Children's Books About Donkeys!

Have you ever looked in the mirror and not liked what you saw? Did you ever wish that you were as attractive as one of your friends? I imagine, if we are honest with ourselves, most of us would answer yes to either/both of those questions. Donkey-Donkey has this exact problem. In the book Donkey-Donkey, we meet a donkey who is happy on a farm, well-fed, and has lots of friends. One day, however, he starts comparing his ears to those of his friend the horse. Donkey-Donkey wishes his ears were short, so he goes around asking all the other farm animals what he should do about it. Each animal gives him different advice. The dog says to wear his ears down. The sheep says to wear them to the side. The pig says to wear them over his face. An honest bird finally tells him to stop being ridiculous and accept the fact that he is a donkey and not any other type of animal and to wear his ears proudly like all other donkeys do. This is a straightforward book, with simple illustrations and an honest message. The pacing and story have a good clip and it teaches children (and adults reading it to them) to accept themselves for who they are.

Mikis and the Donkey is a roughly 100 page hardcover children's book. Mikis lives on the Greek island of Corfu. His life is pretty uneventful until his grandfather buys him a donkey. Mikis struggles to find a name for his jenny (female donkey) and finally, with the help of the donkey, settles on the name Tsaki. The grandparents intend for Tsaki to be a working animal, which isn't unreasonable at all, and that is how they treat him. Mikis, however, sees the animal as more than just a beast of burden. He treats the animal with great dignity and respect, and I would even go so far as to say that he sees Tsaki as his friend. Mikis' attitude towards Tsaki eventually convinces his grandparents and other people in the village to care for and treat all creatures with respect. This was a beautiful book with very short chapters, making it a perfect read-aloud book for your children.

These books were provided to me for free by New York Review Books and Eerdmans Publishing in exchange for honest reviews.

Children's books that present a powerful message

I am a Bear is a hardcover, illustrated children's book that tells the story of a stuffed bear who lives on the streets. At first the bear is confused/in a state of denial, because his situation does not make any sense to him. Who ever heard of a bear living on the streets? He tries to engage people, but most people are afraid of him, act like he isn't there, or are just disgusted by him. Eventually, he gives up and resorts to eating out of trash cans at night and sleeping all day on cardboard boxes. One day a girl discovers him, talks to him, and treats him with respect. Her father, however, sees her doing so, and pulls her away, explaining to her why she should not be doing that. She shows up the next day on her way to school, and every other day after that as well, giving the bear hope and causing the bear to feel valued again. The book is illustrated very well and contains a powerful message on homelessness. The words help shed light on the thought process/stages a homeless person might go through, and the pictures add a real touch of humanity to the bear. This is a very powerful read, done through the lens of a children's book!

Moletown is a hardcover, illustrated children's book with only a few words on the first and last pages. The story begins by telling us about one mole who discovered a beautiful, green meadow and lived there by himself underground. As the story progresses, we see more moles arrive. At first it's just a few more who live in separate areas underground. Eventually, there are too many moles to count. Underground has morphed into this giant dig, with pulleys, carts of dirt being excavated, and even machinery to remove dirt faster. More mole holes pop up in the meadow, and these are emitting pollution. The few holes for other moles have turned into elaborate houses with technology absorbing their lives, and some even wishing not to be disturbed. Soon the underground is overrun with shops and so much traffic that cars can only inch along. Many generations have passed when the story ends, and the lush, green meadow is now a pile of dirt, filled with technology and pollution. However, there is still one patch of grass left, so it doesn't end on a completely hopeless note, but instead the end pages offer snippets of solutions/change. The is an interesting book that encourages a balance of progress and preservation, and does a nice job delivering the message with few words needed.

These books were provided to me by Eerdmans Publishing and NorthSouth Books, respectively, in exchange for honest reviews.

Adventures in Assisi and Jonah's Whale (Franciscan Media and Eerdmans Books for Younger Readers)

Welcome back to this special week on my blog where I am only reviewing children's books. Monday I featured two Orthodox books, and today I am featuring one Catholic book and one Christian book. They are titled Adventures in Assisi and Jonah's Whale and can be found at Franciscan Media and Eerdmans Books for Younger Readers, respectively. Let's not waste time and get to the heart of the matter!

