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Perfect Picture Book Friday! Steam Train, Dream Train By Sherri Duskey Rinker

17 May

In my excitement in posting about my interview with JJ from S.W. Lothian’s Quest Series and the fact that I DEMOLISHED my schools Accelerated Reader record… Did I mention I got 1503.9 A.R. points and the old record was 945?… I forgot to announce the winner of the copy of “Lotto’s Super-Awesome Unbelievable Park Adventure” by Jan Ellen Ferrigan that I am giving away to celebrate Children’s Book Week.

The winner (drawn out of a hat by Josie) is

Nena Challenner!!!

Congratulations Ms. Challenner! I will be emailing you to get your address to send the book to you! If you didn’t win, you can find out where to purchase the book on Ms. Ferrigan’s website HERE or find it on Amazon HERE.

Lotto's Super Awesome Unbelievable Park Adventure

On to Perfect Picture Book Friday!

Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday. It is a list of “perfect” picture books recommended by all sorts of people. I chose this book because this is a beautiful bedtime book and the illustrations are WUNDERBAR (my new word I learned from Julie Rowan Zoch) ;) !

steamtrainSteam Train, Dream Train

By Sherri Duskey Rinker

Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

4 – 6 years – 40 pages

Published by Chronicle Books on April 16, 2013

Theme/Topic – animals/trains/bedtime

Opening and Synopsis – 

“Through the darkness, clickety-clack…

Coming closer, down the track…

hold your breath so you can hear

huffing, chuffing drawing near.”

The dream train pulls into the station and the animal workers load the train with bouncy-balls, pogo-sticks, ice cream, hoola-hoops and other fun toys! Everything needed for sweet dreams!

Why I liked this book –

First of all, look at those GORGEOUS illustrations! They’re wonderful! LOOK! -

steamtrain2Can you NOT love that??? Other than that, the rhyme is magnificent! I love the onomatopoeia in it and it sounds like the chug chug of a train. I like that it teaches the purpose of each train car! (ex: “The autorack will gently keep these fast, fast cars”…) I think it is imaginative to see all the sweet dream things the animals load onto the train. It will definitely give kids things to have nice dreams about!

Activities and Resources -

You can color what you think the dream train is bringing you in your sleep. I found this train coloring page on the Krafty Kidz blog! Click HERE to get it!

traincolor

To find more Perfect Picture Books please visit Susanna Hill’s blog  HERE!

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Veggie’s Bully by C. JoVan Williams

15 May

It’s May 15th and how many accelerated reader points do I have?!? With the addition yesterday of the unabridged Three Musketeers by Alxeandre Dumas, Brian’s Return by Gary Paulsen, and Crooked Star’s Promise by Erin Hunter, I have -

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I have until 3pm today to meet my goal of 1500! Will I do it?!? I’m actually kind of nervous I won’t… but I have three books to take tests on today that should put me over the top… as long as I get the answers right on the tests…

Wish me luck!

veggies

Veggie’s Bully (Chef ReCee Jay & Friends – Book 2)

By C. JoVan Williams

Illustrated by Jennifer Chappell

34 pages – ages 4+

Published by CreateSpace on December 28, 2012

Veggie Bunny is sad and feeling bad about herself. Piggie is bullying her and making her feel like she is worthless and not good at anything. Veggie’s friend Carb Monkey wants to get even with Piggie by doing mean things back to him. Uncle Bear lets the kids know that “getting even” is not the right way to deal with a bully. Uncle Bear tells Veggie to be her very best no matter what someone may say.

I love the message in this book! I think that the Carb character saying he wants to bully Piggie back and his Uncle Bear (does that make him a money’s Uncle *snicker*) telling him it’s wrong makes a great point for kids, especially since the book is meant for younger kids! I think it is a real reaction for kids who get bullied to want to get even, but Uncle Bear points out that makes you the same as the bully. I like how Ms. Williams takes Veggie through all the emotions of sadness, anger, and embarrassment – all things kids feel when they are bullied. In the end, Veggie Bunny learn to believe in herself and ignore Piggie. I think all kids should learn this. The illustrations were large and bright. They were a little too simple for my taste, but I can see how young kids will like them. They did work well in the ebook version of the book on my black and white Kindle.

I really LOVE what Ms. Williams says in the dedication of her book – “This book is dedicated to everyone, young and old, who may have run into a few “Piggies” in their life. Currently there are over 7 billion people in the world. Don’t let the spoiled words of a few ruin your day.”

Despite the fact I’m not too fond of the pictures, Veggie’s Bully has a five bookworm message! fivebooks

Check out the trailer!

To learn more about the Chef Recee Jay & Friends series, please visit the official website HERE!

Follow Chef Recee & Jay on Facebook HERE!

Follow Ms. Williams on Twitter HERE!

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Perfect Picture Book Friday! Nora’s Ark by Eileen Spinelli

10 May

Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday. It is a list of “perfect” picture books recommended by all sorts of people. I chose this book because I love Mrs. Spinelli’s books and the message is great!

norasarkNora’s Ark

By Eileen Spinelli

Illustrated by Nora Hilb

32 pages – 4+ years

Published by Zonderkidz on February 19, 2013

Theme/Topic – Religion / Imagination

Opening and Synopsis – 

“The Weatherman predicted rain.

So Nora built an ark.

Just like Noah.

Well… not just like Noah.”

Nora heard it was going to rain, so, she built an ark. She gathered animals 2 by 2. She uses her imagination and a broken chair, planks, and boxes, to make a great ark. Now all she has to do is wait for the rain!

Why I liked this book – Once again Mrs. Spinelli creates a masterpiece! Besides being a wonderful re-telling of Noah’s Ark, this book has a great message about using your imagination!  Nora uses what ever she can find to use her imagination to build an arc and save the world’s animals. The illustrations are soft and beautiful and go perfectly with the story. They show what Nora thinks is going on in her mind – what she is imagining, and then shows what really is going on. I love that Nora paints her toenails waiting for the rain and one of her crew mates (her little brother) has to leave to take a nap! I won’t give away the ending, but you will probably figure it out! ;)

Activities and Resources -

I found a great activity on PBS kids that I actually did in school. You build a boat out of tin foil and then put pennies on it until it sinks. Then you try to change the design of your boat and see how many pennies it can hold. It teaches you about how a boat floats! Click HERE to get the activity!

Foil boat activity

Foil boat activity (Photo credit: Micah Sittig)

Boatful of Pennies.

Boatful of Pennies. (Photo credit: San José Library)

I also found a boat building activity on Scholastic Book’s teacher’s site. It is meant for younger kids (PreK-K). Click HERE to go to it!

To learn more about Mrs. Spinelli, please visit her website HERE!

To find more Perfect Picture Books please visit Susanna Hill’s blog  HERE!

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Perfect Picture Book Friday! The Deductive Detective By Brian Rock

3 May

Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday. It is a list of “perfect” picture books recommended by all sorts of people. I chose this book because I love mysteries and this is a great book for younger kids to get into mysteries and learn how to subtract.

deductiveThe Deductive Detective

By Brian Rock

Illustrated by Sherry Rogers

32 pages – ages 4+

Published Sylvan Dell Publishing on March 5, 2013

Theme/Topic – Math/reasoning

Opening and Synopsis – 

“Duck, the deductive detective, was sitting at his desk when the phone rang with an urgent message: Someone stole one of the cakes from the cake contest!
Detective Duck is on the case!”

Detective Duck was called upon to “quack” the case of the stolen cake! There are 13 contestants, but Fox obviously didn’t steal her own cake, so that leaves 12 suspects! Duck uses deductive reasoning to eliminate the suspects one by one, until there is only one left…

Why I liked this book – I love mysteries. I like finding the clues myself. This is a great way to get young kids into mysteries. I also like that Duck uses math to find out how many suspects are left (ex: 12 suspects – 1 mouse = 11 suspects). The illustrations are very well done and “cartoon-y” and have some “hidden humor” in them, so older kids will like that. It’s nice to find a book that makes math and reasoning fun. The puns and cute jokes are also a favorite for me (like the mouse wouldn’t steal the cake because she only likes cheesecake ;) ). I think kids 4+ would love this book!

