Showing posts with label young children's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label young children's. Show all posts

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Watch Out For The Bears! by Gillian Rogerson


Rating: WORTHY!

This was an amazingly entertaining story about the son of the man who looks after the weather. One day the weather keeper has to go out and he leaves his son, Tom, in charge of the weather huts where the weather is of course kept locked away from the bears. Everyone knows about bears and weather. Most of the time we grin and bear it, right? There is a very brief section at the end of this book where the author talks about how she came up with the idea for this story, and I found that as entertaining as the story itself. It sounds very much like the way I come up with oddball ideas for stories! And the way you need to as well, if you want to be an original and inventive writer! She sounds like a fun and interesting person.

But I digress. Tom is happy to take charge of the weather for the day and doesn't care about the bears. He's never even seen one. Unfortunately, when he went to check on the weather this, one of them was unlocked and the clouds were gone! There were bear prints! Tom has to track down those clouds or he'll get in trouble with his dad, and he does track them down, but unfortunately this marks the first of several adventures he has with those kleptomaniacal bears. Tom is industrious and very responsible though, so he pursues his task diligently and bears up well in the end. You knew he would, right?

The story was completely charming, and I enjoyed it immensely. I look forward to reading other stories by this author - several of which are free on Barnes & Noble and possibly other online outlets, even as you sit here wasting time looking at this review while those books go unattended! Get over there! Now!


Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Go To Sleep Mom by Mary Eakin


Rating: WARTY!

I don't negatively review many children's books because I tend to pick them carefully than others, and I use a little more, shall I say, relaxed criteria for them than I do more mature reading material, for an assortment of reasons. In this case I can't recommend this because it just didn't seem to get the job done.

The premise here is that the kid is put to bed, but gets up and discovers a list of chores his mom has to do before she goes to bed. he decides to "help." The first oddity is that he's woken by his mom running the vacuum cleaner around, which seems like an odd thing to do when you've just put your young kid to bed. Seriously? No! You run that in the morning to help wake them up for school or daycare or whatever! Or you get a Roomba to do it while you're out.

So the kid reads the list of chores: Vacuum, pack lunches, wash dishes, do laundry, bathe babies, wash dog. The list seemed a bit much. Who does lunches the night before? Who washes the dog and does laundry on a weeknight? I get that the idea here is to convey to kids a list of things mom does, and to educate children, but this list seemed more contrived to educate us to see how dumb mom is than anything else. She doesn't make a fresh lunch in the morning? She doesn't put a load of laundry in before she starts vacuuming so she's multi-tasking? She doesn't do another load before she bathes the babies, and another before she bathes the dog? These things have to be done sequentially all on one night? Every night?! Mom is so forgetful that she needs a list with check-boxes? It didn't seem realistic and it sure didn't seem intelligent.

I know kids are far less picky about things than I am, but kids are typically a lot sharper than too many people are willing to credit them, and I'm sure some will see this list as bizarre. Besides, the point here is to educate kids about all the things that mom (and dad - who I note is highly conspicuous by his absence here) does, and it seems to me there are much better ways to do it than the one this book explores.

The kid isn't represented as being too sharp either, because he's assuming that mom has never done any parental chores before this night, and that she can't handle her "mom job." That's neither smart nor kind. And he simply makes her job ten times harder. The artwork is pretty decent, but there's more to a good children's book than pretty pictures - or at least there should be. For me there ought to be a strong educational component, and I was sorry to see what was potentially a good idea go waste via poor execution. I wish the author all the best with her young children's books, but I cannot in good faith recommend this one. But at least I can check it off my reading list!


Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Orangutan by Rita Goldner


Rating: WORTHY!

I really like this book. It's very colorful and well-researched. It's not only telling a plausible and non-anthropomorphized story of a day in the life of a young Orangutan, it's also imparting facts about the life the animal leads. The animal is cute and sure to invoke feelings of kinship and protectiveness, and the story is neither too short nor too long. And what a great name for an author writing about an bright orange animal: Goldner! LOL!

