101. Elvis & Romeo

101. Elvis & Romeo. David Soman and Jacky Davis. 2025. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, picture book, dogs, friendship]

First sentence: Elvis was on his way to the dog park for the first time. So was Romeo. Romeo couldn't wait to make a new friend.

Premise/plot: Elvis & Romeo are not friends yet....but they soon will be after meeting at the dog park.

My thoughts: I read two Elvis & Romeo early readers earlier this month. This picture book is their origin story--or the origin story of their friendship. All three books appear to be published in 2025. If you are a dog lover, this picture book is super cute and adorable. Elvis and Romeo each have personality. It's an enjoyable introduction to this duo.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

100. The Crayon Stub

100. The Crayon Stub. Marcus Cutler. 2025. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, cats, art, creativity, picture book]

First sentence: Alright, I have my fresh new piece of paper and my box of big, beautiful crayons. Time to draw something TOTALLY SPECTACULAR and become WORLD FAMOUS! No big deal.

Premise/plot: Big Cat's big plans don't go as planned--not at all. It starts with Big Cat discovering that he only has one crayon in his crayon box, and that one crayon is a stub--a red stub. Can Big Cat draw a spectacular picture with just a tiny stub of a crayon?! Can Big Cat draw ANY picture with just a stub? Will he get the opportunity? Or will his sibling interfere?!

My thoughts: I liked this one. I did. It was cute enough, silly enough. I didn't love it as much as I'd hoped all things considered. Probably because I'm an overthinker. I didn't really like the humorous direction this one took of the sibling EATING both the paper and the crayon and magically--literally--spitting out a drawing. I thought that was a little too over the top for me. But I think others may enjoy this one.

 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

98-99. Two Magical Map Early Chapter Books

98. Magical Map #1: Pirates of the Caribbean. Ridley Pearson. 2025. 128 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, children's fantasy, j fantasy]

First sentence: Down an alley that was easily missed, there hung a wooden sign.

Premise/plot: Ridley Pearson's newest series is for young readers; it's an early chapter book. Gemma and Torin are brother and sister. Gemma discovers a mysterious, supernatural journal that is tied to...the Magic Kingdom. It has notes, drawings, maps, etc., for many of the rides and attractions. She doesn't know it when she starts reading it and making her own notes, however, so she is unaware of how her notes are effecting the attractions. In this first one, Gemma and Torin must 'save' their mom's job by fixing the Pirates of the Caribbean. The story has been changed!

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. Could a different story had been told if it was for older readers? Yes. Is this story good for younger readers? Yes. Gemma and Torin work together to brainstorm solutions for fixing the magic that has gone wrong. I liked this one well enough. I did.

99. Magical Map #2: Jungle Cruise. Ridley Pearson. 2025. 128 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, children's fantasy, j fantasy]

First sentence: Uh-oh, trouble was brewing! Friday afternoon, the week follwoing spring break, kids at school were buzzing about the Jungle Cruise attraction at Disney's Magic Kingdom park having suddenly been close.

Premise/plot: Ridley Pearson's newest series is for young readers; it's an early chapter book. Gemma and Torin are brother and sister. Gemma discovers a mysterious, supernatural journal that is tied to...the Magic Kingdom. It has notes, drawings, maps, etc., for many of the rides and attractions. She doesn't know it when she starts reading it and making her own notes, however, so she is unaware of how her notes are effecting the attractions. In this second one, Gemma and Torin try to puzzle out WHY there are real animals--monkeys--causing a great deal of trouble on the Jungle Cruise attraction. Can they fix Jungle Cruise?

My thoughts: I liked this one less than the Pirates of the Caribbean. Though if you like mischievous monkeys this one might still be appealing. I like the idea of liking this series. But there's just not much substance. 



© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

96-97. Two Elvis & Romeo Early Readers

96. Elvis and Romeo Visit the Vet. David Soman. Illustrated by Jacky Davis. 2025. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [animal fantasy, early reader, ready to read level 1, three stars]

First sentence: Hi, Elvis! Hi, Romeo!

Premise/plot: Elvis does NOT want to be at the vet. Romeo is trying to convince his friend that the vet isn't that bad because the vet gives treats after the visit. Will Elvis be convinced?

My thoughts: The illustrations of Elvis and Romeo are CUTE and adorable and lovely. The story itself is super-simple. Two dogs at the vet. Speech bubbles reveal their dialogue/conversation.

I liked this one well enough. It is a ready-to-read reader, level 1. At this level usually any plot you get is a treat. So this DOES have a plot and it DOES have characters. So for being a level one reader, it's good. That being said, leveled readers are never going to be super incredible most amazing thing ever reads. So recommended for the target audience for sure.

97. Elvis and Romeo Go To Dog School. David Soman. Illustrated by Jacky Davis. 2025. 32 pages. [Source: Library]  [animal fantasy, early reader, ready to read level 1, four stars]

First sentence: Elvis and Romeo were at their first day of dog school. Are you ready to learn new things, Romeo? I know a lot of things already. I know how to stay. Do you know how to do that, Elvis?

Premise/plot: Elvis and Romeo are attending dog school. Both dogs have a chance to playfully show off to one another. Elvis teaches Romeo how to catch a ball.

My thoughts: I read both Elvis and Romeo Visit the Vet and Elvis and Romeo Go to Dog School in one sitting. The dog school book has a bit more plot. There are more moments for humor. I liked both books well enough. I do think the illustrations of Elvis and Romeo are cute and adorable. I think for young dog lovers, these two books will be quite appealing. They are level one ready-to-read early readers. There is some plot, but, keep in mind they are early readers.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

95. Bob the Vampire Snail

95. Bob the Vampire Snail. Andrea Zuill. 2025. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, picture book]

First sentence: Slam! Thud! Crash! Bob heard a terrifying...scream! Then a stomp, stomp, stomp of running feet. Next came an uncomfortable...crack of a shell. Then finally a powerful...poof! An icky drip.

Premise/plot: Bob the snail is about to become Bob the VAMPIRE snail. He didn't ask for the change, nor did he welcome it. But what's a vampire snail to do?! Learn how to do vampire-y things, of course. So what will Bob drink? The "blood" of tomatoes. Still, it's a lonely life for Bob....or is it?!

My thoughts: This book is weird, strange, odd, quirky, different. The darkness is outweighed by the silliness, for the most part. Reading is subjective. There were things I enjoyed about the story. There are speech bubbles with VAMPIRE facts and SNAIL facts. The premise itself is intriguing. The title alone makes one curious to read it. For me, I didn't quite like it like I'd hoped. I do think it has appeal for the right reader(s).

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

94. Mouse and Spoon: Rabbit Tea

94. Rabbit Tea (Mouse and Spoon) (Ready to Read Level 2). Cynthia Rylant. Illustrated by Janna Mattia. 2025. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, animal fantasy, early reader]

First sentence: On Littleton Street in a little town, three little mice had a bakery. Tom was the youngest, Ginger was the oldest, and Piper was right in the middle. Their shop was called the Mouse and Spoon Bakery.

Premise/plot: Ginger, Piper, and Tom love, love, love, love baking. In this book in the series, these three are catering for a a RABBIT tea party. Six mama rabbits and Two-hundred-and-sixteen children! These three bakers will keep busy, busy, busy preparing food for that many!

My thoughts: I have really enjoyed the books in this series that I have read. It's a fun idea for a series. The mice are ADORABLE and precious. I love how there is a new customer in each book. There are plenty of things that stay the same, and, yet each book is a little different.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

93. The Feelings Book: A Touch-and-Feel Playbook

93. Board book: The Feelings Book: A Touch-and-Feel Playbook. Mike Henson. Miguel Ordonez. 2025. 10 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, board book, touch and feel, interactive]

First sentence: Orange is all buzzy and jittery. Can you scratch Orange's paw? Can you choose which emotion Orange might be feeling?

Premise/plot: Board book, concept book, interactive book--that's what you get when you pick up The Feelings Book. The feelings are color-coded. Blue is sad, hurt, worried, sick, gloomy. Green is calm, still, quiet, rested, careful. Yellow is happy, surprised, playful, brave, funny. Orange is excited, silly, confused, nervous, scared. Red is angry, mad, grumpy, cranky, prickly. So the "clues" little ones have are the COLORS and descriptive words. For example, "buzzy and jittery" describe orange.

My thoughts: I have SO MANY THOUGHTS. On the one hand, I love, love, love the TEXTURES are actually TEXTURES. 90% of the time books that are supposed to have different textures to touch and feel get it wrong. They'll include a few textures, but, then use "shiny" as a texture. I thought the textures were good.

On the other hand, I don't love the colors. I'll try to explain. I honestly don't know if I mean saturation or contrast. But *something* is off with the colors. Green and blue look too similar and red and orange look nearly identical. Yellow looks a bit gray. The colors are not *true* colors.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

92. Days with Frog and Toad

92. Days with Frog and Toad. An I Can Read Book. Arnold Lobel. 1979. HarperCollins. 64 pages. [4 stars, animal fantasy, early chapter book]

First sentence: Toad woke up. "Drat!" he said. "This house is a mess. I have so much work to do." Frog looked through the window. "Toad, you are right," said Frog. "It is a mess." Toad pulled the covers over his head. "I will do it tomorrow," said Toad. "Today I will take life easy." Frog came into the house. "Toad," said Frog, "your pants and jacket are lying on the floor." "Tomorrow," said Toad from under the covers. "Your kitchen sink is filled with dirty dishes," said Frog. "Tomorrow," said Toad. "There is dust on your chairs." "Tomorrow," said Toad. "Your windows need scrubbing," said Frog. "Your plants need watering." "Tomorrow!" cried Toad. "I will do it all tomorrow!" Toad sat on the edge of his bed. "Blah," said Toad. "I feel down in the dumps." "Why?" asked Frog. "I am thinking about tomorrow," said Toad. "I am thinking about all of the many things that I will have to do." "Yes," said Frog, "tomorrow will be a very hard day for you."

ETA: I listened to this on audio. They added an additional story, "Dream" which is found in Frog and Toad Together.

This Frog and Toad book contains five stories: "Tomorrow," "The Kite," "Shivers," "The Hat," and "Alone." I really, really enjoy three of these stories.

Tomorrow is probably my favorite in this collection. (And it's useful for inspiration.) I love Toad's drat's and blah's. Toad has a choice to make--to do the work of each day on that day, to take the work with the pleasure, OR to put off all the work so he can have all the pleasure. But there is always a day of reckoning. So perhaps, it's best that Toad learns this lesson quickly!

The Hat is a delightful story. Frog gives Toad a birthday present, a hat. But the hat is much too big for his friend. He feels awful about that. How can he fix the hat without his friend realizing it?!

Alone is another wonderful story! Toad discovers a note on his friend Frog's door. A note saying that Frog wants to be alone for a while! Toad worries and panics a bit! Why oh why oh why would Frog ever want time away from him?! Does this mean that Frog doesn't want to spend any time with him? Does it mean that Frog doesn't want him as a best friend anymore?!

The Kite is a story about diligence and perseverance. The two friends are having trouble getting their kite to fly. One friend wants to give up, wants to just admit that their kite is junk and that it will never, ever fly. The other wants to keep trying. It's a playful story. And Frog and Toad do shine in it!

Shivers is about the two friends telling a ghost story and getting delicious shivers.


© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers