Mealtime at the Zoo: PB&J Café by James Williamson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
James, the monkey butler, shows how all the animals eat his PB&J sandwiches. Vibrant colors help add to the story throughout. I think children will be delighted to read this one and would be a fun picnic book to read with a PB&J.
Kris & The Cowboys: The Adventures of Kris by Art Blegen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
5 Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Kris & The Cowboys is Book 3 in The Adventures of Kris series full of fun and adventure at every corner. This story chapter book is for ages 6-10 and perfect for any beginner reader who is ready to start reading chapter books….or even for the young at heart to enjoy.
As we follow Kris, who is at a ranch with her father and great uncle….Kris wants to learn how to ride a horse. Of course her great uncle is ready to teach Kris each step as it is learning process from the saddle, reins and even how to get on a horse properly. Kris is anxious to accompany her great uncle on her first cattle drive, but she has much to learn and must stay at the ranch. When a cow names Patches goes missing, it is up to Kris to be brave and try and help find the missing cow.
Saddle up for an adventure Kris is with her horse, Apples, and on the way to help find a missing cow meeting new friends, find friendships that help her in dangerous situations and being brave when a flood hits the encampment area. Will Kris be able to rescue Patches…definitely read and find out.
This is a fun book and I really enjoy every story so far in this series and already looking forward to more. I love being pulled into an adventure of this story
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Can I Keep Her? by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was just so cute! I love the way everything looks! It’s such a fun book and I love happy endings! I hope to see more about the little dragon. This is one I will be reading to my 3 year old! He loves books with dragons in them.
Under the Bandage by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a nicely illustrated book with historical side notes about items in the book. There is also scientific side notes about how the body heals. The story is written in a poetic rhythm and this helps keep the reader interested. It’s a cute story that young readers will enjoy!
Can I Keep Her?: 2nd book in the Kingdom of Mir series by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Oh, how we love books by this author! My kiddos get super excited every time I bring a book home with her name on it because it means we are going on some kind of adventure! The illustrations in this story are just beautiful and fun. As with all of her books, there are amazing life lessons to be learned within. It is something I have come to absolutely adore about her books because it helps spark conversations in our household about the meaning behind the fun. I highly recommend picking this up for the young ones (and young at heart) in your life to share the adventure!
Reviewed by @shannlynn
Mealtime at the Zoo: PB&J Café by James Williamson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Our whole family absolutely adored this book! We have read it several times already because my kids have requested it repeatedly. The illustrations are just beautiful and really add more fun to the story. Even though my kiddos are 8 and 12, we all bopped along to the rhyming rhythms as they are super catchy! We giggled the whole way through (repeatedly) which always makes story time fun. I highly recommend picking this up for any young ones in your life whether that’s at home, school, or a daycare. Everyone will definitely have a blast! I can’t wait to see more fun from this author.
Reviewed by @shannlynn
Kris & The Cowboys: The Adventures of Kris by Art Blegen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the third installment of The Adventures of Kris series, and what a grand adventure it has been! This has been a really cool series so far, and both of my kids have loved it. The amount of creativity and imagination here is truly inspiring. It creates so much fun while you read, especially if you’re reading with kiddos. Kris is such an amazing character who has strong morals and values. I loved getting to read about horses, the Sioux tribe, and a flood because the author wove everything together so naturally. I know this book is aimed toward a younger crowd, but I enjoyed it so much! The characters feel very well developed for a children’s book which was refreshing. I’m excited to see what’s next!
