Review Round-Up: Books for Beginning Readers, November 2015

Happy Thanksgiving weekend! Here is this month's collection of reviews of easy readers and beginning chapter books.

Easy Readers

This month, Round One Cybils judge Jennifer had reviews of a bunch of the nominated easy readers at Jean Little Library and Flying Off My Bookshelf:

• Digger and Daisy Star in a Play
• Flop to the Top! 
• Ling and Ting, Twice as Silly
• A Pig, a Fox, and a Box
• Pig and Pug
• Pigsticks and Harold and the Tuptown Thief
• Rosa Parks
• Urgency Emergency: Humpty's Fall

Flying Off My Bookshelf also featured reviews of Stingrays: Underwater Fliers and Don't Throw It To Mo.

At Step Up Readers, Katie from Storytime Katie focuses exclusively on easy readers. This month, she reviewed The Little Butterfly, all of the 2006 Geisel award books, Hamster Holmes: A Mystery Comes Knocking, and the first two books in the Lana's World series.

Additionally, Literary Hoots reviewed Hoot, Owl!, Becky's Book Reviews featured I Really Like Slop, Redeemed Reader posted about Flop to the Top and Written and Drawn by Henrietta,  and Shelf Employed used What Does Otis See? to discuss some of the problems with publisher-assigned levels for easy readers.

Chapter Books

There were tons of great chapter book reviews this month! Tons!

Jennifer from Flying Off My Bookshelf and Jean Little Library reviewed lots of Cybils nominees:

• Kung Pow Chicken: Heroes on the Side
• Princess Posey and the First Grade Ballet
• The Haunted Library: The Five O'Clock Ghost
• Stink Moody in Master of Disaster 
• Ellie and the Good-Luck Pig 
• The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake
• Shadow of the Shark
• Anna, Banana, and the Monkey in the Middle
• The Mystery of the Missing Lion
• The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party
• Charge of the Lightning Bugs 
• Princess Pistachio
• Olive and Beatrix: The Not So Itty Bitty Spider
• The King and the Sea

Jennifer also reviewed Race the Wild: Rainforest Relay and Gymnastic Jitters.

Here at Story Time Secrets, I also reviewed a few Cybils titles:

• Charlie Bumpers vs. The Perfect Little Turkey
• Clover's Luck
• The Dragonsitter

Additionally, I featured a vintage beginning chapter book, Bears on Hemlock Mountain, in one of my Old School Sunday posts this month.

Mo Willems's latest book, The Story of Diva and Flea, was just published in mid-October. It was reviewed this month by Waking Brain Cells, Literary Hoots, and Geo Librarian.  Geo Librarian also reviewed the Oliver Moon series and The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party. The Princess in Black was also featured in a post about sequels on What to Read to Your Kids.

Sal's Fiction Addiction and Kids Book a Day continue to be great sources for beginning reader book reviews. Sal's Fiction Addiction reviewed Jasper John Dooley, Lost and Found and Princess Pistachio and the Pest, while Kids Book a Day covered Shelter Pet Squad: Merlin, Gooseberry Park and the Master Plan, and The Best Friend Battle.

Other November chapter book reviews included:

• Judy Moody & Stink: The Wishbone Wish from The Children's Book Review
• Dory and the Real True Friend from emilyreads
• Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon from Provo Library Children's Book Reviews
• The Sign of the Carved Cross from Life of a Catholic Librarian
• Bunjitsu Bunny's Best Move from Shelf Employed

Submit Your Reviews! 

Do you review beginning reader books? Please let me know about any reviews you post in December by emailing me at storytimesecrets@gmail.com. Thanks!