How to use this Page

.

Slam!: A Tale of Consequences

written and illustrated by Adam Stower

Owlkids Books 3/15/2014

978-1-77147-007-0

Age 3 to 7 32 pages

.

.
A boy heads to the store with his dog to buy some candy. On his way out, the door slams behind him. Oops. What starts off innocently builds into a contagious, calamitous, cacophony of crashing cars, flopping fish, wobbly workers, not to mention dogs, cats, rockets, kites, lions, clown, ice cream, dragons and . . . aliens? Where will this tale of consequences go next? You’ll never guess!”

Opening

“Don’t slam the d . . . SLAM!”

Review

Have you ever thrown a pebble into a puddle and watched as the water ripples outward, never ceasing to end? Cause and effect. Now everyone has heard at some time in his or her life, “Don’t slam the door!” Why is this door admonition so universal? One word: consequences. Read SLAM! A Tale of Consequences and you will understand cause and effect.

A young boy, maybe nine or ten, steps out with his dog to make a candy store run. Someone inside the house yells to him,

“Don’t slam the door.”

The boy is listening to something on his headphones. Maybe a book on tape and a moment of crisis is about to unfold. He just cannot turn it down to listen to something he hears day in and day out. Okay, he is most likely listening to music while absentmindedly walking the dog. The boy slams the door and out bounces his red playground ball.

Now that the cause has been established, it is time for the effects—the consequences. The red ball bounces haphazardly onto the sidewalk, hitting the bag of groceries an older woman is was carrying. Eggs fly out and smack another woman jogging towards the first, and oranges roll out into the street where a fish truck swerves hard to avoid them. The back door of the fish truck swings open and fish fly everywhere. And you thought fish couldn’t fly. Wrong. Those fish flew into people smacking them in the mouth, knocking them down, and worse, an octopus flew down an open manhole. (In retrospect that probably saved two men’s lives, as it stopped them from entering the sewer.) The octopus hit a dragon that was calling the sewer home. The dragon flies out of the sewer, fire breathing everywhere, and goes crazy. Now the young boy, he is still oblivious to the destruction behind him, but his poor dog cannot get away from it all. Cause and Effect. Consequences.

The illustrations have so many details it takes a while to notice all that is happening on each spread. There are old and young people, dogs and cats, circus performers and a dragon, construction men and lots and lots of fish. The baker takes a swordfish in the rear while a dog, now on a skateboard, finds a fish over his head. Acrobats juggle a lion, clowns launch out the back of a circus van, and a big tough guy, he looks like he wants to run. Everyone ends up covered in various ice cream flavors.

Kids of all ages will love this hilarious minimal text picture book. Words, not needed. Once the door slams, the only thing people will be saying, or rather yelling, do not belong in a kid’s book, let alone a picture book for the youngest children. Even without words, SLAM! A Tale of Consequences is hilarious with a capital H. It is laugh-out-loud funny. It is read it too me again hijinks. If you like slam-stick, the kind that happened on older shows such as I Love Lucy or like Melissa McCarthy performs to today’s audiences of funny-lovers, you will love SLAM! A Tale of Consequences.  I love Slam!

The young boy does get his candy. On the way out of the candy store he once again fails to hear,

“Don’t SLAM the door!”

The young boy slams the door and the . . .

.
SLAM!  A TALE OF CONSEQUENCES. Text and illustration copyright © 2005 by Adam Stower. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Owlkids Books, Berkeley, CA.

**Originally published in the U.K. in 2005 by Templar Publishing.

Purchase SLAM!  A Tale of Consequences at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Owlkids Books—your favorite bookstore.

Learn more about SLAM!  A Tale of Consequences HERE.

Meet the author / illustrator, Adam Stower, at his website:    http://www.worldofadam.com/

Find other books to enjoy at the Owlkids Books website:    http://www.owlkids.com/

.
.
  NEW in 2014 by Adam Stower

Naughty Kitty!

Dinosaurs (Pictura)

Troll und Oliver – Bilderbuch

Snowball Fight!

Around the World in Eighty Days

.
.

The Big Book of Superheroes

written by Bart King

illustrated by Greg Paprocki

Gibbs Smith    4/01/2014

978-1-4236-3397-6

Age 8+      288 pages

.

“Supervillains started quaking in their boots when they heard Bart King was creating a foolproof handbook that would teach superheroes how to interview and hire sidekicks, customize secret lairs—oh, and how to perfect hand-to-hand and foot-to-butt combat techniques! So, if you have a burning desire to fight evildoers, and a bit of allowance money to purchase this book, grab your battle costume disguise and join the fight for good!”

Opening

“Welcome to the world of superheroes! I have good news. By reading these words, you just became an honorary superhero. Yay!”

So You Want to be a Superhero (aka About the Book)

It begins at the beginning:  you’ve made your decision to become a superhero, fighter of evil, doer of good. Now you need to learn how to act and look like a superhero, starting with your superpower. What will it be? King gives you the 15 most popular superpowers, though there are many, many more to choose from. Then you must act like a superhero. This section gives you situations and asks you to pick the superhero answer. Many answers are further impressed upon your mind through the use of black and white illustrations.

Ways to become a superhero, short of reading the entire The Big Book of Superheroes, includes becoming an orphan, taking your vitamins, and having a rotten childhood. Those are but a few of the ways to shortcut your way to becoming a superhero. Personally, I like “Be a Handsome, Genius Millionaire,” but being hit by cosmic rays works, too. Once you tell your parents you are a superhero, the real training begins.

Know when to fight—and with which weapon—and know when to run, I mean retreat. What does a superhero say? The section called “Zingers and Battle Cries—Speaking Superhero!” will help you find a battle cry, a motto, and how to super trash talk. With super training complete, who will be your toughest foe? Rugrats! That’s right, little kids, some of whom may have their own version of a superpower. You can’t just hold these rugrats at arm’s length and laugh. No, you need to know how to control supertantrums.

You need a supername. One suggestion is to find a cool word and spell it backwards, such as El Carim (miracle) or Repus (super). Repus would be a good name for a feline superhero. Add a “p” and get the name Repups, the perfect name for Repus’s canine sidekick. Yep, animals can be superheroes. Your dog or cat might be on a super mission right now. You also need a costume. Maybe a cape would be good with a utility belt to hold your utilities. The Fantastic 4 have great costumes according to King. The Human Torch had flaming underwear, hopefully not as he wore them.

Superheroes need to know the difference between right and wrong. They need ethics. Can you learn this? Check out the quiz to see where you stand. If you have a secret identity, keep it a secret along with any super powers you may have. Secrecy is very important to a superhero. On the wrong side are supervillains and ethically challenged people. It’s best to keep an eye out for some of the worst. Those would be the jokers, mad scientists, and high school students (the most abundant).

Review

If you want to be a superhero, start with The Big Book of Superheroes. This book is more like a handbook for good rather than a literary book anyone can find in a bookstore (but you can). This book is the superhero’s bible. Everything you would ever need to know to become a superhero is in The Big Book of Superheroes. I like The Big Book of Superheroes. I had never thought of becoming a superhero, but after reading this book/handbook, it is hard not to want to join up forces with the likes of Batman, Superman, and Super Tot. There is a lot of common sense within the pages of The Big Book of Superheroes, such as,

“The more you know, the less you don’t.”

Who can argue with that? One of the best sections is the “Superpower Activity.” These boxed areas contain activities kids can immediately do, including a list of everything they will need. Kids can add to their super costume by making super goggles, utility belts, and power bands. There is even a sneaky way for superheroes to calm a rugrat using a balloon and one command. Kids will have loads of fun with these silly activities. The pop quizzes are not as abundant as the activities, but they are just as much fun for the superhero know-it-all . . . or do they? All answers are included.

The black and white cartoonish illustrations show kids acting out some portion of the text. They are just what I would expect to see in a book about superheroes. The illustrations help break up the text, add humor, and sometimes help clarify the text. King writes The Big Book of Superheroes using text, lists, asides, blue boxes of comic facts, activities, pop quizzes, and comic illustrations, which all keep the book hopping and kids interested. King’s lists, found in every chapter, include things such as,

The 10 Most Underrated Superpowers,

The 10 Lamest Superpowers,

The Top 6 Tips for Parents of a Superhero.

He adds hunks of factual material, such as Superman’s original slogan, and fun comic book facts to teach kids. With Superman’s slogan, King tries to teach kids to come up with their own slogan, motto, or catch phrase. If kids love comics, superheroes, or villains they will love these easy to find snippets by King. These sections are in blue text, making them stand out from the page.

The Big Book of Superheroes, nicely bound in hardcover with bright white pages, is a substantial book filled with enough superhero information to keep a middle grader’s nose between the pages for quite some time. It is the perfect book for kids who love superheroes. Boys may seem the logical choice for The Big Book of Superheroes but girls will like this too. King includes many tidbits and facts about different comic book heroes that I found fascinating. In regards to becoming a superhero by using this book, King wrote,

“Sure, you could read this entire book. But who has that kind of time?”

The same can be said of the book as a whole. No time to read the entire book, pick out the section you want and return later for the others. Readers will not lose any continuity or meaning by skipping around. If more interested in the supervillain, jump towards the back. Interested in superpowers, head toward the middle. Back and forth can become practical. The one thing that bothered me throughout the book is King’s continued insistence on placing the word “super” before other words, making a new word. Some of King’s new “words” include superbreathe, superspeed, superhealing, superhearing, superintelligence, and supergoggles. These words are not supersmart.

Kids and adults who like supervillains, DC comics, and superheroes like Batman, the Fantastic 4, and one of my favorites, Wonder Dog, will enjoy The Big Book of Superheroes. It will keep readers entertained for hours. Reluctant readers will find The Big Book of Superheroes a great choice for summer reading. The Big Book of Superheroes can help readers become the hero they would like to become, while learning new facts about favorite superheroes or previously unknown superheroes. The appendix and bibliography are great places to continue learning about superheroes. The large book is entertaining on every page. Super-Kids will love The Big Book of Superheroes, the newest Big book by Bart King.

THE BIG BOOK OF SUPERHEROES. Text copyright © 2014 by Bart King. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Greg Paprocki. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Gibbs Smith, Layton, UT.

Purchase The Big Book of Superheroes at Amazon—B&N—iTunes—Book Depository—Gibbs Smith—your local bookstore.

Read a hilarious review by Erik and Darth Vader, er sorry. An outstanding review by Darth Vader and ThisKid HERE.

Learn more about The Big Book of Superheroes HERE.

Meet the author, Bart King, at his website:   http://www.bartking.net/

Meet the illustrator, Greg Paprocki, at his website:  http://gregpaprocki.com/

Find more books at the Gibbs Smith website:   http://www.gibbs-smith.com/

 .

**Illustrations by Greg Paprocki, from The Big Book of Superheroes, reprinted with permission of Gibbs Smith.

.

ALSO BY BART KING

Bart’s King-Sized Book of Fun

Cute! A Guide to All Things Adorable

The Big Book of Spy Stuff

.

.

.

.

.

ALSO BY GREG PAPROCKI

The Marvelous McCritterson’s Road Trip to Grandmas

JoJo’s Big Tale

Curious George Animals Puzzle Book

.

.

.

.

Boa’s Bad Birthday

by Jeanne Willis & Tony Ross, illustrator

Andersen Press USA         2/6/2014

Age 4 to 8               32 pages

.

“It was Boa’s birthday. It was going to be the best one ever. Or so he hoped. He invited his friends round. They would all bring him presents. Or would they?”

Opening

“It was Boa’s birthday.”

Review

Ah, birthdays. That one day of the year, that belongs only to you. Everyone who sees you will say, “Happy Birthday!” Throw a birthday party—the best way to celebrate your day—and everyone invited will bring you a present. Since they are all your friends, each one will know exactly what you like. It will be a grand day, indeed!

Today is Boa’s birthday and his mother is throwing him a birthday party. All of Boa’s friends are invited and each brings a present. Orangutan’s present is so big he lugs it on his back. Boa hopes against odds that the gift is not what he thinks it is. It is. What was Orangutan thinking? Boa’s mother said,

“It’s the thought that counts.”

An excited Monkey told Boa, “You’ll love it!” Boa doesn’t. Mom said,

“Third time lucky.”

Friend after friend forgets to think about Boa when getting him a birthday present. Now, one friend remains and mother and son are certain Dung Beetle brought a pile of, um, of . . . well, it isn’t a pile, but a big ball of . . ., um, must I say it? Dung Beetle? Okay? Good. Boa and his mother are right. Dung Beetle did bring a huge ball of, uh, yeah, that stuff. Poor Boa. I could say the nicely written, fun to read aloud, birthday story is the most fantastic birthday story ever written for a boa . . . if only the author had thought about Boa when she wrote in the presents. Kids will love the terrific illustrations, but the images also could have been fantastic . . . if the artist had remembered to think of Boa.

From Here on, Some, Not All, of this Review is Written in Jest – No Spoilers

Willis and Ross have collaborated on at least four other books. Those books must be fantastic else the publisher would not offer Boa’s birthday story. What went wrong? Do they not like Boa? Did they have a big fight and take it out on Boa? The awful mood made the writer so testy she had Dung Beetle leave his gift . . . then makes it rain. Dung’s ball stinks up Boa’s world as it slowly washes away until, only a small mound remains. The mound will forever leave reminders of Boa’s Bad Birthday.

Young kids will love Boa’s story. Parents can easily read Boa’s Bad Birthday in such a way as to make their children laugh. So may animal voices to use. A big orangutan, a funky monkey, a sleek jaguar, a happy, athletic sloth, and a, um, a . . . dirty dung beetle all offering an array of voices kids will love. Ah, but there is more. Willis and Ross made Boa’s already bleak world rain. Dung Beetle, being the last animal placed into the story, noticed the foul direction of Boa’s Bad Birthday and took to spying on Willis and Ross. What did Dung find out?

Dung has never liked the way creatives portray him. This time, Dung learns it’s his friend Boa who will be disappointed. Mad, the mischievous Dung decides to stop Willis and Ross’s total destruction of Boa’s birthday. “Let it rain,” said Dung to no one. Inside the ball of . . . that stuff Dung had to bring, he hides something. That something will turn Boa’s Bad Birthday into a fantastic birthday. Dung’s only disappointment is in his the inability to change the title. Still, I imagine—with a big smile—that the writer and artist are not happy Dung hijacked their story. Why? Because they once more captured the last word. The two countered by adding one more spread. I just don’t understand what a child has to do with Boa’s Bad Birthday?!

