childrens books – The Pajama Chef

Book Review: All the Colors That I See

August 7, 2018August 7, 2018 Sarah

All the Colors That I See is a great board book to help young children learn their colors–and that God made all of them for us to enjoy, too!

A description of the book from the publisher:

Green and yellow, red and blue?—what favorite color did God give you?

In this delightful board book, preschoolers can learn their colors and learn where they came from—God! They’ll be encouraged to touch, tap, or pat colors on each page, and a sneaky chameleon will follow them along the way.

In the Little Words Matter™ board books, it only takes a few words to tell a big story. Crafted especially for toddlers, these books make biblical truths easily understandable and enjoyable for little ones and their parents too!

As usual, my five point review:

I love getting new books to read with my toddler, and this sweet board book is no exception. This book is a great way to teach your young child about all the colors God has created for us to enjoy and appreciate.
Most educational books for toddlers about colors or objects are pretty boring, in my opinion. I thought All the Colors That I See is so creative! The premise: teaching children about colors is pretty basic. However, the authors take this a step further by encouraging children to engage with the colors–circle them, tickle them, touch them with their nose. Silly things like that. Finally, there’s a color changing chameleon to find with each color as well. All this adds up to a fun and educational experience for your child–and you! I can see my son engaging with this book differently as he grows, so that’s definitely a bonus.
One thing I expected with this book, perhaps by the title, was that it would explore issues of race. It doesn’t go there at all, so just be aware of that. I think it could be used to bridge that topic with older toddlers or preschoolers in a pinch, but I know there are better books about that as well.
The faith content in this book is not forced or overbearing, and is very age appropriate. For instance, God made the color red and He also made red apples. On some pages the text is more explicit about God than others, but you can use a similar sort of prompt to share about God’s creation with your child whether you are reading this board book or on a walk outdoors or at the grocery store.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. I think we will be reading it for many years to come! My son’s favorite color changes every day and this book is a great way to explore that, and to remind him that God made colors for us to enjoy.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from B&H/Lifeway Bloggers. However, I was not required to write a positive review. The thoughts expressed above are entirely my own. Thanks to B&H/Lifeway for the chance to read this great book!

Reviews

Book Review: Tell Me About Easter

February 28, 2018February 27, 2018 Sarah

Looking for a simple, fun way to introduce Easter to your toddler? This is a great pick!

Looking for a simple, fun way to introduce Easter to your toddler? This is a great pick! #Easter #bookreview

A description of the book from the publisher:

Is it Easter yet?

Rhyming text fills this short-and-sweet die-cut board book that helps toddlers celebrate the true message of Easter—Jesus! Plus, foil and flocking will engage little readers’ senses as they spot and pat each fuzzy animal. Welcome, Easter!

Looking for a simple, fun way to introduce Easter to your toddler? This is a great pick! #Easter #bookreview

As usual, my five point review:

This a short and sweet book about Easter–both sweet spring animals and Jesus. It is absolutely perfect for toddlers! Aside from the content, we’ve been able to use it as we teach our son about colors and animals–asking him questions about what he sees and whatnot.
We love the illustrations in this book. It’s not just your average everyday board book–many of the animals (lambs, chicks, bunnies), flowers, and leaves are covered in soft felt flocking. A great tactile way for your kiddo to interact with the book. There is also gorgeous foil in this book as well. Both elements make this book very engaging to young readers. And a pretty book is fun for adults to read, too!
The book rhymes, but not in an obnoxious way like other books can. Apologies for using the word obnoxious to talk about books, but please tell me you know what I mean here! 🙂 This rhyming is sweet and sing-songy… it’s precious to see my son nodding and grinning along with the text. He even claps at the end!
My husband and I value good theology for books–especially kids’ books. This one is great–very straightforward and simple. You can see the majority of the spiritual content on the page above.
All in all, I would highly recommend this book for a way to prepare your kids for Easter, especially for the little crowd (under 3-ish?). It’s simple and sweet. My almost two year old son loves it, either when we read it aloud or when he “reads” it to himself. I could see this book being fun for older siblings to read to their younger siblings as well.

When God Made You - a book review on thepajamachef.com #bloggingforbooks #bookreview

Reviews

Book Review: When God Made You

September 21, 2017September 20, 2017 Sarah

Read on to learn about a wonderful children’s book, When God Made You. I know we’ll read this over and over and over again to our little one! I received a complementary copy from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

A description of the book from the publisher:

YOU, you… God thinks about you.
God was thinking of you long before your debut.

From early on, children are looking to discover their place in the world and longing to understand how their personalities, traits, and talents fit in. The assurance that they are deeply loved and a unique creation in our big universe is certain to help them spread their wings and fly.

Through playful, charming rhyme and vivid, fantastical illustrations, When God Made You inspires young readers to learn about their own special gifts and how they fit into God’s divine plan as they grow, explore, and begin to create for themselves.

‘Cause when God made YOU, somehow God knew
That the world needed someone exactly like you!

As usual, my five point review:

What a QUALITY book. Christian kids’ books are always a toss up in terms of quality and imagination… sometimes they try too hard to incorporate scripture and therefore lose their audience–but the quality of the story here is just great. Obviously from the title you can tell that it’s a faith-based story… but that doesn’t mean you lose anything. The story as well as the construction of the book means it’ll be appreciated and read for years to come.
What a BEAUTIFUL book. You’re always told to “not just a book by the cover.” But we’re human–we do. Oops! The illustrations in this book are gorgeous and really engaging with kids–you can find samples on the Amazon page (p.s. not an affiliate link). David Catrow did a great job! Even though my son doesn’t have the attention span (yet) to read/listen to every word on every page, he loves looking at the beautiful drawings. Pointing to the little girl dancing is his favorite so far.
What a FUN book. The rhymes, the illustrations, everything just draws you in. My son is one and while he loves books, whether he will enjoy reading a book that I won’t let him eat, wave in the air, or otherwise play with (aka anything that’s not a board book!) is a toss up. When we’ve read this book, he’s engaged and interested. Sure, we sometimes skip ahead a few pages to find his favorite pictures, but that’s to be expected. I’m just impressed that he stays engaged with as much of it as he does. Kudos to Matthew Paul Turner!
My only complaint about this book is how repetitive it is. Some parts seem almost word for word identical. I guess that’s the style though. A few of the rhymes seem awkward to read aloud too, but that’s not a huge deal for me.
All in all, this is a great book that families will enjoy reading again and again. It has a wonderful message and great illustrations. This would be a great gift–baby showers, birthdays, Christmas, you name it!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blogging for Books. However, I was not required to write a positive review. The thoughts expressed above are entirely my own. Thanks to for the chance to read this great book!