Cover Image: The Steves

The Steves

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Member Reviews

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cute picture book. Lots of fun for the little ones. I recommend it.

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Puffin Steve meets fellow Puffin Steve and they try to figure out who is the best Steve. The book itself is silly, but the colorful backgrounds and illustrations make this one a worthy read.

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Chances are you have come across someone with the same name as you. It's inevitable you will be in the same class, workplace or even home as someone who shares your first name. It can be a little confusing knowing who's talking to who. In The Steves, Morag Hood explores this concept in very humorous manner. When two Steves encounter each other they try to best each other to see who the actual Steve is. Unfortunately they get a little out of hand.
The Steve is a funny take on common names, and when an author uses the word "poo" in their story, well you know you have hit gold among the early years crowd. It's a fun read that you are most likely going to have to read again and again.

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I'm never goint to not read a book about penguins or puffins. This is a simple story but worth considering. It addresses our inherent compulsion to compare and compete and the disaster that can result. Hood treats the topic with humor and understanding.

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Cute book for a read-aloud with opportunity to ham it up with 2 different voices. Good message about "friendly" competition and acceptance.

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I am a fan of Morag Hood's books and The Steves is another great addition. I think puffins are super cute and I think this book will appeal to young readers. The ending is great too! I would definitely recommend this title to others.

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3.5*

This was a silly children's story about two puffins both named Steve. When they meet there is of course a competition between the two of them for who is the better Steve at this and that.

I think young kids will laugh and have fun reading this book as well as enjoy the bright colors and illustrations.

The two Steves start out with silly reasons why they're the number one Steve and of course turns to being frustrated and angry with the others' reasons to where they hurt each other's feelings. Steve then apologizes to Steve and they start to work together until...another Steve appears.

I found this book to be pretty accurate with a personal situation. My youngest daughter has a little bit more unique first name and surprise, the first day of kindergarten we discover that there is another little girl with her same name, different spelling, in the other kindergarten class. This other little girl wasn't very thrilled at all that someone else would have her same name. So some competition ensued and hurtful words. I was constantly in helping in the classroom and out at recess watching their very short interactions. My little girl would try to go play but the other little girl wasn't very kind. After many times of talking with my daughter and reminding her to be kind and try not to get too upset about it, and trying to find ways to help the situation, we ran into this other little girl around town with her grandmother. The other little girl pointed at my daughter and told her grandmother that they had the same name. I smiled and said 'isn't that so cool that someone else has the same name as you? That's pretty neat. There's not too many people that will have your same name. You guys are pretty lucky." She stopped and thought about it and then ever since that conversation, they have played and gotten along great. It just took a little different perspective...and guess what, they're in the same class this year and happy as can be about it.

Content: The two Steves make fun of each other at the end of their competition. One Steve tells the other he smells like "poo". I know that is something kids think is funny but not something I quite appreciate in a children's story book. I probably would have rated it higher if that wasn't in there.

I received a copy from the publisher, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

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My daughter absolutely loved this book. The pictures are so vivid and striking, and she thought the Steves were so funny. There was plenty to discuss once we had read the book, and she really liked that I could add different voices whilst reading it. I love the illustrations in this book, and I'll be getting a physical copy for our bookshelf. This will be great when she starts learning to read as well!

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Steve the puffin believes he's the best Steve. That is until the other puffin named Steve comes into the picture. They immediately become competitive and defensive about who is the best Steve. One Steve is older so he obviously is better. The other Steve still thinks highly of himself and puts down the older Steve. I love the illustrations the most because it's playful and makes the story work, What children find out is that two heads are better than one and working together gets stuff done. It does end rather abruptly and then there could be a couple extra pages to see them working well together but I liked it overall. Kids will enjoy this one.

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I am sure that every new school year brings this fight back to the forefront. Which Steve is THE Steve? Which is stronger, faster, smarter, etc? You see this story played out on the pages as it would in real life. And as such, you get a chuckle, but don’t get to deal with the upset children. So high fives all around and everyone can be Steve.

