Malachy Doyle

Meh. I wasn't too impressed with this one. Georgie was a total mess: incredibly, unpredictably violent, dangerous to himself and other people, unable to keep anything in his room because he destroyed everything he owned. Then he got sent to a facility where he improved dramatically...simply because people acted nice to him. He got a whole room full of possessions and never destroyed any of them. He left his room, started eating in the cafeteria with the other kids, went outside, started show more speaking, made a friend, etc...all in the course of a few months. All because people were nice to him.

Nice as it sounds, it's just not realistic. I'm not the target audience and probably a teenager (I'm 27) would have an easier time buying it. But I know it takes a lot more than kindness and love to turn such a troubled, animal-like child into a functional human being. show less

"Danny the Duck with No Quack" is a cute book about a shy duck who has no quack. But once he finds his quack, he is powerful and makes a difference. This book is very inspirational for children who are shy or quiet and need to find their voice. I especially loved that at the end of this book, there are 11 tips or questions for parents and teachers to engage students during or after the story.

This book follows the story of Jody who is growing plants in her back yard. She plants the seeds with her grandparents and they teach her how to care for and harvest her plants. She even feeds her family with these plants!

I enjoyed this book primarily for the illustrations and the small details you can find in those illustrations. A lot of the borders on the pages are stems and seeds. At the beginning of the book, you can see that Jody's mother is pregnant. If you look closely at the end of show more the book, her mother is holding a baby in a small blanket! There are a lot of small details that children may not be able to pick up so It would be fun to read the book aloud and see if the kids pick up on those details. If they don't, you can explain it to them! show less

On each two-page spread of this picture board book, the author and illustrator show the child what they should not do and then what they should do. For example, “Squabble less.” “Share more!” The book contrasts sniffle and snuggle, grumbling and giggle, zone out and zoom around, pick and plant, shout and sing, grab and give, tease and tickle, sulk and sparkle, and worry and wonder. It ends with “Fearless evermore! Be strong! Be happy!”

The text did not interest my granddaughter or show more myself. There are far more subtle ways to get across this message than the don’t do – do strategy used here. It felt pretty cheezy, even scolding at times.

The illustrations are soft and endearing in this little board book. The children show good action and expression. Many pages showed interesting detail.

Parents might like this book but I doubt many children will. show less