Cheeku is a mischievous boy who lives with his grandmother. He tries to avoid getting up for school but reluctantly rises and steals mangoes from the monkeys on his way. But the monkeys chase him and he falls into a tunnel where his adventure begins.
Cheeku meets an ant colony. The queen grants him magic powers to be both a boy and an ant. In the following days, Cheeku discovers the value of friendship, the meaning of forgiveness, and the definition of teamwork.
Can a naughty little boy learn a valuable lesson from these tiny creatures?
Colorful, expressive illustrations that evoke strong emotions link the story effectively to the lessons taught. A multicultural tale that teaches and entertains elementary school children.
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Publisher: Belle Isle Books | ISBN-13: 9781953021519
Publisher’s Book Summary: One day, Odette the ant wakes up feeling stressed. After realizing that all she does is work, Odette decides to leave her anthill in search of the freedom to create her own world. Along the way, she meets Marcus, a lost mouse, and together they discover simple ways to feel better. Inspired by her journey and this wonderful new friendship, Odette finds her way back home to the colony with a new sense of being.
Odette’s Alphabet is a mindful story that offers a map to handle big emotions with kindness, unity, and courage. Fun and easy activities support each of the chapters, along with letters of the alphabet to provide additional opportunities for learning while encouraging young readers to explore meditation practices.
Sandrine Marlier woke up one day in her New York apartment feeling out of sorts. She realized that no matter how many trips she would take around the world, thanks to her modeling career, only a journey within could bring her peace. Eventually, she trained with world-renowned meditation teacher davidji. That training inspired this book, as she found herself drawing an ant and a sound: A, the beginning of all beginnings. Sandrine is a mother, meditation teacher, transformational coach, and Reiki practitioner. She shares free meditations about healing and empowerment on Instagram (@sandrinemarlier).
An alphabet book like no other. Marlier provides her readers with an adventure story that teaches the value of friendship, love, courage, teamwork, and cooperation.
The protagonist, Odette, wakes up feeling stressed. Every day she works hard in the ant colony. Determined to take a break, Odette leaves the colony to find peace and rid herself of stress. Odette meets Marcus, a mouse who is lost. They set off to find his home.
Each part of their adventure features a letter of the alphabet paired with a word. On the bottom of each page, Marlier suggests a meditation or relaxation activity for children and/or adults to practice. Each of these facilitates a peaceful, stress-free state.
By the end of the adventure, children learn many valuable life lessons as well as practical steps to relieve stress and create empathetic community relationships. Simple colorful illustrations enhance the text.
Highly recommended for children ages three to eight but it could be a useful tool for anyone seeking to rid themselves of stress.
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Publisher’s Book Summary: Snail and Worm are having a dispute. It’s causing quite a ruckus in their home. Many of the other inhabitants of the garden are affected by their fight. Will they be able to put their differences aside when they learn the garden’s existence is threatened?
An earthworm churns away in the garden doing his job. He disturbs the snail, the bees, and the butterflies. Each of the garden creatures wants to get his job done, but they cannot seem to get out of each other’s way. When a monster appears, they scatter until the danger is gone.
Will the garden’s inhabitants learn to work as a team for the benefit of all? Is it possible to overcome individual differences for their mutual benefit?
This adorable picture book speaks volumes about friendship, cooperation, teamwork, and empathy for all kinds of life. Endearing characters and large text create appeal for the youngest audience as well as a beginning reader.
Highly recommended for preschoolers and elementary school age readers. A perfect choice to welcome the Spring season.
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This book is part of a series of illustrated, beginning chapter books featuring Tweet Tweet and her penguin friends.
In this adventure, the Aurora Borealis is beginning to appear in the skies. Tweet Tweet, siblings, and friends understand this means it is almost time for the Christmas festival on Christmas Eve. They wait for their teacher to assign each a special role to prepare. They work together to prepare food, gather stones to decorate the tree, dance, and prepare for the parade. This book teaches children the lessons of the need to prepare ahead of time, work as a team, share tasks, and show empathy for each other.
The illustrations are in full-color that provide extra encouragement for beginning or reluctant readers. I recommend this series for readers in the six to nine year old age group.