Reviewed by @shannlynn
Kris & The Cowboys: The Adventures of Kris by Art Blegen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This may be my favorite of the Kris stories so far. This time Kris goes to visit her uncle on a ranch. While there she learns how to ride a horse and be a real cowgirl. She is sad that she doesn’t get to go on the cattle drive with her uncle but she immerses herself in her books and learns about horses and even Indians, until her uncle returns. I just love how these stories involve a young (ish) kid that loves reading and uses their imagination. It shows how books can take you all sorts of places at any age. These are great stories for read aloud time or for kids (maybe age 6-10) that are just starting to read chapter books. There’s a few illustrations spread throughout the book which I also love. Definitely recommend these stories
Can I Keep Her?: 2nd book in the Kingdom of Mir series by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Can I Keep Her from the Kingdom of Mir Series is a children’s book by Lois Wickstrom. When Wynnie finds a strange egg, she is excited to see what will hatch. The Wise Old Woman tells Wynnie that it is a dragon’s egg and that they should run away, but Wynnie disagrees. This book teaches a great lesson about not prejudging and the importance of showing love. Wynnie shows that if you give grace, kindness, and understanding, you can make a great difference in any situation’s outcome. She shows adults how to show patience and understanding to a misunderstood creature. This book is short and sweet. The illustrations are fun and the lesson is easy for children to understand.
Can I Keep Her? by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
5 Stars
Can I Keep Her? (Kingdom of Mir Series) by Lois Wickstrom
Can I Keep Her? Is part of the Kingdom of Mir Series and we absolutely loved reading this book. This is a wonderfully written children’s book that children ages 5-8 can enjoy. My son loves dragons so we read this book several times and each time he would add something or switch it up. I love how reading her stories ignites my 6 year old sons imagination. It’s wild. Well wynnie is in love with the baby dragon but the baby is going to end up destroying the kingdom. Winnie has one day to train the dragon per the king. Can she train the dragon in one day? We loved the colorful illustrations they brought the story to life. I highly recommend reading this book to find out if she can train the dragon in one day? We look forward to reading more from this Author.
Can I Keep Her? by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a nicely illustrated story about training a baby dragon by Wynnie. It’s a fun story with a happy ending. There’s context about responsibility and having empathy. Your little one will sure enjoy this book!
Can I Keep Her? by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another book by this author and another glowing review. I always feel like my reviews could be copied and pasted from book to book but what I write is applicable to them all. This book is fun, entertaining from start to finish and my kids loved reading it. It is such as well imagined story and the illustrations really bring it to life.
This author really is a complete natural at writing children’s stories and there is not a single one we haven’t enjoyed. This book will again be read multiple times I am sure and has already been thoroughly enjoyed.
Summer of Mud by Rebecca Bischoff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Summer of Mud by Rebecca Bischoff is an interesting book about a young girl who has big dreams. There is quite a bit of emotion in this book and the author had a great writing style that brought even more depth to the story. Even though this book was made more for the younger audience, I found it to be extremely entertaining and the characters were wonderfully created and animated in the book. This is a magnificent coming of age story that intertwines adventure and emotion. The main character, Scoob, is a character that is so easy to follow in the book. She is engaging and relatable and I found myself willing things to turn out for her the whole way through the book. The journey she goes on is captivating and absolutely amazing to watch unfold, and I loved how she is learning about herself and how to handle life.
I felt that the overall pace of the book matched the feel of the story, Rebecca did a great job of making sure you didn’t feel lost in the story. The characters go through a major development, which only made reading about them even more enjoyable. This is a brilliant story that I would highly recommend to anybody who is looking for a great read!
Mary Espinoza, May 2024
Can I Keep Her?: 2nd book in the Kingdom of Mir series by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a very great book to read. It takes a little girl to change the perspective of the grown ups on how they look at things. The illustrations are very colorful and capture the attention of the readers.
Marshmallow Rabbit by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Mr Bonbon owns a sweet shop and sometimes he runs tours so that people can come and see how his candy is made, however, along with the old women come is a young girl called Annabelle and Annabelle always stole sweets, but Mr Bonbon couldn’t catch her.
One day, Mr Bonbon was up bright and early and had a plan to catch Annabelle, he would make a giant marshmallow rabbit and place it somewhere easy to see and steal.
Will Mr Bonbon’s plan work and catch Annabelle, or will her crafty personality get her out of trouble again? This is a short story which talks about perseverance, morals and candy with a twist on an old classic which children and adults alike will enjoy.
