Book Review: Nobody! by Erin Frankel

Here is another children's book I saw on *Netgalley that I thought would be a great read for my son as I think the issue of bullying is a very important one.

Thomas is being bullied at school by one little boy. No matter what Thomas does Kyle will not stop bullying him. Thomas begins to think of himself as a nobody till one day Thomas decides to change his perspective. With the help of friends Thomas becomes more confident and in turn Kyle starts to bully him less.

This cover....oh this cover is just heart breaking. Those big sad mournful eyes. It reminds me of when I was younger and was bullied. I know the heart ache of no matter what you do it doesn't make a difference. I know what is like when adults wont listen and no one else will stick up for you. It is a hard hard thing to go through. Thankfully, my son hasn't had to really go through that and the little bit of bullying he experienced when he was in Kindergarten he has already forgotten about. Since my son is special needs I worry about him being singled out for being different.

I like that the book didn't just gloss over bullying but pointed out how at times adults don't understand and just give platitudes that the bully will "grow up". I also liked that there was a believable happy ending.

My son enjoyed the book and we had a talk about bullying and why it is wrong.

4 out of 5 stars.





*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with 7 year old severely learning disabled son and the review reflects his opinion as well.

Book Review: Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

This book is one that used to belong to my stepdaughter. She always loved this books and would beg us to read them over and over again. I'm so happy to introduce them to my son and see if he loves them as much as she did.

The cows on Farmer Brown's farm have gotten a hold of a typewriter.  All day long he hears "Click, Clack, Moo". Soon the cows start leaving Farmer Brown notes demanding things like blankets. They threaten to go on strike.

This book is a classic for sure. Funny and cute! It is not overly complicated and as always there is a slight twist at the end. Poor Farmer Brown always seems to get the short end of the deal.

The illustrations are just great. Perfect for children's book and do a great job of showing motion. You can almost see the cows typing. The colors are perfect for the a farm color scheme.

My son loved this one and thought it was perfectly silly. I'm glad he loved it just as much as his older sister did.

5 out of 5 stars.



*This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: Coco and the Little Black Dress by Annemarie Van Haeringen

I saw this book on *Netgalley and was immediately intrigued. Coco Chanel is an iconic figure and I thought to myself a children's book about Coco? Heck yeah!

Little Coco is raised in an orphanage and is made from a young age to feel different and not wanted. In the orphanage she learns to sew and dreams of bigger things. When she is older she makes friends with rich people and soon begins to design her own hats and clothes. Including the iconic "little black dress".

OK so I loved this book. The drawings were wonderful. I loved the look of the fashions and the story of little Coco. I admit though I'm not a fan of the perfume. I know I know! Every woman is supposed to love Chanel #5...but little old me? I just always found it to be...a bit much. But anyway back to the book. I found it fascinating to learn that she was raised in an orphanage even though she wasn't really an orphan. I love that she always wanted more for herself and worked hard for it. And since she was never afraid to be different.

My son didn't do as well with this book. To be honest though he doesn't care about fashion so this book really isn't catered to him. I think this really is better for young boys and girls who care about fashion. Really this is more towards young girls than boys (but some boys may enjoy this book).

I would say 4 out of 5 stars.

*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: The Surfer & The Seal by Paul Gallagher

A few weeks ago I was delighted to receive an email from author Paul Gallagher asking me if I could review his children's picture book. I immediately jumped at the chance. The book sounded so cute from his description and I loved that the book is dedicated to his grandson Logan. A portion of each book sold will be donated to non-profit organizations dedicated to protecting the marine environment.

The surfer and the seal is based on a true story. Paul, a surfer who has been going to the beach since he was a little boy, has a special spot he likes to surf at. Along the way he checks out the tide pools and the various sea creatures that can be found in them. When he arrives at his secret surfing spot he finds a seal. Soon he and the seal become friends and everyday the surf together.

First I have to mention the illustrations by Monica Chenglo. They were AMAZING! Such gorgeous vivid colors. My adored all the pictures of the sea creatures and kept pointing them out before I could even begin reading the words on the page. These pictures were perfect for this children's book! I'm a sucker for great artwork.

The story itself is very cute. I love that it teaches children about marine life. Also I'm glad that it teaches children not to be scared of the water. I've met children who are scared of the ocean because of sharks and jellyfish. But this teaches that there are our marine cousins that are friendly and curious about us humans as much as we are curious about them.  Living in Jersey the shore is pretty important to me so I'm glad to read books to my son that feature ocean (even if it is a different one than the one we go to).

My son loved this book. As I said earlier he was pointing out the different sea creatures. He said how he wanted to meet a seal too. He also expressed an interest in surfing. I told him he would have to learn how to swim first.

