This a good book to snuggle up and read with your child. My two yr old loves it and sits through the entire book. The story is sweet as well as the illustrations. I'm sure this will be a favorite of ours for years to come!

Debi Gliori's book, The Snowchild, is a moving story that teaches children to express themselves instead of trying to be who other people want you to be. In the story, Katie is noticably different than her peers. Because of this, her peers make fun of her and abandon her. As the story exposes, if Katie changed who she was in order to fit in, she would have lost the chance to make her own dreams come true and find true friendship. She doesn't. One morning, after a brilliant snowfall, she walks past her peers and finds her own space in order to do what no one else is doing, build a snowman. By expressing her uniqueness, she meets her true friend and soulmate! This is a great story to impress upon your children and to remind adults that every created person has unique gifts and talents to give to the world and that we should honor our children's unique gifts instead of pressuring them into fitting in.

My daughter Emma loves this book. You can even sing the words of it like a song and it will delight your child. The pages are easy for her to turn at 9 months and the pictures are adorable. I highly recommend it!

This book is a must-have for all little ones, especially for those with siblings. It reflects a sweet relationship between older brother and younger sister and the pictures are just precious and beautifully created. My five-year old loves for me to read this to him as well as he does "Tell Me What It's Like to be Big".

If you would like to foster compassion and empathy between siblings, this book is a must have for bedtime reading! I have read this book to my son almost every evening and he just loves the story. It is endearing to see normal fears presented by the charming little sister bunny and to have those fears put to rest by her caring older brother. The story teaches children how to show love to their siblings through simple acts of kindness. The illustrations are vibrant and intricate with great attention to detail. This is an old-fashioned tale of family caring wrapped in a beautiful package.

After I read this story to my 3 and 4 year old girls, I knew we had a bedtime story to cherish. It not only shows an endearing relationship between a brother and sister, but encourages children to think of happy things, to help thim fall asleep. After reading this book, I use examples from the book to help my girls fall asleep.

Poor Willa. She's too little to reach the table by herself, too little to get her clothes on by herself, too little for practically any activity that makes life fun. She goes to her older brother Willoughby and begins to quiz him on how it is to be grown up. Willoughby sets her straight with gentle humor and some straight talk.

Throw into the mix the fact that Willa and Willoughby are utterly charming rabbits drawn by illustrator Debi Gliori and you get the idea of this lovely book. Author Joyce Dunbar has done a good job of showing that growing up isn't all it's made out to be, while simultaneously holding out for the idea that there's a lot of good stuff involved. ... A perfectly charming book with sweet illustrations.

Remember what it was like to be little and wanting to be big! A time when everything would be better if only you were bigger. This heartwarming story is about a bunny named Willa who is very curious about growing up. She gets up very early one morning by herself and realizes she is too little to get breakfast on her own. Willa decides to wake up her brother, Willoughby, who agrees to help her. As he helps her with breakfast, she starts to question him about what it's like to be big. Willoughby patiently answers Willa's questions with older sibling wisdom. The painted illustrations make you feel warm and comfortable. The endpapers remind you of a cozy quilt. All of which remind you of home. Children K-3 will love this story for it's illustrations and the wonderment of what it's like to be older. Adults will love reading it for the nostalgic memories of wanting to be big and knowing what it's like when you finally get there.

I don't screen all of the books my 8-year-old daughter reads, but I was glad that I read this one first. I agree the story is great and will appeal to children, but the gross-out language and talk of boy parts and pregnancy were inappropriate for my 3rd - grader. Before allowing anyone under the age of 10 to read this book, I would consider screening it for yourself first, and then decide if it's appropriate for your young reader.

My children (9 & 12) listened to this on tape and LOVED it. It's funny and intelligent, acccesible to children but full of jokes for adults as well. There's a little magic, a devoted family (and both parents are alive!) whose ancient castle (with Granny frozen in the freezer) is under attack by a villainous builder, Hugh Pylum Height, and a wild combination of the new (laptops) and the old (Nanny) to ensure that all will end happily. How can you resist a book with a baby named Damp, a son who conjures up tiny clones who won't behave, and a pet Yeti who takes direct action against the villains?