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I did not request this title so will not be providing feedback. I have never read Children's Fiction and do not know why this title is in my list.

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The Steves is a picturebook written by Morag Hood. It is currently scheduled for release on September 1 2018. When puffin Steve meets puffin Steve, neither can believe it. Surely one of them must be the first Steve, the best Steve, the Stevest of Steves, but is a name really worth fighting over?

The Steves is a well drawn picturebook with bright, entertaining illustrations of puffins. Steve and Steve are arguing over who is the best Steve, the first Steve. The bickering starts of fun and entertaining, but I have to admit that it crossed a line for me. It started of with simple argument about who introduced themselves first, who was stronger, and so on. But it dissolved into insults that I would not want to introduce to young readers or have them mimic. At one point one Steve makes fun of the other's feet and he retaliates but saying the first Steve smells like poo. Not something I want to model to young readers, even if the two Steves do apologize to each other and make up by the end. I loved the art and the intent, but the insults rather ruined the book for me.

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When a puffin named Steve meets another puffin who is also named Steve, the competition is on! One of them hast to be the best, most Stevest Steve, right? This competition quickly escalates and turns into name calling and hurt feelings. Can the Steves work out their differences (or similarities)?

With bold pictures and mounting tension, The Steves will make a great read aloud. Teachers (and parents) will want to read the book before presenting it to kids to make sure the name calling isn’t too much for their kiddos or that it can be thoroughly discussed as a bad choice with kids. Overall, the book is funny and will make kids laugh while realizing somethings are just silly to argue over.

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3.5 stars.
I really like Morag Hood's illustrations and loved her previous book. The Steves features two puffins with the same name who are trying to prove that they are the best 'Steve'. I enjoyed the colourful pictures and the personality shown by each character as well as the subtle differences between them. I was less amused by some of the insults that the two puffins started throwing at each other. I thought that the ending was brilliant, if a little rushed.

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I loved I am Bat and I love The Steves too. It captures perfectly the competitive nature of young children and their drive to be bigger and better than friends and siblings. Kids will laugh out loud at the things the Steves the insults they throw at one another and the wonderfully, comical illustrations. I love the way Morag Hood captures emotion in her illustrations. Simple, beautiful and funny - a perfect package. I have no doubt the Steves will become a classic favourite for young children.

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This was a funny little story about two toucans (I think?) named Steve who argue about who is the REAL Steve. It felt like a Mo Willems book with funny character voices and graphic novel panels. I wish there was a little more substance or a lesson, but overall very cute.

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Two puffins named Steve, what could go wrong? Well they both think that they are the best and first Steve... so a lot actually goes wrong.

The book is so bright and the images are pretty simple but it is a cute book that will hold a youngsters attention. The book is easy to read and you can flip to the next page pretty quickly.


The Steves are funny, they keep trying to outdo one another until they end up saying some pretty mean things. After realizing that they can both be Steve, everything seems ok again. For readers that are a little older, this will be a simple book to use as a teaching tool - you don't always need to outdo people, sometimes sharing something is just fine the way it is.

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5 happy stars! I enjoyed a previous children's book by Hood quite a lot (I Am Bat)and the publisher offered this book for review via Netgalley. I loved it! Great and colorful illustrations that young children will find colorful and fun. The yellow is very eye catching! It will open up the opportunity for a much needed discussion about comparison and if anyone is better than another or are we all equal. I really liked this theme and would definitely like to own a classroom copy.

It's cute and appropriate. It's a great resource for young readers and their parents or teachers. Many thanks to Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, Morag Hood, and NetGalley for a digital copy to review. I look forward to sharing it's message with young readers. Highly recommended! Comes out Sept. 1, 2018. I'll be picking it up. :-)

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Two puffins meet- each named Steve. The contest begins to see who is the best oldest, prettiest, smartest puffin.
Guess what? Steve wins! An adorable book with great artwork. .

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Fun simple book. I enjoyed his previous book as well. These are great read aloud books. Great addition to our collection.

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