Lily Murray

Hanging out on his bun one day, our hot dog hero is dismayed to discover that he's about to be eaten. Can he escape in time? His initial, quite complicated plan proves unworkable, but then Hot Dog realizes he can roll, rolling his way right out of his bun, and onto the nearby grass...

Although I would imagine that some children will find Hello, Hot Dog quite amusing, for my part I was mostly indifferent to its humor, not particularly drawn to its artwork, and wholly indifferent to the plight show more of its anthropomorphic food-item hero. Tastes vary of course (pun intended), so if you have a young child with a fondness for silly humor and unusual picture-book heroes, this might be one to pick up. show less

I've looked at several titles from the Welcome to the Museum series with longing; they're presented as museum exhibits and are masterpieces of information and art, with a "curator" instead of an author. However, I didn't feel that there was enough interest from my patrons in the previous titles to justify the cost - even with my vendor discount they come in at around $20, which is very high for a hardcover with regular binding that might not last through multiple uses.

However, when I heard a show more dinosaur title was coming out, I knew I had found the perfect fit - I was even more delighted to receive a review copy!

I read the WHOLE THING. I am not particularly a fan of dinosaurs to be honest; it's just not an aspect of science that has ever interested me. However, I made it through and it was really quite fascinating. The book is divided up into "galleries" and each one discusses a different classification of dinosaurs, like theropoda or ornithopoda. There is a final collection of non-dinosaurs, like pterosaurs, marine reptiles, and early mammals, and sections on extinction and survival. The final part of the book is the library, which includes the index, "curators" and bibliography.

The book is oversized and each giant spread includes carefully drawn illustrations of dinosaurs, an introduction to their group, and careful footnotes that are attached to each plate, or illustration. The text is detailed and challenging, so readers who want to not just examine the pictures and general information but read all the details will need to be either really motivated or very strong readers.

Verdict: This book will garner readers at a number of levels; younger readers and those who do not have the ability to read the full text will still enjoy poring over the illustrations and carefully examining each "exhibit." Older, more fluent readers will learn much from the information included (and probably drive their family crazy by repeating it to everyone, but that's life if you have a dinosaur fan!). Well worth the extra money and special shelving needed for the large size, I strongly recommend this title.

ISBN: 9780763699000; Published April 2018 by Big Picture Press; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library show less

If you're looking for a unique book with a premise about making up your own story, then this is the best book for you!

In times like this (you know, a pandemic where half of us are stuck inside or with our kids), it's great to find a book that will keep you and your little one busy. This book is the perfect fix to change up your day! It's creative, imaginative, and can get the kids involved in the story telling!

Lily Murray has previously made a book like this, but this time it's all about show more pirates! Essentially, you are given story queues and can then fill in the blanks of the story. But don't worry, the blanks aren't really blanks - the story provides with little pictures and ideas for the story! For example, you start out picking which person or creature you want to be the hero! Want to be a goat instead of a pirate? YOU GOT IT! And then you get them dressed, pick an adventure and continue adding to your story with each page that passes.

I seriously LOVE this book. I can't say how much I appreciate an imaginative book like this. I would have ate it up as a child, but I always loved being creative. Something like this is greatly needed in times like this, so hurray for Lily Murray! Genius!

Five out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for giving me access to a copy of this absolutely wonderful book! More like this, please! show less

Lily Murray's Jungle Adventure is a great, little guide on how to become a hero and make your own jungle adventure story!

I think this is a really creative book! It's not something I've seen a lot of before - create your own adventure books are normally pick your own ending. This one totally impressed me with it's imagination! You get to pick the adventure from each page - who do you want to be? What are you going to wear? What are we going to do? Etc. There are some story prompts to help the show more reader along the way, but it's mostly up to the reader's imagination on what's going to happen.

There's little pictures for every single possible option for the youngings to pick too! I think this is a great way to get kids interacting with story telling. You could use this as a parent as a unique bed time story or bonding time activity, or as an educator. It's also great that there are so many options on how to create this story to. It's not just a couple of endings, it's multiple possible adventures. Just use your imagination and creativity, and you'll be set!

Overall, I think this is a super smart book! It's an ingenious way to make reading a little more fun.

Five out of five stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for giving me an opportunity to pick up this book! show less