Ashley

Love the concept and the pages but.. uh... we had to change “squeeze the bunny” to “punch the bunny” and the bunny still wouldn't squeak easily for my 4.5 and 2.5 year old. It's a really hard squeaker.. I also didn't think through how difficult it would be to read a book when the kids are also trying to make it squeak.

The kids were gifted the Amazon Kids thing where they have free access to games and books. When this popped up, I wasn't excited, but I like reading so we went with it.. I really couldn't have expected anything else, but now I can share, for certain, that dinosaurs having diarrhea all the way home from outer space is not something I enjoy. Thankfully, the kids didn't either. But... if this is you/your kids thing, you do you.

This lift-the-flap book follows Little Blue Truck as he picks up his friends to the Halloween party. They are all dressed up when he picks each up so the question is.. Under the mask, who do you see? (Baa says the Sheep, it's me, it's me!)

I love that this takes the kids through the farm animals because it reinforces the association between the farm animal and the sound that animal makes. Between the lift-the-flaps, the animal sounds, and their general love for Halloween, the kids love this so much that we hit the re-read maximum log on Goodreads (which is 25).

The small thing that bugs me is that the first flaps cover the text so the first read or two was frustrating because I had to have the kids put the flap back down in order for me to read it. The small thing that bugs the kids is that the last page doesn't follow the same pattern, so they request that I use the same phrasing there as the rest of the book.

I do not understand the appeal of these books, but the kids like them enough to read twice and that's what really matters.

Both 2 and 4 year old adore this book because of the lift the flaps. We often read this multiple times in a row because of how much they enjoy it. Plot is that the paw patrol are trick or treating when Mayor Goodway calls needing their help. They then break in and explore an “abandoned” mansion, with a surprise party waiting for them in the basement.

This book is doomed to gather dust on the top shelf.

I like these touch books because I like the quality of the touchable areas and because my kids adore touching the animals they shouldn't (after all, how often do you get to do the exact thing your parents are telling you not to do AND not get in trouble?), but I am also confused on why a book would encourage kids to do things they're told not to do in the first place. That said, it's catchy and I chose to buy the book knowing what it was about.

Only other thing was the idea/cheer rhyme. I can only assume idea is pronounced ‘idear' where the author is from?

This quickly became my kid's favorite (3 years old at the time, now 4 and still loving it) and I often catch him “reading” it to himself (from memory). It helps that I made the baby bear a bit over the top, I'm sure.

To be honest, I was a little off put on first read - the book has minimum words and relies heavily on parents to remember the story from their childhood. This works for those familiar with the story, but leaves a lot of gaps for those who aren't.

I suffered a bit of a nostalgia shock when Goldilocks, in this version (and I assume most newer versions) ends the book by making up for her actions. It's a great shift for the story, but I was like.. c'mon, she doesn't even get eaten anymore? I was amused by this for way longer than I should have been. My spouse tells me it's been this way for at least 10 years.

This book goes over five vehicles (semi truck, monster truck, backhoe, fire truck, and cement mixer). My 4 year old and I really like this book and read it more nights than not. That said, we shelved this book for years because of the difficult buttons.

Buttons are hidden under textured panels. I like that the grill is rough cardboard and the backhoe arm is soft plastic, but it makes it hard to find the button. After many nights, my 4 year old can now find all but one button, but my 2 year old still struggles with most. The monster truck button gives the most problems - even when they know when it is, they struggle to push it and get frustrated. This is an odd choice given the target age of this book (“first touch and feel sound book”).

Here are the sound used:
Semi - long press of the horn
Monster truck - crash/crushing of other cars (sounds similar to rocks dropping into construction vehicle from other books)
Backhoe - chugging
Fire truck - short siren
Cement truck - turning of cement
Last page - button plays all trucks

Like other reviewers, I don't find this the most educational by itself because only one or two lines are used for each vehicle, but it's appropriate for the target audience and it says a lot that the book is entertaining to us at 4 years old and counting. Parents can easily build on the one or two lines for each vehicle while your child(ren) press the buttons.

I'm relieved that my kids are not a fan of Dr. Seuss.

Hoorah! I learned to read the book to myself before reading with the kids. I don't understand the hype on this one and I'm so happy to avoid my spouse being told he's bad by my toddlers because he's late to everything. Also, it's hard enough when family tells my kids they are bad for being age appropriate, can you imagine if my kids then accepted that label because the bad seed is bad sometimes and good other times?

I borrowed this as an ebook and had no context to the length of the book except for its' title. Being a “big book”, I expeced 5 or more paw patrol stories and was surprised when the book ended without any story. This book introduces the Paw Patrol team (Chase, Marshall, Rubble, Sky, Rocky, Zuma, Rider) and the Paw Patrol Tower. That's it.