End of Jest

Boa’s Bad Birthday is cute. I love the alliterated title. Actually, I like the entire story. When Boa tries to use each gift, it will bring belly laughs from young children. I’ll admit Boa made me smile. Readers will understand Boa’s unhappiness and feel bad for him. Kids will also start to learn the importance of thinking before giving someone a gift. Parents should not mind reading Boa’s Bad Birthday multiple times. The story does not waste words. The illustrations add understanding to the text. Willis and Ross made a, dare I say, a “Fantastic” birthday story. Boa’s Bad Birthday contains an opportunity for children to empathize with Boa, laugh, and enjoy a terrific twist—Dung Beetle’s present. By next year, Boa’s friends will have learned the lesson of this story and Boa will have a fantastic birthday. One endnote, Mr. Tony Ross, considered one the world’s best illustrator, has illustrated a mind-boggling “over 800 books for young readers.”

BOA’S BAD BIRTHDAY. Text copyright © 2014 by Jeanne Willis. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Tony Ross. Reproduce by permission of the distributing publisher, Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Minneapolis, MN.

Buy Boa’s Bad Birthday at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Lerner Publishing—at your local bookstore.

.

Learn more about Boa’s Bad Birthday HERE.

Meet the author, Jeanne Willis, at her website:  http://www.jeannewillis.com/

Meet the illustrator, Tony Ross, at his short Lerner bio:  https://www.lernerbooks.com/Pages/Author-Illustrator-Details.aspx?contactid=957

Find more books at the Andersen Press USA website:  http://andersenpressusa.com/

an imprint of Andersen Press, Ltd.:     http://www.andersenpress.co.uk/           

distributed by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.:    https://www.lernerbooks.com/

.

ALSO BY JEANNE WILLIS & TONY ROSS

Flabby Cat and Slobby Dog

Fly, Chick, Fly!

Hippospotamus

The Pet Person

.

.

.

.

.

CONGRATULATIONS TO

An Andersen Press Children’s author, Berlie Doherty, winner of the Carnegie Medal, is shortlist for The 2014 Stockport Children’s Book Awards, for her middle grade novel, The Company of Ghosts.  If you know Ms. Doherty, please congratulate her.

.

.

Adventures at Walnut Grove: #1: A Lesson in Teasing - #2: I Double Dare You! - #3: I Can Do It

by Dana Lehman & Judy Lehman, illustrator

Lehman Publishing   5/31/2010 – 4/24/2008 – 6/15/2007

978-0-9792686-9-4

Age 4 to 8       36 pages

.

“Sammy enjoys visiting new places, so he decides to take his friends to an enchanted forest called Whispering Willows. Along the way and through Paradise Pond, Bucky realizes that with practice and confidence, he can swim! Join Sammy and his friends on a journey that will have them swimming for frogs, swinging through the forest and building a tree house. Magical things happen in Whispering Willows . . . if you believe.

Opening

#1:  “Sammy was a unique squirrel.”

#2:  “Walnut Grove was a wonderful place to spend summer  vacation.”

#3:  “It was time for another visit from Sammy’s cousins, Silly and Sassy.”

Review

Sammy is waiting for his cousins, Silly and Sassy to return to Walnut Grove, where Sammy lives. Sammy is a unique squirrel. He has raccoon eyes! Maybe it is his eyes or maybe because Sammy likes to lead that everyone follows him. Today the gang is going to Whispering Willows, a magical forest, where Sammy wants to build a treehouse. Who is this gang of animals? Sammy (squirrel, and apparent leader), Silly and Sassy (squirrels and Sammy’s cousins), Bucky (a beaver who is learning to swim), and Rocky (a raccoon, who trusts Sammy because of Sammy’s raccoon eyes).

This is the third adventure for this gang of friends. The first, entitled, Adventures at Walnut Pond: a Lesson in Teasing has the gang staying at the Walnut Grove Resort where they play with many new friends. In a game of walnut ball, a new kid (Bucky the beaver), tries to distract Sammy from hitting the walnut by teasing him. Later, Pokey (porcupine) teases Bucky about his lack of swimming skills. In the end, they all learn, teasing any animal is not nice and to treat others as you would like to be treated. Bucky and Pokey apologize and the kids have a great time for the rest of their visit to the Walnut Grove Resort.

#1: A Lesson in Teasing

I Double Dare You again brings the cousins Silly and Sassy. By now, they have gotten the knack of causing trouble without meaning to. They just do not think. During a game of hide-and-seek, Silly and Sassy get distracted by some nice long sticks. Silly double dares Sassy to play swords. Though mom had told them no more playing swords, Sassy could not refuse a double dare. She accidently pokes Silly in the eye. Later, Silly and Bucky climb up onto Deep Water Bridge. Silly double dares Bucky to jump into the river. Silly jumps and swims to shore. Bucky feels pressure to follow, so he jumps. There’s one problem: Bucky is just learning to swim. He begins to drown. Both Sassy and Bucky blame Silly because he had double dared them, leaving them no choice. The kids learn it is important to take responsibility for your own actions and to apologize when they are wrong. Silly’s poked eye heals and Bucky survives the water. When Bucky was drowning, his dad rescued him. In kid’s books, children—in this instance, one of the gang—should do the rescuing. This empowers kids.

#2: I Double Dare You!

This brings us to the most current adventure for Sammy and company. Mothers of two-year-olds are well aware of this title: I Can Do It! The gang is in Whispering Willows, the magical forest where anything can happen. Bucky’s learned to swim and can swim out after a frog, now named Whopper because the frog is one whopper! Silly will not fare as well. Every time Silly tries to build something, he gets hurt. Silly has no desire to help make a treehouse. Encouraged, he tries—and smashes his paw with a hammer, losing all confidence in himself. Silly also physically loses himself, sans his eyes, which look to be floating. Now that is eerie.

The magical tree allowing the kids to build tells Silly he will be invisible until he believes in himself. Silly stops helping. Later, Bucky gives Silly Whopper, whom Bucky considers a lucky charm. Silly gives building one more shot. Soon, his confidence returns, as does Silly. Thank goodness, Bucky knew how to help Silly. Silly’s mom would probably prefer a poked eye to an invisible child. The message of this third volume of Adventures at Walnut Grove is to believe in yourself. Believe I Can Do It!

#3: I Can Do It

The Adventures at Walnut Grove all carry messages that are impossible to miss. I am not fond of message books, especially when the message hits you almost instantly. That is just what I do not like; or simply my own opinion. If you like such books, the three well-written volumes—with a fourth in the works—has wonderful characters, each unique in some way. I like that the characters return in each new story. When a character is lost, some kids will be sad and may give up on the series. A series needs consistency and Ms. Lehman made sure all her beloved characters returned, once introduced, and acted consistently from one story to the next. I’d be very surprised if the fourth story strays.

The illustrations are nice. The images are not digital, giving the books a down-home feel that will be comforting. There is one odd spread. In I Can Do It, spread 6, the illustrator used the exact same illustration on the left and right halves of the spread.This lack of creativity is not acceptable. On a happier note, the animals are realistic and consistently drawn. I think kids will enjoy the illustrations. As for the text, my only suggestion would be to edit for wordiness and to bring the text more in line with picture book word counts of 500 to 1000. A few pages are nearly half text. Young children “read” the illustrations and may become distracted waiting for the page to turn. Beyond this, I like each story. I like the situations used to bring the message to fruition. Ms. Lehman is someone I would consider to have an active imagination. Every writer should have such an imagination.

Each book ends with A Word from the Author. It starts off on a good note to parents, but then becomes patronizing. The author may still be talking to children with her encouraging note. My understanding of an author’s note is to clarify the content or add to it. In a picture book, I do not expect a note for the child, but this would explain the tone of the note.

I look forward to book four. I think parents will love the messages this series can help them teach their children. Kids will enjoy the story and the wonderfully fresh illustrations. The last two pages contain a mix of open and closed discussion questions and a short activity. There are more activities on the author’s website. Kindergarten and first grade teachers could easily find a use for this series. Schools libraries would do well to stock up on Sammy and his friends at Walnut Grove.

ADVENTURES AT WALNUT GROVE #1: A LESSON IN TEASING, #2: I DOUBLE DARE YOU, #3: I CAN DO IT. Text copyright © 2007, 2008, 2010 by Dana Lehman. Illustrations copyright © 2007, 2008, 2010 by Judy Lehman. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Lehman Publishing, Allentown, MI.

Buy any of the Adventures at Walnut Grove books at Amazon—B&N—Lehman Publishing—at your local bookstore.

Learn more about the Adventures at Walnut Grove series HERE.

Meet the author, Dana Lehman, at her bio:  http://www.lehmanpublishing.com/author.php

Meet the illustrator, Judy Lehman, at her bio:  http://www.lehmanpublishing.com/author.php

.Find Lehman Publishing books at their website:   http://www.lehmanpublishing.com/

.AWARDS – 2009 Mom’s Choice Award (x2)

A Lesson about Teasing – Silver: Values and Life Lessons

I DOUBLE Dare You! – Silver: Developing Social Skills

.

Car Models that Zoom: Creativity in Motion

by Ed Sobey, Ph.D.

978-1-4910-6409-2             8/31/2013

Age 8 to 12

.

“Launch yourself on a high speed building spree, making cars that are fun and fast! Make a car model in minutes. Start with a cardboard model to get a feel for the assembly. Move on to building hovercrafts, solar-powered models, cable cars, and more. Explore ways to power your model with rubber bands and electric motors. Build using your own ideas!”

Who is Ed Sobey?

Ed Sobey is the founding director of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, founded the National Toy Hall of Fame, and co-founder of Kids Invent! and Camp Invention, creating some of the best hands-on science learning in the world. If that wasn’t enough inventing, Dr. Sobey also starred in a television science show for kids called, The Idea Factory. Awarded two Fulbright Specialist grants in science education and having published 28 books—one short of a dozen for kids—Dr. Sobey travels around the world promoting creative learning and teaching for Semester at Sea. Dr. Sobey earned his Ph.D. in oceanography, which has taken him to the cold waters surrounding Antarctica.

Okay, he knows his stuff. What about the book?

Creativity in Motion starts off with the basics: supplies and tools. These models are not expensive, save-your-allowance models. Most use low-cost and free materials. Dr. Sobey suggests swiping motors from broken toys or other electronics. If unsure how, he wrote a book for kids called, Unscrewed: Freeing Motors, Gears, Switches, Speakers, and More from Your Old Electronics.

What I liked best about this book is the methodology. Most hall of fame inventors have made mistakes, and relish making them. Dr. Sobey wants kids to make these models in a fast fashion, having their hands moving along with their brain. He believes in fast prototyping, a method of quickly trying ideas, rejecting what does not work and building on what does. This lets you “create models quickly and generates learning quickly.” Kids will start with a goal in mind without rigid instructions and use the materials they have, creating something special not necessarily exactly as pictured.

I love that he wants kids to mess around with the materials, ask questions, and seek their own solutions. He said it is fine for inventors—or other creatives—to steal ideas, make mistakes, and learn while making a model. Kids are to build not plan and when not sure to just start building, keeping their hands working toward a goal, messing around, or making mistakes until something works and build on that. Writing takes the same premise. Just Write!

Calling all builders! If you like making stuff out of Legos™, K-Nex™, or even Lincoln Logs™ you will like building Dr. Sobey’s moving machines. There are 19 models to build in Creativity in Motion, but using fast prototyping, hundreds of cars are possible from these 19 models. As expected, these models start off easy and progress in difficulty. I think middle grade and older boys and girls will love messing around with these models, making things they can play with and show off. They will also learn as they build, but they do not need to know this.

Dr. Sobey wrote other inventive books for kids including motor boats, robotics, locomotion, toys, and general inventing. His methods are simple to follow, the process is fun, and in the end, you have something that you and only you created. So put down those other creative building sets and give Dr. Sobey and his methods try.

CAR MODELS THAT GO ZOOM: CREATIVITY IN MOTION. Text copyright © 2013 by Ed Sobey, Ph.D. Reproduced by permission of the author.

Buy Car Models that Go Zoom: Creativity in Motion at Amazon—B&N—BookDepository—author’s website—your local bookstore.

.

Learn more about Car Model that Go Zoom HERE.

Meet the author, Dr. Ed Sobey, at his website:  http://www.invention-center.com/       http://www.kidsinvent.com/     https://www.linkedin.com/pub/ed-sobey/6/3b5/53b

.

Also by Ed Sobey, Ph.D

Electric Motor Experiments

Wack Water Fun with Science

Fantastic Flying Fun with Science

Young Inventors at Work!: Learning Science by Doing Science

The Way Toys Work: The Science Behind the Magic 8 Ball, Etch A Sketch, Boomerang, and More

.

.

.

Custom Confections: Delicious Desserts You Can Create and Enjoy

by Jen Besel

Capstone Young Readers      2014

978-1-62370-136-9

Age 9+     112 pages

.

“Bake up surprises in cupcakes and cookies. Create custom desserts with ease. Or decorate all kinds of creative confections like a pro. Forty fun, simple recipes will have kids (and kids at heart) creating delicious desserts to devour! Step-by-step instructions and photos make red velvet cookies, black-and-white angel food cake, cheesecake stuffed strawberries, and more easy to achieve and tasty to eat. Sweetly simple, appetizingly fun!”

Review

Just in time for Father’s Day, Custom Confections gives the artistic baker in you—something every kid has somewhere, and eager to bake—40 recipes of beautiful desserts and snacks. I was without electricity most of the day, unable to bake anything, but if this dessert book is anything like Dessert Designer: Creations You Can Make and Eat, also by Capstone Young Readers, I can guarantee these desserts are as scrumptious as the pictures are delectable. Most are quick fixes, meaning kids still have time to create something special for dad. An easy cupcake recipe, The Sweetheart Cupcake, with a magical surprise, can express your love for dad in one bite.

Kids can find a different fun recipe for every week of summer. Custom Creations contains fun snacks for the entire family. Cake recipes are in the majority. For the bibliophile in your life bake the Pile of Books Cake. Five layers of cake, each made to look like a bestseller, with noticeable pages and luscious covers—Photoshop not needed.  If you like ice cream with your cake, and really, who doesn’t, the Striped Ice Cream Cake will satisfy your sweet tooth. A fun treat for those who enjoy popsicles is the Frosty Frozen Cakesicles individually prepared on a Popsicle sticks.

Every recipe has step-by-step instructions that are easy to understand and written without any extraneous information. To the side of the page is a list of ingredients and supplies needed for that particular recipe. No recipe requires unusual or strange tools kids have never seen. There may be a tool your child does not know how to use, which is where an adult comes in handy. It is also wise, depending on a child’s proficiency, for an adult to help turn ovens on to the correct temperature and help remove hot desserts from the oven. For those in the UK, the author included a conversion chart.

