Tag: Picture Book

Storm Whale – Sarah Brennan

Illustrations – Jane Tanner


A beautiful poetic story with absolutely stunning illustrations.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Sarah Brennan’s words are captivating; with their rhyme, rhythm and descriptive detail. For such a simple story of three sisters who come across a whale stranded on the beach, Brennan manages to capture the impact we are able to have on the environment and nature, including the perseverance and commitment required to care for and protect our planet.

The story begins with a dreary feel, a cold day on the beach and a hard day ahead. After working together and dedicating their day to the stranded whale, the sisters are left deflated as they return home to bed; only to wake to a day of success and sunshine. An important message for children to not give up in their determination for a peaceful and friendly world for all living things. 

by Categories: ReviewTags: , ,

Merry Christmas, Hugless Douglas – David Melling

In this book you’ll search for the little robin that is in each scene. There are snow angels, tree hugging (by Douglas), snowman building, a Christmas tree with a difference and an adorable reindeer called Rudi. Rudi stole the show for me. His nose jingles, he’s blue and he has magic. I loved the illustrations and expect this will be a popular read in the lead up to Christmas this year.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Hugless Douglas knows what Christmas is all about – snowing sheep, finding a tree, sledging and and making new friends like Rudi the Reindeer! And one more thing of course … Christmas hugs!

by Categories: ReviewTags: , , , ,

All I Want for Christmas – Rachel Bright

OK, this is the one! Even though I live in the Southern Hemisphere and am therefore not exactly dreaming of a white Christmas, if I was wandering through a bookstore looking for a kiddie Christmas book, this is the one I’d be taking home with me.

Why? Call me superficial but the small things really can be big things for me. At just a glance of the front cover I’m greeted by two colourful penguins in striped beanies and the dot on the i in Christmas is a snowflake. Then when I turn over to the back cover, our cute as a button penguins are putting a glowing star on top of a Christmas tree and some of the tree’s decorations are smiley fish!

So, by judging a book by its cover we already have a winner but then inside the story told in rhymes and the illustrations are aww-worthy. We follow Big Penguin and Little Penguin prepare for their Christmas celebration and while the presents are wonderful, what’s even better is the love they share. Aww! Heart melted.

P.S. There’s a giant teddy bear close to the middle of the book that I’ve already claimed. You may borrow it if you ask nicely.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Two penguins discover that love is the perfect gift at Christmas in this sparkling festive picture book!

The countdown to Christmas has begun and there is so much for Little Penguin to be excited about: decorating the tree, cooking festive treats, sending a letter to Santa, wrapping presents, and much more. But what does Big Penguin want for Christmas? The answer will warm the hearts of every penguin, big or small!

by Categories: ReviewTags: , , ,

Grug Meets Snoot – Ted Prior

I never read this one as a kid. It’s so lovely! Snoot is the cutest little echidna and he becomes friends with Grug. Until you’ve seen an echidna laying on its back smiling, you don’t know what adorable is. I may have accidentally bought all of the Grug books that Mum and I don’t already own during the latest Booktopia free shipping bookathon so over the course of the next few months, be prepared to become well acquainted with this quirky childhood favourite. I’ll be hiding them for Mum randomly, interspersed with some Clifford books bought at the same time. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. 😊

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

An echidna called Snoot is the perfect, prickly friend for Grug! 

by Categories: ReviewTags: , , , ,

Izzy Gizmo – Pip Jones

Illustrations – Sara Ogilvie

⭐️ – Girl inventor.

⭐️ – Inventions with cool names like Tea-Mendous and Swirly-Spagsonic that look like something Doc Brown would make. Remember that wonderful contraption he made to feed Einstein?

⭐️ – Lovely Grandpa who is so encouraging and adorable, and who doesn’t believe in giving up.

⭐️ – Crow with heaps of character who helps teach our girl inventor perseverance, empathy and teamwork.

⭐️ – Beautiful story told in rhymes and quirky, fun illustrations that make you smile.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Izabelle Gizmo just loves to invent, but her inventions never seem to work the way she wants them to. And that makes her really CROSS! When she finds a crow with a broken wing she just has to help. But will she be able to put her frustrations to one side and help her new friend to fly again?

by Categories: ReviewTags: , ,

Chengdu Can Do – Barney Saltzberg

🐼 This is a sweet picture book that teaches that it’s great to be able to do things for yourself but sometimes you need help and that’s okay. 🐼

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Chengdu can do many things all by himself. He can get down from his branch, and he can look for breakfast. Chengdu can jump, he can push, and he can pull. He can climb, he can stretch, and he can swing. But sometimes even the most capable young panda could use a little help. Independent-minded toddlers will love following along as the determined Chengdu reaches for his goal of some tasty leaves. The gentle text is a delight to hear read aloud, and a variety of fold-out pages add to the fun.

by Categories: ReviewTags: , ,

Florence Frizzball – Claire Freedman

Illustrations – Jane Massey

Florence Frizzball is having a bad hair day life. Her curly, unruly hair is the bane of her existence. She longs to have straight, flat hair like her brother, who doesn’t have to worry about hair that can’t be tamed. After a trip to Lovely Locks Florence has the hair of her dreams but is she really Florence without her frizzball? Sometimes it takes a change to appreciate those qualities, physical or otherwise, that make you unique.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Florence’s curly-whirly, wild and crazy hair couldn’t be more different from her brother Ben’s sleek and shiny do. She begs her mum to let a hairdresser try and tame it, but when she gets the restyle she’s after, will Florence be happy with the outcome? 

