What strikes one most deeply while reading I Miss My Best Friend - a condensed tale of love, friendship, and loss – is Penelope Lagos’s decision, decisively well executed, of telling a most personal family story. This is not a generic rendition of “our family...

In the Dog House by J.R. Poulter is a rambunctious tale for young readers about an odd family, but in fact, as one reads on, it’s not such an odd family at all. There’s Uncle Murgatroyd, Pop, his Aussie nephew, Ma and young BC (Bang...

The power of love is most evident in the special bond shared between a grandparent and a grandchild. There are no conditions attached to this love. Looks don’t matter, skin and hair color don’t matter, what clothes one wears, what activities one likes, none of...

We all like to feel good about ourselves some of the time. Unfortunately, it’s far too easy to feel too good about ourselves all of the time. It is human nature to feel a little bit of pride in a new outfit, a new job,...

Initiation is the first book in the Sky Raider Academy series, written by Kirstin Pulioff. When eleven-year-old Tommy starts life over, moving to his uncle’s farm and attending Mustang Mountain Elementary School, he is constantly teased and bullied by Devan – a student renowned for...

Wow! With images that are so realistic and colorful, illustrator Pamela Becker has done an excellent job illustrating I’m Your Buddy: A True Story about a Goffin Cockatoo. People are hardest to draw, but her highlights, shadows, and tones make them look real. The full-page...

Izzie the Inchworm's First Day of School by Viki Heagy is a fun children's book that follows a young inchworm named Izzie. It is Izzie's first day at a new school, and she's feeling very nervous. She doesn't have any friends at the new school,...

If I Was A Caterpillar by Ben Jackson and Sam Lawrence is a fun children's book. The book explores what to do if you were a caterpillar. If you were an caterpillar, would you wear different shoes on each of your feet? Would you travel...

I Love Me and the Skin I’m In by Jessica N. Crutcher is a wonderful story that deals with the topic of bullying. Jessica is teased in school about her skin tone and she feels sad about it. She tells her mother and her mother...

IT's JUST a "CIRCUMSTANCE" . . .That is Subject to Change by Patrice Lee is a rhyming children's book that teaches children about circumstances, and about how they don't last forever. The book follows many young children as they face tough circumstances. Like one child...