Review - Too Many Carrots

Too Many Carrots
by Katy Hudson
Date: 2016
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Rabbit has too many carrots, which overtake his house. When he tries to move in with friends, more chaos ensues. Will Rabbit learn to change his selfish ways?

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Rabbit has so many carrots! He stores them in his burrow, but that means he has nowhere to sleep. So he goes in search of a new house. Unfortunately, he takes his carrots with him, and those veggies end up destroying the homes of all of his friends until, finally, everybody is homeless... except for Rabbit. Will he find a way to make up for his carrot-hoarding selfishness?

The pictures are quite cute, but I wasn't really a fan of the story. Rabbit's obsession with his carrots grew grating after a while. I also didn't like how Rabbit was shown climbing into Tortoise's shell. That's not how it works.

If you're a fan of Hudson's artwork, check this one out for the illustrations. But if you're looking for books about friendship and overcoming selfish tendencies, you might want to look elsewhere.

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

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.83 out of 5

Review - A Loud Winter's Nap

A Loud Winter's Nap
by Katy Hudson
Date: 2017
Publisher: Capstone
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 36
Format: e-book
Source: library

Every year Tortoise sleeps through winter. He assumes he isn't missing much. However, his friends are determined to prove otherwise! Will Tortoise sleep through another winter, or will his friends convince him to stay awake and experience the frosty fun of winter? Best-selling author Katy Hudson's charming picture book will have everyone excited for winter.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I kind of wish this story had been a little stronger.

Tortoise sleeps through the winter. He settles in, only to be disturbed by his friends doing winter activities. Eventually, he inadvertently ends up sliding down a hill and realizes he's been missing out on a lot of fun.

I found his friends' attitude kind of disrespectful. Tortoise wants to be left alone, but they all assume they know better and do everything they can do disturb his nap.

The illustrations are lovely, which is why I'm kind of disappointed by the story. This could have been a great all-around book if the animals hadn't been such pushy jerks.

Check this one out for the pictures, but don't expect too much from the story.

Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 2/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 2.83 out of 5

Review - The Perfect Birthday Recipe

The Perfect Birthday Recipe
by Katy Hudson
Date: 2020
Publisher: Capstone Editions
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

Summer birthdays can be lonely, but not when you have great friends like Beavers! This year Tortoise, Bird, Rabbit, and Squirrel insist on baking Beaver's birthday cake, but Beaver isn't so sure. He is the ultimate perfectionist and would rather do it himself, following the recipe exactly. Will Beaver's nitpicky ways ruin his birthday and his friendships? The Perfect Birthday Recipe is the fourth and final story in Katy Hudson's best-selling set of seasonal picture books, including Too Many Carrots, A Loud Winter's Nap, and The Golden Acorn.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I didn't realize this was the fourth book in a series, probably because you don't need to have read any of the other books to get something out of this one. The Perfect Birthday Recipe is a story about perfectionism, control, and friendship, cast with cute critters and one very special birthday cake.

When it's time for Beaver's birthday, he's got his perfect cake already planned out. But his friends want to help, and soon the cake is bursting with flavours that Beaver never expected. The cake is a bit of a disaster, and rather than be grateful for the thoughtfulness of his friends, Beaver is annoyed. He sets out to make another cake--his way--and finally finishes in the middle of the night... at which point there's nobody around to share it with. He comes to realize that maybe friendship is more important than the perfect birthday cake.

I'm having trouble deciding how to review this. The message is great. The illustrations are adorable. But the writing leaves something to be desired. The punctuation needs some work, and the unwieldy dialogue tags kept pulling me out of the flow of the story. (Seriously, how does someone "clap" their words?) Most of the issues with the text would be easily fixable, as they're to do with the technical aspects of the writing and not the story itself.

I definitely want to see some of the author's other work now; her illustrations are very cute. But I'm just not all that impressed by the writing in this book... so I guess my rating is going to have to be somewhere in the middle.

Thank you to NetGalley and Capstone Editions for providing a digital ARC.

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 2/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.17 out of 5