Reviewing the last 4 children's books that I read

 Hello friends!

So, being a mom of a 5-year-old boy I read quite a few children's books, so I decided to talk about a couple of the latest ones we read and really enjoyed.

1. 
   "The Gruffalo's Child", by Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler (Illustrator):                I understand that this book is part of a series, but I haven't read any of the other books in the series, so I can only talk about this one for now. Father Gruffalo warns his child about the big, scary mouse, but baby Gruffalo still goes searching for it. Is the mouse really that big, bad, and scary, though? This is a fun story about the cute, little adventure of Gruffalo's child. The story is simple and fun, the rhyming patterns are nice and easy to follow, the illustrations are very cute and unique and my son couldn't stop talking about it, so it was a 4* rating for me! I would like to try the other ones in the series as well.
2. 
   "Elmer and Rose", by David Mc Kee:                                                                  This one is also a part of a series, the rest of the books of which I have not yet read. Elmer and his cousin Wilbur are patchwork elephants that stand out of their standard-looking, common grey elephant herd. One day they meet Rose, who is just as unique-looking, as she is a pink elephant who blushes furiously. They are given the task to return her to her own herd and on the way, Rose is shocked to discover the existence of peculiar, grey elephants. This book talks about how it is to be different and unique in a crowd of seemingly similar individuals and how it may feel to be so unique at first glance. I really liked how it points out that being considered unique in a particular group may not be considered so different in another group. And how uniqueness is not only what can be realized at first glance but also what could be found on a deeper level. It is a sweet story with a very nice message for little children and how they may feel about fitting in or not fitting in. The message is given very simply so I believe it's very easy to take in by even smaller children. The illustrations are very cute and the colors very bright and vibrant so it's very easy to make an impression on children. I rated this one 5*, because it earned a place in my heart.
3. 
   "The Star of the Zoo", by Virginie Zurcher & Daniel Howarth:                            This was a very sweet story that talks about the meaning of cooperation, teamwork, and collective strength. It also teaches the importance of not underestimating others based on appearance or other assumptions but giving others the chance and space to express their thoughts, knowledge, and talents. The colors are vivid and the illustrations are simply beautiful and it definitely carries a nice message for young kids. I rated it 4* out of 5*, because we really enjoyed it. However I did read a couple of reviews stating that it glorifies the captivity of animals in Zoos, so this made me quite skeptical about it. To be honest, it hadn't really occurred to me, because I read a translated version of it which didn't refer to a Zoo, but to a company of animals that are sick and are at a Vet clinic and I don't even know if it would have occurred to me if I had read the original version, but it certainly made me rethink of my opinions and my rating.
4. 
   "When competition goes too far" by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos & Gustavo Mazali:                                                                                                                             I would say that this book is intended for slightly older children than the previous 3, but I still read this with my 5-year-old son and it perfectly kept his attention and interest. It's a story about unhealthy competition between children. When things go too far, when kids cross lines just to prove they are the best or to avoid being mocked, the situation can get out of hand. Something as seemingly simple as a small race between friends can become dangerous and even life-threatening. The illustrations are beautiful; my son loved them. The story is nice and pretty straightforward, though nothing exceptional; I didn't love it, but it was nice and I believe that it can successfully get the message through. I rated it 4*.

So, overall, I'm happy with all the children's books that we got to read this past month. Not only they were enjoyable and of good quality, but they allowed me to spend very much quality time with my son. We got to discuss what we read and learn so many new things, so I'm very satisfied and I would recommend all of these books if you're interested to find something to read to and with your kids.

This is the last blog post for 2021 and the next one will be the next year. I want to thank each and every one of you who took the time to read my blog, whether that was for one time or multiple times! Thanks for being here with me, reading, leaving comments, thank you for subscribing and following and every time you even click to check the blog up! This is a small blog, but it has grown quite a bit within the past year and I have improved in doing/writing it and I enjoy it more than ever before, so I can't help but feel happy and proud about all of this!

Thank you for being here!

Happy New Year!

See you in 2022!