Two more finalists in the Cybils Bloggers’ Literary Awards:

Easy Reader

HUNGRY THIEVES

There’s a Pest in the Garden

Written by Jan Thomas

Another easy reader in the farmyard friends’ series. Duck, Sheep, Dog, and Donkey are upset that there is a pest invading their garden. He is eating their favorite and not so favorite foods like beans, corn, peas, and turnips. Duck thinks he has a plan, but it turns out that all the animals must work together to find a permanent solution to keep pests out.

The familiar characters and speech balloons allow readers to follow the simple dialogue and story plot. Children are led to understand that cooperation and working together is the way to solve a common problem. Recommended as an early stage independent picture reader or read aloud.

Early Chapter Book

RISING TO THE OCCASION

Survivor Diaries: Overboard!

Written by Terry Lynn Johnson

This book is part of a series that focuses on real-life survival stories to teach important life-saving skills. In this book, Travis and his family are vacationing in Washington. At the beginning of the tale, the family is sailing on a fifty-foot whale-watching boat with other tourists. While the group is preoccupied sighting whales, a huge wave capsizes the boat. Travis frantically yells for his family; he finds himself under water. Marina, the captain’s seaworthy daughter is nearby.

Travis is wearing a wetsuit and Marina has a life jacket, but her wrist is broken. As they drift farther away from the wreckage, Marina keeps Travis calm. After many hours and no rescue, they are finally thrown ashore on a beach. Hypothermia is setting in and Marina is becoming sick and disoriented. Travis must learn to overcome his fears, follow Marina’s instructions, build a fire, set up a shelter, and find water. The next morning with no rescue in sight, Marina sees eagles flying overhead and remembers an island that has a camera studying the nest. But can Travis overcome his fear of heights and somehow scale the tree to let humans know of their plight?

This is a story of adventure and courage. Marina and Travis undergo personality transformations and role reversals. Perhaps even more importantly, readers are taught how to survive if thrown overboard, avoid hypothermia, and learn basic survival skills. Hopefully, these will never need to be employed. There are a few powerful black and white illustrations that assist readers to visualize the adventure. The author includes a US Coast Guard approved section on illustrated, step by step survival techniques. While this book has been classified an early chapter book, I believe that the eight to twelve age range is a good target audience for this book.

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.

#Interview #Publishing #Marketing #Teachers

Christine Calabrese, author of The Little Pencil book series, and I put our heads together to discuss how teachers who are interested in writing for children can gather ideas on how to organize, write, publish and market.

Christine Calabrese was raised on the North Shore of Long Island by a Polish father and Sicilian Italian mother. Her father, who was a great storyteller, captivated his daughters each night with delightful bedtime tales. Her mother enjoyed nurturing and helping other children along with her own. As a child, Christine enjoyed running and playing more than sitting and reading. Her father sent her to a lovely summer camp in New Hampshire where she enjoyed horseback riding, tennis, archery, drama, swimming, sailing, singing, and friendship.

The first story she wrote in elementary school was about a little raindrop. Her favorite pastime was making inanimate objects come to life as a tease to her younger sister. Goodness! 🙂

Christine loves teaching and working with little ones! She still likes to make up stories about inanimate objects, presently, however, the objects often teach useful skills.

Barbara Ann Mojica is a historian and retired educator. She writes historical articles for the Columbia Insider under the banner “Passages.” Using the whimsical Little Miss History character, Barbara hopes to inspire children to learn about historical people and places. Little Miss History’s antics make reading nonfiction a fun-filled adventure for all ages.

The series has garnered more than a dozen awards including Eric Hoffer, B.R.A.G. Medallions, Book Excellence Award, Reader’s Favorite and Independent Author Network Awards.

We hope that teachers will find the video informative and useful.

Reuben’s Choice: A Make Your Own Decisions Book

Written by Natalie Vellacott

As the title implies, this is an interactive storybook for children. Reuben is excited and proud because this is the first day he is being permitted to walk to school on his own. He hurriedly makes his way past the scary alley along the way and is nearly at school when he hears a howling distress sound from a ditch near the road. Reuben faces his first decision. Should he stop, disobey his mother’s instructions, be late for school, ignore a plea for help? Readers are given four choices. When they make their choice, they are directed to a page which gives them additional questions and outcomes because of their choices. Eventually, readers will reach the last choice and be directed back to the beginning of the book until they reach the end of the story.

