Category: childrens books

November 19, 2016

Utterly Amazing Dinosaur Book Review

Visit the amazing world of dinosaurs in the Utterly Amazing Dinosaur from DK Canada!

About Utterly Amazing Dinosaur

Packed with pop-ups, flaps, games, activities, and mind-blowing facts, Utterly Amazing Dinosaur explores the prehistoric world of dinosaurs, from the mighty T. rex to the armored Stegosaurus. See the different stages of how fossils are formed, and study the skeletons of different dinosaurs, and get up close to a Velociraptor with a special pop-up.

Learn about the dinosaurs that swam in the sea, stomped on land, or flew in the sky. Find out what different dinosaurs ate, from herbivore to carnivore to omnivore. The colorful illustrations clearly show the different types of dinosaurs, and the pronunciation guide teaches readers how to say those tricky dinosaur names.

From the biggest predators to the discovery of fossils, Utterly Amazing Dinosaur takes children back to an awe-inspiring era of history using innovate paper tricks to create fun and stunning effects.

Our Thoughts

Dinosaurs have a way of fascinating children and adults alike. They are majestic and beautiful in their own special way. They are powerful and fierce and yet gentle and kind. Movies have sparked the imagination of little ones and it is in books that they find the real good information that makes them want more. Utterly Amazing Dinosaur is an excellent book for children that not only provides information but fascinates and fosters a love of learning of these powerful creatures.

The book is large (roughly letter page sized) with a hard cover and the pages inside are also made up of a stiffer material (so much better for rougher little hands who get excited easily). The book is full of pop ups and flaps that your child can explore – my personal favourite pop up was the long necks (not just because they are my favourite dinosaur!). The hard material of the book helps to ensure the pop ups and flaps wont tear the first few times your little one plays with them because lets face it, kids get far to excite to open flaps and use a stronger force then necessary. The dinosaur facts were age appropriate but still gave enough information to keep us adults interested and it felt natural reading it aloud to our child and easy to make dramatic or silly to help engage our son in the book more. The illustrations are bright and bold that helps to draws you into the story.

Utterly Amazing Dinosaur will be a perfect addition under the Christmas tree this year. I am a firm believer of giving gifts that inspire and educate – Utterly Amazing Dinosaur does this and more. This book will definitely be a hit among the Dinosaur fans in your home. You can purchase a copy of this book here.

Rating: 5/5

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

September 6, 2016

Bossy Flossy

Had Bossy Flossy finally met her match?

About Bossy Flossy

Flossy is the bossiest girl around. She’s bossy at home and she’s bossy in school. She’s bossy to her friends and she’s bossy to her cat. Sometimes she’s even bossy to her teacher! Flossy doesn’t understand why no one will listen to her. One day, Flossy meets Edward, a boy who may be just as bossy as she is. Has Flossy finally met her match?

My Thoughts

It is hard not to be bossy as a child, sometimes they can’t control their own emotions or even making up with their own perceived disadvantages of being smaller by being bossy. I know my youngest can sometimes be quite bossy but he doesn’t always mean it. When children first meet someone with the same personality they can get quite a shock. Are they really that mean and pushy?? (I know adults can have quite a shock to when they meet their match!). But in some ways this is a good thing, they can learn from these encounters. Children can learn how not to behave and how words can hurt. This is the perfect book for toddlers and young children alike who are entering school or daycare. They can learn so much about behaviour, words and actions and how they can hurt others. It opens up so much discussion between parent and child.

Bossy Flossy is well written, age appropriate language and sentences. The illustrations are bright, bold and perfect for young children. We fell in love with the title of this book and made it into a catchy tune when someone in the house was being too bossy (‘who is a bossy flossy, bossy flossy!’!). A well written, fun book for children that will be perfect to add to your child’s library!

You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Chapters and Indigo.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Paulette Bogan admits she was bossy as a child. She is the author and illustrator ofVirgil & Owen, which was chosen as one of Bank Street Best Children’s books of the Year 2016, Virgil & Owen Stick Together, which won a Mom’s Choice Award Gold Medal for Picture Books, and Lulu The Big Little Chick, which won a Children’s Choice Book Award. She lives in New York City with her husband, three daughters, and two dogs. They ALL think she is STILL bossy. But they’ve never told her to go to her room! You can connect with her on her website, Twitter and Facebook.

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

January 8, 2016

Make Bedtime Memorable with Lost My Name

Books take us on an adventure, teach us valuable lessons and sometimes they can create memories that last a lifetime. With a personalized story tailored to your child’s name, Lost My Name, makes bedtime stories fun, memorable and precious.

The Story Behind Lost My Name

This is one of the best parts about the Lost My Name books, they were developed by a group of Dads and an Uncle who wanted better books for their kids. This simple dream started back in 2012 and with the help of their understanding families, they grew and eventually they began to sell their books. They rocked The Dragons Den, they gained investment and have continued to grow. But the heart of their company still lays in bringing magical moments to bedtime.

The Little Boy Who Lost His Name

Creating a personalized story for our youngest son was beyond easy. We visited their site, entered his name and the magic began behind the scenes. We were quickly able to flip through the images that would accompany his story. One of the neatest parts of this process is that the story is developed using the letters of your child’s name. This means that each child’s name creates a unique story from over three hundred variants, awesome right?