Activities and Resources -

I didn’t have to search too long for activities to go along with this book because there are two pages of suggested activities right in the book! There is a compare/contrast activity and a deductive reasoning activity. There are also more activity suggestions at the publisher’s website (click HERE).

To find more Perfect Picture Books please visit Susanna Hill’s blog  HERE!

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Perfect Picture Book Friday! Emeraldalicious By Victoria Kann

19 Apr

Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday. It is a list of “perfect” picture books recommended by all sorts of people. I chose this book because Earth Day is on Monday, and this is a great book to teach a greenerific lesson with!

emeradiciousEmeraldalicious

By Victoria Kann

40 pages – ages 4 – 8

Published by HarperCollins on January 29, 2013

Theme/Topic – Environment/ Recycling

Opening and Synopsis – Taken from the inside jacket -

“When Pinkalicious and Peter decide to visit their favorite park, they find that it’s no longer their favorite place – the park is now filled with stinky trash! So Pinkalicious decides to make an extra-special wand out of flowers. Now whenever Pinkalicious makes a wish, adds a little love and recites a pinkatastic rhyme, something amazing happens: It’s pinkerrific magic!”

Why I liked this book –  This is an awesome book for Earth Day! It gives the message; care for your environment and recycle! The illustrations are fabulous as with all of Ms. Kann’s books. I really like Pinkalicious’ cape, wand, and tiara that were made from flowers and plants. I really like how the story shows that you can re-use some of the “junk” lying around and make it into something great. I think everyone should do more of that. I think kids (girls AND boys – remember, Peter is there too!) 4+ would really like this book!

Activities and Resources -

Go out to your favorite park, and clean up any trash you see, so that park doesn’t become as bad as the park in the one in the book!

Cub Pack 16, From the Harvey Scott Grade Schoo...

Cub Pack 16, From the Harvey Scott Grade School in Portland Cleaning Up Beach Litter at Sauvie Island on the Columbia River 04/1973 (Photo credit: The U.S. National Archives)

Re-use, Reduce, and Recycle! Talk about the 3 R’s with your child. Maybe do some of them too?

Crystal earth recycle icon

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To find more Perfect Picture Books please visit Susanna Hill’s blog  HERE!

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It’s Weird to Grow a Beard! By Neal Fox

15 Apr

Happy Monday!

On Saturday our family went to the races. This is what I did -

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BUT – THIS is what my little sister Josie did -

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Yup, that’s right! Josie is officially a racer. It was her fist race. I think that’s pretty cool! She wrote a post about it on her blog (click HERE) please check it out. I am very proud of her!

Now on to the review for today!

April is national poetry month and I have a great poetry book kids will love to tell you about!
nationalpoetrymonth
weirdtogrowIt’s Weird to Grow a Beard!

By Neal Fox

60 pages – ages 4+

Published by CreateSpace on January 21, 2013 (ebook reviewed)

“It’s Weird to Grow a Beard” is full of a variety of funny poems about all kinds of things! From growing a weird beard, to a sandwich miles high, to a cat who swallowed a frog, this book has one silly poem after the next!

I enjoyed the poems in this book. The poems were very funny and unique!  The book had a lot of illustrations too. The illustrations were also funny and went really well with the poems! I think any kid would enjoy the poems in the book. There’s one word in the book that parents may object too (it starts with c and rhymes with happy), but I also know that some families/cultures don’t think that word is impolite. The poems are fun, and the rhymes flow well and I LOVE the silliness! I think silly poems are a great way of getting kids into reading poetry and the poems in this book are right for that!

