Category: childrens books

May 5, 2020

Amazing Animal Journeys Book Review

Kids will learn all about animal migration with this fascinating book.

About Amazing Animal Journeys

Kids will learn all about animal migration with this fascinating book. Whether flying or walking, animals are constantly on the move! Join different animals on their exciting travels as they seek out food, shelter, and warm weather. You won’t believe how fearless and strong these brave creatures are!

Stunning photographs combine with lively illustrations and engaging, age-appropriate stories in DK Readers, a multilevel reading program guaranteed to capture children’s interest while developing their reading skills and general knowledge.

Our Thoughts

Are you looking to expand on the current e-learning situation we as parents are finding ourselves in? Or perhaps looking to go in a new direction? Keep your child entertained and learning with Amazing Animal Journeys.

Animals are incredible and this book focuses on one of the most amazing journeys animal make – migration. Animals migrate for many reasons (give birth, find food, escape cold weather), and your child may have seen this happen without really understanding it (the Canadian geese heading South for the winter). This book looks at four specific animals that migrate in North America: caribou, Monarch butterflies, Gray whales and snow geese.

Each of the four sections dedicated to an animal gives us a brief background of the animal, where they live and where they migrate to and why. The book then dives right in following the animals migration monthly, where they travel to and what they face on their journey.

We loved learning about these four animals and the journey they go through. We had never heard of snow geese, who make their home on Baffin Island and really enjoyed learning about how they raise their young and travel South to stay warm during the summer months. We learned many new facts about how the animals raise their young, their predators and were amazed at how far they travel and how many months they go without food! The young animals make very long journeys at such a young age, reminding you just how amazing and strong animals are. At the end of the book, several pages are dedicated to how humans can be harming these animals by taking over their habitats, drilling, oil spills and more.

Beautiful pictures and great facts can be found in this engaging book all about the migration journey of four animals. This is a great resource to start your child learning about migration, animals and how we may have an impact on these animals without realizing it (not to mention what we can do to help stop this).

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Chapters Indigo.

About the Author

Liam O’Donell is a Toronto-based educator and author of books and graphic novels for young readers. His many titles include DK’s Amazing Animal Journeys, West Meadows Detectives series, and Tank & Fizz books.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.

April 23, 2020

The Mountain Lion at Crab Lake Book Review

About The Mountain Lion at Crab Lake

There is a newcomer at Crab Lake this winter, big and fierce and intimidating. He is a mountain lion, and none of the creatures of Crab Lake – nor Jeannie – have ever met an animal like this, and they’ve never been so nervous. Where did he come from? Why is he here? Is he dangerous? Some of the animals think so, but Jeannie is brave, and wants to welcome Mr. Mountain Lion to the lake even though his large paws, long white teeth and bright yellow eyes are a little scary.

The third book in the Crab Lake Tales series, The Mountain Lion at Crab Lake will teach you the importance of not judging someone by their appearance, and of embracing those things that make us unique. Discover who Mr. Mountain Lion really is and revisit Jeannie s enchanting world in The Mountain Lion at Crab Lake!

Our Thoughts

In this third book, we return to the beautiful surroundings of Crab Lake and their wonderful animal inhabitants. We once again meet up with the adorable and funny animals that call this place home. They are each unique in their own way, with quite the personalities (my personal favourites being Pudgey and Belknap Beaver) that will make you smile.

In this book, they turn to Jeannie for help when a mountain lion appears in their home! They have never seen a mountain lion before and are understandbly quite afraid. Mountain lions are large, with great big teeth and a reputation for eating other animals. The animal friends are scared and afraid that this particular one has come to their area to do harm but how do they find this out without upsetting and hurting the mountain lion’s feelings? Jeannie is determined to help the animals find a solution and protect all members of Crab Lake – new and old.