One thing that I particularly liked is that the text, though small, is readily readable because if you put your thumb and forefinger together on top of the text and slide them apart, a plain text-box appears with the same text in a large font. You can also call it up by lightly tapping it twice with a finger. You remove the pop-up box with the same motion. This works for the story and the "Fun Fact" section which is on each page. it works on the iPad and on a smart phone, which is really nice since the text is really small there. Adding a voice reading the text (preferably by the author!) would be an improvement, but I was pleased with this as is. It's a great little book for youngsters and I recommend it.


Tuesday, September 6, 2016

A Dog in the Fog by Tanja Russita


Rating: WORTHY!

This is a cute, catchy little book for young children focused on silly rhymes and oddball situations, and illustrated with line drawings, mostly of animals. The title story is about this odd little dog who is walking on a log by a bog, gets caught in the fog and weirded out by the perception that its body parts are disappearing! I think the last line ought to have been "No head, no paw, no tail, no me," but that's just me! It was fun and I could see how this would make a great bedtime story if you covered your kid with the sheet like a white fog, as various body parts start seeming to disappear.

The second story is about a boy and his fish, and each has a name which is a palindrome of the other: Aron and Nora, which I adored. The third and final story is of an elephant enduring disturbingly rapid weather changes and making a new friend. It was fun, silly, and no doubt entertaining for its intended age group. I recommend it.


Monday, September 5, 2016

Kylie Jean Gymnastics Queen by Marci Peschke


Rating: WORTHY!

This is part of a series about young Kylie Jean, who is a fellow Texan as well as a confident and self-possessed young woman who discovers an interest in Gymnastics while watching the Olympics. She takes a class and meets a new friend - one who is deaf, so she also learns sign language.

It was a fun romp with nicely-done illustrations supporting the chapter book style, by the oddly-named Tuesday Mourning, which sounds like a book title by Jasper Fforde, but is actually a real person. It was nice to see exercise as part of the story as well as bringing in someone who clearly wasn't handicapped despite being deaf. If I have two complaints it is that first of all, Kylie's father was conspicuous by his absence. He's mentioned here and there, but he never really seems to be around.

The other issue is that there were no people of color visible which was not a pleasant thing to experience. Texas is populated by a diversity of peoples including American Indians, Indian Indians, and people of Chinese, Vietnamese, Hispanic, and African ethnicity, yet apart from one illustration which featured an African American family as background decoration, this was an all-Caucasian occasion again.

Despite that I'm prepared to recommend this as a worthy read because it has so much else going for it, and this is a positive review in the dire hope that if the author doesn't embrace diversity next time out, maybe the artist will do so on her behalf? I can't imagine she was explicitly instructed to draw only white folk, yet this is pretty much what she did!


Good Morning, Superman! by Michael Dahl


Rating: WARTY!

I would have liked to have rated this positively. I like to do that with children's books, but although I hold them, in some ways, to a less exacting standard than I do more mature work, I cannot dispense with all standards, and I have to rate this one negatively because I feel it sends the wrong messages. I did like the beautiful art by Omar Lozano - bold, bright, and colorful, but the book isn't a coffee table book. It's supposed to offer a message, and that's where the problem lay.

On the one hand it features an African American kid, of which see see far too few in children's books, but having offered that, it makes the kid subservient to an heroic white guy. There are no heroes of color we could have chosen here? The first real problem, however, was that in his haste to be heroic, the kid abandons his breakfast, spilling the bowl and leaving his dirty dishes and a banana skin on the table. This is the kind of responsibility we want our kids to learn? Not mine.

Brushing his teeth is presented as one of the boy's greatest fears which must be overcome instead of, as it could have been shown, a way of adding to his super powers by protecting his teeth. Just as Supergirl is shown as Superman's assistant, the kid's little sister is presented in the subordinate position of bringing him his lunch box. Slavery anyone?

I'm sorry, but while I can see what was being attempted here, this felt wrong-headed in so many ways that I cannot in good faith recommend it as a worthy read.


