"What Would You Do? A Kid’s Guide to Staying Safe in a World of Strangers" is a specially written book by Melissa Harker Ridenour. This book is written specifically for parents to share with their children. It explains the delicate topics of what a stranger...

Go, Big! Go Home! A Birthday Story About Friendship, written and illustrated by Jo Hudson, is an enchanting tale about a birthday. Big is a big blue bear, and today is a very special day. Today is Big’s Birthday, and he can’t wait to celebrate...

I enjoyed What’s In a Cloud? by William Palumbo so very much, and my compliments to the illustrator, Nate Mayers, as well. His depiction of our little heroine, Aaliyah, caught my attention right away, especially when reading the title of the book. The puff balls...

Klippe the Viking (Little Viking) by Bjorn Fyrre is a moving and inspirational children’s picture book about learning to love yourself and not be afraid to try new things. Klippe is a young Viking who feels out of place in her village. She’s struggling in...

Lucy’s step-father didn’t like her. In fact, he called her Nuisance. Never Lucy, just Nuisance. He even locked her in her bedroom, not allowing her outside. It was like a prison. So when her step-father took her deep into the woods and left her there,...

Shelly’s New Shell is a children’s fable written and illustrated by Elisabeth Ekornes. Shelly is a hermit crab who loves to play in the ocean’s waves and has a lot of fun with her hermit crab friends. One day, she looks at Crabelina’s shell, which...

Jordan: My Grand Dog by Regina Long Southall is a heartwarming story that follows the life of a dog named Jordan. Jordan, a cute little Yorkshire terrier, was adopted by his owner, Andrea, when he was six weeks old. Having a home made the little...

If you like your poetry halfway between reality and the twilight zone of lethargic sleep, this is the book for you. In "A Song Beneath Silence", auth Apryl Skies takes the reader through lyrical moments in which love is always complicated and beauty is held...

The Monsterbet: The ABCs Do Not Scare Me is an educational children's picture book written by Sarah Steele and illustrated by Daniel Manduka. Some kids might find learning the alphabet rather daunting and a bit too much of a struggle, but once they've met the...

Only If by Ariana R. Cherry opens with Bill, an elderly dishevelled man, ranting to himself in his jail cell. He has been accused and found guilty of the murder of his wife, Clara. Bill, however, won’t accept he is in any way to blame,...

The recollections of a writing teacher and poet, The Writing Party by Ken Waldman, is not what you might think at first. It’s not dull. The situations he chose to retell – of unfairly critical writing professors and their exact opposites – lead the reader...

In 1889 there is a mining town that has been divided between those men who struggle to feed their families, and the rich or the gentry that are living up on Westleigh Hill. When Henry Postlewaite leaves for Golborne to make his fortune, he leaves...

The Escape: Naughty Blue Jay & Woodpecker is a children's story book written by Carolee Wells Henney and illustrated by Valerie Vincent. The birds in the aviary are all very excited about the arrival of springtime and many of them, including the cardinal and the...

Tac and Tuk is a children's animal story book written by Carolee Wells Henney and illustrated by Heather Ewing Klose. Tac and Tuk are ground squirrel cousins who live on the prairie in Texas. Their colony is a large one with about fifty families who...

The life of a boy born into freedom but sold into slavery is one that brings up painful thoughts, dark memories, and more for the man known much of his life as Rastus. Though his life in Africa with his family is all he’s ever...

Little Amelie likes to keep busy, especially at the village farm where she can help care for the animals and tend the gardens. She greets all the animals with enthusiasm, starting with the chicks, roosters, and pigs. But, when the babies come charging at her...

Cayden's Adventures with Faith by Elizabeth Lizu enlightens young readers about a life of faith. Cayden has always dreamed of being on the school’s basketball team. Finally, the opportunity to try out for the team arrives. Cayden is excited, yet a bit nervous. Through each...

Little Puddles by Shannon Dill, illustrated by Chris E Hammond, is about a little man named PJ who lives on a little island, in a little house in a little town, named Littleton, and has a little garden. But then he gets a big idea....

Okay, I’ll admit it – I am a sucker for kids’ books that feature animals. That is why I chose to read “Animal Sound Mix-up” by Connie Arnold. It tickled me that the illustrator’s name was Kit Grady because I have a kitty named Grady,...

It is Lord Snoot's birthday. He is patiently waiting for the mail to arrive to see if he will get any birthday cards or letters. When the mail is late, Lord Snoot begins to worry and feel disappointed. But when something unexpected happens and he...