MOVING...to Wordpress

Hi Everyone - I decided to move this blog to wordpress since I already have a blog there.  Please check out: http://startingsmallreads.wordpress.com instead.

THANKS!

Beach Fun in Hawaii - Books By BeachHouse Publishing

Title: Dogs at the Beach in Hawai'i

Illustrator: Kat Uno

Publisher: BeachHouse Publishing

Format: Board Book (owned)

Pages: 16

Links: Amazon 

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost for you. Thanks!

Book Blurb:

All kinds of dogs can be see on beaches across Hawai’i, and this little board book is a fun, rhyming ode to our furry friends. A day at the beach usually includes dog watching in addition to people watching--there are small dogs, big dogs, ones with curly hair, and ones with slick hair. Dogs that dig. Dogs that swim. Dogs that fetch coconuts. Young children will love this little board book celebrating dogs in this Year of the Dog.

My Review:

I found this book at the Hawaii Book & Music Festival at the BeachHouse Publishing tent.  They had a good deal on the children's board books and I wish I bought more!  I know which tent to hit up at the next festival though.  So I got two books, this first one, Dogs at the Beach in Hawai'i is adorable.  We love the illustrations of the different dogs.  My 2 year old daughter loves it and we've read it every night for almost a whole month.  We just lost our beloved dog last year and though she was just a year old when we lost her, she still loves dogs and every furry animal she encounters.  We love this book and it's perfect for dog lovers.  FYI, not all beaches in Hawai'i allow dogs to roam, haha, just make sure you check online to see which beaches do allow it, if you are going to bring your dog to the beach.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Title: Down at the Beach

Illustrator: Jamie Meckel

Publisher: BeachHouse Publishing

Format: Board Book (owned)

Pages: 16

Links: Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost for you. Thanks!

Book Blurb:

Just like in the popular song "Wheels on the Bus," here in Hawaii the wheels on the bike go round and round down at the beach, whee kids can read and sing along to the flop, flop, flop of slippers on the sand and the splash, splash, splash of keiki in the water. Sure to become a favorite, Down at the Beach will have your youngest one singing and reading along.

My Review:

Another fun book by BeachHouse Publishing that we added to our personal collection is Down at the Beach.  You cannot go wrong with a book that goes to the song "Wheels on the Bus"!  The lyrics go well to the song melody and my daughter and I have fun singing and making hand motions.  The illustrations are cute and it makes us want to go have fun at the beach.  

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️  

Is It A Duck? Or Rabbit?!

Image via Goodreads

Title: Duck! Rabbit!

Author: Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld

Format: Hardcover (Owned)

Pages: 40

Links: Goodreads * Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost for you. Thanks!

Book Blurb from Goodreads:

From the award-winning author of Little Pea, Little Hoot, and Little Oink comes a clever take on the age-old optical illusion: is it a duck or a rabbit? Depends on how you look at it! Readers will find more than just Amy Krouse Rosenthal's signature humor herethere's also a subtle lesson for kids who don't know when to let go of an argument. A smart, simple story that will make readers of all ages eager to take a side, Duck! Rabbit! makes it easy to agree on one thingreading it again!


My Review:

This book is genius because it's so simple but makes my kids laugh so much!  Plus we get into discussions about our picks - is it a duck or rabbit?  The drawing is so ambiguous, I choose duck and my son picks rabbit and he gives me his evidence.  My daughter just thinks the drawing is cute.  Great book to have in your children's book collection and perfect as a gift as well.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5 Books I Enjoyed As A Child: That My Kids Enjoy Today

Hi everyone!  I hope you all are having a fun weekend.  Summer has officially started, though it feels like summer year round here in Hawaii.  I've been deep into reading for my book review blog Past Midnight: Book Reviews & More and I wanted to try some bookish topics for this blog as well.

So here's today's topic - 5 Books I Enjoyed As A Child (That My Kids Enjoy Today).  Now just to clarify, I did not grow up in a family that liked to read books.  My parents immigrated from the Philippines to the USA but grew up farming.  They went to school, but they didn't have the luxury of time to read for leisure.  They had to work on the farm as children.  

My love of reading grew in elementary school and the place I loved the most, the library.  I still remember the librarian reading to us at story time and losing myself in her story telling.  My husband grew up in a reading family so now we both read to our children every day/night.  My hubby and I both grew up in the 80's so our choices overlap as well, which is kinda neat.  😀

1. Where The Wild Things Are by. Maurice Sendak

Image via Amazon

Both my husband and I grew up with this book.  I was slightly afraid of this book as a child.  My husband got it for our son and it became a favorite of his.  I think my son relates to the boy Max being naughty and his mom scolding him.  🤣  Anyway, this is definitely a classic in our house.

