The author has written and illustrated a charming picture
book that will have primary grade children laughing and wondering about dad’s
missing keys.
When their father asks if Ben and Russ have seen his keys,
they appear to be familiar with dad’s problem of misplacing things. But Russ
asks as if he knows exactly what happened. He spins a yarn about a blimp and
airplane landing at the house. A cadre of tiny machines and little people have
conspired to hide the keys.
Charming illustrations and simple text explain just how these clever creatures carry out their plot. Russ keeps his brother and dad going until he delivers the punch line to reveal the location of the missing keys.
Highly recommended as a read-aloud or beginning reader.
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Samantha enjoys being unique. She doesn’t need to fit in with the crowd. Every day she wears a different outfit to school. It doesn’t bother her that her classmates criticize her for not wearing clothes like them.
One day, Samantha’s teacher arrives strangely dressed. It is School Dress up day. All her classmates have forgotten. Only Samantha has dressed appropriately. What will happen?
Samantha has the confidence and courage to be true to herself and not depend on the opinions of others. This message is an important one for elementary and middle-school children to understand. This book contains black and white images that the reader may dress and color to their own preference.
Recommended especially for children ages six through twelve, but certainly appropriate for any age.
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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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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.
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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Scout is an inquisitive seven-year-old explorer who became
hooked on rock collecting when she found an orange rock in her backyard. She
searches everywhere for rocks to add to her collection. In this tale, Scout
crawls into a dragon’s den to find Azurite, she travels under the sea to
extract Fluorite from the bottom of the ocean floor, and then zooms into outer
space to grab Alexandrite floating around in one of Saturn’s rings. Finally,
she explores a collector’s canyon out West to come across a treasure trove of
crystals. Wilde describes different methods of removing the minerals and
provides details about each type of mineral, its place on the Mohs scale, and
the types of tools a geologist uses.
The illustrations are vibrant and seem to jump off the page. Scout is an adorable strong-female role model character. Rhymes are crisp, alliteration makes them fun to read out loud. I highly recommend this book to elementary grade children. This book combines a bit of fantasy, an adventure, and a nonfiction story about rocks with a cute narrator to entice readers to come along and learn with her.
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This is a cute picture book for preschoolers and primary
grade children that reminds them to be true to themselves and their unique
qualities. Hilda is a cow who decides one day that she would like to be a
sheep. She goes to elaborate lengths to change her appearance but eventually
decides being a sheep is not fun. Then she decides to become a pig. That
doesn’t work out either. Finally, Hilda is sure that being a hen is the way to
go. Alas, she is not accepted there. Maybe being a cow is the right choice
after all.
The rhymes flow well, and the illustrations are simple, colorful and attractive. Recommended especially for children ages two through five.
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Babu and Bina at the Ghost Party (Babu and Bina Book Series 1)
Written by P Tomar
Illustrated by Giulia Iacopini
Mama and Papa Trunk are preparing to take their elephant children, Babu and Bina to the old Indian fort. The children are excited. When a candy man warns them to watch out for the ghost of the Maharaja, their interest peaks even more. As the children eagerly explore the fort, Pina, their pup, takes off. They follow her and get locked in a mysterious room where they will meet many ghosts of the fort gathered together for a celebration. Will the children find a way back to their parents?
Babu and Bina are an adorable brother and sister pair who teach their readers much about sibling cooperation and Indian history. This promises to be an interesting series on Indian culture and history. Vivid illustrations will engage even the youngest reader. The short length makes it a good choice for a bedtime story or a read- aloud. Recommended for children ages three through eight.
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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 Becky Benishek.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Becky Benishek has a B.A. degree in English and loves to create stories that help children believe in themselves and also develop compassion and empathy for others. This goes for adults, too! She also writes adult science fiction and fantasy stories. In her day job, she manages online communities that help people connect to people and resources they need. Becky is married with guinea pigs.
About the book:
The Squeezor is Coming!
**BRONZE MEDAL WINNER: Children’s Books – Social Issues, in the Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest** **Five Star Readers’ Favorite**
The
Squeezor is a monster who just wants to give hugs: Great, big,
wrap-his-arms-around-you-twice, squeezy hugs. The trouble is, he looks
so scary, even other monsters run away!
This makes the Squeezor
very sad. He can’t help how he looks. How can he get everyone to look
past his appearance and be his friend?
Then he gets an idea:
What if it’s not about what he wants, but about what the other monsters
might need? Join the Squeezor in Ghastly Gigapolis as he changes first
impressions for the better–his own included.
The Squeezor is Coming! is illustrated
by Matt Fiss and is available on Amazon and through MacLaren-Cochrane
Publishing. It is also available in dyslexic font.
Review: “Far too many kids feel as unlovable as the Squeezor, and this story is for them. Benishek’s droll and humorous story will please everyone in the room and maybe especially those adults who are still kids at heart. Matt Fiss’s brilliantly grotesque illustrations make this book one to linger over and read again and again and again. Literally. It’s that good.” –Jack Magnus for Readers’ Favorite
November 28, 2019
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