The Gold Egg Written by Ule B. Wise (Dan Wyson) Illustrated by Jaimee Lee
This is a wonderful book for children of all ages. The author writes in crisp rhymes and the illustrations are colorful and appealing. At first, group of multicultural children is sitting under their favorite tree. An old man carrying a cane comes along. He tells the children to look up high in the tree. They notice the abandoned nest of the Kloonee bird high in the tree. The old man tells them the nest is so high because it contains a gold egg. All the children scoff at this, except for Devan who decides to find out for himself.
Devan finds the task daunting. He falls from the tree but gets up and tries again. His friends make fun of him. When Devan finally gets to the top, will he find a gold egg? What does he learn about himself and his friends? This book teaches children the importance of courage and persistence. Reaching goals is possible if one believes in himself and persists despite obstacles. While this book might appear to be a picture book, its message is one for children of all ages. Recommended as an inspirational read-aloud for children and adults.
If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe by clicking on the word Follow or by hitting the RSS FEED button in the upper right-hand corner of this page.
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.
If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe by clicking on the word Follow or by hitting the orange RSS FEED button in the upper right-hand corner of this page.
This
book discusses mindfulness for children. It contains six stories about
students in a classroom who experience different troubling situations.
It begins with Sam, who is terribly shy and afraid to talk with anyone
at school. Eve is frustrated because she views herself not smart enough
to learn. Jane talks too much in class and can’t concentrate. Nick is
grumpy, unhappy and cannot focus. Kate excels in school and sports, but
cannot see the worth of other students. Will is a shy boy, who is often
the victim of others who take advantage of him with unkind words and
acts. In each situation, one of the other students approaches the child
with a problem and reminds him that he can talk to his brain and take
control of the situation to remedy the problem.
This book can be used by parents or teachers to guide discussions with individual children or a classroom group. It could be an effective resource for elementary and middle school students who are struggling with individual emotions and peer relationships. It is particularly recommended for students in the six to twelve age range.
If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe by clicking on the word Follow or by hitting the RSS FEED button in the upper right-hand corner of this page.
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.
If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe to my blog by clicking on the word Follow or by hitting the orange RSS FEED button in the upper-right hand corner of this page.
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.
If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe by clicking on the word Follow or by hitting the orange RSS FEED button in the upper right-hand corner of this page.
I loved this picture book which featured a determined young girl named Ara. She is aptly named for a constellation that contains seven stars. Ara is obsessed with big numbers. She introduces her readers to a number with 100 zeros, a googol. Together with her computer robot, DeeDee, Ara sets out to find out how many stars exist. They visit Innovation Plex, where Ara seeks experts to help her in her quest.
She meets Kripa, a problem solver, in the Data Center who tells her to have courage. Big Problems are solved with a plan. Next, she greets Parisa in the Ideas Lab, who creates the algorithms that permit computers to solve big problems. The next stop is the Coding Center where Diane writes code that allows the algorithm to communicate with the computer. When Ara and Dee put the plan into action, they come up with an error. So Ara visits Maria, the Troubleshooter, who installs more computing power with a new processor and memory chip. At last, they achieve success. Ara learns that collaboration and teamwork solve problems.
At the end of the book, readers find a journal record of the steps Ara followed as well as an introduction to some superheroes in computer science. There is also a glossary of technical terms from the story. The author targets this book for ages five through seven, though I would highly recommend it for older boys and girls as well. The design of the book features many bright colors and multicultural female role models. They certainly draw the eye inward but may be a bit too much stimulation for the younger reader. Hope to see many more books in this series.
If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe by clicking on the word Follow or by hitting the orange RSS FEED button in the upper right-hand corner of this page.
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!
October 20, 2019
bamauthor