Children will learn that honesty is the best policy and that all our actions have unforeseen consequences. The book provides lots of important discussion topics for parents and teachers. Interactive reading encourages children to keep reading and gives them the power to control the story outcome. Recommended especially for children in the eight to twelve age range.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe by clicking on the word Follow or by hitting the orange RSS FEED in the upper right-hand corner of this page.

Hey Nana! Connor’s Story of Love

Written by Toni Nunemaker

This book is a testament to the young life of Connor, a boy who was murdered by another in a playground not far from his home in a trailer park nearby. The memoir is penned by his grandmother, who herself undergoes a transformation because of the crime.

Readers need to be prepared for an emotional roller-coaster as Nana proceeds through a gamut of emotions proceeding from the moment of the crime, the funeral, the criminal investigation, the trial, and the family’s readjustment to a life without the nine-year-old child, who brought so much love into the world.

Nana even learns to understand and accept the grief that Jamarion, the young murderer, and his family experience and the abuse that led up to it. I think the author does an exceptional job of portraying her conflicting emotions as well as the character of the gentle and loving victim, her grandchild, and the special relationship they both shared.

The book is a powerful commentary on abuse, addiction, love, and the way various members of society cope or fail to cope with them. This book is one that will force readers to consider these issues, whether they agree with the author’s ultimate decision in her acceptance and forgiveness. Recommended for young adult and adult readers.

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.

Do The Opposite Of Nothing: The Ridiculously Simple Strategy for Serious Procrastinators…

Written by Nealey Stapleton

The author spends a lot of time in her introduction explaining procrastination and how it leads to clutter. When one procrastinates, none of a person’s goals can be achieved. Stapleton then spends a chapter on each of ten methods that might be employed to enable a person to succeed at decluttering and ending procrastination. I found a few to be especially valuable for myself. To avoid a sense of overwhelming frustration, I need to set aside a small, realistic amount of time and select one task to achieve before moving on to more ambitious plans. I am also guilty of the “homeless” mistake. A successful organizer needs to establish a spot for every object and make sure that it stays there.  Many of my friends and I are guilty of buying more than we need, resulting in a storage problem. Do you keep stuff for too long and procrastinate about going through those things that really have no useful purpose in your life?

There are a lot of simple things one can do to feel a sense of accomplishment and organization that will allow a more productive use of time and many of one’s important goals to be achieved. Stapleton provides a plethora of links and resources in each chapter. I must admit they do become repetitive and can slow down the flow of the book. However, I enjoyed the straightforward presentation and practical advice, which I plan to implement daily. Recommended for anyone who has too much stuff and too little time on their hands.

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.

Deadly Animals: 25 Most Deadly Animals in the World That You Should Know!

Written by Hathai Ross

While this book contains a lot of interesting information, I would rate it 3.5 stars because the photos that are included are often undersized and unclear.

The author includes animals found all over the world. Their size varies from the tiny mosquito and tsetse fly to the huge animals like the hippopotamus and polar bear. Habitats range from the sea to the glaciers and arid deserts of the Sahara. Readers will find many familiar names like the lion, rhinoceros, leopard, and elephants, but also more unfamiliar species like the Brazilian Wandering Spider, the Blue-Ringed Octopus, the Cone Snail, and the Cape Buffalo.

Ross describes each animal, its habitat, why it is dangerous, and how it affects humans. Some facts that I found particularly interesting are that the Poison Dart Frog is the most poisonous animal on the planet, the poisonous Puffer Fish is a delicacy eaten by many people, and the cute Polar Bear is not afraid of humans, and when hungry enough will even eat its own cubs.

The book is a collection of individual chapters that provide reference information about each of the twenty-five animals selected. It is useful as a starting point of research on some of the most interesting and dangerous animals with which we share our planet. Recommended for middle-grade, young adult or adult readers interested in animal research.

If you enjoyed 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.

