Just Us

Pjs, cuddling, and story-time before bed is a favorite at our house! The last couple weeks the kids had so much fun reading some new material I was given advanced copies of. It’s cute how now they ask what new books I have to read. As soon as I’m finished they will tell me what they loved about the book. My great little reviewers! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚📖 @netgalley #netgalley

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Pickle Words by April Pulley Sayre (comes out July 15)

She Sells Seashells by Heidi Stemple (comes out July 15)

Squawk of Spanish by Gabrielle Aldeman (comes out Aug 12)

Just Us by Mary Beth Griffin (comes out Aug 26)

Trabsportation by DK (comes out May 20)

The Bedtime Book of Magical Creatures by Stephen Krensky (comes out May 27)

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful, heartwarming children's book with wonderful pictures!

Thank you to Net Galley for this e- copy of Just Us by Molly Beth Griffin in exchange for a honest review . This is a wonderful book that teaches so much to the early reader- holiday with families, traditions, resiliency and handling disappointment. When this family and their relatives can’t gather for the holidays due to bad weather they have to adapt and make other plans. They have different food, play different games and enjoy an outdoor hike in the snow. It teaches young readers that it is ok when things don’t go our way and this is an opportunity for new traditions- an invaluable lesson in today's society .

This was a lovely book! A family experiences the disappointment of family not joining them for the holidays, but try to make new adventure and traditions with their day. In the end the disappointment catches up with one of the children, so they talked about it and tried to think of something new to try and made the best of their day. This would be great to show children that sometimes plans have to change, but if you can make the best of it. This is not a theme of the story at all, but I loved that this family had two moms.

𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗨𝗦 was a lovely holiday themed children’s read. The illustrations were lovely and leant a level of warmth to the story that made it a pleasure to read. The story in itself focused on the importance of family and traditions both new and old - a very important lesson to impart on children. A fantastic addition to any personal or classroom library.

Get ready to be enchanted by Molly Beth Griffin's Just Us, a delightful holiday tale. The story is told through the eyes of a child who shares a home with their brother and two moms. Every year, their house buzzes with excitement as their extended family, including Grandma, aunts, uncles, and cousins, gathers for a grand holiday celebration. However, this year, a massive snowstorm disrupts their plans, leaving the family alone for the holiday. Despite the unexpected turn of events, they embrace the challenge and strive to create new traditions, even though it may pose some difficulties along the way. I read this with my four year old son, he absolutely loved it and so did I!

Just Us, written by Molly Beth Griffin, is a sweet holiday story. This book is told from the point of view of a child, who lives with their brother and two moms. Every year they have a big holiday celebration at their house, with their family, Grandma, aunts, uncles, and cousins. But this year there is a big snow storm that causes travel problems and leaves the family alone for the holiday. They try to make the best of it, and create new traditions, but sometimes that can be hard.
I really enjoyed this story. I feel like it would have been one that I would have enjoyed as a child too! I loved the illustrations and the traditions that were shared, and the recipe at the end of the book. Thank you to NetGalley, and to the author, illustrator, and publisher of this book for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A really sweet story about traditions and family, and discovering new traditions along the way.

Every year things are special for the holidays. Grandma, aunts, uncles, and cousins come. There’s delicious food and dessert and fun games.

When the snow came this holiday, grandmas flight was cancelled and the rest of the family couldn’t drive in the weather. Such a a disappointment!

But they make the best of it and make stew, explore in the snow, play cards and then make an apple crisp!

I love the importance of family and traditions, but when plans change it’s so sweet to see a family come together and try something new. It can be special, even if it’s different!

Thank you so much to Charlesbridge and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Two children have a holiday tradition every year, their grandma comes with three pies, their cousins and aunts and uncles come, where they eat a big feast and play charades. This year a huge snow storm stops them all from coming so the children’s mom and mama have to help create new traditions for just them.

What a sweet story, changing your yearly traditions is really hard to adjust too and I loved that this book showed that it was hard for the little girl, I also liked seeing how their parents did everything they could to still make it a fun day with new traditions they could do in situations like that.

The illustrations were really lovely to look at, I really enjoyed this story myself, it’s a great story for the holiday season it will help show children that though a tradition may change for many reasons, you can still have fun as a smaller family and create new ones.

A lovely holiday-themed story about a family interrupted by weather. They make do and try their best to carry on. Together they find happiness through new activities while paying homage to their family along the way.

The book is very well illustrated and written with a careful eye. A diverse family makes an unfavourable situation into a cozy one. They connect with one another and do their best to enjoy what they have. Relatable and easy to follow.

This book is one I will add to our school library. This title is not yet posted on StoryGraph.

The illustrations are warm and engaging, perfect to read aloud to a group, but with small details that make this book just as perfect for a lap sitting child to explore. More importantly, many of the young children in my story times have strong memories of the covid pandemic, and know first hand the disappointment of plans changing. This story book offers several ways in which new traditions can be made from what is available, from the familiar games at the table to inviting grandmother into the kitchen via a video chat. The simple, adaptable, recipe and personal family story at the end will open up further activities for a caregiver looking to encourage flexibility and creativity in their little ones. Thank you NetGalley for access to such a delightful picture book.

A heartwarming tale about a family that finds new ways to celebrate the holidays when bad weather forces family members to change their plans. The kids realize that even if a loved one can't be with them in person, they're always in their hearts and memories. It's a touching reminder of the true meaning of the season.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for allowing me to review

I received an electronic ARC from Charlesbridge through NetGalley.
Holiday traditions are important but what happens when a blizzard comes and no one can get there to celebrate. Griffin offers a look at how this family of four adapt and create new traditions to celebrate Christmas when extended family can't come. The illustrations capture the details including the characters' emotions as the story unfolds. I love the positive attitude from both moms even though they had to be disappointed also.

When a storm hits, a family has to change their plans and do things differently. I loved this book and the sweet family that makes the best of a holiday without all the family.

Charming book about a family whose normal big Christmas celebration is cancelled due to weather. The family creates some new traditions together for their smaller celebration. It even includes a recipe which would be a fun activity to bring the book to life for kids. I also appreciated that it depicted a family with two moms. The illustrations were beautiful.

A great book to discuss hard feelings like disappointment.
Even though there are last-minute circumstances the family tries to overcome feeling bad in such creative ways.
Its a very sweet book.

This was a very cute book about how one family's holiday plans were thwarted by snow, and while disappointed they make do with what they have to make the holiday special even if it wasn't their usual traditions. Big family gatherings are the hallmark of holidays and those plans do sometimes fall through so this would be the perfect book to help children understand that it can still be fun when it's different. Bonus points for LGBT+ representation and the recipe for Grandma's apple crisp (yum!)