July picture books

I stopped in at Barnes and Noble yesterday to have a look at some of the picture books I haven't read yet.  One of the things I dislike about Netgalley is that they give you picture books on a device and for me, the magic just isn't there.  There's something special about holding a book in your hands and feeling the pages, the magic of turning them and being able to closely examine the pictures.  So when I read one on a device that I really like, I need to go and put my hands on it!  That happened yesterday.  I read a completely awesome little picture book called "The Most Magnificent Thing" by Ashley Spires.  It's about a little girl who has a great idea to make the most magnificent thing.  She makes things all the time so it should be "easy-peasy".  She makes a plan, gets an assistant (her completely adorable dog) and starts.  But as with many things, it doesn't go according to plan.  So she tries again.  And again.  And AGAIN.  And then she has a complete meltdown and this is my favorite part!  She's so angry (and Ashley Spires does an awesome job of showing that) and there's this little note off to the side that says "It was not her finest moment."  I laughed so hard.  So many kids are going to be able to identify with that one!  Anyway, her assistant convinces her to take a walk and suddenly, she has new ideas.  I absolutely loved this book and I can't wait to put into kids' hands!.  Here's a little book trailer for it.

Another one that I really liked was called "Those Pesky Rabbits"  by Ciara Flood.  It's about a grumpy old bear who gets new neighbors, a family of rabbits.  He is not interested in the rabbits and really just wants to be left alone.  The rabbits however, have other plans.  They come over to ask to borrow things, the bear refuses, in not such a nice way.  The rabbits persist though and send him a basket of goodies and they become friends.  The pictures are very sweet and I think it has a nice message about being kind to people, but in the back of my head, I'm kind of wondering, why don't the rabbits just build a nice big fence and pretend there's no one there?  But I'm sure that's just crabby, negative me talking.  Here's a book trailer for that one.

The last one is called Ninja Bunny by Jennifer Gray Olson.  The pictures in this one are awesome!  The text makes it feel like a guide book for Ninja wannabes.  "Step one-be very quiet".  But the pictures show you that there's a whole different story going on.  The Ninja bunny is being observed by a whole bunch of other bunnies and you kind of wonder, do they want to be Ninjas too?  Anyway, the simple story ends with a revelation that even though Ninjas usually work alone, some bunnies have friends, and they will come to help!