Halloween. There is probably no better holiday. Okay, I am not into the spooky aspects of the day, but the fun and child-like qualities of the holiday is what get my spirit flying. And, of course, CANDY! And Stumpkin has all the fun of the holiday. This pumpkin is perfect: rounder than a basketball, more orange than a traffic cone, not any bad sides! However, he has one small flaw: he has a stump and not a steam. Therefore, nobody wants him to be their […]
I am Bigger than You!
I like the publisher description of “this picture book…puts a fresh spin on playground dynamics.” I do not know if “conflict resolution” is really obtained by the children (or in this case dinosaurs) as a mother dinosaur steps in, but it is very much how children are. Be it that they are on the school or public playground or with their siblings, cousins or friends. The smallest feels “big” but, yes, there is someone bigger. And then yes, there is someone bigger than them and […]
Lorraine’s Lesson
When I saw the title, Lorraine: The Girl Who Sang the Storm Away, I assume it was going to be a fictionalized story of a famous singer. But it turns out to be a fun story about a grandfather, granddaughter and overcoming fear with the song in your heart. The fact that the characters are black and in a non-traditional family setting is never brought to the forefront of the story. It is just “there” which makes this a nice book for anyone. Ketch […]
Pop the Classic
This is a take-off of the Buffy Summers story during the TV series, but forgets there was movie (as many fans do). Most of Sunnydale is there (Willow, Xander, Giles, Buffy’s mom) but has Buffy as an 8-year-old girl, just coming into her knowledge she is a slayer, instead of the teen she is during the series. Actually, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: A Picture Book starts off with Buffy “now” doing what she does best (slaying vampires) and then flashes back to being eight […]