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The author is a veteran submariner in the British navy. This book benefits from his experience and attention to detail.
As the tale opens, a British submarine is en route to Norway to target German ships, when it is badly damaged by an Arctic storm. Already under stress, the crew struggles to maintain composure and teamwork because they are being pursued by the Nazis.
The adventure is fast-paced and the characters intense. Readers experience life as a submariner. Fans of World War II history and naval warfare will enjoy the first book of this series.
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Cinnamon the Adventurous Guinea Pig Goes to Devil’s Island
Written by Daniel Turner
Illustrated by Gayle Skinner
This is a delightful beginning reader chapter book. It contains a few simple illustrations peppered throughout to keep the reader interested. The animal characters featuring guinea pigs and Siamese cats are delightful. They provide young readers with models of compassion, kindness, empathy, resilience, and teamwork.
Driven to flee their home because of a volcanic eruption, the animals get lost at sea, captured by the nasty, Captain Blood, and develop a plan to resist their enslavement. Will they be able to escape his clutches? What will the future hold for them?
The book is under sixty pages which makes it a good choice not only for a beginning but also for a reluctant reader. I would also recommend it as a classroom read-aloud that could be used to teach desirable values.
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Paddy and Flynn are two brothers who live on an island in the Pacific ocean. That may already sound like an adventure. They also have a dog named Coco, a pet falcon, and a horse. In addition their island is home to secret dragons.
Sounds like a promising beginning to an adventure series for late elementary school and middle-grade readers. The two brothers become detectives and try to thwart the evil boss who wants to capture one of the dragons.
This is a page turner that is made even more attractive by the ability for readers to download an app to turn the book into an interactive adventure. Readers who download the app are able to read secret codes, and view three dimensional animations. There is also a map to trace the journey.
Lots of authentic dialogue, intrigue, teamwork, colorful characters, and bravery to spur readers on and get them hooked on reading the entire series.
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Family Means…:A children’s picture book about diversity, inclusion, and love
Written by Matthew Ralph
Illustrated by Badrus Soleh
This multicultural picture book reveals the plethora of family groups that may make a family. It includes families of different races, religions and abilities, including those with disabilities.
The author emphasizes the qualities that families share rather than the physical or surface differences. For example, families share activities, work as a team, learn from each other, cheer each other up, and love one another.
At the end of the book, there is a space for readers to interact by defining what family means to them and drawing a picture of their own family. A charming bedtime story or read aloud book for preschool and elementary school children, families, and teachers.
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This book will go a long way to uplift the spirits of children who feel left out and unappreciated. Louisa is sad because she always seems to be the last one picked for the basketball team. She tells herself she is just as good as the other players. Her guardian angel, Jarnac, suddenly appears. He assures her that it does not matter whether you are chosen first or last. The most important thing is to have fun and treat others the way you would want to be treated.
Jarnac tells her stories of famous basketball players and assures her that having self-confidence and working hard is the key to success. When game time comes around, will Louisa be able to put his advice into practice?
This book is multicultural and richly illustrated. Readers will learn about teamwork, cooperation, and good sportsmanship. I would recommend it for elementary and middle-grade readers who enjoy sports, especially those who need motivation or a boost in their self-confidence.
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This book is a collection of stories focusing on the adventures of three dog friends, Bowie, Cheo, and Zaza. They are different in breed, looks, and personality, but they have one thing in common, they meet to romp and play at the same park with their owners Morin, Benny, and Shila Each of these tales was originally published as a separate story.
Roseman personifies her canine characters. In each of the tales, one of the dogs becomes a lead character. By the time the story ends, children learn life lessons based on the behavior of these canine friends. Readers learn why it is important not to show off, to work as a team, to care about each other’s feelings, and how each of us is special and unique.
The illustrations are colorful and well-executed, but sometimes the text and illustrations don’t line up properly. Readers may be confused because illustrations from the first story are repeated in the third story. This collection runs more than two hundred pages, which is way too long for the age of the targeted bedtime story audience. I would recommend this book as better suited to readers in the six to eight-year-old range.
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August 13, 2023
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