Claire Freedman’s rhyming text and Jane Massey’s gorgeous illustrations perfectly combine to create laugh-out-loud moments and deliver an important message about being comfortable in your own skin.

by Categories: ReviewTags: , ,

It’s Okay to Be Different – Todd Parr

It’s Okay to be Different is such a bright and cheerful picture book. See those quirky DayGlo illustrations on the front cover? That is the kind of smiley fun you’re in for throughout the book. At once a self esteem booster and a celebration of individuality, kids young and young at heart will love this book. Each page tells you it’s okay to be, have or do something and is supported by cute illustrations that even I, wanna be artist that struggles to create a legible stick figure, could attempt to trace draw.

Whether it’s being okay to:

  • Be a different colour – a black and white zebra standing next to a red, green, blue and yellow one
  • Talk about your feelings – I’ll listen to you, Mr Lion
  • Eat macaroni and cheese in the bathtub – permission granted. Woohoo!
  • Have different Mums and Dads – these are some seriously awesome looking parents
    … this book includes lots of serious and seriously fun statements that will make you proud of being you.

And let’s face it, who you are is pretty darn wonderful anyway! I wouldn’t change a thing about you! 😃

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

It’s okay to be a different colour. It’s okay to dance by yourself. It’s okay to wear glasses. It’s okay to have a pet worm … It’s okay to be different!

by Categories: ReviewTags: , , ,

In My World – Jillian Ma

Illustrations – Mimi Chao

In My World is an absolutely gorgeous book. With a beautiful rhyming story that takes you on a journey inside the hopes and dreams of a young child with autism and with artwork that captures your imagination, encouraging you to dream along with the child in the story, I adore this book and have already read it four times.

While I don’t know anyone who’s close to me with autism, an acquaintance’s son is on the spectrum and he’s an incredible kid. I’ve read bits and pieces about autism so I’m certainly no expert but have such an appreciation and admiration for these amazing people who experience the world differently than I do.

I made my way through this book with a smile on my face as Jillian Ma introduced me to this lovely child dreaming of adventures with dinosaurs, playing, conquering life’s obstacles and soaring through the sky free as a butterfly. Then after taking a step back to contrast how our view of their world differs from theirs, I was left with the hope that with help an autistic child’s dreams can come true.

The illustrations by Mimi Chao were so beautiful and invited me into this child’s dreams in a way that words alone couldn’t have accomplished. There was a softness and calming quality to the illustrations and I loved the inclusion of the yellow stars throughout.

This is one of those books where you can feel the love that has gone into it just by looking at it. I can imagine this book becoming a treasured bedtime story. It would also be a wonderful tool to help siblings understand their autistic brother or sister more and promote kindness and love.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Future Horizons for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

A simple, heartfelt story that follows the life of a child with autism through his imaginative journey as he seeks to be accepted, loved and celebrated for his strengths and abilities. Despite the qualities that make children on the autism spectrum exceptional, they all have hopes, dreams and feelings of belonging that all children desire. This book is a powerful reminder that with a little help from each of us, children with autism can fulfill their dreams.

by Categories: ReviewTags: , , ,

The (Not) Sleepy Shark – Tamia Sheldon

The (Not) Sleepy Shark is a cute bedtime story for little kiddies (👶🏽). It tells the story of Amelia the shark (🦈) who is unable to sleep one night and is bored so she meets up with some of her friends and finds out why they’re not sleeping either. We meet May the seahorse (🌊 🐴), a clownfish called Jester (🤡 🐟), Ada the turtle (🐢), Hanna the crab (🦀), Sasha the seal (🌊L), a large school of fish (🐟🐠🐟🐠), Olivia the octopus (🐙) and Lucy the whale (🐳).

Each friend Amelia meets has a reason they can’t fall asleep (except Lucy who’s ready for bed), mirroring the multitude of excuses reasons why kidlets will tell their parents why they can’t sleep yet … worries about bad dreams, wanting to tell jokes, needing a drink, too cold, too hot, annoyed by someone, hungry, and wanting to play. I personally excelled at the needing a drink trick. The payoff for going to sleep now is that tomorrow you’ll be rested and will wake up with plenty of energy.

I was disappointed that we never got to find out Amelia’s excuse reason for not being able to sleep. Whether it had something to do with the fact that there were no parents in sight during the entire book could’ve had something to do with it. Maybe Amelia was wanting to hang out with each of her friends because she was scared of having to go back to her cave all by herself?

I’ve loved sharks ever since I got over the trauma of watching Jaws for the first time at about 6 years old. You want a reason to not be able to sleep, kids? Just watch Jaws as a child with an overactive imagination. It’s one of my favourite movies now though. Go figure!!

So with my shark obsession in tow I decided I had to read this book. It was cute and I enjoyed it but felt like there was something lacking. I’ve pondered this for a few days now and I think my lack of connection to this book is because of the illustrations. Don’t get me wrong; they are nice pictures. It’s just none of the animals seemed to have personalities or individual little character traits that shone through.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Xist Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Amelia the shark is tired but she’s not ready to sleep. In this fun bedtime book, a silly shark explores the way other sea animals get ready for bed until she’s finally ready to say goodnight. 

by Categories: ReviewTags: , , , ,