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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Publisher’s Synopsis: A haunted mansion. A community at risk. A group of teens with mysterious abilities. Strange sightings at the Payne mansion and baffling incidents in the countryside place the community of Kingston on edge. Did opening the portal to Paragon draw evil entities to Kingston? In facing this new threat, Matt Monroe soon realizes he is not the only one who has secret talents. Many of his companions have hidden abilities that are exposed as Matt and his friends confront a terrifying, ethereal foe.
Ages 9-12 | Publisher: All Points Press, LLC | October 15, 2019 | ISBN-13: 978-0985082765
This book is the second in the middle-grade adventure series featuring the Monroe boys and their select group of friends known as The Brotherhood. Matt and his older brother, Josh, live in the town of Kingston located in rural Pennsylvania. In Book One of the series, the boys discover wooden tablets and a mysterious ring in the attic of the family home. Together with their five friends who all have special talents, they move through a portal to a magical dimension, Paragon. Here they battle the evil one, Damien. During the battle, Josh is wounded by a dragon and still suffers from the injury.
Book Two opens with Matt discovering two children, Annabelle
and Nathaniel, dressed in early twentieth century clothing, who a hiding from
their evil stepfather. Matt has been experiencing strange dreams and is
determined to save these children. At school, there are some curious new
additions to the faculty. As the story evolves, new friends are introduced,
each of which possesses a strange power. Rico Steele, the school bully, plagues
and conspires against Matt and the Brotherhood. The parents of the children
also have connections to Paragon.
The story contains magic, tarot readings, fantasy, and time
travel as well as the usual conflicts of peer and student relationships. When
Halloween arrives, they must all meet at the Payne house once again to confront
the evil forces of Paragon. Will the Monroe family and their friends be able to
overcome them?
There are many different story elements in this adventure that will appeal to a wide variety of preteen and teen readers. Many twists and turns keep the plot exciting and keep the reader in suspense. For me, the only con was it took a while to get up to speed on the characters because I did not read Book One.
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Familiar Shadows: A tale from The Federal Witch Series
Written by Taki Drake and T S Paul
This is the first book in an interesting series featuring
magic, fantasy, and witches. The narrator is a Russian blue cat named Dascha.
At the outset, Dascha has just had an argument with the members of her clowder.
She comes from a long line of magical cats, but Dascha just wants to live a
normal life. As she walks away, she is swept up by an eagle. Her vision is
blurred, her hip is pierced, and she senses imminent death.
Suddenly another larger steppe eagle comes along and
snatches Dascha away from her captor. When Dascha awakens, she finds herself in
the company of the eagle named Glenfry and his familiar, a witch named Henley.
These two live apart from a small village, which they try to protect. Dascha
learns to love and revere her protectors, who will entice her to embrace her
magical lineage. There will be an adventure, danger, and magic along the
perilous journey.
This book of fewer than one hundred pages contains interesting characters and plotlines. I would recommend it for readers ages eight and older.
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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 Ben Jackson.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ben Jackson was born in Tasmania, Australia and is a successful indie author that has been writing for over four years. Ben is married to Sam Lawrence, and together they specialize in self-publishing children’s books. They have been married for several years and have traveled together between Australia and Canada. Ben is also a freelance writer that specializes in writing website content for businesses and a wide variety of different articles.
They have published a series of children’s books called My Little Fart, as well as If I Was A Caterpillar and several other non-fiction books. Ben has numerous books in progress.
Hockey Wars 3 – The Tournament Is Finally Here!
Welcome to the third book in the Hockey Wars Series!
In Hockey Wars 1, we met the boys and girls from the Dakota Lightning and Hurricanes. Old rivalries were settled, and an uneasy friendship was reignited as Cameron and Lillie reignited their childhood friendship. Oh, and there was an epic pond skating game to settle who was better, boys or girls!
Hockey Wars 2 – The New Girl turned both teams’ upside down! No one loves change, but when new girl Mia inadvertently drives a wedge between Cameron and Millie, it throws both teams into chaos. Will new girl Mia be able to settle into the new team and find her groove on the arena ice, or will it be a complete disaster?
Both teams are on the road in Hockey Wars 3 as they head off to the first tournament of the season! Hockey Wars 3 sees the Lightning and Hurricanes hit the buses and head off to the hotel for a long weekend packed full of hockey and drama. When a strange boy starts showing some interest in Millie, will Cameron be able to reel in his protective nature and focus on the game, or will they head home without the tournament trophy?
Hockey Wars Series
Purchase Links
Hockey Wars 1 Available now on
Amazon and Kindle Unlimited
Hockey Wars 2 Available now on
Amazon and Kindle Unlimited
Hockey Wars 3 Coming soon! Available for Preorder on Amazon now!
