Children's Book Review: Peep and Egg Series By Laura Gehl

PEEP AND EGG
I'm Not Hatching

By: Laura Gehl

Illustrated by: Joyce Wan

Published: February 9, 2016

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Format: Hardcover/Picture Book

Peep is just begging for Egg to hatch. There are so many fun things ahead for them to do together.  But Egg is too scared to hatch. No matter what Peep tells Egg they would do together like watching the sunrise, visiting the ducks at the pond, or playing hide-and-seek in the yard Egg is just too scared to hatch. Until Peep gets tired of waiting. Will Egg have the courage to hatch?

This is the first in the adventures of Peep and Egg. The story has a repetitive feature of Egg saying "I'm not hatching" which will encourage toddlers to read along. The illustrations are adorable and fill the pages. Peep and Egg are destined to have lots of fun together and your child will love waiting to see what adventures lie ahead for them.

PEEP AND EGG
I'm Not Trick-or-Treating

By: Laura Gehl

Illustrated by: Joyce Wan

Published: August 9, 2016

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

Peep is super excited to go out trick-or-treating, but Egg (who is no longer an egg but a chick just like Peep) is too scared. Peep tries to convince Egg that they will have lots of fun by visiting the ducks and the cows, but Egg is too scared. Then Peep tells Egg some Halloween jokes and Egg starts to giggle. Peep decides to go to the barn without Egg to see everyone's costumes and Egg thinks maybe having fun on Halloween isn't so scary.

Children will enjoy seeing all the barn animals in various costumes. They will laugh at all the silly jokes that Peep told to try to get Egg to go trick-or-treating. If you have a young child who may be afraid to go out on Halloween night, this may be a good book to share with them.

PEEP AND EGG
I'm Not Taking A Bath

By: Laura Gehl

Illustrated by: Joyce Wan

Published: October 24, 2017

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

The third in the Peep and Egg series continues with Egg not wanting to take a bath after Peep and Egg played in the mud. Peep offers lots of ideas for ways Egg can take a bath from using the sheep's special shampoo, or a dip in the dog's water bowl, or in the river. But, Egg has no interest in taking a bath...until there are bath toys involved. Egg will have so much fun taking a bath that getting Egg out of the bath will be the next problem.

Again, a super cute story with adorable illustrations of all the animals on the farm. Joyce Wan is also the talented illustrator in the PUG AND PIG books.

Young children will love this series. It helps them not be afraid and sometimes just getting started is the hardest part. Peep is an encouraging friend and this sweet story of friendship is one children will want to read again and again.

The newest addition to the series is PEEP AND EGG I'm Not Using the Potty.

Laura Gehl - source

Laura Gehl is the author of the Peep and Egg books and several other picture books, including ONE BIG PAIR OF UNDERWEAR. Laura has four children. She and her family live in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Find out more at LauraGehl.com.

To purchase the Peep and Egg books, click the photos below:

I will be linking up this review on Booking Mama's regular Saturday feature, Kid Konnection. This is a place for bloggers to share posts related to children's and YA books. You will find spotlights, reviews, and sometimes even giveaways by clicking HERE, every Saturday.


Thanks to the publisher for providing copies of this book for the purpose of this review. This review is my honest opinion. If you choose to purchase the book through the above link, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase.

Children's Book Review: Pug & Pig Trick-or-Treat By Sue Lowell Gallion

PUG & PIG TRICK-OR-TREAT

By: Sue Lowell Gallion

Illustrated by: Joyce Wan

Published: July 25, 2017

Publisher: Beach Lane Books

Fiction

Pug and Pig are the best of friends. Pig is super excited to wear his costume for Halloween until he finds out that Pug does not like his costume and doesn't want to participate in all the fun Halloween activities. Pig is sad and doesn't know who will go with him to trick-or-treat or play all the fun games. Can Pug come up with a plan to celebrate Halloween with his friend, Pig?

This simple story will delight children and get them excited for Halloween. Pug and Pig are wonderful friends who do everything together. When Pug realizes that Pig is sad, he comes up with a solution to make Pig happy again. Pug also offers a dilemma that many children face, having to wear masks and uncomfortable costumes. I really disliked wearing masks as a child and pretty much wore the same witch costume every year so I didn't have to wear masks on my face. Little kids will find Pug's new costume idea silly and giggle at the illustrations. Since the book is centered around Halloween, the colors are dark and muted, but the expressions on Pug and Pig are easily identifiable and these two round little animals are just adorable. Pug and Pig also share a lesson on a compromise that will come in handy for friendship and sibling relationships.

The author published her first Pug and Pig book a year ago and I could see the series becoming popular among younger children. If you like having books focused on certain holidays and events, this would make an excellent addition to your home library.

Be sure to check out all the downloadable resources and activities to accompany your reading of PUG AND PIG TRICK-OR-TREAT with your child, by clicking HERE.

Sue Lowell Gallion - photo provided

Sue Lowell Gallion is the author of Pug Meets Pig and Pug & Pig Trick-or-Treat (Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane Books). She has two grown-up kids, one grandson, and a black lab mix named Tucker, who all provide writing inspiration. As a printer's daughter, she has a life-long love of type, paper, and the aroma of ink. She lives in Kansas City, KS. Visit Sue at suegallion.com, follow @SueLGallion on Twitter, and check out her kids' book recommendations at Goodreads.

To see other books illustrated by the talented Joyce Wan, click HERE. 

To purchase a copy of PUG & PIG TRICK-OR-TREAT click the photo below:

I will be linking up this review on Booking Mama's regular Saturday feature, Kid Konnection. This is a place for bloggers to share posts related to children's and YA books. You will find spotlights, reviews, and sometimes even giveaways by clicking HERE, every Saturday.



Thanks to the publisher for providing copies of this book for the purpose of this review. This review is my honest opinion. If you choose to purchase the book through the above link, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase. Thanks for supporting SincerelyStacie.com. 

Halloween Literary Character Quiz

In celebration of Halloween, I'm sharing this fun Halloween quiz created by Grammarly. I'm sorry if the picture below creeps you out. It does me too! But, this is who I got after taking the quiz.

Since I am such a scaredy cat, I can honestly tell you that I haven't read a single one of the books mentioned in this quiz. Reading one of these would give me nightmares for weeks.

But, if you like a good scare on Halloween or anytime, take this fun quiz to see which Literary Monster you could be!

Grammarly is the world's best grammar checker. Students, teachers, and those in the business world can benefit from Grammarly. This handy website will check your report, paper, or assignment for all those little mistakes you make.  To find out more about subscribing to Grammarly, click HERE.

Halloween Memories - Get Some Last Minute Costume Ideas

I was thinking about Halloween the other night and all the costumes we have gone through with our kids.  I didn't have time to dig out all the pre-digital era photos of the boys and scan them into the computer, but I  had one of the year they were Buzz and Woody in my computer.  Thanks for sharing in my memories of Halloween over the years. 

Halloween 2003

Reagan's first Halloween in 2005

With all the Gorkow cousins at Grandma's house

Halloween 2006

and with their cousins, Alissa and Zach 

Pat and I even dressed up one year! I loved Pat as Mr Clean! 

Halloween 2007.  Patrick wore the Dumbo costume when he was that age.  One of our favorite costumes. 

Halloween 2008 - Bennett was an adorable Mad Scientist!

Then, cousin Zach, showed up as a bunch of grapes and stole the show! 

Halloween 2009

Halloween 2010 - One of my favorite years.  I loved the cute clown, the homemade pirate and the serious Cubs baseball player!

Halloween 2011 - Bennett was the perfect Lumberjack, and Patrick was an hilarious 70's basketball player.  We made up our own Smurfette costume for Reagan.

Halloween 2012 - The first year Patrick didn't dress up.  Bennett's Target employee was a last minute idea and was hilarious.  My husband made the name tag and we laminated it.  Reagan loved being Wonder Woman!

This year it will just be Reagan out trick or treating.  She is going as an 80's girl, which wasn't too much of a stretch since most of her clothes seemed to be designed from that era anyway.  

Thanks for sharing in my memories of Halloween.  Stay tuned for pictures from this year!

The Perfect Halloween Treat

Every year I purchase a few of these coupon books to hand out to family and other children around halloween.  Who doesn't love a FROSTY??? They are the perfect treat and a great way to give to others while also giving back to a much needed organization.

For Your Little Pumpkin

When our oldest was 2, a bunch of us moms that attended a mommy and me class continued to get together with all of our kids a few times a month.  Oh my,I just realized that was 9 years ago!  My how time flies! Anyway we made these adorable shirts for our kids and since then our other two children have worn it.  But now, our youngest is 6 and this shirt has become the halloween shirt for Reagan's Build-A-Bear.  It was just too cute to part with and it reminds me of all those moms who I relied on during those first scary years of parenting.  We moved to a different town and I don't see those moms anymore, but I credit them with keeping me sane during those early years.

All you need is:

White T-Shirt
Orange Clothing Dye
Black Paint, non-washable
Sponges Cut to desired shapes

Fold or twist your shirt however you want your design and follow the directions for tye-dying the shirt.  This could be a two day project depending on how long you want your dye to set.  It is best for the color to sit for 24 hours to get the desired brightness.  Once the shirt has been tye-dyed and dried, then dip your sponges into the non-washable paint.  Place them on the shirt according to your desired Jack-O'Lantern look.  Let dry.

Check out the hundreds of other awesome ideas over at Tip Junkie by clicking the button below!