Putting my surprise aside, the 3.5 year old was very excited to read through this book. He had the 6 Paw Patrol beside him and proudly brought them out as the book introduced them. He was stoked.

It's funny because he doesn't actually watch the show. He watches Genevieve's Playhouse play with the Paw Patrol on YouTube.

This is the book you sit down to read for a few minutes only to look up and realize you've been reading for an hour. I can't remember the last time I felt compelled to finish a book in less than 24 hours.

A family curse passed down through generations causes the firstborn female to die on their 25th birthday. Can Katie find the curse's origin? Can she break the curse?

I won this book through a Goodreads Giveaway. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to the release date.

The first book felt like a chore to get through. I don't remember if my 3.5 yo distracted me or if I distracted them to move onto something else. Lots of words per page causes me to shelve it until the kids are older.

I also thought it was weird that the good mayor lied about having a basketball team in order to one up the bad mayor. My kid didn't bat an eye so I'm sure it's just an adult annoyance, but it's a message I don't want to send to the kids.

I opted not to read this one to the kids because half of the book is about a big scary storm. We get one or two thunderstorms a year so normalizing a storm isn't a concern for me. I just know that my little one (3.5) has recently been more spooked by things. I am very thankful for another review that pointed out the storm because I had assumed that a goodnight book would be more calm in nature and had intended to introduce this to us both at bedtime, which wouldn't have worked out well.

Edit: My review was based on the 2020/2021 Allie. With 2022 came allegations of SA and 2023 brought a whole spiral to Allie, to include slamming followers and anyone who disagrees (even when it's medically unsafe to agree - like the potato juice for strep throat supposedly posted for the algorithm/to be viral).

I don't know what's going on (and don't need to), but I am really struggling to balance who she was with who she is now (in regards to how much and often she is putting other people down). She no longer has faith in or cheerleads her followers and, knowing that, I don't think I could read this book again and feel like it is authentic. It seemed that way at the time, but I can't help to question it now after seeing everything that is being posted by Allie.

”Life is too short to drink out of a fugly mug.”This book is authentically Allie and I am so here for it. I discovered Allie last year when I was on a podcast kick and the mindset shift she presents when it comes to being in a state of lack (vs. abundance) changed my relationship with my time and my belongings. Shortly after, I was able to join her 2021 Declutter Like A Mother challenge on Facebook. Because of this experience, I couldn't help but visualize Allie's mannerisms and excitement while reading this book. I even heard the text through her voice. It feels kind of creepy to admit that, but the words are so true to what she would say if this were instead a podcast, class, or Facebook challenge that I couldn't help hearing it that way.If you haven't participated in a Declutter Like A Mother Challenge, I am excited that you get to do so for the first time. The physical goal is decluttering, but there is a larger mental goal of lightening the load and stress on your life through the removal of clutter. My favorite part about this method is that it's not focused on rules or numbers, but what works best for you. ”You get to decide what's good enough for you right now. You focus on progress, not perfection; you focus on what you think is going to work for you and your family, not on what works for someone else.”If you have participated in a Declutter Like A Mother challenge, you already know the general content and layout of this book, but I will say that reliving that experience at my own pace and being able to relive it as often as I like is pretty dang useful. I've come a long way since January's challenge, but after a big purge, I've realized it's an ongoing process. Like with the annual challenge, it's hard to make it through a section without feeling the urge to immediately get up and start decluttering.This book is written casually. If you're not familiar with Allie, I recommend popping into one of her podcast episodes to get a feel for her style and overall vibe. I recommend this because I tend to be a skeptic and reading a book without understanding the authenticity or tone behind someone's written word is difficult for me. This isn't required in order enjoy the book of course, but it will add to the experience.”Whatever we call it, it's about being intentional. It's about simplifying. It's about having less of what doesn't matter in order to make room for what does.”At the end of the day, I adore Allie because she has faith in her followers and cheerleads us on while also being direct about what our true holdups are. Her desire to do this with the hold ups we have in our home has encouraged long lasting change in my life. If you can appreciate the beauty in this and are ready to approach your home with a new mindset, you'll love this book.

Thank you Nelson Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

The Wives had its' hooks in me up until the last 15 minutes. I was getting excited over dirty dishes simply because it meant I could sneak in a few extra minutes of this audiobook. Not a lot of audiobooks do that for me so kudos to the narrator and the author for telling the story so well.

That ending tho. I'm someone who has to reflect after finishing a book in order to see the big picture so at first I thought my disappointment with the ending was simply that it didn't play out the way I wanted. The more I sat and reflected, the more I realized that the ending leaves way too many loose ends to make sense.

