Jane Sutton

Esther buys Hanukkah gifts for all of her friends, however, she doesn't make the best choices. As she sees the disappointment from each of her friends, she comes up with an idea. She throws a party on the eighth day of Hanukkah and asks her friends to bring their gifts. They all exchange gifts so that everyone gets something that they like. I liked this book for two reasons. First, the plot is well organized. Each page shows Esther giving a present to one of her friends. For instance, on one page she gives her friend Zack the Zebra a red sweater. This simplifies the plot and allows the reader to focus on one new character at a time. Second, the illustrations enhance the story. As Esther gives her friends their presents, you see that the number of presents in her wheelbarrow begin to decrease one by one. This attention to detail helps the reader follow the story through the illustrations. The overall message is to make the best out of bad situations.… (meer)

Your book can only go so far wrong when your main characters' names are Mortimer (a koala) and Sadie (an ostrich). Even though he likes cauliflower, Mortimer stubbornly believes that eating it brings him bad luck. Pragmatic Sadie thinks this is nonsense and puts a devious plan into action to help Mortimer see the error of his ways. This book addresses an unusual topic, and the text and illustrations are nice, particularly the depictions of food (YUM). And, really, why aren’t there more koalas and ostriches in picture books?… (meer)