The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw

Recently, my sister referred me to the author Margo Lanagan.  I do eventually want to read her books, and we have a couple of them here at the library, but I really wanted to read something lighter in the fantasy/folk tale fiction mode.  That’s when I found a favorable review to The Moorchild. It’s a children’s book and [...]

The 3 Little Dassies

The 3 Little Dassies by Jan Brett, a retelling of The Three Little Pigs, features three dassie sisters (cute little squirrel-like rodents) dressed fetchingly in the traditional garb of the Herero women of Namibia, the setting for this story. Leaving home to make their way in the world, they encounter a hungry eagle that makes [...]

Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion

For the adventurous young soul in your life just weaning him- or herself from the security blanket of choice, whether it be literally a blanket or a teddy bear or a bunny, Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion by Mo Willems is the perfect choice this winter season. Knuffle Bunny and Trixie go international in [...]

The Biggest Thing in the World by Kenneth Steven

A little bear wakes up from a long nap to find spring is coming and wants to look at the great big world outside his den. After many new sights the little bear still has yet to discover what is the biggest thing in the world? In the end he learns that love is the [...]

The Adventures of Nanny Piggins by R.A. Spratt

When Mr. Green plants a “Nanny Wanted” sign on his front lawn, he has no idea that the ad will be answered by a pig.  Nanny Piggins will end up taking 3 motherless children on a year of surprises, adventures and sugar highs that they will never forget.  Even though The Adventures of Nanny Piggins seems a [...]

Children of God Storybook Bible by Desmond Tutu

Archbishop Tutu (winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984) retells more than fifty of the most beloved Bible stories in this wonderful collection. Beautifully illustrated by a variety of artists from around the world, each story from Genesis to Revelation is simply told and concludes with a brief prayer to help the young reader [...]

I Need My Monster

What do you do when your monster is not under the bed but you find a note that says gone fishing?  That’s the dilemma that Ethan finds himself and tries to solve by getting a substitute monster under the bed.  I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll is a nicely blended monster story that is [...]

The Road to OZ

 Finally someone has written a biography about the author of one the world’s most favorite stories – The Wizard of OZ.  Frank Baum has long been in need of recognition not of his books or the movie (which everyone can recite lines from) but of the man himself.  The Road to OZ: Twists, Turns, Bumps and Triumphs [...]

Enchanted Lions

Bedtime stories are a dime a dozen these days, so it is a pleasant surprise to find one that peacefully portrays a bedtime tale without going over the top.  Enchanted Lions by David Greenberg is about a enchanted lion who takes a little girl to see the constellations prior to her drifting off to sleep.  What makes [...]

Faith, Hope, and Ivy June

When I first started reading this new novel by Phyllis Naylor, I thought I was reading something less than her usual quality of work.  However the more I read, the more I began to see that Faith, Hope and Ivy June  is perhaps one of her best works in recent memory.  Though understandably readers may [...]