Last weekend I shared the new releases I reviewed in March. Today I have a few backlist titles I’ll be adding to the growing country lists already on my site. If you read any of these I’d love to hear what you think!
Robot, Unicorn, Queen (Canada)
Right now a unicorn and a genie are running around my house. The unicorn has on a rainbow heart dress, a headband, and unicorn slippers. She’s blowing a pitch pipe which apparently calls genies to her. The genie is granting wishes (which means the playroom is getting cleaned).
I love when my girls play like this, and I try my best not to disturb them. They are still at an age where they allow their imaginations to run wild and creating magical worlds can provide hours of entertainment
Watching them play I was reminded of a book of poems we’ve been reading for the past few months called Robot, Unicorn, Queen: Poems for You and Me.
The playful poems in this collection capture the universal experiences of childhood ~ siblings born, critters observed, feeling left out, creating, loss, and family. I have two favorites, one featuring a toad who “toad” the child things to do, including to write the poem. My 7 year old loves the word play. It reminds me of finding toads as a child in our backyard garden, and the toads my own children now find and build homes for.
The other, Robot in the Rain, takes the experience of being left out and turns it into a creative opportunity. I can see reading it to a child who’s been left out so they don’t feel so alone, and also so they can see the opportunity it might present them with.
While these poems will appeal to children, they also invite adult readers to journey back to their childhoods. Each poem is whimsically illustrated, weaving together watercolor and collage to create a dreamlike feeling.
Title: Robot, Unicorn, Queen: Poems for You and Me
Author: Canadian poet Shannon Bramer
Illustrator: Canadian artist Irene Luxbacher
Publisher: Groundwood Books [2023]
Robot,Unicorn, Queen: Poems for You and Me was sent to me for review. All opinions are my own.
Little Green Donkey (Spain)
My girls get such a kick out of Little Green Donkey. The ending makes them giggle every time.
Little Donkey LOVES grass. He loves it so much it’s the only thing he eats. One day while having a drink he looks down into the water and sees a green reflection, what will his mother think?
After some cajoling from Mom, and a little trial and error, Little Donkey does find another food he likes, but has he really learned a lesson after the grass?
This book may be just what a picky eater needs to try a few new things. Little Donkey is a fun, bouncy little critter who makes up delightful little rhymes and songs. His sense of humor will have adults chuckling too.
Title: Little Green Donkey
Author/Illustrator: Spanish author and artist Anuska Allepuz who now lives in England
Publisher: Candlewick Press [2019]
This book was sent to me by Candlewick Press for review. All opinions are my own.
Every Wrinkle Has a Story (Israel)
Every Wrinkle Has a Story is a quiet intergenerational story about aging and life.
Author:Israeli writer David Grossman
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Kids Read the World 