Linda Bailey

Of all the Early Reviewer books I have received this one could be the most entertaining. But then, Tundra Books never disappoint. Eddie is a tiny green bug who lives with his parents, various other relatives, and 53 siblings in a crack in the wall behind a classroom chalkboard. When his adventurous book-lover Aunt Min doesn't come back from a visit to the library, Eddie volunteers to set out on a search for her. After a long risky journey to the library he found Aunt Min injured, hungry and show more thirsty. While he tended to her, the friendly librarian went on maternity leave, only to have a nasty replacement take over and plan to close the library. This spurred the tiny hero to take action. (What this librarian would like to know is why we are always represented as very, very good or very, very evil?)

This is an absolutely charming story that most children who have advanced to chapter books will love. There are many indirect references to favourite books that create a sort of guessing game to determine which book is referenced. A "bugliography" at the end will provide answers. Eddie's many escapades would also make it an excellent choice for a book to read aloud by instalments. I will never look at a little bug again without thinking of Eddie and his Aunt Min. show less

I guess that a good review should be written by a member of the target readership—since this is a board book, that would be a challenge, however, I have the next best thing.
I have three little grandsons; two are very excited about dinosaurs and one that is more of a truck, trains & tractor kind of guy. On the day I received my copy of “What Would You Do with a Dinosaur?”, my triple-t grandson (age 3) was at the house. I opened the package and asked him if he would like to look at it. show more He paged through it and asked me to read it, so, of course, I did. Then I read it again; and again and yet again. Actually, I read it eight times in a row. The first couple of readings he simply listened to it—the next few readings were sprinkled with tentative questions (Do dinosaurs really do that? Are there dinosaurs around here? What is he doing in that picture?). By the time we had finished the eighth reading , he was laughing and examining the pictures very carefully. At nap time, he wanted to sleep with the book and after the nap we did some more cluster readings, but this time he added ideas as I read: I could ride a dinosaur—I could play hide & go seek with a dinosaur—do not let a dinosaur carry your milk to the table. Then he cut loose and got pretty silly: do not teach your dinosaur to dance because he will break the floor. Make the dinosaur use his indoor voice or he will wake the baby. Do not run races with a dinosaur because he could step on your toes.
I asked him, “Do you like dinosaurs now?”
“No,” he said very seriously, “but I like your book.”
So the three-year-old enjoyed the book and I saw a new side of this very concrete little kid.
The book is short and silly—it covers the dos & don’ts of dinosaur ownership in a humorous way and the artwork is fun for both the little people listening and the big ones reading to them. This is a fun book that is a great jumping off point for creative conversations and giggles. show less

Two mittens match, but a third is left out, consigned to a pocket, alone...until one of the pair gets lost, and the little girl wears Dotty and Stripes together. They're just beginning to become friends when Other Stripes reappears on the scene, and now Dotty is left out. But the girl intervenes: Who said mittens have to match? Revealing a cardboard box full of singletons, she begins wearing a mismatched pair every day - choosing fairly so everyone gets a turn - and sparks a new trend at show more school. And not just for mittens - soon the socks and shoes get into it!

A warm, inclusive winter tale. show less

his children’s book ARC is well-executed and well-illustrated by Isabelle Follath. It tells the story of Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories. It tells of his impoverished origins, the importance of his mother and her storytelling, his love of books and stories, how he tried to make money selling other kinds of stories, his uncles paying for his schooling, his unsuccessful efforts at being a medical doctor that provided the model for Holmes: the detail-observing show more Dr. Joseph Bell, the financial breakthrough when the Strand magazine began publishing his SH short stories, the sensation they caused, his need to kill off SH for his own mental health, the resurrection of SH eight years later in The Hound of the Baskervilles, and more. I enjoyed it very much for free, but I do wonder who the paying audience is for this. It’s a bit much for very young kids, and I’m not sure about what older age group it fits. It’s a fun one to check out of the library for Sherlock Holmes fans. show less