Book Review · Books

Maya and Her Friends by Larysa Denysenko [BOOK REVIEW]

Maya and Her Friends by Larysa Denysenko [BOOK REVIEW] I warmly recommend this picture book! 

If you are looking for an inclusive picture book that also has beautiful illustrations and thought provoking stories, and you also want to help children in Ukraine, please look no further and grab Maya and Her Friends!

About The Book:

Maya and Her Friends by Larysa Denysenko [BOOK REVIEW] I warmly recommend this picture book! 


Pages: 68

Genre: Children’s Book, Picture Book

Publisher: Studio Press (imprint of Bonnier books)

Format I read it in: Hardcover

Rating: ★★★★/★

Synopsis:

Nine-year-old Maya goes to school in Ukraine and has sixteen classmates, all with different home backgrounds. As she introduces us to each of her friends, she shares an important message about love, respect, and what means to be a family.

All publisher profits will be donated to charities helping to protect the children of Ukraine.

My Thoughts:

Maya and Her Friends is a book by Ukrainian human rights activist and author Larysa Denysenko. The author wrote the introduction whilst hiding in Kyiv, and the book itself is a beautiful story about acceptance and tolerance in a country deeply affected by conflict.

I couldn’t help but read the first few pages, and I was so intrigued by Maya and her friends that I couldn’t put the book down until I finished. The tone of storytelling is very refreshing and gripping. We get to meet Maya’s friends from school and her teacher Yulia. Every child has a unique story. I was pleasantly surprised how inclusive and relatable these stories are.

I enjoyed the illustrations as well, and if you understand Cyrillic, or are in the process of learning the alphabet, you will have lots of fun seeing the children’s names written in Cyrillic – this being my main alphabet I really enjoyed the representation! The colours are vivid and the art style is very interesting too.

Maya has a very gripping voice of how she introduces her friends. And all friends share something interesting about them. We meet Hrystyna, who lives with her grandma, and Danylko, who doesn’t know who his father is. The twins Sophiya and Solomia, and the three Sophiyas that can cause some serious sophiyahavoc.

I warmly recommend this picture book! It’s funny and keeps you interested, I am sure children will love meeting Maya’s friends as well.

About The Author:

Maya and Her Friends by Larysa Denysenko [BOOK REVIEW] I warmly recommend this picture book! 

Larysa Volodymyrivna Denysenko is a Ukrainian writer, lawyer, human rights activist, TV and radio presenter, and member of the PEN Ukraine.

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Book Review · Books

Bobby & Morph by R.E. Fisher [BOOK REVIEW]

★★★

I am so grateful that I have won a giveaway and received Bobby & Morph by R.E. Fisher, illustrated by Bryony James. This book is so heartwarming and beautiful, and every child should be able to read it and become friends with Bobby and Morph.

My Thoughts:

Bobby & Morph is a collection of ten stories for children, all featuring the dogs Bobby and Morph as they go on their adventures and learn valuable lessons along the way. With a total of 104 pages, and each story around 10 pages each, with beautiful illustrations, the stories can be divided and read for a longer period of time, never becoming boring!

I loved the friendship Bobby and Morph share, and how they always stick together and learn new things. The illustrations are so precious too, perfectly representing the beautiful moments and adventures these two dogs find themselves into. The stories also have parts where there is a poem that rhymes, and the whole book follows a funny tone, with beautiful and simplistic writing.

“The owls taught him a lesson, the only one you’ll need,
that the power of friendship overcomes greed.”

With them, the children reading this will learn about kindness and the importance of being polite. To help people in need and say please and thank you. When they meet Sonny, they will teach us that it’s very important to be yourself, and the right people will come your way.

In the story where they find a new toy, we come across a familiar situation that I believe most of the parents and children can relate to. Through this story Bobby and Morph play together with the new toy and are able to share it between themselves. But one day, Morph accidentally broke Bobby’s toy. And he was so afraid to tell Bobby, because he was afraid that he will lose him as a friend. But he was brave and honest, and told Bobby the truth and apologised. And Bobby forgave him. But Bobby also expressed himself that he still feels sad because he lost his toy.

And I can’t express enough how great I believe this lesson is for children. Because we know it was an accident and Bobby should forgive Morph, which he does. But he is also allowed to express his feelings of loss, and be able to grieve for his toy. This is how we learn emotional intelligence and learn to cope with bigger losses later in life.

I can recall many of the lessons we learn, like the importance of keeping the house tidy, and the importance of sleep and listening to our parents when they tell us it’s time for bed. And the beauty of all these lessons is that Bobby & Morph find these lessons by themselves, rather than someone telling them what’s right and what’s wrong.

