Review - Love

Love
by Stacy McAnulty
illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff
Date: 2018
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

From award-winning author Stacy McAnulty comes a sweet story about love and what it's really all about.

What is love? Can you only express it in fancy meals, greeting cards, and heart-shaped chocolates? Kids will find love everywhere in this delightful book. It can be found in everyday moments such as baking cookies with grandma, notes from Mom in your lunchbox, or a family singing together on a car trip, and it isn't always what you expect!

With delightful illustrations by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff and sweetly simple prose by award-winning author Stacy McAnulty, this is the perfect book to teach children what love means, why it's important, and how they can spread the love in their daily lives.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

From the team that brought us Beautiful comes this sweet picture book about love and the many ways we show it.

Like Beautiful, this book is highly dependent upon its illustrations. The text doesn't work on its own; in fact, it would come off as highly superficial and materialistic. Looking at the pictures is a must while reading this one. Lew-Vriethoff's adorable drawings show diversity and acceptance, and they're fun to look at, too. Older readers will definitely get more out of these books, as they'll be able to contrast the literal message of the words with the sweet sentiments that are highlighted by the pictures.

I enjoyed this one almost as much as Beautiful. It would be the perfect book to share with someone you love.

Quotable moment:

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

Enjoyment: 5/5

Overall: 4.67 out of 5

Review - Beautiful

Beautiful
by Stacy McAnulty
illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff
Date: 2016
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: Amazon.ca

Every girl is unique, talented, and lovable. . . .Every girl is BEAUTIFUL.

Much more than how one looks on the outside, true beauty is found in conquering challenges, showing kindness, and spreading contagious laughter. Beautiful girls are empowered and smart and strong!

BEAUTIFUL breaks barriers by showing girls free to be themselves: splashing in mud, conducting science experiments, and reading books under a flashlight with friends. This book will encourage all girls to embrace who they are and realize their endless potential.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This book is so cute! However, it's one that definitely needs to be looked at. It wouldn't work as an audiobook at all, since you need to be able to see the pictures and how they subvert the dated-sounding text. Let me explain.

The book lays out a number of assertions, which could be considered stereotypical or even offensive when taken alone:

Beautiful girls move gracefully.
And light up every room.
Beautiful girls know all about makeup.
And have a smart style.

And on it goes. But each one of those stereotypes is immediately smashed. We see a larger-than-average girl playing football and two girls playing wheelchair basketball (moving gracefully). We see girls in tents reading under the stars with their flashlights (lighting up every room). We see girls playing pirates with drawn-on mustaches and tattoos (knowing all about makeup). And we see girls engaged in scientific pursuits (having a smart style). I love how each stereotypical statement is illustrated in an unexpected way, taking each of those statements that might've been used to diminish girls and instead using them to build girls up.

This book shows that being beautiful doesn't need to be restricted to a narrow idea of beauty. There are lots of ways to be beautiful, and this book explores them in a fun way. The illustrations are joyful and amusing, and as I read through the book the first time, I couldn't wait to see how each one would turn the text on its head.

Highly recommended for girls of all ages. This is a book that I wish had been around when I was a little kid!

Quotable moment:

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

Enjoyment: 5/5

Overall: 4.67 out of 5

Review - Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years

Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years
by Stacy McAnulty
illustrated by David Litchfield
Date: 2017
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book non-fiction
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

"Hi, I’m Earth! But you can call me Planet Awesome."

Prepare to learn all about Earth from the point-of-view of Earth herself! In this funny yet informative book, filled to the brim with kid-friendly facts, readers will discover key moments in Earth’s life, from her childhood more than four billion years ago all the way up to present day. Beloved children's book author Stacy McAnulty helps Earth tell her story, and award-winning illustrator David Litchfield brings the words to life. The book includes back matter with even more interesting tidbits.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is a really cute book! Unlike the interminable Hey There, Earth Dweller! that I just gave up on, Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years has a smaller scope and sticks to the basics. Told from the point of view of an anthropomorphized planet, the book covers the Earth's history in almost biographical fashion, with amusing illustrations to help make the various points. I like how Pluto's downgrade from planet status is handled, and the Earth's baby book is pretty funny.

There are a couple of pages at the end with a little more information about the Earth and its structure, location, and resident lifeforms (and extinctions). Since there isn't as much information in the main part of the book itself, these notes are nice to have.

Overall, this is a great non-fiction picture book for kids that tells the story of the place we all call home. It might be for a younger audience than some other books in this vein, but it appears to be well-researched and fairly accurate... which is definitely a plus.

Quotable moment:

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

Enjoyment: 5/5

Overall: 4.33 out of 5