MADreads

I'm at a super busy and tired time in my life, maybe the busiest I've ever been, and I need coffee to get through my day. I work full-time, I keep track of soccer and piano and swimming lessons, I'm constantly folding laundry, making lunch, emptying the dishwasher, cleaning the bathroom, and all the other regular household stuff that we all do. I'm also getting older every minute. Life tires me out! So I'm really weary of financial advisors telling me to give up coffee. But maybe that's what I need to do.

Chengdu is back! Barney Saltzberg’s adorable panda from Chengdu could not, would not, fall asleep can do so many things all by himself. He can jump! Push, pull, climb, stretch, swing… but he just can’t quite reach the tasty bamboo at the top of the tree. Just like all little pandas, there are some times when Chengdu can also use a little help.

Given the candy-colored cover and the peek-a-boo picture of the heroine, one might be forgiven for thinking that Addition by Toni Jordan is another in a long line of similar chick lit novels. Certainly Addition has wit and humor but it's the appealingly quirky (some might say crazy) heroine that rules the pages. And that crazy adds depth in this Australian debut which I recently pulled off a shelf of older "to be read" books (yes I have shelves of books that are tbr, don't judge). 

A beautiful picture book celebrating girls! Simple text, "Like the sun, I'm here to shine. Like the voice, I am here to sing," make the book accessible to preschool aged children. The use of similes make it something that early elementary school students will enjoy and can think of wonderful things to compare themselves to. The main character and a diverse mix of friends are shown singing, playing, studying, and even falling and getting back up again. Some of the rhymes don't quite work, but the book still has a lovely message of love, helping, and celebrating who you are.