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Book Love Blog Hop – Mr. Tweed’s Good Deeds by Jim Stoten

 Share some book love today!

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Image created by Dana Carey

We’ve joined up with this clever Book Love Blog Hop after being tagged by reviewer and blogger, Cathy Ballou Mealey. The goal is to spread some book love which we’re doing for an imaginative picture book from this past September ’14 called Mr. Tweed’s Good Deeds (Flying Eye Books, $19.95, Ages 3-7) by Jim Stoten. The Blog Hop is part of Carrie Finison’s innovative Book Love Blog Hop, and we’re sure you’ll agree that it’s an absolutely brilliant concept!

The idea is to help promote children’s books worthy of positive social media attention. But with so many picture books competing for coverage, it’s difficult for every book to get their 15 minutes (or longer) of fame. As bloggers, we can help get the word out about terrific kidlit titles that may have been overlooked, and play our part in sharing some overdue shout outs.

MrTweed-cvr.jpgMr. Tweed’s Good Deeds, a seek-and-find counting book from 1-10, kept me throughly entertained as I dove in to search the first wildly colorful two-page spread. I was on the lookout for 1 kite that had snapped its string. While trying to locate the kite, I noticed so many other marvelous and zany things the author/illustrator included in a park scene: trees resembling paper airplanes and another sporting sunglasses and a hat, an enormous purple dog, an over-sized snail, some ducks on bikes and even an enormous shoe.  Kids’ll have a blast pointing out the various items they notice as Mr. Tweed helps an unhappy little crocodile retrieve his lost kite.

“It felt good to help people,” Mr. Tweed thought to himself, as he left the park.

Next up Mr. Tweed volunteers to find Tibbles and Timkins, 2 adorable kittens belonging to Mrs. Fluffycuddle, that are hiding in a cottage garden. For Americans, the depiction of English scenery is a great introduction to another country although, apart from the double decker buses and no punctuation after Mr. or Mrs., it might be hard to realize the illustrator and book are from the U.K.

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Interior artwork from Mr. Tweed’s Good Deeds by Jim Stoten, Flying Eye Books ©2014.

Kids and parents alike will have to use keen observation skills to spot the missing mice in the third spread which is a library packed with shelves and shelves of books. My favorite illustrations were of the pool, the market and the river, but I think youngsters will also enjoy the woods, the bustling street scene, the fair, and the big surprise waiting at the end.

Mr. Tweed’s kind gestures do not go unrewarded! Best of all, parents and kids will also be rewarded by the fun that is certain to be found exploring every inch of every single page in this cheerful, quirky counting picture book with its eye-popping artwork and its positive message. Try a little kindness and see how contagious it can be!

– Reviewed by Ronna Mandel

BOOK LOVE Blog Hop Instructions

1. Pick some books you love (any genre) that you think deserve more attention than they are getting.

2. Post reviews for the books you chose on Amazon/social media. The reviews can be brief – even a short review on Amazon helps. Posting on Goodreads or Shelfari is great, too, or Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. The more places you can publicly proclaim your love, the better!

3. If you want, you can also post the reviews on your own blog, or link your blog back to your reviews on social media.

4. Feel free to display the BOOK LOVE badge designed by Dana Carey on your blog – and if you want, link it back to this post so your visitors know what it’s all about.

5. Tag some friends to do the same! Tag friends through their blogs, or on Facebook.

That’s it! If you don’t want to wait to be tagged, you can jump right in and start reviewing and tagging yourself.

Good Reads With Ronna tags Danielle Davis, Mia Wenjen, Valarie Budayr and Catherine Friess. 

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Penguin in Peril by Helen Hancocks

PENGUIN IN PERIL, written and illustrated by Helen Hancocks, is reviewed by MaryAnne Locher.

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Penguin in Peril written and illustrated by Helen Hancocks, Templar/Candlewick Press, 2014.

What’s black and white and read all over? The front page of the Daily News when a penguin is stolen from the city zoo!

Author-illustrator Helen Hancocks makes a big splash with her first children’s picture book, Penguin in Peril, (Templar/Candlewick Press, $15.99, Ages 3-7).

Three hungry cats sit around their kitchen table and devise a plan for the greatest fish caper ever!
All they needed was … a penguin.

Hancocks could have used the stereotypical raccoon for her three masked thieves sneaking into the zoo and kidnapping the unsuspecting penguin, but she likes to draw cats, and cats in striped sweaters and masks are laugh-out-loud funny.

Everything was going along swimmingly, except the cats didn’t speak penguin, the penguin felt he was in peril, and the cats discovered that a penguin is surprisingly good at hiding in plain sight as they chase him throughout the city. Habit-clad nuns and waiters in coats and tails make convenient camouflage for a penguin. Our little tuxedo-clad friend finds his way back to the zoo just in time for a fishy supper.  The cats however don’t fare quite as well though they do manage to make the front page of the paper when they’re put behind bars!

I loved the illustrations done in mixed media, the bright pops of red, green, and yellow, and the artful use of black and white, so necessary to the story. Hancocks’ use of background characters who are seen throughout the book is brilliant. She’s truly tapped into a child’s imagination with this story. What a wonderful debut!

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Teeny Weeny Looks for His Mommy & Bunny Boo Has Lost Her Teddy, Two Tiny Tab Books

Rita Zobayan reviews two board books in the fun and engaging new Nosy Crow Tiny Tab series.

Very young children love interactive books—pulling tabs, lifting flaps, and discovering who or what is hiding underneath. An added bonus is that the kids get to practice their fine motor skills. Nosy Crow presents two such board books in its “A Tiny Tab Book” series for children ages 0-3 ($7.99). These sturdy and chunky board books are 10 pages with 4 tabs that are each pulled twice. The adorable illustrations are by Jannie Ho, who perfectly captures the bright colors, friendly features, and cute details that make Nosy Crow books so delightful.

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Teeny Weeny Looks for His Mommy: A Tiny Tab Book with illustrations by Jannie Ho, Nosy Crow.

In Teeny Weeny Looks for His Mommy the mouse is trying to find his mother. He looks in all manner of places: behind the apple tree, in his pirate ship, in the flower bed, and in his playhouse, to name a few hiding spots. During his search, Teeny Weeny finds his friends: That must be Mommy behind the wall! Oh no, it’s Bear! Could Mommy be in the tree? No, that’s Monkey, and Bird with her chicks! His friends are fun to find, but where can his mommy be? Your children will enjoy helping Teeny Weeny find her.

 

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Bunny Boo Has Lost Her Teddy: A Tiny Tab Book with illustrations by Jannie Ho, Nosy Crow.

In Bunny Boo Has Lost Her Teddy the little rabbit must get ready for bed, but she has misplaced her favorite lovey. She looks in the laundry room and the bathtub, but Teddys’s not there. She searches all over. Is he on the shelves? No, that’s Hippo, Mouse, and Penguin! Is he having tea with Koala? No, that’s Zebra and Owl. The search is great fun, but Bunny Boo has to get to bed. Teddy must be somewhere! Only your kids can help find him!

 

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