This book was way to long. And it was kind of boring. Ben and Bailee set sail to find the perfect birthday gift, a pink magnolia flower. But this adventure is extremely wordy. Each character has to look inside themselves to become or see a better person, and then various animals have to give instructions and remind the two to follow the instructions. This book gets a hard pass.

This cringe-inducing picture book somehow manages to tick all the boxes to make it an excellent example of why so many readers are wary of self-published works. I wasn't expecting this book to be as bad as it is... and I'm having trouble coming up with any good things to say about it.

The mediocre illustrations don't do the insipid story any favours. Basically, we have two white kids who decide to go off on an adventure (by themselves) and somehow end up in a tropical setting within a day of walking on foot as they search for a magnolia blossom for Grandpa B's birthday present. They meet a canary who gives them some directions. Bailee somehow (for no reason) decides she's not afraid of being away from home anymore, and sings a silly song about it. Then they meet a gharial (which is a creature native to the northern Indian subcontinent) who directs them to a one-eyed turtle who gets them all outfitted so they can go and meet some pirates. The meeting with the pirates is totally bland; we're told the pirates tell the kids lots of amazing stories, but the reader isn't privy to any of that. We don't even see a pirate in the illustrations, except from behind! The pirates want to stop the kids from taking the magnolia blossom, but the kids appease the pirates with some parrot feathers (you would think pirates would have plenty of those already) and get their magnolia and return home just in time for the party. Then we learn that the magnolia is going to heal Grandpa B from old age so he can go on more adventures and return to Pirate's Cove (because he's apparently been there before).

The writing is pretty bad. Said bookisms run rampant. There's missing punctuation. There are misplaced capitals. "Pirate's Cove" implies one pirate, when there are many. (Shouldn't it be "Pirates' Cove"?) Large chunks of the story are glossed over with telling rather than showing. Stuff is brought up like it's important, then never mentioned again (e.g., the jam). The writing style is juvenile and condescending, and I found it almost painful to read.

I don't like giving reviews like this, but I can't in good conscience recommend this book. It reads like an example of how not to write a children's book.

Thanks to Netgalley, Kelli Hughes Books/Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles and Kelli Hughes for the opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review.

Bailey Banana and Benjamin Basil are best friends who have quite the friendship. They travel to various places and meet different animals on their adventures that are introduced into the story in a cute way. I thought this book had a cute message and I enjoyed the colorful illustrations. My daughter, (who loves animals), will really get a kick out of the different kinds represented (a canary, sea turtle, parrot - just to name a few).

My one criticism is that this book is a little wordy. I think a little less dialogue and more illustrations would have helped to improve the overall reading experience. I enjoyed the message about showing love and caring for your family members.