Children's Book Review: The Big Honey Hunt by Stan and Jan Berenstain

I've read a huge number of the Berenstain books...like well over 20 of them. But I had never read the very first one. The one that started it all. So after some searching I was able to find a copy and happily dug right in.

The bears are all out of honey. Mother Bear sends out Small Bear and Father Bear to buy more honey but Father Bear decides to hunt for the honey.

The first thing that stands out is the different artwork. The bears look slightly different from what I and millions of other children grew up reading and are familiar with. It is rougher but has some of the elements that are recognizable in what they ultimately would become. Also the names are different as most of us know the bears as Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Brother Bear and Sister Bear. There was no Sister Bear and Brother Bear was called Small Bear.

The rhyming and the story were great and there were moments that had me chuckling. There wasn't a major moral lesson like I'm used to. It was just a cute story.

I enjoyed it a lot and would read it again for sure.

4 out of 5 stars

Children's Book Review: Malala:Activist for Girls Education by Raphaële Frier Illustrated by Aurelia Fronty

When I saw this on *Netgalley I had to request it. I remember watching Malala on The Daily Show
with Jon Stewart. To say that this girl (now a woman) is an inspiration does not even begin to express it. 

The book goes into details about Malala's life and her activism for girls and her fight against the Taliban. It doesn't hold back and even tells of her being shot 3 times.

I enjoyed this book. It is not for younger children as it is information heavy and some may find parts too upsetting. But this is perfect for older children. It is a great introduction to Malala's life. 

The illustrations in this are incredible. Like stare at each page for several minutes incredible. I also love that at the end of the book the author included real photographs of Malala. I loved the ones showing her with her family as the love is obvious in her family. This is one that I will read again.

4 out of 5 stars.


* I recieved a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Children's Book Review: Animals in the Wild: The Wolf by Renne

When I saw this book on *Netgalley I just had to request to read it. In my family we love wolves and
a non-fiction picture book about wolves just called to me.

This informative picture book gives details about wolves and even mentions things like how they are portrayed as the "big bad" in fairy tales. 

The star of this picture book is definitely the drawings. A gorgeous palate and beautifully drawn wolves give a almost tranquil feel. My favorite of all the drawings was a pack of wolves with a gorgeous blue snowy background with their snouts raised high howling.  I also appreciated how at the end there were drawings of relatives to the wolf including dogs and foxes. 

I really enjoyed this and hope this turns into a series of books (foxes please!). I would gladly read the other books!

5 out of 5 stars



*I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Picture Book Review: Meg and Mog by Heather Nicoll Illustrated by Jan Pienkowski

I had never heard of this book series before reading it on the list of 1001 children's books. So I went

into this picture book blind. This book is being used for 1001 children's books and the picture book challenge.

Ok so I can't really give a synopsis of this book other than Meg is a witch with a cat named Mog. Meg gets together with some witchy friends to create a spell that backfires. 

This is a small book that is a super fast read. It is meant for the youngest of the youngsters. It is a cute book that has some fun illustrations. My favorite thing would have to be when Meg is coming down the stairs they staggered the words to follow along the stairs. 

It is hard to review books like this there is rarely much content to it. This is not a beloved childhood classic for me but I know that it is for others. I enjoyed it and if I had a little toddler I'm sure I would have enjoyed it even more. 

4 out of 5 stars

Picture Book Review: The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses By Paul Goble

Looking to fulfill a few more of my reading challenges I stumbled upon this book that I have never read before. The striking artwork on the cover had me eagerly scooping it up in children's section of the library. This Caldecott winning book fills in slots for 1001 children's books, old school kidlit, and picture book reading challenges.

Riding on the back of a horse a Plains girl ends up lost during a major storm. She is welcomed by a herd of wild horses and becomes their friend and part of their family. 

The best part of this picture book was the artwork. It was AMAZING! This is the type of picture book that has me flipping back through the pages to soak in the beauty of the art. I love how how motion is conveyed with things like her hair blowing outwards. 

The story was decent and showed the love that the girl had for both her family and her adopted horse family. I love the ending that plays into what you would see with traditional lore. 

4 out of 5 stars

Picture Book Review: Chanticleer and the Fox By Geoffrey Chaucer Illustrated by Barbara Cooney

When I was in college I decided to take a course on Chaucer. Well, let us just say that it was the hardest class I had ever taken. We read Chaucer in Middle English and it may as well have been reading it in a whole other language. If you think Shakespeare is hard to understand try reading Chaucer in Middle English. Chanticleer and the Fox is a retelling of one of Chaucer's tales. To be honest I don't remember reading this tale though I'm sure I did.  This book managed to cover a number of reading challenges I'm doing including The Old School Kid Lit, 1001 children's books, and The Picture book Challenge.

