Illustrated Children's Book / Early Reader / Holidays
Publisher: White Rabbit Books
Publication Date: November 4, 2025
Pages: 32 pages
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ABOUT THE BOOK: The eggs are ready, but the Easter Bunny’s sick.
When the Easter Bunny catches a cold, the Egg Hunt is in jeopardy. Determined to save the day, two brave hoglets, Prickles and Primrose, team up with their friend Rosie Rabbit on a race against the clock to decorate and hide the eggs.
With mischievous Freddie Fox up to his old tricks and a secret helper working behind the scenes, surprises await at every turn.
Can Prickles and Primrose save the hunt?
Through teamwork, kindness, and a sprinkle of wonder, the friends embark on an unforgettable adventure, ensuring the hunt remains as special as ever.
A delightful tale in the spirit of Peter Rabbit and The Gruffalo.
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I don't spend time on plot summary, so please read the book synopsis above.
Hall Ways Review: Hoglets’
Great Egg Hunt is the
third book in the new-to-me Hoglets, Prickles and Primrose series by UK author
Lynette Creswell. Children love stories with familiar characters and going on
new adventures with them via books, but even kids unfamiliar with the series won’t
struggle due to the helpful page at the start that shows the main animal characters
of the Briar Woods.
The
illustrations found in Hoglets’ Great Egg Hunt are colorful and bright,
and expressions on character faces are easy to identify. Doriano Strologo’s
attention to small details, like rabbit paw prints tracked across the pages and
texture across flowers, makes each page-turn engaging for young readers. I
appreciate that the graphics are created by a human, so children can see rough
edges and textures not found in AI generated versions.
The
format alternates full pages of text with plenty of white space and adorable
embellishments, with full-page illustrations. It leans towards being an early chapter book,
so I recommend this book as a read-aloud for kids under six and a read-along
for newly-independent readers. My review
copy is digital, but as always, I believe children’s books are at their best in
a format that allows for turning and touching real pages and doesn’t require charging.
The additional activity for readers to find the hidden egg on each page adds
more appeal (and further builds the case for reading on paper; excited fingers
touching eReaders tends to have consequences).
Hoglets’
Great Egg Hunt is
well-written, with a perfect mix of on-level and stretch words, and it’s
gloriously error free. Beyond the pure pleasure of the story, it could be fun to
discuss the small differences between American and UK writing and culture
highlighting, for example, cozy versus cosy, color versus colour, mom versus
mum, hard-boiled versus raw eggs for dyeing, and even “blimey” as a fun
exclamation.
This
Mimi is now a fan and can’t wait to share Hoglets’ Great Egg Hunt with
my granddaughters. But first, since we’re approaching the holidays, I will be going
back to the series starter, Hoglets’ Christmas Magic, which also has an
audiobook version with a narrator who has a delightful cross-the-pond accent.
Poetry / Children's Picture Book / Science & Environment
Norton Young Readers
35 Pages
Published October 1, 2024
ABOUT THE BOOK: As part of her tenure as U.S. poet laureate, Ada Limón has written “In Praise of Mystery,” which will be engraved on the Europa Clipper spacecraft that launches to Jupiter and its moons in October 2024. Published here as Limón’s debut picture book, this luminous poem is illustrated by celebrated and internationally renowned artist Peter SÃs.
In Praise of Mystery celebrates humankind’s endless curiosity, asks us what it means to explore beyond our known world, and shows how the unknown can reflect us back to ourselves.
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HALL WAYS REVIEW: IN PRAISE OF MYSTERY is tough to review as a children's book. BUT, it is absolutely worth having on your shelf, whether you're five or fifty-five or ninety-five, simply for the reason it exists in the first place: the poem is engraved on NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft which will launch any day now (Hurricane Milton delayed it) and journey to Jupiter's second moon, Europa. How glorious and unique is that?
The poem, written by 2023 US Poet Laureate Ada Limón, is beautiful and evocative, and as a stand-alone poem, I'd give it 5 STARS. The illustrations, created by multiple-award-winner Peter SÃs, are a visual delight -- dreamy, engaging, and also evocative -- and they are also worthy of a 5 STARS rating.
Unfortunately, the execution of putting the two elements together is where the book suffers. So as a children's book, I'd rate it 4 STARS. The poem is a bit advanced for younger readers to process, but when the words of the poem are separated from each other and scattered across pages, comprehension is even more difficult and the poem loses its cadence and flow. At times, the text blends too much with the artwork, and the font is lovely, but not really young-reader friendly.
