The Scary Book by Thierry Dedeiu (Children's Board Book Review)

 We received a copy of this board book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

The Scary Book
by Thierry Dedieu
Published by Prestel Junior
on September 15, 2020
Genre: Children's, Board Books
Length: 20 pages
Ages: 3 - 6 years

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Synopsis:
A perfect blend of silly and scary, this oversized lift-the-flap board book shows children what's hiding inside some creepy creatures!


Our Thoughts:

The Scary Book is perfect for kids that like scary, gross, and disturbing things! 

This is a fun and unique 'lift-the-flap' style board book that is full of spooky little surprises, such as the slimy innards of a frog or the dead victims of a hungry spider, and much more!

The bold colors and big text make this a great board book for little listeners and the extra big format and double-folded flaps make it all the more fun.

It's definitely an unconventional book but my little 'monster' loved how creepy it is and was full of questions about the critters and their lift-the-flap surprises.

There's also a few Halloween-themed surprises, such as a ghost, a skeleton, and a jack-o-lantern which makes this a great addition to any spooky-story shelves! 

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The Monster In My Basement by Dave Preston (Children's Picture Book Review)

 I received an ecopy of this book from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

The Monster In My Basement
Written by Dave Preston
Illustrated by Heather Lynn Harris
Published by CrissCross AppleSauce
on September 1, 2020
Genre: Children's, Picture Books
Length: 40 pages
Ages: 5 - 7 years

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Synopsis:
There's a monster in Dave's basement! His name is Howard and he's very hungry. Howard invites Dave to dinner. But will Dave eat dinner or BE dinner? The thought makes Dave shake a little bit, shake a little bit, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake.
Has Dave made a big mistake?


My Thoughts:

   A little boy named Dave finds a monster in his basement! When the monster invites Dave along for dinner, he isn't quite sure what to do! When he ends up in the monster's cave, he wonders if he's made a BIG mistake!

This is a fun picture book about hungry monsters that can be read by itself...

but

this book is also a song!

The song and the story behind The Monster In My Basement can be found on howardthemonster.com!

While this picture book can be read easily without listening to the song, it really does make it a lot more fun and interactive!
The repeating chorus bit is a lot of fun and the story has colorful and descriptive text to go along with the illustrations! 
 

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October 2020 Reading WrapUp - Happy Halloween!

 Happy Halloween, readers!

I hope you all had a fantastic month!
We love Spooky Season so we filled October with extra festive activities (at home). My Little Monster and I made paper mache pumpkins, bats for our tree, a spooky wreath, and even some cardboard tombstones! We've been watching lots of spooky films and tv shows (probably more than I've watched all year even considering that we've been home all year!)
Our homeschool focus ended up being on the constellations and the moon this month since there were two full moons in October but we didn't read any spooky chapter books since we were already caught up in three different series. 

I'm still attempting to catch up from my little Blogger update hiatus so you may see my spooky book reviews well into November! 

Here's my reading stats:

Books I Read in October

Started but haven't finished

Chapter Books I Read to My Daughter

Challenge Progress


ABC Challenge
17/26
Sept: +2
Oct: +1

Beat the Backlist / Tackle My TBR
Sept: +4
Oct: +4

Craven Manor
The Graveyard Book
The Dead House
Brother

New Release Challenge
Sept: +5
Oct: +3

Mary: The Adventures of Mary Shelley's Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Granddaughter
Harrow Lake
Skunk & Badger

PopSugar Challenge
Sept: +0
Oct: 

Read Harder Challenge
Sept: +
Oct:

1001 Children's Books to Read Before You Grow Up
Sept: 164/1001   +5
(adding late to Sept)
Angelina Ballerina

Oct: 
Molly Goes Shopping by Eva Ibottsen
Rosa Goes to Daycare by Barbro Lindgren
Possum Magic by Mem Fox
Jamela's Dress by Niki Daly
Freight Train by Donald Crews
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Gannett Stiles
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

Thanks for reading!
Have a great November! 

The Little Ghost That Was A Quilt by Riel Nason & Byron Eggonschwiler (Children's Picture Book Review)

We received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Little Ghost That Was A Quilt

Written by Riel Nason

Illustrated by Byron Eggonschwiler

  Published by Tundra Books

on September 1, 2020

Genre: Children's, Picture Books

Length: 48 pages

Ages: 3 - 7 years

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Synopsis:

When you're a quilt instead of a sheet, being a ghost is hard! 
An adorable picture book for fans of Stumpkin and How to Make Friends With A Ghost!

Our Thoughts:

    Once, there was a little ghost who was a quilt instead of a sheet. Because of his thick layers, he couldn't fly as fast or as freely as the ghosts in his family that were sheets, but the little ghost that was a quilt still wanted to see the world and join in, so he did! 

The Little Ghost That Was A Quilt is an adorable story about a ghost that doesn't quite fit in. He is saddened by his differences but still yearns to experience the world, especially as Halloween, his favorite holiday, nears! The little ghost's adventures don't always go as planned, but he finds joy in them nevertheless, making this a hopeful story perfect for the autumn season.

I think this heartwarming little story will stick with me for some time. The story has such a cute message to it and a happy ending!

