Lauri Fortino's Blog, page 6
December 4, 2023
Two Books Full Of Love (My View Book Review)
Title: Like So
Author: Ruth Forman
Illustrator: Raissa Figueroa
Publisher/Year: Little Simon/2024
Topic/Theme: family, grandparent/grandchild relationships, nature appreciation, love
Of Note: Gorgeous, dreamy illustrations
Title: Same Love, Different Hug
Author: Sarah Hovorka
Illustrator: Abbey Bryant
Publisher/Year: Clarion Books/2023
Topic/Theme: family, friendship, personal space/boundaries, love
Of Note: Fun, bouncy rhymes
Both of these l...
November 26, 2023
Picture Book Month Book Review: THE LITTLE TIGER by Nicola Killen
Title: The Little Tiger (My Little Animal Friend series)
Author: Nicola Killen
Illustrator: Nicola Killen
Publisher/Year: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books/2023
Favorite Line from the Book: But then she remembered…she was a tiger!
Special Features: Die cuts and foil stamping
The ever-clever and always-curious Ollie is back in The Little Tiger. And this time, it’s her birthday! The Little Tiger is a super-sweet addition to Nicola Killen’s My Little Animal Friend serie...
November 19, 2023
Picture Book Month Book Review: I’M TRYING TO LOVE GERMS by Bethany Barton
Title: I’m Trying to Love Germs
Author: Bethany Barton
Illustrator: Bethany Barton
Publisher/Year: Viking Books for Young Readers/2023
Favorite Line from the Book: And sometimes just appreciating how different something is can make you love it!
Can germs be cute? They can if they was drawn by Bethany Barton, the author and illustrator of I’m Trying to Love Germs, an informational fiction picture book that earned a starred review from School Library Journal! This fun book i...
November 15, 2023
Picture Book Month Book Review: RED & GREEN by Lois Ehlert
Title: Red & Green
Author: Lois Ehlert
Illustrator: Lois Ehlert
Publisher/Year: Beach Lane Books/2023
Special Features: Die-cut pages/flaps
Christmas is a mere 40 days away. How many of you have started your Christmas shopping? Or put up your holiday decorations? Maybe you prefer to wait until after Thanksgiving, at least? Or maybe you need a little help getting into the Christmas spirit this year? I get it. It’s been a rough year, and thinking about everything that’s goin...
November 12, 2023
Picture Book Month Book Review: OUR CLASS IS A COUNTRY by Andria W. Rosenbaum
Title: Our Class Is A Country
Author: Andria W. Rosenbaum
Illustrator: Dream Chen
Publisher/Year: Albert Whitman & Company/2023
Favorite Line from the Book: Our class is a country with no room for hate.
I believe wholeheartedly that the following expression, which I’m sure many of you have heard before, is true: The opposite of love isn’t hate. It’s fear. People are afraid of many things, including, but not limited to, things that are different or things we don’t understan...
November 8, 2023
Picture Book Month Book Review: HOW THIS BOOK GOT RED by Margaret Chiu Greanias
Title: How This Book Got Red
Author: Margaret Chiu Greanias
Illustrator: Melissa Iwai
Publisher/Year: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky/2023
Favorite Line from the Book: “This will be better than bamboo bubble tea!” ~Red
What’s the first thing that pops into your head when you think about a panda? Probably the lovable, ever-popular black and white panda bear, right? That would be true for me, too, if my local zoo didn’t have red pandas. Red pandas are small, tree-dwelling mammals na...
November 4, 2023
Picture Book Month Book Review: THE WELCOME HOME by Amy June Bates
Title: The Welcome Home
Author: Amy June Bates
Illustrator: Amy June Bates
Publisher/Year: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers/2023
Favorite Line from the Book: There on their doorstep was a very soft, very waggy, very lick-your-face-play-fetch-roll-over-rub-its-belly-and-chase-its-tail sort of a thing.
This silly and heartwarming book, written and illustrated by Amy June Bates, is for animal lovers (like me) and anyone who wishes they could fill their home with lots ...
November 1, 2023
November Will Always Be Picture Book Month
Picture Book Month is an international literacy initiative founded by Dianne de Las Casas that celebrates the print picture book during the month of November. Many people in the kid lit community were fortunate to have known Dianne and considered her a friend. I didn’t know her personally, but what I knew of her, I admired. She was a multi-published author with a passion for picture books, so much so that she established Picture Book Month in 2011 along with fellow children’s book authors an...
October 24, 2023
Interview Alert: Ronni Diamondstein
Headshot photo credit: Randi ChildsPlease welcome author Ronni Diamondstein to Frog on a Blog! Ronni’s debut picture book is a biography about the life of iconic public figure Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, entitled Jackie and the Books She Loved. Ronni’s book is due out on November 7th by Sky Pony Press, but you can preorder it now. The art, by the talented Bats Langley, is gorgeous and so colorful, but what I think I like best about the book is getting a glimpse into the life of a you...
October 16, 2023
My View Book Review: ALWAYS SISTERS by Saira Mir
Title: Always Sisters: A Story of Loss and Love
Author: Saira Mir
Illustrator: Shahrzad Maydani
Publisher/Year: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers/2023
Favorite Line from the Book: She’s not here yet, but she’s already my little sunshine.
With so much heartbreaking news in the world right now, I was hesitant about posting this review because this book’s topic is, to put it simply, sad. But October is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and, if just on...
