Category Archives: Book Reviews

Kate and Nate Are Running Late Book Review

Title: Kate and Nate Are Running Late
Written by Kate Egan
Illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
Recommended Ages: 4-7 years
Published: Feiwel and Friends (October 16, 2012)

Kate and Nate Are Running Late is a delightful read about oversleeping and the many obstacles to still get out the door and arrive at the final destination on time. The rhyming makes for a fun and easy read with a surprise ending that will make you chuckle! The ending was my favorite part!

The bright and playful scenes mixed with the humor regarding this extremely relatable topic make this book a great addition to add to the bookshelf for both kids and parents to enjoy.

Find a Copy: Indiebound | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Ball Book Review

book cover for the children's picture book BALL by Mary Sullivan

Title: Ball
Written by Mary Sullivan
Illustrated by Mary Sullivan
Recommended Ages: 4-7 years
Published: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (April 2, 2013)

A simple & hilarious read! I must admit, I was a bit skeptical about this book with its single word story line, but it is so creative and fun to read.

This clever book written & illustrated by Mary Sullivan is full of expressive illustrations and well placed type. The book has just one word ‘ball’, but coupled with the expressions on the dog’s face it is easy to use your imagination to read this story with the emphasis I’m sure the dog in the story intended for you to use! This book is also a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book & a Junior Library Guild Selection.

Find a Copy: Indiebound | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Cave Baby Book Review

Title: Cave Baby
Written by Julia Donaldson
Illustrated by Emily Gravett
Recommended Ages: 3-5 years
Published: Macmillan Children’s Books (May 6, 2011)

This is a cute story about a cave baby and the difference a response & encouragement can make.

The cave baby is full of curiosity and creativity leading to a bunch of paint scribbles on the wall, but cave mum and cave dad are not impressed. They tell cave baby that the big brown bear will eat him and now he is afraid. Late in the night a mammoth comes into the baby’s cave and the baby is worried he will be taken to the big brown bear.

Instead, the mammoth takes him to his own cave where the baby can freely express his imagination with paint. Afterward, the mammoth and the rest of the mammoth family are impressed with cave baby’s wall scribbles. At the end, the baby is back in his cave happy dreaming of his masterpiece in the mammoth cave. This story written by Julia Donaldson of the Gruffalo has the same charming rhyming and delightful repetition. Emily Gravett’s illustrations make you feel like you are in a cave with this mischievous baby.

Find a Copy: Indiebound | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | WorldCat

Pecan Pie Baby Book Review

Cover of the children's picture book Pecan Pie Baby to go with review

Title: Pecan Pie Baby
Written by Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Recommended Ages: 5-8 years
Published: Puffin Books (October 17, 2013)

Pecan Pie Baby is a fun read with a sweet story — there is pie involved! This story is written in such a cute way that it literally made me smile the entire time I was reading it.

It has great pacing and repetition about the “ding-dang baby” which is what Gia keeps referring to the baby as. This coupled with the adorable illustrations will leave you with a smile on your face too. This book by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Sophie Blackall follows Gia and her Mama as they prepare for a new baby. It’s a story of a little girl who is uncertain of what the baby is going to bring to her family dynamic with her Mama. After all, everyone is already making such a big deal about the new baby and it hasn’t even been born yet. It’s a great read for children who are having similar feelings of hesitation about a new baby on the way. In the story Gia doesn’t want to save clothes for the new baby, worries that the baby will displace her sleepover friend and hopes there won’t be any snow for the year since Mama says the baby will probably arrive by the first snow.

Gia and her Mama share a love of pecan pie and Gia thinks the baby is a copycat when Mama says the baby loves pecan pie too! But at the end of the story Gia understands that the baby will change things, but it will still be okay.