Picture Book Review: Spring Books

 

Just a few picture books for Spring

Bunny realizes that Spring has arrived. She asked all her friends how they celebrate! 

Beautiful illustrations in this book. 

This is such a cute story about ALL the things to do in Spring. 

I love how inclusive the story is in terms of holidays. The illustrations are adorable and full of spring colors. 

I can't wait for Spring weather and more flowers!

Vacation Photos: Florida

 

Earlier this month, we took a trip to Florida to visit family and Walt Disney World

Here are some photos:

Fireworks at the castle

Hanging out with the delightful and funny step-sisters

The wait for this ride is 13 minutes

Another castle at night photos

Minnie Mouse

From the safari ride, one of my favorites 

The lions from that ride

Nemo show, which was really neat the way they created the depth

Elsa in the new parade

Minnie, Mickey and friends at the Epcot Flower and Garden festival

One of the flower butterflies

All the flowers -these were great to see because when we left CT, there was a LOT of snow on the ground

Belle and the Beast - I wish they had yellow flowers for her dress.

Cogsworth and Lumiere 

Tea cup garden - this was fascinating to see.

Simba 

The flowers and Garden Festival was something I've always wanted to see. They had a smelling sensory garden, which was super cool and lots of food vendors. More on that later! 

Review: Room to Breathe

 

Indy and Beau used to be best friends. But that was before. Before Indy's life fell apart. 

She lost:

1. Her class rank

2. Her friends

3. Her reputation at school

Her father's in trouble with the law and Indy's spiraling.

She's supposed to be meeting her parents to help with her Dad's case, but her phone was taken away in class. The teacher left before she unlocked Indy's phone. Indy attempts to find a lock to unlock it; she ends up in the teacher's lounge. There's a bathroom in the teacher's lounge and Indy gets locked inside. FOr one second, she has hope of getting out, but instead, someone else gets locked inside too - her ex-best friend. Can things get any worse?

My Thoughts: This was a cute read. I loved the dual timelines and understanding what happened between the two best friends and how their relationship changed over time. I love how part of the story took place in 24 hours and the other part took months for the story to unravel. 

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: A fun romance for your school and public library collection

Picture Book Wednesday: Flora and the Jazzers

Flora works at a fancy hotel. One day they're hosting the band that she loves. She hopes that she can hear them play, but she's told no. She sings while she works and then everything changes.

This is a charming Cinderella story centered around music. The illustrations are gorgeous. I love the cutout of the hotel. Simply a beautiful book.  

Top Ten Tuesday: Green Covers

 This week's topic is all about green covers for St. Patrick's Day.

Similar Covers:

Middle Grade Review: Written in the Stars and Playing for Keeps

Quinn's excited to go back to camp this summer. Maybe people won't look at her with such sad eyes because her father died. Plus, she's excited to see her best friends again. But camp in a little different this year. On the first day, she meets a cute boy. He's new to camp.

Soon the other girls in her bunk are getting up early to make sure their hair looks good and they have time to put their make-up on. Quinn's confused. She likes Harry - but what are they supposed to do together besides hang out during free time. One of her bunkmates has a LOT of opinions about the subject.

My Thoughts: This was a cute story about all kinds of drama: family, friendship, relationship.  I enjoyed the camp drama. This is a short book with lots of drama making it very accessible to read. And it's part of a series, giving readers who like this one more options. This book is marketed as a romance, but it's not quite. It's *almost* a romance. I don't want to spoil the ending.

Aaliyah didn't get to see her best friend Travis much over the summer; they were both busy with camps and vacation. He doesn't respond to her texts the night before school starts. When she first sees him in the hallway, he's grown. Everyone's talking about how cute he is and that he has a girlfriend. 

Aaliyah doesn't know what she never found him cute before. She certainly thinks so now, but it's too late. She isn't a huge fan of his girlfriend Harper and she isn't a fan of Travis anymore. He never seems to want to hang out. Everything's changed.

Can they ever be the same?

My Thoughts: This one is a romance and it's super cute. There's a lot of miscommunication and listening to gossip. I enjoyed the friendship drama. Middle school is hard and these characters found their way through it.

Source: Books sent for review

Library Recommendation: Great for your middle grade school and public library collection

Hand this one to readers: who are ready for a little bit of romance

Picture Book Review: The Sweater

Hazel is heading out for a hike when she notices a little bird having some trouble. Instead of hiking, she goes to tell her friends that their new neighbor needs some help. They all pitch in. The next day, she drops off the present. It's a lovely present, but what's even better is what happens next.

What a wonderful story about community, sharing, and helping others. We really are stronger together. Connections do make all the difference. I loved this book. It carries such an important message that's desperately needed right now. 

* Must have book for your school and public library.