This picture book features a comic book format. For fans of mermaids, sea creatures, and jokes, the first grade reading level makes it a good fit for a beginning reader. There is a bit of potty humor though it is not the focus of the jokes. Eel presents some puns and jokes about mermaids and later gets into a debate with a shrimp who has a much more serious demeanor.
The illustrations are colorful and engaging. I would suggest this short book as a good choice for children who are reluctant readers or comic book lovers.
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One Giant Leap has much to offer. A middle-grade read that leans a bit more to the upper grades of that range contains an interesting plot. Four students have won a science competition to take a trip to outer space from a space tourist organization, but both of Fin’s parents are in the hospital. He needs a guardian to participate.
A conflict of emotions and stress at the outset. Well, I will reveal that Fin accepts the prize, but not the details of this fantastic opportunity. The book combines lots of space trivia, factual scientific information, and middle-grade angst connected with coming of age. Its adventure plot moves swiftly.
I especially enjoyed the author’s approach of including rather advanced vocabulary definitions in the glossary and a section at the end separating fact from fiction. Space afficionados and science geeks will both enjoy the book. Even adults will not be disappointed.
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That phrase pretty much summarizes the feeling of twelve-year-old protagonist Porter Redmond. He just wants to hang out with friends at school and play soccer. Unfortunately, he must train to eventually replace his mother who is the gatekeeper between Earth and the parallel universe of Pericael.
The action begins almost immediately. Readers must quickly assimilate background information to keep up. While the action is nonstop filled with magic and fantasy, younger readers might have some difficulty at the outset. The vocabulary is rather complex and not intuitive. Slower or reluctant readers might not have the patience to stay with it to the end. I would classify it more of a young adult rather than a middle-grade choice.
The plot and characters would also appeal to an adult audience.
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I Am an Amazing Asian Girl: A Book of Positive Affirmations
Written by Yobe Qiu
Illustrated by Jade Le
This book features an Asian-American girl as the narrator, but the story is strongly multicultural. Qui discusses adjectives that describe qualities of the character like being adaptable, appreciative, and assertive. She is also independent in her opinions, while also being very community oriented. She interacts with children of different cultures while pursuing her own interests and projects.
There are not too many books available with female Asian protagonists and this book is a good choice for primary grade children to encourage self-confidence and reinforce self-esteem.
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Adventure in Butrint National Park (Magilicious Journeys Book 1)
Written by Barbara Pinke
Illustrated by Tehreem Igbal
Siblings Simon and Olivia experience mixed emotions when waking up in a new house. They feel sadness at friends left behind but nervous anticipation of new adventures.
That anticipation is heightened when they discover a magical book hidden in the floorboards of Olivia’s room. They decide to visit Butrint National Park in Albania as they already possess a keepsake to activate their time travel. Soon they whisk readers off making a new acquaintance who serves as a tourist guide.
Not long after, tragedy strikes when a precious statue is stolen. The siblings must confront a band of pirates. Will Olivia and Simon find their way home safely? The answer is at the end of this first book in a series, perfect for new chapter book readers. The book is packed with information about Albania. There are a plethora of learning activities including mazes, puzzles, reading comprehension, and design activities which also appeal to middle-grade readers.
Highly recommend this series to parents and teachers of children ages eight and older.
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Publisher: Valley of Mexico | ISBN-13: 9781950957248
Publisher’s Book Summary: Everything is fun until nighttime comes. Are the howls in the dark only in their imaginations, or do ghosts and goblins become real when the full moon rises?
The children love visiting Grandmother. Playing great games and reading cool books goes perfectly with eating her delicious cookies and cakes. But when bedtime comes and off go the lights, things get a little scary as they say their goodnights.
The kids shiver at the creepy sounds from the attic and the strange shadows floating through the air. But Gran’s not worried at all; in fact, she has a secret to share…
Will they find a way to get over their dread, so they can finally rest their heads?