The Middle Ages: People of the Middle Ages – Kings, Queens, Minstrels and Merchants, Vikings and Knights – 2^nd Edition

Written by Dominique LeBeouf

This book presents a simplified view of the Middle Ages, a period that is often overlooked and misunderstood in history. The author tries to support her view that the period was not stagnant and dark but rather vibrant. LeBeouf discusses each of the main classifications of groups living during this period. There are brief individual studies of a few like Saint Nicholas, Joan of Arc, and Alfred the Great. She discusses major groups of the period such as the Vikings, minstrels, merchants, clergy, vassals, women, and children.

The book is not particularly well-written and there are many editing errors. Its value lies in providing an overview of the entire period and allowing readers to investigate topics further. The book permits readers to choose areas for comparison, contrast, and discussion. Homeschool parents might want to feature particular topics. Classroom teachers might divide the class into groups to launch further study after previewing this summary.

Recommended as an introduction to the Middle Ages, but not as a verifiable historical guide for ages ten 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.

Sharks: Amazing Facts & Pictures for Children, Issue No. 2

Written by Hathai Ross

The author has written a simple reference book that will provide young readers with the essential facts on these fascinating sea creatures. Hathai begins with a history of sharks, pointing out to young readers that they existed before the dinosaurs. She includes a few simple photos to illustrate fossil remains. In the next chapter, Ross discusses anatomy and function. Ross provides a quick glimpse of different types of sharks and their special qualities like electrical sensors, and an exceptional sense of vision, smell, and hearing. Before concluding, Ross tries to convince her readers that despite movie depictions, there are reasons not to be afraid of sharks. She delves into their unique characteristics, and the organizations working to protect them.

Much of the book is written in the form of question and answer. That enables young readers to follow easily, but it does break up the flow of the narrative. This book is laid out more in the form of a reference book or research tool. I don’t think that will deter readers who are fascinated by these creatures and would like a quick, comprehensive overview. The illustrations and diagrams vary in effectiveness because some are difficult to see. Recommended for animal enthusiasts and children seeking information for a research project.

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 post.

Dreams: A No-Fluff Guide to Dreams Meanings, Dreams Symbols, and Nightmares Hidden Meaning…

Written by Jada Levitt

This book provides an interesting overview and analysis of dreams and how they affect us. Levitt begins her book with an introduction that defines dreams as a way for the subconscious to communicate with the conscious mind that allows one to relive or experience their emotions. Most people will spend about six years of their life dreaming. Most dreams are forgotten within ten minutes of waking up; even those who claim they don’t remember dreaming do so regularly. There are five stages of sleep, and it is only in the fifth stage that we can dream.

Levitt describes the most common types of dreams, which range from daydreaming, falling, fires, being chased, and swimming, among many others. While an exact diagnosis for an individual cannot be made, she describes the types of symbolism within each type and what that symbolism might suggest in a person’s life situation. For example, a dreamer finding herself back in school might be facing unresolved insecurities or facing situations in life now that involve new lessons to be learned.

The author explains what happens in each of the five stages of sleep, and how to best prepare for a good night’s sleep. She talks about why remembering dreams are important and suggest some techniques that will facilitate doing so. By taking stock of our dreams relating to what is happening in our daily lives, one will be better able to cope with daily situations.

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 post.

Miss Perfect and Tiny Tail

Written by Rachel Schlessinger

Illustrated by Sigalet Carmely

This book is a fairly well-written chapter book that features a ten-year-old named Lily who faces numerous challenges one summer. Lily is the middle child. Her older sister, Miss Perfect, and a younger sister, Tiny Tail are both dearly loved and constant annoyances. A large part of the book focuses on sibling and peer relationships as well as Lily’s conflicts with her mother.

Lily’s mother informs the three sisters that they will be moving from their small village to the big city because their father has found work there. This is the second conflict that Lily, as well as her sisters, must face and resolve. Lily has developed a crush on Tommy. At first, he seems to ignore and make fun of her.

The summer setting provides the backdrop for these three challenges. As time advances, each member of the family must face the issues revealed in the first person narrative told by Lily. Many middle-grade readers will see themselves mirrored in the characters and their conflicts. Because this book consists of short chapters consisting of less than seventy pages, reluctant readers will not be deterred. A few illustrations enhance its appeal. Recommended for middle-grade readers, teachers and parents who wish to explore the challenges faced by the middle child, parent and sibling relationships, and families who are planning a move.

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.