Children’s Book Reviews

Who Can Fix It? is a delightful problem-solving picture book for young readers, written and illustrated by Leslie Ann MacKeen.

On his way to his mother’s house for Sunday dinner, Jeremiah T. Fitz’s car comes to a complete stop and then quits running altogether. Jeremiah wonders aloud who can fix his car and despite visits by the likes of Kara Kangaroo, Elmo Elephant, Gloria Gorilla, Petunia Peacock, Barnabus Bear and several others, all of whom offer Jeremiah encouragement and unique ideas to fix his car, no one is able to find a solution.

It’s not until the last animal comes […]

Lamellia: The Wicked Queen is a charming story by Gloria D. Gonsalves, with the talented brushstrokes of Katerina Brunot bringing color and depth into this imaginative book for children.

Lamellia, the kingdom of mushrooms, is a magical place that would be perfect were it not for the fact that its rulers, King Polipoli and Queen Nobilia, have remained childless. This has left the queen constantly singing sad songs, making those around her sad as well.

One day, one of the king’s Lantern guards finds a human baby while walking in the forest. The baby is brought back to the kingdom […]

The mind is a powerful tool and nowhere is it more evident than in More Tales for Your Monkey’s Mind, a highly-imaginative series of stories for young children by Steve Michael Reedy, with illustrations by Tom Fee.

With irresistible titles such as “Chef Tubblygras and Her Amazing Purple Hippos,” “James and the Clock of Torsion Springs” and “The Nuts in Nuttersville,” each story in Reedy’s book is chock full of entertaining characters, thanks to Reedy’s quirky characterization and unique name choices. Children will love names like Chef Tubblygras, Tilly Triller, and Cropper Roo, artful tongue-twisters in their own right, […]

Defining a “peeve” as something that annoys you, and a “pet peeve” as something you just like to be annoyed about, writer and illustrator Anne Marie Hanlon Cook has created an engaging, readable fable for children, though there is a message In The Worst Pet Peeve Ever for readers of all ages.

The narrator’s plaint in this colorful tale is that her mother’s determination to keep the house clean means no company and no pets. The little girl lives happily enough with mother, father, sister and brother, but no human visitors and definitely no animals are allowed. Pets are her […]