I give this book 5 out of 5 book worms.fivebooks

To learn more about Mr. Fox, please visit his website by clicking HERE.

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PPBF! Back to Front and Upside Down! By Claire Alexander

8 Mar

Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday. It is a list of “perfect” picture books recommended by all sorts of people. I chose this book because the Librarian on the Columbia County Book Mobile recommended it!

backtofrontBack to Front and Upside Down!

By Claire Alexander

26 pages -ages 4+

Published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers on June 6, 2012

Theme/Topic – Dyslexia/perseverance

Opening and Synopsis – Taken from the back of the book -

“Let’s all make birthday cards for Mr. Slippers!” Miss Catnip said. Stan had lots of brilliant ideas for what to draw. “Excellent!” said Miss Catnip. “But first of all… your cards need to say Happy Birthday.” Oh no! thought Stan. He hadn’t realized there would be writing!”

Stan wants to do a great birthday card for Mr. Slippers, the principal. But when he tries to write, his words come out back to front and upside down! Stan is afraid to ask for help because he thinks everyone will laugh at him. What will Stan do?

Why I liked this book – First off, the illustrations are CUTE! I love that the kids are animals too, meaning it can be any kid. That is a great message. I like how Stan handles his problem. Jack was a great friend to Stan and I would love it if he was a  real person in my grade. I like that this book is a book about a kid that has problems writing. It could be that he has dyslexia or that he is just not as experienced with writing as the other kids. I like that a boy and a girl are having trouble. I like that it shows that girls have trouble too with writing, not just boys. The book also teaches kids to ask for help when they need it and usually there is another person having the same trouble.

Activities and Resources -

Here is the book’s trailer -

Plan a birthday party for one of your kid’s favorite stuffed animal. Help your child write a birthday card and makes signs for writing practice.

Candles spell out the traditional English birt...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You can learn more about dyslexia and how to help someone with it by visiting the International Dyslexia Association by clicking HERE.

This is a video my parents showed me to help understand what it is like to be dyslexic (someone very close to me is dyslexic).

To find more Perfect Picture Books please visit Susanna Hill’s blog  HERE!

I promised to announce the Winner of the Flora and the Flamingo poster… Well, Josie picked the Winner out of a hat… and the Winner is… Wait. Cue the trumpets! Beat the drums! Tweedle your kazoos!  The Winner is…

LAURA ANN MILLER!!!!

I will be emailing you to get your address! Thanks! Let’s see the FABULOUS prize you won!

posterIsn’t it GORGEOUS?

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PPBF! Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle

1 Mar

Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday. It is a list of “perfect” picture books recommended by all sorts of people. I chose this book because it is a unique picture book that makes you use your imagination.

floraFlora and the Flamingo

By Molly Idle

44 pages – ages 4+

Published by Chronicle Books on February 5, 2013

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Theme/Topic – ballet/dancing – friendship

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Opening and Synopsis –

Taken from the inside jacket -

“In this innovative wordless, book a tentative partnership blooms into an unlikely friendship between a girl named Flora and a graceful flamingo.”

flora2

A young girl picks a flamingo as a dance partner. When the girl does a move wrong, the flamingo laughs at her. The flamingo realizes the girl’s feelings are hurt, and he apologizes.  Then the dance continues!

Why I liked this book – 

First of all, just look at the illustrations! Some of the pages have flaps or fold-outs that make “reading” the book more fun. The picture above is the same page as the picture right below, just with the flaps pulled down!flora4

I really like this one.

flora3

When you look at the book you can hear the music Flora and the flamingo are dancing to in your head. Just from the illustrations you know how the characters are feeling and what they are thinking. This is a great story of friendship and forgiveness.

Activities and Resources –

Charades is a great wordless game that anyone can play! Pick a word or phrase and act it out. The other person has to guess what the word or phrase is. The rules are NO TALKING!

