This meme was started by Rae Longest at Powerful Women Readers. As I am a grandmother, who loves to read to her grandchildren, a mother who loved to read to and with her children, and a retired teacher librarian, this meme really attracted me.

This week I am highlighting two books I read to my youngest grandchildren. Both were provided to me by the publishers upon request, through netgalley. I have included their comments, reactions and interactions where appropriate. All ratings and opinions are our own.

Siggy Loves Sausages by Brian Frederick

Published July 18th 2021 by BooksGoSocial

4 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a cute story about Siggy, the sausage dog. I read this story with my two youngest grandchildren and got mixed reactions. Siggy sees a beautiful bag flying by and when he hears a call for help, chases it to try and catch it for a neighbour. It takes him through the town and we meet several people. He finally catches up to it in the forest but it is stuck in a tree. He gets a bit of magical help to retrieve it and return it to the owner. He is rewarded with his favourite food, a spicy sausage. There is some magic in the story consisting of a few people who can understand Siggy’s barks and the fairy who coaxes the bag out of the tree. The illustrations were adorable and I loved how Siggy stretched and grew when necessary. The expressions on the faces of the characters, made them appear real. My granddaughter loved the story about perseverance, kindness, friendship and being rewarded for good works. My grandson, who is only 3, lots interest as there is a lot of text for his age group. He liked the illustrations, but kept wanting me to flip the pages before I was finished reading a page, which frustrated his older sister (6). I liked the themes in this one and recommend it to kindergarten teachers and parents.

Siggy the Soccer Dog by Brian Frederick, Vivien Sarkany (Illustrator)

Published April 4th 2022 by BooksGoSocial

5 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Siggy is sleeping, but having quite the dream. He is playing soccer in the FA cup final on Manchester United team. He is a fan favourite with his own song, by the name of Siggy Sosidj. It is down to the last couple of minutes in the game and Siggy is put in. He is fouled, but his team can’t score on the penalty kick. Siggy gets one last chance to win the game, can he score? Once again, this is a cute, wonderfully illustrated book about Siggy the dachshund who demonstrates perseverance, overcoming odds, and kindness. When Siggy is injured in the game, instead of being upset, he demonstrates good sportsmanship and offers the hand of kindness and friendship to the dog player who fouled and hurt him. I read this to the youngest two of my grandchildren and even the three year old listened to this one. The kids enjoyed the illustrations and were excited to see if Siggy would score and win the game. We talked about sportsmanship, winning at all costs and being a good teammate. We also laughed at the illustrations and all the contortions Siggy goes through. A great choice for teachers and parents when teaching about sportsmanship, kindness, and friendship.

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