Grandma’s House is Haunted is a delightful children’s picture book, both spooky and sweet. If you like Halloween fun, bumps in the night, and doting grannies, then you’ll adore Stephen G. Bowling’s cheerfully eerie Picture Book that shows children there’s nothing to be afraid of when the lights go out.
Read Grandma’s House is Haunted to happily hide under the covers today!
Stephen G. Bowling is an award-winning author, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Much like Peter Pan, Steve never wanted to grow up. Or rather, while he didn’t mind getting older, he never wanted to lose the child-like enchantment of imagination and wonder. Creating colorful worlds and stories for children has allowed Steve to both preserve his own imagination while sharing the joy of learning with children worldwide.
Steve has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Brandeis University. He is an entrepreneur who has worked on and holds several U.S. Patents. He heads The Prometheum Foundation, a non-profit philosophical organization that helps teach students critical and analytical thinking, freedom of thought, and entrance into the marketplace of ideas. He is a lifelong weightlifter, an avid student of history and philosophy, and has a fascination with astrophysics.
A charming picture book that is clever, charming, and creative. The narrators are a brother and sister who describe their experiences when visiting their grandma’s house. While they thoroughly enjoy reading books, playing games, and laughing during the daylight hours, grandma’s old house transforms into a scary place at night.
The children imagine ghosts, goblins, shadows become witches, wolves, and all manner of beasts when darkness descends. Grandma calmly dispels all their fears by pointing out the sources of their imaginary visions and sounds.
I love the vintage feel of the illustrations painted with emotional expressions and coupled with crisp rhymes. The author deftly uses onomatopoeia and alliteration that promotes a fun read aloud. Vocabulary can be difficult in spots, but readers are encouraged to use context clues to stretch their reading comprehension.
I would highly recommend the book to both elementary and middle-grade readers for a Halloween choice or any time of the year.
GIVEAWAY
Enter for the chance to win a set of five books by Stephen G. Bowling, including Grandma’s House Is Haunted, and a $25.00 Amazon Gift Card!
One (1) grand prize winner receives:
– A paperback copy of Grandma’s House is Haunted
– A paperback copy of Calvin the Christmas Tree
– A paperback copy of Simon’s Tree Party
– A paperback copy of Simon’s Search for the Scary Dragon
– A paperback copy of Rocket to the Moon
– A $25 Amazon Gift Card
One (1) runner-up winner receives:
– A paperback copy of Grandma’s House is Haunted
– A paperback copy of Calvin the Christmas Tree
– A paperback copy of Simon’s Tree Party
– A paperback copy of Simon’s Search for the Scary Dragon
Allie Strom and the Ring of Solomon: A Middle Grade Fantasy (Bringer of Light Book 1)
Written by Justin M. Stone
How much bad news can one twelve-year-old handle? Allie has just learned her best friend is leaving, her mom has been deployed overseas, and Allie is about to start seventh grade in a new school.
If that were not enough, Allie faces bullies, her mother’s disappearance, and finding a necklace belonging to her mother that appears to have mysterious powers. This is the first book of a series that contains themes familiar and popular to a middle-grade audience but written in a way to appeal to an older audience as well.
Allie meets Daniel who will participate with Allie on her quest. I enjoyed the interesting sketches of the characters included in the book that make them come alive. This feature also will engage reluctant readers.
Readers of coming of age, paranormal, fantasy and magic will find something to like here.
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Remy is a quiet, introverted child who suffers from disfigurement. He spends most of his time reading and hanging around his adopted father, Clint’s shop. Clint holds lots of secrets and magic in a special room that keeps Remy intrigued. Remy has benefited from the knowledge gained from patrons visiting the shop.
As Remy grows older, and ventures outside into the world with Clint, he will discover danger in many forms. Interesting characters, mythical creatures like dragons, ice-horses, and Phoenix lie in wait at every turn to trap and ensnare them.
This is the first book in a series. The fact that this book is part of the Vella program is a bit disappointing for those readers who prefer to binge read a series.
Recommended for older middle school, young adult, and adult audiences, particularly in the fantasy and coming of age genres.
