Review: Your Heart Can Hold the Whole Universe by Rebecca Atanassova

Your Heart Can Hold the Whole Universe is a beautiful story that teaches kids about how the size of your heart can grow as big as the love you share. The more we give ourselves unselfishly, the more it grows. The story celebrates the goodness a young boy shares about his friend and why he believes her heart is as big as the universe.

What’s so beautiful about this book is the friendship they share and how he appreciates and recognizes all the good that she does for other people. I love the takeaway that compassion and being there for other people can not only make a difference in other people’s lives but are great qualities for kids to aspire to have. His celebration of her attributes and acts of good deeds is so heartwarming to see how much he appreciates his friend.

Overall, a good story with a wonderful takeaway that will hopefully inspire young readers to empathy, compassion and kindness through acts of love for other people.

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Review: Counting All the Way to Grandma's House by Rebecca Atanassova

There’s no type of love other than one of a grandma. Counting All the Way to Grandma’s House is a beautiful story about two siblings on their way to their grandmother’s. Excited and anticipating each step, the younger sibling’s anticipation grows with each house they pass, the greeted reward is received when they reach the correct one.

This was a fun and sweet book watching the anticipation grow for the younger sibling to reach their grandmother’s house. There are so many wonderful takeaways from this book that include the beautiful sibling relationship, after each house he learned different identifiers that help him learn shapes, numbers, colors and objects and also develop his memory skills. What I loved most was the anticipation to see his grandma and the joy it brought him seeing her. That was just such the sweetest moment reminding me of the joy I had each time I was able to come to my own grandmother’s house.

Overall, a wonderful reading experience and this would be a fun way to experience the next trip to Grandma’s!

Pages: 26

Reading Age - Baby to 6yrs old

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Audiobook Review: The Hurricane Girls by Kimberly Willis Holt

About the Book

A coming-of-age middle grade novel about three best friends born in the wake of Hurricane Katrina who must confront storms of their own 12 years later, from a National Book Award winning author.

Born in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Greer, Joya Mia, and Kiki are seventh graders and the best of friends. After an accident leaves Greer's little sister paralyzed, Greer is forever changed by the experience and blames herself. Kiki and Joya Mia will do anything to help Greer let go of this emotional burden, and a plan is hatched to compete in a triathlon. Each girl will participate: Kiki will swim, Joya Mia will cycle, and Greer, if they can persuade her, will run—something she once loved to do.

Set on the Westbank of New Orleans, this contemporary coming-of-age novel is a journey of growth, healing, and difficult transitions as the girls navigate their many life challenges: family trauma, body insecurity, and the conflict between ambition and responsibility. It's a powerful and enlightening exploration of how to surmount personal tragedy through friendship and forgiveness.

Review

This was one of the books that the narrator made the experience worth listening to. You got to know the girls, their journey and families. Each represented different households, lifestyles and experiences. This story is special because these girls were born in the midst of one of the country's most debilitating natural disasters.The strength and determination especially coming out of that tragedy is inspiring.

Watching them navigate through that transitional period in life, their early teenage years, facing challenges and insecurities, learning how to be responsible and find their voice was an interesting story to follow along to.

Overall, it was a wonderful book to listen to and the narration was an enjoyable experience. I’m not sure whether this will be a singular book but the characters would make an interesting series to follow. It would be fun to see their experiences in high school and beyond.

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Review: Travel Rangers: Mission to Ireland by Erika Bud and Remesh Ram, Illustrator

The Travel Rangers are back for their second mission in the second book of the Travel Rangers series and their heading to Ireland!

In this mission, the gang heads to Ireland and explores the Emerald Isle, checking out various historical sites, including castles, learning about new food, seeing where they built the Titanic and more.

Overall, this was another wonderful book in the series that blends a wonderful adventure of a fun group of kids who travel the world while learning a new culture. I even learned a couple of new things considering one of my favorite places on the wish list is Ireland. If you haven’t checked out the first book, make sure you check out their adventure exploring Australia. I can’t wait to find out where the Travel Rangers go next.

The book is suggested for kids 4-8 years old.

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Review: Yes Means Yes: A Kid's Book about Consent, Boundaries, & Listening to Your Body by Elaine Tai and Kai Kwong, Illustrator

Times have changed, especially when it comes to communication about boundaries. Yes Means Yes, is a wonderful book that gives great examples about boundaries, communicating consent and respecting each other’s personal space. Through colorful illustrations and engaging examples, this book would be a great way to inspire conversation on the subject.

Overall, a wonderful book but what makes it even better is how beautiful the illustrations are. I love how there is representation of all types of kids which by the way are so adorable. The message is presented in a way that is relatable to the kids and teaches them with a tender touch.

Reading Age: 4 - 8

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Review: Don't Be Mean to 13 by Douglas Harris

Don’t Be Mean to 13 is a wonderful book complemented with engaging, colorful illustrations to help children understand and not be afraid of superstitions. Beginning with a wonderful forward to the book, it gives some background roots to the number 13 and the infamous Friday the 13th.

The number 13 and Friday the 13th, has been branded in our minds as something bad but how many of us know why? As the book gives some root info and through the adorable 13 and Friday characters, these superstitions get tested and show how the number isn’t so scary.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and found the information presented was interesting. Something that stands out is the character 13. As the character may appear scary looking, I love how they are embraced and as the book tries to take the negative out of the superstitions, we see who they really are. That’s a wonderful takeaway lesson. People judge based on things they don’t know. When they take the time to learn more about them, they grow to see they aren’t that bad.

Reading Age 3-10

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