Picture Book Round-Up

Disclosure: I was sent these books in  exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Today I am going to share some new picture books with you. These books are mostly aimed towards preschool and lower. Each is fun and have good lessons in them. I hope you will read my reviews and check them all out!!

In our first book, Gum by Nancy Willard and illustrated by Jeff Newman, James gets his weekly allowance--five quarters, and cannot wait to go to the store with his friend, Danny. But one of the quarters looks different. His mother tells him it is a Canadian quarter and he thinks it is lucky. Maybe it will be the one to get him the racer car out of the gumball machine. Danny and James take turns putting their quarters into the machine and see if either will get the last racer car. It comes down to James's lucky quarter, but wait it doesn't do anything until all of sudden all the gumballs come pouring out. Mr. Wright is not too happy.  Neither is James since he doesn't even like gum, but it ends happily with a lesson about sharing. 

The story is sweet and fun. The illustrations are colorful and cute. The colors used remind me of the gumballs themselves. It is a timeless tale. Don't you remember wanting to put money in the gumball machines? The suggested ages are four to eight years old. 

Our next book is Poppy, Buttercup, Bluebell and Dandy by Fiona Woodcock. These wildflowers love making their area beautiful. Poppy gets a feeling one day that their beauty is needed elsewhere and they go on an adventure to the city. There they look for areas to spread their beauty and cheer. Once they find the parks and fields they were able to make the world a bit brighter and happier. 

This book is cute and has the feel of flower fairies. The illustrations are simple except for the beautiful flowers that are spreading throughout the pages. I love the colors and illustrations. It is a book about making the world a better place by doing what you can. It is recommended for ages three to seven. Check out our other flower fairy posts. 

Our next book is How to Grow a Dinosaur by Jill Esbaum and illustrated by Mike Boldt. This book is about being an older sibling. Big brother dinosaur cannot wait to show his new baby sibling all sorts of things, but finds some troubles with showing the new baby his toys and teaching him to roar and more. 

This book is a fun way to introduce a new baby to the family and help the older sibling(s) understand how life with a baby is. It shares the bad and the good things as well as some of the feelings an older sibling experiences. It is recommended for ages two to four. Check out our posts on dinosaurs and siblings. 

Our next book is Sleepover Duck! by Carin Bramsen. In this fun book Duck is really excited to get to sleep in the barn with his friend, Cat. Duck is ready to party, but Cat is trying to go to sleep. Wait though Duck heard a noise and searches for the source. Perhaps there will be a party at this sleepover yet. 

This book shares the excitement of a first sleepover--whether it is with a friend or family. I know the first few times Hazel slept at her grandmother's house neither got much sleep. The illustrations are adorable. I love the details and color and cuteness. This book is recommended for ages three to seven. Check out our posts on sleepovers.

Our final book for today is Princesses Wear Pants by Savannah Guthrie and Allison Oppenheimer and illustrated by Eva Byrne. Princess Penelope Pineapple loves to dress up in her fancy dresses, but she also knows she needs to wear pants for her every day activities. She likes to do yoga, gardening, skateboarding, and more. These activities do not go well with fancy dresses. She does not understand why some people think princesses should always wear dresses, However when the royal pet falls into the pool during a royal party, it is Princess Penelope who jumps in to save her beloved cat and shows everyone why it is all right for princesses to wear pants. 

Now I always love princess books that teach girls about strong princesses and this is one of them. Princess Penelope grows vegetables for the people in the kingdom that cannot afford enough food. She likes to take care of herself and her kingdom and is always finding ways to help others and to do this she needs to wear pants. This is the perfect book for girls who always want to dress up or for ones who want to wear pants but feel like they shouldn't.   It is recommended for ages three to seven.  Be sure to check out the other princess books we love!