Photographs of each dessert clearly show the finished dessert, which is always helpful. For a delicate dessert, try making the Edible Flower Lollipops. Placed inside the clear homemade lollipops are pesticide-free, edible flowers from a florist. They look too good to eat. Cheesecake lovers will like Blueberry Cheesecake Tarts and the PB&J Cheesecake Brownies. On the last day of school, surprise that favorite teacher with a Mini Apple Cake, seeds included. My favorite, and the recipe I was planning to make, is the Molten Caramel Cake. Nothing is more luscious and creamy, or spruces up a dessert better, than a rich caramel. Mm, yum!

Middle grade and older kids, and adults, who like baking and using their creativity will like Custom Creations. Who can turn away a luscious, interesting dessert? Not me. Custom Creations is a nice addition to any cookbook collection. It also complements Dessert Designer:  Creations You Can Make and Eat also for middle grade kids by Capstone. The only thing missing is a nice index of the recipes. There are several tips and tricks, plus a few icing recipes that are simple to make located after the last recipe: a Hedgehog Cake made with buttercream frosting, rice treats, almonds, and a cake of any flavor. The hedgehog is a cute little creature looking too loveable to eat with his big milk chocolate candy eyes. Kids, lacking such sentimentality, will dig right in. Enjoy!

CUSTOM CONFECTIONS: DELICIOUS DESSERTS YOU CAN CREATE AND ENJOY! Recipes copyright © 2015 by Jen Besel. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Capstone Young Readers, North Mankato, MN.

.

Buy Custom Creations at Amazon—B&N—Capstone—your local bookstore.

.

Learn more about Custom Creations HERE

Meet the author, Jen Besel, at LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/pub/jennifer-besel/b/943/635

Find more books at the Capstone Young Readers website:   http://www.capstoneyoungreaders.com/

Capstone Young Readers is an imprint of Capstone

.

Coming Soon from Jen Besel & Capstone Young Readers

Baking Bliss!: Baked Desserts to Make and Devour

Sweet Tooth!: No-Bake Desserts to Make and Devour

Sugarcoat It!: Desserts to Design, Decorate, and Devour

.

.

Tao, the Little Samurai #1: Pranks and Attacks!

by Laurent Richard & Nicolas Ryser, illustrator

translated by Edward Gauvin

Graphic Universe      1/14/2014

978-1-4677-2095-3

Age 7 to 11       64 pages

.

“Tao is studying martial arts at the famous Master Snow’s school. But no matter how hard he concentrates on his lessons, mischief gets in the way! Tai plays pranks and jokes around with his friends Ray, Lee, and Kat. He also struggles to get to school on time, learn new moves, and—most importantly—avoid doing his chores.”

Opening

“Ohboyohboy . . . this is gonna be tight. If I’m late, I’m gonna get chewed out! Hurry, hurry, hurry . . . home stretch . . .”

Review

Tao attends Master Snow’s martial arts school along with three friends, Ray, Lee, and his “not-girlfriend” Kat. Try as he might, Tao is late for school, and when there, has a hard time following Master Snow’s teachings. Each graphic novel page begins with a title, which is more like an oriental proverb. The second page is title “Showing off Can Spoil Dessert.” Tao is home and decides to practice annihilating blocks with a karate chop. He stacks three sets of two blocks to his right, left, and directly in front. Quickly, Tao chops with great force. “Bash! Bash! Bash!” Tao disintegrates every block, but his papa is unhappy with his son’s accomplishment—Tao used graham crackers as his cement blocks.

Kids, especially boys, will love Tao and his goofy ways. Tao tries but what he touches never goes right for him. I think reluctant readers will also like Tao. Rather than a 64-page story, there are 64 stories, one per page. Needing to stop is easy letting the reader–reluctant reader–go at their own pace, without becoming overwhelmed, or stressed. Remembering what happened is not necessary. If you don’t like the page where Tao is late for school, turn the page and a new situation will present itself. The stories have recurring characters that hang out with Tao, teach him, or guide him. So there is consistency in the Tai series.

The graphic novel is easy to following. The illustrations are bright and white lines mark each scene by placing them in boxes to divide the action. I found it was like reading a paragraph per block then moving on to the right for the next paragraph—only the blocks contained pictures not words. Some blocks do have a voice bubble with words, but those mostly set up or complete the joke on each page. Tao is completely for laughs and he succeeds. Needing help to put on his fencing outfit, not-my-girlfriend Kat helps and ties Tao up in bows—pretty pink bows—but Tao has no idea this is why his opponent is laughing.

A few pages I thought were especially good. Those included:

He Who Spies Gets a Black Eye

 He Who Cannot Fly Must Avoid Falling

 He Who Climbs Too Fast Falls Flat on His Face

The last involves Master Smith. Any page involving the Master is hilarious as he usually shows that age means nothing while performing some unusual human feat. After playing out all of the sage advice, the author takes readers “behind the scenes.” Here the author gives a short lesson on how Tao comes to life. The lesson includes writing voice bubbles, sketching characters and scenes, and colorizing the final images followed by black inking highlights so they stand out from the scene. The very last page lists the currently available editions of Tao. The color is light, almost like a transfer, which is what I thought it was. But, alas, it is not a transfer, so put those t-shirts away. Maybe next time.

Tao is a new graphic novel from Graphic Universe and rivals those published by Papercutz, the reigning king of graphic novels for kids. Tao is understandable and involves many situations most kids will face at some point in their life, karate not needed.

TAO THE LITTLE SAMURAI #1: PRANKS AND ATTACKS! Text copyright © 2011 by Laurent Richard. Illustrations copyright © 2011 by Nicolas Ryser. Translation copyright © 2014 by Edward Gauvin. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Graphic Universe, Minneapolis, MN.

Buy Tao the Little Samurai #1: Pranks and Attacks at Amazon—B&N—Lerner Publishing—your local bookstore.

.

Learn more about the Tao the Little Samurai series HERE

Meet the author, Laurent Richard, at his website:   http://www.laurent-richard.com/

Meet the illustrator, Nicolas Ryser, at his website:

Meet the translator, Edward Gauvin, at his website:   http://www.edwardgauvin.com/

Find more graphic novels at Graphic Universe. blog:  http://graphicuniverse.wordpress.com/

Graphic Universe is an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group

.

Also by Laurent Richard & Nicolas Ryser

Tao, the Little Samurai #2: Ninjas and Knock Outs!

Tao, the Little Samurai #3:  Clowns and Dragons! 

Tao, the Little Samurai #4: The Championship!

Tao, the Little Samurai #5: Wild Animals!

Also by Edward Gauvin

Mr. Badger and Mrs. Fox 3: What a Team!

Reviewed (#30) HERE.

Where’s My Tushy?

by Deborah Aronson & Ivica Stevanovic, illustrator

Carolrhoda Books              1/05/2014

978-1-4677-1197-5

Age 4 to 8           32 pages

.

“In one little town (it is sad but it’s true), the tushies left town without leaving a clue. What happens when all the tushies in an unusual town decide to take a vacation?”

Opening

“We all have a tush and we’re glad that we’ve got ‘em. Our lives would be rough with no tush or no bottom. If our tushies decided to get up and leave, we’d find it alarming and hard to believe”

Review

In an odd little English town, on a nice night, all the tushies decided they deserved a holiday from their tough, stressful lives. The townsfolk awoke shocked to have lost their tushie. They tried to go about their normal day, yet nothing held up their pants. Oh, they all tried. Some stuffed their vacant bottom with socks or pillows, while others used rope or suspenders. It was a sorry sight.

Now, stop laughing! These people couldn’t sit down without their tushie. Standing made their feet tired—would they too walk away? Some cried out for their tushie to return, but the earless, triangular tushies went south, to lounge around on the beach and soak up the sun. Detectives tried detecting. People hung posters. Police took reports. A dog and cat—with tushies—stared at a poster, alarmed at the sight of the smiling tush.

Without the pressure and stress normally felt, the tushies enjoyed each carefree day . . . until, like most on holiday, they begin missing home and their jobs—okay, not quite like most. One day, a young redheaded girl tripped on a lump of grass and fortuitously fell down on her rump. She was thrilled for her tush was once again behind her. One by one, the tushies returned to their bottoms, promising never to abandon their person again.

Loaded with laughs and guffaws, Where’s My Tushie will delight kids. Tushes young and old leave town wearing nothing but undies. They have faces complete with eyes, nose, mouth, and a crack that gives them two horizontal chins. They sprout feet and hands. One must suspend their beliefs to enjoy the story. Easily done. The story, told in rhyme, are made of fantastic couplets—some quatrains—that are fun to read aloud because Ms. Aronson never misses a beat.

The illustrations are nicely done. I love the alarmed looks when all realize they have no tush. For one little boy, a dotted line outlines where his bottom should have been. I love all the detail and the little surprises in some of the spreads. Most have a tush or two looking on, smiling at the make shift behinds, as if enjoying the chaos they have caused. Two detectives, one with a magnifying glass, totally miss the double decker bus with a roof full of tushies. Sightseers, I’m sure.

Depending on a child’s age and gullibility, this inventive story will have kids checking for tushies, at least for a while. I am wondering where the tushies’ arms and legs went now that they have returned to being behinds. Do they fall off and regenerate when needed? I’m just as quizzical about the eyes, mouth, and nose. If the nose remains on the tush, eventually the promise never to leave will be broken. No doubt, kids will have thoughts such as those, and anyone who gets a solid answer, please let me know.

Teachers—inventive teachers—might find a use for Where’s My Tushie in the classroom. Young American kids will have questions about more than tushies. The illustrations are definitely English with a red double-decker and Sherlock Holmes like detectives, among other things. Don’t miss the hungry shark ready to eat a swimming tush. He possesses the crazed look seen in villainous cartoons.

WHERE’S MY TUSHIE. Text copyright © 2014 by Deborah Aronson. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Ivica Stevanovic. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Carolrhoda Books, Minneapolis, MN.

Buy Where’s My Tushie at Amazon—B&N—Lerner Books—your local bookstore.

Learn more about Where’s My Tushie HERE.

Meet the author, Deborah Aronson, at her bio:  http://www.hermanagencyinc.com/deborah_aronson.htm

Meet the illustrator, Ivica Stevanovic, at her website:  http://ivicastevanovicart.blogspot.com/

Meet Carolrhoda Books, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, at the company blog:

Also by Ivica Stevanovic

Jack the Castaway (The Berenson Schemes)

Jack and the Wild Life (Berenson Schemes)

.

.

Will be reviewing these soon!

.

Toucan Can!

by Juliette MacIver & Sarah Davis, illustrator

Gecko Press USA        2014

978-1-877467-53-0

Age 3 to 7      32 pages

.

“Toucan Can Do Lots of Things! Toucan Dances! Toucan Sings! Toucan Bangs a Frying Pan! Can You Do What Toucan Can?  A tongue-twisting, ludicrous rhyme full of escalating hilarity and off-the-wall characters. It will have you tripping and flipping and dancing and singing.”

If Toucan can, YOU can!

Opening

“Toucan can do lots of things!”

Review

What can you do? Toucan can do many things and might have toddlers showing off what they can do, too. Toucan and his group of goofy animal friends will have you and your child laughing. The rhyming text works in all but three couplets, where the beat goes bonk. Otherwise, the lines will roll off your tongue until your tongue is twisted. All this tongue-tying will add to the fun. With a couple run-throughs, you can have those lines sounding like Toucan can read, because Toucan Can!

The illustrations have a high-end coloring book look, but with child-like coloring; meaning, as example, the purple of Toucan’s not very big bottom blotches beyond the border. Characters and background images consistently bleed. The illustrator’s technique or a printing problem? Curious and not wanting to criticize something I didn’t understand, I asked the illustrator. Here is what she wrote,

“The bleed is deliberate – for this book I wanted to find a style of working that was really loose and energetic, and the opposite of neat and precise. I hand painted tissue and then laid torn chunks of it down, then did the linework and detail on top. The idea with letting the colour bleed out around the edges is that there’s so much life and movement in the text that it can’t be contained. Toucan is such an irrepressible character that I didn’t want to colour him inside the lines – he needed some chaos.”

Every character, on every spread, is moving. “Happy Chaos” is a good description of the spreads, as the animals swing from trees, twirl, and dance. An exception to the merriment is a joey in mama’s pouch. I fear Toucan might have awakened the joey from its snug pouch. It takes only a minute—one spread—to soften the joey’s slanted eyebrows and rolled up fists. Mama’s energy is still passing to her baby.

The text is fun to read a-loud and young children will enjoy hearing all Toucan can do. When asked if “you” can do what Toucan can, young children will be out of their seat bopping about, jumping, skipping, and singing, but mainly dancing. All the animals love to dance and they all dance with exuberance. Very contagious.

Originally published by Gecko Press in New Zealand, Lerner Publishing Group brings Toucan Can to the US and Canada. Toucan Can has hilarious images, interactive suggestions to keep young kids moving and laughing. The rhyming text and tongue twisters will keep the reader—mom or dad—determined to get it right, making Toucan Can a book young kids will have no trouble getting their parents to read over and over.

TOUCAN CAN! Text copyright © 2013 by Juliette MacIver. Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Sarah Davis. Reproduce by permission of the publisher, Gecko Press USA, Wellington, NZ.

Buy Toucan Can! at Amazon—B&N—Lerner Pub. Gr.—your local bookstore.

.

Learn more about Toucan Can! HERE.

Meet the author, Juliette MacIver, at her facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/pages/Juliette-MacIver-Author/509684365718086

Meet the illustrator, Sarah Davis, at her website:   http://sarah-davis.org/

“For more curiously good books visit” Gecko Press:   http://www.geckopress.co.nz/

an imprint of Gecko Press Ltd.

distributed by Lerner Publishing Group:  https://www.lernerbooks.com/

Also by Juliette MacIver

The Frog Who Lost His Underpants

Little Witch Walker Stories

Also by Sarah Davis

The Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate

The Bicycle

.

.

Three Little Shrimp

by J. Steven Spires & Jonathan Caron, illustrator

Inspired Books Publishing        5/01/2013

978-0-9858469-0-9

Age 4 to 8           32 pages

.

“Three little shrimp are swimming with their troop . . . one adventurer, one follower and on worry wart. As their eyes fall upon the wonders around them, they suddenly get an idea. Two are ready to explore. The other is not so sure. There is only one problem. Unseen danger lurks in the water. What will they do?”

