Book Review: Mae and the Moon – by Jami Gigot

Book: Mae and the Moon
Author-Illustrator: Jami Gigot
Publisher: Ripple Grove Press
Date: September 8, 2015
Genre: children's picture book; age 5-7; gr K-2
Pages: 36
Price: $16.99
My rating: A beautiful way to introduce children to 
the wonders of the moon

Mae and the Moon, written and illustrated by Jami Gigot, is a beautiful way to introduce children to the wonders of the moon.

Mae is a little girl who discovered the moon seems to be following her. Mae likes that because she really enjoys playing in the early evening when the moon is brightest. (If you look at the wonderful illustrations you will notice Mae is never far from her family, and her evening strolls are with her father, mother, little brother, and her dog who is always close.)

Mae and the moon like to play hide-and-seek, until one night the moon disappears entirely! Mae is quite upset and wonders if it will ever come back. When her mother tells her that even the moon needs to rest, Mae can’t wait for its return. She gets her dad to help her build a rocketship out of cardboard boxes, and her imagination takes her on a search into the starry sky to find the moon. Right when she imagines being able to hug the moon her dad says it’s time to come in. Then Mae makes another discovery!

Mae and the Moon will inspire curiosity about the moon’s phases as children read about Mae and her love of the moon. The illustrations are enjoyable, with only two pages showing Mae in the daytime when she can’t see the moon – when she’s busily planning her excursion to find it.

Young children will learn that the moon goes through phases to where it is only a sliver of light in the sky before it disappears until the new phase begins. On the inside of the back cover Jami has the phases illustrated, which will help children figure out what phase the moon is in – if they are in an area where city lights don’t inhibit that wondrous experience. This is a beautiful book to read over and over with many details to find.

You can find Mae and the Moon by Jami Gigot on my BUY THE BOOK page. I also post my reviews on Goodreads, and when available on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, and Chapters.Indigo.

Your comments are greatly appreciated by authors, illustrators, and this blogger. ♥

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Book Review: My LOVE for You is the Sun – by Julie F. Hedlund


Book: My LOVE for You is the Sun
Author: Julie Hedlund
Illustrator: Susan Eaddy
Publisher: Little Bahalia Publishing
Date: September 9, 2014
Genre: children's picture book 
Pages: 24; hardcover
Price: $17.99
My rating: a sweet, sentimental story with remarkable 
illustrations

My LOVE for You is the Sun by Julie Hedlund is a joy to read. Every page is full of sweetness and eye candy. Julie Hedlund‘s words and Susan Eaddy‘s illustrations combine to make this a book to treasure. With Mother’s Day coming up in three days this seemed an appropriate book to review today.

The first thing you’ll notice is the size of the book. It’s produced with the pages wider, which gives the reader a more wide view to enjoy. Next is the cheerful face of the sun and then you see that the illustrations were made from clay.

My LOVE for You is the Sun is written in rhyme. Each beautiful two-page spread has three lines of verse, the first line makes a statement, the next two lines rhyme and expound upon the first. The exception is the last verse which has four lines with the second and fourth rhyming. Example: My love for you is the sun. Rising in your tender heart, It shines on you when we’re apart. From there with each page turn you discover more about what a parent’s (or guardian’s) love is: a tree, a river, the rain, the wind, the snow, the ocean, a star – each bringing comfort and reassurance to the child.

This is a smartly written story. With no extra words, no words missing, the nature setting makes very clear the love for the child.

I have to again mention the illustrations. The detail is amazing! Take a look at the video I’m including and see if this does not further entice you to buy or borrow a copy of My LOVE for You is the Sun.

You can find My LOVE for You is the Sun by Julie Hedlund on my BUY THE BOOK page. I also post my reviews on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Goodreads, and sometimes Chapters.Indigo.

Comments are very much appreciated on my book reviews. Is there anything you’d like to say to Julie or Susan about their work on this book? (just in case they stop by)

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Book Review: Lorenzo the Pizza-Loving Lobster – by Claire Lordon


Book: Lorenzo the Pizza-Loving Lobster
Author/illustrator: Claire Lordon
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Date: May 3, 2016
Genre: children's picture book; ages 4-8; pre-school-3
Pages: 32
Price: $16.99 ($21.99 CD)
My rating: a funny story children will love for its 
simplicity in the familiar

Lorenzo the Pizza-Loving Lobster was written and illustrated by Claire Lordon.

Lorenzo the lobster loved adventure and exploring. He also loved trying new foods he found. One day he met a seagull eating something that smelled amazing. It was called pizza, the seagull told him. Lorenzo sampled it and loved it!

How many lobsters do you know of that love pizza? You now know of Lorenzo the lobster who was so excited about pizza that he hurried home to tell his friends about it. It was when he told Kalena the sea turtle, and she suggested they make one, that Lorenzo realized he didn’t remember what is in a pizza. He only remembered it was delicious.