Even so, IN PRAISE OF MYSTERY would make a good read-along title where younger readers can wallow in the beauty of the art and older readers can wallow in the beauty of the words. And I could even visualize the book being used in the classroom with high schoolers as a springboard for a multitude of activities across the curriculum.
Thankfully, the poem is included in full at the end of the book, as is the Author's Notes section that gives the explanation of why the poem was written and where the otherworldly journey it will take. VERY cool.
I received a digital ARC from the publisher as part of School Library Journal's Day of Dialogue. I will definitely be purchasing the hardcover edition for my personal collection.
In this unique alphabet book, members of the Elemental Dragon Clan present 26 Magical Elements of the Periodic Table in alphabetical order. Each member of the clan has an element tipped tail. They also have magical powers based on the properties of their metals. There are no more perfect groups than unicorns and dragons to familiarize yourself with elements from the Periodic Table. Their theme is: "No Metal -- No Magic. . .and No Technology."
In this book, Antz starts out the book by introducing the very necessary metal, Antimony on his element page. Zora rounds out the alphabet by presenting scientific facts and other fun information about the metal, Zirconium, on her elemental page. In all, readers will get some great insight into the properties of 26 elements from the periodic table. Each page is full of amazing facts and tons of FUN. There's a Magical Elemental themed periodic table, too!
This unique book will help tweens, teens and anyone else quickly absorb the elements of the Periodic Table.
HALL WAYS REVIEW: *CONFESSION* I loved chemistry in high school so much that I began college majoring as a chemical engineer. I got over that by the end of my first semester once I was shown the amount of studying required to be successful in that program, so that part of my brain took a back seat while I turned to studying modern languages. Reading MAGICAL ELEMENTS OF THE PERIODIC TABLE...DRAGONS made my science-y self sit up, and that latent part of my brain popped right back to attention.
Sure, there are whimsy little dragons with cute little names and tails that do magical things. But the book is also loaded with scientific facts, fun facts, and of course, the elements of the periodic table and their symbols, atomic number, atomic mass, etc. To me, reading MAGICAL ELEMENTS felt very much like reading one of the beloved DK books where every page is packed with information and images and white space is minimal. That format encourages readers to return again and again. Brilliant tactic because each visit reinforces learning -- and likely reveals a new unnoticed tidbit of information.
I love that there are so many supplemental resources to enjoy in conjunction with the books (there's a unicorn version of this, too), so that the youngest readers are comfortable with science and how our world works well before they study it in school.
Other than a few typos (not surprising how much text there is), MAGICAL ELEMENTS is an absolutely perfect book to hand to your kids, including the older ones. No one is ever too old for a children's picture book, after all.
Sybrina Durant is a unicorn author and entrepreneur. In addition to books, she offers unicorn-themed activities, t-shirts, and more. Plus, she has pulled together a collection of nearly all the unicorn books available today from hundreds of authors. They are categorized on her website by Little Kid, Middle Kid, and Teen Unicorn Books
Wings of Fire meets Pax in this epic fantasy adventure set in a world where human and skysteed share a deep bond of friendship. When monsters emerge to attack the empire, it's up to shy Kiesandra and her beloved winged horse N'Rah to prove to the imperial army that she has what it takes to lead them to victory . . . and to ensure the survival of their world.
Buzzing with action, heart, and friendship, this first book in the Skyriders series shows that kids can achieve the impossible--especially with flying horses on their side.
PRAISE FOR SKYRIDERS:
"Skyriders soars off the page and takes you along for an epic adventure that will leave you breathless and asking for more.”
—James Ponti,New York Times bestselling author of the City Spies series
"A breathtaking, mythical adventure. This is the kind of book I would have devoured and read over and over again as a kid."
—Liesl Shurtliff, New York Times bestselling author of Rump and the Time Castaways trilogy
"Kiesandra Torsun is an unforgettable heroine who never gives up, even when facing staggering odds against vicious three-headed monsters attacking her homeland. Her loyalty, courage, and kindness won me over and her bond with her winged horse left me dazzled."
—Mary E. Pearson,New York Times bestselling author of The Remnant Chronicles
I’m excited
to have this opportunity to chat with N’Rah, one of the heroes of Polly
Holyoke’s new fantasy novel Skyriders. I should mention in passing that
N’Rah happens to be a flying horse, or skysteed, as his breed is known in the
Empire of Prekalt. I also happened to know that this particular skysteed has a
real fondness for honey and apples.
So,
N’Rah, can you tell us a little bit about you and your human’s exciting work as
sky couriers?
