Paddy and Flynn are two brothers who live on an island in the Pacific ocean. That may already sound like an adventure. They also have a dog named Coco, a pet falcon, and a horse. In addition their island is home to secret dragons.
Sounds like a promising beginning to an adventure series for late elementary school and middle-grade readers. The two brothers become detectives and try to thwart the evil boss who wants to capture one of the dragons.
This is a page turner that is made even more attractive by the ability for readers to download an app to turn the book into an interactive adventure. Readers who download the app are able to read secret codes, and view three dimensional animations. There is also a map to trace the journey.
Lots of authentic dialogue, intrigue, teamwork, colorful characters, and bravery to spur readers on and get them hooked on reading the entire series.
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Hopper, the rabbit, is so excited. He has just learned that an amusement park is opening near his home. That excitement soon turns to fear when he realizes that the park also contains his greatest fear. Hopper does not want to reveal that fear to his friends who think he is brave.
Hopper avoids invitations to the amusement park from friends until one his his best friends decides to have her birthday party at the park. That forces Hopper to face that fear. Will his friends be disappointed?
The tale ends with a twist that teaches young readers strength of character and courage. While the book is targeted for preschoolers, the lessons may be better understood by primary grade readers.
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The Universes Inside the Lighthouse: (Balky Point Adventure #1)
Written by Pam Stucky
A good choice for middle-grade and young adult readers looking for a summertime read. A vacation trip to an island turns into the adventure of a lifetime for teenage twins, Charlie, and Emma.
They cannot resist investigating the haunted lighthouse. Soon they get a lot more than they anticipated. This adventure combines real science, science fiction, magic, time-travel, and fantasy with two interesting characters.
Charlie and Emma become the detectives who discover multiple universes, two-dimensional characters, and a society that chooses to isolate its members. The twins are surprised to find alter egos and must figure out how to cope with them and find a way out of the void.
The dialogue is fun and the plot fast-moving. This is the first book in the series.
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HOW TO TELL WRITE AND MAKE UP A STORY: CHILDREN’S STORYTELLING LEARNING BOOK PART 1
Rose Press House
An interesting approach to teaching the art of storytelling. In Part 1 of this series, readers meet Tom, a 12 year old boy who loves listening to stories. Tom, his uncle, spends lots of time doing telling Tom stories. One day, Tom suggests that they change things up. He asks the boy to tell him a story. The boy is at a loss. He says he does not know how to do that.
Patiently, Tom guides the boy step by step. Through their conversation, he guides readers through the process. First, Tom decides on the main character and describes him. Then he sets a moral and theme for his story. The boy decides on a name for his story and develops an outline to put the details that support his character and theme in order. Then the boy writes a draft of the first part of his story and shows it to an adult to read. But the story is not finished. The boy needs to complete the transitions, details, and supplementary characters that will provide a resolution or completion of the story. That will be coming in Part 2.
I liked this casual approach using storytelling as a vehicle not only to develop communication skills, but also to teach the steps necessary to write an effective story. Many middle-grade students who have difficulty organizing both their ideas and putting them down on paper will enjoy this unique approach to oral and written storytelling.
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If you want to get the children away from the TV and video games, this is one solution. It would also be a good rainy day activity or family game night. Teachers might find it useful as a visual discrimination teaching supplementary tool.
The book is targeted to be enjoyed by children in the four to twelve age range. Challenge is to find seven differences between two pictures. Some of the sets are easy and child-like in illustration, others are more challenging to solve. This activity might also be used to foster cooperative learning among children of different ages.
In any case, it provides a unique way for families to share quality time while challenging the brain.
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Publisher’s Synopsis: Welcome to the amazing world of dinosaurs! Children ages 8 and up can discover where these prehistoric creatures lived, the food they ate, and what they may have looked like. Along the way, they’ll encounter bone-crushing teeth, slashing claws, and spiked tails while learning fascinating facts about dinosaur eggs and fossils, moving continents, climate changes, exploding volcanoes, and even an asteroid crashing into Earth.