Opening

“One fine day three little shrimp went swimming.”

Review

Three shrimp were part of a group—a troop—of shrimp heading out to sea. Immediately, the three shrimp separated from the others, but it is unknown how that happened. In their lone adventures, they run into four dangerous situations, and four times, they came out of it unscathed, making them very lucky shrimp indeed. First, they swam near the shore and three egrets envision a pot of gumbo. Just in time, the three shrimp ducked into a hole, despite the third shrimp’s misgivings, and avoided the egrets. In the hole, they nibbled on worms.

On Their Own

The shrimp also narrowly avoided a huge fish looking for a snack and an extremely dangerous looking loggerhead turtle. Both times, the shrimp were saved by their hunger as they swam into sea grass and algae and ate “until their stomachs burst.” Finally, a fisherman wants the shrimp for bait. Luckily, the shrimp swam down, just out of reach of where the fisherman cast his net, to devour minnows into their ever-expanding stomachs.

The shrimp are of two distinct personalities. The first is a leader and the other two are followers, though the third is also a worrier that the other two ignore. The shrimps’ narrow escapes are just good old fashioned dumb luck, as none of them even saw the dangers they were in. Finding the rest of the group—the troop—was also luck, though that time they did have a goal in mind and worked toward the goal.

Egrets Threaten

The illustrations, tempered by the aqua-green sea and the greyish-brown prawn, tend to be dark,* yet realistic. The other animals add color to the spreads while the scenes above the sea fill the spread with wonderful hues of yellow and orange.There is a grainy textured effect to the illustrations, giving them a worn look.The eyes carry all emotion in the story. The egrets, the huge fish, and the loggerhead turtle have mean, dangerous eyes making them predators anything would be scared of . . . unless oblivious to their presence. The shrimp have bright, inquisitive eyes matching their curiosity and giving away their young, innocent, inexperienced age.

Most interesting is the illustrator, fifteen-year-old Jonathan Caron, a high school art-student. Two years later, at seventeen, Jonathan finished the picture book, the coloring, and other activity illustrations. It all helped Johnathan win a full scholarship to a German university, where he now studies architecture.

Loggerhead Turtle Threatens

If there is a message in this story it would be: for luck and safety, keep your mind on your stomach. No, Three Little Shrimp is simply a cute story for entertainment sake and nothing more and that’s okay. Not every story needs to contain a message to kids. Those interested in ocean life and animals will find this story most enjoyable. The simplistic nature of the story is best for younger children, age 4 to 6. Three Little Shrimp is both the author and illustrator’s debut children’s book and debut in the publishing world with Inspired Books Publishing.

*When printed, the spreads above look darker in the actual picture book.

THREE LITTLE SHRIMP. Text copyright © 2013 by J. Steven Spires. Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Jonathan Caron. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Inspired Books Publishing, Slidell, LA.

Buy Three Little Shrimp at Amazon—Author’s Website—your local bookstore.

.

Meet the author, J. Steven Spires, at his website:  http://jstevenspires.com/ 

Meet the illustrator, Jonathan Caron, the son of children’s book illustrator Romi Caron, who supervised her son’s at work.

Find other books at Inspired Books Publishing’s website:

.

.

.

The Adventures of Jake and Moon Granny: Space Pirate Panic!

by Jaye Seymour

illustrated by Alma Borrego Martinez

978-0-98593783-6              10/10/2013

Age 7 to 9      122 pages

.

“Help! Great Uncle Raymond and his pet fire newt, Flamer, have been kidnapped by te smelliest space pirates in the universe. It’s up to Jake and his granny to rescue them, with a little help along the way from some burping green aliens. But first they’ll need to make it through the spaceship-crunching meteor shower in one piece . . . Will the contents of Moon Granny’s favorite red handbag be enough to defeat Blackbeard and his beastly buccaneers? Or will she and Jake be forced to walk the plank…in space? Hold your noses and burp along with Jake and Moon Granny on their stinky, star-crossing adventure. But whatever you do, don’t press the red button! Or was it the yellow one?!”

Opening

“Jake’s grandmother lived a LONG way away.”

The Story

Bloodthirsty Blackbeard the Bad and his Beastly Buccaneers (pirates) kidnapped Jake’s Great Uncle Raymond. Granny stops by to see Jake and then takes him along in her quest to save her brother. Jake pilots Granny’s spaceship for the first time. In a panic, Jake presses the don’t-ever-touch-under-any-circumstances red button, sending them zooming into space. They finally spot Blackbeard’s bullet shaped spaceship and must somehow get Uncle Raymond and his pet fire newt off the ship. Will they call police or find their own way of rescuing Raymond?

Review

Space Pirate Panic contains the meanest, smelliest pirates in space, a granny who is in charge of alien relations, dust control, and cheese tasting on the moon where she lives. Then there is Jake, age unknown, who wishes he had a “normal” grandmother; one that showed up to school functions, knitted him awful sweaters, hands out pocket money, and he could visit every weekend. Until his granny shows up . . . then he realizes he likes his granny just the way she is. I like that beginning. Jake wants a normal life in comparison to other kids, until he realizes—with granny’s visit—that he has the best grandmother.

The action—and humor—are non-stop once Jake sets off in granny’s spaceship. Jake does get one of his wishes when Swish, the family cat, takes off with Jake’s green space gloves. Granny knits Jake new gloves on the way to Zabalon. Jake pushes a button Granny has just told him not to push, the trip to the Zabalon King goes smoothly, they spot Blackbeard’s ship and . . . well, there is no climatic moment. While there is a struggle, it is rather tame and ends too conveniently. The best part of the ending is the twist, but that is easy to figure out early in Uncle Raymond’s rescue.

I liked Space Pirate Panic but hope in the next book things do not resolve so easily—and quickly—for Jake and Granny. I’d like to know Jake’s age. Maybe things occurring so smoothly was appropriate for his age group. In any case, Space Pirate Panic is loaded with action, the adventure is interesting, the enemy is humorous, and Uncle Raymond can cause trouble, making me think Blackbeard kidnaped Uncle Raymond because of more than a desire for one million moon dollars. It is odd to think an old woman flying a not-top-of-the-line spaceship would have one million moon dollars for a ransom. Then again, the kidnappers are space pirates and dirty ones at that. I can’t wait to read the next book in this unusual space adventure. Kids age 7 to 9 will enjoy Jake & Moon Granny: Space Pirate Panic! This is also a great book for Hi-Low readers.

JAKE & MOON GRANNY: SPACE PIRATE PANIC! Text copyright © 2013 by Jaye Seymour. Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Alma Borrego Martinez. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Jaye Seymour.

Buy Jake & Moon Granny: Space Pirate Panic at Amazon—Book Depository—ask for at your local bookstore.

.

Learn more about Jake & Moon Granny: Space Pirate Panic HERE.

Meet the author, Jennifer Moore, aka Jaye Seymour, at her website:   http://jennifermoore.wordpress.com/

Meet the illustrator, Alma Borrego Martinez, at her website:

.

.

Welcome to day 6 of Children’s Book Week. These last two days of Children’s Book Week 2014 Kid Lit Reviews presents two publishers well-known for their children’s books, in particular, picture books. Tomorrow Capstone will present two books you could win. Today Chronicle Books is sponsoring Lately Lily: The Adventures of a Travelling Girl. To WIN this picture book LEAVE A COMMENT! For additional entries, CLICK HERE TO WIN!

.
. .

Lately Lily: The Adventures of a Travelling Girl

by Micah Player

Chronicle Books        3/25/2014

978-2-4521-1525-2

Age 4 to 8      32 pages

.“Meet Lily the Travelling Girl! Where has Lily been lately? EVERYWHERE! Lily takes her trips by plane, train, bike, boat, and even by camel, and her best friend,, Zeborah, is always along for the ride. Whether venturing far away or staying close to home, Lily knows that the joy of discovery is the best way to travel each and every day. Join the jet-setting Lily on a world tour, and experience the surprises of ravel through her eyes.”

Opening

“BONJOUR! CIAO! HOLA! HELLO! I’m Lily, the Travelling Girl.”

The Story

Lily’s parents work all over the world and take Lily with them. Lily takes Zeborah, her stuffed zebra doll and best friend. As the story progresses, you will learn where Lily has been—lately, meet her friends, and discover what she does.

Review

The author/illustrator, Micah Player, is the Creative Director of a company that makes kids apparel. That company, called Lately Lily, “the international teeshirt brand for thoughtful little girls,” specializes in clothes for young girls age 2 to 10, all based on Lily and her travels. Lily’s parents are a journalist and a photographer for the International Exposition (the Definitive Journal of Global Curiosity), working around the world. According to Lily’s website, the International Exposition is the world’s greatest magazine.

Lily travels carrying her yellow suitcase—her home away from home—and Zeborah, a stuffed zebra-doll. Lily writes notes in her journal describing her travels. These notes are what inspire the fashions at the store. In addition to this book, Lately Lily also has flashcards and a yellow suitcase, both available at Chronicle Books. I think this could be a series, or rather, I hope this is a series. If not, and maybe still, the book is another product placement to induce kids—and parents—to shop at the Lately Lily store. Still, Lily said a few  things that are encouraging signs that she can be a role model for young girls.

“Every day is an adventure.”

             “The world is full of possibilities”

“Sharing stories keeps us [friends] close.”    

“New places lead to unexpected discoveries.”

Joining her working parents, Lily travels from the U. S. to China, England, and France. Lily makes even the mundane parts of travel exciting. Her energy is boundless and will have kids enthusiastic about travel. I like that Lily records her travels, what she’s seen and learned. Even Lily says her journal makes it easy to remember her travels. Lily is an intelligent, curious, well-dressed girl who has no trouble entertaining herself when not with her worldly friends.

I like that she writes—with paper and pen—to her friends when they are not together. Letters are personal and tangible. Writing a letter seems to be a lost art, replaced by emails and instant messaging. Lily appears much older than her age, which is not stated but is no more than ten based on her backstory.

The illustrations are bright and cheery, giving Lily a sophisticated look. Young girls will like Lily and Lately Lily, though the book is more a travel log or a “This is my life,” than a story. Regardless, girls who love wearing Lately Lily will enjoy the picture book. Young girls new to Lately Lily will love the girl and her Zeborah. Many of them will want to transition into wearing Lately Lily clothes.

LATELY LILY: THE ADVENTURES OF A TRAVELLING GIRL. Text and illustrations copyright © 2014 by Micah Player. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA. .

Buy Lately Lily: The Adventures of a Travelling Girl at Amazon—B&N—Chronicle Books—your local bookstore.

.

Learn more about Lately Lily HERE    http://latelylily.com/

Meet the author/illustrator Micah Player, at his website:  http://paperrifle.com/

Check out the Lately Lily store at the website:   http://latelylily.com/shop/

Find other books at Chronicle Books’ website: http://www.chroniclebooks.com/ 

Also  by Micah Player

The Around the World Puzzle

Chloe, Instead

. .

.

.

.

.

.

WIN Lately Lily: The Adventures of a Travelling Girl by LEAVING A COMMENT below this review. For additional entries, and MORE CHANCES TO WIN Lately Lily, and other wonderful children’s books, CLICK HERE TO WIN!
.

Welcome to day 2 of Children’s Book Week and another great book is up for grabs.Today is also a Boo Blog Tour date here at KLR for Josh and the Gumshoe News Crew: The Super-Secret by Melissa Moraja, who is also the publisher.The Wunderkind Family Series is a wonderful chapter book series for kids becoming more confident in their solo-reading and ready for longer books.

.

.

The Wunderkind Family Series: Josh and the Gumshoe News Crew: the Super-Secret

by Melissa Perry Moraja

Melissa Productions, Inc.          5/5/2014

978-0-9898293-2-8

Age  6+        156 pages

.

“Up until a few days ago, nothing extraordinary had ever happened in ten-year-old Josh Wunderkind’s life—except eating a whole pot of pasta by himself. But that all changed after a mammoth-sized raptor hit him smack on the face with a glob of neon green bird poop, triggering his superhuman Wunderkind ability and leaving him with the responsibility of caring for a baby raptor he named Max. But what Josh didn’t realize was that being super extraordinary wasn’t all fun and games. Especially because he was still living in the shadows of his older brother Jake’s greatness.

“And things only got more complex in Josh’s life when his two siblings and a couple of neighborhood friends persuaded him to lead a super crime-solving, neighborhood news teams—the Gumshoe News Crew. But not before they agree on the Super-Secret and complete Gumshoe Boot Camp. Find out what the Super-Secret is. Will the Gumshoe News Crew complete boot camp? Or will Josh let his team down?”

Opening

“My name is Josh Wunderkind. I’m ten-years-old and up until a few days ago, nothing in my life had been super.”

The Story

Josh Wunderkind finally receives his superhuman powers when a raptor dropped glob of neon-colored poop in his eye. Having finally received his superpower, Josh is overly excited, wanting to it show off in school—until big brother Jake sets him straight about the importance of keeping superpowers a secret. Instead, the three siblings and two friends—and Max—make up the Gumshoe News Crew. Their goal is to keep the neighborhood safe under the guise of a newspaper crew, with Josh as leader, but not until they all passed the Gumshoe Boot Camp Jake set up.

Review

I enjoyed the newest story of the Wunderkind kids. The kids make a good group and tell a great story. The arrival of Josh’s super-powers will have kids laughing—a good laugh. The real star of the story is little Max, the baby raptor left behind after Josh receives his powers. The series is a great set for boys.

Max initially sticks by Josh out of fear but then stays there out of a growing partnership that works. Max is cute, resourceful, and quick to understand English and body signals making him a much-needed member of the Gumshoe News Crew. Like the Wunderkind kids, Max is super-powered but not super-perfect. I hope the little raptor grows up slowly and sticks around.

The only problem with Josh and the Gumshoe News Crew: The Super-Secret. The title story does not begin until a bit past mid-story, when it should begin early, if not the first chapter. Though many may not notice, or even care, this is a long time to expect readers to wait for the title story. Change the title or rearrange the chapters. The later would be easiest.

Overall, Josh and the Gumshoe News Crew: The Super-Secret will delight readers. The story is good—really good—and flows nicely from page to page and chapter to chapter. The characters are terrific and you find yourself rooting for all six of them. Kids will enjoy the humor, baby Max, and even dad, who will not tolerate any more animals in the house, and then does. Surprises at every turn will keep kids turning the pages. They will keep reading because the writing will not let them go. Josh and the Gumshoe News Crew adds one more engaging chapter book to the Wunderkind Family Series.

THE WUNDERKIND SERIES:  JOSH AND THE GUMSHOE NEWS CREW:  THE SUPER-SECRET. Text and illustrations copyright © 2014 by Melissa Moraja. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Melissa Productions, Inc., Matthews, NC.

Learn more about The Wunderkind Series HERE.

Buy Josh and the Gumshoe News Crew at Amazon—B&N—iTunes—your local bookstore.

Meet the author/illustrator, Melissa Moraja at her website:   http://www.notyourordinarypsychicmom.blogspot.com/

Find the publisher, Melissa Productions,at companny website:  http://melissaproductions.com/

..

.

Mother Daughter & Son Book Promotion Services Book Blog Tour

The Wunderkind Family Series: Josh and the Gumshoe News Crew: the Super-Secret

Today WS Momma Readers Nook (Review) ~~ The Ninja Librarian (Review) ~~ Kid Lit Reviews (Review)

May 13 Mel’s Shelves (Review) ~~ Heart of a Philanthropist (Review)

May 14 Once Upon a Time (Review) ~~ We Are the DinoFamily (Review) ~~ 4 The Love of Books (Review)

May 15 Dawn’s Disaster (Review) ~~ Purple Monster Coupons (Review)

May 16 Nanna of 3 and Counting (Review) ~~ Musings by Jay Faulkner (Review) ~~ Lisa Cresswell (Interview)

May 17 Jemima Pett, Author (Review) ~~ Storytime Books (Review)

May 18 The Squishable Baby (Review) ~~ Stitch Says (Review)

Check out earlier tour dates

Mother Daughter Book Reviews (Launch & Review)

BeachBoundBooks (Review) ~~ Bookworm for Kids (Review) ~~ A Leisure Moment (Review)

Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys (Review) ~~ Kay LaLone I Love Books (Review) ~~ Brooke Blogs (Review)

Alwaysjoart (Review) ~~ Chris Weigand, Author (Review) ~~ The Hippie Bookworm (Review)

Let’s Talk About Books (Review) ~~ Sunshine, Bubbles & Books (Review) ~~ Adalinc to Life (Review)

The World of ContestPatti (Review) ~~ Oh My Bookness (Review) ~~ Unschooling Mama (Review)

* Global Blog Tour Giveaway *

$25 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal cash (winner’s choice)

Contest ends: June 3, 11:59 pm, 2014

How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget:   a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Melissa Perry Moraja and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.

WE ARE NOT DONE YET!!

ENTER TO WIN a copy of Josh and the Gumshoe News Crew: the Super-Secret  from Melissa Productions, Inc.!

1. Leave a comment.

2. Enter the Rafflecopter (enters you for all 5 giveaways) Click a Rafflecopter giveaway  (opens @ midnight)

3. Check out a blog or two from the CBW Giveaway Blog Hop, then return here and in this comment section, tell me what blog you left a comment and the blog number (A MUST for verification.)

Click HERE for blog list. Over 100 ways to win in this hop!

1. Return tomorrow for more giveaways!

*** For complete rules and Terms & Conditions, Click HERE.

Larry and Friends

written by Nat Jaspar

created and illustrated by Carla Torres

Tangerine Books    3/01/2014

978-1-62847-473-2

Age 7+       48 pages

.

“Larry and Friends is a captivating story about immigration and integration told in both English and Spanish language versions. The protagonist, Larry the Dog, is a juggler from Brooklyn and his friends are a diverse set of animals from all over the world. The story recounts why the characters end up relocating to New York City, how they became friends with Larry and how life has taught them a thing or two.”

Opening

“Every day should be a happy day. At least that’s what Larry the dog thinks.”

The Story

Today is Larry’s birthday. All of his friends, from all over the world, arrive to celebrate. Living in New York has given him the  opportunity to meet and befriend so many creatures that are both interesting  and unique in both body and spirit. As Larry is making last minute preparations for his birthday celebration, the doorbell rings. “Ringadingadong!” Who could that be this early?

It is Magda, the Polish Pig. Magda is Larry’s partner, very good at organizing, and she should be able to help Larry get all his last minute decorations ready for the party. Not long after, “Ringadingadong!” Henrick, the Irish Hare has arrived bearing a birthday gift for Larry: a special song he wrote just for Larry. Henrick is fond of craic, which means having a fun time with good conversation. All through the evening the doorbell rings, “Ringadingadong!” New and old friends from near and far show up at Larry’s doorstep, all with a unique skill, family background, and a gift for Larry. The reader learns about each guest, barely finishing before the doorbell rings, “Ringadingadong!”

Review

Larry and Friends is a fast moving introduction to some amazing and definitely unique characters, all Larry’s friends, all ready to celebrate his birthday. Each character has a unique story relating to finding their way to New York and the job they do—most all are in the entertainment industry in one way or another.

Cecilia, the Peruvian Llama, was destined to be sheered her entire life for the benefit of the local artisans, who created things from her wool. Not willing to endure such a hard life Cecelia jumped the fence, and kept running until she reached New York, never looking back. Now she sings at the club Silencio and wears fancy clothes, none of which are made of llama wool by Peruvian artisans.

Gugu, the African Zebra is a grass expert. With only one male zebra—one stallion—allowed per family, Gugu had to leave his home. He decided to go where no other zebra as ever gone—New York City. He is now the lead percussionist at the Apollo Theater. As with the other guests, Gugu has a motto that keeps him going. For Gugu, it is, “Aim high. Look how well it worked for me!” Also very superstitious, Gugu knocks on wood.

Twenty-one anthropomorphic animals, including Larry, gather in a small apartment in New York. Everyone has gathered to celebrate Larry, but in his or her own way have celebrated themselves. The illustrations have amazing color, are bright, cheerful, and extremely detailed. The illustrated page immediately strikes you with the passion of the artist. My guess is the animals, the illustrations, arrived first and then the story found life.

Each animal displays his or her talent, origin, or new lifestyle. It is too bad there is not a story involving these characters—all or some—other than an introduction, which is really all Larry and Friends is. The introductions are interesting, some are educational, and all are entertaining, but not in a real story kind of way. After a dozen ringadingadongs, Larry and Friends becomes rather tedious.

Kids can still learn a lot about immigration, friendship, and family. More than that is the spirit each character exudes that has kept them on top of his or her world, happy, motivated, and philosophical. Many of the character’s life mottos are worth repeating. Here are three:

“All knowledge is worthless, unless it is shared.” ~ Bernard, the French Gargoyle

“Where there is adversity, there is opportunity.” ~ Rimshi, the Tibetan Yak

“The important thing is always to be yourself, no matter who stares at you” ~ Laila, the Iranian Cat

The story, as told in the first page, is a birthday party, but readers are not invited to the party. Readers get the guest list. As unique and interesting as these introductions to Larry’s friends may be, they do not amount to a real story. The running theme of a birthday party holds these individuals together. The real story begins and ends with each new character. After all 20 are present, have told their story, and given Larry a gift, the actual celebration begins with food and drink, birthday cake and whatever else a group of interesting people with varied backgrounds do at such gatherings. When the party begins, the book abruptly ends. The reader is not invited to the actual party. Seems unkind.

 .

LARRY AND FRIENDS. Text copyright © 2014 by Nat Jaspar. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Carla Torres. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Tangerine Books, New York, NY.

For a younger interpretation of Larry and Friends, check out Erik’s review at This Kid Reviews Books HERE.

.

Learn more about Larry and Friends HERE.

Buy a copy of Larry and Friends at Amazon—B&N—Tangerine Books—your local bookstore.

.

Meet the author, Nat Jaspar, at facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/natjaspar

Meet the creator and illustrator, Carla Torres, at her website:  http://www.carlatorres.com/

Find Larry and Friends at the Tangerine Books website:  http://www.larry-and-friends.com/

.

.

.

Magical Animals

by Ian White & Gastón Hauviller, illustrator

Laredo Publishing     2014

Magical Animals

by Ian White & Gastón Hauviller

Age 4 to 8       32 pages

.

“Leo is bored, wishing there was more magic in life. He gets big surprise when a mysterious wizard appears and sweeps him away on an incredible whirlwind tour of the animal kingdom!”

Opening

“Leo was sitting so bored and so blue.

He couldn’t play Wizards as he loved to do.

His mother had told him ‘Magic’s not real!’

Imagine how miserable that made him feel.

Now he was grumbling, downcast, and glum, /

“A world without magic is simply no fun!’”

The Story

Leo could not play the game he loved, one filled with magic, so he sat feeling grumpy instead of doing something else. Soon a wizard arrives and takes Leo on a tour of magic in his own backyard. They start by watching a humming bird hover by a flower as it drinks a flower’s nectar. The Wizard tells Leo the hummingbird’s ability to hover is magical. Next they go to the beach were baby turtles are hatching and immediately walking toward the ocean. No one tells these turtles what to do, they move on an innate instinct the Wizard calls magical. The two continue on to different animals and the “magical” abilities each possess, with the Wizard proclaiming, (or a variation thereof),

“It’s magic, true magic, hard to explain!”

After watching a chameleon change its color, a squirrel find nuts it squirreled away now under snow, and a mother penguin find her family among thousands of penguins, the Wizard returns Leo to his bedroom. He tells Leo magic does not always require wands or spells, but in life all around him, if only he will look.

Review

Many things in the animal kingdom are amazing and sometimes unexplainable. The Wizard calls these things magic, or magical, when showing ten these creatures to Leo. It is hard not to agree that a newly hatched turtle immediately taking off in the direction of the sea, no matter the direction they face when hatched, is not magical. Or that the Monarch Butterfly makes it from Canada to Mexico each year without maps or GPS. There are many amazing abilities animals possess that we never consider magic, but maybe we should. How else to explain that an octopus can squeeze into astronomically small spaces or that a  mountain goat can prance about a steep rock and  not fall, thanks to “magical hooves” that stick so well.

The illustrations, softened by subtle dots that run through the paper, have muted color in Leo’s room, where he is glum about not playing his Wizard game. An actual Wizard brings more color with him and each setting, whether the ocean or the glaciers, the illustrations depict very realistic worlds.

The Wizard spins a great tale for young Leo, who comes away feeling much less glum for not being able to play a game of “magic.” The author’s plausible message, that there is magic all around us, is a good message for kids and adults. The story is simple; a Wizard takes a boy on a magical trip around the world to watch select animals. It is hard to resist believing the Wizard’s message too young Leo. We all know some intriguing animals are on this earth and they can do some pretty amazing things, some without a bit of direction or advice. That is possibly magical.

Kids will love this story and after will have a new understanding of their world. I’m sure they will look at their surroundings with a new perspective and see magic where it had not been just minutes before. If we look closely at the world around us on our daily commutes, we may be surprised at what we see. Magical Animals is Ian White’s debut children’s book, and  very good beginning to a new career.

MAGICAL ANIMALS. Text copyright © 2014 by Ian White. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Gastón Hauviller. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Laredo Publishing,

.

Learn more about Magical Animals HERE.

Buy Magical Animals at Amazon—Laredo Publishing—your local bookstore.

.

Meet that the author, Ian White, at this website:  http://magicalanimalschildrensbook.com/index.html

Meet the illustrator, Gastón Hauviller, at his website:  http://www.hauviller.com/

Find more books at the Laredo Publishing website:  http://laredopublishing.com/

.

Also by Gastón Hauviller

I Do Not Want This On My Plate

An Honest Boy, Un hombre sincero

.

.

.

reviewed HERE

.

.

Pink Fire Trucks – Los camiones de bomberos de color Rosado

by Gladys Elizabeth Barbieri & Lina Safar, illustrator

translated by Liliana Cosentino

Big Tent Books          5/22/2013

978-1-60131-145-0

Age 4 to 8      34 pages

.

“Spirited Gladys is at it again. It’s CAREER DAY at school and Gladys Elizabeth boldly announces that she is going to be a firegirl. After a classmate tells her that girls can’t fight fires, Gladys Elizabeth proves that she can be whatever she wants to be!”

Opening

“Excitement is buzzing in the air of the auditorium. / El auditorio bulle de entusiasmo.”

The Story

After a Career Day program, Gladys Elizabeth’s class draws what they would like to be when they grow up. Gladys draws a pink fire engine that classmate Rudy strongly objects to say loudly, “Gladys, you can’t be a fireman! Get it? Fireman, not firegirl.” He then tells Gladys to stick to a girl job. During recess, the question of girls doing “men’s” jobs continues dividing the girls and boys. One girl states she is going to be the first female President of the United States, effectively quieting the boys.

A few days later, the class takes a trip to a fire station. There is a female captain who corrects Gladys when she calls her a fireman. The correct term is now firefighter. Gladys stares at Rudy as if to say, “See, I can to be a firefighter.” Rudy is still not convinced, especially when Gladys asks a firefighter if a fire engine could be pink. Once at home, Gladys sports her paramedic outfit, a fire helmet, and a paramedics kit—all pink. There is a crash and Gladys runs outside to help. The noise is Rudy. He has fallen off his bike and Gladys tends to his wounds. Gladys’s help and sense of confidentiality change Rudy’s mind about girl firefighters. End of story.

Review

Pink Fire Trucks is a positive statement to little girls that they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up. Writing in both English and Spanish, the author makes the story accessible to many more kids. I commend the author for writing a bilingual picture book. There are a few problems. For one, there is a lot of text, much more than a traditional picture book. Rewriting the test in Spanish then doubles the word count. I believe a good editor would have suggested the author remove unneeded words to tighten the story. Secondly, Gladys Elizabeth, the writer, should think hard about Gladys Elizabeth, the main character. I am of the opinion that naming a character after yourself, especially the main character, is narcissistic and generally bad idea.

The illustrations are really good, very colorful, nicely detailed, and lots of fun. Though in one, Gladys turns to look at Rudy and “silently gloat.” The illustration shows Rudy standing behind Gladys with both of them looking forward. A dotted line winds from Gladys’s chin, up to the top of her head, and then down the back of her head. From there, two arrows, attached to the dotted line, point at Rudy, who doesn’t seem the bit distracted by them. Without the text, I would have had no idea what the illustrator was trying to say. The text says, “I slowly turn and look back at Rudy and “silently gloat(ed).” A picture book should be readable by text and by picture. Without the text, the illustrations make no sense. Drawing Gladys and Rudy facing each other would have been understandable.

Pink Fire Trucks did not excite me. It takes a lot of work to read and I think many kids will be bored before the end arrives, especially if both languages are read. Here is a sample from “Career Day.”

“All sorts of people come to talk about their careers: an attorney, a carpenter, a yoga instructor, and a carpenter, just to mention a few. Even Millie’s dad comes. But instead of talking about being a painter, Mr. Vazquez rambles on and on about other things.

