This is the first book in a middle-grade adventure featuring two brothers named Iggy and Oz. Strange names because the boys consider their parents unusual. Iggy is twelve; his younger brother Oz was adopted from China. The boys compete against each other and exhibit the usual sibling rivalry.
Iggy loves to write and has an active imagination so his parents tend not to believe him. Oz wakes him up in the middle of the night to investigate monsters in the attic. When the boys finally get to the attic, they find some old plastic dinosaur toys have come to life, but the adventure begins when the dinos escape into their suburban neighborhood. There is a lot of humor, boyish banter, and a caste of interesting characters including bullies. Iggy, Oz, and their friends must save the neighborhood from destruction before it’s too late.
The plot is absurd, but perfectly believeable for the target middle-grade audience. Recommended for readers ages eight through twelve, particularly boys.
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Publisher’s Book Summary: Marion is a kind, creative, and easy kid… but he’s faced with BIG emotions. Help Marion identify those BIG feelings in this interactive children’s picture book.
Guess How Marion Feels is a transformative experience that lays the foundation for emotional intelligence and meaningful connections. A gentle Social Emotional Learning (SEL) tool to guide parents, caregivers, and teachers to teach kids who struggle to pick up social cues and have challenges in social situations.
This book is made to celebrate and honor the feelings of our little ones, foster open communication, and create inclusive learning with our neurodivergent kids. Written by a neurodivergent author, Miss Kaye aims to support kids and everyone struggling with social interactions.
Miss Kaye was born in the Philippines. She had challenges as an adult neurodivergent. This serves as her inspiration for writing fun, engaging, and educational stories to teach life skills and mindfulness to kids.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Miss Waitthk is from Hongkong. She enjoys making people feel happy and joyful through her drawings. As a kid, she remembered drawing anime characters and coloring them with colored pencils. Since then, she kept on drawing.
MY REVIEW OF THIS BOOK
IT’S OKAY TO FEEL THIS WAY…
Guess how Marion Feels
Written by Miss Kaye
Illustrated by Miss Waitthk
A beautiful, interactive picture book that allows young children to explore and communicate their emotions with others.
Marion wakes up happy to start the day. When his mother reminds him that today is the first day at school, his feelings switch to being scared and apprehensive. As the day progresses, readers watch Marion, and his feelings change. A new situation creates mixed feelings of excitement, worry, hope, anger, confusion, and relief.
Young readers are asked to guess what Marion is feeling in each situation by studying the pictures and text. At the end of the book, they get a summary of the book when Marion discusses the whole range of emotions with his parents.
The book is targeted for readers ages one through seven, but I feel the message in the tale is just as valuable for older children.
GIVEAWAY
Enter the giveaway for the chance to win a 1-hour FREE coaching session to launch your own picture book, along with signed copies of Guess How Marion Feels (one to keep and one to share with a neurodivergent charity of your choice under your name).
The author explores the different locations for homes that both humans and animal creatures inhabit. They could be underground, underwater, up in the trees, or under open skies. Some are found in cold climates, and others in warm areas. They might be built of different materials like ice, stone, wood, or even the shell on the animal’s back. Most important, a home can be found anywhere as along as there is a loving support group.
The rhymes are crisp and sharp, the illustrations colorful and alluring.
I highly recommend this book exploring the diversity of our world to parents and teachers of preschoolers and primary grade children.
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A beautiful rhyming picture book illustrated in soft pastels. This book focuses on sibling relationships and parental love for the child who is born last. It is a perfect shower or newborn gift for such a family.
It stresses the advantages of being born last. These children are born to parents with experience in raising children and siblings who provide role models that shore up a child’s confidence and social emotional skills.
I strongly suggest it as a read aloud for a family to share with the youngest child who will surely grow with confidence as she achieves each of the milestones mentioned in the picture book.
Appropriate for any age but especially suggested for toddlers and preschoolers.
AS A BOOK REVIEWER FROM THE INCEPTION OF THIS EVENT, I AM PROUD TO SHARE TWO WONDERFUL NEW CHILDREN’S BOOK EXAMPLESWITH YOU.
📚 Join us for the 11th Multicultural Children’s Book Day on 1/25/24! https://shorturl.at/wG389 🌍 Founded by two book-loving moms, Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen, this non-profit initiative celebrates diverse books and authors. Let’s spread the joy of multicultural literature to young readers and educators. #MCBD2024 #ReadYourWorld 📖
It Is Not What You Think
Old Clothes for Dinner?
Written by Nathalie Alonso
Illustrated by Natalia Rojas Castro
This multicultural picture book is a delight for a young child’s eyes, ears, and taste buds. The book packs a ton of information as well as a delightful story of a Cuban family’s culture and homelife.
Magaly and her brother’s grandmother from Cuba have recently joined the family in America. They are delighted with the delicious native recipes she cooks for the family. One day, when Magaly asks what is for dinner, her “abuela” replies “ropa vieja.” That translates to old clothes in English. Magaly and her brother, Camilo, hurry to search for and hide their favorite clothes. Turns out the joke will be on them.