This was a solid 5 out of 5 stars.



* I received a physical copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion
** This book was read with my severely learning disabled son and my review reflects his opinion as well as mine.

Book Review: Alphabet Everywhere by Elliott Kaufman

Here is yet another book I was lucky enough to snag from *Netgalley. While my son finally knows
his ABC's it is always great to go back over them with him. Especially, with the potentially for the summer back slide.

Alphabet Everywhere is a book that features pictures of the letters of the alphabet. But these are not just ordinary drawings or pictures of the letters. No these are pictures of things that just also happen to make look like alphabet letters. Like two silos next to each other forming the letter M or doorhandles that when looked at just the right angle form the letter B.

I loved this book. I thought it was so creative. It not only helps instill the letters of the alphabet but it encourages children to find them all over the place. My son had the best time afterwards going through the house and finding as many letters as he could, "Hey mom! There is a C over there. Do you see it? My name starts with C!".

My son loved trying to see the letters in each of the pictures. Some were easier than others but he saw them all. When I asked him what he thought of the book. He said he loved it and made me go back through it two more times with him. So even though this book is made for children younger than him he still really loved it.

5 out of 5 stars!!




*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: Snap! by Hazel Hutchins

When I saw this on *netgalley I just knew I had to request it. Not only was the cover amazing but the book summary had me desperate to read it to my son.

Evan has a brand new set of crayons. But before he knows it the brown one breaks. Soon one after the other all of his crayons begin to break. But that doesn't stop him. With each new broken or missing crayon he discovers something new like combining colors to make new colors and making rubbings on the paper from coins and paper clips. 

I loved this book. I love that Evan become angry at his crayon for break. We've all seen the frustration that pours forth from a child who has just broken a crayon. But more importantly I love that he discovers new ways to use his crayons and that even when he no longer can color with them he finds a new way to start new adventures with his drawings. I think it says a lot that children should fully embrace their creativity and go with the flow. Discover new ways to make art. 

The illustrations in this were wonderful. It definitely gives the feel of a child artist on a roll frenzied roll with artwork. Never stopping just keeps drawing drawing drawing. The colors are perfect and really follows the flow of the story. I want to add this book to my collection! I love that the cover shows the colors almost splashing out from the broken crayon.

My son loved this one and took out his crayons and some paper afterwards and began to draw. While he didn't get into the long frenzied drawing of Evan he did spend a good (blissfully quiet) 20 minutes drawing cats and blue skies and what might have been a flower.

5 out of 5 stars.

*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: Jaya's Golden Necklace: A Silk Road Tale by Peter Linenthal

I'm always looking for books that feature diverse characters. I was happy to find this book on *Netgalley. I'm always trying to expose him to different cultures and religions. It is important to me that he understands that all people are people and it doesn't matter their race, gender, sexuality, or religion. Though coming from a house of atheists/agnostics he doesn't have much of a concept of religion.

Jaya's Golden Necklace tells the tale of a little girl whose mother is sent to the kings palace to bake her famous apricot cake for the king's birthday. Before her mother leaves she give Jaya a golden necklace with three gold coins. Jaya then finds out her father has also been summoned by the king. He has been asked to carve a statue of Buddha the peaceful one. From the gold coins on Jaya's necklace spring the gods Shiva, Inanna and Hercules. They help Jaya on her journey to the palace with her father.

I loved the illustrations in this book. They almost reminded me of stained glass with the colors and how they pictures were outlined. It really was beautiful to look at. I was afraid my son would have a hard time keeping up as he doesn't know much about the gods (ok to be truthful neither do I). But he kept up and seemed to enjoy the book. He loved the part were Jaya dons the lion skin.

I love how at the end historical information is give and you even get the recipe for Jaya's mom's famous apricot cake...I might even give it a go since I love apricots! I actually really liked this book and think it is great for introducing children to Buddhism.

4 out of 5 stars!



*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: Matilda by Roald Dahl

This is a classic for sure. Pretty much everything Dahl wrote had the magic touch. He was just such an amazing writer. I read this one as part of the 1001 children's book challenge.

Matilda tells the store of an extremely bright little girl who loves to read. Her parents don't take with reading and her father is crooked car sales man. Matilda sets off to school for the first time and her teacher Miss Honey is amazed by how smart the little girl is. The big problem is that the head teacher Miss Trunchbull is a meanie and cruel beyond cruel.

Now then it has been over 25 years since the last time I read this book...Eek did I really just write that? Whenever your reread a beloved childhood classic you always have to wonder if it will stand up or if growing up changes the book for the worse. I'm happy to say for the most part Matilda stands up. Of course had it been written today Matilda's family would be on their tablets and cell phones while watching tv and eating their gross (even to this day) TV dinners. Also as an adult the idea of the type of abuse and violence that Matilda and her fellow peers face is a bit sickening. I guess as a child it seems cartoonish but as an adult we realize the stomach turning reality of such things. The fact that unfortunately neglectful parents like Matilda's and the inexcusable physical and mental violence of Miss Trunchbull actually exists makes it hard to see it as silly.

That being said I still really loved the book. Matilda is a great example of a book loving child who uses her intellect to get through problems. She is always greatful for what she has and she forms such a wonderful loving relationship with her teacher Miss Honey.

4 out of 5 stars!

Book Review: The Night Children by Sarah Tsiang

Here is another book that I found through *Netgalley. I so fell in love with the cover and the description that I was ready to cry if I had been denied for this one. But thankfully I was approved for this book. I'm so glad I requested this book!

 The Night Children tells about when children have gone home and it is dark out. The Night Children come out and take over for the Day Children. They steal slices of the moon, scatter leaves, cause the cats to sing etc. Till it is time for them to go to bed and time for the Day Children to take over.

 Wow wow wow wow wow! Did I say wow? Cause holy freaking wow! This book was AMAZING! No, seriously! I wish that I had read this book in time for my top ten books I've read so far this year list. Because this would have been on there.

Let me start with the illustrations. They are some of the best I've seen so far this year. They have a fluidty to them that is hard to describe. I can just see the movements of the Night Children in the drawings. You can see their graceful almost dance like movements. You can see the wind whipping the leaves that they tear up and scatter. This is sheer perfection. From the tiny details to the color choices. This is the type of book that tells a story without having any words.

Ah, but we can't forget the words can we? The story itself is wonderful. This is a simple easy to read story but yet it tells of the magic of the Night Children. I think this book would be best told in the fall time as the imagery of the words and artwork go with that time of the year. Also as I was reading it I could totally see a mini animated short made out of this. It totally flows like the best animated art films.

My son loved this book as much as I did. He stayed with me while I looked back through the photos and would complain if I moved to fast for him. He wanted to soak it all in.

5 out of 5 enthusiastic stars!!



*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

So I'm ashamed to admit that this was the first time I had ever read this book to my son. I mean come on it is a classic. I must have read it about 50 times as a kid and here I am..bad mommy that I am I have never read this one to my son. Well, I happily remedied that mistake and in doing so can cross another book off the 1001 book challenge.

Snowy day tells the adventures of one little boy spending the day out playing in the snow. He even puts a snowball in his pocket to play with later only to have it melt from being in his warm house. He dreams of the snow all melting but when he wakes up he discovers the snow is still there and that even more is falling.

This classic is just amazing. It really captures the fun of running out in the snow and all the things you do from making prints in the snow to dragging your feet to make looooong line tracks to making snow angels. This is just a fun book all around and it stands the test of time. It doesn't feel dated at all. And that iconic image of the little boy in his red snow suit is unforgettable.

My son enjoyed this one a lot and has already requested I read it to him a second time. So I'm pleased to have found another book to add to our permanent collection


5 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Don't Dangle Your Participle by Vanita Oelschlager

I've very nearly cleared out my *Netgalley list. I was hesitant to read this one because I wasn't sure
how my son would do since he is not ready for learning parts of speech etc.

This book explains what a participle is and how to properly use it. By using examples of the right and wrong way to phrase things.

This reminded me of Eats Shoots and Leaves. In fact we have the children's version of it lying around here some where. This wasn't bad at all but I didn't bother to explain to my son what a participle is. I just read it and pointed out the silly things. I explained that the book was showing people how writing things the wrong way changes the meaning of the sentence. Needless to say this was waaaay over my son's head.

The drawings were cute and did a great job of depicting the sentence. My son did ok and cracked up at the silly things but he really didn't understand what the point of the book was. This book is not for younger kids or those with learning disabilities like my son. They may still enjoy the book but they wont understand it like an older or more advanced child would.

I have a hard time rating this because there is absolutely nothing wrong with the book it just wasn't a fit for my family. Because my son did laugh and get some amusement out of it I'm going to go with 4 out of 5 stars.











*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: Pine and the Winter Sparrow by Alexis York Lumbard

I picked this one up from *Netgalley. I thought it would be nice to read a "winter" book in the summer. You know give the illusion of coolness...or Christmas in July kinda of thing.

The book is about a sparrow who has injured his wing. He cannot migrate with the rest of his family so he tries to find a place to live through the winter. He approaches tree after tree but they all turn him away. Pine is the only one that accepts him. That is why pines stay green all winter long.