An accomplished science and nature illustrator, Patricia J. Wynne is the recipient of the 2008 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor and has won awards from Parenting magazine, the John Burroughs Association, and the National Science Teachers Association. Patricia’s artwork has appeared in galleries, magazines, newspapers, and more than 100 books for both children and adults. She is the illustrator of numerous successful Dover titles on science and nature, including My First Book About Outer Space and My First Book About the Body.
Trained as a research scientist, Donald M. Silver has written more than 80 books for students of all ages and for teachers. His One Small Square series takes a close-up look at plants and animals where they live. He has won numerous awards including the Children’s Science Writing Award in Physics and Astronomy from the American Institute of Physicists. He lives in New York City where he has worked with Patricia J. Wynne since 1981 and with whom he has co-authored numerous successful Dover titles on science and nature, including the “My First Book” series.
MY REVIEWS
In My First Book About Dinosaurs, children gain a wealth of information while applying their artistic talent to coloring the pages.
The illustrations are detailed and aptly captioned. First, the definition and concept of fossils are explored. The work of paleontologists is explained. Next, the reader learns about the Triassic, Cretaceous, and Jurassic Periods, names of the dinosaurs living in each period, and their characteristics. Finally, readers learn the parts of the world inhabited by each dinosaur and what might have caused their extinction.
Children learn a ton of information by carefully reading the descriptions and studying the illustrations. Highly recommend it for children in the eight to twelve age range.
The oceans book is a perfect choice for children interested in weather phenomena, sealife, volcanoes, tsunamis, and geography. They will enjoy the illustrations and the detailed information accompanying them.
There is a section about climate, the different types of regions around the globe, animals who live under the sea, and the interrelationship of atmosphere and the oceans. A bit of oceanographic history is included.
Recommended for students in grades three through six.
The coloring book about our amazing Earth is a good first introduction to Earth Science. Young explorers learn about rocks, minerals, mountains, our solar system, and the history of our planet.
They are introduced to volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, caves, geysers, and some of our treasured national parks.
After coloring the beautiful illustration, future scientists will want to keep the book as a wealth of reference information.
Recommended for students ages eight through twelve.
I never fully realized the ecosystem available in my own backyard. This book explores backyard treasures found both day and night. There are insects, birds tiny one-celled creatures, and large animals. Many examples of how their life cycles are dependent upon each other are explained. Silver shows trees, leaves, the changes in seasons, how to identify creatures, and the dangers to avoid in the backyard. Readers even learn how to plant a tree.
This beautifully illustrated book will keep middle-grade outdoor enthusiasts busy for hours and provide a plethora of information about our natural world.
GIVEAWAY
Enter for a chance to win a set of four My First Science Books!
Three (3) winners receive:
A copy of My First Book About Dinosaurs
A copy of My First Book About Our Amazing Earth
A copy of My First Book About the Oceans
A copy of My First Book About Backyard Nature
The giveaway begins May 31, 2021, at 12:01 A.M. MT and ends June 30, 2021, at 11:59 P.M. MT.
A pleasant retelling of the City and Country Mouse fable. In this modern-day picture book, two cousins both love to camp but have different views on how to do so.
Thomas takes to the road with his tent, while his cousin, Harvey likes the comforts of his RV camper. Thomas convinces Harry to go camping with him in his tent. Both enjoy their daytime adventures but Harvey hates the inconveniences of sleeping in the tent. Next time, they try it with Harvey’s RV. Thomas does not think sleeping in an RV affords the real feel of a camp experience. Will they continue to disagree or can they find a way to agree to disagree?
This is a cute picture book with a lesson worth remembering. My only complaint is that the small size of the text is a bit difficult for the beginning reader that it is targeted for to read easily. Recommended for beginning and elementary school age readers, particularly camping enthusiasts.
