Blog Improvement Project Assignment #2.2

Sophisticated Dorkiness: Assignment # 2 Blog Improvement Project

My 'feature' of Young Readers is a shared feature. Ladybug and Snugglebug are helping me out here. :) Who are Ladybug and Snugglebug, you ask? Well, Snugglebug is my third and most prolific baby reviewer. What does a baby reviewer do? Well, he or she tests out books for me. Sometimes this involves some taste-testing. Snugglebug is the son of Ladybug, a friend I've had for over ten years. (He's almost one! I can't believe how fast time goes!) She lives nearby (relatively speaking of course) so I always set aside some books for Snugglebug to review for me. His past contributions can be found here. He'll be reviewing books every first and third Friday.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

If you're curious...

Natasha of Maw Books fame has interviewed me for her Reader Spotlights feature.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

The Adventures of A Plastic Bottle

The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle: A Story About Recycling is a picture book in Little Simon's line of Little Green Books. The book is made from 100% postconsumer waste recycled paper.

I think the cover gives you a pretty good indication of what to expect. When your plastic bottle is smiling and waving at you, you know going into it that the book is going to be flirting with dinky.

What we've got is a diary from the point of view of what will be, what is, and what was a plastic bottle. Here is an entry from January 30th:

Hi-ho, Diary!
Today, was so fun! Being a bottle is great! I was clipped onto a BOTTLING LINE. Wheeeee! I flew down the line and went round and round and up and down. Along the way I was washed and STERILIZED. Then I was filled with fresh water! I even got a spiffy label. They're putting all of us bottles into boxes now. I can hardly wait to see the rest of the world! More adventure awaits me...

With words like hi-ho and spiffy (just to name a few) you can clearly see this one is proud to be dinky. However, I will say this. It was informative. It was clear. I learned while reading the book. It may not have much to offer in entertainment, but it does offer readers user-friendly facts. And so it's not without value. So for what it is...a teaching tool...it's not bad at all.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Snugglebug Friday: Reviews of the Just Like Us series

Just Like Us! Series. Stockham, Jess, 2008

Books in this series: Having Fun!; Together!; Making Friends!; Taking it Easy!

This is a series of four books. Each book has the same basic premise and layout. On the left page is the text and on the right page is a picture of animals or birds. Then the reader lifts the flap to see two children in the same activity as the animals or birds. The text might read something like, "Raccoons are hide-and-seeking," with the facing page reading, "We are too."

Snugglebug and Ladybug love this series. Snugglebug loves the animals and Ladybug loves the children. She especially loves the children because they encompass so many races and disabilities. There are several pictures portraying a child with a hearing aid and another has an eye patch. Ladybug loves the way this book teaches Snugglebug that we are all the same regardless of race or disability. Especially poignant since Snugglebug too wears an eye patch occasionally.

This is a great series. We are enjoying reading all four books over and over.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Little Green Books: My First Garden

My First Garden is part of Little Simon's Little Green Books series of environmental and eco-friendly books for kids. The book itself is made from 100% recycled material. It's a concept book--a book teaching children about colors. We've got green cabbage, purple turnips, orange carrots, yellow squash, red tomatoes, etc. What do we have after a day in the garden with mom? The makings of 'tasty' vegetable soup*.

This is neither here nor there in a book review. But cabbage and turnips will never be tasty in my book! Green zucchini, that would be tasty. Or green broccoli. How about brown mushrooms, and white onions?

© Becky Laney of Young Readers