I cannot recommend this book enough! If you are looking for the perfect Christmas present for a child, this is definitely the one you need to get. With many stories and many lessons, it is very educational and will keep the child occupied for a long time. And the illustrations are also adorable, and you will also enjoy reading the book alongside the children.

Get the full collection of 10 stories from Bobby & Morph’s official Etsy shop – HERE.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US

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Book Review · Books

A Knight Before Christmas by Ric Lumb [BOOK REVIEW]

A Knight Before Christmas by Ric Lumb [BOOK REVIEW]

★★★

I was very lucky and won A Knight Before Christmas by Ric Lumb through a Twitter giveaway. As soon as the book arrived, alongside with 5 cute illustrated pins, I couldn’t resist and opened it immediately.

My Thoughts:

A Knight Before Christmas is a truly beautiful Christmas story. Even though the main story is about Christmas, it also has a medieval England element to it. Santa comes across a dragon that keeps eating the presents, and is in a help of a Knight, in order to save Christmas. The dragon, the knight, the king and queen and the jester made the story much more interesting and brought adventure to it. I loved how this was combined with Santa and Christmas and elves, and it turned out great! I am sure your little ones will enjoy it a lot!

The illustrations inside are very interesting, with simplistic features of the characters, thick lines and bright colours, which makes it appealing for children and catches their attention.

The text itself is quite easy to read, and rhymes well. I would recommend reading it aloud to a child, or if they are big enough, prompting them to read the book aloud, so they can fully enjoy the rhymes and how it sounds when narrated. The only small critique I had was regarding the grammar. There were many instances where a full stop was missing at the end of the sentence, when quotation marks were used.

The Knight Before Christmas is a beautiful children’s Christmas book, and I truly recommend it!

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US

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Book Review · Books

Teddy Bear Tea by Ellwyn Autumn [BOOK REVIEW]

Teddy Bear Tea by Ellwyn Autumn Book Review children's book

Teddy Bear Tea by Ellwyn Autumn is a children’s book that follows a few friends that meet for tea at promptly three. It is interesting and captivating, and I really loved it! 

Teddy bears are usually the favorite companions children have, and this book reminded me of my own teddy bear. The storyline flows very fast and the rhymes are cute. Suddenly, you are in this amazing forest, having tea with the teddy bear and its friends. There is laughter and fun, and there is happiness and joy.

“Deer, chipmunks, and snakes,
With berries, tarts, and cakes,
Came together beneath a tree,
With Teddy, Rabbit, and me,
For tea at promptly three.
It was a grand sight to see!”

The illustrations are adorable and reminded me of the old-school children books that I used to have when I was little. They are very vivid with bright colours, and I know that children will love watching them and identifying the teddy bear and its friends. 

Something I really enjoyed as well was the font that was used in the book. It was captivating and it looked really nice. I also loved the decoration it has on the first capital letter of each page.

I definitely recommend it that you read this with your children and let them explore the images. Teddy Bear Tea is the perfect book to leave a positive feeling, right before bed time.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK |Amazon US |

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Book Review · Books

Brightley and Glow by Sophie Carmen

brightley & glow sophie carmen book review books goodreads netgalley children's blog blogging diary of difference

★★★★

I don’t often read Children’s Bedtime stories, as I think myself to be a grown up person (sometimes). But I couldn’t ignore Brightley & Glow by Sophie Carmen, as the cover was too gorgeous.

Even though I am past this whole bedtime story moment, I sometimes do read children’s books. Maybe because I get nostalgic. Or maybe, because sometimes, we forget to look and remember the little things. And Children’s books are all about little things in life. Moments and fragments that we often remember to forget as adults. Take a moment to look in the sun. A moment to smile to a person. Create a little space for yourself. Breathe. And be happy!

Brightley & Glow is quite short, but full of amazing art. I loved the way everything was represented, the dark background and the bright colours surrounding it. The story was also really cute. Brightley is a shooting star and his job soon will be to start bouncing and slowly fall out of the sky, so children can make their wishes. But his brother, Glow is a shining star. And his job is to stay close with the Moon and keep shining at night.

When it’s time for Brightley to leave, both him and his brother become very sad and try to solve this unfairness so they can stay together.

I found the story in Brightley & Glow quite moving and absolutely adorable. It brought  out many feelings inside me. How it feels when you see a loved one leave, and you know they have to go, and you have to accept the fact. But it also shows us how you can still love someone so fiercely and innocently that you are willing to give up everything for them.

If you have little ones, I highly recommend this Children’s Bedtime Story. It is short, but adorable, and the images are really cute as well!

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