A children's book review blog

Bookish Dad

Honest reviews from a guy who has read The Very Hungry Caterpillar approximately one billion times.

16 honest reviews · 7 essays · read together, at bedtime, out loud

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I Hate Children's Books That Make No Sense (My 4-Year-Old Disagrees)

One of my favorite parts of the movie "Elf".. actually scratch that. I'm a card-carrying Millennial. ALL of "Elf" is my favorite part. Do you know the part where they are introducing Buddy the Elf's dad Walter Hobbs to the viewers? They ...

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In Defense of Junie B. Jones (and Other Bad Influences)

"Oh I would never read Junie B. Jones to my kids, she's such a bad influence!" If you are a parent of a 5+ child you've probably heard this before. Luckily I didn't hear it before I first started reading the Junie B. Jones series to my k...

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How to Read a Graphic Novel Out Loud Without Losing Your Mind (or Your Voice)

Every parent wants to get their kid to love reading. Ok, not all parents (no judgement.. mostly), but I'd say it's mostly a consensus that reading is an activity worth pursuing. Video games? That one's still up in the air (I'm pro btw, a...

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Reviews Worth Starting With

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Llama Llama Red Pajama: The Book I Like a Lot More Than My Kids Do

There are books that are absolute classics and have been for decades now. I just reviewed some of them. Goodnight Moon fits that. The Very Hungry Caterpillar fits that. Every bookstore you'll ever go to will have those posted up somewher...

★★★★★
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The Berenstain Bears' Trouble with Pets: The Most Poorly Named Book in Bear Country

Earlier this year my wife and I got a tip that there were some kitties that needed fostering. Really young ones, not quite bottle baby age but just past that, no mother cat in the picture, just needing to be taken care of and gain some w...

★★★★★
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The Very Hungry Caterpillar: I've Read It Hundreds of Times. Maybe Thousands. Still Going.

Books like Goodnight Moon and The Very Hungry Caterpillar were the initial inspiration for getting so interested in children's books in the first place. What makes them special? What separates the really great ones from the ones you don'...

★★★★★
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Goodnight Moon: The Book I'd Gift Every New Parent, Even Though They Already Have It

Goodnight Moon is such a classic that it's possibly the book that got me so interested in children's books in general. It's one of those books where you read it for the first time and it doesn't make a lot of sense. But there's something...

★★★★★
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The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies: The Gimmies Start With the Parents, and This Book Knows It

Every single dinner in our house needs to end with a dessert, and my kids will use every line in the book to get it. "Oh, but I ate my vegetables." "Oh, but I always get it." "Oh, but my little brother got one yesterday that was really b...

★★★★★
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