Bea Reviews Ten Busy Brownies by Talia Haven

Publisher: Keith Publications
Format Read: PDF
Source: publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: November 6, 2013
Buying Links: Amazon* |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Count the Brownies from one to ten as they go about their night time chores.

Bea's Thoughts:


I was immediately captured by the title when the review request came in. Brownies are a fairy tale being that get little use or attention in stories today. I looked at the sample on Amazon and decided to accept the request.

"Ten Busy Brownies" is a basic counting book, that goes from one to ten and has a surprise, if somewhat abrupt, ending. It's a charming book, with cute pics as we follow brownies cleaning another brownie's house.

I wish the author had worked in some info about brownies, who they are, and why they clean. Of course, in the traditional stories, they don't clean each other's houses but clean the houses of humans who leave out gifts, usually milk, cream, or bread. Without this info, most children reading this book won't understand what brownies are, besides funny looking humans. It's a small flaw though.

The art is...different. At first, I thought it had been done by a child but then at the end of the book, there was a biography and nope, the illustrator is an adult. For instance, the faces are out of proportion, and the chickens look like mutant dinosaurs. On the plus side, the colors are cheerful, and the pictures detailed but not busy.

I enjoyed the book and I think most toddlers and preschoolers will too.