Book review: Zebra at the Zoo, by Patricia Reilly Giff, illustrated by Abby Carter

Giff, Patricia Reilly. Zebra at the Zoo. Illustrated by Abby Carter. (Mysteries on Zoo Lane series). Holiday House, 2021. $16.99 ISBN 9780823446681. 92 pages. Ages 7-10. P9Q8

Looking for an early chapter book featuring large print,  simple vocabulary and plenty of illustrations throughout the book? This nine chapter book is the perfect jump from picture books to big kid books! Zebra at the Zoo is the third book in the Mysteries on Zoo Lane series by Patricia Reilly Giff. The mystery involves a missing cat named Oreo and is woven into a great story about making mistakes, making friends, and making the best of situations. Main character Alex loves the zoo, especially visiting his favorite animal, the red panda. When his teacher assigns animal reports for the class Alex is thrilled, until someone else picks the red panda, and he is assigned the wolf. With his cat missing, his animal report hopes dashed, Alex has to figure out how to solve his problems. With help from friends and family, Alex comes to appreciate all animals, learning something about the food chain along the way.

Verdict: This is a wonderful book for the classroom and the library. Teachers can pick up on many themes in the book: animal conservation, writing reports, friendship. Young readers will appreciate this chapter book that is an engaging story from start to finish. 

April 2022 review by Denyse Marsh.

Book review: The Little Kitten, by Nicola Killen

Killen, Nicola. The Little Kitten. (My Little Animal Friend series). Simon & Schuster, 2020. $16.99. ISBN 9781534466968. Unpaged. Ages 4-8. P7 Q8

While wearing a kitten costume, Ollies is about to jump into a pile of leaves when she sees it moving. She discovers a little shivering kitten. While Ollie, her cat and the little kitten are exploring the woods and playing hide and seek, the reader can see lost kitten posters on the trees. As Ollie continues to travel through the heart of the woods, she knows what she needs to do. Just when the reader thinks Ollie has completed her mission, Ollie finds herself in need of being rescued. The illustrations are grey scale with orange leaves, pumpkins and accents. The accents include leaves that are covered in orange foil. Cleverly placed cut outs on the pages allow the children to have a glimpse of what is on the next page. In the window on the last page, one sees who the cat belongs to. There are now three books in the My Little Animal Friend series, The Little Rabbit and The Little Reindeer.

Verdict: This sweet fall themed story of friendship between Ollie, her cat, and the little kitten, is very well done. There are some fun, unexpected, details along the way as well as special effects that will delight the reader. The adventure left me with a comforting feeling and the foil accents give it a magical feel. I love it! I purchased all three books in the series for my elementary school library.

December 2020 review by Harris.

Book review: Nothing in Common, by Kate Hoefler and Corinna Luyken

Hoefler, Kate, and Corinna Luyken. Nothing in Common. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020. 32 pages. $17.99.  ISBN 978-0544-77478-0. Ages 4-6. P8Q9

This is a simple story with many layers. Two children are neighbors, and they feel they have nothing in common. A sad old man they notice at the same time is missing his dog, and this sets the two separate neighbors acting and thinking in a similar way to grow in an adventure to assist their elder neighbor find his dog. The tale is simple, but it delves into how we can live separate lives yet be so intertwined. Beautiful illustrations allow the story to evolve with spare text.

VERDICT: What a lovely tale! I found it interesting that one neighbor was blue, and the other neighbor was red. In this election year, it added another layer for me. I enjoyed the few words unfolding a tale of two good people who really did have something in common. Enjoyable!

October 2020 review by Lynne Wright.

Book review: The Lost Cousins, by B.B. Cronin

Cronin, B.B. The Lost Cousins. (“A Seek and Find Book”). Viking Books for Young Readers, 2019. $19.99. ISBN 9780451479082. Unpaged. Ages 3-7. P7Q7

Grandad, Esmé, and Tate are on a grand adventure to find the long lost cousins Yuki, Jada, Awan, and Luis. They take planes, trains, boats, and even a camel on their journey. Every few spreads, the reader is asked to find one of the lost cousins- the very bright pastel colors in the illustrations are exciting, and there are lots of small details to look at. As the family locates the missing members, they join in the quest. After everyone is found, they have to backtrack because they have lost many of their belongings, so again, the reader has a chance to look closely and find the objects. Some children may find the search for the cousins frustrating since we don’t know what they look like (there is a tiny illustration early on but it’s barely visible), so they may have to flip back and forth to get an idea. This isn’t a problem with the search for the missing objects, since there is a page that shows what to look for. Despite this minor problem, kids will have a lot of fun with this book.

VERDICT: This is a good choice for public libraries- search and find books are always popular with kids and parents too.

February 2020 review by Carol Schramm.

Book review: Nothing Happens in this Book, by Judy Ann Sadler, illustrated by Vigg

Sadler, Judy Ann.  Nothing Happens in this Book.  Illustrated by Vigg.  Kids Can Press, 2018. ISBN 978-1-77138-737-8. $16.99. 40 pages.  Ages 6-8.  P5 Q5

A goofy pointy headed man tells  me there is nothing at the end of the book, so I should stop reading it…and the color scheme is in yellow and black.  Ok!  I’ll stop!  There isn’t a lot about this book that makes me want to keep reading it except on each page thereafter the goofy little man finds a toy or prop seemingly without an owner.  It isn’t until we get to the end of the book that we find out who all of the stuff belongs too.

Verdict:  This book could be a lot more appealing if the illustrations were cuter and the color scheme was different.  Almost any other color combination.

May 2018 review by Terri Lippert.

Book review: Whose Shoe?, by Eve Bunting and Sergio Ruzzier

Bunting, Eve. Whose Shoe? Sergio Ruzzier. Clarion Books, 2015. Unpaged. $16.99. ISBN 978-0-544-30210-5. Ages 4-8. P

Rhyming text takes little mouse on a mission to find the owner of a lost shoe.  Mouse is complimented throughout the story about how honest and what good manners he has. Upon finding the owner of the shoe, mouse is surprised when he gives it to him as a gift. Shoes are not just for feet as you will see.  Colorful watercolor illustration accompany this cute story of a very responsible mouse.

VERDICT: This story could lead to a discussions on responsibility, honesty, manners and just doing the right thing.

December 2017 review by Patty Dodson.

Book review: The Power of Henry’s Imagination, by Skye Byrne, illustrated by Nic George

Byrne, Skye. Illustrated by Nic George. The Power of Henry’s Imagination. Aladdin, 2015. $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4814-0626-0. Unp. Ages 4-8. P8 Q8

The illustrations are simple with brown pages and drawings of the characters but every page there is a picture of actual items such as leaves, a shirt, a ribbon, etc. This is a story of a little boy and his favorite toy Raspberry, a stuffed rabbit, who he does everything with. But Henry loses Raspberry and tries to get everyone to help him look for him. His grandpa told him no luck and to pretend that Raspberry was with him on his adventures. Henry has a great imagination and they go to the mountains, sea, stars, etc. The story has a happy ending as the mailman brings Raspberry back after he had found him lying in the mud. This is a great book about imagination.

December 2015 review by Melinda Dye.