This story is funny for young readers who do know the ingredients in a pizza. Even if they don’t know for sure, they will know that seaweed is not one of the things they eat on their pizza, nor is jellyfish jelly.

Lorenzo and Kalena’s attempts don’t turn out to be very tasty. Disappointed, and on her way home, Kalena discovers someone’s pizza shop. Then she has a great idea.

Lorenzo, the Pizza-Loving Lobster is a story children will enjoy and find to be quite funny. Claire Lordon’s illustrations are bright and fun, with a friendly warm appeal.

You can find Lorenzo the Pizza-Loving Lobster by Claire Lordon on my BUY THE BOOK page.

I also post my reviews on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Goodreads, and sometimes Chapters.Indigo.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Book Review: A Gift of Music: Emile Benoit & his Fiddle






Book: A Gift of Music: Émile Benoit & his Fiddle
Author: Alice Walsh
Illustrator: Geoff Butler
Publisher: Tuckamore Books
Date: May 1, 2010
Genre: non-fiction children's picture book; gr K-5; age 5-9
Pages: 32; paperback
Price: $12.95
My rating: an interesting story about a gifted musician

This is another picture book I purchased from one of the authors at the children’s book fair last year.

A Gift of Music: Émile Benoit & his Fiddle is a non-fiction story by Canadian author Alice Walsh about a young boy who grew up to be a well-known fiddler in Canada, the United States, and other countries.

Émile Benoit (March 24, 1913 – September 3, 1992) was born in Newfoundland and weighed only one pound, seven ounces at birth. Émile’s father sheared one of their sheep and his mother wrapped their tiny baby in the raw wool, placed him in a small box under the wood stove to try to save him, and fed him from a dropper. No one thought he would survive, but his mother’s loving care brought him through.

Émile loved music. He especially loved violin, and would practice on the small toy one his father made him that had thread for strings. (Notice the cover illustration above.) His father promised to make him a real violin when he was old enough to have one. When he was twelve, one day he came home from school and there it was! Émile had imagined this so often that he picked up the violin and – within minutes – began to play the tunes he had composed in his head! Friends and family came from all around to hear him play, amazed at his gift of music. In his lifetime he composed more than one hundred tunes.

Alice Walsh has written an interesting story of how, from an early age, Émile Benoit’s life was centered on music. The realistic illustrations by Geoff Butler capture the life and passion of Émile and people in his life. A Gift of Music: Émile Benoit & his Fiddle is an encouraging story for children – who have dreams of their own – to not give up on their talent and important life goals.

At the back of the book there is a page called Historical Note on which is information about Émile. There is also a music score of a tune called Émile’s Dream that he composed in his sleep!

You can find A Gift of Music: Émile Benoit & his Fiddle by Alice Walsh on my BUY THE BOOK page.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Book Review: Tadeo Turtle – by Janis Cox

Book: Tadeo Turtle
Author/Illustrator: Janis Cox
Publisher: Word Alive Press
Date: 2012
Genre: Children's picture book; ages 2-6
Pages: 24
Price: $12.25, paperback
My rating: A lovely book encouraging children to 
accept themselves

I won this book and agreed to write my honest review of it.

Tadeo Turtle by Janis Cox (Canadian author and retired school teacher) is an engaging story about a turtle not satisfied with how he was made. He didn’t know the Scripture (quoted at the beginning of the book) from Psalm 139:13-14 that can be applied, in part, to his situation – “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it.” – New Living Translation

Tadeo (pronounced TAD-ay-OH) was a cheerful little painted turtle who loved to play. One day he met a squirrel who could run up trees, and Tadeo became sad because he couldn’t do that. Tadeo wished he didn’t have a shell that he thought was a hindrance to him.

One night he dreamed that he was free of his shell so that he could run and climb, too. Tadeo was happy about that until a cat spied him and thought he was a rat. Poor Tadeo. He tried to hide among the rocks, and then found one that smelled like home. It was his shell that looked like a rock! It was then that Tadeo realized how safe he was inside his shell, just as God intended.

This is a fun story in rhyme. The rhyme doesn’t quite make the cut in some places, but it’s not enough to throw the reader out of the story. Janis Cox illustrated her story beautifully. I especially like the face of the cat, and the colours Janis chose throughout the story are very pleasing to the eye.

Isn’t this beautiful? I’m showing this image by permission of Janis Cox, the author/illustrator.

At the back of the book, the author included an activities section with instructions for children on how to make a paper plate turtle, a dough turtle, a rock turtle, and a felt board with pieces to make a turtle, rocks, and water. The author has not left her teaching experience behind as this book is a great tool in a classroom.

Janis Cox also included a research page with links to how to learn more about different turtles, and other interesting information. Tadeo Turtle is a book children will enjoy.

You can find Tadeo Turtle by Janis Cox on my BUY THE BOOK page. I also post my reviews on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Chapters.Indigo, and Goodreads.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