My human and
I are very proud of the work we do flying the mail across the vast lands of
Prekalt. Because I am mountain born and bred, I am happy to fly courier routes
through the high peaks. I grew up dealing with the kind of strong winds and
thunderstorms that can frighten other couriers, but not my skyrider. Kie trusts
my judgement and my flying abilities when it comes to extreme weather.
Please
tell us about the human you are bound to, Kiesandra Torsun.
My human is
very brave, kind, and stubborn. I think she spends too much time by herself,
caring for her family’s apple orchard. Her father died a year ago, and her
mother left her when Kie was only six. Her Uncle Dugs lives with us, but he is
so frail now, she looks after him more than he looks after her. The other
students were awful to her at school because she was so shy and had problems
learning to read. It is hard for her to trust others, but I am proud that she
is gradually gaining good friends and a herd of her own.
I hear
her Uncle Dugs was always pestering you two to practice skyfighting.
That is
true, and now it appears to be a very good thing that he did! We would spend
hours learning how to shoot targets that represented the three hearts of the
chimerae, a terrible three-headed monster that once almost destroyed all of
Prekalt. We also learned how to use triwires, a weapon made up of three razor-sharp
wires that are four feet long, weighted with metal balls at the ends and joined
at the center with a small wooden handle. Skyriders throw triwires at a chimerae hoping
to damage its wings or bind its wings to its legs.
How do
you feel about the chimerae?
At first, I
hated them, and I was shocked when they reappeared. Now I understand they were
created from a terrible, dark binding magic that forced three separate creatures--
sand dragons, blood goats and lions-- into the same body. Mostly I feel sorry
for the Foul Ones, but I will not let them harm my skyrider, or our world.
How did
you come to have such an important role in saving Pedarth, the capital city of
Prekalt?
Kie’s uncle
and his skysteed were terribly hurt fighting chimerae after the monsters
returned. He made Kie promise that we would take his great grandfather’s manual
on ancient skyfighting tactics to the capital and persuade people in power there
to read it. That was such a difficult mission for a shy thirteen-year-old
girl from the fringes of the Empire. But with my help and the help of new
friends she made in Pedarth, I am proud to say my human was successful.
What do
you think is next for you and your brave skyrider?
We
desperately need more help in fighting the chimerae, so I think someday we may
have to ask the wild skysteeds to join us in this struggle. Someday, too,
someone will have to discover who is creating chimerae in this time and causing
so much pain and suffering. That human needs to be stopped!
Thank you
for taking the time to talk with me today.
My pleasure.
Now, about those apples and honey cookies you mentioned?
Polly Holyoke is the award-winning author of the middle grade sci-fi Neptune Trilogy (Disney/Hyperion) and the new children’s fantasy series, Skyriders (Viking Children’s Books). A former classroom teacher, Polly loves doing school visits and getting students excited about writing.
Polly grew up in Colorado, where she spent her childhood skiing, camping, reading, and dreaming up fantastical stories. Polly went on to graduate from Middlebury College and become a middle school social studies teacher. She lives with her husband and their two daughters, as well as two cats, two Chihuahuas, and a beagle.
Connected is all about teaching kids and their families how to navigate their emotions. It is a practical guide to understanding powerful concepts that alleviate the stress and challenge in tough situations. The book also includes tools and tips to help children become advocates for their mental and emotional well-being in productive ways, as well as thought-provoking questions to encourage young readers to think about how these tools would be uniquely relatable to them. Written to inspire children to become empathetic leaders and creative solution-seekers, Connected is a book that helps them not only understand themselves better, but also those around them.
Dr. Seema Desai is a proud wife and mom of two young children. She is also Certified Professional Coach, speaker, and author of the newly-released children's book, Connected: Discovering Your Inner Guides. She currently serves as Co-President of the Austin chapter of Pratham USA, a non-profit organization aimed at creating learning equality for underserved children in India and globally. Though no longer seeing patients, Seema is also a general dentist who dedicated her years in medicine to serving the geriatric population in Austin and surrounding areas.
Along with yoga and traveling, connected parenting is a passion for Seema. She believes that helping a parent and child connect to their inner wisdom is a powerful way to create the next generation of peace-leaders and solution-seekers. She is firmly committed to being a part of a kindness revolution, where we raise children in a way that heals and inspires resilience and greatness.
Things that bring Seema joy are good cups of coffee, jazz music, tropical beaches, meditating, family time…and large slices of chocolate cake.
Diann Floyd Boehm is an award-winning international author, community volunteer, humanitarian, and former classroom teacher. She is passionate about storytelling. She has nine published books for children and young adult historical fiction. Diann is the cohost of four shows on USA Global TV. She is married, a mother of three, and has one grandchild. She loves to help young and old to Embrace Imagination!
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