Ok so I hate having to be so honest but this book really was not for me. Normally I love retellings of different stories from different cultures. Hence why I do Thursday's Tales with CarolsNotebook. There was just something very off putting about this. It read more like Christian Children's Fiction than it did of a native american story.

That being said the illustrations were great. I loved how the pine tree needles almost looked like feathers. It was pretty to look at.

As for my son...well I think he picked up on my squirming during this book and I think his reaction to it was affected by my reaction to it. So I'm having a hard time gauging what this one is actually rated at.

I'm going to go with a middle of the road 3 out of 5 stars.












*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: Magic Words: From the Ancient Oral Tradition of the Inuit by Edward Field

Ok so I've requested a lot from *Netgalley lately...too much. So I'm trying to put out all of my reviews of books I requested before I start getting request happy again. This is one of the books I recently requested. I thought the cover looked interesting and how often do you find books from Inuit tales?

Magic Words tells the story of when people could turn into animals and animals could turn into people. Words were special and if you spoke it things would happen.

The ironic thing is that Magic Words is fairly light on words. But what is not light on is beautiful illustrations. These were downright gorgeous. The native feeling comes through them and the colors are perfectly picked. This is one where you pause to look over the whole picture before you move onto the next page.

My son couldn't quite follow the flow of the story but he did enjoy looking at the pictures. I think that it had something to do with the almost stilted like writing that he couldn't quite follow. I think the writing lended to being just like a book being transcribed from oral stories. But in this case it was a little harder for my son.

4 out of 5 stars.





*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton by Don Tate

It seemed rather poignant that I read this book. With the last few months showing that sadly racism has not died I thought it important to introduce my son to dark time in our history...Slavery. I doubt that my son will ever understand white privilege (sadly most white people don't). But I'm happy to say that he is raised in a family where we know that is not the color of your skin that matters but rather who you are as a person.

George Moses Horton was a slave in North Carolina. From an early age he loved words and eventually taught himself how to read. Soon he was composing poems of his own and memorizing them. While selling fruit on the weekends at a college campus he would recite his poems and was making money by selling his poetry.

I have to admit I had never heard of George Moses Horton before today. So for me this was a fascinating read. I intend to look more into him because it really was a remarkable story. My son seemed to do ok with the story. At one point I asked him if he knew what slavery was. He didn't. I tried my best to explain it but how does one explain something so evil as that?

I loved the illustrations. The soft colors were perfect and this was another childrens book that did the artwork just right. I couldn't tell what my son thought of the drawings.

5 out of 5 stars.






*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: Sonya's Chickens by Phoebe Wahl

I saw this on *Netgalley and was excited by both the cover and the description. It sounded like it was going to be a good read.

Sonya's papa gives her three baby chickens. Sonya does her best to feed and care for all three. But one night loud noises come from the chicken coop. When Sonya goes out to investigate she finds one of her chickens missing.

Ok the illustrations in this are so rich and amazing. The deep colors and drawing styles remind me a bit of Van Gogh. It was just a wonderful piece of artwork to look through. I think all good picture books should have artwork as delicious as this.

The subject matter in this may be a bit hard for smaller children. The death of any animal in a book can be rough for children but the author does a good job of explaining why some animals kill other animals. Circle of life and what not. I like though that the author doesn't gloss over Sonya's feelings while introducing the concept. Sonya still mourns her chicken even though her papa made her understand why the fox took her chicken.

My son fell in love with the cover just like I did. He had a bit of a hard time understanding what the book was trying to say. But this is another one of those cases where my son's brain works differently from others so some concepts are harder for him. He did ask me if foxes like the taste of chicken. I explained to him that yes they do just like he likes how they taste.

5 out of 5 stars.



*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: Feeding the Flying Fanellis And Other Poems from a Circus Chef by Kate Hosford

OK so I admit it this was another book I requested from *Netgalley based entirely on the cover. I'm a sucker for a gorgeous cover and I could tell right away the the illustrations in this one was going to be killer.

Feeding the Flying Fanellis is a series of poems all based around around a Circus chef and the performers he cooks for. There are all the characters you would expect from a circus including the ringmaster, clown, human cannonball, tightrope walker and many more.

Ok so first and foremost the illustrations in this were INCREDIBLE. I mean seriously I looked through this 3 times just to look at the pictures. They are amazing. It really gives the circus feel but not in the kindergarten circus kind of way... if you know what I mean.

Second the poetry is outstanding. I thought this book of poems was done in such a creative way. One poem flowed to the next and told a story of a very special chef and the crazy circus performers. You can pick out and read any poem by itself or read it all in one long flow. Either way it works! The poetry is not overly complicated so even younger children should enjoy this.