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Ruin Hunters and the Dead Man’s Myth: A series of epic adventures throughout ancient sites across the globe!
Written by Rob Beare
Protagonist River Ruins is a junior archaeologist embarking with his family on the greatest adventure of his twelve years. In this first adventure book of a new series, River and his family will sail their way through the Caribbean. Here they will find themselves with codes that need to be solved, fortresses that need to be conquered, and pirates who will fight them each step of the way.
The Ruin Hunter Family are in search of a statue, The Glowing Idol of the ancient Mixtec people. They will engage in a fierce battle with the Helions, who are just as determined to fight to the death for the idol statue and secure it for themselves.
The series promises to be a hit with middle-grade adventure and history lovers, especially boys who love Indiana Jones’ tales. Maps and illustrations enhance the read for reluctant readers. Recommended for readers ages nine through thirteen.
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Publisher’s Synopsis: The newest Game On! Awesome Activities for Clever Kids title, this activity book has dozens of new and challenging brain games for ages 8 to 12. More than 100 colorful puzzles feature the excitement and adventure of the United States, including crosswords, secret codes, word scrambles, spot the differences, mazes, and much more. It’s the perfect book for at home or on the go, and the fun starts with just a pencil — no electricity or batteries needed! Complete solutions appear at the end of the book.
Patrick Merrell is a professional puzzlemaker, cartoonist, writer, illustrator, and graphic designer. He’s one of MAD magazine’s “Usual Gang of Idiots.” He’s created over 250 books, including 75 puzzle books, and written 81 crosswords for The New York Times (including 19 Sundays). Six of his Times crosswords appear in Will Shortz Picks His Favorite Puzzles, the most of any constructor. From 2009 to 2011, he wrote for Wordplay, the daily online crossword column for The New York Times. He’s also created puzzles for the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, People, Sports Illustrated, MAD, National Wildlife Foundation, Crayola, Scholastic, the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, the World Puzzle Championship, and many, many others.
MY REVIEW OF THE BOOK
IT’S A PUZZLEMENT…
Game On! USA! Awesome Activities for Clever Kids
Designed by Patrick Merrell
This is book three in the Game on series targeted for students in grades three to six or ages eight through twelve. It contains 144 pages of puzzles accompanied by coloring illustrations that cover a wide variety of subjects. While the focus is placed on the USA, the book’s puzzles develop visual acuity skills, math skills, vocabulary, and fine motor development.
I would use it as a go to on those rainy days when the children are bored or as a learning resource while traveling across country in the car or on the airplane. Some of the puzzles are easier and will appeal to younger children, while the coding and crosswords could be a shared activity among younger and older siblings.
Only a pencil and a good imagination are required. Ditch the electronics and go back to paper and pencil brain enrichment.
GIVEAWAY
Enter for a chance to win a set of three Game On! Awesome Activities for Kids books!
Three (3) winners receive:
A copy of Game On! Awesome Activities for Clever Kids
A copy of Game On! MORE Awesome Activities for Clever Kids
A copy of Game On! USA: Awesome Activities for Clever Kids
The giveaway begins May 31, 2021, at 12:01 A.M. MT and ends June 30, 2021, at 11:59 P.M. MT.
Crow From the Shadow (Parent-Child-Connect (P2C) Book 1)
Written of Olaolu Ogunyemi
Illustrated by Joshua Ogunyemi
Crow is a bird that possesses a high level of intelligence. He wants to push himself to his limits. Perhaps he will be an architect, a superstar athlete, or a military genius. Unfortunately, self-doubt in the form of the shadow is always lurking in the background telling him that he cannot succeed.
Children and adults are so often held back by nagging self-doubts. This beautifully illustrated book urges us to aspire to our best and see the possibilities for success not the fears of failure. There is a wonderful opportunity to continue the discussion with parents and teachers by using the discussion questions. In addition, the information section about crows is highly informative.
Recommended for upper elementary school and middle-school-age students.
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July 18, 2021
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