librarianryan's reviews
6629 reviews

 This was a lovely book. It gets my three-year-old nieces’ approval. The story is a little bit long, but a good storyteller could find the right places to shorten it as they’re reading it. The message is great. The illustrations are fun and altogether this just works. And it even sounds like Perez Hilton. 

 This is a simple biography of Rube Goldberg for kids and adults alike. Goldberg was known mostly for his cartoons and fantastic machines used to do the simplest things. Goldberg went from being a person to being a verb and now kids and college students alike in compete to build Goldberg machines.  This is  both in honor of his memory, but also to kick a brain into high gear. This book is illustrated by someone who does cartoons for newspapers just like Luke Goldberg used to do and these illustrations are fantastic. This book was a joy to read from beginning to end and I hope lots of kids pick it up and try to create their own group Goldberg machine. 

 This book is adorable. Growing families can be hard especially when growing families isn’t new kids but new grandparents due to new relationships. In this book, our main character gets a new puppy. She already has a Grandma and a Noni and does not like the idea of someone coming in and taking their place. But with time and a little help, they learned that love is love, and family is family, no matter where it comes from. This book is adorable. The illustrations are fun and match the story really well. And the author has included all three grandparents soup recipes in the back. this book is in Illinois author, and I am proud cheese from our state. 

 This book was fun. It’s a game of animals playing hide and seek and how old they blend into their environment. There’s nothing not to like about this book. The story works the artwork great. Altogether it is a book kids will enjoy. 

 This Illinois raised 2025 is a fine book. It is more poetry than book and the author is a poet. It talks about how when you put love out into the world, it is shared among others and touches everything you say and do and how that is a good thing. The book is OK it’s not something I would frequently read but it’s not bad. The illustrations are lovely in a traditional way. 

 I love the message of this book. About being a warrior and defending your rights. I love how the children get involved. The illustrations go well and help bring the points of the story come across quite well. The only downfall for me is how everything goes back to God. And I understand with who this author is, so  that that makes perfect sense. I do wish there was a version of this book or a book like this that got the same points across without it being for God. The main reason for that is it limits the audience. But the message in this book is too important to be limited. 

 A lovely book about a girl who loves to dance. Her mother grants her wish and tales her to dance school. There she feels out of step and wilted. But a special pair of shoes will help her re-find confidence in herself. She had the ability the entire time she just had to be reminded to be herself and do what she loves. This is a sweet book. The illustrations are lovely. The illustrator is Diane Good. I’m not sure if that’s the fancy Nancy illustrator but the illustrations remind me of that. Overall, this was a lovely book and does sound like something that Sarah Ferguson would write or tell her children. 

 This is a typical picture book. It is Illinois reads 2025. The illustrations are standard fair but the story rhymes nicely and moves quickly. While, this is a fun book. I do not think it will be a 20 years on the shelf book. 

 This picture book is about standing up for others and wanting to change the world. How when you can’t use your voice find other ways to do it until you can find your voice. This book is well written the illustrations are amazing and this is an altogether five star read. I will be picking up other books by Stacy Abrams .
 

 This is a book that has not aged well. Wendy lives in Boxville and everybody must wear their labeled box every day. Wendy’s issue is that she can’t pick a box. She doesn’t want to be just one thing she wants to be different things at different times. One day she decides just not to wear her box. It does get her in trouble in town, but eventually, her family is like hey maybe that’s an OK idea. I think what makes this weird is the end when the family pack up and move to Freedom land. Instead of the idea that you can be more than one thing spreading across their community. I guess what happens in real life, but it seems weird the way it’s written in a children’s spot. I do like the illustrations. They feel right out of the 70s but go well with the idea of Fran Dresser, and who you know her to be in her acting and public life. While this book was an interesting read. It is not one that I would share with others as it feels the 15 years old that it is.