The Mystery of Santa Claus

Written by Paul Moxham

Will is spending the Christmas holidays in Scotland at his grandparents house. His three best friends, Joe, Amy, and Sarah have joined him.

The foursome venture out to check out the scene of a recent accident in which a tree fell on a vehicle narrowly missing killing the driver. They are distracted when their dog follows another dog. Of course, they need to investigate the urgency. When they come upon a man dressed as Santa Claus in the snow, the mystery deepens. It’s Christmas Eve and the snow is falling. How will the children be able to rescue the injured driver and solve the mystery?

This thirty page short story is a page turned. Although it is written for middle-grade audiences, I could not put the book down. American readers should note that this book is written in British English, but it is an easy read.

I highly recommend adding it to your holiday reading list.

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.

Check out all my learning opportunities at www. LittleMissHISTORY.com

Lucky’s Adventures in Winter Wonderland (Lucky’s Adventures)

Written by Elizabeth Macey

Illustrated by Jenn Kocsmiersky

Lucky Charms is an adopted rescue dog who happily lives with her human family and a cat named Hershey Kisses. She is excited to wake up to a snowstorm. Lucky promptly goes out to play with her neighborhood dog friends. They go ice-skating and skiing. The day ends with barbecuing hot dogs. That night Lucky reflects on how fortunate she is to have such a comfortable life with a loving family and so many dog friends. She figures out a way to help less fortunate dogs and rallies her neighborhood dog friends to assist her.

Children will love seeing these dogs take on human characteristics and do the activities they love participating in themselves. The illustrations consist mostly of two-page spreads featuring many vivid drawings of adorable dog breeds. Macey includes a list of suggestions for her readers to get involved in animal rescue. I would recommend this picture book especially for elementary school readers, but it has appeal for a reader of any age.

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

Title: I’M THANKFUL FOR…A Book About Being Grateful

Author: Uncle Amon

This is a charming book that contains five short stories for children about reasons for being grateful. Billy and his cousin Jillian are the main protagonists. Each of the stories contains a practical lesson that children and adults may share. For example, in the story about tools, Billy comes to the rescue for Jillian when her desk needs fixing. Later his mother gets in trouble and Billy is able to use both his tools and ingenuity to come to the rescue. His good deed results in an unexpected reward. Without giving away too much of the plots, the other tales focus on pets, older friends, school and fresh air and sunshine.

The stories are full of humor. There is quite a bit of dialogue that develops the characters and makes the story easy to follow for beginning readers. Although the book is targeted for ages four through ten, I would especially recommend it for the six to eight-year-old age group. Bonus features include mazes, puzzles, and a followup activity for each of the tales. Th perfect book for parents and children to share and enjoy. If you are looking for a Thanksgiving holiday book, this one is a good choice.

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.

CHILDREN’S BOOK:DIARY OF OSCAR RABBIT: FUNNY, ILLUSTRATED BED-TIME STORY- READ ALOUD……

Written and illustrated by Melinda Kinsman

New series of books featuring a young boy named Billy and his collection of stuffed toys who live on the top of the wardrobe in his bedroom and are affectionately referred to as The Top of the Wardrobe Gang. Previous rhyming books in the series have featured their adventures in writing books for kids, which they turned to as a diversion to pass the time of day when their owner Billy went to school. In this new series, members of the gang will allow readers a glimpse into their daily diary entries.

Oscar Rabbit narrates in the first adventure. He is upset that the gang’s writing schedule is going to be disrupted because a new swimming pool in town is about to open. Billy is really excited not only for himself, but especially for his cousin Ben because this new pool is accessible to the disabled. Ben is wheelchair bound.

The Top of the Wardrobe Gang are determined to swim in the pool with their human friends. Oscar knows that stuffed animals will sink, but his friends refuse to be dissuaded. He writes in his diary about how Billy’s grandmother makes them all bathing suits and brings them cookies. Finally, opening day arrives. What will happen to the Gang? They seem determined to ignore the truth.

This book is targeted for readers ages four through eight. Preschoolers will read through the clever illustrations. Beginning readers will enjoy story written in short paragraphs of text with just enough challenge, but not overwhelming for new readers. They will delight in the activities provided at the end: matching, mazes, simple math, and find the differences. An answer key is provided for self-checking. Wonderful value for the story entertainment and enrichment activities to extend learning. Highly recommended for young readers, teachers and parents.

No Exit: The Apple Grove Gang Vol.1

Written  by Hamilton C. Burger

This is the first in a series of books about the Apple Grove Gang. The mystery adventure tale chronicles a group of friends who live in a small town forty or fifty years ago when children played outside and teamed together to solve common problems. The two main characters named Benny and Bug are about to begin summer vacation when they make a startling discovery. Not only is Exit 23 on the toll highway about to be closed, but this major loss of town revenue will force the closing of the community center where the local kids hang out. So the gang becomes determined to get to the bottom of this issue by sneaking into the mayor’s office to get the lowdown. But the mayor refuses to listen, and nothing seems to add up. Together with the help of a few adults, the gang use their detective skills to get the answers they need, finding many surprises along the way.

The characters are well developed and the story line moves along quickly in this book of approximately one hundred twenty five pages. The written dialogue is age appropriate with just the right amount of conversation and background description. Readers are given an authentic glimpse of small town life and local politics. However, in this story, the children come up with the solutions. Lessons of friendship and community loyalty are well developed.

This tale is a quick read for tweens and teens. Older adults will love the nostalgia and feel good vibes. Members of this gang are not into themselves and stand together as friends who need to make a wrong right. Nothing complicated here, just a story that will appeal to both girls and boys empowering them to believe they can also be problem solvers. A few more illustrations of  action scenes in the book might make the read more appealing to younger readers. This is a perfect lazy afternoon read and the quick pace encourages reluctant readers. At the end of the book, there is a bonus chapter introducing Gold Fever, the second adventure in the Apple Grove series.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please consider subscribing to this blog by clicking on Follow on the lower right hand corner or hit the orange RSS button in the upper right hand corner.