How to Catch a Daddysaurus by Alice Walstead & Andy Elkerton #review #series #childrensbooks

About the book:

The How to Catch Kids are at it again! This time, they're out to trap the Daddysaurus―a mystical creature capable of such amazing acts of kindness, bravery, brilliance and humor. The kids try to trap the creature with all his favorite activities, but will they succeed? Maybe all they need is a little sweetness to make this awesome Daddysaurus appear! 

My review:

The "How to Catch A..." series I admit I have never read before so I have no books for comparison. Again, admittedly, I thought this book was cheezy but I absolutely see why kids love the series!

Who couldn't love all the ways the kids creatively try to catch this amazing creature? Who wouldn't love knowing about why this creature is so worth catching? I was intrigued and you would be too! Afterall, isn't Daddysaurus a rare breed?

The illustrations make this book. Done mostly in primary colors, the illustrations are bold and a bit larger than life. Again, kids will love it as I did. I found myself wanting to help them figure it all out. In the end though, they did and that is why the cheeziness left and became a terrific book.

5 stars.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publicist. The views here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Michelle, Reading Authors Network

Where to find the authors:

Amazon

Source Books

Don't Splash Grandpa by Julie Gonzalez #review # childrensbooks #summer

About the book:

While one grumpy-looking grandpa chaperones a pool party, a group of friends enjoy racing, basketball, pool games, and cannonball contests. As the day progresses, the excitement grows, and the splashes get closer and closer to an unamused grandpa. And what happens if he–KERSPLASH–gets soaked? Don't Splash Grandpa is the perfect summer repeat read-aloud for any fun-loving grandchild or grandpa, or anyone who loves a pool day!

My review:

Grandpa, with his strawberry hat, lawn chair, and book, take his plethora of grandchildren to the pool. There he sits as the kids play but the one rule, do not splash him, such the title of the book. 

Written in rhyme, I got a kick out of everything the kids do in the pool, all summertime fun. I also got a little giggle of how they tried not to break the one rule, including a cute page where they are measuring a pool water puddle so close to grandpa! Everything is going great until...(spoiler) a shark attack! What happens next is just plain funny and totally unexpected, even more than a shark in a pool. Of course, I can't tell you and you will have to read the book, but I guarantee, you will be surprised.

I loved this book with the multitude and multi-cultural kids in tow and grandpa being well, grumpy. There are a few characters and loads more kids that show up at the pool for a fun read. The illustrations of them are adorable and as splashy as the book itself. The fact the book rhymes is simply a sunshine-ing plus!

5 stars.

Disclosure: This book was given to me by the publicist. The views here are 100% my own opinions and may differ from yours. ~Michelle, Reading Authors Network

Where to find the author:

Amazon

Sourcebooks

My First Dad and Daughter Journal: An Activity Book for Girls and Dads Together by Katie Clemons #review #journals #dads

About the book:

As your little girl grows up and learns to read and write, the two of you can catch special memories in this journal as you swap stories, compare ideas, and explore things you love with each other! 

My review:

Did you ever wish that you had written a love letter to your daddy? I wished I had! This journal is one of those things I wished was around when I was a little girl to have shared with my own Dad.

The journal is meant for girls age of around 3 to 8 years old. With 143 pages to fill out, young girls can spend much time with their dads finding out different things about each other. The book is not meant to be done in one sitting but over time.

Each page features something different from coloring to likes and dislikes to favorites and yes, love letters. All the pages are colorful and totally immersive. Rainbows, unicorns, and stars are just about on every page too. There is even a page to mark when the journal began and when it ended. Although this journal could be a time capsule, so I would start another as daughters and dads get older. This is a must have for any daughter/daddy duo and certainly timeless.

5 unicorn stars!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this journal from the publicist. The views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Michelle, Reading Authors Network

Where to find the author: 

Sourcebooks

Amazon

Bebe Ama A Papa...Baby Loves Dad by Chela de La Vega #review #boardbooks #multilanguage

About the book:

Bebé Ama a Papá / Baby Loves Dad is a sweet and charming exploration of family love, creating a rich and engaging experience for babies and toddlers. Through charming illustrations and simple, expressive text, the book celebrates the special bond between babies and their fathers and features a diverse group of dads from various backgrounds throughout Latin America and the United States.

