Tag: kenard pak

When The World Is Dreaming (Rita Gray)

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Hello friends, and Happy Earth Day! Today’s book is When The World Is Dreaming, written by Rita Gray and illustrated by Kenard Pak, a soothing bedtime book that asks an age-old question: what do animals dream of?

A Little Dreamer wanders home through the woods near dusk, watching the animals bed down in their nests and burrows. What do they dream of? The fawn dreams of sheltering with her twin under a giant mushroom during a rainstorm. The rabbit dreams of having wings made of cauliflower leaves and souring above the clouds. The turtle dreams of Sky Turtle, her bright round shell glowing in the night sky. As Little Dreamer returns home and prepares for bed, the dreams of the animals follow her, inspiring dreams of her own.

This was an absolutely gorgeous book. The creativity of the animals’ dreams is a perfect melding of the gentle, meditative rhyming text and some truly ethereal yet adorable art. That being said, this is definitely a bedtime book when it comes to bookworms JJ’s age: the pace is comfortable but on the slow side, perfect for settling down for the night, but not as much for a quick afternoon read. JJ enjoyed it, but was starting to get antsy towards the end. That said, this would make for a fantastic naptime or bedtime story to wind little readers down before bed, and we absolutely recommend it. Baby Bookworm approved!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn (Kenard Pak)

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Hello, all! Welcome to our Fall Festivities Week! From today through Thursday, we will be reading books that celebrate the change of seasons: fall colors, autumn holidays and, of course, Thanksgiving. To start us off, our book today is Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak, an exploration of the different elements of nature that change as the seasons do.

A young boy leaves his house to go for a walk in the woods, greeting everything he meets along his way. Each plant and creature returns his friendly “Hello!” and explains how they are preparing for autumn: the wind blows through the trees, scattering the now-colorful leaves, the animals collect food and migrate or hibernate, and thunderclouds begin to gather in the distance. The boy concludes his walk, enjoying the last summer evening of the year, and greeting the following morning with, “Hello, Autumn!” 

This was a lovely book to teach children about the coming of fall, and how they can look for the changes in nature around them. The text is straightforward yet informative, and the watercolor-inspired art is filled with all the beautiful colors and tones one associates with autumn. The length is good, and JJ enjoyed it, so this one is solid! Baby Bookworm approved!

Flowers Are Calling (Rita Gray)

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Hello friends! Today, we read Flowers Are Calling, written by Rita Gray and illustrated by Kenard Pak, a beautiful and informative book about flowers and pollinators! Told in a combination of playful rhymes and nonfiction blurbs, each page introduces different species of flowers and the individual pollinators (like bees, hummingbirds, and even bats) they attract.

This book was packed full of really interesting information about flowers that even I didn’t know, and I really loved how it explained pollinators and how important they are to the ecosystem. Furthermore, the illustrations were absolutely gorgeous, and JJ really liked them. However, while she loved the rhyming pages, the informational pages did not hold her attention as easily, and she started to get bored near the end of the book. So, this one may not be the best for the younger reader (unless you only read the rhyming pages, which you absolutely could!), an older reader, especially one who loves plants and flowers, would adore this. So overall, Baby Bookworm approved!