Reviewed by @roxsannel
Under the Bandage by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Under the Bandage by Lois Wickstrom is a wonderful book. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is great for kids. It helps teach kids to keep calm, clean the cut, and let a parent put a bandage on it when you get hurt. As a mom of 2 kiddos who love being rough and always getting hurt, this book helped show my kids that it is not only ok when they get hurt, but also the importance of keeping it clean and covered, in a fun creative way.
Can I Keep Her?: 2nd book in the Kingdom of Mir series by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Can I Keep Her? by Lois Wickstrom is book 2 in the Kingdom of Mir series but there is no order in these books that need to be read. This book has beautiful illustrations and the story is adorable; this book is more so for older kids than younger ones though, and would be an easy read. It teaches acceptance, no matter the difference, and that everyone deserves a chance to be loved.
Can I Keep Her? by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
4 Stars
Can I Keep Her? is the second book in the Kingdom of Mir Series by Lois Wickstrom. We meet up with Wynnie again, whom we met in the first book- ‘Stop That Lion’- and join her new adventure when she discovers a dragon egg. What happens when the baby dragon hatches? Will Wynnie be able to train the dragon to not breathe fire, so the kingdom doesn’t burn down? This cute story is worth reading to find out.
This is another fun children’s fantasy story, that again, has a bit of a fairytale feel. Along the way it explores problem solving, asking questions, finding answers, friendship, family, overcoming challenges, love for animals, basics on animal training, kindness, and compassion.
With interesting and colourful illustrations, plenty of fun, some high stakes, interesting situations, imagination, and adventure – really did make for a great read.
The illustrations are cute and done in a bit of a naïve style, which really suits the story style.
Looking forward to more from Ms. Wickstrom.
Happy reading…
Reviewed by @angelahayes
Summer of Mud by Rebecca Bischoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
You are crying. I am not crying. There are so many emotions in this book. How could you not be angry at RC? Were you not proud of Scoob when she won her trumpet back? Everyone knows you were anxious waiting to hear about Cherish. And, when Scoob found out who the three little girls in the picture were, you know you were thrilled but also so very sad.
Scoob and her brother, RC, have had the worst year of their lives. It actually started before that when their mother left without a word. In the last year, their father died suddenly, leaving them unprepared. RC was barely an adult and left to care for his 11 year old sister. They struggled, lost their apartment and all their belongings, lived on the beach and anywhere else they could find to sleep. The only thing they did have was each other.
Two days before her 12th birthday, Scoob tries out for a local band leader that she has known all her life. He agrees to let her play in the band for tips. Scoob can’t wait to start playing when RC packs her in car and tells her that they are on the way to Montana for a music festival where he has a job. On the way to Montana, they take a detour to Idaho. RC meets a girl and the detour keeps getting extended.
When RC finally comes clean to Scoob about everything, it turns out that he lied. RC didn’t have a job in Montana, he has known the girl for almost a year, they are moving to Idaho, and Scoob is supposed to live with some family while RC attends a local college. Just as Scoob has found a way back to California, the town she is staying in is flooded by a broken dam and chaos ensues. What happens next is just … devastating, amazing, outstanding, heartbreaking, fantastic. Yep.
Read this book for an emotional rollercoaster ride. Read this book to remember the bond between siblings. Read this book for the history of this small Idaho town. Read this book for hope.
Great leadership skills and accountability. Love how this author draws you in and captivates their audience. Recommend for all readers of all ages. Always looking forward to the next book.Can I Keep Her? by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Great leadership skills and accountability. Love how this author draws you in and captivates their audience. Recommend for all readers of all ages. Always looking forward to the next book.
Marshmallow Rabbit by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lois Wickstrom is a wonderful author of children’s books. This book is just one of many that I have read and they all draw you in and take you to the depths of your imagination. Not to mention the amazing illustrations that help tell the story. You cannot go wrong with The Marshmallow Rabbit or even with any book by Lois Wickstrom.
