Seven More Picture Books

A Song of Four Seasons by Helen H. Wu
I love books about the changing seasons. Living in Florida that is the one thing I miss after we moved from Indiana. My two most favorite seasons were and still are Spring and Fall. In this wonderfully illustrated book we see the four bears and their activities as they take us through the four seasons and the activities associate with each season. A wonderful book to read with the littlest reader or great for that early reader. Wonderful, lyrical sing-song writing.

African Animal Facts For Kids by Deborah Bradley 
This book is about 26 African Animals. There is one for each letter of the alphabet with just enough facts about each sprinkled in to hold the youngest child’s attention. The facts are not your common facts. They are very unique like a lot of the animals she listed. Wonderful book for young and old alike.

Get the Poop! The Diary of a Dung Beetle by Damiano Bernardo
I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own. This was a cute book about a dung beetle who is out to get a ball of elephant poop so his mom can lay her eggs. Things don't go quite as planned. This was a cute story. The gross factor is definitely there for younger kids. The talk of eating, drinking and bathing in poop will cause children to giggle and gag.

Giggly Bear’s Fun Trip in the Yellow Bus by Kelly Santana-Banks
Giggly Bear is going on a trip to the funfair. He is riding a big yellow bus. There are my rules he must learn and obey while riding the bus. A great book to teac children about riding a bus and bus safety.

How the Movies Were Invented by Gerald Ewing
An absolutely wonderful book. The book is written in wonderful rhyme. This is a book young and old will read over and over again. There is so much packed into one little book. There is so much to discuss. You have the time period, the the idea of how pictures were taken compared to today. Most importantly you learn how still pictures morphed into moving pictures. I learned something I'd always wondered about. Such a wonderful way to teach something without the child realizing they are learning. I would definitely read more by this author.

Let’s Explore Austria by Baby Professor
The pictures are stunning in this book. Once again I felt that it stopped abruptly. It is almost like someone is showing you their vacation pictures and when they get to the last one they just put them away without saying anything. With so much potential I hope that the author will add more to this such as maps, a glossary and fix the ending of the books. I would still purchase these and recommend them.

Let’s Explore Germany by Baby Professor
Another book full of beautiful pictures. Once again I felt it could have used a map or a little more info. Since I am one of those people who would look things up to learn more. Maybe that is what the author was hoping the child would want to do.

Seven Picture Books by Various Authors

Peaceful Night Poetry by Píaras Ó Cíonnaoíth

Peaceful, calming poems relax the mind and comfort the soul. These are all ingredients needed to help one sleep. In this book the author has taken familiar thing to a child; teddy bears, fairies, animals and more. The poetry is soothing. It carries themes of friendship, dreams, being happy. The poems were thoughtful, and like the author said, ‘for ages 3-103’.  The illustrations are simple yet beautiful. I definitely recommend this book.  

99 Bitcoins and an Elephant by Vincent Chen
A young girl with special glasses that allow her to interact with games and worlds she creates accidently breaks them. Her mom takes her to get her glasses repaired. When they are returned there is a bitcoin wallet that pops up. The repairman had used a hard drive from an old discarded pair of glasses to repair them. The little girl uses the bitcoins to show kindness to others.

Elphie Meets the End of the World by Hagit R. Oron & Or Oron Misgav
Elphie is playing hide and seek with his best friend. His best friend’s brother comes in and tells them he heard on the news that the world was ending. Elphie runs home to hide. His parents decide to throw and “End of the World Party”. Elphie learns it was fake news, but more importantly Elphie learns that there is nothing to fear when the family sticks together. It also teaches children to live each day to the fullest. With all that is going on in our world today this is a book to read to children to reassure them that they are safe.

I'm Just Like You by Sharon Cramer

Two orphaned cougar cubs go out one day and meet a stranger who claims to be just like them. He doesn't look like them. But the three of them have fun playing together all day. At the end of the day, they learn that you can have friends who look different from you.

Adventures of the Little Tiger and His Friends by Renate Logina

Little Tiger has always played by himself. As he grows older he wants friends to play with. Everything turns out disastrous. One day he sees an anteater. A boulder has fallen on his tail. Little tiger removes the boulder then plays with it. Unfortunately, it ruins the fun and gets broken. The anteater helps Little Tiger to find friends.

