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Review:

Exclamation Mark

by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

and Tom Lichtenheld

Exclamation Mark knew from the beginning he was different from the Periods. He tried very hard to act like them, but no matter what, he always stood up. And that of course made him feel worse. But one day he met the talkative Question Mark. He asked so many questions Exclamation Mark felt dizzy. And he needed to SHOUT! At this moment it was clear to him all the potential he had inside. So many "Happy birthday!", "Congratulations!" and "Way to go!" have been trapped in his throat for so long. It felt good to be himself!

! is a funny story about how everyone is different and with different talents, and the importance of knowing ourselves and respect others.

Age range: 4 to 6 years old.

If you like this book, you might be interested in Red, a crayon's story

Waiting

Review:

by Kevin Henkes

I couldn't get into this book the first couples of times I read it. The illustrations are absolutely lovely. The kind of picture you feel like touching the page. But at the beginning I couldn't see much more beyond that. Only after reading it a few times to my kids I started to cherish the message.

Waiting is such a hard thing to do! Especially for the little ones is just pointless torture. The characters in this story spend their time just waiting by the window. From their spot they can see clouds shapes, a rainbow, the day, the night, the changing seasons. There's a kind of calm the book transmits, and that's what my kids enjoy of leafing it through so many times.

Age range: 3 to 5 years old.

The New Small Person

Review:

by Lauren Child

This is a lovely story of a boy who one day finds out a new small person has come to stay and be part of his life.

Elmore Green has everything a kid could want: his own bedroom, toys, jelly beans, and the exclusivity of being the funniest, cleverest and most adorable person in the house. When the small new person appears all of this is put at risk. Everybody ask him to be patient because the small person is small, but the truth is that the situation only gets worse as time passes and he grows up.

Luckily one night the small person has the chance to do something nice for Elmore. This will be the first of many good moments the kids will enjoy together. The small person will actually be Albert from now on. Elmore discovers sharing is much better. Orange jelly beans are beyond discussion, though!

Age range: 3 to 6 years old.

Eye to Eye. How animals see the world.

Review:

by Steve Jenkins

Who would have said it was so many interesting facts to learn about eyes?

Eyes can be as simple as a light-sensitive group of cells, or as complex as to be able to see from a distance of two miles away.

There's an animal which eyes are as big as basketballs.
Another one has eyes bigger than its brain.
Certain insect not only has eight legs, but eight eyes too.
And a well known animal we all have seen or heard about has built-in goggles to be able to see underwater.
I won't spoil the names of these incredibly sighted creatures. You'll have to discover them with you own eyes!

Age range: 8 to 12 years old.

Journey

Review:

 by Aaron Becker

I would give this book 10 stars if it were possible!

The girl feels lonely. Everybody seems to be busy.The only one who can not find something interesting to do is her. Nothing attracts the girl... at least no in this world... but what about in an imaginary one? With a red crayon she draws a red door to a magic world.
The pictures immediately become colorful and more dynamic.  In the first pages we could feel the girl boredom, but as soon as she goes through the red door the time seems to fly while she is having fun, dreaming other worlds.
Her dreams are full of beauty, adventure and danger too. And in her dreams she finds a friend, not only to share her dreams, but to enjoy in this world too.

It's a bad idea to talk to much about this book... it's much better to let the pictures talk, and even sing!

Age range: 4 to 99 years old!

My dog is the best.

Review:

by Laurie Ann Thompson

Illustrated by Paul Schmid

This overly active boy manages to play with his sleepy lazy dog. He enumerates the things the dog can do, like roll over, play ball, or scare away monsters, but in the pictures all we can see the dog calmly laying while bearing the boy's games. The boy thinks his dog is SO special because all the things it can do! But what makes this dog really special is how it patiently loves this little, happy, loving boy.
The illustrations are cutely rounded, focused in the characters, without background.

Age range: 2 to 5 years old.

 

The Glass Gauntlet.

Review:

The Blood Guard #2

by Carter Roy

In the first book of this series Ronan discovered his mom is part of The Blood Guard, an ancient organization dedicated to protect the thirty-six pure souls. That's good. BUT on the other hand his father is the head of the Bend Siniester, which goal is to destroy the pure souls to have control of the world. That's not so good. I barely guess Ronan's mixed feelings.

Ronan's father is still looking for him while he with his friends Greta and Sammy, are being trained to become part of The Blood Guard.

To save the life of Flavia, a pure whose soul has been stolen by the Bend Siniester, the Guard need the Damascene 'Scope. To help find the scope, the three friends will be required of disguise and join a competition called The Glass Gauntlet tests, that won't be what it seemed to be... not at all. Although they will succeed, Ronan's father will discover a secret about Greta the group has been carefully protecting. Now they are on their way to find Mrs. Sustermann in an attempt to save Greta.

The Glass Gauntlet, like the first book in he series was a lot of action and fun. Some twists were unexpected, but all of them made sense. I still think the idea of protect the good and the right to keep the world in balance is great, and is again very well developed in this book. In addition now that the threesome Ronan-Greta-Sammy is well established, they relationship is something enjoyable to read about. They selflessly help and support each other, they take into account what the others think and want, and they have a lot of fun in the process.

I really like when books addressed to this age range put the focus of the characters in important things like friendship, commitment, personal growth, etc, and not merely in superfluous passing interests.
Age range: 9 to 13 years old.

THE GLASS GAUNTLET  is the second book in The Blood Guard series. Find the review of the first book here

I received this book through NetGalley.com in exchange for a honest review.