2. The Cat In The Hat by. Dr. Seuss

Image via Amazon

We love all things Dr. Seuss in our house!  How can you not love his books?  I chose The Cat In The Hat to feature but anything Dr. Seuss is a hit in our house.  My son loves the tongue twisting language in the book with the strange words and names.  It makes it fun to read and we are just in awe with Dr. Seuss' imagination.  

3. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by. Eric Carle

Image via Amazon

I couldn't put together this list without this book on it.  Both my kids had a book that was their first love.  THIS is the book they both loved - they loved it so much that the copy of the book we have is torn up or should we say, it is well loved.  It's the most adorable story with fantastic illustrations.  We love this book.

4. Tikki Tikki Tembo by. Arlene Mosel

Image via Amazon

This book stands out in my memory so well.  My first grade teacher read it to us after a field trip, before the last school bell rang to end our day.  I was tired, and it was a hot day and she read this book and I loved it.  I bought the book for my nephews when they were younger and then when I had my son, I read it to him when he was old enough and he loved it.  

5. Good Night Moon by. Margaret Wise Brown

Image via Amazon

I'll be honest - I don't remember this book as a child.  My husband does though and we read this to my son at night for awhile.  Then he got a bit older (he's 6 going on 7!) and he says the pictures are a bit creepy now.  😂  So I read it to my daughter to put her to sleep and it was her favorite for awhile.  She saw me creating this post, saw this photo and went searching for the book on her shelf.  I just read it to her....haha...and she tells me "I like this book!"  It's the perfect bedtime book.  It makes me sleepy as well!

Did you enjoy any of these books when you were a child?  What books did you enjoy as a child that your kids or nieces/nephews enjoy now?  Let me know in the comments below!

**As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost for you. Thanks!**

  

The Cutest Bugs

Image via Goodreads

Title: Some Bugs

Author: Angela DiTerlizzi

Illustrator: Brendan Wenzel

Format: Hardcover (owned)

Pages: 32

Links: Goodreads * Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost for you. Thanks!

Book Blurb from Goodreads:

Grab your magnifying glass!
Find your field guide!
And come hop, hide, swim, and glide
through this buggy backyard world!


Featuring insects including butterflies and moths, crickets and cicadas, bumblebees and beetles, this zippy rhyming exploration of backyard-bug behavior is sure to have insect enthusiasts of all ages bugging out with excitement!


My Review:

Some Bugs is a favorite in our personal library.  My son picked it out a few years ago from the book store and we've read it countless times.  Now he can read it himself and his little sister enjoys this adorable book.  The illustration is so beautiful and fun - I'm not a big fan of bugs.  But I am a big fan of the bugs in this book!  Perfect bug for the little ones and parents too.  😉

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  

Pay It Forward With Kindness

Image via Goodreads

Title: Cara's Kindness

Author: Kristi Yamaguchi

Illustrator: John Lee

Format: Hardcover (owned)

Pages: 32

Links: Goodreads * Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost for you. Thanks!

Book Blurb from Goodreads:

Cara the Cat is struggling with picking the perfect song for her new ice-skating routine. But when a friend in need turns up at the rink, Cara drops everything to
lend a helping hand. All she asks is that he pay it forward! Before long, Cara's kindness is passed all around...and might even make its way back home!

Kristi Yamaguchi is an ice-skating Olympic gold medalist and world champion who knows how to lend a helping hand! As founder of the Always Dream Foundation, Kristi helps promote early childhood literacy. Through her newest picture book, Kristi inspires children of all ages to pay it forward!

My Review:

Imagine my surprise when I took my daughter to the Hawaii Book & Music Festival in May and saw that Olympic Ice Skating Gold Medalist Kristi Yamaguchi was there for a reading and book signing!  I didn't even know she wrote children's books.  I was delighted and my daughter, who is 2 years old, thought the cat on the cover of the book was cute.  Kristi Yamaguchi was very personable and sweet and signed the book for my daughter.  I was a bit start struck since I grew up in the 80's/90's and she was my favorite ice skater.  

This book Cara's Kindness has the sweetest illustrations, I love it.  My daughter is in a furry animals phase, so she loves the big eyed cat Cara as she helps others in need and sees them help someone else in return.  The book has an awesome message about being kind, helping others and paying it forward.  We enjoyed it very much.  This would make a wonderful gift as well.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

NetGalley Arc Review: Acting Wild

Image via NetGalley

Title: Acting Wild - How We Behave Like Birds, Bugs, and Beasts

Author: Maria Birmingham

Illustrator: Dave Whamond

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 32

Publication Date: August 13,  2019

Links: Goodreads * Amazon

**As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost for you. Thanks!**

Book Blurb from NetGalley:

How are humans different from other animals? This is a question scientists have long tried to answer. As it turns out, some of the very things researchers once though distinguished humans—our creativity, our problem-solving ability, our capacity for planning or abstract thought—actually make us very similar to other animals! This nonfiction book introduces several different behaviors that humans and other animals share, including farming, teaching, laughing, building, mourning, communicating, grooming, playing, traveling, using tools, and working together. 

My Review:

I'm always looking for fun non-fiction books for my son to read.  At his school they have to log down 25 non-fiction books each quarter so I'm constantly on a search for books that have cool illustrations, humor and of course, information.  We read this one last night and we learned a lot of things about how animals are like humans.  The illustrations were funny and the way it was written made learning fun.  I did not know rats make a high pitched sound that resembled laughter.  😮 I'd recommend it for age 6 and up.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

NetGalley Arc Review: Frankie's Favorite Food

Image via Goodreads

Title: Frankie's Favorite Food

Author: Kelsey Garrity-Riley

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 36 

Publication Date: August 20, 2019

Links: Goodreads * Amazon

**As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases with no extra cost to you.  Thanks!**

Book Blurb on Goodreads:

Frankie has a problem: he has too many favorite foods. He can't bring himself to choose just one to be for the school play, so on the day of the performance, he's still without a costume. His teacher comes up with a delicious idea: what if Frankie becomes the Costume Manager? That way, he can parlay his love of all things culinary into the whole production. From adding some last-minute garnishes to helping the rice and beans into their costumes, Frankie shines backstage until he has a brilliant idea and decides to make his debut on the menu as something that combines his love for all his favorite foods . . .

In this funny and scrumptiously adorable story, readers will delight in the variety of foods represented and the clever performances full of silly word play and sweet camaraderie. In Kelsey Garrity-Riley's author-illustrator debut, she shows the joy of food and revels in celebrating the way food can bring people together and inspire creativity. 

My Review:

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read this eArc.

When I told my son to read this book with me he wasn't enthusiastic about the title or topic.  Then I started reading and my 2 year old daughter insisted she sit on my lap for this story as well!  Soon we were gathered around my computer screen and started laughing at the cute illustrations of kids dressing up as their favorite food.  This book is adorable, funny, with beautiful illustrations and it made my son and I discuss what our costumes would be if we were in the book.  That made us laugh some more.  I need a copy of this book for my kids and I would definitely buy this as a gift for other kids!  It is an outstanding book that left a smile on all our faces.  At the end, even my son said that it was the best book ever.  😁  It also made me hungry...😂

My Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

NetGalley Arc Review: Yapper the Unhappy Snapper

Image via Goodreads

Title: Yapper the Unhappy Snapper (The Rubbish Rebellion 1)

Author: Chez Rafter

Illustrator: Daniela Frongia

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 18

Links: Goodreads * Amazon

**As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks!**


Book Blurb from Goodreads:

Yapper the snapper wants to play, 
But all his friends are sick today 
From the pollution in the ocean and waste in the waves. 
To have some fun, first he must rescue his friends along the way. 
Join Yapper on his heroic adventures to save the day.


My Review:

Thank you Aurora House and NetGalley for giving us the opportunity to read this eArc.

I requested this book because my son is always asking me how we can save the sea animals from pollution.  This is the perfect book and in my son's words, "I love this book, a LOT!"  We enjoyed seeing Yapper the Unhappy Snapper help his friends in ocean that's polluted with human trash.  Now if only it was the humans helping the sea animals, it would be even better, my son said to me aloud.  So true!  We enjoyed the illustrations and seeing how yapper frees his friends from pollution.  The book has a great message and reinforces the idea to children that we must do things to help curb pollution in our oceans, and on Earth in general.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

NetGalley Arc Review: The Trouble with Time Travel

Image via Goodreads

Title: The Trouble with Time Travel

Author: Stephen W. Martin

Illustrator: Cornelia Li

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Publication Date: October 15, 2019

Pages: 24

Links: Goodreads * Amazon

**As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost for you. Thanks!**

Book Blurb from Goodreads:

Max and her dog, Boomer, are in trouble. Big trouble. Max has accidentally smashed an heirloom vase: the only treasure her great-great-great-great-great-great-grandma managed to save when her houseboat sank 234 years ago. Max can come clean—or, she can build a time machine! If she travels to the past and smashes the vase then, there will be nothing for her to break in the future. Brilliant!

