Review: Ralphina, The Roly-Poly

Summary: Written to appeal to preschoolers and early readers, the author introduces young children to the hidden world of a tiny insect.

Children will love to hear this fascinating story of friendship and will delight in the vivid and colorful illustrations. At the end of the book, readers can learn fun facts about roly-polies and rain-bows, which provide an educational and entertaining opportunity for children, parents, and educators.

A perfect tale that will be a bed-time favorite, Ralphina, the Roly-Poly is a story that children will want to hear again and again,and one that adults will be happy to read and reread. -- Leathers Publishing

I thoroughly enjoyed reading RALPHINA, THE ROLY-POLY with my four year old son. The book, which is written and illustrated by Claudia Chandler, is just downright precious! I will preface this review by saying that roly-polies are probably the only bug that I find the slightest bit cute -- or maybe I should say non-disgusting. I can even pick them up without being squeamish. I'm thinking that my comfort level with roly-polies might have added to my enjoyment of the story (just a little bit.)

RALPHINA, THE ROLY-POLY tells the story of a lonely roly-poly bug, Ralphina, who wants to befriend a young boy who lives in a nearby house. She thinks of a creative way to get the boy to notice her, the two become fast friends. Ralphina also manages to teach the boy (and the reader) a thing or two about roly-polies along the way.

While we my kids agreed with me that the story was cute, I think we all really loved the illustrations in the book -- they are absolutely gorgeous. The colors are vibrant and do a great job of enhancing the story. I thought Ralphina was just adorable with her big eyes and long eyelashes. My four year old really appreciated that there were just a few sentences on each page so he could turn the pages often and continue to explore new pictures.

While I have to admit that the book was a little young for my nine year old daughter, she still enjoyed reading the picture book and sharing her comments. She especially enjoyed the end of the book where the author provided lots of fun-filled facts about roly-polies and rainbows.

I was very impressed with author and illustrator, Claudia Chandler. She not only holds a master's degree in elementary education, but she is also an artist and photographer. She also claims to be an avid gardener. I think you will see that all of her passions are evident within the pages of RALPHINA, THE ROLY-POLY. You can learn more about her by listening to this January 8th BlogTalk radio interview.