This was a beautiful story that helps children (and some adults too) understand why we should not judge others based on their outwards appearance. It is so important to not judge others based on what others think is true but instead get to know that person. In this case, everyone believed that this mountain lion is fierce, mean and only wants to eat every animal insight. What they learn though is a story that will touch your heart. It is so important for young children to learn that everyone has a story that has gotten them to where they are. Each story is unique and has shaped us into the person we are. It is so important to stop and learn the story of those around us – this makes us a stronger community and better people. This is a beautiful story with an important message delivered to children in a funny and engaging manner.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

About the Author

For David Mulford and his wife, Jeannie, Christmas would not be complete without their visits to the beautiful Wisconsin waters of Crab Lake. These magical journeys provide the inspiration for David’s whimsical tales. In addition to writing, David has a PhD from Oxford University, serves as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, and has enjoyed a long and notable career in international finance and diplomacy. For the last twenty-seven years, David’s Christmas gift to Jeannie, no matter where they are in the world, has been a story of Christmas at Crab Lake. This is the first such tale. When not traveling, David and Jeannie reside in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

April 10, 2020

The Sea Book

Featuring fascinating fishy facts accompanied by bright, bold, and beautiful illustrations, this book takes children on a journey through the sea and all its zones.

About The Sea Book

The Sea Book explores a wealth of incredible marine animals and their habitats, from up on the ice, down to colorful coral reefs, underwater forests, and right down to the deepest darkest depths where the weird and wonderful lurk.

Following on from The Bee Book, Charlotte Milner continues to highlight to children important ecological issues faced by our planet, this time with a focus on marine life and the damaging effects humans are having on our seas. Children will discover what they can do to help, and there are tips on how to live plastic-free. Children will even get to craft their own recycled shopping bag!

Our Thoughts

I have always found our oceans fascinating – the power, the mysterious nature of them and the incredible creatures found in their depths. The sea is beautiful and it is our job to protect the animals that live in the water and their home.

The Sea Book starts off by exploring our blue planet and what inhabits those mysterious waters. We are even introduced to underwater volcanoes and trenches – I have always been intrigued by volcanoes underwater and learned that there are more volcanoes underwater than there are on land! Neat right? The deepest point in the ocean is so deep that Mount Everest could fit into it – almost hard to believe right?

The creatures that fill the ocean are pretty incredible too. There are fish of all shapes and sizes – some that we are familiar with and others not so much. We even learned about a new shark – a cookiecutter shark! We learned about the reptiles, mammals and invertebrates that also call this home. We also appreciated that Charlotte went into detail on the different areas in the sea – the place these animals call home can be quite different. We explored life on ice, coral reefs, kelp forests, open water, and even the deep and dark areas of the ocean.

This book is full of interesting facts as it explores the waters around us. We learn about the animals and the places they call home using beautiful illustrations and facts that are age appropriate. I love how the book also dedicates parts of the book to how we are hurting these animals and their home and how we (parents and children) can help out. This is a definite must have book for children.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Indigo.

About the Author

Charlotte Milner is an illustrator and author based in London. She studied illustration at Kingston University where she discovered picture books as a tool to bring non-fiction topics to life. Since graduating, she has been designing, writing, and illustrating to bring information to little readers. Charlotte has a natural flair for illustrated storytelling and a strong interest in conservation.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

April 9, 2020

The Bee Book

Explore the secret world of bees: how they live, how they work, how they support each other and their hive.

About The Bee Book

DK’s The Bee Book is a wonderful introduction to the humble honeybee: nature’s hardest worker, and much more than just a provider of honey! Bees are incredibly industrious, brilliant at building, super social, and-most importantly-responsible for a third of every mouthful of food you eat! Find out how bees talk to one another, what it takes to become a queen bee, what the life of a worker bee is like, and more. The contents include bee anatomy, types of bee, hives, colonies, pollination, making honey, and more. Discover just how much they matter, why they are declining, and what you can do to help!

Our Thoughts

Bees have been a hot topic for the last year or so, and rightly so. These insects are so very important to our everyday lives and we should do everything we can to help them.

