Wintertime Picture Book Review: Rocky and Rory: The Frozen Tongue Disaster by Anngri Arts

Enjoy a rhyming frozen adventure filled with cute friends when you pick up a copy of Rocky and Rory: The Frozen Tongue Disaster by Anngri Arts.

This book tells the story of Rocky, who gets his tongue stuck, and the variety of friends who come to help him. It is geared toward readers ages 2 to 7.

Zany antics, delightful and unique characters, beautiful colors, and a spirit of friendship and cooperation abound in this rhyming picture book. This cute offering is part of The Adventures of Rocky and Rory series. I look forward to more!

Rating: :) :) :) :) :)

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DMW98SHB
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (November 12, 2024)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 41 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8344384221
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 2 - 7 years

Christmas Picture Book Review: Princess Sophie and the Christmas Elixir by Mike Martin

Princess Sophie and the Christmas Elixir by Mike Martin is the story of one Christmas-loving princess who is eager to restore the Christmas spirit to her kingdom. With the help of her rabbit friend, Hoppy, and a magician, she just might save the spirit of the season.

Princess Sophie loves everything about Christmas, and when she discovers that special Christmas feeling is missing in her kingdom of Melodica, she decides she must find a way to fix it. She asks her parents, the king and queen, but they don’t know what to do. Though she finds Hoppy’s hopping a bit distracting, she is happy that the hopping gives her ideas. So, she searches out the kingdom’s magician for some help. What she learns about the power of the Christmas elixir allows her to bring happiness to the people of Melodica all year long.

Princess Sophie and the Christmas Elixir is a fun and sweet story through and through, with a special message for readers woven right in. Loved this story from beginning to end: the meaningful message, the colorful illustrations by Shey Kalee, and the fabulous ending. My only niggle is that an editor needs to go through it and tidy up a few places where the grammar isn’t quite right and a punctuation mark or word is missing. Now, most people won’t notice that, and readers will love the story just the same because it is totally delightful. This would make a cute short movie.

Looking forward to reading more children’s books by Martin, whose work for adults I am already familiar with. 

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mezzo Publications (October 16, 2024)

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Paperback ‏ : ‎ 25 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1068852925

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1068852923

I received a digital copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Christmas... in the News: Kate Middleton's Christmas Letter, Santa Train Visit to Hurricane Survivors & NORAD Prepares to Track Santa's Sleigh

 

Welcome to this week's edition of Christmas... in the news. This is a weekly review of some of the Christmas articles and news over the last week. 

Can you believe that we are in December? There are only 24 days before Christmas! Will you be ready? I'm not sure I will be. The tree is up and so are some of the decorations. We will see how many trees go up this year.

This week's news brings us from Windsor, England, to Erwin, Tennessee, to Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

We start with the release of Kate Middleton's annual Christmas letter. US Weekly reported how this year's letter reflects on the challenging times the Royal Family faced in 2024, and about love and joy. You can read the article here.

Good News Network shared this year's annual Santa Train that runs through mountain towns in the Appalachians made a special stop to bring gifts and holiday cheer to survivors of Hurricane Helene. Want to read this heartwarming story? Check it out here.

The tracking of Santa's sleigh as it delivers presents on Christmas Eve is an annual tradition. CBS NEWS reported that NORAD is preparing for another year. It also shared how this tradition came to be, which I didn't know until today. Check out the article here.

Hope you have a great week!