The Pennsylvania Ballet is fifty years old this year! They have a great website where you can see videos of behind the scenes stuff and of actual performances (click HERE). They also have a “Learn About Ballet” section of the blog that has teacher/parent resources (handouts and booklets) that you can download. They teach about dancers and what they do, ballet words and the history of ballet (click HERE).

 

Here is the book’s trailer -

To find more Perfect Picture Books please visit Susanna Hill’s blog  HERE!

Here’s a bonus. When I first saw the trailer for Flora and the Flamingo, I really loved it. I wrote Chronicle Books to ask for a review copy. They were super nice and sent a review copy and also a poster to give away on my blog! To enter the give-away, just leave a comment saying you want it and next Friday (March 8), Josie will pick a name from a hat. I will announce the winner in next week’s PPBF post! Here is what the poster looks like!

poster

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Picture Books Everywhere!

20 Feb

Picture books are awesome. When I go to the library I usually have 4 or 5 picture books (and two novels) that I check out. A really good picture book will give you a lot of information and/or a great story in less than 36 pages! I like to read and review picture books and I have a couple I want to tell you about today!

First up is-

escuchaEscucha Means Listen

By Talia Aikens-Nuñez

Illustrated by Dina Ashraf Helmi

24 pages – ages 3+

Published by Musa Publishing on November 2012

A girl listens to the world around her. What she hears and sees is told in Spanish and English.

I have a special interest in bilingual books and I LOVED this one! I am trying to learn a different language (I am taking French and Latin classes) and my sister, Josie, is taking a Spanish class. Even though books like this one are meant for younger kids, they are great for older kids (like me) who want to learn words from other languages. The illustrations are great and I like the idea of the girl just listening to the world around her!

Robyn Campbell did a PPBF review of this book HERE. Check out the publisher’s website HERE.

Cinco de cinco ratones de biblioteca para “Escucha Means Listen”! fivebooks

Next I have a fun one for you!

caarinaCaarina the Cooking Fairy

By Julia Dweck

Illustrated by Gemini

Published by KiteReaders on December 1, 2012

26 pages – ages 3+

Caarina lives with master chefs who create new recipes. She is a cooking fairy. Caarina is excited because a great feast is to be made, and she was chosen by the Fairy Queen to make it! She starts making her fabulous foods, but a gremlin sneaks in and starts ruining everything when Caarina isn’t looking! At first, Caarina thinks she is the one messing her food up, but then she notices the uninvited guest in her kitchen!

This is a cute book! I like that it is about cooking. The illustrations are very sparkly and my little sister LOVED them. Josie liked the idea of a cooking fairy too. I like how the gremlin messes the food up and how… Well, I don’t want to give the ending away! I’ll just say, Caarina is one smart fairy!

Check out the publisher’s website HERE. Ms. Dweck’s website is HERE.

Five out of five bookworms for this treat! fivebooks

Now for a great picture book app!

andsoyouwereAnd So You Were Born

By Mona Parsa

Illustrated by Nidra N. Kilmer

Published by Twin Peacocks Publishing

This interactive book app talks about why you were born. It is a spiritual book about God’s love (not about any one religion). In fact, there are prayers and scriptures you can read from many different religions. I like that part of the book. It seems to include all religions. I think the book is best for very young kids and would make a nice read aloud for parents and kids to share together. The illustrations are beautiful and the app works well.  There are puzzles and painting games included. The app can also be personalized so your kid’s name and birthday will appear in the story.

Click HERE to get the app!

Five out of five book worms! fivebooks

Finally, A book that really helped me.

mynewgrannyMy New Granny

By Elisabeth Steinkellner

Illustrated by Michael Roher

32 pages – ages 4+

Published by Sky Pony Press on September 11, 2012

Fini loved being with her old Granny. They fed the ducks together and when Granny traveled, she’d send postcards. Granny made the BEST foods too. Granny went to the hospital and when she came back, she was “new Granny.” Now she does things like she wants to eat the bread that was for the ducks, she turns the stove on to warm her hands, not to cook, and she can’t travel. She has to move in with Fini and her parents because she needs to be watched now. Fini likes her new Granny, but she is kind of upset that she has to help take care of Granny instead of Granny taking care of her, and gets fed up with it.

