New Review Policy

Review Policy for Young Readers

I am interested in reviewing titles for young readers aged birth to ten.

This would include board books, bath books, cloth books, activity books, pop-up books, picture books, early readers, chapter books, etc.

(Occasionally I review books that would be great for reading aloud.)

I also welcome poetry and nonfiction titles for this youngest age group including everything from simple concept books to books geared towards older students in elementary school.

If you're an author or publisher and would like for me to consider your book for review, I'd love to hear from you. (You may contact me at laney_po AT yahoo DOT com. But you should know several things first:

1) I do not guarantee a review of your book. I am just agreeing to consider it for review.
2) I will read picture books, board books, and early readers in their entirety.
3) I will give all longer books (chapter books, etc) at least fifty pages.
4) I am not promising anyone (author or publisher) a positive review in exchange for a review copy. That's not how I work.
5) All reviews are my honest, subjective opinions of a book. My blog features reviews ranging from positive (and gushing) to negative.
6) I do not guarantee that I will get to your book immediately. It may happen quickly. But often it does not. Don't expect your book to become my number one priority the moment it arrives.
7) Emailing me to ask if I've read your book every other week won't help me get to it any faster. Though if you want to email me to check and see if it arrived safely, then that's fine!


© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters

Look, Lenore. 2009. Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters. With illustrations by LeUyen Pham. Random House. 170 pages.

You will know some things about me if you have read a book called Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things. But you won't know all about me, so that is why there is now this second book.

As I mentioned in my review of Alvin Ho, Allergic to Girls, Schools and Other Scary Things, I just love, love, love Alvin Ho. (So much so that I'm urging my mom to read them!) Did I love this second book as much as the first book? Yes! I loved it just as much if not more. I don't know that I could *really* choose between the two books. I just love Alvin so much--can relate to Alvin so much--can feel what he feels, see the world as he sees it, that the books just feel oh-so-right to me. What's this one about? Well, it's about a father-and-son camping trip. A trip that gets interrupted by little Anibelly. A trip that doesn't go exactly as planned. But a funny, unforgettable trip all the same!

As you might have guessed, Alvin doesn't exactly want to go camping. Not even with his dad who is his best friend on account of him saving Alvin's life "seven hundred and fourteen times eight" and "mostly in the nick of time." One particular moment stands out to me in this one--that just me all warm and cozy inside--this is when Alvin makes his will the night before going camping. (He's not sure he'll return.)

My Last Will and Testament

I, Alvin, being of scaredy mind and scaredier body, hereby leave to my brother, Calvin, the following:

my old toothbrush (I'm taking my new one with me)
my silver dollar
my Houdini kit
all my socks under my bed.

And to my sister, Anibelly, I leave:
my carved sticks collection
one piece of sea glass
my Firecracker Man outfit, maybe

To My dog, Lucy, I leave my tennis balls

To my dad I leave my baseball glove, maybe.

And to my mom, I leave all my love. (89, 91)

The book is charming and funny and cute and sweet. It's never too cute or too sweet. I don't want to give the impression that it is oh-so-darling or anything. It's a funny book, a book that I think boys and girls would enjoy reading. (I think it would make a GREAT read aloud.)

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things

Look, Lenore. 2008. Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things. With illustrations by LeUyen Pham. Random House. 172 pages.

The first thing you should know about me is that my name is Alvin Ho.
I am afraid of many things.
Elevators.
Tunnels.
Bridges.
Airplanes.
Thunder.
Substitute teachers.
Kimchi.
Wasabi.
The dark.
Heights.
Scary movies.
Scary dreams.
Shots.
School.
If there were no school, my troubles would blast away, just like that. I would dig holes all day. I would play catch with my gunggung. I would watch cooking shows. I would keep an eye on things. It would be fantastic.
The second thing you should know about me is that even though I am afraid of many things, I am not afraid of anything that explodes. I love explosions.

If that doesn't make you want to read Alvin Ho, I don't know what will. How much did I love Alvin? I didn't just love him. I love, love, loved him! I think we're kindred spirits and everything. But there's one little problem. Alvin doesn't like girls. At all. And he wouldn't want a girl like me for a friend. Even if we do have oh-so-much in common. I loved everything about Alvin as I said. He is the middle child. He has an older brother, Calvin, and a little sister, Anibelly. (I also love them.) He has two great parents as well. I especially loved the Dad and his Shakespearean insults. (A trait that Alvin definitely picks up!)

What makes this book so wonderful besides the characters themselves? The narration, the style! I think Look has captured how children think and talk and act. It felt right to me. Just right. There is much to smile over in this one. It's a satisfying read with plenty of humor and heart.

I also love the illustrations by LeUyen Pham. I must admit I'm a big fan of her work. So they were just right for this one. And they added just that much more to the book. (Much like the original illustrations for Ramona made me love her all that much more!)

So I would definitely recommend this one! Alvin Ho is getting ready for second grade, so I'd imagine this would be a perfect read aloud for first graders and second graders.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Creature ABC

Zuckerman, Andrew. 2009. Creature ABC. Chronicle Books.

Wow. Wow. Wow. This may just be my favorite alphabet book ever. It's so clever. It's so fun. It's one of those books with again-again appeal. What makes this one so great? The photographs of the animals? Yes. Mostly. But sometimes it's more than that. It's how the animals are presented. It's the way they're presented. It's the style and charisma of the photographs that makes this one wow-worthy. It's what makes this one equally appealing to adults. How many alphabet books have the power to engage adults?

How does this one work? Well, there's a two page spread featuring the letter itself--upper and lower case. This page also features a sneak-peek of the animal. (I love what he did with A, by the way!) And then there's another two page spread naming an animal (or in some cases many animals) that represents that letter. (As you might have guessed, Ee is for Elephant.) The book also features a glossary of facts for each animal represented in the book.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Baby Polar

Murphy, Yannick. 2009. Baby Polar. Illustrated by Kristen Balouch. Clarion Books. Releases November 2009.

Baby Polar stood between his mother's legs. He imagined she was a cave. Only the cave wasn't made of stone or rock, but of her thick fur and warm body. Baby Polar liked it there. He didn't feel the icy wind there. And he could hear the beating of his mother's heart.

Baby Polar always feels safe when he's with his mother. Always. But what happens when he gets separated from her on a snowy day? When the day begins, Baby Polar is excited. It's snowing. And new snow means fun, fun, fun. He is having quite the time playing. But then he realizes that his mother isn't there. Where is she? What's a baby polar to do? Read and see for yourself in Baby Polar.

Did I like this one? I liked it. It was sweet. It was cute. It's a fun enough book about the mother-son connection. The need to explore on one's own and be a little independent, yet feel safe and secure and always connected with one's family, one's parent.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers