I read some different picture books this weekend, including:

How to Party Like a Snail

Snail likes to party with his friends, but his friends are loud. While his friends think loud is fun, Snail prefers the quite things about parties like the confetti and those “few silent seconds before everyone yells ‘surprise’.”

When it gets too loud, Snail disappears into his shell to have fun his way. Eventually, his friends stop inviting him to parties and Snail decides to host one of his own.

What a fun story by Naseem Hrab with fantastic illustrations by Kelly Collier. The story didn’t go the way I expected it to go, which I liked. I also loved the ending. I loved the realization Snail comes to at the end and I hope readers will understand it, too. I loved the story as well as the dialogue that went with it. Snail is a funny guy. I laughed out a loud in a couple of places.

How to Party Like a Snail is from OwlKids and retails for $19.95.

Bear Has a Belly

Bear a has a belly, a soft, round belly, while owl has eyes, big round eyes. Readers of this book for two to five year olds get to see beautiful pictures of the wild animals whose body parts the author points out as well as a picture of child who comments that they, too, have similar parts.

In the Parental Guide, author Jane Whittingham offers tips and tricks to make this “toddler tough” picture book from Pajama Press interactive, including playing a game of Simon Says or noticing similar body parts on a pet as themselves.

Dinos Driving

If your favourite dinosaur drives a vehicle, what kind would it drive?

In this picture book, author Lynn Leitch answers just that question: Velociraptor drives a mini car, while Tyrannosaurus Rex drives a monster truck (really, what else would he drive?). Guess what Brachiosaurus drives?

I felt like the book should have rhymed, but on the other hand a rhyming dinosaur book sounds like it would be difficult. I love the illustrations by Scot Ritchie.

Dinos Driving is from Pajama Press and retails for $21.95.

The Line in the Sand

The Line in the Sand is a picture book without words. Green monster is dragging a stick through the beach when suddenly there is a line in the sand, separating him from red monster. Suddenly, the pair don’t know what they should do. Should they cross it? Stay separated?

“Eyes narrow, feathers get ruffled, and a scuffle starts, stemming from a series of misunderstandings and aggravated by the innocent, and very untimely, arrival of a bee.”

The book jacket says The Line in the Sand is a simple and relatable story of “communications, conflict, and the impact of the lines we all draw, whether intentional or not.”

According to the book, Toronto Illustrator Thao Lam was inspired to create the story after a day at the park with her little one where “something as simple as a line in the sand can have many different interpretations and offer an opportunity to see many different perspectives.”

I loved the illustrations in the book. Lam must have had a great time creating the diverse monsters found within the pages.

As a parent, I always found these types of wordless books difficult to read. Knowing what the book is supposed to be about certainly helps in the retelling, although both monsters’ expressions are easy to read. I particularly liked the web-foot tapping (impatience) and finger pointing.

The Line in the Sand ins from OwlKids books and retails for $19.95.

A copy of these books were provided by OwlKids and
Pajama Press for an honest review. The opinions are my own.

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