Letter E Leaves the Alphabet

Written and illustrated by Martha Lane

Letter E decides that he wants to leave his alphabet family. He is tired of never being first. Even in the vowel group, his sister letter A always assumes first place. Despite his family’s assurances, that he is unique and cannot be replaced, E writes a letter and takes off on a snowmobile.

The book might be used as an introduction to the alphabet for young children. It contains a sentence rhyme for each of the alphabet letters. But the main message is that like every letter, each child is unique and irreplaceable. Will the alphabet family convince him to return or will the previously written words need to be changed?

This book is based on a true-life experience with a child named, Eric. Recommended as a read-aloud self-esteem book or as an alphabet teaching tool.

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The Gold Egg
Written by Ule B. Wise (Dan Wyson)
Illustrated by Jaimee Lee

This is a wonderful book for children of all ages. The author writes in crisp rhymes and the illustrations are colorful and appealing. At first, group of multicultural children is sitting under their favorite tree. An old man carrying a cane comes along. He tells the children to look up high in the tree. They notice the abandoned nest of the Kloonee bird high in the tree. The old man tells them the nest is so high because it contains a gold egg. All the children scoff at this, except for Devan who decides to find out for himself.

Devan finds the task daunting. He falls from the tree but gets up and tries again. His friends make fun of him. When Devan finally gets to the top, will he find a gold egg? What does he learn about himself and his friends?
This book teaches children the importance of courage and persistence. Reaching goals is possible if one believes in himself and persists despite obstacles. While this book might appear to be a picture book, its message is one for children of all ages. Recommended as an inspirational read-aloud for children and adults.

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Scavenger Scout: Rock Hound

Written by Shelby Wilde

Illustrated by Yana Popova

Scout is an inquisitive seven-year-old explorer who became hooked on rock collecting when she found an orange rock in her backyard. She searches everywhere for rocks to add to her collection. In this tale, Scout crawls into a dragon’s den to find Azurite, she travels under the sea to extract Fluorite from the bottom of the ocean floor, and then zooms into outer space to grab Alexandrite floating around in one of Saturn’s rings. Finally, she explores a collector’s canyon out West to come across a treasure trove of crystals. Wilde describes different methods of removing the minerals and provides details about each type of mineral, its place on the Mohs scale, and the types of tools a geologist uses.

The illustrations are vibrant and seem to jump off the page. Scout is an adorable strong-female role model character. Rhymes are crisp, alliteration makes them fun to read out loud. I highly recommend this book to elementary grade children. This book combines a bit of fantasy, an adventure, and a nonfiction story about rocks with a cute narrator to entice readers to come along and learn with her.

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The FED-UP Cow

Written by Peta Lemon

Illustrated by Maria Dasic Todoric

This is a cute picture book for preschoolers and primary grade children that reminds them to be true to themselves and their unique qualities. Hilda is a cow who decides one day that she would like to be a sheep. She goes to elaborate lengths to change her appearance but eventually decides being a sheep is not fun. Then she decides to become a pig. That doesn’t work out either. Finally, Hilda is sure that being a hen is the way to go. Alas, she is not accepted there. Maybe being a cow is the right choice after all.

The rhymes flow well, and the illustrations are simple, colorful and attractive. Recommended especially for children ages two through five.

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Once Upon a Bedtime

Written by Sarah Mazor

Illustrated by Sergii Zavadskyi

Another adorable rhyming book from Sarah Mazor. This delightful collection of rhymes features clever characters like a microphone riding a bike, cottage cheese skiing, a banana riding a horse, and a house dressed in a red blouse. Young children will laugh at the nonsensical but funny anecdotes. Not only will they learn common objects, but they will learn what’s wrong with this picture.

The illustrations are beautifully done in vivid colors and apt expressions. Bonuses include a generous collection of riddles for readers to solve once they finish the story. Mazor provides four possible answers for each as well as extension activities for the riddles to provide additional learning.

This is the first book in what promises to be a wonderful series. This book is geared toward toddlers and preschoolers, but older readers will also love it.

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Who Needs a Hug?: Everybody Needs a Hug

Written and Illustrated by Sally Huss

One morning a koala bear wakes up in an exceptionally good mood. He shouts out, “Who needs a hug?” A hippo passing by thinks a catch might be attached so he asks if it is free. The koala scampers down from his eucalyptus tree and hugs the hippo with all his might. Feeling satisfied, the hippo wanders off. The koala renews his offer, hugging any animal that responds to his request. Before long, he has added a giraffe, a porcupine, a brown bear, a snake, a badger, and a tiger to his hugging list. Eventually, the koala comes to a pond for a drink and repeats his question, “Who needs a hug?” This time the answer surprises him.

Valentine’s Day has come and gone, but children and adults can use a hug any time of the year. The illustrations in this book are whimsical and charming. They need not all be realistic, I enjoyed seeing a blue koala and a purple hippo. This book reminds preschoolers and primary grade children that expressing affection and kindness without expecting anything in return is a valuable reward in itself. Recommended as a bedtime story or read aloud discussion book.

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THE PARROT: Short lessons and fables for children: Fable Collection Volume #2

Written and Illustrated by Christy Astremsky

This book contains a collection of five animal fables that teach children lessons about themselves and others. In the first story, the parrot mouths words he has been taught over and over, but the words have little worth. When the parrot escapes from his owners, he can do nothing more than repeat those inane words, he finds that others think little of him. The second story features a zebra who gets lost and finds himself among others unlike himself. He discovers that it is okay to be different. The sparrow and the pigeon teach children what true friendship entails, while the tiger and jackal story teaches to beware of letting one’s guard down. The last story features a butterfly who has a habit of taking from others without ever giving something in return.

The rhyming stories are short and have a few illustrations so the collection might appeal to a beginning reader. Parents and teachers could use the fables on issues that they would like to open with children or students for discussion or intervention. I would especially recommend the book for ages seven through ten though older children who enjoy animal stories will find them appealing.

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