Pig Books

If you have a little girl, this is a fantastic interactive book to keep her engaged. Anything to encourage kids to read and increase their love of reading is terrific. My twins turned 5 when I bought this and I would say this book is good for kids age 3 to 7.

My 4-year-old daughter, who is fascinated with ballerinas, has enjoyed every Angelina book I have read to her. We were excited to find this latest story about her favorite dancing mouse. In the story, Angelina finds a large envelope containing two tickets to see Serena Silvertail perform with the Royal Ballet. But each time she asks a friend to attend with her, they have other plans! This cleverly designed book features page-sized envelopes containing actual tickets, letters, and postcards that children can pull out and read. My daughter's favorite is the large pull-out poster of the Cindermouse ballet. The only problem we have had is that my less-than-gentle 2.5-year-old daughter was also eager to enjoy this book. I've repaired a few envelopes with tape and I have to verify the pull-outs are still inside the flaps before reading the story again. Definitely recommended reading!

This book is a nice story and the pull-out tickets, letters, poster, etc. added a wonderfully fun dimension to this book. I wouldn't give this book to a child much under 4, however, unless you happen to have one that is really meticulous about keeping things nice. It would be very easy to mess up the book or lose the pull-outs, which are important to the plot.

We bought this as a gift. Can't wait until my little ballerina is old enough to have it.

I loved this book as a child and still have the original printing which I read to my boys. My 7 year old especially loves it. This story follows Primrose Woodmouse one evening as she wanders into the woods. At the end, evening falls and the illustrations turn eerily enchanting. This is one of those books that children as well as parents will enjoy. I look forward to finally completing my Brambly Hedge collection for my children.

There really isn't a lot of quality books about the Fall, which is a shame since it is such a lovely season. Kill Barklem books about Brambley Hedge are wonderful little tales, filled with detailed drwaings about the little community of mice. Winter is just around the corner and the harvest is not complete. crops The mice rush to collect the rest of their crops before the rain begins. The wealthy Lord Woodmouse's daughter tries to help out in earnest but has wandered into the Woods. Now she is lost and scared, and it is after dark. Thrilling little tale that is worth it for the artwork alone.

First published in 1980, Autumn Story follows Lord Woodmouse's daughter through her adventures exploring the delights of autumn harvest in the woods, until she realizes she is lost. As always, remarkable illustrations of blackberry brambles and fauna seen only by tiny folk bring both authenticity and charm.

My daughter (9) loves these books. Unfortunately, they are too easy and fast for her to read now. She started reading them when she was 7 and they were perfect. However, she still loves them and I buy each book for her as they come out.

There is no smarter or cannier look at school life than Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm's Babymouse series. The traumas that plague Babymouse and her classmates are universal. Gym uniforms ARE ugly, lockers DO attack, school meat loaf SHOULD be regarded with suspicion and riding the school bus is ONLY for the very VERY brave.

In Babymouse: Rock Star, music is a solace and joy for our heroine but even there, chair tests create yet another pecking order, this time in Band. Hoping to work her way up from last chair for the school concert, Babymouse resolves that she will practice hard for the tryout. Alas, the results of her efforts are, "Screeech!" With the help of a friend, she learns that real music is something you feel in your heart. Band parents will completely identify with this story.

Babymouse's wonderful imagination (she is a reader) carries her daily struggles into the world of the Wizard of Oz and the Pied Piper of Hamelin and her musical dreams into the realm of American Idol-ness.

These graphic novels are rich in humor for young readers but junior highschoolers will also identify. If you have not added this series to your library collection yet then do so asap!

Brava!

Babymouse is back in "Babymouse: Rock Star," the fourth volume of the Babymouse series.

This time, school and music are getting her down. Oh, and her number-one enemy Felicia Furrypaws.

How does Babymouse cope? She daydreams, of course. First, she's a rock star. Then, on a boring Wednesday, a tornado whisks her out of school. But, daydreams won't save her from her biggest problem: she wants to play the flute better. She wants to move from last chair in the school band.

Felicia Furrypaws is second-to-last chair and torments Babymouse. Fortunately, Babymouse finds help from a fellow Furrypaws victim and succeeds in the end with a little practice, instruction, and targeted daydreaming.

Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm triumph again with this latest installment in the tales of your average school-aged mouse. Babymouse's daydreams are fun and action-filled, but the beauty of the books is in the everyday. Everyone has angst about their position in the band, everyone fears a school bully, and everyone hates the bus.

The bus is the star of my favorite sequence in "Babymouse: Rock Star." The bus screeches up, the driver says, "Let's get moving! What do you think I am anyway? Your own personal chauffeur?" Then Babymouse comments that the bus "was like an obstacle course." The obstacles? "Doesn't open. Talks too much. Gets bus-sick. Soda spill. Bumpy. Rickety. Kind of scary. Gum. Picks nose. Yells." True, true, true.

"Babymouse: Rock Star" is highly recommended for school-aged children five and up. And, even though "Babymouse" is written at approximately a third-grade level, I've found young middle schoolers love Babymouse as well.

This is a cute story for children entering or in 2nd grade. Most children can read the story themself and the pictures are bright and cute.
My son really enjoyed it.

I bought this book for my grandson who has just completed the first gade. I think the book is funny. The vocabulary is easy enough and the illustrations are excellent. Even without them, a beginning reader can picture everything. It contains a strong appeal to the senses, and the situations are easy for a second gader to relate to. I highly recommend this book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone! It is a lovely, enchanting, and funny tale, and the pictures complement the story beautifully. I read it to my son recently, and we both loved it. He listened the entire time and wanted to hear it again! It has quickly become one of his favorites! We also have Katharine Kenah's book The Dream Shop (illustrated by Peter Catalannotto), which is a gorgeous picture book. I recommend her books to everyone!

I work at a Day Camp for K-5 kids and they absolutely love these stories. They used to complain about having to have Bible Study, but now they can't wait!

This is a terrific book for the family to read together and explore the less well-known stories of the Bible. The author writes in an easy to read manner and gives suggestions for different ways to go through the book depending on your family style, time available, age of children, etc. A wonderful fresh way to do family devotions!

This delightful and insightful book will certainly get the family talking, as they read these hidden Bible stories together. Dan Cooley draws the readers into the story, then midway, poses questions that hit home, making you want to discover the lessons and completion of the adventure. It's great to read little known parts of the Bible that reveal important lessons for us today. The writing flows along so naturally that you can't wait to read the next story. This is sure to help adults and young people of all ages get excited about the Bible and how it applies to our lives.

This books is absolutely delightful! The illustrations are just darling (and so much fun because they are soft and fuzzy)! The rhymes makes sense and are very sweet. It's a terrific book to introduce the topic of blessings and prayers (another favorite is Debbie Boone's book), and is the ideal good night time read. It's excellent for introducing the names of animals, too (and not just all the usual ones).

Our son got this book for his birthday and he adores it! He brings the book to us saying "Mouse Mamma/Daddy! Mouse!" There's some good rhyming in it and the soft feel is great for toddlers. The pages are also thicker than most paperbacks and not as easy to tear. I highly recommend this book for your toddler.

This book is terrific for the very young. Full of fuzzies to feel and touch, it entices the reader to pat each animal and turn the page to see who is next. With it's soft colors and furry friends, it is a wonderful gift for holidays, birthdays and all year. I recommend it as a must for all toddlers. In fact it is a wonderful baby gift as well.

~~ Doris Fisher, author of Happy Birthday to Whooo?

An adorable story about Preston the Masked Avenger who sneaks throughout the town scaring his neighbors with his bellowing "Boo!" All is fun and games until Preston decides to scare his father and is sent to his room with out dinner. Children will love the suspense and comedy of the story. Adults will enjoy the subtle humor; such as Mr. Wolf's house having a posted sign "No Wood Cutters" or a red riding hood sticking out of his trash can. The illustrations are bright, colorful and eye-catching, perfect for storytime.

Although this book is recommeneded for younger children, my 5-years-old son really enjoys it. Simple and fun from beginning to end. When you think a mischievous piglet has learned his lesson, you better watch out. If you are not great at story-telling and still want to read with your child, this book is for you.

the pace is fast
the BOO!s are flying
the characters are super
will preston's dad be able to stop him from
scaring everyone in town? don't bet on it.
this one is a favorite any time of the day or night in our house.

This collection was given to my daughter because her name is Lilly. Now my Lilly will give "A Box Full of Lilly" to her friends for their birthdays. Both books are GREAT fun!