“En fin, always use primer before you paint, warm up your car in the morning for at least ten minutes, and always keep a spare key in your wallet, just in case.”

“Not understanding what Mr. Vazquez is talking about, we laugh . . .” (narrator Gladys Elizabeth)

The text, in both languages, required sometimes more than 50 percent of the page, leaving the illustrations little room. On some pages, the text tightly winds around the images. The biggest problem is the excessive text and illustrations that never caught my eye. The text is not more important than the illustrations, nor are the illustrations more important than the text. They both have a story to tell—the same story—and each deserve adequate space to tell it. When this does not happen, reading the book may become an exercise in frustration and the child listening may not stay focused. A tight story is a great story.

Not everyone will say this, but the job of reviewer is not always kind. I’m sure it is hard on the author to read someone does not like his or her story. It is hard for the reviewer to write they did not like a book. Many reviewers simply won’t write a negative review. I think the author deserves to know, though it is but one opinion and may not be as correct as the reviewer believes it to be. I do not accept a book unless I think I will enjoy it. Therefore, it is a huge disappointment when I do not.

Pink Fire Trucks has a great premise. The story will draw girls in, and it is empowering. Gladys Elizabeth Barbieri can write and write well. She knows how to construct a story. With a good editor, the author could be writing magnificent children’s books, especially those that are bilingual. I expect there will be much more from this former teacher. Good writers learn from others–including reviewers, take what they need from them, and grow into better writers. Ms. Barbieri, I am sure, will experience much growth and her writing will improve with time and practice.Maybe in her next story Rudy will get a chance to shine.

PINK FIRE TRUCKS – LOS CAMIONES DE BOMBEROS DE COLOR ROSADO. Text copyright © 2013 by Gladys Elizabeth Barbieri. Translation copyright © 2013 by Liliana Cosentino. Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Lina Safar. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Big Tent Books, Savannah, GA.

**WINNER - 2013 Most Inspirational Children’s Picture Book – Spanish or Bilingual, from Latino Literacy Now

Learn more about Pink Fire Trucks . . . HERE.

Purchase Pink Fire Trucks  . . . at Amazon—B&N—Big Tent Books—your local bookstore.

.

Meet the author, Gladys Elizabeth Barbieri, at her website:    http://gebarbieri.wordpress.com/

Meet the illustrator, Lina Safar, at her website:    http://linasafar.com/

Find more Big Tent Books at the publisher’s website:   http://www.bigtentbooks.com/

.

Also by Gladys Elizabeth Barbieri

Rubber Shoes… A Lesson in Gratitude (Bilingual)

.

.

.

.

.

.

.Also by Lina Safar

The Forgotten Ornament

Daddy Goes to Meetings (2015)

.

The Forgotten Ornament .

.

.

Wind Dancer

by Chris Platt

Peachtree Publisher        4/01/2014

978-1-56145-736-6

Age 8 to 12          138 pages

.

“Ali used to love horses. But that was before the accident, when she was injured and her pony died.

“Before her brother Danny joined the military.

“Before everything changed.

“Now Danny has returned from Afghanistan. He is learning to walk with the prosthetic that has replaced one of his legs, but he can’t seem to find a way to reconnect with family and friends. Withdrawn and quick to anger, Danny suffers from terrible nightmares and frightening mood changes.

“When Ali realizes that an elderly neighbor has been neglecting her horses, she decides she has to act. Can Ali rise above her painful memories and love a horse again? And can Wind Dancer, also injured and traumatized, help Danny rediscover meaning in his life?”

 Opening

“Something’s wrong.” Ali flattened her nose against the school bus window, trying to catch sight of the horses.”

The Story

Thirteen-year-old Ali worries. She worries about her brother, Danny, home from Afghanistan with one leg missing and suffering from PTSD. She worries about a neighbor’s horses, severely neglected, yet no one has helped them. Ali hurts. She hurts from the pain of losing her pony to a tragic accident, and she hurts from losing her brother to a war. Ali also cares. She cares about the neglected horses and she cares about Danny. Ali wants to help, but is not sure what to do for either the horses or her brother. All this worry and pain hits young Ali every day.

One day, on the bus ride home from school, the girls see Animal Control at the neighbor’s property. To the girls’ amazement and delight, authorities are finally taking the horses. The next day, the damaged horses are in Ali’s barn, and she is to care for them. It is part punishment and part because Ali knows horses better than most. Ali doubts she can do the job. Danny sneaks out to see the horses and connects with Wind Dancer, but makes a couple of near fatal mistakes. Misty takes to the rehab plan almost immediately, but Wind Dancer barely eats and may be rejecting the plan. Danny understands the horse and Wind Dancer takes to him, the only person the horse responds to, much to Ali’s disappointment and jealousy.

Then one night, Wind Dancer trots off into the desert, leaving Misty whining for his return. The desert is harsh and the horse is frail. One misstep and the coyotes will find a meal. Ali decides she is going out looking for Wind Dancer and changes into her riding gear. Will the horse survive the horribly hot desert heat?  Can he be brought back and successfully complete his rehabilitation? Or, will Ali feel the pain of losing another horse?

Review

Ali’s story will move you. Anyone with a wounded warrior will understand Danny and the difficulties on the family his war-related injuries cause. Ali had a good brother, a fun-loving brother, a brother who cared about her. Now she has none of those. How does she help Danny when Danny often scares her? When he refuses help and denies he has a problem? The reader will worry right alongside Ali. I read Wind Dancer three days ago and the characters are still running around in my head.

Then there are the horses, neglected, starving to death, and receiving no help. Even if you are not fond of horses, their story will move you. What the horses endure, what they suffer, is what hundreds of thousands of dogs and cats endure and suffer daily. Regardless of the animal, the abuse and neglect is difficult to understand, to look at, and yes, to help. You cannot just take an animal away, as Ali and the neighbors find out. In most instances, the animal must become extremely frail before authorities will step in. Once they do, who cares for the animal? Ali finds this responsibility on her shoulders.

Wind Dancer is well-written, with perfect punctuation and editing. The story is tight, stays on point. Wind Dancer is a page-turner. I read it in one morning, straight through, not because this is how I read a book, but because the story wouldn’t release me. Two damaged horses and one damaged boy. I needed to know how they would fare. Understanding PTSD, I was curious as to how the author would portray Danny, his symptoms, and his moment of clarity.

Would someone be able to recognize that Danny had PTSD before the story revealed this? Yep, I could. Ms. Pratt did her research. Danny exhibits the symptoms and the mental attitude of an unhealed person with PTSD. As painful as the character of Danny is to read, and as hard as this must have been to write, he is a case model for PTSD.  Treatment can be difficult, but help is available. Ms. Pratt lists resources both inside the story and at the end of it. The ending may seem simplistic and convenient, but Danny’s moment of clarity, when he realizes he has a problem and needs help, is genuine.

Ali loves horses, but since the accident that broke her arm and killed her pony, she has refused to ride. Her accident, what exactly happened, and how this effected Ali’s relationship with Danny—and his joining the military afterward—comes out in bits and pieces. Exactly why Ali refuses to get on a horse, when she loves them and harbors no resentment or fear, lacks complete explanation. One can’t help but think something important is missing. The story flows fine without this side story, so if not completely explained, please, leave it out.

Despite the story of Danny ending a bit too neatly, I enjoyed the story. The horses and their situation is realistic and handled with care. Wind Dancer deals with the difficult subjects of animal abuse and mental health, specifically PTSD. Ms. Pratt deals with each subject responsibly, making Wind Dancer a novel appropriate for the middle grade. I enjoyed this novel. Kids who love animals, horses in particular, will also love Wind Dancer.

.

WIND DANCER. Text copyright © 2014 by Chris Platt. Published by Peachtree Publishers, Atlanta, GA.

.

Learn more about Wind Dancer HERE.

Purchase your copy of Wind Dancer at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Peachtree—your local bookstore.

.

Meet the author, Chris Platt, at her website:  www.chrisplattbooks.com

Check out other Peachtree hits at the publisher’s website:  www.peachtree-online.com

.

Also by Chris Platt

Moon Shadow

Willow King

Race the Wind!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Peachtree Book Blog Tour

Wind Dancer

Please read other opinions at:

Blue Owl

Sally’s Bookshelf 

Chat with Vera

Horse Book Reviews

and tomorrow at Geo Librarian

.

.

.

My Fingerpaint Masterpiece

by Sherrill S. Cannon & Kalpart

Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Co.        5/01/2014

978-1-62857-288-9

Age 4 to 8         28 pages

“Have you ever seen a “work of art” worth millions, which looks like something your child just brought home from school? The dual perspective of “Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder” and just a little bit of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” is evident in this clever artwork story of a child who paints a fingerpaint print in class and then loses it in the wind on the way home. Illustrated from the point of view of the child, whose identity is left to the imagination of the reader since all of the illustrations are what the child sees, the fingerpaint print is interpreted by official ‘judges’ as well as by bystanders. Should people be influenced by what others see, or use their own self-esteem to make their own judgments?”

Opening

“One day in my art class / Mrs. Gallagher said / “just fingerpaint something / you see in your head.” / So I dipped all my fingers / in paint that was green / and drew on the paper / my very best scene.”

The Story

A young child begins creating a finger painting in class, but the bells rings before the picture can be finished or signed. The child decides to take the picture home. Not wanting to ruin the painting, the child holds it between two fingers. A gust of wind grabs the picture and takes it away. The painting lands on top a pile of paintings an artist is sorting for an upcoming show. He never sees the finger painting and hands the entire pile to the dealer for an upcoming show. Later that week, the child’s painting hangs in the mall as part of an artist’s collection. Though matted and framed, the finger painting looks out of place—except to the judges who awarded it first place. The child tries to tell everyone that it is his/her picture, but no one believes the child could paint such splendor.

Review

My Fingerprint Masterpiece is Ms. Cannon’s sixth children’s book with the Kalpart art team. Her other books deal with behavior and bad manners. My Fingerpaint Masterpiece is different. Here the problem is with the adults as seen from a child’s point of view. Writing in rhyme, as she has for all of her books, My Fingerpaint Masterpiece flows smoothly, with an occasionally bumpy meter or a stretched rhyme. Neither of those will detract from the pleasure of reading My Fingerpaint Masterpiece. Ms. Cannon writes stories that are easy to read many times, something parents can appreciate on the tenth reading in one day.

The art is typical Kalpart art as seen in all the Cannon books. The illustrations are “Illustrated from the point of view of a child . . . all of the illustrations are what the child sees . . .” Not always. The second spread shows the child watching the painting drift away in the wind gust, while holding a hat on his/her head—not from the child’s viewpoint. The same goes for the illustration of the judges staring at the painting on the wall, since the child would see the backs of their heads not their faces—no one would—as the judges try to figure out what the painting represents. While I always like the illustrations in Cannon’s books, I would love to see a different style.

Hidden within the illustrations, are the kids and covers from previous books, a devise used in previous books. There is a challenge at the back of the book to find those things and the objects in the finger painting. A key to the painting is not supplied, so unless you can find all the objects—I could not—frustration might become your friend. [my key] If you can find them, you have super special sensory eyes. Make sure you let the author know. The kids and covers are easier but you need to look closely.

I like the story. It is cute, and it is plausible. I bet few kids have not lost a paper to the wind. But unlike the other stories that have consistently good endings, that made sense in regards to the rest of the story, I don’t understand this ending. The child wants to know why the judges couldn’t admit they didn’t like the painting, but I didn’t get that. The judges couldn’t decide what the painting represented, but they never argued that it was not good, especially not good enough to win the top prize. I am baffled. Ms. Cannon has always ended her stories satisfyingly and made sense of the story. I was surprised to see the ending flipped onto the adults.

The superb Cannon line of books have won gobs of awards. All have won a Reader’s Choice Award, along with an Indie excellence, Pinnacle Achievement, and Next Generation Indie award, to name a few. I expect My Fingerprint Masterpiece will be no different. If you have enjoyed any of the past five Cannon books, I think you will enjoy My Fingerprint Masterpiece. It is Cannon’s first foray into a story for a story, not a message, and I like it. I would love to read more of her stories for the sake of the story. Cannon is an excellent storyteller. I loved the past four and like My Fingerprint Masterpiece. I think kids will also.

MY FINGERPAINT MASTERPIECE. Text copyright © 2014 by Sherrill S. Cannon. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Kalpart Team. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Co., Houston TX.

Learn more about My Fingerprint Masterpiece HERE.

Buy a copy of My Fingerprint Masterpiece at Amazon—B&N—Publisher—ask your local bookstore.

.

Meet the author, Sherrill S. Cannon, at her website:  http://cannon.bookblogworld.com/

Meet the illustrators, Kalpart Team, at their website:  http://www.kalpart.com

See more of the publisher’s books at Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Co. website:  http://sbpra.com

.

.

Also by Sherrill S. Cannon & the Kalpart Team

Santa’s Birthday Gift

2 Awards — review #64

Peter and the Whimper-Wineys

2 Awards — review #51

Magic Word

6 Awards — review #51

Gimme-Jimmy

5 Awards — review #114

Manner Man

.

.3 Awards – review #256

.

.

The Frankenstein Journals: Feet First & I for an Eye

by Scott Sonneborn

Illustrated by Timothy Banks

Stone Arch Books         8/01/2014

978-1-4342-9130-1

Age 7 to 10         160 pages

.

“In this combination of two separately published works, J.D. discovers that he is the son of Frankenstein’s monster, and armed with the Doctor’s journal he sets out to find his “relatives”—the descendants and relations of the people whose body parts Doctor Frankenstein used.”

Opening

“BORRRRING. That’s how I’d describe the first 13 years of my life.”

The Story

J.D. has lived at Mr. Shelley’s orphanage for Lost and Neglected Children since he was an infant and Mr. Shelley found him in a box. Now, at age 14, J.D.—short for John Doe—is on his own, the orphanage closed. J.D. is trying to find his family. His one lead is a book left in the box when he was an infant. It is a journal and in it is a picture of J.D. as an infant being held by his father—Frankenstein! J.D. had always dreamt he was part of a large family. Using the journal entries J.D. is trying to track down his family, but so his someone else.

Feet First begins J.D.’s journey from orphan to family-finder. J.D. meets Fran, daughter of Dr. Frankenstein. Deranged like her father, Fran thinks of nothing else but making her own improved monster, but nothing has worked. She now wants to use the same DNA dad used which has her on the trail of the same people J. D. is looking for, but J.D. is trying to connect as family. The first is explorer Robert Percy, currently at the end of the world.

