Description: Jasper Rabbit loves carrots—especially Crackenhopper Field carrots. He eats them on the way to school. He eats them going to Little League. He eats them walking home. Until the day the carrots start following him...or are they?

Review: Creepy Carrots is a fun read. I really like how it plays on the old horror movie tropes of a main character feeling paranoid that something or someone is stalking them only to find out that there is no one there when they turn around. I thought the use of using carrots was very clever, honing on the distaste of many children who don't like to eat their vegetables. The panels vary in size, highlighting Japer's fears and his attempts to secure himself from the looming carrots that just won't leave him alone. The gray coloring reminds me of an old school black and white noir film. Creepy Carrots would be a great read for any time of the year, but I think it would be especially great for Halloween.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for PreK to Grade 1.

If you like this book try: The Monster's Monster by Patrick McDonnel, Black Dog by Levi Pinfold, and Even Monsters Need Haircuts by Matthew McElligott



Description: As a boy and his mother move quickly through the city, they're drawn to different things. The boy sees a dog, a butterfly, and a hungry duck while his mother rushes them toward the departing train. It's push and pull, but in the end, they both find something to stop for.

Review: Wait is a beautiful story. The plot is very simple yet very relatable. A mother and her young son are trying to rush to their morning train. While the mother passes by ordinary events and her sole focus is getting on the train, her son times time to observe all of things around them with a repeatable chime of "Wait" and the mother's response of "Hurry". I love how the images from the mother's perspective flash by like a blur, but for her son's point of view things are much larger and impressive, mirroring the perspective of time as an adult and as an innocent child. The pacing is just right. Just when the mother and child reach the door of the train, the mother does scoop up her son and they both marvel at a rainbow together.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for PreK to Grades 1.

If you like this book try: Waiting by Kevin Henkes, Last Stop on Market Street by Matt De La Pena



Description: There's been a terrible mix-up in the royal nursery. Priscilla the princess has accidentally switched places with Pigmella, the farmer's new piglet. The kindly farmer and his wife believe it's the work of a good witch, while the ill-tempered king and queen blame the bad witch-after all, this happens in fairy tales all the time! While Priscilla grows up on the farm, poor yet very happy, things don't turn out quite so well for Pigmella. Kissing a frog has done wonders before, but will it work for a pig?

Review: The Princess and the Pig had me chuckling throughout the story. A new baby princess is accidentally switched with a piglet. I enjoyed the author's clever fractured fairytale and his nods to other famous and familiar fairy tales such as "Sleeping Beauty", "Thumbelina", and "The Frog Prince" as the princess and the piglet try to back to their rightful places. I think young readers would get a kick of pulling out references to the fairy tales and also point out the absurdity of a king and queen actually believing that their daughter is a pig no matter how much lipstick or expensive gowns they make the piglet wear. It will also be a good reminder in a lesson that wealth and advantage do not equate with self-worth.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for Grades K-4.

If you like this book try: Fairly Fairy Tales by Esme Codell, The Other Side of the Story by Trisha Speed Shashkan