April & Mae and the Animal Shelter

April & Mae books are a series of seven easy chapter books by Megan Dowd Lambert for children who have moved up a step from picture books. Each book is about their adventures on a certain day of the week and celebrates a friendship between two girls who are quite different yet can reach agreements about anything, particularly the fact that they love being together. In April & Mae and the Animal Shelter, a new animal shelter has opened and April and Mae want to help the animals there. April and Mae find unique ways to provide assistance to the shelter that are warmly welcomed by the people who run the shelter. This is a wonderful book for beginning independent readers. It has a nice flow, contrasting the two girls and their particular talents, showing that anyone can do something to help if they put their minds to it. Gisela Bohórquez' illustrations are cute, colorful and joyful. The book is a feel-good book perfect for young readers. Many thanks to Megan Dowd Lambert, Charlesbridge Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

This picture book tells the story of two friends who both want to help an animal shelter in their own way. April likes to write so she writes a newspaper article, while Mae prefers more hands on activities. She helps by running a lemonade stand. Over the course of the story they are able to complete tasks and help their local animal shelter. One thing that I love is that they are demonstrating real jobs that young children can do to help in their community. I also love that it shows that there are many ways to help, that not everyone has to do the same thing to still make a difference. The text is made up of short sentences mainly made up of sight and decodable words and is a clean and accessible font. The illustrations support comprehension and add to the story. I also really like that the characters in the story wonder and research, I think those are great ideas and skills to incorporate in books for young readers. This book is part of a series and I look forward to checking them all out. As a grade 3 teacher, I would recommend this book to parents and teachers of children in the 5-8 age range. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

Fun and frolic galore, with a few morals inserted for good measure. I really liked the difference in the two girls' personalities.

An enjoyable book to ready. The ideas presented about various ways to help were easy enough for any child to do on their own and see how it could make a difference. I like that the book presented two different ways to make a difference- in addition to volunteering. Raising money to buy food is something kids may come up with on their own, but presenting the idea of using your words (on paper) to make a difference is great. I had my two kids read this book as well and they enjoyed it.

A charming book for newer readers! The vivid pictures make it super enjoyable and engaging. The message about how we can all help in our own ways was sweet and well done. My six year old also read it, and gave it 1 million stars.

April & Mae and the Animal Shelter by Megan Dowd Lambert is a story of best friends who love their pets and the animals at their local animal shelter. Can they find a way to raise money and help the homeless pets? The story is very simple, the text is basic and the illustrations are sweet. Due to the simplistic text and storyline I think this book is great for reading to pre readers or for very young early readers. I think advanced readers will find this book too babyish. But a sweet story encouraging volunteerism.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this advanced copy to read and review.

April & Mae and the Animal Shelter (The Thursday Book) by Megan Dowd Lambert is a great book for young children who are learning to read. Although the story features two girls and lots of pets, I'm sure the story can be enjoyed by all kinds of children. There are morals about caring for animals, friendship and work, without being too heavy or preachy. There are other books in the same series, so it can be a great collectable. Cute illustrations.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I like how the book ends by asking readers for other ways they can think of to help. I could envision the discussions this might generate, not to mention the creative ideas. I bet the adults helping the beginning readers, about ages 5-6, will have a few, too.

I'm unfamiliar with this beginning reader chapter book series but as a former teacher imagined it could be a fun tool and read. The illustrations are basic by design and colorful, plus there is a great deal of repetition of words for beginning readers. It was also a real plus to see not just best friends of different races but best friends seemingly welcomed into the other friend's home, too. Even the use of different kinds of pets, both a dog and cat, was a subtle but effective means of communication that we're all in this together. I did wonder why the pets seemed nameless but then decided that might actually be a nice touch. Rather than arguing whether they liked the name choices or not, young readers could be asked what they'd call the different pets and, maybe more importantly, what their reasoning behind a name choice might be.

Thanks #NetGalley and #Charlesbridge for introducing me to this fun little series. I particularly liked that while it notes there are many ways to be involved and help, basically every little bit helps. Even as adults we tend to be overwhelmed with all that is needed in all world, so a timely reminder.

My daughter loves this series and was excited to preview this newest title, April & Mae and the Animal Shelter. In this story, April and Mae work in different ways to help the cats and dogs at their local shelter. This sweet tale shows young readers what a supportive friendship looks like, and that little efforts add up to something big.

These books are great for beginning readers with their expressive illustrations and simple sentence structure. I would say this book compares to level 2/3 early readers. This is a wholesome series that I would recommend to parents and young readers.

Thank you to Charlesbridge and NetGalley for gifting my family with an ARC to review! We enjoyed it.

The story presents ideas for how small people can help with the big problem of dogs and cats needing food and homes while also helping out at the local pet shelter. The girls in the story are good friends, one sells lemonade at a sidewalk stand to raise money for food while the other struggles to find the right words for a letter to the newspaper. The important thing is to be involved.
The illustrations by Briana Dengoue are fun, simple, and colorful.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to anyone, but especially to a school or your public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Charlesbridge via NetGalley. Thank you!

What a cute kids collection of books. This little book is about how two girls are best friends and they know what each others likes and dislikes are. In this particular book they realize they both have different strengths when it comes to healing animals but together they can get the job done! This would be perfect for a mini book box. Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback!

April & Mae is an early reader series following the friendship of April and Mae. In this book, the two visit an animal shelter. The book is easy to read and follow. The pictures can aid early reader's comprehension.

Me and my children enjoyed this story with all the characters within. It was about two girls and the different things that they like. Both like different things. One like cats and the other like dogs. But both like to help out at the animal shelter but in different ways.

This was fun story to read. It had action and adventure throughout. It had a few giggles within. The illustrations want well with the story and were colorful.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinions.