24. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (Board book)

Board book: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Adapted from C.S. Lewis. Illustrated by Joey Chou.. 2021. 32 pages. [Source: Library] 

First sentence: Once there were four children. Their names were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. One day, playing hide-and-seek, Lucy finds a wardrobe and goes in.

Premise/plot: This is a board book that condenses and adapts C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. It is a "gentle" retelling. It removes much of the darkness and violence. It reminds me of the live-action George of the Jungle where characters fall off bridges and just get "really bad boo-boos." The book does call Aslan a safe lion. I'm not sure the original would ever do that. But all things considered, it's a summary of a good children's classic.

My thoughts: Much thought was put into making this one appropriate for very young ages. It is gentler, milder, less intense. The illustrations are....well....illustrations. I have never thought of Lucy as blond. But I'm not petty about it. Why not have Lucy with blond hair??? I didn't love the illustrations for the most part. But they're not bad. Just not necessarily my own personal cup of tea. I did like Aslan. 


© 2026 Becky Laney of Young Readers

23. Wake Up, Grouchy Bear!

23. Wake Up, Grouchy Bear! David Ezra Stein. 2026. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, animal fantasy, picture book]

First sentence: Bear dreams... and dreams.

Premise/plot: Bear is hibernating. Don't wake the bear.

My thoughts: I don't know what I was expecting with this one. I remind myself often that picture books are incredibly, incredibly, incredibly subjective. That what appeals to one reader may not another. This one--for me--had the most boring of plots. Well, that's not fair. There's a light plot to it. Everyone wants Bear to be awake, but not want to be the one to wake him up. I think if I were to reread this one and give it a fairer chance, I might like it better. But for me, I was annoyed that it was black text on blue paper. There was not enough contrast visually for me to comfortably read the text. So instead of a grouchy bear there was a grouchy reader.

© 2026 Becky Laney of Young Readers