Halloween Short Stories: Spooky Short Stories for Kids
Written by Uncle Amon
This book consists of five short stories and a short
selection of Halloween jokes. The characters deal with familiar Halloween
themes like pumpkins, black cats, witches, and haunted houses. It is the first
volume in a collection of Halloween stories.
These tales are short and do not contain difficult
vocabulary. I would recommend them especially for beginning readers in the six
to nine age group. They are not particularly scary. I would say they are
appropriate for children who are not too fond of Halloween.
The book may be a good choice for a read-aloud or sharing at a Halloween party.
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Scaredy Bat and the Frozen Vampires: An Illustrated Mystery Chapter Book for Kids 8-12 (Scaredy Bat: A Vampire Detective Series 1) Written by Marina J. Bowman Illustrated by Yevheniia Lisavoya
Ellie is a twelve-year-old vampire who loves to solve mysteries. The fact that she is afraid of almost everything fails to deter her. Ellie fears loud noises, spiders, and clowns, among many other things. One thing she does have is a large network of friends who come to her aid. When Ellie attends a vampire wedding, everyone freezes solid. How can she overcome her fears and solve the mystery before it is too late?
The author includes bonuses for budding detective readers. She offers a quiz to test if the reader qualifies to be a detective. Readers receive a guide to analyzing suspects and recording evidence.
Lisavoya draws excellent black and white illustrations to sustain interest levels. The book is not too lengthy, which encourages reluctant readers. One caveat, I read the Kindle version which contains formatting errors. I would rate the book three stars in the Kindle version, but five stars in the paperback edition.
Recommended for middle-grade readers in the print version.
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This book is part of a series that features a girl named
Emma and her menagerie of personified stuffed animals. Each of these has a
distinct personality and a kind heart.
In this volume, Emma and her fluffy friends are playing in
the living room when they hear a loud crash outside. After looking out the
window, they discover a small bird lying still on the grass. When they
investigate, they discover a chickadee who has been seriously injured. Emma
gets a box and lines it with a doll blanket. She and her friends bring the box
inside and patiently wait for hours to see if the bird will recover.
After what seems an interminable amount of time, Emma picks
up the box and places it under a tree outside in the yard. They are happy to
see the bird sitting up. A few minutes later, the chickadee flaps its wings and
flies up into the tree.
Emma and her friends demonstrate patience, kindness and a love of nature. Children learn what and what not to do to help an injured animal. The illustrations are bright and effective. My only suggestion would be to vary the color of the text to make it a bit easier to read. Recommended for preschoolers and early elementary grade school readers.
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Three Days at the Brink: FDR’s Daring Gamble to Win World War II (Three Days Series)
Yesterday, I went to the FDR Presidential Home & Museum to hear Bret Baier speak about his newest book. Mr. Baier is Chief Political Anchor and anchor of Special Report with Brett Baier at Fox News.
The author explained how and why he chose to write this book Baier discussed FDR, Churchill, and Stalin’s secret meeting at The Teheran Conference. He spoke about their fears and expectations. Baier revealed overlooked “nuggets” of history that often change the course of history.
The book emphasizes FDR’s strength of character but also suggests his doubts and fears. Both Churchill and FDR distrusted Stalin. Still, they realized that they could not win the War without his help.
FDR gambled with his life to travel halfway across the world across enemy lines to talk. Here the three world giants would lay the groundwork to win the War.
I met with Mr. Baier, and presented him with my own book, Little Miss HISTORY Travels to Hyde Park, Home of FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT & Presidential Library.
Mr. Baier and I share common goals to restore teaching history and civics in our schools from a very young age.
I have begun a new feature on my blog. Rather than simply reading and reviewing family-friendly books for my audience, I will be taking a peek behind the scenes at the writer. After all, we all want to know the mysterious person behind the curtain. So without delay, let me introduce you to the talented Brittney Leigh.
About the Author:
Brittney Leigh is gracing the Bulwark anthology as a debut author. She is a proud graduate of SUNY Old Westbury College, with a bachelor’s degree in Media and Communications. Gifted in singing, acting, and dancing, she finds her voice reaches its highest ground in writing. Brittney resides in Long Island where the darkness of New York City comes to sleep.
The Darkness: A Bulwark Anthology
(Book 8)
.
Bulwark- a wall or stockade that protects or sometimes hides the truth from the outside world.
Bulwark,
a quiet town… or is it? Four best friends, Sophia, Scott, Chloe and
Chris, are just trying to manage their senior year at Bulwark high
school when Sophia realizes that her feelings for Chris are really meant
for Scott. Before she can deal with that though, the four friends then
stumble upon Bulwarks darkest secrets when a spell is cast on Bulwark
High. Students have been disappearing and no one has any clues as to
their whereabouts. With a town curfew set and parents on edge, the four
friends decide to take things into their own hands. Will they break the
spell, or will Bulwark High and the town be changed forever?
Based on Bulwark, a paranormal thriller by Brit Lunden, The Darkness is the eighth volume in the multi-author Bulwark Anthology.
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The Gold Egg Written by Ule B. Wise (Dan Wyson) Illustrated by Jaimee Lee
This is a wonderful book for children of all ages. The author writes in crisp rhymes and the illustrations are colorful and appealing. At first, group of multicultural children is sitting under their favorite tree. An old man carrying a cane comes along. He tells the children to look up high in the tree. They notice the abandoned nest of the Kloonee bird high in the tree. The old man tells them the nest is so high because it contains a gold egg. All the children scoff at this, except for Devan who decides to find out for himself.
Devan finds the task daunting. He falls from the tree but gets up and tries again. His friends make fun of him. When Devan finally gets to the top, will he find a gold egg? What does he learn about himself and his friends? This book teaches children the importance of courage and persistence. Reaching goals is possible if one believes in himself and persists despite obstacles. While this book might appear to be a picture book, its message is one for children of all ages. Recommended as an inspirational read-aloud for children and adults.
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10 Step Plan to Promote Your Book Online: Online Book Marketing on Any
Budget
Written by Scott Hughes
Before I begin this review, readers should be aware that the
author is the webmaster for Online Book Club, and he does promote and encourage
readers to utilize his business. That certainly does not mean that the book is
a shameless promotion of his business. The advice he gives is sound and helpful
for the self-published authors. I have used the strategies he presents and can
verify they do work. The amount of time to achieve success largely depends on
your budget and how much work you are willing to put into writing and
marketing.
Steps 1 and 2 are the most difficult. Writers need to produce
a really good product to compete in today’s market and they must take the time
to proofread, correct typos, spelling and content many, many times. Only after
then, can the writer send the book out for professional editing.
The rest of the steps involve becoming involved with all
platforms on social media, blogging, reading other authors in your genre,
interviewing, starting and participating in book clubs. All these things take
time to create and build. Writers need to reach out and develop a network of
trusted colleagues and friends. I agree with Hughes that twitter is very
effective, and that Facebook has steadily become less reliable for marketing.
Of course, the value of social media is largely determined by other factors
such as personality and genre.
To sum up, the author has presented a concise program of steps to guide a writer through the competitive world of self-publishing if the reader commits the time, dedication and resources to his project.
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One day, Daniel breaks his pencil while drawing and goes searching for a replacement. He finds a pencil stump in the attic. When he begins drawing, Daniel is astounded when the cat he draws comes to life. Daniel continues to draw objects like a pizza robot and aliens from the planet, Beezo. His artwork awakens. Daniel tells Annie about his treasure. She is angry that he won’t share it with her.
Now Annie ignores Daniel. He is sad and frustrated. Daniel confides in his
mother. She gives him some good advice. One day bullies torment Annie on the
school playground. How will Daniel react? Will Annie ever forgive Daniel?
This is a fun middle-grade read. It has lots of humor combined with fantasy.
Daniel and Annie face common preteen problems like sibling and peer rivalry.
It also discusses how to handle bullying. Recommended especially for boys
and girls ages eight through twelve.
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This is a self-help book that focuses on enabling readers to face the fears that prevent them from pursuing their creativity and achieving a self-fulfilling career. The author takes a realistic approach. He realizes that life goals need balance. One needs to support himself and make a living. While does not necessarily mean being trapped in a profession or job that does not bring a measure of happiness and self-fulfillment.
The book opens on the author’s thirtieth birthday when he realizes he is trapped in a career that he hates. He realizes that he must force himself to move forward. He cites artists like Salvatore Dali and Paul McCartney as examples of artists who were able to support themselves with a day job while they gradually disciplined themselves to achieve a successful artistic career.
He urges his readers to begin by searching for their true passion in life. Next, remove the distractions that eat up wasted time you could spend pursuing them. Then use your job as a safety net and pursue that passion in the remaining time available. Push past your fears and practice the craft
you want to develop each day.
At the end of the book, Collins provides a list of links
that offer tools that might accelerate reader success. I enjoyed the author’s
positive philosophy and would recommend this book to those who feel stuck in a
rut. There is nothing new in the book, just a straightforward common-sense
approach. Recommended for young adult and adult readers.
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This
book discusses mindfulness for children. It contains six stories about
students in a classroom who experience different troubling situations.
It begins with Sam, who is terribly shy and afraid to talk with anyone
at school. Eve is frustrated because she views herself not smart enough
to learn. Jane talks too much in class and can’t concentrate. Nick is
grumpy, unhappy and cannot focus. Kate excels in school and sports, but
cannot see the worth of other students. Will is a shy boy, who is often
the victim of others who take advantage of him with unkind words and
acts. In each situation, one of the other students approaches the child
with a problem and reminds him that he can talk to his brain and take
control of the situation to remedy the problem.
This book can be used by parents or teachers to guide discussions with individual children or a classroom group. It could be an effective resource for elementary and middle school students who are struggling with individual emotions and peer relationships. It is particularly recommended for students in the six to twelve age range.
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October 30, 2019
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