I for an Eye: Fran Kenstein is still trying to find the relatives of those people her father used to make Frankenstein, J.D.’s father. J.D. is trying to get to his cousins first, to warn them of the danger called Fran. Now is Los Angeles, J.D. is looking for the grandson of Samuel “Clew” Hammer, a private detective in 1940. Hammer’s green eye became Frankenstein’s left eye. Before J.D. could get very far Fran shows up, gets J.D. thrown into jail, and leaves to go after all his cousins in L.A.

Review

J.D.’s journey will take a few books so it’s a good thing The Frankenstein Journals is a new series. If you liked Hotdogger, you’ll like The Frankenstein Journals. J.D. tells the story as it happens and scenes rush by. Even this two-story edition was a breeze. Reluctant readers will like this. The action is fast, the story has only what is needed. There are no slow sections that might bog a reader.

Frankenstein’s son looks a lot like his father, with odd shaped hands and feet, and two colors for his eyes, but he is a determined kid, fighting against time and Fran who is anxious to find the same people and lure them back for her experiment. There are illustrations throughout the book, some a full page, some in color. The hand-printed font, in various sizes, shapes, and colors, usually express an unexpected emotion caused by new information about J. D’s family. The book is visually appealing.

The only thing I do not like are the spaces between paragraphs, as if written on the Internet. This series is a chapter book series for young readers. This is not the time to forget about proper writing, especially when there is no benefit to having these paragraphs spaced incorrectly. At least the paragraphs are indented.

I think boys will like The Frankenstein Journals because of the fast action, a male slant on the stories, thus far, and the crazy illustrations and graphics. The female presence in the story is evil, just as boys this age probably see their female classmates. In a twist, Fran has no interest in J.D., but he instantly falls for Fran, misreading all of her words and actions, just like a lovesick girl would. J.D. no longer has a crush on Fran, having figured out her evil plan. Maybe girls age 7 to 12 age are evil, not just yucky.

Girls might also like the story of J.D. reclaiming his family. The main character is a sweet young boy searching the ends of the earth, literally—trying to find an unknown number of relatives before evil Fran finds them and makes a new Frankenstein out of them. If you like stories with twists and turns, and the occasional body part, The Frankenstein Journals would be a great series to start reading. Pre-order today for the August release date.

THE FRANKENSTEIN JOURNALS: FIRST FEET and I FOR AN EYE. Text copyright © 2014 by Scott Sonneborn. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Timothy Bans. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Stone Arch Books, an imprint of Capstone, North Mankato, MN.

Learn more about The Frankenstein Journals HERE.

Pre-order a copy of The Frankenstein Journals at Amazon—B&N—Capstone—your local bookstore.

.

Meet author, Scott Sonneborn at his website:   http://scottsonneborn.com/

Meet illustrator, Timothy Banks at his website:  http://timothybanks.com/

Find more Stone Arch Books at the publisher’s website:  http://www.capstonepub.com/category/LIB_PUBLISHER_SAB

.

Also by Scott Sonneborn

Supergirl vs. Brainiac

Danger on Deck!…

.

.

.

.

.

.

Also by Timothy Banks

The Top Secret Files of Mother Goose!

.

.

.

.

The New Old Truck

by Jennifer Somervell & Margery Fern, illustrator

Tales from the Farm Publications          2014

978-0-473-27125-1

Abe 4 to 8         38 pages

.

“Old truck backfires, graunches gears, won’t start and often has to be towed. Retired, rejected and shut up in the shed, he feels old and useless. Is this the end for Old Truck? Then brother John comes home . . . “

Opening

“Old Truck loved to work. He was happy carting soil. He was excited carting hay. He loved carting children.”

The Story

Old Truck has worked the family farm for many years. Now, he is getting too old to work like it used to, often needing a tow from Blue Truck. Blue Truck was tired of rescuing Old Truck and Dad said it was time to retire Old Truck and get a new one. Despite much opposition from his children, Dad went out looking for a new truck. He came home with nothing new, having gien in to his children. Blue Truck would have to handle the load. Old Truck was retired to the shed, where it sat. One child had been missing. One John came home he asked about Old Truck. Would he be able to help the old, tired, out-of-date truck?

Review

Based in a true story, The New Old Truck retells the story of a family’s beloved old-fashioned truck, about to be retired. Old Truck had been a useful truck, but needed replaced with a modern truck. All the kids objected. They loved to ride in Old Truck; one of the first trucks ever built. It had a hand crank, which is not always included in the illustrations. In general, the illustrations are smart, extremely detailed, and are nicely colored. The one-dimensional characters remind me of the thin magnetic “paper dolls” of old that stuck to a special board. Beyond this, the illustrations will entertain young children as the Old Truck goes from a tired, worn-out machine to a crisp sharp machine ready to beat any truck of any age.

Sentences are short and simply structured, making it easy for children to read. There is a lot of dialogue, mostly of the children protesting, which can be fun to read aloud. There is a little confusion with Old Truck’s savior. John is there, protesting with the others, when Old Truck is retired to the shed. An unspecified amount of time passes, Old Truck is a mess and,

“Then one day John came home.”

This sentence implies John had not been around; had not been home. Yet he was. John was around when all the kids, including himself, protested the retirement of Old Truck and the purchasing a new truck. I think this might confuse the children who notice John had been around. How can, “one day John came home?” When did he leave? Where did he go? Why didn’t he rescue the Old Truck earlier? Picky? Maybe, but continuity is important in a story, including knowing where your characters are at all times. If John was there when Old Truck was retired, and he was, then he should know where Old Truck is when he returns.

Young boys will love the story of Old Truck. Old Truck likes carrying around kids, has a nice smile, and often farts, causing black smoke to trail behind it. What little boy wouldn’t love that? Blue Truck is actually rather boring in comparison, though much nicer looking truck. When restored, Old Truck is so beautiful everyone around wants a ride. This shows how much we like our histories and want them to live on. This simple truck spoke of a simpler time; many would like a return to that time.

Parents will appreciate the short history, after the story, including original pictures. Manufactured in Michigan, the 1921 Model 10 Republic truck journeyed to New Zealand, where the author and illustrator’s grandfather bought it in 1938. The truck worked on the family dairy farm until it was retired. The real John restored the truck several times, finally showing the 91-year-old truck at a vintage rally in 2012. There is beautiful photograph of the family farm, showing the snowy Ruahines Mountain Range (New Zealand), in the background. Also included is glossary of words special to Old Truck, such as chassis, crank handle, and graunch (the loud, grating noise of gears not smoothly moving).

 .

THE NEW OLD TRUCK. Text copyright © 2013 by Jennifer Somervell. Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Margery Fern. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Tales from the farm Publications, Oxford, NZ.

Learn more about The New Old Truck HERE.

.Buy at author / illustrator website.

Meet the author, Jennifer Somervell and illustrator, Margery Fern at her website: Tales from the Farm Productions:   http://www.talesfromthefarm.co.nz/

.

Also by Jennifer Somervell & Margery Fern

The Day Dad Blew up the Cowshed

.

.

Today we start with a question. Two questions, to be exact.

1. Can you count to ten?

“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10”

Good!

 2. Do you know your colors?

“Red, blue, yellow, green, orange— ”

—Okay, that’s great!

“. . . pink, purple, brown, black . . .”

Let’s get started. Debut Author Sarah Jones.

 .

.

Bunnies Near and Far

by Sarah Jones

Blue Manatee Press      4/01/2014

978-1-936669-22-6

Age 1 to 4      10 pages

.

“Colors. Shapes. Critters! Three concepts in one make learning fun! Inspire bedtime or story time, with this fun and educational concept book! Watch colorful native forest animals including red square owl and yellow star frog take shape, teaching basic concepts simultaneously. Rich, sweet watercolor illustrations are a delight for sharing over and over again.”

Opening 

“1 bunny near. 2 bunnies far.”

Review

Farmer Bo has lost track of his bunnies. Where could they have gone? We know 1 bunny is nearby and 2 bunnies are far off. Where did 3 bunnies go, and 4 bunnies? I saw 5 bunnies going up and 6 bunnies going down—they were on a teeter-totter. Wherever 7 and 8 bunnies went in opposite directions. Then I heard 9 bunnies singing to 10 bunnies playing an instrument. Farmer Bo does not know where any of his bunnies are. Oh, look! Farmer Bo counts as the bunnies return home. 1-one, 2-two, 3-three . . . all the way to his 10-ten musical bunnies. Wow! How many bunnies is that?

There are bunnies everywhere in Bunnies Near and Far. The situations the bunnies get into are common and recognizable by little kids. This is a fun way to learn how to count. The bunnies are cute though a tad plump and do some goofy stuff. Little kids will giggle at these bunnies on an apparent day off. I love the color of the book, which is predominately green with a few other colors tossed in on a few pages. The car is carrot orange and is somewhat shaped like a carrot. There even looks to be a smidge of green at the back of the car. I love details like this; things you would never expect. The theme of Bunnies Near and Far is more modern than most simple counting books and maybe that is what makes it so utterly charming.

.

Still remember your colors. (Please do not tell me, I remember.) Let’s look at colors.

.

.

Orange, Triangle, Fox

by Sarah Jones

Blue Manatee Press     4/01/2014

978-1-936669-21-9

Age 1 to 4     10 pages

.

“Farmer Bo wants to know where his bunnies are. Some are near, some are far, some walking some in a car, and all are as cute as can be! Little ones will learn counting and opposites in this fun tale of bunnies on the go. Perfect for sharing: read and count along to find out what they’ll do next!”

Opening  

”brown circle hedgehog”

Review

Orange, Triangle, Fox is about colors, shapes, and animals. What could be more perfect than all of these concepts in one book for the youngest children? Interestingly, the shape and color become the shape of the animal and its color. The title page is orange and the shape is a triangle. The fox is an orange triangle. I think this will delight kids. The forest animals include an owl, a fox, frog, and a turtle among others. Young children will simultaneously learn about three concepts—shapes, colors, and animals—learning to process multiple stimuli. They may start looking at the world around them for animals or other objects in a certain shape. The forest animals are adorable, maybe more so because of the shape they have become.

As a set, Orange, Triangle, Fox and Bunnies Near and Far help young children learn, or reinforce, their numbers, colors, and forest animals. The books are kid shaped, just the size for little hands to hold. The pages are thick to stand up to kids excitedly turning the page. Spilt milk and blobs of jelly should wipe right off the heavy, glossy pages. At ten pages, bedtime reading of Orange, Triangle, Fox and Bunnies Near and Far can start a tradition of reading and a lifelong love of books. Both of these books are nontraditional in form, but very much traditional in content. Little ones can learn about the numbers one through ten, and about colors, shapes, and animals. Four important elements your child needs to learn, packed into two adorable books with designs by Sarah Jones. Beautiful and functional, child-sized and childproof.

.

Learn more about Sarah Jones books for young children HERE.

Buy Bunnies Near and Far at Amazon—B&N—your local bookstore.

Buy Orange, Triangle, Fox at Amazon—B&N—your local bookstore.

.

Meet Sarah Jones at her profile at scbwi:  http://www.scbwi.org/members-public/sarah-jones

Find more board books at the website of Blue Manatee Press:  http://bluemanateepress.com/

.

ORANGE TRIANGLE FOX and BUNNIES NEAR AND FAR. Text and illustrations copyright © 2014 by Sarah Jones. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Blue Manatee Press, Cincinnati, OH.

.

NEW FROM BLUE MANATEE PRESS.

Water, Baby Unplugged

Toast to Family

Your Red Shoes

The Sugary Sherburts

by Heather Ellis, age 10

illustrated by James Ellis

978-1-48950776-1

Age 5 to 8   28 pages

.

“Herbert Sugary-Sherburt has just finished his magnificent chocolate rock masterpiece. When he gets home from work, there is a big disaster at the chocolate factory. How did it start raining hundreds and thousands in Thornton? And how on earth did the Sugary-Sherburts get involved? Kit and Kat are on the case. Will they be able to save the families and their homes in time?”

Opening

“A long time ago in a very frosty village called Thornton, there lived a family called the Sugary-Sherburts.”

The Story

The Sherburt family lived in a small village supported by one industry, chocolate. Herbert Sherburt worked at the chocolate factory in the village. One day, after constructing a gigantic ball of chocolate, Hebert strolled home. Later that evening, a commotion started outdoors and ended with the huge chocolate ball Herbert had made at work ramming through the front of his house. With half of the house was gone, Mom Charlotte needed to think of a solution because the kids (Kit, 6 and Kat, 7), could not get to sleep until the house was fixed. She sent her children out to collect as much candy as they could carry, which Charlotte used the candy to rebuild their home. Everything was fantastic . . . until cold Thornton became unexpectedly warm.

Review  [continue reading]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Thing About Things

by Cheryl Chen, age 17

978-1-49440746-9

Age 7 to 9   30 pages

.

“There is nothing worse than being ordinary. At least, according to seven-year-old Joey Jones. When Joey gets picked not first, not last, but right in the middle for playing dodgeball at school, he feels unspecial and unwanted. But through an encounter with a certain monster who has been hiding in his bedroom all along, Joey learns that everyone, including Thing, is special in their own way.”

Opening

“The kids of Mrs. Larson’s second grade class were splitting up into dodgeball teams that day on the playground.”

The Story

Seven-year-old Joey finds himself picked just before Sheldon—“Smell-don” chosen last—for a game of dodgeball at school. Joey wanted to be first choice and that thought had him tossing and turning in his hammock that night. Joey loved his new hammock. He could see everywhere, even under. Then came the noises.

“Thump. Thump. Thump.”

As Joey watches, the moonlight turned into The Thing. Thing is not a scary monster despite his seven eyes and extra-large fangs, but Joey doesn’t yet know this. He runs for the door tripping on a toy instead. Thing tells Joey he had a bloody knee and then scoops him up. Joey bites down hard on Thing’s arm upsetting the monster, who was afraid Joey wanted to eat him. Joey tells Thing to go home tp his family. Thing tells Joey Things do not have families.

“As a Thing, you are just like every other Thing.”

Thing sadly says he is nothing special but Joey protests saying Thing was the only Thing living in his bedroom.

Review [continue reading]

Today is a rather long post. Eleven-year-old Nate Rockledge, his older sister Abby, and his once best friend Lisa Crane are here for a short interview followed by a review of the new–and the final–Nate Rocks book: Nate Rocks the City.        Let’s get started.

Today Kid Lit Reviews welcomes Nathan Rockledge (aka Nate Rocks), his older sister, Abby, and his know-it-all classmate, Lisa Crane. They are all characters in the Nate Rocks series, the newest being Nate Rocks the City. Since this is the last book, I thought it would be fun if you each talked about your favorite moment from the series. Who wants to go first?

