4 ⭐If this book was written now, it would probably be banned. And I‘m not talking banned for DEI (as it is February 2025) but banned for guns. We don‘t see the guns, but a character gets shot in a duck hunting accident. I don‘t know if accidents is the right word. This book is about Elmer the duck. Elmer is just a little bit different. He is what used to be called a sissy. They like to play by themselves and play with the girls.

4 ⭐Why did this have to end there?! I get it. It‘s a logical ending spot, but it‘s a bad spot since I have no idea how long it will be before book 4 gets here. In this, we learn about the war between the fairies what‘s going, on who Lucia most likely is, and some more in two different love stories. The series is addicting so much so I almost want to go to Webtoons to read the rest, but I prefer the print version.

4⭐Volume two we go on a hunt. If you haven‘t read book one go no further. We know Lucia is a fairy and that modus can talk. We follow these two further in their life and understanding of who and what they are. We also get to see the king and future queen at least talk to each other if not begin to fall in love. Of course, this book ends exactly where you don‘t want it too. And I‘m very happy. I have volume three waiting to be cracked open.

4.5⭐ This was fun. Lucia is brought home to a new family to be a lady in waiting for the future queen. Years later, the marriage is eminent, and Lucia is interested in finding their way in the new world and the new palace. We know a secret about Lucia that needs to be kept but also is a secret that one can‘t wait to be revealed. Add into this a living suit of armor to become the next hero of the realm that while creepy is also so sweet and loving.

4 ⭐This graphic novel is a collection of three stories. They‘re not really interconnected except for a little cute thing in the epilogues. Our first story is about an artist and her muse. The second story is about two time travelers learning to live in a different era and our third story is about a cemetery gardener, and if he can see ghosts. The best way to describe this is cute. It is a happily ever after. The stories put a smile on your face.

4 ⭐This book looks at various animals in a rainforest. And if the stereotypes about these animals are true and where the stereotype comes from. It‘s an interesting way of looking at picture books and I do think it works quite well. I think kids will enjoy this because it feels like a picture book while it‘s hiding it‘s non-fiction information between the words.

4 ⭐ This book explores what it means to have a new friend if your new friend was Persian. It goes through what a day of friendship would be like when invited over to a Persian household. This book was lovely. The illustrations have this pastel feel that is soft and embracing and warm to that match perfectly with the thoughts provided in the book. That meeting new people and having new experiences is a great thing and you are welcome anytime.

4 ⭐ Great nonfiction book on various insects and animals out in nature. However, I wish this was a real story picture book that I thought was I was getting based on the title and the cover.

3 ⭐ This book is exactly what you think it will be from the title. It‘s a child telling how wonderful their mom is and how happy they are. Their mom is their mom. Illustrations are lovely and the story is well done and paste well. I wish the cover was better. With a better cover I think this could sit on Library shelves for at least a decade.

3 ⭐ This book is fine. Nothing fantastic nothing new nothing super original. The story and the illustration work and this book will have its place on library shelves. It‘s just not a book that will be there long.

3 ⭐This book follows the fly. That‘s the only thing to say. It‘s the fly living their life and giving the reader their biography. About how popular they are everyone‘s always trying to catch them. This book is sweet. It‘s tongue and cheek. The artwork is interesting. I think there‘s an audience for this. Maybe not a lot of audience, but an audience.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐5 ⭐
Two bunnies, one named Pip one made named Bun are outside. Pip wants to read, and Bun wants to play. But stories are boring, so Bun doesn‘t want to read with Pip. But Pip is a smart bunny and finds a perfect way to convince Bun that stories are fun. Altogether this was a perfect read. The story was lovely. This is a book librarians will read over and over again.

4.5 ⭐In 2011 a community called IWATE experience the tsunami. IIn this book in there is an earthquake that brings forth a tsunami that destroys the town. The main character‘s mother is swept away, never to be seen again. The community plans to rebuild while our main character finds ways to cope with their grief, and hope for the future. This book is lovely. The illustrations are done with paper piece collage. They are amazing.

4 ⭐ It‘s Lunar New Year. Ping and her grandparent is getting ready to celebrate. They buy a tangerine tree and Ping spends the day trying to make the perfect pot to have a happy and joyful new year. This is a nice look at traditions that others may not see every day. I think the artwork is lovely. It goes well with the story and altogether this book was a joy to read.

4 ⭐ This book is a long day with a tortoise and his daddy. As they use the signs in nature to figure out, who is the daddy of the different things that they see. This book has been done before, but this version is particularly lovely. The best part of this version is the illustrations. I would hang any of them as art on my walls. I want to see more work in this style by this illustrator. I would buy this book for the artwork alone.

3 ⭐This book is massively long. It has great information and is more of a non-fiction book. But the author spends so long talking about different parts or giving multiple examples that it drags. This isn‘t meant to be a story time type of book, but to read from beginning to end in one sitting is a bit much.

