Review - Mother's Day with Snowman Paul

Mother's Day with Snowman Paul (Snowman Paul)
by Yossi Lapid
illustrated by Joanna Pasek
Date: 2018
Publisher: Yosef Lapid
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 38
Format: e-book
Source: author

Dan and Snowman Paul are getting ready to celebrate Mother's Day in grand style! But who is Snowman Paul's mother and how can they both celebrate Mother's Day together? Join Snowman Paul and Dan in this charming new adventure where they explore the meaning of Mother's Day and Earth Day and in the process they learn new things about how families and nature work.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This rhyming picture book combines Mother's Day and Earth Day. It sounds a little unusual at first, but it actually works. After Snowman Paul tells Dan what a great mom he has, Dan asks the snowman about his mother. Snowman Paul's answer is a little bit educational, quite a bit philosophical, and a whole lot cute. The interconnectedness of everything is highlighted, which is a great message for Earth Day... but the importance of mothers is showcased, too, which also makes this a nice Mother's Day book.

The rhythm of the text is fairly good. I did have a few issues with the punctuation, but I'm a stickler for that sort of thing. (It's not something you'd notice if you were having the book read to you, so it won't be an issue for most kids.) The illustrations are a perfect complement to the text. I particularly like Snowman Paul with his tree necklace and funky twig hair. The overall message is a good one, and it's interesting to see how the author combined the two holidays to make a sweet picture book about nurturing and nature.

If you're looking for a Mother's Day book that's a little bit different, you might want to give Mother's Day with Snowman Paul a try.

Thank you to Yossi Lapid for the e-book copy of Mother's Day with Snowman Paul.

Premise: 4/5
Meter: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.71 out of 5

Review - Dora Celebrates Earth Day!

Dora Celebrates Earth Day! (Dora the Explorer)
by Emily Sollinger
illustrated by Dave Aikins
Date: 2009
Publisher: Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 24
Format: e-book
Source: library

Dora explores the ways we can all make a difference and help save the planet by doing simple things at home. Perfect for teaching preschoolers about the environment and what they can do to help protect the planet, this book will be printed on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper with soy ink. The paper is FSC certified. Diego, Boots, Mami, Papi, and all of Dora's friends get involved and share their favorite tips about what YOU can do to help!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Here's another Earth Day book full of common-sense things everybody should be doing anyway. I guess it makes kids feel good to think that they're "helping" the planet by turning off the water when they brush their teeth and donating unused toys and books rather than throwing them out (who does that anyway?!), but it's really just skimming the surface. Now, we don't want to depress children with the unsolvable problems of our world, but if we convince kids that little things like this are actually helping, we're not really raising knowledgeable, responsible citizens who might actually have the will to make meaningful changes.

Should you turn off the water while you're brushing your teeth? Yes, of course. But it's not going to make much of a difference. Most fresh water goes to agriculture (especially animal agriculture); household water use is, quite literally, just a drop in the bucket. Cutting down on meat and cheese consumption would do more for water use than simply turning off your household tap for a minute or so.

And I couldn't help but wonder as I looked at Dora's twin baby siblings: Are they using cloth diapers? Or are those plastic poop-capsules just going to end up in the landfill for a few thousand years, leaching chemicals and pathogens into the groundwater?

These Earth Day books for kids don't go far enough. Us adults don't have the will to solve the problems, so it's going to be up to today's kids when they grow up. Books like this don't do anything but foster complacency by convincing kids they're saving the world when they're really not.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 2/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.33 out of 5

Review - Fancy Nancy: Every Day Is Earth Day

Fancy Nancy: Every Day Is Earth Day (Fancy Nancy)
by Jane O'Connor
illustrated by Aleksey Ivanov & Olga Ivanov
Date: 2010
Publisher: HarperCollins
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Being green is important to Nancy--so important that she wants her family to take care of the Earth morning, noon, and night!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I'd hoped this Fancy Nancy title would be good, but I just found Nancy insufferable in this one, and the illustrations (done by Aleksey Ivanov and Olga Ivanov) were too different and therefore distracting.

Rather than being fancy, Nancy just comes across as bossy. I would've liked to see more of Nancy incorporating green ideas into being fancy, rather than unintentionally being a brat by trying to be green. (She turns off her mom's computer when she steps out of the room for a moment, deleting her work. Then she turns off JoJo's lamp and when the kid wakes up in the middle of the night, she's terrified.)

Sometimes, being green isn't practical, either. The book teaches kids things like: "Less than a mile? Then bike in style." That's all fine and good if you're going to the grocery store to buy a can of peaches and a litre of milk. But if you're doing your weekly shop, good luck hauling it all home on your bike. Especially in the middle of a blizzard. (Because the book doesn't differentiate between a trip to pick up a couple of items versus a big weekly shop, kids might end up pestering their parents about all car trips and become as annoying as Nancy.)

I'm all for doing our part to be green. But this book doesn't nearly go far enough. If Nancy really wants to do more for the environment, she should go vegan. I doubt I'm ever going to see that message in a children's book, though.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.67 out of 5