Category: childrens books

March 3, 2015

Supertruck by Stephen Savage #bookreview

Facing an awful snowstorm, who can the city turn to save the day? Supertruck of course!

About Supertruck

Every truck in the city has a special job. Some trucks rescue others, some tow while others transport. But the garbage trucks just collects garbage.

When the colossal snow storm hits the city everything comes to a standstill. The trucks can’t do their job. So who comes to the rescue to dig them out? Supertruck of course!

But who is this mysterious superhero? And why does he disappear after the storm?

My Thoughts

A simple and beautifully written story – our son fell in love with this book right from the start (he had us re-reading it five times the very first time we opened it up!). The story was easy to follow along with and our eldest son was able to read it to our youngest as well. It was easy to read aloud which makes it the perfect bed time story.

Supertruck has a lovely message about not judging a book by its cover. A person is not always what they seem and everyone has a special job to do. Supertruck is one of those people. His true identity is one you would not expect showing our children that everyone is special and has a special job to do. Or as our youngest says, we are all superheroes inside!

The illustrations are bright and bold. They draw you right into the book and enhance the story.

This is the perfect story for children ages 2-6 years old.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Stephen Savage is the illustrator behind the New York best-selling picture book, Polar Bear Night, which was named a New York Times Best Illustrated children’s book and an ALA notable book. His editorial illustration has been featured in dozens of major newspapers including: The New York Times, The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter.

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

February 27, 2015

Pants! No Chance! by Susan Lanyi #girlswholovedresses

Pants! No Chance! by Susan Lanyi follows the tale of Lulupop, a dress loving young girl who refuses to wear pants.

About Pants! No Chance!

Lulupop rarely puts up a fuss for her Mother. Except for when it comes to pants.

Dresses, dresses, dresses is all she will ever wear! With time, a little drama and no lack of imagination, Lulupop realizes that wearing dresses is not always the best idea.

My Thoughts

Lulupop is an incredibly imaginative young lady that sure does love her dresses! She loves her dresses so much that she does not listen to her Mother’s sound advice and compares wearing pants to the most extreme situations.

Lulupop and her imagination had us giggling throughout the book with her comparisons and even reminded us of someone in our own little family with her ‘I would rather”. In Pants! No Chance! we are able to follow along with Lulupop as her Mother tries to make her understand that sometimes even when we don’t like something it may be the best solution for a problem.

Through humour and gorgeous drawings, Susan brings home this message in a way that children and adults can relate to. How many times have you had the conversation with your child – do you remember what happened the last time you made this choice? I know we have many times! This story had us giggling and saying, ‘oh Lulupop!’.

A fantastic story line that is easy to read out loud and gorgeous, bright illustrations make Pants!No Chance! a family favourite that you will enjoy reading with your child over and over again.
Rating: 5/5

About Susan Lanyi

Susan lives in Montreal with her husband, three children and their family puppy. Susan is a writer who has been previously published in Globe and Mail. When Susan is not busy writing or doing Mom stuff she is busy shopping for pants for her daughter who refuses to wear dresses! You can connect with Susan on Twitter and Facebook.

Giveaway Time!

Susan is giving away five copies of her book, Pants! No Chance! This giveaway is open internationally and ends March 6th. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a copy of Pants! No Chance! in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

February 13, 2015

The Monster That Ate My Socks

Monsters, missing socks and homework awaits you in A.J. Cosmo’s The Monster That Ate My Socks!

About The Monster That Ate My Socks

Max is a young boy who is always getting in trouble for losing his socks! He does not know where they go but if he doesn’t solve the mystery quick his Mother will ground him for the whole summer.

Max discovers that a little green monster is sneaking into his room at night and eating his socks! His Mother doesn’t believe him no matter what he tells her. Max decides to call on his best friend for a sleepover in order to help him catch the monster.

Together the boys develop a plan to trap the monster. To their surprise the monster can speak! It had never meant to hurt the boys, the monster was just trying to feed his family. The monster takes the boys to meet his family and begs the boys not to turn them over to his parents because adults only want to destroy monsters.

The boys are left in a difficult decision. Turn the monsters over to their parents so they don’t get in trouble or let the monsters run free. Together they design a new plan for the monsters.

My Thoughts

I was so pleasantly surprised with this book! I had thought it would be a story of evil monsters who were stealing away poor Max’s socks! Instead A.J. puts together a story of compassion and understanding. When Max realizes that the monster is just like him, he can not help feel a connection to him. The monster talks and is remorseful but all he was doing was just trying to feed his family. Max is left with such a difficult decision – to either help or turn in the monster. His decision shows children that kindness and compassion will solve any problem.

