Thursday, November 7, 2013

(3) Fun New Books for 2013: The Runaway Hug; Nick Bland ~ The Bad Birthday Idea; Madeline Valentine ~ I Am Pusheen the Cat; Claire Belton

 
 The Runaway Hug; Nick Bland and Freya Blackwood (Illus)
Random House Children's Books - December - 2013

From a very early age, most of us have learned that bedtime and hugs seem to go hand and hand.  So when little Lucy asks her mom for a hug and Mom announces that she only has one left, Lucy decides to do all she can to protect that hug and see that it stays safe.

Sometimes though, even well intentioned plans can fall apart.

Follow Lucy as she goes all out to try and keep mom's last hug safe.  The story is very cute, however the print is very tiny for older, tired eyes.  The illustrations are well done in pastels, and they have a good old-fashioned quality about them.

A fun story and a very nice book overall. Perfect for ages 3-7.

(Thanks to Knopf Young Readers / Random House and Edelweiss for eGalley)
 
 The Bad Birthday Idea; Madeline Valentine
Random House - Knopf Young Readers - Nov - 2013

Big Brother Ben likes to play with Robots and his younger sister Alice likes to play with dolls. Whenever Alice wants to play with Ben, he tells her, "no dolls allowed." It's his policy.
So when mom and dad ask Alice what she would like for her birthday, Alice asks for the very special robot (Roboy 2000) that her brother Ben has been drooling over.

When Ben hears about this, he is jealous and thinks it is so unfair that his sister should get Roboy 2000 as her present. He just can't resist sneaking a careful peek, even though the present is already gift wrapped. Ben carefully unwraps the present, but now he can't resist trying out the robot, and then something terrible happens.  Just how is Ben going to fix the mess he has gotten himself into?

Of course, as with most children's books, this one ends on a happy note and Alice gets just what she really wanted for her birthday after all.

I liked this story a lot. It's a realistic portrayal of young siblings and the happy ending makes it perfect.  The illustrations are very cute and done in watercolor pastels.  Perfect for the 3-7 age group.
(Thanks to Random House and Edelweiss for eGalley)


 I Am Pusheen the Cat; Claire Belton
Touchtone - Oct - 2013

I first learned about the adorable fat cat Pusheen as an online blog, so when I saw there was a book of his own coming out, I couldn't wait to take a peek. It's adorable, and just so fun. It's the perfect book to put a smile on your face when you it the most.

The book is done in comic book block style. For readers who are not familiar with Pusheen, there is an intro section, but hey, Pusheen has similar attributes to other cats we've known and loved. She is lazy, sleeps a lot, eats a lot and can get into some unusual situations and trouble! Pusheen also has a younger sister named Stormy who gets into the act as well.

Although this was very fun as an eBook, I suspect that this one would be even better in print. It would be great to be easily be able to flip though the pages when you needed something to make you smile. Take a peek; it's not just for cat lovers.

(thanks to Touchstone and NetGalley for a download)

3 comments:

  1. Diane, each of these sounds and looks so cute! Thnak you for sharing them. I adore well-done children's books like these. I don't mind them on the iPad mini, either. It seems to be a good size for many of these picture books.

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  2. I agree, they all look wonderfully cute!

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  3. Pusheen is new to me. I'm so out of touch!

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