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Book Review | Baby Penguins Everywhere by Melissa Guion

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As a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team, I grabbed Baby Penguins Everywhere! by Melissa Guion on first glance simply because penguins and then because BABY PENGUINS!!!

What starts out as a cute story about a lonely lady penguin finding a magical hat, from which emerges an astonishing number of baby penguins, soon becomes a lesson in self-care.  Even in the midst of those we know and love, people (and penguins) sometimes need a moment to themselves… to regroup, to think, or just to catch one’s breath.

Sometimes, in the struggle to be supportive and make ourselves available for friends and family, we forget all about me-time.  It is important to take some time for ourselves, to reflect on our lives and where we are headed, and it is my plan in 2016 to devote at least a morning to spending time with myself.

Parents will probably enjoy the moral of the story more than their children, but this book is a great way to let kids know that its okay to need alone time.

In the end, Ms. Penguin and her flock of baby penguins are happy as can be spending time with each other as they frolic and play in their frozen home, even while they remember that it’s okay to need alone time… That there will always be people (or penguins) there for them when they come back into the craziness of family and friends.

A solid book to start the new year off with!

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Book Review | A Tale of Two Daddies by Vanita Oelschlager

MichelleLeave a comment

One of my favorite things about A Tale of Two Daddies were the illustrations…  Many of the playground pieces that the children use throughout the story are things that I used when I was a kid and which I remember quite fondly.

After watching the short film Credence (you can read my review by clicking HERE), this title felt like the perfect addition.

Told through a daughter’s voice and explained as only a child can, this story is not about gay couples, it is about family and this family is a happy one. At the end of the day, what more can a family ask for?

The simple way that the little girl explains to her friend what each of her daddies do is both sweet and undeniably real. It was nice to see that both Poppa and Daddy had individual things that they were able to provide to their daughter and then there were things that they were both good at.  🙂

All in all, a cute story about family and friends. This picture book would be a wonderful addition to any library collection.

A copy of this title was provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Two Book Tuesday

MichelleLeave a comment

Just a short post this week since spare time has been quite sparse.  🙂

I’ve been spending most of my free time studying for Midterms and haven’t had much time to spare for “fun” reading, so this post will be about two books that I was really excited to add to my want-to-read list.

Spork by Kyo Maclear is a children’s picture book about, you guessed it, a spork!  Poor little Spork doesn’t fit in with the rest of the cutlery in the drawer; the spoons think him too point and the forks too round.  Will he every be picked for mealtime?

The art style for this picture book is right up my alley and is something that immediately drew my eye to the title.  In addition to teaching young children about tolerance of others and learning that individuality is a-ok, “Spork” looks like it could very easily be one of the cutest little books I’ve read this year.

And the second book that I’m excited to read (I’ve just checked it out from the library) is Mort(e) by Robert Repino.

Mort(e) is a very unique take on human extinction…  The Colony, a race of intelligent ants that have been working for thousands of years to eradicate humans are taking the next step in their war effort.   They turn the surface animals into high-functioning beings who will rise up to kill their human masters.

The main character of this novel is Mort(e).  A former housecat turned war hero, Mort(e) is looking for his pre-transformation friend – a dog named Sheba.  In order to find his long lost friend, Mort(e) will travel to one of the last human strongholds and there he will discover the source of EMSAH (a human bio-weapon) and perhaps will find the answers to his questions.

Really, it sounds like the coolest animal point-of-view story that I’ve read since Raptor Red by Robert T. Bakker.

Once the craziness of Midterms has passed, I plan to crack open “Mort(e)” and read it in the evening, while keeping “Spork” for my next 15-minute break at work.

Are you reading anything interesting?