Children's Book Reviews

Gabby Makes a Friend is a wonderful story of friendship between two very different characters, Gabby, the Golden Retriever and Katie, the caterpillar. From the first day the puppy meets this little Katie, they quickly become best friends and enjoy playing together until the day Katie disappears for a while. No matter how different they are or how they change, their friendship remains the same.

Great-Grandma’s Gifts is a charming picture book with sweet, colorful, childlike illustrations. Arlene had her mother’s talent for sewing. When she grew up, Arlene shared her gift with her children, and later with their children, by the many wonderful things she was able to make for them. This is a great book to teach children appreciation for the elderly and remind them that their grandparents were young once too.

This unique book for tweens leaves stories for the imagination on every illustrated page. Emily Winfield Martin describes her paintings as “illustrations for stories that didn’t exist.” In The Imaginaries, she has collected her paintings throughout the years and united them with short, poetic thoughts.

Irina’s young, teenage life changes instantly when her sick mother is sentenced to jail time and she is dropped off at a boarding school. Although she faces many challenges, Irina holds onto her dream of becoming a professional violinist until a bully steals her violin and leaves her hopeless.

“Izzy’s dad had a farm. And on that farm, there was a herd of cows…a flock of sheep…some chickens…two dogs…three cats…and a dragon.” The fire-breathing dragon causes chaos on the farm; his breath hard-boils eggs and turns their cow’s milk to yogurt. And he won’t go away.

Russell the sheep can’t sleep. What will he do? The simple text is witty and adorable to match the illustrations. The hilarious details on each page are captivating. Russell is the cutest, fluffiest insomniac. The perfect story to snuggle with at bedtime. A+++ from me.