Books for kids

Check It Out: Book Reviews for the Little Literati

Here’s what I’m reading this week with my baby bookworms:

Lulu‘s PaLulu's Pajamasjamas (Kids Can Press, $16.95), by Lucie Papineau, with illustrations by Stéphane Jorisch.

Lulu loves, loves, LOVES her favorite jammies. They’re super soft and they smell realllly good. When Lulu decides that she never, ever wants to take them off and wears her pj’s to school, she endures teasing from her friends and other surprises that she doesn’t quite plan on.

Lulu will likely remind you of someone  – your own Little Miss/Mr. Independent, maybe? Young readers usually enjoy seeing themselves in Lulu; my children sure did. What’s funny, however, was that my older kids, ages 9 and 7, were quick to say that Lulu reminded them of their 4-year-old sister. How soon they forget!

I especially loved how Lulu’s Mama and Papa responded to her assertiveness (read: borderline tantrum). It kinda reminded me of Bill Cosby’s approach to parenting – funny AND effective. For ages 2-6


Big Bear HugBig Bear Hug (Kids Can Press, $16.95), by Nicholas Oldland.

Bear can’t help himself: He hugs every animal he sees in the forest, even the ones he’s supposed to eat. Big animals, tiny ones, scary or stinky ones; doesn’t matter to ol’ Bear. But he loves hugging trees more than anything else. When a man with an axe walks into the forest, headed for one of the tallest and oldest trees, Bear has to decide if he’s going to be his same old lovable self or become Big Bad Bear.

We’re big on hugging at my house, so we welcomed Bear and all his affection. My 7-year-old highly recommends this book for bullies and other people who might need a big hug. We also appreciated Bear’s sweet efforts to protect his habitat.  For ages 3-7

 

 

Me and YouMe and You (Kids Can Press, $16.95), by Geneviéve Coté.

Two animal buddies, a pig and a bunny, wish they could trade places. Pig wants white skin and a fluffy tail, while the bunny wants pink fur and a twisty tail. They go through a laundry  list of things they love about each other and even change their appearance with paintbrushes and props. By the time they’re done with the makeovers, they learn to be comfortable in their own skin, which is a great lesson for readers of all ages. For ages 2 and older

DISCLOSURE: I received free copies of each book, which were donated to a local library.

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