Bedtime for Batman by Michael Dahl

4 stars An adorable picture big equating a superhero protecting the city with a child getting ready for bed. Very entertaining and engaging. I loved the fun comparison illustrations and vague statements that connected the boy with Batman (“For there are those who depend on him.” = child feeding goldfish and Batman returning a stolen…

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Trolls: Drop the Beat by David Lewman

3 stars A cute story about friendship and teamwork, great for fans of Trolls. In this one, Biggie looks for DJ Suki’s “lost beat”, creating a fun collaboration of sounds along with the way. Nice simple story and sentence structure for Step 2 readers. Cute illustrations. Overall, a nice book.

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Bad Kitty Scaredy-Cat by Nick Bruel

4 stars Another adorable and hilarious Bad Kitty book filled with creative alphabet sequences. These are great books for kids who love letters or are just learning their letters. It is so imaginative and fun. There are only so many “B is for Ball” books you can read, but this is one you can read…

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Thomas and the Piglets (Thomas & Friends)

3 stars A cute, simple story about sharing and gift-giving. The story gets a little weird when Thomas delivers the presents for the piglets first, instead of the straw that the farmer actually asked for, but it all works out in the end. There’s maybe a lesson in priorities or something in here, but in…

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The Runaway Kite (Thomas & Friends)

3 stars I was actually kind of impressed that this Step 1 book was able to tell a whole story, including a moral. Many Step 1 and even Step 2 books that I have read don’t have actual stories. They usually just introduce the readers to characters that the reader most likely already knows from…

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Thomas and the Buzzy Bees (Thomas & Friends)

3 stars As a kid, I never really liked Thomas and Friends. The animation of the show kind of creeped me out and I couldn’t relate to the problems the trains had (apparently, I don’t care about seeing myself as a Very Useful Engine, go figure). Anyway, I work with kids and we have been…

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Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

5 stars This is the first Llama Llama book I ever read and it is still my favorite. I love this book. I love the pictures, I love the rhymes, and I love how relatable it is. Such a great book. There are so many awesome Llama Llama books, but this one will always shine…

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Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson

4 stars A heartwarming story about a friendly witch, her helpful friends, and a beautiful lesson on friendship. This is such an adorable book. My first introduction to Julia Donaldson was The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child books. I then watched the TV adaptations on Netflix. This led me to the TV adaptation of Room…

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Clifford’s Birthday Party by Norman Bridwell

3 stars A cute Clifford story that teaches kids how to accept gifts and the importance of friends and family. There are some weird parts in the story (kids just not coming to the party because they weren’t sure about their presents? secretly regifting something right in front of the person who gave it to…

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