Book Review: Ruby's Sleepover

Title: Ruby's Sleepover 

 By:Katheryn: White and Miriam Latimer

Age recommendations: 3-7

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What is it about? 

Ruby's back and she's invited Mai over to have a sleepover with her! They're sleeping in Ruby's backyard in a tent armed with Ruby's imagination to help them ward of scary threats that lurk about as the world drifts off to sleep.

What did we think?

Usually I start my reviews off with what we don't like, but this time, my husband and I had a hard time picking the story apart to find what we didn't like. I mean, I guess I could get really picky and complain that the girls are camping out without s'mores and you can't really have a camp out without s'mores but I don't think that's a legitimate complaint. 

However, my husband and I both found this story to be fun and full of imagination. My husband thinks that the rhythmic rhyming helps and I can't say that I disagree with that assessment, however, my affection for this story goes deeper then that. There are two big aspects that stand out to me.

The first one was Ruby's draw from fairy tales she's read. I loved seeing her conjure up giants in need of a magic bean which would produce a bean stalk to taking him straight to his own house in the sky, a dragon needing to protect her egg and pirates in fantastic flying ships searching for treasure and repelled by Ruby's magic ring. It was not only fun, but it was like reading a sweet story about a real girl with a love for fantastical stories that inspire her own created world, just as we pull from our experiences and our favorite pieces of the stories we ingest to fuel our own creations. 

The other part that really appealed to me about this particular sleepover and Ruby was her active imagination. I loved how she could instantly explain what her and Mai were experiencing in a fun way, even if not realistic. Of course, the girls most likely didn't know the real answers, either. However, Ruby didn't stop there. While many children I know would have run into the house screaming about a giant about to step on their tent and squash them into pancakes, or dragons mistaking them for marshmallows and trying to roast them alive, Ruby conjures up solutions just as mystical as her last creations, drawing from what she has right in front of her and, as I've said before, the knowledge gathered in her own reading adventures. It's fun and exciting to whitness her in action as she easily defeats a giant, a dragon and pirates! 

My husband and both easily declared the dragon as our favorite part (I must admit, when I learned there was a dragon in this story, I knew I had to read it!) mostly because we like dragons but I think part of my affection for that part is that it reminds me of a scene in Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire and do love my Harry Potter! 

However, my 8 year old really liked finding the fire fly on all of the pages the first time we read it together and I have to admit, I do love our Barefoot books that have that "bonus feature" included! 

What do we rate this book?

My husband rates this book at a...

5 out of 5 s'mores

I rate this book at a ...

4 out of 5 s'mores

Now that you've heard what we thought about this fun addition to our bedtime story library, tell us what you think! Do you like Ruby's imaginative? What was your favorite part? Let us know in the comments!