In the time machine—surprisingly easy to construct—Max and Boomer bump around to the past and the future, tangle the string of time, and crash into the ancestral houseboat, promptly sinking it. And in the past, the vase remains intact. Disheartened, Max and Boomer return to the moment just before their adventure began, to warn themselves NOT to build a time machine. Duly warned, Max tosses a Frisbee for Boomer, directly in the direction of the vase…

My Review:

**I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Owlkids Books and NetGalley for giving us this opportunity to read this eArc.

I read this with my son and he found it enjoyable because of the time travel.  His favorite part was when Max went back to Egypt.  I loved the illustrations, it is a gorgeous book.  I also love Max's initiative and creativity in building a time machine.  She's very clever in fixing the problem presented in the story.  This was an enjoyable read!

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

NetGalley Arc Review: Hide and Seek, Little Chameleon

Image via Goodreads

Title: Hide and Seek, Little Chameleon

Author: Anita Bijsterbosch

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 18 

Links: Goodreads * Amazon

**As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost for you. Thanks!**

Book Blurb from Goodreads:

Little Chameleon loves to play hide-and-seek. He knows a few special hiding tricks. Will you help look for Little Chameleon?
A cheerful seek-and-find book filled with colors, numbers, and animal friends. For toddlers ages 30 months and up, with a focus on the child's language development.

My Review:

**I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Clavis Publishing and NetGalley for giving me and my children the opportunity to read this eArc edition.  This book is so enjoyable, I need to get a print copy of this book!  It is very colorful with cute illustrations and my kids loved the little chameleon playing with his mom.  And my kids and I had so much fun trying to find the camouflaged chameleon in the book!  It was short and sweet.  I will be buying this for my children and this would also make a good gift for other little ones.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kitten Finally Gets Her Bowl of Milk

Image via Goodreads

Title: Kitten's First Full Moon

Author: Kevin Henkes

Format: Hardcover (owned)

Pages: 40

Links: Goodreads * Amazon 

**As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost for you. Thanks!**

Book Blurb from Goodreads:

The nationally bestselling picture book about a kitten, the moon, and a bowl of milk, written by the celebrated author and illustrator Kevin Henkes, was awarded a Caldecott Medal.

From one of the most celebrated and beloved picture book creators working in the field today comes a memorable new character and a suspenseful adventure just right for reading and sharing at home and in the classroom. It is Kitten's first full moon, and when she sees it she thinks it is a bowl of milk in the sky. And she wants it. Does she get it? Well, no . . . and yes. What a night!

My Review:

My son was gifted this book by his grandmother and he enjoyed this story about a kitten who mistakes the full moon as a bowl of milk.  Kitten goes on an adventure trying to get that bowl of milk!  The book has passed down to my daughter who adores this book, I have read it to her many many more times than I read it to my son.  She loves kitten and at the end of the book, she likes to "grab" the moon in the book.  😂  The book color palette is black, white and gray, but just because it isn't colorful doesn't make my kids love it less.  We love kittens facial expressions.  This is a great book for children and we love it in our house.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Review: Peppa Pig and the Career Day

Image via Goodreads

Title: Peppa Pig and the Career Day

Author: Neville Astley and Mark Baker

Format: Hardcover (borrowed)

Pages: 32

Links: Goodreads * Amazon

**As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost for you. Thanks!**

Book Blurb from Goodreads:

It's a very exciting day for Peppa. From all around town, people are visiting her class to talk about their jobs! Everyone already knows what Miss Gazelle does -- she's their teacher, of course. Miss Rabbit talks about being a train conductor, and Mr. Zebra tells the class how much he loves being the postman. There are so many different things that Peppa and her friends can be when they grow up. . . . And just how many jobs does Miss Rabbit have, anyway?

My Review:

The classic illustrations from the cartoon show is a delight to my kids who both love Peppa Pig.  I've watched so many of the shows, on repeat, that I know all the characters in this book as well.  I laughed when Miss Rabbit had many jobs because that is true in the cartoon show as well!  Because there are many adults and jobs showcased, only a sentence or two explains their jobs, which I thought was too short.  But because there are so many jobs, I can see why that was the case.  A perfect book for Peppa Pig fans!

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2