I bought Box Full of Lilly because my daughter's name is Lilly...but it turns out it was a GREAT set of books & we love it...there is really a lesson in each book that a kid can understand & it is told in a very nice way. We are adding more books by Kevin Henkes the Author to our wish list. I enjoy reading it as much as she enjoys listening if you know what I mean...

A box full of Lilly comes with Lilly's big Day and Lilly's purple purse. I highly recommend this collection to anyone who has a little girl. These books are terrific and my daughter truely enjoys reading them.

By the Light of the Moon is a children's picturebook about a mother mouse's dilemma - the farmer's plow is coming, and she has to search for a safe bed for her little baby mouse to sleep. Different animals suggest their favorite places - the mole recommends sleeping underground, while the duck suggests a bed of reeds. But none of the beds are quite right, and mother mouse is at her wit's end, until she remembers the wisdom that her own mother once gave her, long ago. The soothing color illustrations are distinguished with flecks of glitter representing the moonlight. The moon itself, prominent in many pictures, is distinguished with a type of white glitter that makes it soft to the physical touch. By the Light of the Moon is a wonderful picturebook to read at bedtime, created especially to help children appreciate the comfort and security of their own beds.

My daughter loves the story and the illustrations. Her favorite book for the time being.

This book has beautiful illustrations
and a kind and gentle theme about a mother
mouse's love for her baby. The mother must
find the perfect bed for her baby mouse to sleep.

As usual James Stevenson comes out with another great book. Hubie is back! I am a big fan of James Stevenson. Everything he writes always takes me back to my childhood. I highly reccommend this book. Your children or students will enjoy!
...

Timid little mouse, Hubie, would have probably been more receptive to the idea of going on a family vacation to exotic Barabooda Island had he not seen the scary movie, The Island Of No Return. And the fact that they were traveling there on an enormous dirigible, The Island Clipper, didn't help calm his fears. But when his worst fears are realized, and a storm sends poor Hubie overboard, he finds himself on an almost deserted island, and ready for the adventure of a lifetime..... James Stevenson has brought back one of his most endearing characters, and just like his previous Hubie stories, The Seaview Hotel, All Aboard, and The Stowaway, his latest opus doesn't disappoint. Mr Stevenson's playful and engaging story, told in a bold and busy comic-book format, is clever and entertaining, and kids will revel in the humorous, action-packed scenes, eye-catching details, and surprise ending. Perfect for youngsters 5-9, The Castaway is a manic, fun-filled romp that shouldn't be missed.

James Stevenson is a highly original author/illustrator whose mastery of wry humor is shared by perhaps only Daniel Pinkwater. Here, we meet Hubie the mouse and his family, featured in earlier Stevenson books such as "The Seaview Hotel," and "The Stowaway."

In faux documentary style, the first page announces that it's 1937 (look at the upper left, or you might not see this). Hubie and his family visit a grand, rococo-style movie theatre to see the melodramatic "The Island of No Return" (scenes from which Stevenson draws in evocative shades of gray). Hubie alternately displays and hides his fears--especially of islands. As the youngest family member, and the only one who is afraid, Hubie is somewhat of a castaway in his own family.

Stevenson then tosses in one of many improbable but fun plot twists: The family receives a large, stylish "Greetings from Barabooda Island" foldout from their aunt. They fly there in a dirigible (just another in Stevenson's bag of scene-setting tricks), but Hubie very accidentally falls out and lands in the giant mouth of a pelican swimming a few hundred feet below. "I beg your pardon...," Hubie says very properly," I just fell out of a dirigible." In what now seems like a parody of "Survivor," Hubie meets a castaway on a deserted (or is it?) island, who shows him his baseball stadium, drum set, fruit stand, and speedboat!

Everything is done in a wonderfully offhand style, with more and more fantastic perils facing our heroes on the island. Stevenson's casual drawings and very handwritten-looking text add to the whole tone of sublime nonsense. There's also a nicely done light message at the conclusion, as Hubie's adventures feed a newly discovered appetite for adventure.

Stevenson is beloved by many adults and kids; still, it seems that this superb writer has not received his due recognition. This book is an excellent introduction to his talents, and I hope it will encourage you to read his many other books. The book is 30 pages long, with illustrations done in pen and ink and watercolor, and the usual high production standards of the Greenwillow publishing house.