Our book arrived in under a week (just in time to read Christmas eve!) and our son was delighted that his book had an extra special message written to him inside the front cover. The illustrations were bright, colourful and adorable. They almost reminded me of a hand painted water-colour story. The story line was fantastic and had us giggling and guessing the whole way through. It was a beautiful story even more so knowing how much thought and time goes into each and every story. We have read The Little Boy Who Lost His Name every night for the last two weeks! It has become a huge hit in our home. The book also makes a fantastic keepsake for our son and an even better gift if you are attending a birthday party, shower or just because you want to spoil that special person in your life!

Interesting Facts

Over 500,000 copies sold in over 150 countries.
2014 top-selling children’s book in the UK and Australia.
The books are available in seven languages.
Lost My Name is one of the world’s first full stack publishers based in Hackney, east London.

Make sure you follow Lost My Name on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest to keep up to date on titles and more.

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

December 2, 2015

The Travel Adventures of PJ Mouse

PJ Mouse, an adorable little stuffed animal, was lost and alone until young Emily heard his cries for help. Now, along with his new family, PJ gets to travel the world-discovering exciting new places and people along the way in PJ Mouse’s two books set in Canada and Queensland.

About the Travel Adventures of PJ Mouse in Canada

Come join PJ on his first adventure across Canada as he hikes on a glacier in the Rockies, finds a salt lake in the prairies, and walks on the ocean floor in Nova Scotia.

My Thoughts

In this first story, we meet the adorable PJ mouse and how he came about meeting his special human friend, Emily. They instantly form a special bond that is full of love, kindness and great humour! PJ joins Emily and her family as they travel across Canada, learning all about great sites including glaciers and a salt water lake. Poor little PJ always somehow happens to get into trouble! Canadians will love either reading this to their child or having their older child read it, not only is the story funny but they will learn a lot about Canada too! The illustrations are also the perfect touch to this story, sweet and simple!

Rating: 5/5

About The Travel Adventures of PJ Mouse in Queensland

Come join PJ on this, his second adventure, along the coast of Queensland, as he snorkels at the Great Barrier Reef, chats with a Loggerhead turtle in the midst of a great undertaking, and explores the tropical rainforest until he has to be rescued by one of the local friendly wildlife.

My Thoughts

In the second followup story, PJ finds himself with his family heading to Australia! He learns all about travel, airplanes and passport. I love the special friendship he has with Emily. She always takes such good care out of him as she straightens his stuffing, calms his fears and encourages him. I loved how PJ thought he would have to walk upside down since he was heading to the land down under! In this story, we not only have a good laugh but we also learn a lot about Australia. A win win for all parents alike!

Rating:5/5

You can purchase a copy of these books on the authors website, Amazon, Amazon.ca and Barnes & Noble.

About the Author

Gwyneth Jane Page (Jane), who holds an MBA from Simon Fraser University, has called many countries home. She grew up in such places as England, Peru, the USA, and the Caribbean, and has also lived in Australia and Canada. She now resides in Victoria, BC with her husband and four children. The PJ Mouse books are based on Jane’s family trips with the real stuffed animal, PJ, who was found by Emily, Jane’s youngest daughter.

Megan Elizabeth, Jane’s second oldest daughter, has lived in Canada and Australia and travelled extensively with her family and PJ. Having been artistic since she was a little girl, illustrating the PJ Mouse books has enabled her to combine her love of travel with her love of art. Megan completed her studies at VanArts and is now building her career as a professional photographer as well as an illustrator. She currently resides in Victoria, BC with her family.

The Giveaway!

Enter to win Book One set in Canada, PJ mouse stuffed toy and sticker passport! Open to residents of Canada and the US. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

November 30, 2015

Kids Write 4 Kids Challenge

Children by nature are expressive and imaginative. They come up with the best stories and leave you craving for more. It is when we encourage our youth to keep up with their creativity, to continue to explore the world of reading and writing that this passion grows. We need to ignite the love of reading and writing at a young age so that they do not become discouraged later on in life.

This is the reason why the Ripple Foundation launched the Kids Write 4 Kids Creative challenge for children in grades four to eight, to inspire, encourage and foster a love of reading and writing. This will be the fourth year of the creative writing challenge and they are looking for Canadian youth to share their stories. The bonus: The winning story (or stories) will be published in digital and print! How exciting would that be? Who wouldn’t want to see their work in print!

Here is what they are looking for in the Kids Write 4 Kids Challenge:

Canadian youth in grades four to eight, enrolled in a school in Canada.
Story must be original and written by the author submitting the story.
One entry per an author.
Stories must be written in English.
Stories can be fact, fiction, poetry – the choice is yours!
Stories will be printed as they are submitted (so double-check that spelling and grammar)

Some of the past winning titles include; Escape from the Taco Shop, A Truly Gross Adventure and The Wish. You can see the complete list of winners here.

Head over to the Kids Write 4 Kids Creative challenge place to find more information on how to enter your little author’s story. Be sure to check out this interview to meet the authors.