Bonnie Ferrante's Blog, page 85

Manuel, Margaret. I See Me. Book Review.

Toddlers will love this book. It’s all about their world. Each page has a photograph of a First Nations toddler engaged in everyday activities such as sleeping, eating, and drumming. I love that “I see me drink” has a photo of the toddler breastfeeding. There is a space on each page for parents to translate […]

Pandell, Karen. I Love You Baby from Head to Toe! Illustrated by Jane Cowen-Fletcher.

What a beautiful book! From the soft, glowing, exquisite illustrations to the engaging, warm words, toddlers and parents alike will love this book. There is one sentence about a baby’s body part and one double spread illustration on each page of this board book. It begins “Babies eyes shine like stars.” The accompanying illustration focuses […]

Hundal, Nancy. Twilight Fairies. Illustrated by Don Kilby.

A magical book, Twilight Fairies captivates the reader. Miranda wants a garden birthday party in the evening. Not only does she invite her friends, but she invites the fairies that she believes come out after dark. Her mother and brother support her wish but remind her that the fairies may not come. As they prepare […]

Picture Book You’ve Always Wanted

So, it’s day 17 of PiBoIdMo, a spinoff of NaNoWriMo. I participated in NaNoWriMo twice in the past, an event wherein people try to write the first rough draft of a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. This year I decided to try PiBoIdMo since my days are pretty busy babysitting my little […]

Pechter, Lesley Wynne. Alligator Bear Crab A Baby’s ABC. Book Review.

It is difficult to find picture books that will interest the very young toddler. I was pleased to learn that Alligator Bear Crab A Babies ABC was simple enough to engage my fifteen-month-old granddaughter. This is a board book with a simple picture and a word on each page. Every animal is painted with simple […]

Sutton, Eve. Illustrated by Lynley Dodd. My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes.

This is a board book but it is written for beginning readers, not toddlers. The illustrations are campy pen drawings with bright solid colours. Children will love the crazy adventures cats go on and all the ways the narrator’s cat hides in boxes. Every second page the author describes how her cat hides in boxes. […]

Big Blue Books Limited. Princess Stories. Book Review.

The cover is an explosion of cuteness, pinkness, and sparkliness. The double page spread makes the text too small for display on a Kindle. The first story, One Sweet Treat, falls into the trap of passive writing. “Princess Katie was watching Cook…” should be Princess Katie watched Cook and “when the cook had gone out.” […]

Zimmerman, Michelle. A Family For Christmas. Illustrations licensed by Fotolia. Book Review.

The first two illustrations are three-dimensional digital renditions of an adorable puppy. Then we have a cartoon illustration, a drawing colored in shades of pink. The rest of the book is three-dimensional digital illustrations similar to the first ones of the puppy. Why the drawing of a woman and her poodle, in a completely different […]

Morris, Stan. Surviving the Fog: Kathy’s Recollections

Kathy’s Recollections: Surviving the Fog was an unusual book. The first chapter seem to be much the same as Stephen King’s The Fog but the similarity ended there. The reader is inadvertently led to believe the story will be about the struggle against fog monsters but they play a miniscule part in the plot. In […]

Smith, Julia Faye. The Lovely Alligator. Feedback on Picture Book in Progress

Word Count: 1113 Suitable for ages: 5-10 I love the concept of this story. It has great potential. It could be quite sweet and humorous. LENGTH The major problem is the unnecessary wordiness. Most publishers prefer picture books to be under 1000 words. After reading this story, I think it would truly sparkle at 500 […]