Little Green Books: Little Panda

So Little Simon of Simon & Schuster has a new line of books for young readers. The Little Green Books series. You can read the press release here. You can see all the lines in that series here.

Two of the books in the series are books for babies. Little Monkey and Little Panda. Yesterday, I reviewed Little Monkey. Today it is Little Panda's turn.

Meet Little Panda. Like Little Monkey, his packaging is made of 100% recycled materials, and the book itself is made from Polartec fleece which is made of 50% recycled materials. Again like Little Monkey, he is washable.

Simple text. Cute pictures. A short and sweet little book about friendship.

Roly-poly Little Panda
loves to eat bamboo.
He climbs up trees
with his friend Little Monkey, too.


© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Little Green Books: Little Monkey

So Little Simon of Simon & Schuster has a new line of books for young readers. The Little Green Books series. You can read the press release here. You can see all the lines in that series here.

Two of the books in the series are books for babies. Little Monkey and Little Panda. Up for review today, Little Monkey. Little Panda will have a turn tomorrow.

What makes "The Little Green Books" eco-friendly? The packaging is made of 100% recycled materials. And the book is made of 50% recycled materials. The book itself is fabric--Polartec fleece made with recycled material.

Little Monkey is soft and cuddly. The text is simple. It rhymes.

Singing, swinging Little Monkey
lives high above the ground.
Fast and spunky,
Little Monkey
makes a happy sound!

Overall, I liked it. I think it is baby friendly. It is washable. And I think little fingers and mouths will enjoy this hands-on book.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Contest opportunity for blog readers

As part of BBAW week (Book Bloggers Appreciation Week), there is a contest going on at Literate Housewife Review. The below is from her website.

Book bloggers would be no where without our readers. Many readers also happen to have their own blogs, but not all do. During Book Blogger Appreciation Week, we would like to take time to honor those who do not. You are so special to us and we want to recognize you for all that you do for us. If you are a loyal reader to one or many book blogs but do not blog yourself, this is the contest for you!

To enter, simply fill out the following sentence in 200 words or less and email them to me (Jennifer) at literatehousewife (at) gmail (dot)com:

“I read book blogs because…”

It’s that simple.

All of the entries received by end of the day (EST) on Saturday, September 13 will be considered. Of those entries, the top 10. What happens to the top 10? First, they will be posted on The Literate Housewife Review on Monday, September 15 to help kick off BBAW on my blog. But it gets even better!

Those entries will also be sent to Joshua Henkin, author of Matrimony! Josh has been a great supporter of book clubs and book blogs and I couldn’t be more thrilled that he was ready, willing, and able to help us honor you. He has graciously agreed to read them all and select the first, second and third place winners. The winners will be announced here at noon on Friday, September 19th.

Other than to have your writing be singled out by such a wonderful author, what what are the prizes?

• The first place winner will receive a signed copy of the new paperback edition of Matrimony and a book grab bag containing 6 books!
• The second place winner will receive a book grab bag containing 4 books!
• The third place winner will receive a book grab bag containing 3 books!

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

My New Best Friend

Bowe, Julie. 2008. My New Best Friend.

As much as I enjoyed the first one, I do believe I loved this one just that much more. I loved it. It just felt right, felt natural, felt good. These books really capture what it feels like to be in fourth grade. Clubs. Fourth grade can be (and often is) all about the clubs. Including and excluding. Creating a hierarchy. Ida May is our narrator once again. And this time she is starting out the book with a best friend. A certain girl we first met in My Last Best Friend, a girl prone to lying at times: Stacey Merriweather. Jenna Drews is the "enemy" of sorts to our heroine. Though not so much as in the first book.

Here's the jacket description: "Ida May and her new best friend, Stacey Merriweather, are two peas in a pod. And when they discover a magical mermaid night-light that seems to grant wishes, they start a secret club--just the two of them. But before long, Ida suspects that Stacey is using the mermaid to tell some big lies...and to cause some big trouble at home. How will Ida set the record straight while still keeping her new best friend."

First paragraph:

"I'm Ida May and I have a lot to be thankful for.

• I have not dropped my lunch tray once since the start of fourth grade.
• I have only tripped twice in public.
• Dodgeball season is almost over.
• So is our science unit on dissecting worms.

I'm thankful for my teacher, Mr. Crow, even though he makes us slice open worms and pin back their skin. Because he doesn't make us touch their insides if we don't want to. And he always comes us with new ways to keep us from getting too bored with school. For example, he makes us learn how to spell big words like influenza, which is what you get if you breathe in too many bad germs, and catastrophe, which is what you get if things don't go the way you planned. Also, he reads to us every day. Not baby books, either. Lately, he's been reading us Greek stories about gods and goddesses and the creatures that work for them. Actually, they're Greek myths. Myth is a Greek word for made-up story. Like the one about the god Apollo driving a chariot across the sky when really it's just the sun. And other myths about pretty nymphs and singing muses who aren't as powerful as goddesses but, still, they can get you to do things that you don't exactly want to do. Mr. Crow says a myth is true if you believe it's true." (1-2)

I loved this one. I loved the mermaid night-light. Loved the secret club. Loved the story. It was funny in all the right places, yet it wasn't just a few pieced together laughs either. It had heart.


© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Voting Time

The finalists have been announced over at My Friend Amy for the Book Blogger Appreciation Week. You can vote here. Only one vote per category, so you might want to take a few minutes to consider all the nominees before you commit to choosing "the best." Unsure of who you want to vote for? Never heard of any of the nominees? The links to all the finalists' sites are here. Three of my sites have made it to this finalist stage--but the competition is so tough--I'm not even cheering for myself.

Best Kidlit Blog
A Patchwork of Books
Christian Children's Book Review
Jen Robinson's Book Page
Well Read Child
Young Readers *(that's me!!!)

Best Christian/Inspirational Blog
A Peek at My Bookshelf
Becky's Christian Reviews
Books, Movies, Chinese Food
Free Spirit Blogs
Relz Reviewz

Most Eclectic Taste
Becky's Book Reviews
Bookgasm
Books on the Nightstand
Mary's Library
OCD, vampires, and amusing rants, oh my!


© Becky Laney of Young Readers