Humpty Dumpty Flip-Side Rhymes (3.2.15)

I read Humpty Dumpty Flip-Side Rhymes by Christopher Harbo
I received a free ARC from Capstone Young Readers through NetGalley
5 stars



One tale is the original Humpty Dumpty. The other tale, the flip-side, is from the King's Men. It's the flip-side that really gets you!

*Spoiler alert* the King's Men end by eating "eggs freshly scrambled." I giggled, said out loud "Oh my gosh!" and sat there kind of in shock. Where did that come from?

This is a good story for teaching point of view. Younger kids will think it's cute. Older kids will probably think it's hilarious, like I did.

The illustrations are beautiful. They are hip. The colors are muted, in a good way. They just add to the charm of this one.

No More Pacifier, Duck (1.1.15)

I read No More Pacifier, Duck by Michael Dahl
I received a free ARC from Capstone Young Readers through NetGalley
5 stars!



Duck loves his pacifier. Mommy tells him it is time to let it go. First, only at bed. Soon, not at all. Duck learns "Not even in bed, sleepyhead!"

Having a toddler who loves a pacifier, this is great. It might not make a child drop the pacifier instantly, but it is a great tool to add. Having books to read about life events helps a lot of small children cope with growing up. Being a board book, this will be helpful for small children from older babies into preschool.

The pictures are crisp and simple with appealing colors. All in all, a win.

I Need a New Butt! (9.17.14)

I read I Need a New Butt by Dawn McMillan, illustrated by Ross Kinnaird
I received a free ARC from Dover Publications through NetGalley
4 stars



What do you do when your butt has a crack in it? You shop for a new one, of course.

I don't care for potty humor. I would have honestly just passed this one by, but some other reviews said it wasn't that much potty humor. It definitely is. I think it was the farting that turned me off. Still, I know that a lot of kids will enjoy this one. The illustrations fit the story. They made my daughter laugh, slightly more than the actual story even. What preschooler doesn't love a good butt joke?

Dex T-Rex (7.23.14)

I read Dex T-Rex, the Mischievous Little Dinosaur by Katya Bowser
I received a free ARC from Stan Lee's Kids Universe through NetGalley
4 Stars



"That is a good one." That's a direct quote from my almost 3 year-old daughter.

Dex is destructive. He likes to break things, kick things, and pretty much just be mischievous. When he hurts a poor little caterpillar, he looks back at what he has done. He doesn't feel good about it at all, and he vows to change his ways.

I like the illustrations. They are simple, crisp, and adorable. The story is a good one, if not a little silly. You can't just tape a stick back together. I wish it would have taught kids that some things can't be fixed, but you can change your ways and make things better in the future. Still, my daughter loved the book. It would be good to read to a group of early preschoolers and then talk about consequences and feelings.

Afterworlds (9.23.14)

I read Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
My coworker let me borrow her ARC so that we could discuss it
A VERY strong 4 stars



Darcy wrote a story; a paranormal romance that starts with a terrorist attack and continues with a non-dead girl who can totally talk to ghosts. A publisher paid her big money for her story. Now, right after graduating high school, she is off to New York to start a career, and her life, while putting college on hold. One chapter of this novel is Darcy's life story, and the next is her written novel. Essentially this is two complete novels in one.

What do you do when an author you like writes a book that doesn't sound like it could possibly be written well? You have someone else read it first of course! Now, I really didn't have a say in that. My coworker was going to read it first anyway. If she told me it was a flop, I would have skipped it. She ended up loving it and passing it along to me.

If I had read it without talking to my coworker first and had low expectations, I probably would have given it 5 stars. Just reading the premise, I wasn't sure how he was possibly going to be able to essentially write 2 stories in one novel. I often hate dueling chapters, getting them confused or forgetting parts from chapter to chapter. If that somehow doesn't happen, I always end up loving one part and hating the rest. Since I was assured that it worked well, I think my expectations were raised a bit.

Westerfeld accomplished something I didn't think possible. He wrote two completely different stories and managed to tie them together in a way that really worked. I liked both stories. I didn't have a hard time keeping details separated, but each story definitely had enough detail to paint pictures in my head.

Now, why did I only give it 4 stars? It is over 600 pages. Somewhere in the middle, I put the book down and forgot about it for a couple days. No, it wasn't a huge break, but the fact that I wasn't pining to read more means it wasn't an A+. At one point, I was a bit over Darcy. I still liked her life story and wanted to know what happened, but I was ready for it to just happen already. Her novel never quite got that way, but it wasn't quite perfect enough to raise the whole novel up.

I'm glad I read this one. I think a lot of teens will like the story of Darcy and how she grows into her adult self. Her novel will draw you in from the first chapter, no doubt about that. A warning to parents, there are girlfriend/girlfriend relationships, some major curse words, and underage drinking without any kind of consequence whatsoever. None of these bothered me or would even bother me as a parent, but it is something that definitely needs mentioning.

Franklin and the Case of the New Friend (8.1.14)

I read Franklin and the Case of the New Friend by Caitlin Drake Smith
I received a free ARC from Kids Can Press through NetGalley
4 Stars



Franklin and his friend find a picture of a skunk family, but there is no skunk family nearby. They have to figure out who this mysterious skunk is so that they can give her picture back, so they call on their friends, and the Super Clupers are soon on the case.

I have had the opportunity to read a few Franklin books lately. I have been so happy with the morals of the stories, how kids can really learn lessons. This book was more for entertainment. Yes, there is the slight story about being a friend, but the story is more of a mystery for preschoolers. This doesn't make it a bad book at all. Many kids will enjoy it, and it might start them down the path to reading mysteries later. It was still a good book, just not what I was expecting.

Franklin and the Radio (8.1.14)

I read Franklin and the Radio by Caitlin Drake Smith
I received a free ARC from Kids Can Press through NetGalley
4 stars



Franklin's family is cleaning up by donating unwanted items and throwing away the ones that aren't good enough to donate. When he takes his radio, along with the rest of the junk, to Fox's Junkyard, his friend Fox asks if he can try to fix up the radio. The next day, Fox's cool-io new radio is all the talk. Unfortunately, this makes Franklin sad. Fox is such a great friend though, and Franklin gets the radio back. What follows is a lesson in appreciating what you have and being okay with letting things go.

I think kids today will like the illustrations. They are very crisp and clear, computer generated but done well. The story is a good one for small children to hear. It would be good to tell to someone before donating old toys and clothes. It is well done and with characters that kids will recognize.