This book has a great story. Granny has dementia and a lot of kids don’t understand this subject. I first read about this book on Patricia Tilton’s blog (see her review HERE) and when I commented on her blog, the publisher offered to send me an ebook copy to review. I got the book, just as my great-grandfather started to get sick. I didn’t understand why he was doing some of the things he was and my parents told me it was dementia. I showed my mom this book and she got the “real” book version for our family to read together. I like how the book tells kids that the person going through this is still the same person, only a bit different.  Besides the great, meaningful story, the illustrations are magnificent. I love how they are drawn. I especially like how Granny looks the same but just acts different.

Check out the publisher’s website HERE.

I would give this book more than five bookworms if my scale went higher! fivebooks

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PPBF! Poopendous! By Artie Bennett

15 Feb

Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday. It is a list of “perfect” picture books recommended by all sorts of people. I chose this book because it teaches the ULTIMATE RECYCLING STORY!

poopendousPoopendous!

By Artie Bennett

Illustrated by Mike Moran

36 pages – ages 4+

Published by Blue Apple Books on March 27, 2012

Theme/Topic – Ummm… poop … Hmmm (*thinking*)… OK I had to ask my parents on this one ;)   Non-fiction / Books for Boys / Recycling

Opening and Synopsis –

“I’m Professor Pip Poopdeck. Welcome aboard!

We’re exploring a substance that most have ignored.

An icky-poo subject that folks don’t care to visit.

Quite putrid and shocking and horrid… or is it?“

Well Professor P. takes two kids (a boy and a girl) on the journey of learning about types of poop and uses for it! He goes on about how farmers use it for fertilizer and how people use it for houses and heat! Animals use it to mark their territories and seeds travel in animal poop. You really get the scoop on poop!

Why I liked this book – 

I liked this book because of my sister’s reaction to it. I had the book sitting on my desk and she came by and picked it up and started reading it and I quote -

“What?”

“Oh, that’s got to stink!”

“EW! That’s GROSS!”

“HEY THIS BOOK IS ALL ABOUT POOP!”

After she got over the shock of a book about poop, she read the whole thing… twice and was really into learning about all the ways poop can be useful. :D Besides me laughing hysterically at the book, the illustrations are great. The flow of the story and the rhyme is AWESOME! Plus the story really teaches you something! Who would have ever thought you could use poop in so many ways?!? It just tells us that we can recycle all kind of things! If you want a chuckle-filled educational book, this is the book to turn to! I really think kids 4+ will LOVE LOVE LOVE this book (or at least have a funny reaction ;) )!

Activities and Resources –

RECYCLE! Recycle by taking a thing usually headed for a nearby dump and turning it into something else! In first grade, my teacher had us do a project like this. I made a toy submarine out of an old plastic bottle! Just recently Josie recycled an old cheese box and turned it into a jewelery box! Look! -

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The home improvement store LOWES is also joining in the fun! My parents ordered some lights from them and when they were delivered to our house, the boxes they came in were designed so that kids would reuse them. One of the boxes was made so you can make it into a puppet show stage.

It even came with puppets to cut out and color. We made a couple of our own too.

Another box we got was made so you can make a robot costume!

Another idea is I made a paperclip and rubber band holder for my mom out of an old flower pot.

There are a ton of things you can do with stuff that is being thrown away.

A great activity is to have your kids try it! Get a piece of trash headed for the dump and make something useful out of it!

Sue Morris of Kid-Lit Reviews reviewed this book not too long ago. If you want an adults opinion, check her review out HERE.

To find more Perfect Picture Books please visit Susanna Hill’s blog  HERE!

***UPDATE – It seems that great minds think alike because Nessa Morris of the Opening a Can of Bookworms blog also reviewed Poopendous today! Check out her review HERE!

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