This is all about perception. This is a stone (or a rock) which is surrounded by water, dirt, and grass and it is, what it is. To all different animals, through all the different scenarios, this stone sits where its at and it becomes whatever it needs to be for its habitat. It could be daylight, the stone could be large for some animals or tiny for others, it didn't matter the time of the year or the weather condition, the stone was there. This stone, this hard, solid piece of matter was predictable, and all the the animals were using it.

The illustrations were fantastic and I loved how they showed exactly the different scenarios how the stone was used. It's a great book to get you to start thinking. What a terrific book.

This is the best Little Elliot book yet. Little Elliott and Mouse are going to the far edge of the city to the amusement park. I thought Mouse would be the one with issues being the smaller one but Little Elliot is just not liking the looks of what Mouse likes. Mouse seems to like the adventurous rides and he like all the different sights of the park but not Little Elliot.

I liked that Mouse didn't get upset with Little Elliott when he didn't like what Mouse liked. I liked that Mouse accepted Little Elliot's fears and insecurities. Little Elliot did try to have fun after being scared at first and by the end of the book, they had a great time together and the ending was so sweet. The ending is what makes them best friends. You can have differences and still have fun together and be best friends. What a great book! 

Definitely one that needs to be shared with others. This is such a cute book that forces the reader to say silly things to their audience. You don't really need an illustration, if you're admitting that you're a monkey with a head made out of blueberry pizza but wait, did I just say that? Reading the text, you can't help but get into a rhythm and a character, as you read these humorous and outrageous ideas and then, realize that you have just done these crazy things because you are reading the book. I really liked the font and how the author's used the space in the book. Definitely a book that will leave a smile on your face.

“And now it’s time for me to sing you my favorite song!

A song?
Do I really have to sing a -----"

I don't know what led me to pick up this book but it's cute. Tiny chef lives in the bottom of a tree stump and I loved the inside of his house. His pans are made out of bottle caps and it looks-like thimbles and his chairs are spools of thread. The house is quite quaint and homey but right now, it's a mess! Because it's the first day of fall, Tiny chef is getting ready to prepare a special dish to eat and right now, he can't find the recipe book that has the recipe in it. Tiny Chef is looking everywhere! He's getting quite upset as he needs that book, it has all his favorite recipes. Realizing that he's not getting anywhere in his searching, he decides that he needs to do something else for a minute and that's when, Tiny Chef makes a big discovery.

I enjoyed following Tiny Chef through this process and the ending made me laugh, as I think we all can relate to Tiny Chef and what Tiny Chef learned. The illustrations were enjoyable and entertaining and weren't too busy. I normally don't care for these types of illustrated books but I liked how the illustrations were faded out in the back as I thought they helped to concentrate the story more and provided just enough detail. A great read and highly recommended.

What a cute book! It was an accident really, the way this all started. Henry wasn't paying attention when he took his first bite, it was one single word out of a book. Henry enjoyed it so much that he continued eating words until eventually, he was eating whole books! Henry got so good at eating books that instead of taking the books apart, Henry was swallowing the books whole! This part made me smile as I thought Henry must be related to the, "I know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a ...." as Henry was beginning to swallow some pretty big books!

This new talent that Henry had discovered was also beneficial for him too. He discovered a reward for all this eating and this is where he should have had some self-control! Henry should have enjoyed his new life and it's perks but nope, Henry had to shoot for the stars.

Another great story by Oliver Jeffers! 

I'm in love with this little elephant and his mouse friend. This story is simple but their friendship warms my heart. Little Elliott and Mouse love living in the city but sometimes it gets to be too much, so the decide they need to get away. The two jump on a bus and head to the country where they can enjoy everything the country has to offer.

I liked how the two friends realized that they needed to get away and they chose somewhere, where they could just relax and enjoy themselves and each other. I loved how everyone accepted the two friends in the country and how the two friends fit right into the countryside. The illustrations were wonderful and bright and captured the energy of the book. 4.5 stars

We catch up with our dear friends bear, moose, and beaver in this sweet book, as they are celebrating their favorite holiday, Christmas. As the friends get ready to celebrate, they learn a few important lessons about each other and about life.

I adore Nicholas’ books. There is something about the characters, the lessons that they teach, and the way the illustrations bring everything together that makes these books special to me. Using these three different animals, they each have their own special talents and characteristics which play an important role in the books. Each book teaches subtle lessons about life as the story unfolds. These books are gems.

In this story, as the friends get ready for Christmas, they realize that they are missing an important piece of their Christmas together. Quickly, the trio rushes out into the forest. After looking at other options, bear spots the perfect tree! This tree is exactly what they are looking for! Bear’s friends agree, and beaver gets ready to do his job. Wait! Bear doesn’t want to have beaver chew down the tree. Beaver can’t chew down this tree! Beaver and moose know the tree must come down so they can take it home but bear says, no. What are the three friends going to do about this beautiful tree if they can’t agree.

I enjoyed how the friends worked together and how bear solved the problem. I thought it was sweet how the friends all enjoyed bear’s solution. The illustrations are colorful, fun, and cute to look at. I also like the physical size of this book as I feel that they are a good fit for smaller hands and they’re perfect for lap sharing. A great children’s picture book.

Ahhhh, the ending of this book is just super. I don't really think you need to read these books in order to enjoy them, as I feel each book in this series is super, all on their own. I do recommend that you look, I mean really look at the illustrations on each page as they really do compliment the story. In this story, two turtles come across a cowboy hat and they each try it on. Right off, you notice that these turtle look identical, so when they each slip on the hat, it looks great on both of them.

They realize they need to do something different now, as there is only one hat and two individuals who would like to own the hat. I liked how the friends tried to do different things to take their minds off the hat and how they acted towards each other after they discovered the problem they were having. Super cute story with simple text that I really enjoyed.

Every time I read one of these MonsterStreet books, I swear it's the best one that I have read. So, I will say it again, these books just keep getting better and better! I'm hooked on this series! Every time that I hear that a new one is coming out, I'm all over it, just waiting for release day and I'm over 50 years old. This book had it all. It had the creep factor, the suspense, the cliff hangers at the ends of some of the chapters and fantastic characters. Do you need to start at the beginning of this series to enjoy this? No, but I guarantee that you'll be inhaling them, once you start reading them.

As you read books in this series, you'll come across aspects in the mystery that you know or you feel that you know, are not as scary as they come across. What I like about this series is that the author, dismisses many of these aspects immediately, instead of letting them add up, and then dismissing them later in the book. An example: if a character in the book finds a cloth with red liquid on it. Instead of having the reader believe that this cloth is a bloody towel throughout the book, the author lets the characters uncover what the cloth might be immediately and dismisses it as a napkin with ketchup on it. I feel that helps put the important pieces of the mystery together in the book.

Riding to summer camp on the bus, a few of the kids, made friends. They each felt special, as they were amongst a selected group to be invited to Camp Moon Lake. It was said to be magical yet they have promised, like all previous campers before them, not to disclose what occurs while at camp.

When Brodie tells Harper and Darla the rumor that he heard about the camp, this summer camp just took on a chill. As a fog smothers the camp and a scream welcomes the campers, this week at camp will be one that everyone will remember.

I enjoyed the horror aspects of this for young readers. No blood or gore but I would know your audience before letting young elementary children read this. Some children might not be able to handle it, and I'd hate to hear about someone having a nightmare. If a child is able to distinguish reality from everything else, they should be okay reading this. I'm not going to go into what this book was about as I don't want to spoil it. I really loved the book and the ending was amazing! I can't wait for the next one!

Issues: bullying, friendship, family,