Is a great book with an awful ending worth it? I don't know, but I look forward to reading more from this author (and listening more to this narrator).

I thought this was funny as it's an over the top account of a kid trying to find somewhere to go potty, but every where she went “belonged” to a different animals. With the onomatopoeia and exclamations from the animals, I thought the 3.5 y.o. would enjoy this, but they only made it a page or two before asking for Dinosaurs.

I adore the rhyming and theme (female/minority + STEM) and the toddlers seemed entertained. My spouse walked in on the page where Ada Twist is writing on the walls and was not as amused as our youngest had walked off with a crayon a few days ago and decorated our TV.

My son (3.5) wanted to read this twice, but both times he would voice the dinosaurs to ask the other characters “where is my mama?”, “do you see your mama?”, “do you see the pink mama?”, etc.

This book introduces potty training as an idea and encourages it by acknowledging that the bathroom is scary, but shares that “sometimes doing scary things is a part of growing up”. My 3.5 y.o. enjoyed it because it was paw patrol, but it didn't budge his motivation when it came to potty training. To be honest, I don't know what makes a good potty training kids book and was expecting miracles.

Speaking of miracles and motivation. The 3.5 y.o. ran up to me today to tell me he had to go to the potty. Looks like I knocked it too soon.

My 3.5 yo wanted to read this twice in a row and enjoyed picking out the details in the background on the second read. I wasn't thrilled with the language used by the mean kid and the principal when referencing the mean kid. I also wasn't thrilled with the crocodile eating the mean kid. That said, the last page is a drawing of the crocodile and the kid that was eaten. My kid saw it and decided that the mean kid had gotten out and everything was good. Aka, my upset is a bit rigid and my kid's mind made the leap to the happy ending without any issues.

“Believe, really believe, that what you desire is here and available to you. And you can have it all.”

This book can be summed up as fake it until you make it and stop obsessing about where you are and start obsessive over where you want to be.

Going into this book, I assumed that the book's popularity was primarily because of its' catchy title. Having finished, I still feel this is the primary driver for it catching on.

The information in this book is pulled from various other self-help books, which is a fact the author shares with readers early on. As with other books, there are some hits and some misses. Some of the hits involve self-reflection, such as paying attention to the parts of your life you aren't happy with so you can determine which habits contribute to your unhappiness. Some of the misses involve unrealistic manifesting, such as purchasing something you want that is out of your means because the universe and your energy will cosmically work together so you will be able to afford it, somehow.

I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by the author. Her excitement and passion got me excited and more passionate than I may have been otherwise. I enjoy the idea that happiness is possible through changes in our mindset, but I also realize that I'm able to enjoy this idea because I am privileged that the things in my life right now can be improved via mind over matter. I intended to read this book in text form, but I am hesitant after reading other reviews because I completely missed the authors views on depression and physical health. I would likely struggle with this book if there were things heavily impacting my life that were outside of my control.

”Every one of us has a WHY, a deep-seated purpose, cause or belief that is the source of our passion and inspiration.”

I enjoy the concept of this book, but I wasn't ready or motivated to take the necessary leaps to find my why.

Find Your Why is primarily a workshop guidebook and secondarily a self-improvement book. It makes sense since the workshop guide is going to take much longer to detail than the individual journey, but it wasn't the kind of practical guide I was expecting. Thankfully, the book is clearly divided between the two sections so the reader can easily skip over large parts of the books that only apply to those managing workshops.

I DNF this at 57%..

Mommy Burnout gave me so many emotions that I can't imagine the book intended to provoke - I felt anxious, angry, and stressed. The majority of this frustration was from Chapter 3 because of the portrayal of Linda.

Linda's initial introduction in this chapter is when her family came to therapy together. Her family consists of a very sick youngest kid, two stressed older kids, Linda as the overwhelmed mom, and a busy dad. The book doesn't touch on the youngest kid (I assume he as in the hospital instead of the sessions), but describes how the older kids seem to overcome their stress, the dad was able to work better because of having less stress*, but Linda remained stressed to the core. Therapy sessions were reduced because they came as a family unit and the majority were less stressed.

The chapter continued on, but I couldn't move past this story.

I assume that reducing sessions because of the group dynamic was the practical, real life solution, but this is a book about mommy burnout. Where is the happy ending?** When, where, and how does the mom find relief? Don't get me wrong, I would be genuinely happy that my kids and spouse were less stressed, but I refuse to believe that the happy ending in this scenario, in a book about mommy burnout and whose audience is moms suffering from burnout, leaves the mom still stressed to the core.