I thought that this book was really good and I enjoyed it a lot. It is a great sequal to Pure Dead Magic.
The story starts with the same character, plus a few new ones. The family ends up having to stay in a local hotel, because their house is under going fixing.
But, a simple stay in a hotel, it isn't. First, their "pets" cause crazyness everywhere, also their are bad guys destroying their home, Titus and Pandora have created a horde of pink clones and also, last but not lest, their dragon has just discovered that it is a girl. And pregnant.

... I ... read to my 20 mo. old at night. She loves it -- we read it twice each night before bedtime. My little girl has her "silk" which has to go everywhere she goes so she can "identify" with Flora. The illustrations are wonderful...

I'm a fan of Gliori's other books (NO MATTER WHAT in particular) - the anthropomorphic animals depicted in her illustrations are engagingly expressive, and the humor in her drawings and text is both gentle and sly. She is especially good with background details, which often contain little jokes and subtle references - these help her books stand up to multiple rereadings. The story of FLORA'S BLANKET may not be the right book for parents struggling to wean their toddlers from dependency on a favorite toy or item of clothing, but it will amuse others who have witnessed and/or survived such tantrums (one of my favorite spreads in the book is the part where Flora's older siblings try to offer her their own blankets, to no avail). It also makes a good gift for reader who are keen on bunnies, as Flora and her family are rabbits (one detail that made me smile was the carrot pattern on *the* blanket when it's finally found).

I LOVE Gliori's illustrations. I "met" Gliori when my daughter received _Mr. Bear Says : Are You There, Baby Bear?_. (We have read that book literally hundreds of times!). For those of you enjoyed that book, be sure and pick up this book about Flora, a small bunny who can't get to sleep without HER blanket. For those of you who have had to do frantic searches for beloved blankets of stuffed animals or... whatever bedtime necessity, pick up this book! No flaps, but endearing illustrations and a story that many parents to relate to make this book a winner. I look forward to many readings of this book with my daughter.

The book "When I'm Big," by Debi Gliori is a mediocre book. This book really stands out because of its pictures. These pictures use many bright and attractive colors to catch a child's eye along with varying locations. These will definitely create interest for youngsters and will be new every time with it's very detailed scenes. Also, words are very large in this book. This type makes it easier for children learning to read to share in the fun of this book. Overall, the moral at the end of this book is good. It is all right to dream about being older, but never underestimate where you are at in life. There is one flaw though, Gliori doesn't spend a good deal of time discussing this with the audience, and it could easily pass the child by. On the other hand, this book is very emotionless. Gliori doesn't use creative word choices, but lets the picture do all of the talking. This makes for a boring read for parents and children alike. Since this book has very little to offer in the way of literature this book is easily thrown aside when a child grows older. This book is mainly for very young children and will not be a classic for a child to hold onto.

'When I'm BIG,' by Debi Gliori was a delightfully tacky tale of a young childs wild imagination. The story features a young boy imagining how things would be different when he is big. The boy imagines many different way in which he would do things differently if and when he is big. The story is easy to read and understand while also getting across a very nice point. The ending will make you want to hug your child and imagine that they will never grow up. It may even make you want to be a kid again so that you may have such an imaginative mind. The only downfall of the book would be a scene where the boy is imagining himself swimming with whales in the deep blue sea. The boy is swimming nude and this is just not needed. Any butt is a butt, so to us a child's butt is not cute to show just as an adults butt is not cute to show in a children's book. Overall though we give this book our utmost praise because it encourages youngsters of all ages to go out and have fun with you imagination while also being thankful for those things that are special that they might not realize. Keep up the good work Debi.

This book, "When I'm Big", by Debi Gliori, is a wonderful book for both the young and old. Like many of her other books, Ms. Gliori makes the reader smile and laugh along with the book. She also uses "real-life" experiences so that the reader can relate to the meaning of the story. This book lets children know that getting bigger (and older)is not always a serious adventure...it can be fun, too! I recommend this book to parents and teachers of Preschool and Kindergarten children alike! I know I will use it in my classroom!