My review:

This baby board book features a multitude of dads doing everyday things with their babies. From making toys to reading books while lying on the floor, these dads and kids love each other.

The written words are few but are written both in Spanish and English making this book a good beginner reader for both languages. The biggest win of all for this book is the illustrations themselves. The pictures on each page are not only colorful but bold and beautiful. Movement is shown almost on every page and that is not an easy thing to accomplish.

Overall, an adorable book for babies and to celebrate Dads. 4 stars.

Disclosure: This book was given to me from the publicist. The views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Michelle, Reading Authors Network

Where to find the author:

Amazon

Sourcebooks

My Daddy is Everything by Carole Boston Weatherford #boardbooks #dads #fathersday

 

About the book:

 A celebration of love between father and child.

My review:

Father's Day is right around the corner and there are all sorts of people who could be called, "Dad".  In this baby board book, daddy is truly everything from a rock band to the timekeeper of bedtime.  

Written in rhyme, each child depicted in a different scenario is full of fun and joy. The illustrations are bold and colorful which is what you would expect of a baby board book. 

Although not overly full of details, I did like a few that gave me pause. I saw a dad take a child to a little free library, a rock star kid in a wheelchair, and an elephant hiding. All of these are cute little details that make the book special. This book also featured dads of different ethnicity.

All in all, a good book for little ones. 4 stars.

Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book from the marketing team to review. The views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Michelle, Reading Authors Network

Where to find the author:

Amazon

Sourcebooks

The Calendar Kids Meet June by April Martin #review #months #childrensbooks #series

About the book: 

School's out for the summer and June is excited to spend more time with her family on their summer vacation! This year June's family will be celebrating Father's Day during their vacation. Where will they go? Will June find the perfect Father's Day gift?

My review:

It is not too often to come across books that talk about specific months. This book does and is written by an author named after a month too. How fun!

This addition is about the month of June and begins right after school lets out. The teacher's names are clever as is the whole book. June's friends are also named after months and as I found out this is a series, they have their own books.

June is all about celebrating her dad and Father's Day. It is cute how she works so hard on her summer vacation to celebrate.  The ideas she comes up with are just more than a card, which is of course perfectly okay too. The book gives kids ideas but lends its pages to enjoy summer months too.

The illustrations I must mention because the author was self-taught and did a great job to show movement and boldness to her pictures.

A final mention has to be the recipe in the back for "Dad burgers", a journal of June, facts about June, and follow up questions. This is obviously written by a teacher and would be great series for any classroom.

5 stars.

Disclosure: I received this book from a publicist, and the views here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Michelle, Reading Authors Network

Where to find the author:

Sourcebooks

Amazon

How to Make A Pirate Laugh by Chris Cate #review #jokebooks #childrensbooks # pirates

 

 

About the book:

It's easier than you think to make a pirate laugh. Just tell these fun jokes and you'll be loved by the crew! Get ready to giggle with this book of hilarious, pirate-themed jokes for kids. It's full of silly illustrations, pirate puns and easy-to-read words that make it a blast for early readers and joke-lovers of all ages!

My review:

I've read many a pirate book and many of joke books.  I thought it would be fun to read both together. The book did not start out right away with jokes but with why you should tell jokes to pirates. Well...ok. Then it got into the meat of the book and honestly, I did not find the jokes funny. I am not sure even my littles would think they were all that funny. They were at best kind of meh.

The illustrations were okay too. I liked the different pirates and they did kind of explain the jokes, but overall, that was it. The individual pirates were small and on boring backgrounds. I flipped pages quickly hoping for better.

If I was to give advice to the author, at least ramp up the illustrations and it could be a good book.

I will give this book 3 stars for the effort.

Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book from the publicist. The views here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Michelle, Reading Authors Network

Where to find the author:

Amazon

Sourcebooks