Tag: Stuffed animals

Lost Book Review

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A few months ago I was watching Inside Out with Molly. We were watching the scene where the imaginary pink elephant does not get in the wagon. Molly asked where the elephant went and when I told her that he would not be coming back she instantly started to cry. As a parent, I was no where near prepared for this moment, and realized I didn’t even have a go to book in Molly’s library on this topic, until now.

Lost, written by Christine Reynebeau and illustrated by Rachael Hawkes, is an honest picture book that explains loss to young readers.

Lucy has a favorite toy, her stuffed giraffe Lou, who goes everywhere with her. Lou and Lucy have an incredible bond and go on many adventures together. Lou is always there for Lucy. One day Lucy goes on a cruise with her family and Lou falls off the ship into the sea. He is officially lost. Lucy goes through the emotional stages of grieving the loss of her favorite toy.

As with other books by this author, I LOVE the way that concepts are explained. Loss is by no means an easy idea to explain to a child, but this book does a fantastic job of discussing a difficult topic.

I love that Lucy seeks out comfort from her parents and that her dad makes it a point to explain loss. Dad uses kid friendly language to not only comfort Lucy, but to guide her through the process. The illustrations that support the text are absolutely spot on and help elaborate on Dad’s words. Readers can easily infer the text based on the pictures.

Readers see Lucy experience joy, sadness, and love throughout the story. Some days she feels happy and may not think about Lou, but then feels guilty for this. The realness of Lucy’s journey is authentic and relatable to readers of all ages. It gives readers all the feels.

DreamBuilt Books has created diverse texts and Lost is no exception.  I love the inclusiveness represented in the story.

I would recommend this books for ages preschool-2nd grade.

To purchase the book, click here 

 

Little Reading Coach is a certified Teacher of English (K-12) and Reading Specialist (P-12) offering online reading and writing tutoring services for students in grades 3-12. For more information click here.

 

Cami Kangaroo Has Too Many Sweets Book Review

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I can’t believe this is my first review of 2020! Even though we are only in the first full week of January, there has been quite a lot happening in the world. The fires in Australia are beyond devastating and heart breaking. As a literacy blogger, I wanted to help bring awareness to this tragedy through books.

Author Stacy Bauer has written some fabulous picture books about Cami Kangaroo. She is currently doing a fundraiser where 100% of her royalties will be donated to saving Australian wildlife. This includes her picture books and stuffed animal kangaroos. It is my pleasure to help support this incredible author by sharing a review of one of her books.

Kangaroos

Cami Kangaroo Has Too Many Sweets, by Stacy Bauer, is a charming picture book that shows readers why healthy eating is important.

Cami is an extremely relatable character for young readers (and adults). She thinks about eating sweets and sneaks ice cream, cupcakes, and sprinkles while her mom isn’t looking. Cami locks the door of her playroom to eat ice cream, hides candy wrappers behind her dresser, and finds brownies in the microwave. She is a determined little kangaroo.

While Cami thinks she is getting away with her creative snacking ways, her mom is right behind her. Mom puts locks on the freezer door, puts sweets on the top shelf, and moves the lock from the playroom door to the pantry. She warns Cami that eating too many sweets will result in cavities, especially when she has a dentist appointment soon.

At the dentist it is revealed that Cami has four cavities. She finally realizes the importance of eating healthy and that it is important to listen to her mom.

As a mom, I love how Cami’s mom was characterized. She is always aware what Cami is doing and tries to help Cami curb her sweet tooth. In all honesty, I had a text to self connection when her mom moved the locks. As a little girl, my mom took my doorknob off of my bedroom door because I would always lock my sister out. Cami’s mom did a similar action so that Cami couldn’t lock the playroom door.

I was also a HUGE fan of the illustrations! Rebecca Sinclair, the illustrator, provided great visuals for the text. My personal favorite was the one of Cami eating ice cream in the playhouse in the toy room because as a kid I would have loved to have one of those.

I would recommend this book for readers in preschool through second grade. I see it being used to support health curriculum topics in schools or for homeschool.

Please help save Australian wildlife by purchasing a book or stuffed kangaroo. For more information on this fundraiser please click here.

To purchase this book click here.

To purchase a stuffed kangaroo click here.