The Cloud Lasso

The Cloud Lasso

Eden Jones

2021

ISBN: 9781910903575

Pegasus

27 pages

Who would like to have a cloud for a friend? Eden Jones has written a picture book about having friends of all kinds. Eden Jones had written 'The Cloud Lasso' where a little monster by the name of 'Little Monster' had such a friend and was afraid to lose this friend, so he made a lasso to keep him. This is a story of keeping and making new friends with many of their various interests from crafts, playing ball, and even dancing. Little Monster had a decision to make.

The artwork from the cover through to the last page isto be whimsical in nature and when I looked closer at the artwork it seemed as if the pictures were painted on canvas as there were some brushstrokes that seemed to show. I liked the effect of using this technique.

This is also a good beginning reading book for the print is large and the repetition of one key phrase will help children learn new words. Teachers could use this book to teach about making and keeping friends. Little Monster and Little Cloud thought they needed only themselves to be happy, but see for yourself what they discover. Thanks to the Dedication, Acknowledgements and the About the Author pages 'The Cloud Lasso' is a picture book that is all about 'love' for all. We are all in search of our own rainbows.

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Ed's Great Escape

Trevor Hodsdon & Marzena Milowska

2020

ISBN: 9781838750862

Nightingale Books

60 pages

What an adventure one is to have in reading 'Ed's Great Escape' that is a picture book that shares that one great adventure that we all would like to have at various points in our lives. 'Ed's Great Escape' is a picture book about an extra large giraffe and his day out of the London Zoo. Ed has many friends at the zoo and he feels special there even though Ed has many friends at the zoo and he feels special there he feels that he needs something. Ed has a very special attribute that lets him do many things, but it does have its' drawbacks. Ed and his day out will lead him to some very special places.

The artwork from the cover throughout the book was like watching a cartoon along with the vivid colors and the shiny pages, which was a good technical format for the book. On various pages the reader can draw their own picture from their their own creation to a newspaper to a bird. 'Ed's Great Escape' is a great story to increase readers knowledge of geography and imagination. It's also a good book to use 'Across the Curriculum'.

Trevor and Marzena make a great creative team and cannot wait for further adventures of Ed. The very last page was my favorite for drawing a map for my own adventure could be fun as well as education. Have fun reading this picture book and make reading fun.

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You Can Swim

Vanessa Joy Moore

2020

ISBN: 978-1-78830-630-0

Olympia Press

29 pages

Who remembers how they learned to swim? Vanessa tells a story for learning to swim, but learning to listen is a better lesson to learn. 'You Can Swim' is all about how a little kid named Jack who learned to swim and become a better listener. Vanessa has written the children's picture book to teach a very important skill we all should learn to do. As you read the story all the necessary skills of learning to swim are presented in a fun way. Jack learns many lessons as you will read about even on his way to a very important place where he learns his other important lessons.

The cover art and all the pictures are child friendly and look as if a child drew them which also makes this an enjoyable book to read and share with others. My favorite picture was when Jack jumped in the pool backwards due to his excitement and and on the very last page with the 'star' and 'thumbs up' sign. It was hard to pick a favorite for they all helped to tell the story of learning to swim. This would be a good book to read to a day care/preschool or even a kindergarten class of beginner swimmers.

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These book reviews were previously published on GoodReads; Olympia Publishers.