Livingstone Crouse

It’s the first day of school for Eppie the elephant, and she’s nervous about one thing. She is worried that her new classmates will laugh at her because she is allergic to nuts. She has to be very careful about what she eats, and she can't even sit near a peanut. Eppie makes fast friends with Allie the alligator and Pearl the squirrel, but when she can't sit near Allie's PB&J sandwich at lunch everything starts going downhill. Will her friends help Eppie feel welcome even though she is different?… (mehr)

Stella Isabella Harden
contemplating kindergarten
declared she didn't have to go,
because her puppy told her so.

I really liked everything about this book. As you can see from the opening, this book is written in rhyme, but in a fun, humourous way that will entertain children. The illustrations are wonderful. The emotions they show, love, happiness, enjoyment, using full page colourful illustrations will delight young and old readers.

It is time to go start kindergarten, but Stella Isabella Harden has made up her mind to skip it because her puppy, Buster, told her to do it. She tries to convince her parents that Buster can teach her everything she would learn in kindergarten. They plan their day with outdoor playtime together and head off to the park. They play on the swings, try to have a picnic snack, build a tent for naptime and then read a story. Every activity ends up with a big slobbery kiss from Buster. Even though things do not go as planned, Isabella is happy until ...... When storytime comes, Buster waits patiently, but Isabella can't read. Buster tells her with a look and a touch that she needs to go to school and learn to read so she can read him stories.

This is a wonderful book for a read aloud to a young child preparing for kindergarten. It gives them some information about what activities their day might consist of. It is a happy, fun story that will leave the reader and the listener smiling. A wonderful book for a family library. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.… (mehr)

Stella Isabella Harden has decided she doesn't need to go to school. She can get everything that she would learn at Kindergarten by staying home and playing school with her dog Buster. Stella and Buster are the best of friends and do everything together. Until the end of the day when Stella wants to read a story to Buster but doesn't know how. Maybe going to Kindergarten wouldn't be so bad.

Stella and her dog, Buster, are adorable and their joy seeps off the pages. The words are written in a rhyming scheme and the kids will be able to notice them which is good for early literacy. In fact, some of them are quite clever.

"When snack time came, a little later
Stella thought her educator
would fancy sipping cups of tea.
Yet that was simply not to be."

The artist's illustrations are precise, vibrant, and show all the emotions whether it is coming from Stella or Buster. A non-reader would be able to understand the story just by looking at the pictures that fill the whole page. There is no doubt Stella is a happy child and has a lovable dog as a pet.

The theme of the book is also perfect for calming a child's fear about the first day of Kindergarten. The best part of Stella's day are the kisses she gets from Buster when she gets home!… (mehr)