Adventures in Assisi is a story about a brother, Lorenzo, and sister, Gianna, who are spending the day in Assisi with their uncle, Brother Antonio. Like most siblings, they tend to bicker and fight a lot. To make matters worse, they find Assisi to be completely boring with nothing for them to do. And while Assisi is a lot slower-paced than Rome or Florence, it has beauty all around it if you know where to look. Luckily for the two children, their uncle does know these places. To stop the petty bickering, he invites them to play a game with him with the winner getting a special treasure. The game involves showing the children various places throughout Assisi and having them guess what St. Francis did at each particular location. In this game, they are cleverly taught history, geography, and the life of a great saint. They also learn the meaning of love and sacrifice. Books by Amy Welborn have yet to disappoint me, and this one is no different. In addition to a great story and beautiful illustrations, there are also sayings of St. Francis on every other page. Truly a masterful story!

Jonah's Whale is a richly illustrated retelling of the Biblical story of Jonah. It's a pretty well-known Biblical section, but it involves a reluctant/disobedient prophet named Jonah who is trying to escape God's plan for his life and the city of Nineveh. This children's book takes a twist on the Biblical passage by telling it from the whale's point of view. In it we learn that the whale has a family, likes to play, and loves to sing. One day he was swimming by a boat during a great story and heard Jonah say to throw him overboard. God spoke to the whale and told the whale to swallow Jonah and save him, so the whale was obedient and did so. He swam around with Jonah for three days and kept listening and hoping to hear God tell him what to do with Jonah, because he did not like having him riding around inside of him. Finally, God told the whale to spit him on dry land, and the whale and Jonah were both relieved. This was a cute take on a classic story, but it was the illustrations that made this book. I am a huge fan of Giuliano Ferri, and it is the illustrations that bring this book from a 3 out of 5 to a 4 out of 5.

These books were provided to me for free by Franciscan Media and Eerdmans Books for Younger Readers, respectively. If you found these reviews helpful, please click here and/or here and hit Yes!

Brother Hugo and the Bear and Brother Giovanni's Little Reward (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers)

Brother Hugo and the Bear is a charming hardcover book that tells the fictional tale of a monk named Hugo and the bear he encountered one day. Lent was just beginning, and brother Hugo had a book due at the monastery library. However, he could not return it, because a bear had eaten it. It sounds a lot like "The dog ate my homework" excuse. The abbot in charge of the monastery gave him the task/penance of going to another monastery to borrow a copy of the missing book and transcribing a replacement copy. This is a tough task to do, let alone in 40 days, so his brother monks help him. It is in this book that we learn the many steps that went into making a book in that day and age. There was sheepskin to be turned into pages, feathers to be turned into quills, and ink to be made. Brother Hugo learned a lesson about brotherhood and that many hands make light work. Once he finishes the book, he must return the original back to the other monastery, but the bear begins to follow him again. If you want to find out if he made it, you'll have to buy the book. This was a beautiful book that is equally entertaining and educational. I especially enjoyed the illustrations, as it felt like reading an older book with gilded and embellished letters. At the end of the book, you will find a historical note as well as glossary to further your child's knowledge on the subject of making books/manuscripts in the 12th century. Five stars!

Brother Giovanni's Little Reward tells the story of naughty children refusing to learn their prayers and a Bishop coming to visit. The monks are distressed, because all of them have tried various methods, but none have worked. Thus, they task Giovanni, the baker monk, with the job of teaching the children. He tries different approaches including being stern and dancing with them, but they all fail. One night it hits him! He will bake them a special treat to motivate them to learn. He thinks for a while, and he soon arrives at the design for the pretiola or what we know today as the pretzel. This treat is a hit and the children all learn their prayers perfectly! At the end of the book is a note to the reader that tells them that it was indeed a monk who created the pretzel, but it is not clear who or what country he was from. There is also a recipe and instructions for how to make your own pretzels. Cute story. Five stars!

These books were provided to me for free by Eerdmans Book for Young Readers in exchange for honest reviews. If you found these reviews helpful, please click here and/or here and hit Yes!

Pope John XXIII

Pope John XXIII, also known as the Smiling Pope, was a pope elected to be a caretaker. No one expected him to do much, being elected shortly before his 77th birthday, but they were wrong. In 1962, four years after his election, he called the Second Vatican Council, the most recent ecumenical council to date. He was recently canonized on April 27, 2014 alongside another great pope in Pope John Paul II. After Pope John XXIII's canonization, two books came out to celebrate this great man's life and legacy. Today, I would like to tell you about both of them.

The Story of Pope John XXIII is a graphic novel illustrated by Joe Sinnott. For those of you unfamiliar with Joe Sinnott, he is a comic book artist (primarily an inker) who is known for his work with Marvel, primarily the Fantastic Four. To those of us comic book lovers, his work is legendary. In 1962, he began work on The Story of Pope John XXIII. Last year, through a Kickstarter campaign, they were able to bring these comics back to life in a beautiful 10" x 15" hardcover.

