Bossy Boots

Written by Steve Ellis

Cute early chapter book for beginning readers. Sophie has just finished shopping with her mother who has bought her a new pair of shoes. Suddenly a mischievous pup steals one of her shoes; she finds her naked foot standing in a puddle. An old woman in the store comes to the rescue by coming up with a pair of boots in a box behind the counter. When Sophie tries the boots on, she hears a squeaky voice. Sophie finds herself running down the street disrupting traffic, walking up and down the walls in her room and generally wreaking havoc. Of course Sophie now secretly gets a bit of pleasure from her talented feet. One day, the inevitable happens when the boots become too small for Sophie’s feet. What will happen to Sophie now? Will the mischievous boots find a new owner or will they be condemned to life in a box behind the counter?

I would recommend this book for children ages six and older. The illustrations interspersed within the chapters enhance understanding of the story. This humorous and easy to follow plot also makes the book a good choice for reluctant readers or children with special needs.

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Conspirators of the Lost Sock and the Loose Change Collection Agency

Written by Dan O’Brien

Illustrated by Steve Ferchaud

Labeled as a Fantasy Noir by the author this short tale of less than fifty pages contains interesting characters and an engaging plot. Robert Pendleton is an elderly man who apparently lives alone. Upon waking up from his customary long sleep, he is annoyed to discover that he cannot find his remote control. He bends over, smashing a lamp in the process. Robert gets down on his knees and discovers a leprechaun standing at the back of his couch. Colin McMasters is in charge of the Loose Change Collection Agency. He has come to enlist Robert’s help to defeat a malevolent creature known as The Scourge. He is the leader of a sock army of soldiers harassing the community of leprechauns.

Robert cannot believe he is taking this tale seriously, but he agrees to enter the fantasy world through a broken washing machine. He is amazed to discover that Colin is telling the truth. Will Robert succeed in his mission to defeat the invaders and then find his way back home to his world.

Targeted for ages six through eighteen, the length of this book suggests it could be appropriate for younger readers. The charming black and white pencil illustrations aptly portray the characters, and the dialogue is fun to read. On the other hand, there are some challenging words like acerbic, undulating and gargantuan that might discourage readers under age ten. Definitely not a bedtime story, but certainly a creative and well-written tale that provides an interesting discussion topic.

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June Peters, You Can Change the World

Written by Alika Turner

Illustrated by Naafi Nr

June Peters is a ten year old fifth grader who is responsible and independent. She feels stifled by the fact that her parents don’t allow her to walk to school by herself. June convinces them to give her a chance, so they agree to try it for one week. On the very first day, June meets a homeless man and decides to give him her lunch money. Her parents and older brother chide her for talking to strangers and explain that not all people are as innocent as they seem. June cannot shake the feeling that helping those in need is a greater reward so she continues to press the issue with her family. They volunteer to help her cause, but insist that she place herself in a safe environment. June gathers family and friends to contribute by making lunches for the homeless and distributing them in a local park. She is able to fulfill the homeless man’s prophecy that, “You will do great things one day.”

This book is targeted for children in the five to twelve age range. Story is most appropriate for children who are ages seven to ten. The illustrations are bright, bold and multicultural, portraying June’s brown family and the local community members. There is a bit of a disconnect between the full page picture book illustrations and the plot which addresses homelessness. Certainly the aspect of not talking to strangers and the issue of desiring to help others is one that should be addressed with younger children as well, yet the illustrations may be seen as babyish to older readers. I look forward to learning more about the independent and intelligent June Peters in the future.

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In the Land of Broken Time

Written by Max Evan

Illustrated by Maria Evan

Translated by Helen Hagon

Charming tale mixing elements of fantasy, magic, adventure, and time travel. Christopher is looking out his window when he sees the circus passing by. He desperately wants to go out and investigate, but his mother refuses because he has been ill with a cold. Christopher sneaks out and arrives at the circus tent. A young girl his age named Sophie helps him gain admission. Their adventure begins when they are chased by a cleaning woman who looks like a witch. They hide in a hot air balloon basket and discover a golden retriever circus dog named Duke sleeping inside. Suddenly the fugitives find themselves aloft. What an adventure lies before them!

The three become friends and allies. Landing in The Forest of Chornos, they discover a magic sundial, and a professor called Temporis Certus who experiments with hourglasses and time.. He gives them advice on how to escape by sailing down a river into the town on the other side of the forest. There the trio encounter a gnome, a nefarious regent and the time machine that could allow them safe passage home. Duke finds himself in a strange predicament. Will Duke ever find his way back to the circus? How will Sophie and Christopher solve the shifts in time and adjust the time machine to return to their past?

This book is targeted for ages six through twelve; it is a chapter book most appropriate for children in grades three to six. The book is well-written, fun and fast paced. There are plenty of surprises and intriguing characters. Nice blend of fantasy with a bit of science intertwined. I hope to see additional books written by this talented couple.

