Tina Gallo

Fans of Cocomelon can join their favorite characters as they get ready to discover an Easter surprise.

JJ is very excited about Easter. At school, his class creates bunny masks to prepare for the celebration. JJ takes care to do a good job and creates a cute mask. But there's still a big surprise waiting for him.

This is a board book, created for small hands and made to take a little wear and tear. To fit the Easter theme, it has a lovely egg shape, which also keeps corners away. The length is show more nice and short, as board books tend to be, and each page is bright and colorful. It focuses on the fun surrounding the preparations for a big event and demonstrates how putting in effort and care increases the joy.

The tale comes from the very popular series, Cocomelon, and portrays the scenes from one of their shows. While there's a short sentence or two on each two-page spread to help listeners follow the story...and this in a personal and cute way...the text to the song from the show flows along the bottom. The illustrations are taken directly from the video scenes, which will delight young fans as they will immediately recognize the characters. These are well placed and let the story shine. I was surprised that the story is more about creating a bunny mask than the end surprise as the title suggests, but this will definitely have listeners ready to dive into their own craft project (so be ready for that!)

The text is a little on the heavier side but easy to understand. So, I do see that part more for the upper age end of the intended audience level. But since this follows something readers will already recognize, little ones will enjoy that aspect. It's a cute book with tons of positivity and is definitely more geared to readers, who know the show. But those readers will enjoy this quite a bit, too. I received a complimentary copy and smiled the entire way through. show less

With the caring characters from the Fred Rogers Productions Donkey Hodie, friends and support shine bright an big in these pages.

Bob Dog is very, very nervous. In order to graduate from dog school, he needs to tap dance, sit and stay still, and bake muffins...and that while standing on a stage! While he's nervous to stand in front of everyone, the fear of forgetting something is his biggest concern. But his friends might just know how to help him out.

Fans of Donkey Hodie are going to enjoy show more this one (of course) and will immediately recognize the characters from the show. Plus, their energy and personalities still manage to gleam off of every page even in book form. It's a warm bunch and no problem to feel welcome and wish to be right their with them.

This is a level one reader and written in large font with only a sentence or two on each page. It's easy to identify the words and letters, and while each one accompanies an illustration on the page, it's placed clearly above or below for visual ease. Although only level 1, the vocabulary doesn't allow readers too much slack. Right away, the word 'graduate' is presented with a quick pronunciation help as it filters right into the tale. This was well laid and often repeated throughout the text to help the word sit. Other slightly difficult words such as remember, pose, and celebrate keep readers stretching their reading skills without trying to overwhelm in the process.

The story holds a lovely message of support and encouragement, while keeping fun and humor high. Tap dancing and muffin baking already add a silly twist to dog school graduation. Plus, the friends' solutions to help Bob Dog remember everything spin in far directions, which make sense somehow, anyway. It reads in a bit of a energy-packed flurry, which bordered on heading into too much but reeled back just in time. The atmosphere fits to the characters personalities nicely and is sure to delight show fans. I received a complimentary copy and found the friends fun. show less

The inventive names Crayola uses for their crayons come to life as the school day goes rumbling joyfully by.

If you're like me and my kids, it is fun to read the names of the colors printed on Crayola crayons. They can be pretty inventive. In this little board book, several of these colors take the spotlight. By accompanying a 'crayon' on a usual day at school, several colors are presented while the good points of a day at school are highlighted.

This is a sturdy board book, which takes the show more cute form of a bus. A yellow school bus, of course. The crayon colors which will appear in the book are already shown doing all sorts of antics in each of the bus' windows. Personality and quirks are definitely there, and it does add a lot of fun to the tale. The book covers two things at once—showing what a pretty average day of school looks like and learning colors. So, from the end, it's something well directed toward little ones, who are facing their first days of school.

For a board book, there's quite a bit of text on the pages. At first, I wasn't sure that was a good thing, but the text isn't difficult and does fit the understanding level of the intended age group. Some words are a little more difficult, but since this is a read-aloud, introducing a few new words is a good thing in my book (no pun intended). It not only introduces each color and a moment in the school day, but adds a couple more details which address the listener directly like favorite foods and games that most will recognize. Each page ends with a question directed toward the listener, asking for their opinion on things like favorite colors and what makes them feel happy.

One thing which makes me take pause in these pages is the presentation of the colors. Firstly, by introducing Crayola's names, it does run a little on the wayside of basic color learning. For example, Jungle Green isn't a pure green...but does this make a difference? Maybe. Maybe not. Also, there are quite a few intentions held in these pages between learning Crayola's colors, seeing the schedule of a usual day at school, and talking about emotions. It feels busy. But then, it can be used to address several themes, depending on where the main reader wants to take it.

All in all, it's a fun book which heads in several directions without growing confusing. Friends of coloring, who recognize Crayola's colors, will especially enjoy this one.

I received a complimentary copy and found this book to be more versatile than most board books. show less

This book was okay. It would be a good book for those who are beginning to read, but it wasn't my favorite. The big idea of the book is to be a good sport and to enjoy being part of the team. Olivia wants to wear the red jersey, but only the goalie can wear red. Olivia doesn't like her uniform, so she changes it which causes confusion on the field. She then realizes how important it is to have team work and compromise. Then the goalie doesn't want to be goalie anymore, and Olivia takes the show more position. One reason I did like this book was because of the illustrations. For example, on pages 10-11 there is a very diverse group of pig playing on the filed. I really like that the illustrator included diversity in his text. I also really enjoyed the colors, because they were bright and caught my eye. For example, the grass on the field was a pretty bright green, that continued to grab my attention. Another reason why I liked this book was because of the plot. For example, this book is a short book, so it instantly gets into the story when Olivia is joining a soccer team and she cannot wear the red jersey because she's not goalie. She then changes her look, so now she doesn't match her team, she matches the other team which causes confusion, then they lose the game. They blame Olivia, so she decides to become a team player. In the end she gets to be goalie and wear the red jersey. The plot is great because it teaches children to be a good team player. When you're a team player, you could become a winner. show less