My son loved the pictures and if I changed the page too fast before he had a really good look he would demand I scroll back a page. He loved looking at all the different foods. His favorite of the poems was Little Blue who is a dog that performs tricks.

Both the poetry and the artwork were solid 5 out of 5 stars!!




*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: Dog Number 1, Dog Number 10 by Ami Rubinger

My son had enjoyed the other book that we read by Ami Rubinger that I just knew we had to read this one when I found it on *Netgalley.

Simple rhyming book that leaves out the last word so that way children can shout it out for themselves. Features all different dogs and even a few feline friends.

Just like the last one my son loved shouting out the end of the rhyme. In fact he got a little too excited and at one point bounced right off the bed and onto the his bottom. He wasn't hurt and just laughed all the more.

Again I was in love with all of the illustrations. The simple rhymes make it easy for young children to participate. It was also nice to see a few cat thrown in at the end. My son was especially happy to see them.

4 out of 5 stars!



*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: The Adventures of Artemous: Book One, Mouse in the Museum by Jim Patrick

A mouse name Artemous who lives in a museum? How could I not check out this book after finding it on *netgalley?

Artemous is from a long long line of mice art restorers. With magic he can enter any painting and restore it. He loves spending time in the painting where he does everything from playing music with other musicians, having a bite to eat, to playing in the sand with children.

I thought this book was so cute. I loved the storyline and loved how it introduces children to all different classic paintings. There were so many famous ones from Van Gogh to Monet and Picasso to Da Vinci. There was even a certain well known animated mouse! The diversity of the paintings really helps to show kids just how many different art forms there are. I'd love to see another book featuring Artemous. Perhaps he could jump in a Pollock or Warhol or maybe even Frida Kahlo's paintings.

My son seemed to enjoy the book even if he didn't understand all the paintings (Picasso was a stumbler for him). He liked that the mouse could go into the paintings but he couldn't grasp what a paint restorer does (this has nothing to do with the book and more to do with how my son's brain works).

I know I've been giving a lot of them lately but I have to give this one a 5 out of 5 stars!




*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: The Snootzytime Adventures of Maddie & Murphy - To the Moon and Back by Lauren Micchelli

This is another book by Lauren Micchelli that I found on *Netgalley. Since we enjoyed the other books we read by her I went ahead and decided to add this book to our reading list.

Maddie is a little girl who has a fantastical dream. Her and her stuffed dog Murphy go on an adventure to the moon. There they meet an alien who shows them the control center to the whole galaxy. Maddie and Murphy continue their adventure in space before Maddie wakes up.

This was different from the other books I have read from this author before. To start with there was no rhyming and this definitely had more meat to it. Because it definitely has more words to it than her other books I think it is more suited to children ages 4 and up. I liked this one better than the other ones I had read of hers. I love the cute dream world Maddie creates.

The illustrations are great. The best is Murphy. He is so cute and retains the look of a stuffed animal even when he comes to life.

My son loved this book and it sparked his imagination. Later last night after I had read it to him he was playing in his room. I happened to overhear him and he was pretending he was in outer-space. He had pulled out his astronaut toys we got him from a visit to the museum a few years ago. It made me smile and I knew it was because of reading this book that he had dragged out those toys.

5 out of 5 stars!



*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: Terry Treetop and The Little Bear by Tali Carmi

I had seen the Terry Treetop books on Amazon and so I was happy to see a posting on **Tomoson looking for a review of one of the books. How could I resist?

Terry Treetop heads out into his yard on the first day of spring. He sees a baby bear come wandering into his backyard he is about to go play with the cub when the mama bear comes along to get her cub. Soon Terry hears the cries of the baby bear who is in trouble.

Ok so first off I usually can suspend my disbelief and read things like talking animals etc. While there were no talking animals what bothered me was I felt this might have been giving the wrong lesson about baby bears. At no point does Terry realize just how dangerous it is to play with baby bears and that mama bears will quite simply kill whoever goes near their cub.

But setting aside that one issue I have with the book it was actually a rather cute book. I loved the drawings and I love that Terry was so enamored with nature. I like that it helps teach kids about the early signs of spring.

My son enjoyed the book and loved the baby cub. He loved when the cub was playing on the tire swing. I could totally see my son being like Terry and wanting to play with the baby bear (partly, why I have a problem with the book. I don't want my son going near them). With that said I would still love to check out the other books in the series.

My son found it to be a 5 star book. I have to knock off one star though for the whole not teaching that wild animals are dangerous lesson.

So 4 out of 5 stars.

*This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well
** I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.