Children’s book review – August

Welcome to August’s children’s book review! Back to the library, and back home with another collection of books for Ashleigh (4), Mitchell (1) and, let’s face it, for me too!

Here are our thoughts.

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I, Trixie, Who is Dog / Dean Koontz and Janet Cleland

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This is a cute little homage to a beloved family pet. The dog narrates, but she flips between not knowing proper grammar and sentence construction (see title) and getting it so perfectly right with obscure words that you think the dog is a genius. This annoys me no end, but the kids don’t mind. And that’s the point, isn’t it?

The illustrations are cute. The little doggy whimsies – skunks that suck at playing the banjo, coyotes working in cactus cafes – are cute. It’s all very cute, cute, cute. I think Trixie is (or was) a wonderful dog.

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I am Cow, Hear Me Moo / Jill Esbaum and Gus Gordon

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This is another reader recommendation, and it’s another winner.

Nadine the cow is not afraid of anything. She boasts about everything she’s not afraid of, including the woods, and the other cows can’t wait to see her go in. She’s nervous, but hides it… and is delighted to discover the woods are fun!

And then the sun sets. It’s night-time in the woods. And Nadine can’t find her friends. This book is adorable. And it rhymes the whole way through – really clever rhymes, without missing a single rhythmic beat. Perfection.

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Books Always Everywhere / Jane Blatt and Sarah Massini

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We really enjoy reading this book about books. Books for all sorts of activities and moods, books of every description: big, small, wide, tall, scary, funny, rainy and sunny.

This book is for the young. Ashleigh is beyond needing it, but still enjoys it. And Mitchell just can’t get enough. He’s understanding more words every day, and after a few reads of this book, I started doing some actions to the different sentences. Now he beats me to them.

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I’m the Best / Lucy Cousins

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We LOVE I’m the Best. Dog is the best at everything. He’s better than Donkey at swimming. He’s better than Goose at digging. He’s better than Mole at running.

Then he discovers that others can do these things faster. Better. An adorable tale of confidence, appreciation, friendship… and competitiveness. Of course.

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What books have you read with your children lately?


You can read other children’s book reviews here:

Children’s book review (July)
Children’s book review – reader recommendations (June)
Children’s book review (May)
Children’s book review (April)
Children’s book review (March)
Children’s book review (February)
Children’s book review (January)
Children’s book review (December 2013)
Children’s book review – family favourites (November 2013)
Children’s book review (October 2013)
Once upon a book review (September 2013)