I know I paused mid chapter and that there was potentially a happy ending to follow, but I couldn't stop wondering how I could possibly apply this scenario to my own life. The take away here seemed to be that it's okay for me to drown as long as everyone else is fine. I don't accept that. *I also don't accept that the best outcome for dads is for them to be less stressed so they can work better. Can you imagine if someone said the same towards working moms? Aw man, dad is completely overwhelmed with life and the kids, but hey, look at mom rocking it at work! She should totally keep all her focus on that. I'm not saying work or financial stability isn't important and I'm not saying that every family is the same. I am saying that I am offended at the idea that a dad's/husband's success is measured solely through his ability to financially support his family. Because my stress levels are high and I am offended, this may be more of a molehill than a mountain, especially since the book, up until this point, hadn't focused on dads contribution to the family. There is also mention that the less stress came from more “me” and family time, so perhaps the point was that he chose to make time for himself and his family, which then allowed him to be more successful elsewhere in his life. I'll tell you what though, this is not how it felt the first listen.

The next Linda scenario describes her conflicts with her mother and how these conflicts were primarily Linda's fault. It talked about how Linda was easily offended and reactive towards her mother, even when it was uncalled for. I get that it's that Linda's fault for the relationship, but where is the resolution? According to the book, the resolution was for Linda to set aside her differences by appreciating what her mother could give and not dwell on what her mother couldn't give, focusing on her mother's strengths, agreeing to disagree, tackling old relationship issues, learning to compromise because “the benefit of a close connection outweigh the costs”, connecting on your commonalities, and creating two way conversations (by asking questions about her mother's experiences).

Like with the previous scenario, I am left with the overwhelming feeling that everything is Linda's fault and that Linda (and the reader) needs to ignore their feelings in order to support their relationships. I currently appreciate what my mother can give (a visit to the family) and not what my mother can't give (a visit to my entire family - my spouse and often incidentally, my stepson, are excluded) and I don't think it's a healthy way to deal with a situation. The compromise erodes my relationship with my spouse, makes me feel shameful for not being able to successful set boundaries that allow my family - my whole family - to be present, and deadens my feelings towards my mother. Wouldn't establishing healthy boundaries go a lot further? I mean, this chapter is titled “I know my mom is just trying to help, but she's doing too much”, right?

I did not expect or appreciate the push to have family in your life, regardless of how toxic the relationship, on the basis of moms needing support. I think the emphasis here should be that moms need support. Toxic or stress-inducing family/in-laws are not support, even if that mom is the fault of their own drama. If you wanted to talk to me about mommy burnout back when I was around my in laws all the time, I would have started with how they felt compelled to say at least one negative thing towards me each time we stopped by, even if it was about the exact same thing that they praised their biological children for previously. That's not support. You don't have to know your worth to know that it's not worth putting yourself in an unhealthy position for the sake of having a relationship. Doing so seems counterproductive to resolving mommy burnout. (I do maintain a relationship with my and his parents, but it's healthy because of the distance. A close connection does not outweigh the cost.)

When I first listened to this chapter, I was too wound up to focus on the solutions at the end of the chapter. The solution for Linda (and the readers) was to rebuild her “tribe”. The book advises readers to assign friends to each area of our lives, trust others and loosen up on control, stop and say hello to our neighbors instead of running straight into our house, look to the people that are already close by and in our world and take small steps towards connecting with them, join a local club/class/group, follow our passions and interests to your new communities, talk to the people in our daily life, take time to get to know all the people we see every day, and create a leadership role for ourselves (HOA board member, neighborhood watch captain, etc.).

Overall, this seems like good advice and I understand that inserting some purpose into your life and having support systems are incredibly beneficial, but I have a lot of questions: Is the leadership role assuming that moms feel no control or power elsewhere in their life or is this on top of other things that give us purpose and control, like work? Why should moms keep or maintain relationships for the sake of having relationships? Shouldn't these relationships be meaningful or focused on quality over quantity? Why is every solution so extroverted? When does the payout hit for introverts, who are emotionally taxed by these sort of action items? Where is the mom's immediate family - is it assumed that the spouse and kids are helping?

As a total aside, I don't know if it was this chapter or another, but the book recommended walking up to someone at the gym and becoming friends. I am so self conscious and love that I can blend in at the gym. If someone came up to talk to me and beelined to me every time they saw me at the gym, I would be friendly, but completely mortified. Am I really the minority in feeling this way? I will chat at any time and place, to be polite, but I would switch my time at the gym to avoid this situation.

**Linda doesn't earn her happy ending in this chapter. I feel so tense not knowing if she was ever relieved of her stress. (She has to be, right? Why else would she get such a critique?) I can't let go of my frustration long enough to finish the book.