My Grandma's a Ninja by Todd Tarpley

I had the privilege of reading this book before it hit stores, through Net Galley, the release date is March 1, 2015. I loved the title when I first saw it, My Grandma's a Ninja, just made me laugh. I had pictures of crazy adventures, you know ninja stuff.

The illustrations are amazing. They reminded me of my childhood with old Nickelodeon TV shows. The story itself felt as if Ethan was talking to the reader. I was expecting a little bit more of a lesson when he asked his Grandma not to be a ninja, but I have a feeling the ending is leading into another book.

I feel a little luke warm with this book because while it's great illustrations, the story is kind of meh for me. I found it to be lacking movement and understanding on why Ethan felt his bad luck was that of his Grandma's. An explanation, emotion, something altogether was missing for me.

Lessons from the Lion, the Ox and their little friends by Aesop

Growing up we are all taught or read fairy tales by one person or another. I had a conversation with my boyfriend about this recently and found that the stories I am so familiar with from my childhood he is not. It showed a comparison of different cultures as he is Russian and I am American. He told me of the stories his mom used to tell him and the ones he learned when he moved to the states, but little of them were similar to those I grew up with.

In Aesop's Lessons from the Lion, the Ox and their little friends I had found the parallel between my world and my boyfriends. The stories are short, sweet and packed with moral decency that should be spread to each individual. These stories are easy to read and the illustrations are very simple yet intriguing to grasp a child's attention.

While this is a quick read for me, but one I feel that a young child could enjoy reading over and over again. There is plenty of room for creative improvisation for adults to continue the story and allow for growth based on the child. I could honestly picture my dad reading me these in funny voices or myself asking my niece to point out things within the pictures that went along with the story.

Great read, great price (FREE), overall great time!

Monster Diaries 1: The Negative Monsters!: Negative Nelly & Negative Ned by Bolaji O.

I downloaded this book after browsing the free section of Amazon in the hunt for some research. I thought it was a cute cover and I was extremely interested.

The lesson from this book is pretty awesome. The idea of building self-esteem in children is one that is always a question of debate. Do you teach them to fight or walk away? In Bolaji O's Monster Diaries 1: The Negative Monsters! there are lessons not only for children, but also for parents.

To build the self-esteem of children with their own minds is one that was never taught to me. I was praised for what I did right and punished for what I did wrong. Simple and easy, nothing more than what my parents were taught truthfully. Bolaji O's however gave me a different perspective to look into giving confidence to my future children.

However, this book needed some additional editing. Towards the end there were a few sentences cut off or repeated on my copy of this book, but overall it was an extremely easy read.

I recommend this book, but warn readers that there are some grammar issues.

Paris Hop! by Margie Blumberg

I loved this book from the beginning to the end. The fact that there is a glossary of French words made me squeal a little as the thought of education in a book is slightly exciting for me, but for a children's book its extremely delightful.

Paris Hop! by Margie Blumberg was easy to follow and gleefully enthralling. I was able to read this book through NetGalley and I was truly not disappointed.

Grandma Goldie is on a mission to get her granddaughter Aimee to the Eiffel Tower before the sun goes down, but Aimee has different plans. The adventure ensues that the duo find amazing wonders throughout the city of "Paree" that all tourist should experience.

The relationship between Grandma Goldie and Aimee was well defined and loving. In a sense I was jealous, but this isn't a place for therapy sessions. Blumberg did a great job of bringing the story to life with the adventure and Renee Andriani did a great job of bringing the characters off the page and into my heart with her illustrations.

I highly recommend this book for any child. My only complaint is that I wish I had a physical copy vs. a digital for I feel that a physical copy of this book would portray the story a lot easier for a child to read.

Lily Lemon Blossom Welcome to Lily's Room by Barbara Miller

This is my first Children's book review. I decided to add these into my reviews as I've been studying children's books for a while now. I'm in the process of writing two children's book series and since I am only a parent to a fur child I don't have children to read too. However, I'm pretty sure that Charlie isn't arguing with me reading to him like a two legged human.

On with the review!

Lily Lemon Blossom the title in itself is a mouthful, this book by Barbara Miller brings you into the descriptive details of Lily's room.

I found the illustrations to be inviting and easy to follow. The descriptions given for each aspect of a child's room, such as the music box are simple and sweet. They allow for the reader to understand each aspect of the story.

Lily's adventures with her toys and room decor brought me back to my own childhood with tea parties and dress-up. However, I found no story behind the book. I was expecting reasoning behind the dolls and dresses, but the description itself provided nothing more than the idea that this was Lily's room.

This is great for children age 5 and under in my eyes, as there is not much to be gained from a storyline. Truthfully for some children who read this, they may find some type of jealousy inside for Lily has a lot of toys in her room. Some of which many children will never see or play with.

At a price of Free for Amazon Kindle I would recommend this for two things alone. The illustrative drawings and price. The story needs more fluff and understanding for me to enjoy it further. I was hoping that Lily would have gone on an adventure instead I felt empty with just a description of her room.

I do feel that this is a great start to a story line for Lily Lemon Blossom and will have in inquire about Miller's other books based on this character to maintain a further opinion on the series.

Overall for a price of free, its worth seeing if your child will like it before investing in the series.