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Tails of Sweetbrier

Written by Deanie Humphrys- Dunne

Illustrated by Holly Humphrys-Bajaj

A warm and moving autobiography of a girl who had a dream of riding horses. That might not seem so tough to achieve until you discover that Deanie was afflicted with cerebral palsy. Deanie convinces her parents that she will work hard to achieve that dream, and her father opens up a riding school to support that dream.

Readers follow Deanie’s journey as she learns to walk, trot and canter on her pony, Little Man. As her confidence grows, she begins to dream of loftier goals. Despite a family tragedy with a barn fire that results in the loss of her horse, Chiefie, Deanie and her family persevere and rebuild. We follow their successes and failures as well as the physical hardships that Deanie endures.

The author teachers her young readers to reach for the stars. Work hard to achieve your dreams and use the challenges and failures that occur along the way as a ladder to climb to success. Beautifully written story written in less than one hundred pages that make it perfect for a middle grade and young adult audience. Deanie’s physical challenges and determination also provide inspiration for those with special needs and learning disabilities. The black and white illustrations draw the reader into the story and personalize the narrative enhancing its appeal. Highly recommended for readers age eight and older, especially those who love horses.

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You can draw Military Aircraft

Written and illustrated by Mike Artell

I was provided a copy of this book and voluntarily decided to give my honest, unbiased review.

Artell has written and illustrated more than 35 books for children and adults. This book is much more than an I Can Draw book. It does include step by step instructions for drawing helicopters, prop planes and jets, which are easy to follow and simple enough for the targeted audience of seven to twelve year old plane enthusiasts.

For me even more important is the explanation of letter codes that the military use to describe the function of each machine. For example, A indicates attack fighter and M signifies that the aircraft has multiple functions. Each aircraft is preceded by an actual photograph along with statistics about size, speed, altitude and function. These are followed by several pages of step by step easy to follow drawing instructions. Perhaps the best feature is the QR code available as an app for each plane. Readers can use it to access videos of actual flight and tons of additional information on each of the fifteen selections. At the end of the book, the author supplies an extensive bibliography which the military aircraft aficionado may access for detailed information.

I learned a lot about military aircraft from this easy read. Even though my artistic ability is generally limited to stick figures, this guide is so easy that I am tempted to make a serious try to draw them. Recommended for ages seven and older.

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The Little Linebacker: A Story of Determination

Written by Stephen Tullock and Maria Dismondy

Illustrated by Heather Heyworth

This picture book is based on the life of Stephen Tulloch, who has spent ten years playing football in the NFL. Tale begins introducing Stephen as an elementary school student who loves playing football. He is about to attend his first Little League Football practice. Stephen is soon disappointed because he wants to practice daily instead of weekly. Stephen’s mother urges him to be patient; Stephen decides to gather friends and practice on his own. The scene shifts to school where Stephen has difficulty concentrating because he can think of nothing but football. Stephen’s mom and a friend at the nursing home, urge him to keep trying and practice harder. Fast forward, Stephen is now in high school. He is frustrated when classmates pick him last to be on the team, but Stephen resolves to remain a good team player. Soon Stephen is of college age and even though he makes the football team, he overhears scouts expressing the opinion he is too small to be successful in professional football. Stephen never stops believing in himself and pushing himself to the limits. He overcomes all obstacles and earns a spot in the NFL.

The illustrations in this book are multicultural with simple, clean lines. They depict both genders, young and old, able and disabled. One thing I thought odd was that the face of Stephen does not appear to change as he ages from elementary school through college. This picture book is targeted for readers in the five to seven age range and the illustrations will appeal to that age, but young children might find the rapid plot development from one age to another a bit disjointed. Advice is often delivered in well-known phrases for adults, but these may not be meaningful to young children. I found the teaching guide at the beginning of the book useful for parents and teachers in presenting the story lessons. Likewise, Tully’s Tips at the end of the book offer good advice for child readers. His example of service to the community to promote their health and welfare enhances his influence as a role model. If this book were expanded, it would be an interesting biography chapter book for older readers, especially those interested in football. I applaud Tulloch’s determination and success as well as the fact he wishes to use his experience to inspire other young people to follow their dreams.

The Super Bowl is almost upon us. Would you like to make your own football hero from materials you have around the house? Below you will find a picture and link with  instructions:

Football Player Craft                          http://www.dltk-kids.com/sports/mfootball.html

Contributed by Leanne Guenther

This football player toilet paper roll craft makes a great project to occupy kids while parents are watching the game.

Then if you get hungry, you can make a football cake to share with family and friends.

http://www.pillsburybaking.com/recipes/football-cake-2295

PLEASE FOLLOW MY FELLOW AUTHORS, BLOGGERS AND SPONSORS OF 2017 Multicultural Book Day

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/17) is its fourth year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness on the ongoing need to include kid’s books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.

Despite census data that shows 37% of the US population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published have diversity content. Using the Multicultural Children’s Book Day holiday, the MCBD Team are on a mission to change all of that.