The story is divided into nine chapters or issues. The first chapter discusses what John XXIII was like as a pope. Reading through this section, we get a better insight into what kind of leader he was. You can also see a lot of similarities between his papacy and those of John Paul I and Francis. By this, I mean that he cared about the laity and went out of his way to interact with them, talk with them, and bless them. The other chapters of the book covers Pope John XXIII's life both as a child and as he moved up the ranks from priest, to bishop, to cardinal. The final chapter discusses every so briefly how a new pope is elected and shows him being announced as the new pope.

This book is visually stunning to behold. The size of the panels and the attention to detail are impeccable and you can truly see an artist at work in this book. Though I was not alive for the reign of Pope John XXIII, I find myself more in admiration of him after reading this book. This is a book I have shared with others and will treasure for years to come. I hope my son will too when he is older. In addition to the featured comic, there is also some bonus features at the end, primarily a few comic strips on the pope that followed John XXIII, that being Pope Paul VI. If you would like a copy of this book, you won't find it on Amazon. Simply go to Joe Sinnott's page and email his son using the email address at the top of the page for cost and shipping charges. Also, I forgot to mention that the book is autographed! Maybe that won't matter to you, but it's a cool touch for nerds like me.

Just for Today is a hardcover illustrated children's book, which was a daily set of rules of Pope John XXIII. It begins by telling us that Angelo Roncalli (later Pope John XXIII) declared at his First Communion that he always wanted to be good to people. In this book, he talks about what he will and will not do today. It focuses on self-improvement, not the improvement of others. There is also talk of taking it one day at a time and resting in God knowing that He loves you. It is a simple book with a simple message, but the message is powerful. In fact, it is a book I feel children and adults should read at least once a day. About the only thing I don't like about the book is the illustration style. I can't put my finger on it, but I'm just not a fan. Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars and think the message of this book puts it in the category of must have for a Catholic home.

This book was provided to me for free by William B. Eerdmans in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Jesus and The Legend of Saint Nicholas (Eerdmans)

Today, I have the pleasure of reviewing two books from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers that I believe would make the perfect gift for Christmas or anytime for that matter. One is about Jesus and the other is about St. Nicholas. Both are written by Anselm Grün and are illustrated by Giuliano Ferri. You might recognize Ferri's illustrations from the book Jonah's Whale, which is also an Eerdmans book. Without further ado, here are my reviews.

Jesus is a 12" x 8" illustrated hardcover that details the life of our Lord. The book starts appropriate with the Annunciation. Gabriel, whose face is not picture, is shown telling Mary that she will conceive a son who will be the Son of God. We then fast forward nine months to the nativity and then after that fast forward twelve years to Jesus conversing with the scribes in the Temple. The remainder of the book then discusses Jesus' ministry. We see him calling his disciples, telling parables (the Prodigal Son), doing miracles (healings and multiplying loaves and fish), inviting the little children to come to Him, and saving Zacchaeus. The story then closes with His betrayal, Crucifixion, and Resurrection.

Overall, I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars. The language comes off a little overly simplified and casual. Perhaps, it was a matter of translation or perhaps it is geared for the younger reader, but I feel we can still portray the beauty of Scripture (even when paraphrased) without making it feel so modern and watered down. The other part that bugged me was the pages on the Crucifixion. They showed Jesus being captured and led off to the Sanhedrin but the only hint of his Crucifixion in the images was three trees in the background, not crosses, but trees. I guess they did not want to get to graphic for younger readers, but it still annoyed me a little. Those flaws aside, it's still a good book that will introduce your little ones to Jesus and His whole life and ministry.

The Legend of Saint Nicholas begins with another story of a child born to barren parents after praying to God for a long time. We then see the most widely known St. Nicholas legend of all, the one with the three daughters and three money bags given to them so they can get married. Thankfully, the author rightly made it a more kid-friendly version in omitting that the father was a drunk who wasted all his money. We also are treated to the story of how he became Bishop of Myra. There are two other legends in this book, which you will have to buy the book to find out what they are. I did not recognize them, so it was fascinating to read them.

This was an excellent book to introduce your child to St. Nicholas. There are familiar and unfamiliar tales, excellent illustrations, and even mention of his feast day (December 6) and some of the traditions families celebrate on this day. If you are looking for an alternative to Santa Claus or just an excellent Christmas gift for your young reader, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. 5 stars!

These books were provided to me for free by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers in exchange for honest reviews. If you found these reviews helpful, click here and/or here and hit Yes!