I am starting 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 Eugenia Chu, who has a brand new release tomorrow, September 3.
About the Author:
Eugenia Chu is an attorney,
turned stay-at-home mom, turned writer. She lives on a magical beach in
Miami with her husband and son, Brandon, who is the inspiration for her
stories. She enjoys reading, writing, traveling, yoga and drinking too
much coffee. She has
been a presenter at numerous schools, libraries and book festivals.
When Brandon was very little,
the author couldn’t find children’s storybooks to read to him which touched
upon Chinese culture and which included some Chinese (Mandarin) words to teach
and/or reinforce his Chinese vocabulary, so she started writing her own. Brandon
Goes to Beijing (北京)is her second “Brandon” story and first
children’s chapter book.
Brandon
Goes to Beijing (北京), a brand new chapter book by
author, Eugenia Chu, launches on TUESDAY,
SEPTEMBER 3, 2019!As a special bonus, the Kindle Ebook version will be
FREE on Amazon that day, too!!!
Please download this adorable book and if you like it, please leave a review to
thank the author and her illustrator, Eliza Hsu Chen, for all their hard work!
In this story, Brandon and his cousins are on a
trip to visit their grandparents in Beijing, China! While bonding with family,
practicing Chinese, touring historic sites and feasting on local dishes,
Brandon thinks he sees a tiny panda. However, every time he gets close, the
panda disappears! Is Brandon imagining this small creature, or is it real? Will
Brandon find out before he has to fly back home?
Brandon Goes to Beijing (北京) is a multicultural, multigenerational chapter book. This book
includes some Mandarin Chinese (Simplified) with Pinyin pronunciation, adding
layers for those learning or interested in the Chinese language and culture. Brandon
Goes to Beijing (北京)
follows Eugenia’s
debut picture book, Brandon Makes Jiǎo Zi
(餃子)(a story about a boy and his grandma
who bond while making Chinese dumplings, called jiǎo zi (餃子).
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This book relates the story of Wesley and Rory, two twin boys who were more different than alike. Wesley is curious and impetuous, while his twin Rory is cautious and unassuming. Set in the 1950s, the tale begins when the boys are five years old and residents of an orphanage. Up to this point, they had spent a good deal of time in and out of foster homes. When Mr. and Mrs. Barnes show up at the orphanage and appear interested in the boys, they are not overly optimistic about a permanent placement.
To their surprise, the Barnes couple and their other adopted daughter introduce the boys to a relatively stable environment, although Mrs. Barnes is a strict disciplinarian who puts up with no-nonsense. The first part of the book speaks of their early years, adjustment to middle-class suburbia, and relationship to their peers.
A dramatic event sets the scene for Part Two. A four-year-old boy is kidnapped and murdered. Wesley is obsessed with this case and the suspected murderer, who is a fifteen-year-old girl. Wesley is haunted by her and feels that he knows her. She is the missing link to finding out his identity and family roots. He becomes a self-appointed detective and partners with a newspaper journalist to solve the mystery.
Evans develops his characters well. The reader identifies and empathizes with them. Read this compelling tale to piece together the clues. Recommended for readers ages twelve and older.
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This chapter book features a five-year-old boy named Ronan
who is suddenly moved to join his parents at his Grandmother’s rural home in
Sri Lanka. Ronan and his parents lived in the urban area of Colombo.
Ronan is an anxious, lonely boy who does not like change.
His parents have moved in temporarily to help his ailing grandmother. Ronan’s
parents are kind and caring parents who do their best to assuage his fears. One
day while playing in the garden, Ronan finds a lizard named Scoot. Scoot can
talk. He explains to Ronan that she is a dinosaur. Ronan is skeptical, but he
learns to enjoy exploring with her and making friends with Tryx, her dinosaur
friend who lives in the trees.
When Ronan’s parents hear him talking aloud, they think he
is talking to himself and become concerned. So, they take him to visit a
neighbor next door who has a dog named Spike. Ronan is afraid of the dog, until
Scoot talks to the animal. Again, Ronan learns he has nothing to fear.
Ronan’s grandmother has a setback and must visit the
hospital. There he confides in his grandmother and reveals his secret. She
remembers her own youth spent with Scoot. The time has come to sell the house
and move to a nursing home. Ronan is devastated. Will Ronan ever see Scoot
again?
This is a wonderful book to share with children who like to
be alone or who experience anxieties. It gently explains that change is not
necessarily bad and that we grow from personal experiences both real and
imaginary. Targeted for children ages seven and older. I would especially
recommend it for ages nine through twelve as a portion of the vocabulary is
challenging.
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October 13, 2019
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