Katt Scallion and the Oracle Bird: Katt’s First Adventure
Written by E. K. Issacs
Illustrated by Taru Haimi
This is the first book in an adventure/mystery series for elementary and middle school readers. Katt is a feline space pirate, accompanied by a sloth named Speedy. Things have been slow in the pirate business lately until he is dispatched to retrieve the egg of an oracle space bird.
Off the readers go on this mystery adventure. Katt meets lots of interesting characters on his quest. The book features lots of dialogue and humor. The characters are interesting and the plot moves along quickly. I would describe the book as a chapter book for advanced elementary school readers or an introductory middle school read. There are a few black and white illustrations that enhance the tale.
Recommended for ages six through twelve who enjoy mystery, adventure, humor, and animal characters.
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A simple title for a book that delivers a lot of value in a picture book. The author employs rhyme, alliteration, onomatopoeia, descriptive adjectives, and sentence building to offer a host of learning opportunities for toddlers and preschoolers.
The words are associated with the colors that represent them, each page adds more text so that as the book unfolds readers repeat and reinforce the learning. At the end of the book a glossary is included to remind young readers exactly what those “hard words” mean.
The female captain is a role model for young girls unaccostumed to seeing females heading up the captain’s job.
This book is one that will be read over and over, each time reinforcing and building upon the learning that has already taken place.
Highly recommended for parents, teachers, and librarians who work with toddlers and preschoolers.
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His birth name was not Martin. According to MLK’s birth certificate, filed on April 12, 1934, his given name was Michael King Jr. His switch to a new name had to do with his father, who served as pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church. King Sr. traveled to Germany and upon his return in 1934 chose the name Martin Luther for himself and his son.
He Received a “C” at School for Public Speaking.Although he’s known now for being a prolific public speaker, MLK Jr. wasn’t always appreciated for his eloquence. In fact, while attending Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, King received a “Pass,” a “C+,” and a “C” in the course during the 1948-49 school year.
He Was a Three-Time Grammy Nominee. King was not a musician, but the spoken-word recordings of his most famous speeches earned him several Grammy nominations. His “I Have A Dream” speech was later voted into its Hall of Fame in 2012.
London’s Westminster Abbey Features a Statue of MLK. In 1998, a statue honoring Dr. King was unveiled at Westminster Abbey in London, a city where he spoke in 1964 while visiting Europe to accept his Nobel Peace Prize. The statue was among a group of 10 of the 20th century’s most celebrated Christian martyrs, which were installed above the Great West Door in niches that had stood vacant for 35 years. Queen Elizabeth II presided over the unveiling,
He Was a Huge Fan of “Star Trek.” Star Trek was the only program King allowed his children to stay up late to watch because of the character Uhura, played by African American actress Nichelle Nichols. King viewed Nichols’ role as one of the few examples of equality on televisio
King and His Wife Spent Their Honeymoon at a Funeral Parlor. After being denied at several whites-only hotels throughout Marion, a town that held many segregationist beliefs, MLK and his wife were invited by a friend to spend their wedding night in the back room of a funeral parlor. It wasn’t until five years later that the couple took a more traditional honeymoon trip to Mexico.
You can’t believe they did it. Of all people, turning on you this way. You want to react in kind, drawing on the anger flowing through you to lash out. Make the other person hurt every bit as much as you do right now.
Wait a minute. You can’t. You’re not that person. You don’t want to BE that person. You’re better than this.
But how do you stop anger in its tracks before it gets the best of you?
Take a Walk
The physical act of walking will burn off some of the adrenaline while getting outside, giving you a distracting change in scenery. And it works even better if you’re walking away from the object of your anger. Sometimes all you need is some space.
Pay Attention to your Muscles
Like walking, exercise is good. Also, anger tends to tighten you up, so a good stretch, or even better practicing progressive muscle relaxation, will knock the tension out.
Say Something
Choose a pet phrase or mantra which calms you. Say it several times, slowly, and deliberately to put your focus elsewhere.
Visualization
Escape somewhere else. Remove yourself from the situation that has made you mad and find a quiet place where you can visualize something peaceful. Build in as much detail as you can to make it as real as possible. Stay in this vision until you feel yourself start to calm down.
Do Something Grand
Take your anger and turn it into activism. How can you use this to change the world? Sign (or start!) a petition. Volunteer. Get involved in the community and make the world a better place.
Write About It
Journaling can help you to work through your emotions in a way that might even help prevent you from getting mad the next time around. Understanding what it was about the event which triggered you will help reshape the trigger entirely.
Switch Perspective
It can be hard to use empathy when you’re upset. But if you can see things from their perspective, it might help you to calm your response. Many times anger comes from misunderstanding the situation.
Forgive
This technique falls under expert level of anger management. By being the bigger person and forgiving the other, you’ll find you no longer have reason to be mad at all.
The key to all of these is simple: don’t let anger take control. The last thing you need is for you to fall under the power of negative emotion. Use the anger to make a better place or let it go entirely. In the end, you’ll be happier you did.
This book is part of a mystery adventure series written mostly for middle-grade students.
Harley is the daughter of an archaeologist and shares his passion for discovering mystery and adventure. When she arrives in Jamaica to investigate a pirate’s sunken treasure, Harley is confident of success. Things don’ turn out so well. Harley learns to expect the unexpected at every turn; the friends she trusts appear to turn on her. A ghost stalks her every move.
Harley needs to move quickly to solve the mystery and save the city from impending disaster.