This book targets an audience of children ages four through eight, but it delighted this adult as well. In addition to the interesting tale, the author includes recipes from around the world including their history, facts about Cuba, and details on how to cook two of the Cuban recipes from the story.
THE TREASURE IS IN EVERYDAY THINGS
Treasure Hunt
Written by Stephanie Wildman
Illustrated by Estefanía Razo
When Luis sees a delivery person with a huge cardboard box, he at once thinks of his younger twin siblings, Roberto, and Flor. Luis asks the worker to leave the box behind.
Roberto and Flor return home from school expecting to watch TV and play video games, but Luis has a better idea. He asks them if they would like to go on a treasure hunt. The twins cannot hold their excitement. Roberto hides clues in the kitchen, the bedroom, and the living room.
Flor and Roberto are puzzled when they find and name the objects. Luis brings them to the backyard and the gigantic cardboard box. Immediately, the twins know exactly what to do with it.
This book displays a loving multicultural family with strong sibling relationships. Elementary grade readers will love this colorful picture book with endearing, curious, and intelligent characters. Wildman enriches its value by providing detailed instructions for readers to create their own treasure hunt complete with props.
I highly recommend this interactive book for primary grade boys and girls who seek opportunities for creativity and imaginative activities to engage in at home.
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Monster Problems (A Magic Pen Adventure Book Book 1)
Written by Jason R. Lady
Middle-school and young adult readers will relate to this book with its quirky humor, memorable characters, and innovative lessons in dealing with peers and siblings.
Brad is a sixth-grade student who loves to draw. Unfortunately, that gets him into trouble with his science teacher when caught drawing in class. Brad’s grades have taken a nosedive, so his parents punish him by forbidding him to draw. To make matters worse, Brad has an intelligent younger brother named Daley, who blackmails and torments Brad whenever he gets a chance.
A mysterious crow arrives outside Brad’s window with a magic pen. Brad decides to draw a creature he names Daley-Destroyer, an ugly green monster who leaves a trail of orange slime who will stalk his brother. As the story unfolds, readers meet Quentin, Brad’s only real friend, different teachers, the unusual principal, and a mysterious girl, Blue Hoodie. These characters combined with a fast-moving plot keep readers turning the page. When the monster proves to be uncontrollable, Brad needs to decide how to handle a situation his emotions cannot handle. A good way to get readers to think about innovative ways to solve their problems.
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Priya has moved nine thousand miles from her old home in India. It’s time for the festival of lights, but here in America nothing is decorated, and the streets are quiet. Priya experiences mixed emotions.
When Priya returns home from school, she finds her mother preparing dishes of cardamom and ghee. Priya prepares flowers to make a rangoli and her father strings lights along the outside of the house. This draws the attention of neighbors who are invited to celebrate Diwali with the family.
Readers learn about the religious customs, dress, food, and fireworks of this festival. Kaushik includes illustrations of members of diverse communities and those with disabilities. Children receive a glossary of multicultural terms and a summary explanation of the Diwali festival.
This is a well-written and illustrated picture book that encourages empathy, compassion, and friendship among members of diverse communities. Highly recommended for parents and teachers of elementary school children as a read aloud book to discuss customs and traditions.
I received a copy of this book to read and review from the author. I voluntarily chose to read and review with my honest opinions for no monetary compensation.
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What a wonderful picture book series to teach dental hygiene to toddlers, preschoolers, and primary grade readers. This rhyming book features Piper and her brother, Colton. The book explains what happens to baby teeth after The Tooth Fairy collects them. Young readers see them nurtured to be special helpers that teach children how to brush, floss, and practice oral hygiene.
The colorful illustrations and crisp rhymes make the book fun to read as a bedtime story or beginning read aloud. The author includes diagrams and charts about how teeth grow, a few funny jokes, and fun activities.
A must for teaching and parent libraries. Highly recommended for young patients to read in a dentist waiting room.
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As a retired educator who bemoans the fact that our schools no longer teach critical thinking to young children, I applaud the author for taking on the challenge of teaching primary grade children that their first impression is not always correct.
A young mouse named Tiny hears his family tell stories about enemies like the rooster. One day Tiny meets Dell, a rooster, and fears terror until he bravely stops to look into Dell’s eyes. He is surprised to find out you cannot believe everything you hear. Many misunderstandings can be prevented when rational thinking replaces false judgments.
The illustrations are an interesting collage of shapes and colors which force the reader to take the time to think about each page of the tale carefully.
I highly recommend the book to parents and teachers who will hopefully integrate the message of critical and creative thinking skills within the lives of themselves and their children.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and voluntarily chose to read and review it with my honest opinions for no compensation.
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A lovely picture book that includes diverse multicultural characters and children with disabilities.
The protagonist, Tahiyah, is a third grade student who is a member of the Kindnesss Club. She has been waiting all year for Kindness Week. Tahiyah guides the readers through Day One in her classroom.
The book gives practical examples about spreading kindness in everyday situations. Tahiyah teaches children how they can practice kindness and teach others to do the same.
Beautiful illustrations and a wonderful teaching tool for elementary school classrooms and children’s home bookshelves.
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February 18, 2024
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