olive books !

welcome to eliana & momma's library book review

RHYMOCEROS by janik coat :: checked this one out from our library for scouting purposes. to buy or not to buy for a rhino loving superman? bought it. eliana's neon nails have flipped through this on-loan board book more than any other library book this week. here's "shower," a sneak peak at one half of a rhino rhyme, in honor of our water week💦 and the current, calming downpour. rhymoceros = bright + delight. #olivebooks

DINO BLOCK by christopher franceschelli art by peskimo :: Loved this thick toddler-encyclopedia of prehistoric introductions so much we kept it for over 8 weeks! Each -new- dino is presented by way of simple comparison to an animal littles are familiar with today. And while a phonetic spelling is provided for each name-o-saur, we still laughed quite a bit at momma's (mis)pronunciations. Sharp, colorful illustrations. Great for the car. A new favorite paleontology report. We give it no lava or meteor showers and a high five!

DREAM ANIMALS by emily winfield martin :: Whimsical and melodic. Eliana loved these soft, sort of timeless, illustrations. We will look for the same author/illustrator's The Wonderful Things You Will Be. Happy dreamy mermaid tea party to all! #olivebooks

RED LEAF, YELLOW LEAF by lois ehlert :: while her illustrations are not the most unique or savory, i always enjoy lois ehlert's simple (and sometimes hidden) horticultural lessons. this was nice to read together as we welcomed the fall and i did find eliana flipping through the sugar maple's progression on her own a time or two. love the appendix. maybe two golden leaves out of four. 

BUMBLE-ARDY by maurice sendak :: well, we didn't muster the WHEREwithal to get through this one. the illustrations are what initially captured me. too busy for THE story or just uninterested ... not sure. but we may have to give this wily pig another try as i've read sendak is a wonderfully WILD THING, Smart, and subversive. we ARE just lazy readers, i suppose. #olivebooks

more books to love! 

ME JANE, by patrick mcdonnell :: an adventure or two with the young Jane Goodall (now, Dr Goodall!) and her toy chimpanzee, Jubilee. Sweet illustrations and thoughtful scientific prints connect the young reader with the outdoors and the "miracles" of nature. Two thumbs up. 

CLICK, CLACK, MOO; COWS THAT TYPE by doreen cronin, pictures by betsy lewin :: basically a classic. Obviously if you just get the cows some electric blankets, all will go well with you. Still, watch out for those tricky ducks. Two thumbs, lots of re-reads, and a smile. #olivebooks

A NEST IS NOISY by dianna hutts aston & sylvia long :: shame on these designers for using out-dated cursive. we don't even teach this archaic silliness anymore. "boo" says the modern fourth grader. "just give me an iPad." ... this book is really beautiful and incredibly detail rich in word and illustration. eliana also recommends their book, An Egg Is Quiet, and we look forward to more of their fancy nature guides! 

ART by patrick mcdonnell :: simple, cute. eliana's remarks include: "uhh oh, dirty" as she points to some illustrations. 😅momma finds it charming that there are matching pencil scribbles on one page of the copy we checked out. our favorite part is the ending. #olivebooks

THE LAST KING OF ANGKOR WAT by graeme base :: we are making our way through as much graeme base as we can. because you know i'm all about that base. find here drool-able illustrations and a friendly competition, a little life lesson and a fun quest for a butterfly. now. in the tradition of graeme base, can you spot my cat's ear as she tried to cuddle with this book while i snapped the picture? we give this book all the elephants and one of each thumb. #olivebooks