The characters are strong and well-defined. There are enough twists to keep the plot interesting. Its short length of fewer than 150 pages lends appeal to the reluctant reader.
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Mind Swapping Madness: Bonkers Short Stories Book 1
Written by Tom Moffatt
Illustrated by Paul Beavis
This book is a perfect choice for the reluctant reader. A good variety of stories on crazy topics that are sprinkled with lots of humor. For example, a boy trapped in the body of a fly, aliens who can’t wait to kidnap children, and toads waiting to be kissed by a human. Moffat twists traditional stories and invents new ones that will delight new readers. The length of the stories varies, and some can be read in five minutes. I am not a fan of children’s books with potty humor, this book contains none.
Recommended as a chapter book for new readers and those children who ordinarily will not pick up a book without coaxing.
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The T-Rex twins are adorable characters. The book describes the wonderful adventures they experience together.
They do have a big problem. The twins have exceptionally long arms that make them an object of ridicule. No one wants to befriend them until outsiders realize the value of their physical differences.
Readers learn that it is okay to be different and that each individual has value. Fun and vibrant illustrations combined with well-written text that pops off the page. This book can serve as a bedtime story or a classroom discussion book. I highly recommend it for children up to age eight.
A little boy is afraid of thunder. He decides he must put his foot down and conquer this fear. He ventures off on a trip to the sky with helium balloons. Once there he meets all kinds of fascinating scenarios like a pirate ship and a family of dinosaurs who are eating their delicious pie.
Bonus extras include a yummy recipe for Berry Crumb pie. Children will lose their anxiety about thunder and enjoy a delightful rhyming picture book filled with imaginative pictures and verse. I particularly like the color enhancement of key vocabulary words and the font that is friendly for dyslexic readers.
Recommended for parents and teachers of children ages three through eight.
Looking for more learning opportunities for the family.
A fun rhyming picture book that is sure to become a Christmas classic. A new Head Elf at the North Pole rules like a despot. He forbids the elves to play, sets up authoritarian rules like the reindeer must fly only in straight lines and no singing, talking, or laughing. A little elf named Eve decides she must find the Christmas spirit that is missing. Will Eve succeed in restoring the joy of the holiday season? How does Santa Claus react?
The book is written with four lines of verse on each page, accompanied by huge, expressive, and colorful illustrations. A perfect book for teachers and parents to share with their children as a read-aloud or bedtime story. Highly recommended for all ages to get into the true Christmas spirit.
GIVEAWAY
Enter for a chance to win a copy of Merry Christmas, Eve!
(3) Three winners receive:
A copy of Merry Christmas, Eve!
The giveaway ends December 16, 2021, at 11:59 P.M. MT.
Publisher: Blossom Children’s Media Group | ISBN-13: 9780997782714
Publisher’s Synopsis: Meet Bibli, a brave little library bookshelf in search of a story about someone like him . . .
Once upon a time, in a library like any other, there lived a little bookshelf named Bibli who carried a BIG question on his shelves: “Could there be a story somewhere about a bookshelf like me?” Bibli is told that bookshelves are supposed to hold stories, not have ones of their own. But everything changes when he meets Cassie, a girl longing for a friend just as much as Bibli longs for a story to relate to. Bibli learns that with kindness, confidence, empathy, and friendship, even your biggest dreams can come true—and that everyone has an important story worth sharing.
The Friendly Bookshelf is a social-emotional learning (SEL) research-based book and the first-ever picture book about a bookshelf. Written to build self-confidence and self-esteem as well as encourage inclusivity, Bibli’s story empowers children to be brave, be a friend, and always be your-shelf! Readers will be inspired to go beyond the final page of the book and share their own stories, as well as be the pioneers of a kinder, more inclusive world where everybody (and every bookshelf!) belongs.
Caroline and Katherine Brickley are twin sisters and the award-winning authors of The Blossom Shoppe and The Friendly Bookshelf. Inspired by their mother, who made up stories for them each night, the sisters spent their childhood coming up with stories of their own and bringing them to life. As they grew, so did their passion for storytelling, and in 2017 the sisters made it their full-time job by founding Blossom Children’s Media Group (Blossom) from their shared college dorm room.
Now a multi-award-winning company known for excellence in children’s literature and family content, Blossom continues to bring children, families, and educators from around the world together through wholesome stories and inclusive community experiences. In their free time, Caroline and Katherine love to swim, travel, and spend time with friends and family, including their goldendoodle, Sugar, who served as the inspiration for the library dog featured in The Friendly Bookshelf.
Bibli is a proud bookshelf, the very first in his library. As time goes by, the library expands and adds more bookshelves. Soon Bibli finds himself in a back corner. His only visitor is Ms. Grammar who stops by each day to choose a read-aloud book for her visitors.
Bibli is sad. He wonders if anyone has ever authored a book about a bookshelf. The other bookshelves laugh at him. They tell him their only job is to hold books not to tell a story. One day a little girl named Cassie comes to sit nearby. They soon become friends. When Bibli confides his secret wish to her, Cassie produces a shocking surprise.
This beautifully illustrated picture book teaches young readers about self-esteem, self-confidence, and empathy for others. While the text and vocabulary are simple enough for young children, its message resonates with any age group. Highly recommended.
GIVEAWAY
Enter for a chance to win a copy of The Friendly Bookshelf!
(7) Seven winners receive:
A copy of The Friendly Bookshelf
A copy of The Friendly Bookshelf donated to a library of your choice
The giveaway ends December 16, 2021, at 11:59 P.M. MT.
February 26, 2023
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