My baby picture. I know. I’m ADORABLE.
Kimber: Mom! Mom! I found some puppy winners!
Mom: “Puppy winners, Kimmi? What are you barking about?”
Kimber: Insert eye roll here. Moooooom! You. Know. Books for little’uns. You know. Like not yet big dogs. P-u-p-p-i-e-s. (Duh.)
Mom: “Okay, Kim. Calm down. Stop dancing for a min. What did you find?”
Kimber: Thought you’d never ask. Here, with further tail-wagging or barking, is our list of seven soon-to-be available books for children. (You know. P-u-p-p… oh, never mind.) All include warm and rich writing. Bark-worthy illustrations. Some may even include a doggie treat or two. Can I get back to you on that?
Note: We received complimentary copies of these books from Net Galley in exchange for honest reviews. Most are 20 to 30 pages or less.
1. Rise to the Sky
Step into a world of arboreal splendor in Rebecca Hirsch’s Rise to the Sky. Learn how some of the world’s tallest trees such as Coast Redwood, Southern Blue Gum and Giant Sequoias grow from seed to root and beyond. How a tree stretches to “feed” itself sunlight. How leaves use sun, water, and carbon dioxide from the air to make sugar and oxygen. How trees are thirsty and how they “drink” and breathe.
Opening the pages of this book is like falling into a vast vat of verdure. You can almost hear the rustle of tree branches and breathe in their natural freshness. Rise to the Sky is a skillful blend of education and awe. Enriching and engaging, Rise to the Sky will surely captivate its target audience of children ages five to ten.
2. Let Me Tell You About My MomBaby animals “tell you” about their mothers in Casey Rislov’s charming picture book for babies through emergent readers.
With beautiful color photos on every page, this book covers a wide variety of species and habitats.
If you have very young children, you can just read the introductory text on each page. For older children, you can include the explanatory text with additional details. Each introductory sentence, in a bubble, starts with “Mama (animal) takes good care of their (kits, chicks, calves, fawns, cubs, kids, etc.).”
Readers are then introduced to a little more information about each animal “mom” and their habitats and habits. This includes where and how featured animals find food, hunt, protect their young, travel, create homes (nests and dens, etc.), elude predators, and rest. Animals featured include foxes, mountain goats, bears, bobcats, elk, badgers, pronghorns, moose, and owls.
Ron Hayes’ stunning and dynamic photography enriches and enhances each animal family. Delightful!
3. A Little Dose of NatureThis book focuses on five active ingredients in nature that help keep our brains and bodies healthy. With engaging text and colorful, age-appropriate illustrations, this book shows readers how being outside can improve concentration and sleep, boost energy and mood, and help us feel more relaxed.
It gently guides readers through twenty-five simple and creative activities to maximizes these benefits. They’re all easy and enjoyable. LOVED it!
God Gave Me Mommy is Pamela Kennedy’s endearing story about the special bond between a mother and her children in this delightful rhyming board book. Mom and baby animals illustrate the main theme of thankfulness for moms as they engage in various activities together like picking beans, sidewalk chalk painting, sliding on sleds, and praying. The togetherness and shared love on these pages is sweet and soft.
My favorite is the giraffe mom who helps her little one learn a Bible verse. The skunks who gather rocks together are too cute! Also a wise old mama owl who helps her little one learn letters and numbers and a mama elephant who offers sympathy and understanding when her little one’s day isn’t going well.
Beautifully illustrated, this charming board book will captivate children ages one to four. The gentle rhyming text is upbeat and age-appropriate.
God Gave Me Mommy is a refreshing affirmation of maternal love that reflects God’s love, too. Perfect for Mother’s Day or any time!
This charming true story introduces young readers and others to the early lives of the Bronte children: Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne.
With gentle prose and period-perfect illustrations, The Little Books of the Little Brontës shows readers who the Brontës were and what they did before they wrote books for the whole world to read and enjoy.
The story begins as we peer through a window into the Bronte home. Charlotte is hand-printing and hand-stitching pages together in a book she’s written for her little sister, Anne. The narrative continues, filling us in on pertinent details of the Brontës’ early life without overwhelming young readers with a factoid dump.
When their father brings Branwell a box of wooden toy soldiers, their imaginations soar. Although the children eventually outgrow the toy soldiers, they never outgrow their stories. They keep writing and reading.
When the children grow up, they write and publish novels that have been loved and enjoyed for centuries and are still read today. Briony May Smith’s beautiful watercolor illustrations complement the gentle and evocative narration.
6. Young readers join a mama bear and her two cubs and other animals as they explore the world God made in this beautiful retelling of Psalm 104.
This is a thoughtful and evocative echo of the psalm. It celebrates God’s glory and goodness in His works of creation and providence. Easy-to-under rhyming text reminds young readers that God is master over creation and no creature is beyond His control.
This is a charming read. Just like the psalm, The World God Made gently reminds readers that their Heavenly Father is loving, guiding, and guarding in all creation and in our lives, too. It will certainly appeal to its target audience of children ages four to eight. An excellent resource for young readers and those who love them.
7. 
Pages & Paws 
February 2, 2023 at 7:18 pm
Kimber sure was adorable when she was little! These books all looks so cute.
February 2, 2023 at 7:55 pm
She’s pretty cute now, too! 😊 (Don’t tell Kimber I said that. I’ll never hear the end of it. 😊🐾)