I adored the traditional-style illustrations. They have a slightly gloomy look that the bright patchwork ghost that was a quilt stood out on quite well and I especially loved all of the detail in settings, from the unique wood grain to the spooky shadows and spiderwebs!

I grew up with a lot of Halloween picture books that I adored and this one gave me a little bit of nostalgia for those old obscure stories! This is one I will definitely be adding to our shelves!

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The Girl Who Owned A City by O.T. Nelson & Dan Jolley (YA Graphic Novel Review)

 

The Girl Who Owned A City
Written by O.T. Nelson
Adapted by Dan Jolley
Illustrated by Joelle Jones
Published by Graphic Universe
on January 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Graphic Novel, Post Apocalyptic
Length: 125 pages
Ages: 10 - 17 years

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Synopsis:
A deadly virus killed every adult on earth, leaving only us kids behind.
My parents are gone, so I'm responsible for my little brother, Todd. I have to make sure we stay alive. Many kids are sick or starving, and fierce gangs are stealing and destroying everything they find. Lots of people have given up, but here on Grand Avenue, some of us are surviving, because of me. I figured out how to give the kids on Grand Avenue food, homes, and protection against the gangs. But Tom Logan and his army are determined to take away what we've built and rule the streets themselves. How long can we keep fighting them? 
In a world like this, someone has to take charge. 


My Thoughts:

Lisa and her little brother, Todd, are trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world where a deadly virus wiped out everyone over the age of twelve. Lisa uses her wits to find supplies to live on but a local children's gang is quick to steal from them, leading Lisa to gather the neighborhood kids together to form their own militia. As Lisa's city grows and grows, the outlying gangs become more and more desperate for their supplies. Can Lisa build an army big enough to protect her city from attack?

This middle-grade graphic novel is based on the original novel with the same title that was published in 1975. It's not one I'd heard of or seen before but I needed a graphic novel to read to keep up with my one-per-month goal and this was what was available.  

This graphic depiction is an interesting look at how children and groups of children would react and survive in such a situation. I think the age of the original novel makes the content a little predictable with all the post-apocalyptic and/or zombie media that has been rather popular in the past decade, but the illustrations definitely made this worth the read anyway. 
There's tons of emotion, attitude, and even body language with proportional and life-like characters and the coloring was amazing as well!

I would definitely recommend to young readers that enjoy dystopian or post-apocalyptic reads. 

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If You Were Night by Muon Thi Van & Kelly Pousette (Children's Picture Book Review)

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If You Were Night
Written by Muon Thi Van
Illustrated by Kelly Pousette
Published by Kids Can Press
on September 1, 2020
Genre: Children's, Picture Books
Length: 32 pages
Ages: 3 - 7 years

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Synopsis:
A poetic and evocative exploration of the natural world at night illustrated in illuminating paper-cut dioramas. 


Our Thoughts:

This wonderful picture book features a night-time romp through uniquely illustrated scenes made up of layers and layers of intricately cut and folded paper in plant and animal shapes! 

The narrator poses questions about what you would do if you saw the moon outside your window, saw the critters scamper about, heard the sounds of the forest, and more, while the layered scenes show a child doing exactly what the narrator asks us. We follow along on a beautiful night journey into the wild, spotting flora and fauna in abundance and soaking in the sights and sounds as we were there too!

A fantastic nature-based picture book all about the nighttime! 
We loved all the nocturnal creatures featured and the obviously 'handcrafted' paper scenes are both amazing and inspirational. It absolutely gives me ideas for homeschool craft projects.
We're always on the look-out for a bedtime story perfect for nights camping or stargazing and this one didn't disappoint! 


Similar picture books:

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The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (Monsterstreet #1) by J.H. Reynolds (MG Book Review)

 

 

The Boy Who Cried Werewolf

 

[Monsterstreet #1]

by J.H. Reynolds

The Boy Who Cried Werewolf
[Monsterstreet #1]
by J.H. Reynolds
Published by Kathering Tegan Books

on July 2, 2019
Genre: Children's / MG, Horror
Length: 176 pages
Ages: 8 - 12 years

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Synopsis:

The Monsterstreet series kicks off with this chilling tale about a boy who discovers his father was killed by a legendary werewolf. 

My Thoughts:

Max's mom takes him to stay with the grandparents he hasn't seen since his father died when he was a baby. They promise they have a surprise for him on his last day there, but in the meantime, they warn him to stay out of the forest and to avoid all of the neighbors. But after a daring dog rescue that leads him into the forest, he soon learns that there is more to the story about his father's death than he was told! 

This is a really fun first book to the Monsterstreet series! 
We get a clear idea of what we are going into thanks to the cover art by Chris Finoglio but are met with a mystery that only starts to unravel once Max sets foot in the forbidden forest. 

I was absolutely expecting something similar to Goosebumps when I went into this but was pleasantly surprised by the new twist on a classic horror trope. It's a quick read but a lot of fun with a very mysterious setting and plot. 

I really enjoyed reading this during the 'Spooky Season' before Halloween! I absolutely recommend this to young readers that enjoy monsters, mystery, and / or spooky reads! 

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