The tale is of a fox luring in a vane Rooster. Using flattery he manages to catch the Rooster. The Rooster uses similar logic to free himself from the fox.

I have never read this book before. I enjoyed the illustrations immensely. I am to understand that the illustrator actually researched artwork of that time. It is reflected in the art style. I love the simple color palettes and it really does make you feel like you are looking at an old tapestry or centuries old book.

The story itself is a good one but honestly I think it may be above the level of some younger children. The writing is not a familiar style to most children so some may struggle to understand it. Though I'm sure there are many who would enjoy it especially with the unique art style.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

So Far Behind

Well January has been a hellish month for me. With my family rotating a stomach virus at the beginning of the month, my husband having a major infection in his leg that led to hospitalization, my mother landing in the hospital, and working extra hours at work for inventory prep....whelp I haven't read a single thing. Nope not a single book or short story. So now I have to play the catch-up game as I'm behind now on a couple of reading challenges. I'm hoping the end of January and all of February will see an improvement in my life. So now I'm gonna pull up them big girl pants and get to it!

2017 Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge

Hosted by Read At Home Mom

How to Participate

Each month, the challenge will focus on a different category. Choose a book that fits the category, read it, and then post a review on your blog or wherever you review books (Goodreads, LibraryThing, Instagram, etc.). At the end of each month, link up your reviews here at Read-at-Home Mom. (Link-up posts will be published on the last weekday of the month.) 

The monthly categories are as follows:

• January: Award winners - 1959 Caldecott Winner- Chanticleer and the Fox, 1979 Caldecott winner The Girl who Loved Wild Horses
• February: Books you loved in childhood 
• March: Published prior to 1945- Little Engine that Could, Pat the Bunny
• April: Fantasy stories 
• May: Animal stories 
• June: Required reading (classics or other books typically assigned in school) 
• July:  Family stories 
• August: Nonfiction  
• September: School stories 
• October:  Mysteries 
• November: Published in the year (or decade) of your birth 
• December: Winter stories 

Book Review: Elephant Dance: Memories of India by Theresa Heine Illustrated by Sheila Moxley

Living in my part of New Jersey we have a fairly diverse population. Among the many cultures that I and my family are exposed to on a daily basis are Indians. I've met so many first and second generation Indian Americans. Each have their own story but so many of them are still so tied to their family that both live here and back in India. So this book was a delightful read for me.

Elephant Dance is about a young boy named Ravi who is fascinated by his grandfather's stories of India. His grandfather weaves vivid stories that spark Ravi's imagination.

I loved this book. The descriptions that Ravi's grandfather tells of his homeland are so amazing that even without the pictures in the book you can just see the things he describes right in your head. My favorite description was of the sun and his grandfather describing it like tiger. While I could totally see it in my head the illustrations that went along with it were so wonderful. The deep color palate worked so well this picture book.

What I loved most of all was that while this book was about India there was a deeper meaning in the book. It was also about the love of a child and his grandparent. The time spent with family is so meaningful and the time that Ravi and his sister spent with their grandfather is precious. This is the kind of time that you look back at when you are older and smile with fondness. No doubt an adult Ravi will look back fondly on his grandfather and the patience and care he took to explain how things were back in India.

5 out of 5 stars.

2017 Picture Book Reading Challenge

PROGRESS 30/102 

Host: Becky's Book Reviews (sign up)
Duration: January - December 2017
Goal: To have adults read more picture books. To celebrate the fact that picture books are for everyone! Families are, of course, welcome to join in!
# of books: minimum of 6

Option 2: CHECKLIST (read as few as six, or as many as you like)

Feel free to copy/paste this. You can replace the _ with an X or a ✔ (copy/paste it) when you finish reading a book. If you list the books you read, that may help other people decide what to read.

