A little girl's Granny makes her a sock monkey for her birthday. At first her other dolls are afraid of it but eventually they become good friends.

Tony Millionaire has a remarkable art style. He has captured the look of an early 20th century newspaper strip. I can easily imagine Sock Monkey appearing beside Little Nemo and Flash Gordon, back when the Funny Pages were filled with beautiful art. Here he attempts to take his unique style, which has mostly appeared in graphic novels and some TV cartoons, and uses it to illustrate a children's book. It is only a mixed success. The story sort of meanders around and then just stops. I wish he had worked with another writer to create a more focused story to go with his beautiful illustrations.

This book is intended to educate and send a message to a wide audience, both children and adults, about what I feel defines a real mother. In our society, a real mother continues to be thought of as the female who gives birth. Although, that is often the case, it is certainly not always true. With this book, I hope to be a voice for the many women who have had the experience and privilege of raising a child, whether or not they gave birth to that child. May these women be recognized for whom they are: the real mothers.

The best of this bunch are  - Little Squirrel Squish (3.5 stars) about a squirrel who wants to be a reindeer.  The Christmas Bunny (4 stars) about Santa's bunny helper, Brave Benny (3 stars) which is about animals getting ready for winter.  It has the best pictures but I don't understand how a deer pounced joyfully and at times the illustrations were too dark for the word printed over them. 

Arial YouTuber is nice because it has extras that would interest a child, including a recipe and how-to guide. (3 Stars)

Grumpy Dinosaur and Dragon's Breath (3 star) aren't bad but the lesson is a bit heavy handed.

Mariko and the Magic Mirror is a good look at grief and death for children, but feels off because of the use of culture that isn't fully explored or used. (3 stars)

The worst is the Singing Horse (.5 star) which uses stereotypical illustrations of Native Americans.  I mean, living in teepees in the desert bad.

Simple.  Easy to remember.  I think I now understand quantum physics (LOL).  Greatest ending ever.

Cute story of a witch on her broom with a lot of hitchhikers.  The rhyming poem is wonderful.  It was longer than I expected of a board book but adorable.