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Social media has become an integral part of our everyday lives. Parents use it, just like their children. However, on average, teenagers are the ones who spend the most time on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and similar platforms.
This leaves many parents worried. Some are afraid that this habit will grow into an addiction, while others are concerned about cyberbullying, over-sharing, and an “all-about-attention” attitude.
Author Donna Lynn Hope asks an important question: “How different would people act if they couldn’t show off on social media? Would they still do it?”
If our children were to be born in more innocent times, without social media, would they be any different?
Consider these questions:
How do we know what our children are doing online?
Is there a way to control our child’s behavior on social media, without invading their privacy and breaking their trust?
How do we recognize if social media is negatively affecting our children?
This topic is complicated, and there are no simple answers. However, if you ask your child about the time they spend on social media, you might be surprised at how willing they are to talk about it.
When you speak with them about their emotions and challenges, and address potential issues in self-esteem, you may find that social media won’t pose such a threat to them.
Even so, you may still be wondering how you can safely explore your child’s secret life on social media.
These solutions will help:
Dignify their devices. If you want to limit your child’s social media usage, avoid taking away their device. They will find another one. Help them find effective ways to self-regulate, instead.
● Teens are aware of the consequences this habit creates. Encourage them to reflect on these consequences and focus on the impact social media overload has on their personal, academic, and other goals.
Ask about the apps. Ask your child which apps they spend the most time on. Is it Instagram, Facebook, or perhaps Snapchat? Once you find out, install those apps on your phone, too, and figure out how they work.
● Some apps have geolocation which can pose a real danger. Try to manage your child’s social media activity by informing them of the danger rather than imposing your opinion.
● Don’t be a manager, be a mentor.
Help them to protect their privacy. Talk about privacy settings on different social media accounts. Some teens are not aware of this option.
● Agree with them to accept only the followers and friends that they know personally. This is not an easy task for a teen because the number of followers is often the barometer of popularity.
● However, if they understand the necessity for well-managed online presence, this shouldn’t be a problem.
Talk about sexting. Parents find the infamous conversation about “The Birds and the Bees” just as awkward as children do. However, now you have another level to deal with – sexting.
● Teens can often confuse sending explicit messages and photos for intimacy that might not exist.
● Talk about what it means to have a healthy relationship and how to develop and maintain one.
Overcome social media prejudice. Many parents believe that social media is completely, or almost completely, bad. However, it is neither good nor bad per se. It’s a new form of communication.
● When parents talk to their children about social media from this standpoint, the child is likely to withhold and hide information.
● Genuine curiosity and an open mind about your child’s interest in social media can make a significant difference.
Care about their emotions. Teenagers want their opinions to be heard. This especially goes for the things they’re passionate or angry about. Social media offers instant feedback to their posts, which makes kids feel listened to, validated, and acknowledged.
● However, if you offer empathy for challenges your child is facing, you can provide listening and validation inside of your family, too. This will give you an insight into what your teen posts on social media and an opportunity to help them self-filter.
When your child asks you for the first time if they can open a social media account, avoid judging them or jumping to conclusions. Accept their need to engage in such community-based way of communication, talk about it, and help them build a safe profile.
Teach them how to protect themselves and what to expect.
You’ll never have all the information about their activity, but if you’re interested and understanding, you might get just the right amount.
Math Dragon: fun fast-paced beginning chapter book series for kids 8-11 (Junkyard Adventures 10)
Written by Tevin Hansen
Book 10 in the Junkyard Adventures pits two angry dragons against each other.
When Eli and Grace arrive at Larry’s secondhand store, they cannot find Uncle Larry. Instead they discover Professor Harvard who is temporarily watching the store. Despite Larry’s absence, a new fantasy adventure involving a war between two diverse dragons, the Word Dragon and the Math Dragon erupts and the children find themselves in the middle of it. Must the siblings choose a side? Can they restore order and find a way back to the present to escape the turmoil?
Non-stop adventure and colorful characters continue to enthrall chapter book readers from ages eight up. A fascinating independent read or classroom read aloud.
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October 11, 2023
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