Not enough substance.

This seems more like the introduction to a story than an actual story. It's not all that short by page length, but the amount of text per page, and what's conveyed, is just so small.

Message

Be kind.

Try a little tenderness.

It is a fairly didactic book, which I was not expecting. I was actually expecting something sappy instead of something preachy. The main character spends so much time trying and failing to find happiness, that it's not really explained why love was the right answer.

Message

Fame and beauty are unimportant. What's really important is love.

Pain-in-the-neck frog.

I guess it's just supposed to be funny, but I didn't think it was. I found it rather annoying instead. I don't like trouble for the sake of trouble, or things like pranks.

Message

Don't take frogs to a fancy restaurant?

Ambiguity is fine for adults, but it may or may not work for kids.

Amazon says this is aimed at ages 4+, but this would go right over a preschooler's head, and unfortunately that might mean they would get a message that it's not okay to be scared. Plus a list of scary things that maybe they'll be able to "shoo" away and maybe they won't.

Message

Don't be afraid of the world. Or, everybody is actually pretending that they're not afraid of the world.

Good but could have been better.

It definitely provides children with a character to emulate. It's not completely realistic, but I feel like it could have gone further. It's good, but it could have been better.

Message

Everyone is in charge of their own body, and they shouldn't be forced to allow other people to do things to their body that they don't want to do.

Pick a lane.

Okay, there's this vegetarian T. Rex, and isn't that weird. Let's all make fun of him. Wait, he left, and now we miss him, so let's not make fun of him anymore. It's almost like vegetarianism is a random choice in this. Like they're trying to use vegetarianism as a metaphor for some other lifestyle choice that I really can't figure out.

Message

Vegetarianism is good. Or, don't discriminate against people. I really wish it would pick one.

More of a window than a mirror for my kids.

As far as wilderness goes, she's lucky, and I'm glad she and her kids appreciate it. But it's so caught up in the beauty of nature and the awkwardness of its rhyming that it doesn't recognize that this situation is unusual.

Message

Nature is wonderful.

Tomatoes are like the Schrödinger's cat of produce.

I think maybe this book was just an excuse for the author to make a bunch of fruit puns, because they comprise the majority of the text.

Message

Tomatoes are fruit.

This is so awesome. A great book.

This book talks about science and it does in a very science positive-way. It talks about the importance of knowing the truth and knowing reality. It's got great pictures and great writing as well.

Message

Benjamin Franklin is awesome. Or, the scientific method is a way to learn about reality.

Good because of what it leaves to the imagination.

This is just a great day with the dad and the two kids. It's unclear where the mother is for most of the day, but there's no judgment of it. Perhaps she has a personal hobby. It's a great depiction of the father and the two daughters having fun together in a very wholesome way.

Message

It's fun to hang out with your dad.