Tina Gallo

Fans of Cocomelon can join their favorite characters as they get ready to discover an Easter surprise.

JJ is very excited about Easter. At school, his class creates bunny masks to prepare for the celebration. JJ takes care to do a good job and creates a cute mask. But there's still a big surprise waiting for him.

This is a board book, created for small hands and made to take a little wear and tear. To fit the Easter theme, it has a lovely egg shape, which also keeps corners away. The length is nice and short, as board books tend to be, and each page is bright and colorful. It focuses on the fun surrounding the preparations for a big event and demonstrates how putting in effort and care increases the joy.

The tale comes from the very popular series, Cocomelon, and portrays the scenes from one of their shows. While there's a short sentence or two on each two-page spread to help listeners follow the story...and this in a personal and cute way...the text to the song from the show flows along the bottom. The illustrations are taken directly from the video scenes, which will delight young fans as they will immediately recognize the characters. These are well placed and let the story shine. I was surprised that the story is more about creating a bunny mask than the end surprise as the title suggests, but this will definitely have listeners ready to dive into their own craft project (so be ready for that!)

The text is a little on the heavier side but easy to understand. So, I do see that part more for the upper age end of the intended audience level. But since this follows something readers will already recognize, little ones will enjoy that aspect. It's a cute book with tons of positivity and is definitely more geared to readers, who know the show. But those readers will enjoy this quite a bit, too. I received a complimentary copy and smiled the entire way through.… (mais)

With the caring characters from the Fred Rogers Productions Donkey Hodie, friends and support shine bright an big in these pages.

Bob Dog is very, very nervous. In order to graduate from dog school, he needs to tap dance, sit and stay still, and bake muffins...and that while standing on a stage! While he's nervous to stand in front of everyone, the fear of forgetting something is his biggest concern. But his friends might just know how to help him out.

Fans of Donkey Hodie are going to enjoy this one (of course) and will immediately recognize the characters from the show. Plus, their energy and personalities still manage to gleam off of every page even in book form. It's a warm bunch and no problem to feel welcome and wish to be right their with them.

This is a level one reader and written in large font with only a sentence or two on each page. It's easy to identify the words and letters, and while each one accompanies an illustration on the page, it's placed clearly above or below for visual ease. Although only level 1, the vocabulary doesn't allow readers too much slack. Right away, the word 'graduate' is presented with a quick pronunciation help as it filters right into the tale. This was well laid and often repeated throughout the text to help the word sit. Other slightly difficult words such as remember, pose, and celebrate keep readers stretching their reading skills without trying to overwhelm in the process.

The story holds a lovely message of support and encouragement, while keeping fun and humor high. Tap dancing and muffin baking already add a silly twist to dog school graduation. Plus, the friends' solutions to help Bob Dog remember everything spin in far directions, which make sense somehow, anyway. It reads in a bit of a energy-packed flurry, which bordered on heading into too much but reeled back just in time. The atmosphere fits to the characters personalities nicely and is sure to delight show fans. I received a complimentary copy and found the friends fun.… (mais)