_ 1. An alphabet book
_ 2. A counting book
_ 3. Concept book: shapes or numbers or opposites or colors
_ 4. a book set on a farm or in the country - Patty's Pumpkin Patch - Read 9/8/2017
_ 5. a book set in the city or in an urban area When a Wolf is Hungry - Read 6/20/2017
_ 6. a book set at the beach, in the ocean, or by a lake  Swan Lake - Read 9/8/2017
_ 7. a book with human characters
_ 8. a book with animal characters  Make Way for Ducklings- Read 9/6/2017
_ 9. a bedtime book
_ 10. a rhyming book
_ 11. a book celebrating art - Pig's Eggs- Read 6/27/2017
_ 12. a book celebrating dance
_ 13. a book celebrating music 
_ 14. a book celebrating family (parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, etc.)
_ 15. a book about feelings, expressing feelings
_ 16. a book with a twist (unexpected) ending The Tale of Jemima Puddle Duck- Read 9/8/2017
_ 17. a book about pets (cats, dogs, fish)
_ 18. a book celebrating libraries or reading Lola at the Library - Read 9/8/2017
_ 19. a book translated into English (originally published in another language/country)
_ 20 Mother Goose related
_ 21 a book about adoption
_ 22 a book by Gail Gibbons
_ 23 a book by Jon Scieszka - The Stinky Cheese Man - Read 3/21/2017
_ 24 a book featured on Reading Rainbow -Stella Luna- Read 3/21/2017
_ 25 free choice - The Elephant and the Bad Baby- Read 6/27/2017
_ 26 out of print - Peppermint- Read 6/27/2017
_ 27 wordless picture book
_ 28 a book by Margaret Wise Brown
_ 29 a board book- Pat the Bunny- Read 3/21/2017
_ 30. a book about trains or planes- The Little Train that Could- Read 3/20/2017
_ 31. a book about cars or trucks
_ 32. a book about starting school
_ 33. a book about friendship (sharing, caring, forgiving)
_ 34. a book about being ME, about being unique, special, loved, etc.
_ 35. a fairy tale
_ 36. a twisted (adapted) fairy tale
_ 37. a book about a holiday
_ 38. a new-to-you author - Doctor De Soto - Read 9/7/2017
_ 39. a new-to-you illustrator
_ 40. a book about new experiences (dentist, doctor, sleepovers, movies, playing sports, learning to swim, etc.)
_ 41. a series book
_ 42. a book celebrating food (cooking, eating, trying new foods, eating healthy) Benji & The 24 Pound Banana Squash- Read 6/28/2017
_ 43. a book published before 1950
_ 44. a book published in the 1950s Chanticleer and the Fox Read 1/25/2017
_ 45. a book published in the 1960s The Big Honey Hunt: Read 2/9/2017
_ 46. a book published in the 1970s
_ 47. a book published in the 1980s
_ 48. a book published in the 1990s
_ 49. a book published in the 2000s
_ 50. a book published 2010-2016
_ 51. a book published in 2017 Argyle Fox- Read 6/28/2017
_ 52. a book by Dr. Seuss
_ 53. a book by Mo Willems
_ 54. a book by Jan Thomas
_ 55. a book by Eric Carle
_ 56. a book by Laura Numeroff
_ 57. a book by Patricia Polacco
_ 58. a book by Jon Klassen 
_ 59. a book by Beatrix Potter - The Tale of Peter Rabbit - Read 9/7/2017
_ 60. a book by Kevin Henkes
_ 61. a book written or illustrated by LeUyen Pham
_ 62. a Caldecott winner- The Girl who Loved Wild Horses= Read 1/27/2017
_ 63.  a Caldecott honor
_ 64. a picture book biography
_ 65. a nonfiction picture book  Little Detectives at School- Read 6/29/2017
_ 66. a book from your childhood - The Enormous Crocodile - Read 6/29/2017
_ 67. a book you discovered as an adult- Meg and Mog - Read 1/28/2017
_ 68. a book celebrating writing, being an author or illustrator
_ 69. a library book
_ 70. an audio book
_ 71.  a book about dinosaurs OR dragons
_ 72. nonfiction book about animals (or animal)-Animals in the Wild: The Wolf- Read 2/7/2017
_ 73. a challenged book OR a controversial book
_ 74. a book that makes you laugh  The Duck in the Gun- Read 6/28/2017
_ 75. a book that makes you cry
_ 76. hate the text, love the art - I Like, I Don't Like - Read 3/20/2017
_ 77. love the text, hate the art
_ 78. a book with a great cover
_ 79. a book with an ugly cover
_ 80. a book about toys
_ 81. a book about weather- Rainy Day - Read 9/6/2017
_ 82. a picture book for older readers- Malala: Activist for Girls Education- Read 2/7/2017
_ 83. a book of jokes, riddles, tongue-twisters
_ 84. a book about seasons
_ 85. a song
_ 86. a poetry book
_ 87. a book by a celebrity
_ 88.  a book published in Australia
_ 89. a book published in the UK
_ 90. a book about science or math 
_ 91. a book about history or historical event 
_ 92. a book about sports
_ 93. a book about celebrating birthdays
_ 94. a book about a President or world leader 
_ 95. a book about another country 
_ 96. a book celebrating faith
_ 97. a pop-up book, or, a book with cut-outs or flaps or fold-outs 
_ 98. a bilingual book 
_ 99.  a television series that has been adapted to a book - Blue's Rainy Day Music - Read 9/6/2017
_ 100. a book that has been adapted to a television series - Miffy - Read 9/7/2016
_ 101. an adaptation of a myth or legend
_ 102. a book about babies