Review: Tacky's Christmas by Helen Lester

 

Tacky’s Christmas 

By Helen Lester 

Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger 

September 2010 

Scholastic 

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Deck the iceberg wrap a gifty Fa la la la la la la la la...   Tacky, Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect are celebrating the holiday with good cheer, singing, and lots of presents. Tacky’s present is a little bit different, and not exactly what his friends had in mind, but when the Christmas merrymaking is interrupted by hunters in search of pretty penguins, it's Tacky's gift that helps to save the day….   A bonus CD of original carols includes: Deck the Iceberg, Sandy Clawz is Coming to Town, The Six Days of Christmas, I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas, and Oh Tackytree! 

🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄

Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, Perfect, and Tacky are penguins that live in Nice Icy Land. They are celebrating Christmas! Goodly, Lovely, Angel, and Neatly are very neat and well-behaved penguins, but Tacky is wacky! His clothes do not match...he wears a Santa hat, purple scarf, and a yellow beach shirt LOL!!! 

 

This story is funny and very, very Christmasy! My favorite character is Tacky because he’s so funny, I like his scarf, and it was hilarious when he put glitter on a hotdog for an ornament 🤣 The illustrations are very creative and good. 

 

This book taught me to be good to others and always try to make friends, even if you’re different. 

 

I give Tacky’s Christmas 

 

 

Helen Lester is the author of many children’s books. Her background with children includes being a mother of two and a former elementary school teacher of ten years. While at home with her children, Helen realized the importance of quality children’s literature. Helen started her writing career as a struggling author facing many rejections by publishing companies. Her first book was finally published in 1979. Helen Lester is a full-time writer who makes her home in New York. 

 

Lynn Munsinger was born in Massachusetts. She has illustrated more than ninety books for children -- bringing Wodney Wat, Tacky the Penguin, a porcupine named Fluffy, the Teeny Tiny Ghost, and Ogden Nash's Custard the Dragon to charming life. Her watercolor illustrations have been praised for their "classic quality" (Publishers Weekly) and "mix of wry humor and affection" - 

 

Review: Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang

Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao 

By Kat Zhang 

Illustrated by Charlene Chua 

10/21/19 

Simon & Schuster 

Goodreads 

Meet the funny, fierce, and fearless Amy Wu, who is determined to make a perfect bao bun today. Can she rise to the occasion? 

Amy loves to make bao with her family. But it takes skill to make the bao taste and look delicious. And her bao keep coming out all wrong. 

Then she has an idea that may give her a second chance…Will Amy ever make the perfect bao? 

In Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao, Amy Wu wants to make the perfect bao, but she can’t do it. She practices and practices and practices until she gets it right with the help of her dad, mom, and grandma. 

 

I really love this book! I love the dumpling pictures, the pink in her grandma’s hair, and the character of Amy. The author, Kat Zhang does an amazing job of creating the story and showing Amy’s emotions. This book taught me to always keep trying and never give up. 

 

The illustrations are awesome! I love the colors and how they show each step of making the baos. And there’s a recipe at the end of the book, which is really cool and helped me and my grandma make dumplings. 

 

I think everyone should read this book and I’m so excited to read the next Amy Wu book! 

I give this book

Me making bao using the recipe in the book!

Kat Zhang loves traveling to places both real and fictional—the former have better souvenirs, but the latter allow for dragons, so it’s a tough pick. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, she now spends her free time scribbling poetry, taking photographs, and climbing atop things she shouldn’t. You can learn about her travels, literary and otherwise, at KatZhangWriter.com.