The Bee Book starts off with a background about bees, I had no idea there were around 20,000 different species of bees! We learned about the Wallace’s Giant Bee, Dwarf Bee and Killer Bees, which prompted us to look them up online (especially Killer Bees – I always thought this was a made up story to scare kids!).

From here the story dives right into the incredible honeybees, the bees you are most likely to be familiar with. We begin to discover what is a honeybee, body parts (including that famous stinger), why they buzz, and how bees make honey. We really enjoyed reading about the worker honeybee’s life (from birth to everyday life), the Queen bee and how honeybees talk to each other.

But why are bees so important?

“1 in 3 mouthfuls of food that you eat has been made thanks to pollinators such as bees” – The Bee Book.

As we learn about the important process of pollination, quotes like the one above really help kids put into perspective how important bees are. Charlotte helps kids break down all the important steps after pollination – from crop collection, to transportation of crops, to grocery stores and finally to our table. This is important for kids (and adults) to understand why we have to help the bees. She even gives great examples on how we can help bees, from which plants to plant outside to even bee hotels.

This is a wonderfully written and illustrated book about bees that teaches kids all about the importance of honeybees and how we can help them.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Indigo.

About the Author

London-based author and illustrator, Charlotte Milner has a strong interest in bees and a natural flair for illustrated storytelling.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

April 7, 2020

The (Not) Bad Animals Book Review

Learn all about those animals that were given a bad name in The (Not) Bad Animals – a perfect book for kids and adults alike.

About The (Not) Bad Animals

We all have a certain creature that makes our skin scrawl and give us the ‘heebie jeebies’. Spiders that make us scream, mice that make us jump on top of furniture until the coast is clear, or bats that make us shudder at the thought of them flapping around our hair. There are creatures big and small all over the world that make us squirm and wriggle in our seats just at the mere thought of them.

But what did these animals ever do to deserve such a bad reputation? Most of the time it’s humans that have labelled them ugly, dangerous and downright gross. But it’s one false acquisition too many for these little guys. They’ve had enough of being called scary, slimy, nasty and ewwy. They’re here to dispel these false acquisitions and set the record straight once and for all!

With laugh-out-loud illustrations from the immensely talented Sophie Corrigan, uncover the truth behind the animal and learn all about how each creature plays an important role in our world. With bitesize text that will leave you giggling and a fact box about each misrepresented creature, this is the perfect introduction to over 30 critters big and small who really aren’t all that bad at all!

Our Thoughts

This book contains many of the creatures that make my skin crawl – from spiders and ants, to mice and slugs and centipedes! The book examines common misconceptions of those animals that have gained an undeserved bad reputation and why they are really good.

There were quite a few animals that I expected to see on their list but quite a few I didn’t think of like pigeons, pigs and snapping turtles. I loved the tone of this book – it is written as though the animals were telling the story (which is super cute). They tell their tale, the common misconceptions about them and tell you why you shouldn’t believe those rumours.

Each animal has four pages devoted to it – the first two explore the common misconceptions people have about them and the second two pages give the animal viewpoint about why none of that is true. I was actually surprised at how many of the misconceptions I had heard before but maybe did not pay too much attention to or assumed it was true. I was even more surprised as we turned the page to see the truth. One that I was not aware of was that hyenas actually catch 50% of their own meals! I had no idea, I thought they only scavenged for their food.

The illustrations are spot on, I loved how the first two pages show the animals how we picture them (creepy, mean, and scary) and in the next two the animals are kind, sweet and show a truer representation of them. I could almost feel bad for the mouse (okay I did, they made them look so cute!).

The (Not) Bad Animals is a fun book to read with your child as you work through some common misconceptions and maybe talk about your own fears with your child. The book is a bit longer so we would read about a few animals at a time and then talked about how we felt about those animals and our own fears.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

About the Author

Sophie Corrigan is a full-time freelance illustrator based in the UK. She graduated from University of Central Lancashire in 2013 with a first class degree in Illustration, and has recently completed a Masters degree in Children’s Book Illustration, for which she received a Distinction.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.