Tag and the Magic Squeaker by Sam Hundley

The illustrations in this book are made with scrap art and it’s honestly one of the coolest children’s books I’ve ever seen. The dog, cat and mouse are all made with different parts of metal, etc. I liked that the dog was made with a dog tag, haha. Very cute! The story is fun and endearing, too! Definitely worth a read!

Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things by Amanda Lovelace

never once has she felt as if
she’s interesting enough to be
the daring heroine of her own story,
& she’s oddly okay with that.
—she likes being nobody.

Amanda Lovelace is a new-to-me poet, but I’ve seen her works around. The covers are all cool and minimalist. I was instantly drawn in by the gorgeous cover on this one, too! The poems are short and punchy, focusing on loving yourself and putting yourself first. A good introduction to Lovelace for sure! I’ll definitely check out her other poems soon.

All The Colors of Life by Aisato Lisa

You feel like you don’t know the words to the song the grown-ups are singing.

Oh man. Oh man, this made me cry. I was not expecting this book at all. I picked it because the cover was really pretty. I was not anticipating the FEELS. It’s a long form illustrated book that contemplates the long winding road of life. That’s the best way I can describe it. Just give it a chance. Seriously. You won’t regret it.

The Little Lion That Listened by Nicholas Tana

Oh my, the artwork in this book is soooo good! I’m seriously impressed. Each page looks like a painting! The story is very sweet and wholesome, too! Little Leo is such a good listener and I liked how lovely and supportive his mother and siblings were.

His father was a bit frustrating, though. I do wish he apologised to Leo. It seemed like he was unsupportive of everything Leo tried to be, and only once Leo did what he wanted (roared), he accepted him. I didn’t like his characterisation much as a result. Kids should know their parents will love them even if they can’t reach a goal their parents want for them, so for a kids book, I’d want that scene of his father accepting him without him having to roar added in, you know? That’s my only nit-pick, though. The story is truly lovely and the art is gorgeous!

The Hiking Viking by Lauren Gehl

This has a similar message to another children’s book I just read, but it’s a very good one if done well: a young kid is different from their family and feels left out, the others learn to accept them for who they are, all is well by the end. It’s an important lesson for kids to learn and believe, and for adults to remember: there’s nothing wrong with being different from your family!

I really liked this book’s take: young Leif is a Viking who likes hiking. His father, mother and sister want him to train and fight so that their clan can win the Viking games! But it’s Leif’s appreciation for their homeland and all that they have which ultimately proves to be just as worthy as the ability to defend it.

I really liked that balance and the thought the book did it well. Given that it’s for a young age range, it’s short and sweet, but I do wish it had an extra page or two to draw out the ending. Just to give it that little bit of extra closure. That said, it didn’t detract from how much I enjoyed the book as a whole!

Overall this is a very cute, fun book! Definitely worth picking up! The artwork is absolutely precious, too.

Brian the Dancing Lion by Tom Tinn-Oisbury

Okay, this is simply lovely. A feel-good story of a lion who loves to dance and the fear he faces telling his friends about it. The reveal and twist are so sweet and wholesome. Cannot recommend enough!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARCs.