Early Book Review: This is a Birthday Cake by Andrew Cangelose, Josh Shipley

This is a Birthday Cake is a picturebook written by Andrew Cangelose and illustrated by Josh Shipley. It is currently scheduled for release on July 12 2022. It's Taco the squirrel's birthday, and all of his little animal friends are planning a big surprise for him—they're going to make him a birthday cake! The only problem with their plan is that the baker in the group is too slow. So, as this sassy crew of critters is known to do, they set out to learn all they can about birthday cakes and how to make one, with spectacularly disastrous and delightful results.

This is a Birthday Cake is a fun and highly entertaining read. I like that readers get a bit of history about birthday cakes, and how to bake one, even as we go along as Bucky speeds through a much less tasty cake making process. I thought that Bucky's desire to hurry things along and do things his own way is something that many young readers can relate to, as are the less than perfect results. I like that while a lesson is learned, the book is still a joy to read without feeling like the lesson was the only point of the book. The story and illustrations are great fun and never treat the readers or even the impetuous Bucky like they are bad for the mistakes that they make. This was just a fun read and I think it would be a great choice for storytime, bedtime, and multiple reads by new fans.  

Early Book Review: Even More Fantastic Failures True Stories of People Who Changed the World by Falling Down First by Luke Reynolds, M.S. Corley

Even More Fantastic Failures True Stories of People Who Changed the World by Falling Down First is a children's nonfiction book written by Luke Reynolds, with illustrations by M.S. Corley. It is currently scheduled for release on September 15 2020.

Kids today are under a lot of pressure to succeed, but failure has an important place in life as young people learn how to be a successful person. In his teaching career, Luke Reynolds saw the stress and anxiety his students suffered, whether it was over grades, fitting in, or simply getting things right the first time. Kids will read about a host of inspiring, courageous, and diverse people who have accomplished—or still are accomplishing—big things to make this world a better place. A wide range of stories about Barack Obama, Greta Thunberg, Nick Foles, Emma Gonzalez, Beyoncé, Ryan Coogler, John Cena, Socrates, and even the Jamaican national women’s soccer team, prove that the greatest mistakes and flops can turn into something amazing. In between these fun profiles, Reynolds features great scientists and other pivotal people whose game-changing discovery started as a failure. Each profile includes advice to readers on how to come back from their own flops and move forward to succeed.

Even More Fantastic Failures True Stories of People Who Changed the World by Falling Down First is a lovely read that takes the time to encourages readers to find their passion, their major interests, and make the most of it. I really enjoyed the fact that Reynolds pointed out that everyone has failures and stumbling blocks, but sometimes it is what we learn from those moments, and how we react, the help us grow and have the strength we need to succeed in the long run. I also like that the author offered yo his own struggles against expectations and personal interest, I think this helps readers relate even more to the subject and people included in the book. I liked how well the book was researched, and that each sections was annotated with its sources. I liked the additional tidbits about other people that struggled and worked toward change that were included in each section. I found that the people included were nicely varied, without focusing on any one field, gender, or other distinct category. To me this help show that there are a countless numbers of paths or interests that can lead to personal or professional success. It was a good reminder for me, and I learned more about some names I thought I already knew quite well, and some I should have. 

Even More Fantastic Failures True Stories of People Who Changed the World by Falling Down First is an accessible and well written book that encourages readers to pursue their passions and keep working toward their goals, even when they go against the expectations of others.