowman Nick. Nick is much larger than Paul and very well-armed, but Paul agrees to fight as long as Nick sticks to “snowman rules.” Will this bully play fair?

On the night of the duel, animals arrive by land, sea, and air, to watch the battle. Bill covers his eyes because he fears for his friend, Paul. Who will prevail? Are Paul’s fears justified? I am rooting for Paul, who always seems to come up with the right idea.

This book teaches preschoolers and primary grade children lessons on how to treat a bully, reject violence, and develop the skills to get along with others. I recommend that teachers, parents, and librarians add this beautiful picture book to their collections.

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Santa’s Lost Sleigh: A Christmas Book about Santa and his Reindeer 

Written by /Rachel Hilz

Illustrated by Ramesh Ram

This book is part of a series of picture books about Santa’s problem, losing things. In Book One, Santa ventures outside to find the parking spot for his sleigh empty.

He enlists the help of his elves and reindeer to search. When he finds the answer, all are astonished to find out the reason. It appears there was no bad intention. The lesson for readers is to ask before you take something, which is certainly important for primary grade children to understand.

This book is written in rhyme and illustrated though some of the pictures are a bit strange. My suggestion would be to enlarge the size of the text as it is difficult for the target audience to read.

This book would be especially enjoyed by children who love humor and nontraditional types of storylines.

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A Magical Christmas Festival

Written by Eleanor Wint and Lois Wint-Rose

Illustrated by Yuliia

This book is part of a series of illustrated, beginning chapter books featuring Tweet Tweet and her penguin friends.

In this adventure, the Aurora Borealis is beginning to appear in the skies. Tweet Tweet, siblings, and friends understand this means it is almost time for the Christmas festival on Christmas Eve. They wait for their teacher to assign each a special role to prepare. They work together to prepare food, gather stones to decorate the tree, dance, and prepare for the parade. This book teaches children the lessons of the need to prepare ahead of time, work as a team, share tasks, and show empathy for each other.

The illustrations are in full-color that provide extra encouragement for beginning or reluctant readers. I recommend this series for readers in the six to nine year old age group.

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What Am I? Christmas: A Picture Book of Read-Aloud, Rhyming Christmas Riddles

Written by Shana Gorian

Illustrated by Art Porta

A beautifully illustrated Christmas holiday picture book!

Children (and adults) love solving riddles. This book could easily become a family holiday tradition passed down from one generation to another. These rhymes contain riddles about easily recognizable holiday objects appropriate for all ages from preschool on up.

Suggested for families and classrooms. Siblings or classmates might even want to turn the fourteen riddles into a competition to see who might get the most correct answers. Fun for all ages.

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