Mini Reviews (Part 3) – Children’s Books

I am sooooo far behind on book reviews! Of the last 30 books I read, I only wrote 13 reviews.  That means I have 17 books I need to write reviews for. (Whose stupid idea was it to keep a list of all the books I need to review?!?)

In order to get caught up I am going to do a bunch of mini reviews, and then try to stay on top of reviews in the future!  Of the 17 books I need to review, 7 of them are kids books so this post is going to be just the kids books!  I will do the “adult” books in a separate post.

Disclaimer: All Amazon Links are affiliate links. If you purchase anything through one of my links I will get a small commission! All the thoughts and opinions in this post are mine and in no way influenced by Amazon.

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Papasaurus

by Stephan Lomp

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Amazon | Goodreads

I had a friend that asked for books instead of cards for her baby-shower.  I know a story about a Papa isn’t perfect for a baby shower, but I had already gotten her some dino clothes and a stuffed dino and I needed to find a book that matched! This is the only dino book I could find at Barnes and Noble.

This book was adorable! I LOVED the artwork!  The dinos are in brilliant colors and the background is all dark grays and black.  This makes the dinos really pop! Plus they are ridiculously adorable!!  The story was cute as well.  I would recommend it to anyone who has a little girl or boy who loves cute dinos and bright colors.

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Nobody Likes a Cockblock

by R. Swanson

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Amazon | Goodreads

Not gonna lie, I didn’t like this book.  Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with dirty or inappropriate books masquerading as children’s books.  I love those types of books! I just didn’t like this one.  I didn’t think the rhyming was that great and I didn’t really care for the illustrations.  I do want to mention, however, that I read this at a baby shower and the 10 or so other adults who read it all loved it, so I guess I am the odd one out.

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Not Quite Narwhal

by Jessie Sima

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Amazon | Goodreads

I found this book on Brenda’s Blog: Friendly Fairy Tales.  I was super intrigued because – Narwhals!!  Go check out her review! Its short, sweet, and way more insightful than mine!

This book has the cutest story and adorable illustrations! Its got Narwhals and Unicorns!! What more could you want?!?!

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All Fall Down

by Mary Brigid Barrett

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Amazon | Goodreads

My niece just turned 1 year old last month and my sister asked specifically for board books.  My niece is at that age where she wants to grab the books and turn the pages and usually puts them in her mouth.  She has started ruining all her books so she is the perfect right age for board books.

This book is pretty simple and cute.  The story flows nicely and the artwork is decent.  Its a great board book for a 1 year old but its nothing special.

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The Hat

by Jan Brett

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Amazon | Goodreads

This is one of the books I remember from my childhood.  My mom really liked Jan Brett so I think we owned most of her picture books.  The version I read recently was the board book version.  I know sometimes that board books are shortened versions of the originals, but I couldn’t tell if this one was shortened are not.  The story felt complete.

As always Jan Brett has great illustrations and cute stories! This is a great story about trends and how silly they can be.

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Goodnight Owl

by Marina Martin

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Amazon | Goodreads

My niece collects owls, so when I saw this I had to get it! For her first birthday I got her an owl beanie, an owl stuffed animal and a bunch of books.  (I got her other stuff too but I gave it to my sister before my niece’s party and don’t have pictures of it)

This book is super simple but also really really cute! I love the artwork and the story flowed really nicely! It is perfect for lulling you little one to sleep!! It also came with a CD that I think has lullabies on it, but I didn’t listen to it, and I doubt my sister has either.

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Old MacDonald

by Rosemary Wells

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Amazon | Goodreads

Rosemary Wells is sort of a staple in childhood art.  This book is pretty much exactly what you would predict.  Its one verse of Old MacDonald accompanied by Wells signature artwork.  At the end, it lists a bunch of other animals you could sing the song about, but I would have liked it if the book had a couple verses instead of just one.

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Of all these books, Not Quite Narwhal was my favorite! But I also really liked Papasaurus and Goodnight Owl.  Do you have a little one you like to read to, or buy books for?  My niece is the one I have and I buy her way more books than necessary! (I also just spoil her in general so its not just books!)

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?  Do you have a favorite children’s book? Let me know in the comments!