Can You Top That?

Can You Top That?
by W. Nikola-Lisa
illustrated by Hector Viveros Lee

This is a cute counting book about a boy and his imagination...as well as the imagination of his friends. They battle over who can top the others "story." It all begins with, "Hey, I got a fish with one fin! Can you top that?" The stories almost ended with on of the kids saying, "I got a horse with ten heads! Can you top that?" Finally the boy tops it with stating that he has an elephant. All the kids want to see his elephant, but he says that he will show his elephant once they show all of the stories they told. It was a cute little boy that definitely showcased the imagination of the kids. As we read the book, one of my boys announced, "Hey mom, this is a counting book!" I really like it when books tie in other academic skills! Overall we liked the book even though some of the "stories" were quite far-fetched!

The Friendly Four

The Friendly Four
by Eloise Greenfield
illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist

The lonely summer becomes quite eventful for Drummond when he makes three new friends. The book is about the summer adventures of "the friendly four." They build their very own town named Goodsummer, with a population of four. Although the friendly four knew they would be separated for one another for the fall, winter, and spring, they looked forward to next summer and the return of Goodsummer!

Me & Neesie

Me & Neesie 

by Eloise Greenfield
illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist

This book is about a girl named Janell and her imaginary friend Neesie. Although my kids do not currently have any imaginary friends (at least not that I know of), they really enjoyed this book and totally caught on to the idea that Neesie was not real. Even though the kids liked the book, we did have to have some discussions about Neesie's behavior, which was less than stellar.

Setting the Turkeys Free

Setting the Turkeys Free

by W. Nikola-Lisa

Illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max

An imaginative little boy uses his hand print, paint, and paper to make turkeys. He adds toothpicks, feathers, and sequins to decorate his turkeys. I love how the boy uses his imagination and creativity! The turkeys take on a life of their own when Foxy the fox shows up. Using paint and his imagination (of course), the boy saves the turkeys from the fox. My kids LOVED this book and so did I! I wish we would have read it around Thanksgiving. I would have been a cute to read the book and make turkeys from our hand prints, just like the boy!

Elizabeti's Doll

Elizabeti's Doll

by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen
Illustrated by Christy Hale

This was a beautiful story about a young girl with a brand new baby brother. She watches how her mother cares for her baby brother and decides that she wants her very own baby to care for. So, she finds the perfect rock and names her new "baby" Eva. I was fortunate enough to win this book in a giveaway from Tara at Itty Bitty Bookworm and we first read it when my daughter was doing her unit on rocks. She enjoyed the book so much that she wanted to have her own "rock baby" to take care of! Needless to say, we love this book!

A Wild Cowboy

A Wild Cowboy

by Dana Kessimakis Smith
illustrated by Laura Freeman

This is a cute little book about a little boy who likens his day headed off to grandma's house to that of a cowboy. He mounts his horse (his mother's back) and meets up out West (grandma's house). The little boy has quite an imagination, which made this a fun read!