My kids liked this story but it fails to make some connections for little ones. It is about a little penguin who is about to be a big brother but who is responsible for delivering packages all over the frosty north. All the deliveries are items that mothers are using to take care of their babies. By the end the little Penguin has decided he is ready for his baby brother's egg to hatch. There is no connection that he has learned that taking care of a baby takes a lot of work. If you are looking for a book to introduce big brothers or big sisters to the arrival of a baby this would not be my first recommendation. If you want to introduce the mail system it is pretty decent at describing package delivery.

My kids liked this story but it fails to make some connections for little ones. It is about a little penguin who is about to be a big brother but who is responsible for delivering packages all over the frosty north. All the deliveries are items that mothers are using to take care of their babies. By the end the little Penguin has decided he is ready for his baby brother's egg to hatch. There is no connection that he has learned that taking care of a baby takes a lot of work. If you are looking for a book to introduce big brothers or big sisters to the arrival of a baby this would not be my first recommendation. If you want to introduce the mail system it is pretty decent at describing package delivery.

Imagine this: you are one of the three children of the Strega-Borgia family: Titus, Pandora, or Baby Damp. Your father has recently "vanished" and now your mother has to return to Witch's School in order to financially support the family. You and your siblings are being "watched" by a recently hired nanny, a dragon, and other creatures of the dark. Baby Damp gets lost within the World Wide Web and the lipstick-wearing spider has to rescue him. Later, it is revealed that Mr. Strega-Borgia was kidnapped by his evil brother, because he wants the family inheritance. The simplistic plot is adorned by tongue-in-cheek humor that children ages 9 and up would think is hilarious. More pure dead humor is on the way from this author as this tale continues in a trilogy.

I read this book at approximately the same time as Amelia Atwater-Rhodes's "Shattered Mirror," and was struck by the turgidity of one and the originality of the other. This book manages to portray junior gothicism with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

Signor Luciano Strega-Borgia vanished a month ago, prompting his household to deal with the situation. Signora Strega-Borgia is now working on her witchcraft course, and as a result the young children Titus (12), Pandora (10) and baby Damp (1 1/2) in the care of a new nanny. What else has happened? A henchman in a bunny suit, the baby getting uploaded onto the Web (fantasy for 2001!), the monsters in the castle (including a yeti, griffin, dragon...), a frozen grandma in the basement, and some delightfully over-the-top villains.

Indeed, this book may appeal to fans of Lemony Snicket, given that the lead trio (boy, girl, baby girl) is quite similar. This book, while equally amusing, does not possess the despairing tone but rather a darkly upbeat manner. There's also a bit of tech humor. Unlike the Harry Potter series, and like "Artemis Fowl," this book fully acknowledges modern technology, enjoyably inaccurate as the idea of losing a little sister on the modem. At the same time, we are granted more traditional items such as the attempted murder of a character by his evil conniving brother.

The lead trio is plenty of fun, smart and gutsy kids who have enough of an edge to be above-average. The villains are... well, villains. They don't really amount to much more, but the bunny suit is worth it.

That is not to say this book is flawless. A few bits of potty-humor spring up that got a bit tiresome, and there are some plot holes that you could throw a basketball through (such as the call for help). However, because of the quirkiness of the plot many readers may simply shrug and say, "Hey, it's fun."

Overall, an original fantasy. Hope the next two books are written!

Welcome to Strega-Schloss, the ancestral family home of the Strega-Borgias in the Scottish Highlands. Unfortunately, things aren't going very well for the inhabitants of Strega-Schloss. Signor Strega-Borgia has been kidnapped by his mobster brother (but everyone else just thinks he's left); Signora Strega-Borgia is failing miserably at her beginning witchcraft lessons; Titus (age 12) just wants to sit at his computer and blow things up all day, but when a tussle with his sister, Pandora (age 10), ends with their baby sister, Damp, being shrunk and e-mailed into cyberspace, they know they've got trouble. Add to the mix a new nanny with a mysterious laptop computer that can work miracles, three hungry monsters in the basement, and a cryogenically frozen aunt who is beginning to thaw - oh, and don't forget the guard alligator in the moat - and you're left with a rollicking adventure of a story that is half Harry Potter, half Lemony Snicket, and 100% fun! Debi Gliori's sarcastic wit is guaranteed to make you laugh, no matter what age you are. Pure Dead Magic is simply that - pure magic!