Marshmallow Rabbit by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
My household is always beyond excited when I bring a book home by this author. I never skip their work as I have come to love every single one of their books! The illustrations were absolutely gorgeous and incredibly eye-catching. I thought the story was of perfect length as well as a lovely blend of fun and lightheartedness. Many books by this author contain a life lesson or two, and I think this one came across lovely. Don’t take anything too seriously! This is a read that is sure to give everyone around you the giggles. I highly recommend picking this up for your home or your classroom where various activities can be woven in.
Reviewed by @shannlynn
Can I Keep Her?: 2nd book in the Kingdom of Mir series by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the story of Wynnie and the mysterious egg. She quickly learns that it’s a dragon egg and asks the King if she can keep it. At first, the King says no because the baby dragon is breathing fire everywhere and damaging the kingdom! But Wynnie is persistent and promises the King she can train it. He’s hesitant, but since she is his trusted advisor, he gives her ONE day to try to train the baby dragon. Can she do it? I love how Wickstrom is able to weave lessons into her captivating books. Your kiddos will learn a valuable lesson all while being entertained. I love the fantastic illustrations that go along with the story. Definitely pick this one up to add to your collection!
Reviewed by @meggs1717
Marshmallow Rabbit by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was such a cute little story. As we follow Mr. Bonbon’s struggle with Annabelle stealing his candy. He came up with a really interesting concept for catching her and stopping her from stealing. It was so cute to watch how Annabelle out smarted him in the end, as she proved to be a very resilient girl. I think many kids would enjoy this book and highly recommend it to any parent for their child.
Under the Bandage by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a cute book. It provides an easy to understand take on what happens when you get a scrape. It’s definitely kid friendly for the demographic intended. I could see students I work with being engaged in this book. It is well thought out.
https://www.amazon.com/review/R1KJPJ5VFS2K7U/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv
Marshmallow Rabbit by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Lois Wickstrom did it again with another cute childrens book. The one was geared for 5 to 8 year olds. The world building was great. I love the illustrations and how it follows the story. The pictures had bright colors.
View all my reviews
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3738840246
Can I Keep Her?: 2nd book in the Kingdom of Mir series by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
5 Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Can I Keep Her? Is Book 2 in the Kingdom of Mir series and what a fun and enjoyable read for the
ages 4-8 and just as fun for the young at heart. Colorful illustrations bring the story to life and are engaging…I highly recommend this wonderful story…..
How much fun it is to find a big glittering egg on the kingdom castle wall!! Wynnie, the Kings trusted advisor and her brother Lem find this treasure..but what can be inside? Is it fun or dangerous? Wynnie wants to keep what is inside, but will the King agree?
Read and find out!
https://www.amazon.com/review/R2YPNMEI8IE7ZH/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv
Amese of Animalis: The Borosa Legacy by M.J. Murray
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Mj Murray never seems to disappoint in her books. Amese of Animalis is a children’s chapter book that is gear for 10-14 year olds. I believe if you love a good book with magic with adventure, you will enjoy it as well. The detailing is great. The world building is amazing. I can’t wait for the next book.
View all my reviews
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/4266247500
Can I Keep Her? by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
4 stars
Can I Keep Her? Is exactly what I would say if I ever found an egg and hatchling dragon. But how do you keep it from causing what it is inherently meant to do? Well, you will have to follow along with Wynnie to see what she comes up with.
This is the second book in Lois’ Kingdom of Mir series. It is just as delightful as the first book where there are a bounty of characters. The fun comes alive with the simplistic and colourful illustrations by the artist Timna Green.
Everybody deserves a little love even a misunderstood baby dragon.
Reviewed by @jennadb
Under the Bandage by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
As usual, this book was an entertaining and fun story that kids can relate to so easily. This book felt much more topical that the others thanks to my son’s recent discovery of climbing (and falling). Bandages have become a regular staple in our household and this book made it all seem so much more exciting than it otherwise would have been.
The illustrations in the book were incredible and we all loved looking at each and every one of them. They really brought the story to life and had is returning to it time and again. This book, and this author, is fantastic and a book that is definitely worth reading.