4 ⭐I took a collage quilting class and made a project with my mom. It was fun. But part of it felt very wasteful. What I like about this book is the emphasis on scraps as well as other things to help blend everything together. I do like how she talks about color technique, and pathing. But one of the things that annoys me is that there is the right way to do this type of applique.

3 ⭐This book is fine. A young child watches their grandmother write letters, but thinks it‘s boring. Then grandma and the child go on a wild adventure, and he has reasons to write his own letters. I like the idea behind this book, but the fact that he‘s writing letters to aliens doesn‘t really help with a lesson on why letters are important. I like this book, but it could‘ve been better.

3 ⭐This story is nice but also sad. A little boy and an alligator named Gus grow up together because they share a birthday. This book follows them through all their lives all the way to a retirement home when life gets hard for the friends to visit. Stories a tad bit long but it is lovely. It‘s just sad.

3 ⭐ This book is about two children who are going to see their dad. Their father is in the military. This is about the excitement of the time to run out and greet your relative you haven‘t seen in a while. I remember these times. I think the artist needs more practice. The arms, especially on women, are funny, and a lot of time so is the coloring. Overall, the book is fine and I‘m happy that something like this exists.

4 ⭐This is a Happy Yak book which almost always guarantees it‘s going to be good. This is a friendly sing song story about two friends swinging in the trees. It‘s well done. The illustrations are simple but go with the poem well. This would work as a full picture book or as a board book. This is something that kids would want to read over and over again.

3 ⭐ Typical Little People Big World. This one covers an artist, and it only hits the big glorious points. The book has two different parts, but they both repeat each other. I wish they had included real artwork or more interesting tidbits than just the boring overview.

3 ⭐ This is a typical Little People Big World‘s biography. It gives just enough information to go oh you‘ve read the headlines but not enough to really get someone interested in the person or in the sport. I wish the book really went into why he chose peanuts and what that means if it was such a big deal. The illustrations are also typical of the series and this book is just ho hum.

4 ⭐The story is simple and lovely. It‘s about how moms do everything. They are the bright shining moon in the world that their kids gravitate towards. Without Mom‘s where would we be.

4⭐This book is all about what you would pack in your suitcase if you were an immigrant. It‘s about the things one leaves behind and what one brings to say hi New World this is me. This is lovingly done. It‘s not really about immigration; it‘s more about introducing yourself to a new people in new society and what does that well. And while this book is lovely, it rhymes, it has cadence, it does what it does well. I wish the author had gone further.

4 ⭐ Typical of Jayme and Laura this book is perfect. It rhymes well, the illustrations are great. It has a cadence. It just works from beginning to end. They have written many books together and all of them are classic.

#celebrityauthor

4 ⭐ I like this book much better than Peanut Goes for the Gold. It rhymes, it has cadence, and the message is fantastic. You are gorgeous no matter who you are and us together are even more beautiful. I loved everything about this. The illustrations by Kamala are perfect. They show a diversity of peoples and abilities and thoughts and ideas and it just all together makes a great book for any age of kid.

3 ⭐ This isn‘t a book so much as a song with pictures added. The original Octopus‘s Garden came out in 1969. This is a little funny, but when you hear the music, it makes so much more sense. This book is really about the illustration. The illustrations are done well, and I think if it was done correctly, this could be a lot of fun at story time.

4 ⭐ When reading this book out loud, you can tell it was written by a singer. The book follows the same ups and downs one normally finds in a song which makes this book work well. The idea is why not you if other people can do it? Why can‘t you do it too? This book is telling you that you can do it, you just have to try. I like everything about this book.

#celebrityauthor

3⭐If this book didn‘t have the author‘s name on it, I would not have realized it was written by a celebrity. This feels like it was written by an English teacher. Someone who liked to play on the words and ANT and and AUNT. The story is over long. There‘s no reason for the story to be this long. It‘s about an aunt who wants to go on an adventure to another section of the garden. There are many points of repetitive wording that gets annoying.

3 ⭐ First this book is too long. And there are so many ideas in here that it seems like a mishmash. There‘s the idea of being afraid, the idea of feeling left out, the idea of not fitting in. Towards the end the minotaur says they learned that black is just where all the colors meet seems to come from nowhere and belong to a different book. It‘s just altogether weird. I like the illustrations.

#Celebrityauthor

4 ⭐ . This book was lovely. It rhymes; it has a nice cadence. It keeps things simple. It just works on every level. The illustrations are what they need to be and show diversity so this book can be used in many places. Overall, I really like this book, and I would use it for story time repeatedly. As for a celebrity author, I think she had help.

#celebrityauthor

2.5 ⭐This is a story from a father to his daughter. The only reason it‘s been published is because the father is an NFL linebacker. Illustrations are OK but feel very amateurish. Overall, this is a story not many will buy and not found in many libraries and there is a reason for it.