Current Sponsors:  MCBD 2017 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board. Platinum Sponsors include Scholastic, Barefoot Books and Broccoli. Other Medallion Level Sponsors include heavy-hitters like Author Carole P. Roman, Audrey Press, Candlewick Press,  Fathers Incorporated, KidLitTV, Capstone Young Readers, ChildsPlayUsa, Author Gayle Swift, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee& Low Books, The Pack-n-Go Girls, Live Oak Media, Author Charlotte Riggle, Chronicle Books and Pomelo Books

Author Sponsor include: Karen Leggett Abouraya, Veronica Appleton, Susan Bernardo, Kathleen Burkinshaw, Maria Dismondy, D.G. Driver, Geoff Griffin,  Savannah Hendricks, Stephen Hodges, Carmen Bernier-Grand,Vahid Imani, Gwen Jackson,  Hena, Kahn, David Kelly, Mariana Llanos, Natasha Moulton-Levy, Teddy O’Malley, Stacy McAnulty,  Cerece Murphy, Miranda Paul, Annette Pimentel, Greg Ransom, Sandra Richards, Elsa Takaoka, Graciela Tiscareño-Sato,  Sarah Stevenson, Monica Mathis-Stowe SmartChoiceNation, Andrea Y. Wang

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also work tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

MCBD Links to remember:

MCBD site: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Kindness Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teachers-classroom-kindness-kit/

Free Diversity Book Lists and Activities for Teachers and Parents: http://bit.ly/1sZ5s8i

THANKS FOR SUPPORTING ME IN THE FOURTH YEAR OF CHILDREN’S MULTICULTURAL BOOK DAY MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE FOR ALL OUR CHILDREN.

Barbara Ann Mojica, author of the Little Miss HISTORY Travels to…..book series and the Little Miss HISTORY COLORING BOOK   http://littlemisshistory.com

Meeting of the Mustangs

Written by Cathy Kennedy

Charming tale of less than one hundred pages focusing on the meanderings of a black mustang colt. As a young colt he loved to chase butterflies, playing with the other newborns. Traveling with the herd, he faced many dangers including attacks by a mountain lion and bear. One day he is separated from the herd. His travels will bring him across the lands of Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado and Oklahoma. The colt must face wildfires and hunter’s traps. One fateful day he is lassoed and brought to the barn of a ranch. A young girl named Paula tries to win his devotion, but he is afraid and that leads to being taken away once more. A kind rancher tries to tame him, but the mustang feels he must escape once more. An unexpected accident on the road leads to a chance meeting with Tyler that will change both of their lives forever.

This tale is written from the viewpoint of the black mustang. It is almost a stream of consciousness, while the plot moves along there is not a central thread. The author does an excellent job of securing empathy with the colt. Children who love or own horses will identify with the protagonist. The ending came as a surprise. I would love to see a sequel as I would love to see that story fleshed out. I would especially recommend the book to middle grade readers and teen audiences.

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African Wild Dogs: Amazing Facts and Fun Photos About African Wild Dogs

Written by Rita Terry

An interesting picture book for elementary school children and all those who are interested in unusual animals. African wild dogs are related to canines and wolves. Unlike domesticated dogs they have four claws instead of five. Like wolves they live in packs. They are carnivores and their hunting habits require a rather large habitat area of 1,500 square kilometers. African wild dogs are sometimes called painted dogs because they are covered with patches of red, black, white, yellow, and brown patches. Today their habitat has been largely reduced to South Africa due to rabies, vehicle accidents and the rapid encroachment of farmers upon their territory.

Terry discusses how these creatures communicate and the rituals they perform before the hunt. She explains how the pack is dominated by an alpha male and female, but stresses the fact that all members of the pack understand their roles and are protected and maintained by the rest of the family. The inside photographs are excellent; they capture the spirit and character of the animal. The print is large and easy to read for the younger reader, and the text well-written for the most part. Nice book to put on a classroom reference shelf for those interested in animals or dogs in particular. The author has written other nonfiction books about many other animals living in the past and present. Available in kindle and print format.

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Kid’s Travel Guide: San Francisco- The Fun Way to Discover San Francisco, Especially for Kids

Written by Kelsey Fox and Shiela H. Leon

Fun way to introduce school age children to the city of San Francisco. The book is a guide book and travel diary of sorts. Children will have lots of fun learning how to prepare for their trip and what to pack. Authors include a short history, what to see, and how to get around. Points of interest covered of special interest to kids are spots like Chinatown, Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Telegraph Hill.

All of the information is presented by using fun activities, puzzles, games, coloring, and lots of interesting illustrations. Near the end of the book, children are encouraged to summarize their trip and are presented with the challenge of a fun to do quiz to test their vacations smarts. When all is said and done, the completed book becomes a souvenir for the child and all those who participated in the experience with her. Recommended for children ages six through twelve; a worthwhile investment for parents, grandparents and teachers.

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