February Reads Part 1

February was such a crazy month for reading.  I read a whopping 14 amazing kids books and 2 fantastic adult nonfiction books last month.  I am going to break up my reviews into three posts so that no one is overwhelmed.

Happy reading!

Cat Knit by Jacob Grant (picture book)

Cat Knit is both sweet and silly. Cat's friend, Yarn (capitalized yes!), changes suddenly and Cat must learn to embrace the new Yarn. The ending is particularly funny.      

Santa, Please Bring Me a Gnome By An Swerts and illustrated by Eline Lindenhuizen (picture book)

Another book that delivers the message that you may not get what you wished for, but to always be prepared for something even better. Swerts' book stands out because the parents do something so beautifully thoughtful and sweet in response to Tess' request, and I was totally surprised by it. I wondered the entire way through the book what the heck the parents could possibly get Tess that could be as grand as a little gnome friend. But they delivered! I also thought the illustrations were sweet and portrayed an elf that will not induce nightmares.

Buster and the Baby by Amy Hest and illustrated by Polly Dunbar (picture book)

My favorite moments of Buster and the Baby happen each time baby is found by dog and there's a loud CHAA! that fills the page prior to each discovery. CHAA! represents the moment of joy when you've found your best friend during hide and seek AND also the feeling of being found. It's also so much fun to say aloud. The last CHAA! is absolutely heart-melting. The story has both the heart-melting sweetness for softie adults and mega playfulness for kiddos.

Octopuses One to Ten by Ellen Jackson and illustrated by Robin Page (children's nonfiction)

After reading this I have decided I would like to always have an inch of glass between me and any octopus I meet. Oh they're fascinating all right. Octopuses One to Ten does a great job highlighting some of the weirder things about Octopuses (they can detach an arm to throw off a predator). But boy are they scary! Thankfully it's the delightful kind of scary. After finishing this book I cannot wait to find out more about them! 

Little Yoga by Rebecca Whitford and illustrated by Martina Selway (picture book)

I've read a handful of toddler yoga books and this one is my favorite. I love how the illustrations are colorful, playful, and easy to mimic. My favorite illustration is the "wobbles like a little bird" pose. I also really like the animal noises given for each pose, the inclusion of the 'ha' breathing pose, and the information at the back of the book.

The Very, Very, Very Long Dog by Julia Patton (picture book)

The first time I read this I laughed so hard I cried. The Very, Very, Very Long Dog is Very, Very, Very entertaining. Bartelby (an awesome name I might add) is sooooo long his bottom causes all kinds of problems. The moment Bartleby discovers his bottom is the troublemaker is one of the funniest illustrations I've ever seen. And the solution for Bartleby's long and wayward bottom is clever, oh so clever. My favorite line? "But his blundering backside caused a calamity!"