Written by Bob Shea
Illustrated by Lane Smith
Released on October 7, 2014
The Toad brothers are wreaking havoc on the town of Drywater Gulch. Not only do they kiss your cows and insult your chili, but they also steal your gold and rob the town bank! That is, until Kid Sheriff rolls into town. Kid Sheriff is a tortoise-riding dinosaur expert who can't stay up past 8:00. He wisely blames all of the town mischief on a variety of dinosaurs, which drives the Toad brothers bonkers! They want all of the credit for their hard work, and they aren't going to see the jail occupied by dinosaurs!
The storyline is great. There is a lot of humor that made it fun to read as an adult. Illustrations and text are fitting of the Western theme. The text intentionally has spelling and grammatical errors to fit the setting of the book, which I didn't mind. There were a couple of words that I had to replace for my little ones that I felt could have been left out. Other than that, it was an enjoyable read for all.
Perfect for: 5 years and older
My rating: 4.5/5
Hermelin the Detective Mouse
Written and Illustrated by Mini Grey
Released on August 5, 2014
Hermelin is a sweet little mouse who lives on Offley Street. Hermelin discovers a typewriter in the attic, and he uses it to write messages. It seems like everyone on Offley Street loses personal items and pets, and Hermelin always comes to the rescue. He finds the lost item, and leaves a little typewritten note telling the owner where to find the item. He even helps save Baby McMumbo! Everyone is so grateful for Hermelin (not knowing who or what he is), and decide to throw him a party. When he shows up, he gets quite the surprise when his arrival is greeted with screams and chaos. Poor Hermelin discovers he is a pest, and is ready to pack up and leave Offley Street until a visitor arrives in the attic, and takes him home.
Hermelin is such a sweet and heroic little mouse, and I found the story to be quite charming. My little ones asked to hear the story over and over again.
Perfect for: Preschool/Early Elementary
My rating: 5/5
The Gruffalo
Written by Julia Donaldson
Illustrated by Axel Scheffler
Published in 1999
A little mouse is walking through the woods, and keeps encountering hungry predators. In order to escape them, he tells them that he is meeting a creature named a "gruffalo" that has orange eyes, a wart on his nose, a black tongue, and terrible teeth! After hearing of such a frightful creature, they all evacuate, and mouse continues on his way until he encounters a gruffalo that matches his description, even though he had thought he had made the creature up when he was describing the gruffalo to the other animals. Mouse is very clever, and is able to convince the gruffalo that he, the mouse, is the scariest animal in the wood!
This story is clever, well-written, and fun to read aloud. Illustrations are classic. We have checked it out multiple times from the library, and are ordering a copy of our own. It never gets old!
Perfect for: Preschool/Early Elementary
My rating: 5/5
I Spy With My Little Eye
Written and Illustrated by Edward Gibbs
Published in 2011
On each page, an eye of an animal is featured, along with a color of the animal and a clue as to what the animal may be. When you turn the page, you are able to see a full illustration of the animal. It makes for a delightful (and colorful!) guessing game! It is a short and simple book that has entertained us multiple times.
Perfect for: Toddlers/Preschool/Early Elementary
My rating: 4.5/5
Happy reading!
I love the idea of a bag of books! I'm so grateful for this blog. It gives me fresh, fun, simple ideas of things I think I can handle!
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