How to Train Your Amygdala
Written by Anna Housley Juster
Illustrated by Cynthia Cliff

Most kids have never heard of the Amygdala, but it plays a vital role in keeping them safe. The author uses creative imagery to explain in simple language how it works. Sometimes worrying about what might happen can make the Amygdala work overtime so it is important to train it not to set off false alarms.

Juster provides children with strategies and techniques to relax and remain calm. Examples include deep breathing, relaxing, and connecting with favorite people. The interactive part of this book provides step by step directions for children and an accompanying guide for adults working with children.

Kudos to the author for writing this guide in simple, easily understandable language with large text and appealing illustrations. Recommended for children from preschool through primary grades and the caretakers who love and support them.

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Horace Won’t Sing: Unless He Doesn’t Have To

Written by Barbara Roman

Illustrated by Vladimir Cebu

As a singer, storyteller, and composer, Barbara Roman possesses the right credentials for writing this beautiful picture book with a wonderful message for parents and an interesting story for young readers.

When Horace’s parents hear strange sounds coming from his room at night, they are curious to investigate, but when asked, Horace says he doesn’t want to explain unless he has to. Furtively, the parents try to peek through the keyhole, climb a tree, and peer down from the attic to find the answer. When they hear Horace singing into a conch shell, they are even more mystified.

The answer is revealed at the school talent show, and things seem to return to normal. There is a surprise ending at the end of the story that puts a smile on the face of the reader. The text contains prose and rhyme, accompanied by colorful illustrations. A book that can be enjoyed by a reader of any age, but highly recommended for middle-grade readers.

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Hamsters Invented Everything

Adisan Books

This colorful picture book is a quick, funny read as a bedtime story or classroom read aloud.

My children had hamsters as pets. We enjoyed watching their clever antics. In this story, readers learn that hamsters invented virtually everything useful that humans employ today. The foxes are the enemy who have tried to prevent hamsters from helping humans. They want to deny giving the foxes credit. When the humans decide to team up with the hamsters, the tables are turned.

Lots of humor, beautiful illustrations and entertainment for primary grade readers.

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Thankful Day In Animalsville: Thanksgiving Story About Being Thankful And Showing Kindness to Others By Serving The Community

Written by  Virtuous Nyamesem Cornwall

This book is a beautiful and effective way to explain the meaning of giving thanks and putting the message into action. It is particularly effective for young children.

Using animals as the main characters, the author explains that the town has decided to express gratitude on Thanksgiving Day by doing kind things for others. Thinking as a community, each family decides on a way to help someone outside their own family. Then the families of Animalsville present the action steps. Examples include visiting a food pantry, cleaning up trash, visiting a nursing home, assisting the homeless, and cleaning house for the elderly.

At the end of the book, young readers receive a list of suggestions to practice their own action steps of gratitude in their own communities.

Highly recommended for parents and teachers of children from ages five and older to teach the values kindness, respect, gratitude, and civics.

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The Knock – A Collection of Childhood Memories: Level 2 Reader for Children 9 – 12

Written by Carolyn Watkins

Illustrated by Lindsey Erickson

This is a poignant children’s book that creates a valuable resource for children living in military families.

This memoir is written from the point of view of an eight-year-old child whose father is called to serve in the Vietnam War. Readers learn about the fears of a child for his father’s safety, the difficult adjustment of a single mother and the turbulent life of military families who must pick up and move at a moment’s notice.

The book is written with the intention of providing an outlet for today’s children and military families to become a vehicle to express their hopes and fears.

The Level 2 Reader is appropriate for middle-grade readers. There is a Level 1 edition written in simpler language for military children who are younger.

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Forever with You: An Endless Love of Family

Written by Tana Schuler

Illustrated by Soledad Cook- Ordoñez

This beautiful picture book delivers a heartfelt message written from the perspective of a grandmother to her beautiful granddaughter.

The soft pastel illustrations provide the perfect complement to the message. It is a message of love giving the child confidence, strength and resilience. Grandma will be with her through good and bad, happy times and sad times, always supporting her and lifting her up.

This book is particularly useful for families who need to help young children through the grieving process in the loss of a loved one. On the other hand, it portrays a cheerful lesson of how much family members love and support their children.

Recommended for parents, teachers, and counselors of elementary and middle grade children.

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Rice to the Rescue: (Rumbly Tumbly Adventures)

Written and illustrated by Etaine Raphael and others

What a fun, rhyming picture book? This is part of the Rumbly Tummy Adventures series. It is written by a group of authors and illustrators. Included in this edition are six simple recipes.

The plot involves children who are being visited in class by a chef. She encourages the children to use their imaginations as she reveals each recipe. The children spin a tale of a princess locked in a tower who meets a bunch of interesting characters while the chef teaches each recipe.

At the end of the tale, young readers find the details for each nutritious dish included so they may join in the fun and eat healthy all at the same time.

Recommended for elementary and middle school readers who want to have fun and eat well.

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Bembe’s Heart: An old as Earth…this is a story about a boy born without a heart but full of his mother’s love

Written and Illustrated by Marin Darmonkow

This book is a beautifully illustrated folk tale that delivers a message of hope, resilience, dedication, and love.

Readers meet Bembe, a boy born with no heart. That does not deter him from working harder than most, laboring in the fields with his mother by day, and helping her at night while she knits ponchos to make ends meet. All the villagers believe Bembe will not survive.

On the eve of Bembe reaching maturity, the shaman comes to visit their home to see what will happen. The story builds to a climax as the shaman and Bembe’s mother wait. Readers have no idea what to expect.

This book is suggested for elementary age readers, but I feel its message will be better understood by readers in the eight to twelve age range.

Highly recommended reading for parents and teachers to include on their bookshelf.

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A Period

Written and Illustrated by David Ross

A very clever book written with lots of subtle humor.

A period is born and begins its journey by rolling forward. As it continues, the period encounters the other punctuation marks in the English language. At first, the period seems to try to figure out how it fits in and what is its purpose. The journey continues as the reader finds out about the other punctuation marks and what they do.

The end of the book provides an excellent guide for students of grammar identifying the punctuation marks and how they function in language. While the book is recommended for children ages six and older, I believe middle grade and high school students will gain the most value from reading it.

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Escaping the Blaze: The Real Life Adventures of Dolph and Gwen

Written and Illustrated by Darcy Guyant

This is my first time reading a book from this series about Coast Guard rescues, and it certainly did not disappoint. Guyant bases his children’s books on real life rescue missions that he has flown. Children learn about courage, teamwork, and cooperation.

This is book two in the series. The main characters are Gwen, a female pilot, Mike and Sam, her crew, and Dolph, her helicopter. Dolph is personified and a truly wonderful character role model. Children learn about aviation and witness Gwen as a wonderful example of a strong female role model. The plot of this book involves the crew rescuing four adults and four children from a wildfire threatening the lighthouse on the peninsula on which they live and work.

The beautiful illustrations and text unfold naturally and build up to the climax. Can Dolph, Gwen, and another helicopter accomplish the dangerous mission? I also enjoyed the surprise included at the end of the tale.

A perfect book to teach and inspire young minds. Recommended especially for ages six through ten, but adults will enjoy it just as much!

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