The illustrations are just adorable and go along with the story perfectly! They really help to make the story come alive in your mind. I loved seeing the children monsters.

As a parent, I want the books my children to read to teach and guide them. The Monster That Ate My Socks is the perfect story for this! It teaches children kindness and compassion for everyone.

You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon.

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

A.J.’s stories are designed to help parents teach their children everyday lessons in an easy to understand format for children. A.J. pairs artfully illustrations and language, children are challenged to explore his magical world. Connect with A.J. on his website, Twitter and Facebook.

The Giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

January 19, 2015

Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie the Pooh #giveaway

As a child, I grew up with the stories of Winnie the Pooh and his friendly gang. We had the collection of stuffed animals and the bedtime stories to go along with it. My love of Winnie the Pooh only grew stronger when I had my own children. I wanted them to love Winnie the Pooh just as much as I do!

It wasn’t until I was in my teens that I realized that the story I love so much was actually based on a true story! This true story comes to life in the new book, Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie the Pooh set to release on January 20th, 2015.

Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie the Pooh tells the story of Harry Coleburn, a veterinarian and a solder in training for World War I. On his way to training he finds a baby bear for sale at the train station and he knew within his heart that he had to care for the bear. Harry names the bear Winnie, short for his company’s home town of Winnipeg and brings Winnie with him to the training camp in England. She quickly becomes attached to Harry and follows him everywhere and soon becomes the regiment’s much-loved mascot. All too soon, Harry has to ship off to the battlegrounds in France and must find a loving home for Winnie. He chooses the London Zoo. While Winnie is there a very special little boy named Christopher Robin comes along and plays with Winnie.

This story is an incredibly heart warming tale that is the perfect story to share with your children. A tale of love, compassion and friendship that is timeless. The illustrations are wonderful and beautifully created to showcase the friendship and love that forms.

The book also includes original photographs of Harry, Winnie and Christopher Robin! This was a perfect idea to really connect the story to it’s past. Our kids loved looking at the photographs.

If you can’t wait and want to purchase a copy of the book you can do so now on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

The Giveaway!

Canadian residents, 18 years of age and older can enter to win their own copy using the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

December 19, 2014

Aoleon The Martian Girl Part One by Brent LeVasseur #review

Martians, space adventure and rockets! Aoleon The Martian Girl Part One is the story of two brave young characters who take on the US Air Force, form a friendship and more!

About Aoleon The Martian Girl

Crop circles begin to magically appear in farmer Johnson’s field. A mysterious light sweeps over the night sky and awakens both farmer Johnson and Gilbert – the boy who lives next door.

Gilbert is curious about the light and ventures onto the farm to discover the light source and stumbles into a beautiful Martian girl sitting in the crop circle. Farmer Johnson heads out to investigate the strange light and finds Gilbert and Aoleon. Believing they are vandals he begins to chase them. They sprint to Aoleon’s saucer and escape only to be pursued by the US Air Force.

Gilbert has never been attacked before and especially not by swarms of giant killer robots! He has never met strange aliens from other worlds. He has never sky boarded across a megalopolis hidden deep inside an extinct volcano. He has never trekked across a vast Martian desert. And he most certainly has never been eaten alive by a gigantic slor!

And luckily he has never been confronted by an evil ruler of Mars bent on conquering the Earth to steal it’s cows!!

That is until this current moment.

This may be the adventure Gilbert has always wished for. If only he can survive.

My Thoughts

Our family fell in love with Aoleon and Gilbert! Two fantastic main characters that are strong, funny and on the adventure of a lifetime. This is the perfect tween novel for both boys and girls alike. It was easy to read and follow along. The language was appropriate for the suggested age group (Grades 3-6) with enough new terms to keep children engaged. I even learned some new terminology!

My son fell in love with the adventures they went on – high speed air races with explosions! I first thought it would be aimed for young boys but reading about the adventures of Aoleon provides a strong female character that young girls will love and look up to.

Gorgeous artwork is included in the novel every few pages. This was one of the best parts! My son is still at the age where he likes to view pictures (not to mention his Mother still likes this too!). It really helps to bring the characters alive in their minds.

A fantastic must read for young tweens – they will not be disappointed!

You can pre-order Aoleon The Martian Girl now on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Mr. LeVasseur enjoys crafting good stories based on lovable characters designed to translate well to multiple media formats such as books, games, movies, and toys. He lives in New York when he is not commuting between Southern California and Olympus Mons, Mars. His hobbies include writing, 3D animation, musical composition, and intergalactic space travel. He also enjoys various sports such as skiing, running, and exospheric skydiving.

You can connect with Brent on his website, twitter or facebook.

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