#celebrityauthor

4 ⭐This graphic novel merges monsters and hockey. We have a minor league enforcer and his teenage daughter who just wants her dad to make it to the big time. Her dad making the big time means she can stop moving and get a chance at the WPHL herself. But she found out her dad‘s got a funny little hobby called monster hunting. And that it runs in the family and that she is more special than she could ever have imagined.

2 ⭐Just like the first book of hiking this book is too long. Not only does it talk about different types of camping and where you go. It also gives sentences about real campsites. Too much in this type of book at one time.

2 ⭐This book is massively too long for a board book. I don‘t even find it interesting and entertaining. The idea behind it is to get a kid ready for a hike by naming supplies and everything else but its book tries to do too much at once.

4 ⭐This book is fun. Its rhymes are contagious. The cadence is great and has a nice break where there needs to be, plus, that break is repetitive, so it makes sense. The illustrations are bright and colorful and are sure to grab any kids‘ attention.

2 ⭐This book is a DNF at 97 pages. Two cute boys in boarding school like each other, but one is very uptight and the other is more lackadaisical and fun loving. There‘s a section about consent. That is kind of nice. Nice is the wrong word but when you see it, you would get it. However, 97 pages felt like 300 pages. It felt like this was never ending and I have no desire to read the next 196 pages.

4 ⭐ This story of fencing and family is one that I‘ll have you in your feels. It‘s a story out there for girls that don‘t have the Gilmore Girls type of relationship with their mom. Its also about learning that not all friendships last forever but the best you can do is be you and try new things. This book was real and heartfelt and there will be girls out there that need this book, and it will be there lifeline durring middle school.

4 ⭐ This is a look at a year and the lights that are seen in the night. Anything from headlights to porch lights to even the glow of the eyes of animals at night. What really sets this book apart is the illustrations. They‘re colorful, but they‘re also soft and nostalgic and have a dreamlike quality that is perfect to read right before bed.

4 ⭐This is a book for all those children out there with anything considered a disability. It‘s a book to let them know that they‘re not alone that they are special and unique just the way they are and that there is community for them. The illustrator did a fantastic job including multiple variations of so-called disabilities, medical equipment, etc. Overall, this book was fantastic and a perfect addition to any Library collection.

4.5 ⭐I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There‘s still this idea that Library should be quiet and a stereotype that Librarians shush. But in modern times a quiet library is usually a dead library. Libraries need activity and people to thrive. They need open discussions and chances to learn new things. This book celebrates a modern library and it‘s about time more books about libraries made this the new stereotype.

3 ⭐ This book follows the Tanaka family for a year. It‘s generic. Each set of pages there‘s something for the reader to do either image to find, something to count, etc. The illustrations are lovely, but overall as a story this book is quite long. This is one of those books where I see parents skipping pages to get kids to go to sleep faster.

4 ⭐This is a new beginning chapter series. It‘s full of puns and magic. Our main character and her mom run a bakery and while our main character is learning magic she also has to do the daily deliveries. This book is exactly what one expects from the title and from the cover. It‘s cute. It‘s fun. There will be those who like it and want the next one.

3 ⭐This is an early chapter book about Esme and her deciding to make a new friend of Wendall. Wendall is part of a Badger troop. Wendell is trying to sell their last box of cookies. Esme can‘t be a badger so she decides to make her own troop instead. Through the people in her building, she makes costumes and patches and a motto, etc. Through this her friendship with Wendall bloomed. It‘s a tad long for my taste, but I do like the illustrations.

4.5 ⭐This book is adorable. It‘s about a ghost who instead of being a sheet is a quilt. It makes him move slower, makes them heavier, but it also makes them much cozier to the little girl that picks them up. There‘s another book in this series and I‘m looking forward to it. And the artwork while not completely black and white uses color sparingly so that way our quilt stands out. This book was a top read from first page to last.

3 ⭐Such a lovely book of poetry about water. The poems are interesting and would be a nice introduction to the various concepts of poetry. As a non-poetry person, I think the illustrations are better than the poetry, but that is just me. I think kids will like it much more than I do.

3 ⭐ This is the beginning chapter book series. The stories are fine. The illustrations are fine. Kids are going to like it. I don‘t think it has a lot of staying power because it‘s a tad boring. But it‘s great practice for kids learning to read.

4 ⭐ This book was fun. It would be great to read at story time. The repetitive funny sounding words will have kids laughing. This was written by a child decades ago and the parents are putting it out for their new grandchild. I love the illustrations. They are well done and go well with the book.

3 ⭐ Our main character is the only tall person in a family of little people. The book is how they always felt different because at home they were the oddball. But it‘s those oddities that made them grow into being who they are today. Overall, the book is interesting and gives a little bit of insight in living in a little family. The illustrations feel either amateur or AI or a mix of both.