Babaroo the Alien Learns About Bullies by Kate Melton

Babaroo the alien leaves the gray planet and visits Earth. He meets a fox and skunk who make fun of him and his looks. Babaroo feels bad about himself until a snail tells him how to handle bullies. The first rule is to never believe what they say. The snail introduces him to some of his friends. They welcome him. He has fun playing. When Babaroo returns to his planet he knows how to handle bullies.

A Friendship Story: Heart & mind by Nishi Singhal

This is a story that teaches the role the heart and mind plays in our lives.  The lesson these two teach is that you need both to be balanced. You need heart to help you learn to focus on all kinds of things. You need mind to show you how to do it. It illustrates this through two friends, "heart" and "mind". When mind tries to do things apart from heart he finds he has accomplished little.

A Bevy of Books by Michael Gordon

I am starting this week off with a group of picture books by one of my favorite picture book authors Michael Gordon.  Every day this week I will review picture books. I have acquired so many of them to review and put them on the back burner to read middle grade and young adult books. I usually collect picture books on my Kindle to read with my grandchildren. Due to Covid-19 I could not see my grandchildren this year. So I decided to read them for my own pleasure. I want to share the wonderful picture books I read with those parents who may not know what to pick for their children.

When I Get Upset

Another wonderful book to help young kids recognize and deal with their emotions. Younger kids often don’t know how to explain their emotions and therefore can’t deal with them. In schools and pre-schools they are seen as being rude, obnoxious or bratty. Maybe they need to sit with that child and read them one of Michael’s books to help them out. 

You Are Kind                                                                           

Josh’s mom tells him they can’t go to the park to play because she has a lot of errands. On the way he asks what kindness is and if it is something you be or do. His mom demonstrates throughout the day what kindness is in all it forms. One of the most important lessons was when mom told him that he has to be kind to himself and learn to forgive himself when he falls short of the person he is trying to be. Parents need these messages as much as the children. As adults I believe we often forget some of these lessons. 

When I Am Worried 
Everyone worries. For children they often wake up feeling strange. It may be about something they know will happen that day. In the case of this story Josh had to get a shot. The fear of the unknown is what causes those worries to grow. This books shows Josh sharing those feeling with his parents so they can help him understand them.

The Way I Am by Michael Gordon
This is one of my favorite books by this author. I teach middle school and think every middle school student AND teacher should read this book. It seems that by the time kids reach middle school they forget who they are. They try to do what others do to fit in. Josh learns this lesson on the very first day of school. He bows to peer pressure and doesn’t enjoy himself. That is because he isn’t staying true to who he is. This book has a lesson that everyone of every age should learn.

Listening to My Feelings by Michael Gordon
Josh gets upset when his sister plays with one of his toys. He can’t control his feelings so he hits and shoves his sister. His mom explain to him why it isn’t right to do what he did. Then she and his dad explain some things he can try to help him when he feels like he is going to explode.

I Am Mindful by Michael Gordon
Understanding your feelings is the first step to dealing with them. For children they know they feel funny but don’t always know why or how to help themselves. This book shows several different feelings and how to deal with them. Although many of his books are similar I know that while one may not reach a child another might.

Today I Am Brave by Michael Gordon
Bravery comes in all forms. In this book we see James being brave in many ways. He accidently breaks a plate and tells his mom and apologizes. He stands and speaks in class even when he is scared. He stops kids from being mean to a new kid, he keeps trying at something he’s not very good at. He asks questions in class when he doesn’t understand. He learns that being brave isn’t easy, but it is the right thing to do.

When I Feel Frustrated by Michael Gordon
I believe children feel most frustrated at a young age when they see other kids do things they can’t yet do. In this book Josh can’t win a race against his older sister. His dad says that being a winner isn’t always about winning. Being a winner is about the trying. He tells him that one day he will be older and stronger and that things will even out and he will win. He learns that sometimes fear holds us back and sometimes we need to focus and push on if we are going to succeed. I love these books that teach such life affirming lessons.

When I Am Angry by Michael Gordon
This book depicts Josh when he is angry. The tantrums he throws when he is angry reminded me of my children when they were young and my grandchildren now. The problem is that a lot of times parents get angry at their children’s anger and this just escalates the situation. This book show the parents remaining calm and talking with Josh. It also show practical ways they can help him deal with his anger. These are books that every new parent should be given when their first child is born. It will be there for them to help guide them when their children start expressing their feelings.