Book Review | The Elephant’s Girl

The Elephant’s Girls by Celesta Rimington is a whimsical, wonderful MG. I’m pre-ordering a copy for my ten-year-old elephant loving daughter.

Here’s a quick blurb about the book:

A magical adventure about a girl with a mysterious connection with the elephant who saved her life, for fans of Katherine Applegate and Jennifer Holm.

An elephant never forgets, but Lexington Willow can’t remember what happened before a tornado swept her away when she was a toddler. All she knows is that it landed her near an enclosure in a Nebraska zoo; and there an elephant named Nyah protected her from the storm. With no trace of her birth family, Lex grew up at the zoo with Nyah and her elephant family; her foster father, Roger; her best friend, Fisher; and the wind whispering in her ear.

Now that she’s twelve, Lex is finally old enough to help with the elephants. But during their first training session, Nyah sends her a telepathic image of the woods outside the zoo. Despite the wind’s protests, Lex decides to investigate Nyah’s message and gets wrapped up in an adventure involving ghosts, lost treasure, and a puzzle that might be the key to finding her family. As she hunts for answers, Lex must summon the courage to leave the secure borders of her zoo to discover who she really is–and why the tornado brought her here all those years ago.

I loved watching Lex grow as a character, and the elephant scenes were magical and beautiful. Lex’s relationship wit her foster father was heart-warming. And I love that she’s best friends with a boy her age at the zoo, that is resilient and evolving and doesn’t turn romantic. The bits with a ghost were capricious and fun, and not at all scary, which I enjoyed. All in all this was a delightful, magical adventure and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys uplifting, charming middle grade stories.

What Would You Wish For? | Book Review

Thank you Zonderkidz for a free copy of  What Would You Wish For?  by David Sable and illustrated by Emma Yarlett.

This whimsical, colorful book helps to encourage kids to live for something bigger than their own happiness. As the book begins, the book offers ideas of different wishes you could make, but it’s easy to see that where one child is happy because they got something fun for themselves like a huge pile of presents, their friends are left out and sad. My three-year-old was following along just having fun hearing the different wishes, but on the very last page before it switched from wishes that only benefit yourself, she noticed that the other kids were sad. After that if offers ideas of things you could wish for that would be good for everyone, and then everyone was happy, and that made my three-year-old happy, too.

It’s a cute, fun picture book that my kids enjoyed quite a bit.

 

Artisan Collection Bible for Girls | Book Review

Thank you so much, Zonderkidz, for this free copy of the NIV, Artisan Collection Bible for Girls.

Isn’t it beautiful?! My almost 13 year old daughter literally said she wishes they would make this design on notebooks, and art prints, and novels, and everything. It’s so pretty I can’t say that I disagree. I love that there’s space on all of the pages to journal as you read, too. I would have kept it for myself if she didn’t love it so much.

 

Grow, Candace, Grow | Book Review

Grow, Candace, Grow, by Candace Cameron Bure, and illustrated by Christine Battuz is a beautiful story about patience. Thank you, Zondervan, for sending me a free copy to review. In this sweet story, New York Times bestselling author and star of the hit Netflix series Fuller House Candace Cameron Bure, writes about a little girl named Candace who is soo excited for spring because it means FLOWERS! She asks her teacher if her class can plant a flower garden, and they do, but Candace wanted to see flowers right away. When they don’t seem to be growing quickly enough, Candace gives them lots of water to try to help, and ruins the garden. And then, unlike most stories where the character saves the day with hijinks like buying fully grown plants and sneaking into the garden at night to cover their mistake, Candace fesses up and apologizes, and then buys new seeds that her class plants. And the second time around she waits patiently even though it’s hard, and is eventually rewarded with beautiful flowers. I love the lesson of the story, and I just read it to my littlest and she loved rooting for Candace. She also loved the beautiful illustrations, especially the glittery cover! This would be a lovely book to give a little girl!

Little Duckling’s Easter Prayers | Book Review

Little Duckling’s Easter Prayers, Illustrated by Kasia Nowowiejska, is just the sweetest little book of prayers for young children. Thank you, Zonderkidz, for sending me a free copy to review.

Each prayer in this book is a gentle rhyme that reminds us of God’s great love, and many blessings. I love the prayer Wings of Safety that begins “As a bird protects her young beneath her feathered wings, I know you will protect me too, no matter what life brings.” The illustrations are all whimsical and adorable. I love that the format of this book allows me to read just one or two prayers to my littles if they’re not on the mood to curl up and listen to a longer story. I’m sure we will be enjoying this book for years to come.