TheRicanReader

  I am not a Paw Patrol fan; I think the concept and stories dumb down the reading experience. That said, 3, 4, 5-year-olds love it, why, only a child's mind can know.    The book is five compact stories written by 3 authors.    Why this is important: I think the entire Paw Patrol enterprise shortchanges young readers. The stories, as usual, is about the saving of hapless, dumb witted town folks by Ryder, the super, privileged looking kid, and his mighty trusted pups. Really, give me a break. Oh, I digress. Don’t let your little one start with any of the books, movies, TV series, or games. If they have, work to break them from this dribble. If I could give this book, like all the others, zero stars, I would. 

  Book is about Batman's files on his super friends. Good for a 4-year who is getting into the superhero genre.  Book is very rudimentary, brief snippets of Batman's friends - Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Batgirl, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Cyborg, and Aquaman, and their crime fighting abilities.  Art work is okay, it depicts the super heroes in DC form, and the characters are diverse, which is good. If your child likes reading about super heroes, this is a good entry level book. 

This is a good solid read for pre-k and kindergarten age.  The story is about the day of a little girl and the special relationship she has with her mother, the bond they are creating, one that will last a lifetime.  The writing is easy to understand and the book comes in audio read-along. The illustrations are vibrant and colorful.  A good bedtime book for your little one.  A little about the author. Cozbi A. Cabrera received a BFA from Parsons School of Design. She is the illustrator of several acclaimed children’s picture books and she also designs clothes and makes cloth dolls that have garnered the attention of collectors around the world and have been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Source: Goodreads 

The Best Trick: A Pet Club Story (Stone Arch Readers - Level 2) by Gwendolyn Hooks  This is a quick read with your little one. The Best Trick is a part of the Pet Club series. The author provides an enjoyable reading experience. This is a Level 2 reading, designed to offer early readers a bit more challenge through varied simple sentences, increased text load, and less repetition of high frequency words.  The story is simple, yet enjoyable. Illustration is bright, bold, and has diverse characters which is definitely a plus as we live in a diverse society.  Good book for bedtime reading.

This is a Blastoff Readers publication. They have 5 rankings of reading levels and this book is Level 1,  meaning it provides the most support through repetition of high-frequency words, light text, predictable sentence patterns, and strong visual support.   As the title implies, this is a book about trains, the different types and uses. There is no detail regarding the actual mechanics and makeup of the trains, very high-level.    The book is geared towards kids at reading level 1, which is the beginning reader. I picked it up for a 4-year-old who loves books and wants to read, but this one was clearly not for him. While illustrative and light and easy to understand words, it was not a story, it is technical in nature. At 4, he like many I suspect, 4-year-olds want more character stories than technical like this one. That said, he was patient enough to have me read through it, but I could tell it was a bore for him.    This is a straightforward read a...

This review expresses my own personal opinion.    As the title implies, this is a book about what a helicopter is, how they operate, flying a copter, and their many uses.   The book is geared towards elementary age kids. I picked it up for a 4-year-old who was patient enough to have me read through it, but I could tell it was clearly too advanced, although he stuck with it.    This is a straightforward read, technical in nature, not story telling. It is matter of fact writing, which is what you would want for a book that is geared towards an older kid. The explanations of what a helicopter is, its mechanical makeup, operations, the pilots, and uses are crisp, direct, and easy to understand, even for a 4-year-old.    The illustrations are photos of different helicopters, some with them in use, no drawings.    This is a book that talks, which offers the ability to have your child listen on their own as the book reads itself and they turn the pa...

The Cool Bean by Jory John, Illustrations by Pete Oswald    This review expresses my own personal opinion.  This is a good book for your 3-year-old to elementary school child as the story can apply to young and older readers alike.  This is another good book by the #1 New York Times Bestselling Team Jory John (Author) and Pete Oswald (Illustrator). Jory is a bestselling author and has won the E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor twice.    As a kid and teenager, and maybe even now, many of us wanted to be the cool kid at school or at least to hang around the cool kids. This is the story of The Cool Bean who attends Beanside Elementary School where three cool beans also go. These beans have a reputation of being cool, not only at school but also in the neighborhood, all over town, and beyond county lines. These are really “cooool” beans.    The central bean character used to hang out with the cool beans when they were younger, in the same pod, but as they go...

Rainbow Fish Finds His Way by Marcus Pfister The author's award-winning Rainbow Fish is back with another good adventure, this time Rainbow Fish gets lost in an undersea storm and his journey to get back home with the help of some friendly fish, who become his new friends.   The story is about friendship and kindness. It is a good book for 3-6 year-olds. The illustration is full of vibrate colors and well drawn sea life and landscape.  A good book for any time of day reading. Would suggest that if you have it as a bedtime story you give yourself a few extra minutes of reading time. While not a lengthy read, it is one that will take a few minutes to get through, especially as you stop to explain the story, discuss the messages within, and to fully immerse your little one in the story you'll want to stop and explain the fish and surrounding sea life and landscapes.  This is a Vox Books, Books that Talk! book, which has narration and the written word. You can simply let your...

Diversity and  differences - age, culture, race, these are the subtle messages here, that what makes us different, makes us alike. Khalil and Mr. Hagerty live in same house, Khalil and his family on the top floor and Mr. Hagerty on the first. Khalil's family is big and noisy and Mr. Hagerty apparently lives by himself downstairs and is a quiet elderly man. This is the story of a boy and an old man who create a friendship and bond through their mutual love of the outdoors, of exploration, finding treasures in the backyard. Their friendship looks beyond race, age, culture, it is centered in kindness and caring.  This is a good read for your 3 – 6-year-old as you can convey and explain messages of love, friendship and caring as you read it. The book is in a read-out loud format which offers the ability to have your child listen on their own as the book reads itself and they turn the pages, or you can read along, injecting your thoughts and lessons about mutual likes, caring, and ...

Thanks to University Press, for providing an advance reader’s copy of the eBook for review consideration. This review expresses my own personal opinion.    Over the past two years the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has become known around the world and this book gives us a glimpse into his life and why he has become the symbol of democratic freedom.    Many of us first heard of President Zelensky after a taped conversation between him and former President Trump came to light over financial aid to Ukraine, wherein it appeared that Trump was asking the newly elected president to do him a favor, provide dirt on then candidate President Joe Biden and his family. The conversation took place before the Russian evasion and while it was part of the impeachment hearings against Trump, it revealed little about Zelensky, a man who would soon become known to millions around the world.    University Press provides a nicely written book which gives us a glimps...