Lisa Crane :  Oh!! Me! Me!

Yes of course, Lisa, go ahead.

Lisa : Well … In Nate Rocks the Boat, there was this scene where Nathan was leaving for summer camp and his parents were giving him a going away party…

Nathan: Oh no! Really? Do we have to bring that up here?

Lisa: Hey! She said I could talk about my favorite moment from any of the books, right?

Nathan, please, Lisa, cont–

Lisa: So anyway, we were playing horseshoes – Nathan and me – and of course Nathan was missing them all, while I was getting them all. So I kindly offered to show Nathan how it’s done, only he got a little too close to me, and BAM the next thing you know, he’s on the ground crying like a big old baby. He says it’s because I hit him, but I think it’s because I beat him at horseshoes.

Nathan: You gave me a black eye!!

 Abby: It was awesome.

 Nathan: Can we move on?

Sure, Nathan. How abou–

 Abby: Ooh – I have one!

 You characters sure are, um, ready. Abby?

 Abby: So in Nate Rocks the World, Nathan was trying to get back at me for – well that really doesn’t matter – anyway, he put food coloring in my shampoo bottle, but Dad wound up using it instead of me, and he wound up with PURPLE hair! HAHAHAHA! It was so funny, and Nathan got in so much trouble.

 Nathan: You got in trouble, too.

 Abby: Not as much as you though – it was classic.

 Nathan: So far, this interview isn’t quite as much fun as I thought it was going to be.

 I’m sorry, Nathan. You’re the star, so what is your favorite moment?

 Nathan: Hmmm, that’s such a hard question because I had so many great moments in every book! I really did love going to New York City in this last book though. I got to save the city from aliens, I jousted with knights in the museum, and the last scene – well let’s just say if you’ve read Nate Rocks the World, I had a chance to go full circle. I don’t really want to give anymore away than that. Overall though, the entire series was a blast. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did – even the parts with Abby and Lisa.

 Lisa: “Hey!”

Abby: “Not funny, Nate.”

Nathan: Thanks for reading and thanks for having us on your blog today!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.

Nate Rocks the City

by Karen Pokras Toz

Grand Daisy Press    2/14/2014

978-0-9848608-9- 0

Age 7 to 12     142 pages

.

Hey New York! Are you ready for Nate Rocks? Fifth grader Nathan Rockledge has been counting down the days—and meals—until his class trip to New York City. Now that the big event is finally here, he can barely stand the excitement. After all, isn’t this what being a fifth grader is all about? Oh sure, his Mom is one of the chaperones, his annoying sister Abby is tagging along, and that know-it-all classmate, Lisa, will be there as well. However, none of that matters. Not when he’ll be with his best friends, Tommy and Sam.

While seeing the sights, his teacher wants his class to take notes, but Nathan has other ideas. With paper and pencil in hand, Nathan prefers to doodle, transforming himself into Nate Rocks, boy hero. Amid ninja pigeons to fend off, aliens to attack, and the baseball game of the century to save, will Nate Rocks be able to save the day one more time?

Opening

“The piercing sound of the house alarm rips through the neighborhood as our car pulls into the driveway. ‘Nate! Come quick!’ Mrs. Jensen screams over the sound of the siren.”

The Story

Nate’s fifth grade class heads to New York City for their class trip. The chaperones include Nate’s mom and her best friend, Mrs. Crane, mother of the most annoying girl in the entire world—Lisa. Thanks to a Philadelphia Philly baseball player, the kids are getting two extra days and tickets the Phillies versus Yankees baseball game at the end of their trip. Nate counts his days by meals, starting with eleven meals. Nate savors every New York meal, even in the hotel cafeteria.

The group goes to Central Park, The City Zoo, the Statue of Liberty, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art before the final trip to Yankee Stadium. The last two days of the trip, Nate’s dad and older sister join the group. Mrs. Cogin, Nate’s teacher, gives each middle grader a journal to write notes about their trip as reference for an essay they will write later. Not much for words, Nate tends to draw his notes. Several times during the trip, Nate envisions himself as Nate Rocks, a hero to those around him. As Nate begins drawing the area around him changes. People are gone or settings change. Always, someone grabs him and an exchange like this occurs,

“Nate! Thank goodness we found you!”

“Me? Why me?”

“Why because you’re Nate Rocks, of course!”

Nate does whatever needs done, such as stop robotic birds from destroying New York City. The urgent task that only Nate Rocks can accomplished is competed and then this same adoring thanks occurs,

“You did it, Nate! You saved me/us!”

Finally, someone sharply brings Nate back to reality, reminding him that he is holding up the group or just annoying his mother. The last day of Nate’s trip to New York City culminates with a baseball game, the Philadelphia Phillies against the New York Yankees. Nate Rockledge goes out in Nate Rocks fashion one last time.

Review

Nate Rocks the City ends the Nate Rocks series. At age ten, Nate rocked the world and the boat and at age eleven, he rocked the school and now the city. In each one Nate envisions himself a hero, his current surroundings melting into a different scene and situations only an imaginative eleven-year-old boy can outwit. Nate’s biggest problem is fifth grader Lisa Crane. Lisa and Nate have spent a lot of time together as they grew up, thanks to their mothers being best friends. Nate sees Lisa as annoying and he is correct.

Ms. Toz writes like a pro. Punctuation errors, capitalization, spelling, and typos are all missing from Nate Rocks the City. One look at the credit page explains why the text is clean. Ms. Toz hired an editor from a company called There for You. Nate’s last story flows well from one scene to the next. His creativeness shines and makes his drawings come alive in his mind, on his pad, and for the reader. Ms. Toz thoroughly researched New York City and its sites before writing Nate Rocks the City. From the exhibits at The Metropolitan Museum of Art to the shops in Times Square, she has the details.

It is odd that both dad and Abby, Nick’s fifteen-year-old sister, would join the group midway through the fifth grade trip, like it were actually a family vacation. I suppose it was a way of getting all the usual characters into the story and for that, it is hard to place blame. Dad working as another chaperone at least fit nicely into the story, when he wasn’t getting the boys lost in the city, but Abby really made no sense.

All through the story—and in every Nate Rocks series—Nate envisions himself the hero of one situation or another. It is easy to know when Nick goes off on one of his tangents! You will find an exclamation point at the end of nearly every sentence! Nick sees these adventures as something exciting! At Yankee Stadium, Nate finally becomes that hero, exclamations not needed. I like the idea of Nate behind what happened, but the scene did not stand up. I would love to explain why, but it is the ending and I have no right to ruin it for anyone.

Nate Rocks the City is an enjoyable story with terrific imagination, too perfect annoying mom behavior, and a giant sense of fun kids will enjoy. The story is a fast read. Not wanting to leave the story helps this along. Kids will love Nate Rocks the City, whether as a fan of the series or a first time reader. Nate knows how to put on a show. Like the others, Nate Rocks the City can stand on its own, but read in order is more fun as Nate gets better with each book. The series is perfect for boys. Even young reluctant readers will find the Nate Rocks series worth keeping. I am sorry to see Nick leave us, but he does so in fine Nate fashion. Nate does indeed Rock the City!

Check out the Nate Rocks Series HERE.

Buy Nate Rocks the City at Amazon—B&N—author website—your neighborhood bookstore.

.

Meet the author, Karen Pokras Toz at her website:  www.karentoz.com

Find other great books at Grand Daisy Press website: http://www.granddaisypress.com/ 

You can also find Karen Pokras Toz here:

Blog: http://kptoz.blogspot.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/karenptoz

Twitter: www.twitter.com/karentoz

Amazon: http://bit.ly/amznNRTC

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/bnNRTCity

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5009570.Karen_Pokras_Toz

.

NATE ROCKS THE CITY. Test copyright © 2014 by Karen Pokras Toz.

.

ALSO BY KAREN POKRAS TO

#1 Nate Rocks the World

#2 Nate Rocks the Boat

#3 Nate Rocks the School

– on sale! 99¢ through March 21, 2014

Millicent Marie Is Not My Name

Pie and Other Brilliant Ideas

.

.

..

.

Here Comes Destructosaurus!

by Aaron Reynolds & Jeremy Tankard

Chronicle Books    4/01/2014

978-1-4521-2454-4

Age 4 to 8     32 pages

“Watch the unstoppable force of a temper tantrum! Tremble at the enormous mess and disrespectful roaring! Despair as no amount of scolding can stem the heedless fury! Someone is heading for a time-out, Mister!”

Opening

“Watch what you’re doing, Destructosaurus! Do you have to barrel into every city like a bull in a china shop?”

The Story

Destructosaurus walks out of the water. He is knocking things about; building after building falls over. A loud voice yells at him,

“WATCH WHAT YOU’RE DOING, DESTRUCTOSAURUS!”

Destructosaurus stomps through the lake. Fish fly about the city and lake water drenches the people now walking in his path. Oh, no! Flames shoot out of Destructosaurus’s mouth and burns down the harbor. Now Destructosaurus is back stomping the city streets and pushing down buildings.

“WIPE YOUR FEET, DESTRUCTOSAURUS! We just cleaned this street. Now look at the mess you’ve made!”

Destructosaurus tosses buildings out of his way. They fall apart as if made of Lego’s not bricks and mortar. What is Destructosaurus looking for? In anger, Destructosaurus stomps down the city streets swatting at the helicopters, roaring with each swipe.

“DON’T YOU TAKE THAT TONE WITH ME, DESTRUCTOSAURUS!”

Destructosaurus picks up a train station and immediately the voice tells him to put it back down. Wait, what is that in his other hand? Is that what Destructosaurus has been looking for? After a quick hug, Destructosaurus takes his prize back into the sea, temper tantrum over.

Review

Here Comes Destructo-Saurus! tells the tale of a little boy’s temper tantrum and his mother’s response to all that goes with it. He is tossing things about and roaring all the while his mother tosses out typical parental admonitions: Watch what you’re doing; wipe your feet; watch your manners; get control of yourself. Destructosaurus, um, the little boy does not listen. He continues his raging, tossing buildings, no, no, toys, about the city, I mean house.

With toy in hand, Destructosaurus gives mom a big hug. But, instead of Destructosaurus saying he is sorry, mom says,

“You could have used your words. But, still. Sorry I yelled.”

Mom says she is glad he found his toy, that she feels terrible for thinking him terrible. Maybe Here Comes Destructo-Saurus! is meant for parents. Whether Here Comes Destructo-Saurus! was written to enlighten toddlers or mothers, or simply for fun, it is hilarious. The illustrations show an oversized dinosaur destroying New York City. In a comic book style, the images are fun, brightly colored, and hilarious.

What an imaginative way of showing kids what they look like when they have a temper tantrum. I think kids will enjoy seeing themselves as dinosaurs, and what parent has not called their child a “little monster?” Both toddlers and mothers can laugh at the inevitable behavior all kids and parents go through. In the end, there is a hug and both dinosaur and mother calm down. Back to his happy self, Destructosaurus/toddler runs off to play. But wait, mom wants him to come back and clean up the mess he made. The ending has come full circle.

Here Comes Destructo-Saurus! will entertain those who read it. Parents might start calling their child call “Destructosaurus” when the child has a temper tantrum; a word that could help the child rein in his or her behavior. Parents might lighten-up on themselves about the sometimes-anger they feel toward their child. And, most importantly, everyone will enjoy a brightly illustrated dinosaur story. Take note: at one point Destructosaurus sucks his thumb and it is absolutely adorable.

Activity Kit for Kids

.

Learn more about Here Comes Destructo-Saurus! HERE.

Get your copy at Amazon—B&N—Chronicle Books—your local bookstore.

Meet the author, Aaron Reynolds:  http://www.aaron-reynolds.com/

Meet the illustrator, Jeremy Tankard:  http://www.jeremytankard.com/

Find more great books at Chronicle Books:  http://www.chroniclebooks.com/

.

HERE COMES DESTRUCTO-SAURUS! Text copyright C) 2014 by Aaron Reynolds. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Jeremy Tankard. Reproduced by permission of the publisher Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.

ALSO BY AARON REYNOLDS

.

.

Read a review of Carnivores HERE!

.

Because Dragons Love Milk

by Marie Chow

Miki Tharp, illustrator

978-1-49541484-8

Age 3 to 7     28 pages

.

Opening

“They were halfway through dinner when Tycho announced, “I don’t want to go to bed tonight!”

The Story

Tycho does not want to go to sleep because there are dragons under his bed. Dad lets his son in on a secret. Dragons love milk. He explains that milk soothes a dragon’s fiery throats. If a dragon’ throat is soothed it becomes a happy dragon. Tycho is happy about the dragon but wants to know about the alligator. Dad had an alligator under his bed and it liked old shoes. Because alligator do not floss, their gums always hurt. Chewing on an old shoe helps sooth an alligator’s gums.

Review

Because Dragons Love Milk will entertain any young boy who has ever had a dragon, an alligator, or a T-rex under his bed. It is refreshing to read a story about a young boy and his dad. At least two of a boy’s favorite animals are under Tycho’s bed (dragon and T-rex). The way dad breaks down his son’s fears is imaginative and adorable. The three terrifying animals become less threatening when they are fond of milk, stories, and old, stinky shoes.

The illustrations need detail to define one object from another. I see blocks of color, some of which fade or blend into the next. A color picture book needs to have lots of color, and details help. Give the child something to look at. If he cannot yet read, the only way to hold his visual attention is through details. A few toys, pictures on the walls, a window, any of this would have improved the boy’s room. Monsters get restless when there is nothing to play with in a room. The other problem is the lack of a credit page/copyright page. Every book must have certain pages and this is one of them.

Spreads are lighter in finished paperback book.

Kids will love the story. They will enjoy the odd things each “monster” needs and the reason they need them. Suspending belief is easy thanks to the author’s pen. She writes sentences that flow into one another, making them easy to read, and easy for a young child to understand. This is a nice debut story. I wish it were longer just so I can read more of the author’s imagination. Because Love Milk would be the perfect story to read right before a kindergarten classroom nap. A good choice for boys and dads.

.

Learn more about Because Dragons Love Milk HERE!

Buy your own copy of Because Dragons Love Milk at Amazon—your local bookstore.

.

Author Marie Chow’s website.   http://mariechow.com/

Illustrator Miki Tharp’s website.  http://mikitharp.com/

.

BECAUSE DRAGONS LOVE MILK. Text copyright © 213 by Marie Chow. Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Miki Tharp. Reproduced by permission of the author, Mare Chow.

.

.