Saturday, September 3, 2016

My T-Rex Gets a Bath by Chloe Sanders


Rating: WARTY!

This one is nicely illustrated and poetically written, but I felt it was shy of where it ought to be for several reasons, so I can't recommend it. The dinosaur is a very popular pull for kids because they are in many ways so alien and threatening, but they are also extinct, and therefore not really a threat! They're safe. But they're very different from mammals, so the idea of using one as a model for bathing and brushing teeth one didn't work in my opinion. Reptile and Dino dentition is very different from ours and their skin is nothing like ours (and we shed in different ways!).

I know you can argue that kids don't care or don't mind, or that this is a minor thing, but I think it's never too early to start educating children in small ways about similarities and differences between us, and that both make for interesting companions and great friends, and I think this was a case where similarities would have been more educational and more accurate. I thought the toothpaste illustrations were charming, but so would kids. If they read this, they're likely to want to try toothpaste painting themselves, which is fine in the right place and at the right time if you can afford to waste a tube of toothpaste, but it's not something you want them thinking about or trying to emulate at bedtime!

Also the tooth brushing aspect of the personal hygiene story while well-intentioned, failed for me because of the way it was presented. It was turned into a race between the boy and the T-Rex as to who could finish first, which is hardly conducive to a good brushing! Squirting water and splashing in the tub is going to earn you a wet floor and eventually, rotting floorboards if you're not careful! That's not to say that bath-time can't be fun and there can be no squirting or splashing, but it felt like one more straw of irresponsibility on the camel's back of good sense and moderation.

The really weird thing about this book was the paragraph-long disclaimer in the back! This ran to the effect that every effort has been made to ensure that the information in the book was accurate and complete, in both text and graphics, but the author and publisher do not warrant it because of the rapidly changing nature of science, research, known and unknown facts and the Internet?! That just sounded weird. I wonder what new information is going to come out that might tell us it's unwise to wash and brush teeth?

Maybe publishers have to put this in because some idiots have tried to sue them over things in the past, but it seemed strange - and slightly depressing - that you can't even put out a kids book without a disclaimer. Oh well. But even that oddity aside, I can't recommend this one.


Monday, August 22, 2016

Cedric the Shark Gets Toothache by Kay Carter


Rating: WARTY!

The cover has it right: there is no apostrophe in "Gets", but the interior of the book has the apostrophe throughout. That, coupled with the fact that sharks effectively have their teeth on a conveyor belt and routinely replace old ones which fall out, with brand new ones rolling to the fore, never would actually need a dentist, and the wrong number used when referring to "candy" as "them" on one page meant that this story started out badly in my view. It wasn't a disaster, but I just felt it could have been better written and offered a lot more than it did, and as such I can't recommend it.

Obviously you can’t lecture young kids or go into great detail about tooth decay and so on, but I think there are less simplistic ways you can tell a story like this which will resonate with young children and make a better case. The human body craves fat and sugar from a period in our distant past when such things were hard to come by. Now they're in everything and it’s much harder to direct your kids away from harm while still trying to let them feel that they're not pariahs amongst peers who get treats and drink sodas and so on.

As someone with a sweet-tooth bequeathed to him by rather irresponsible parents, I've fought this all my life, and I would have liked to have seen a more educational and better-nuanced story. I’d like to have seen the point made that copying what everyone else does isn’t necessarily smart, and that while too much candy is definitely harmful, a little bit here and there as a treat or a reward, alongside regular dental visits and routine dental hygiene is not the embodiment of evil!

The story was colorful and definitely made the point that brushing teeth is important, but I think it could have been much improved. That said, this is part of a series, and there are other stories in it which might tell a better tale on thier respective topics.


Sunday, August 21, 2016

I Love You! by Calee M Lee, Tricia Tharp


Rating: WORTHY!

This is another of those novels that shows just how pathetic Amazon's crappy Kindle app truly is. I got the Nook app edition form barnes & Noble, and this is a young children's book which talks about how much a child is loved. It has the advantage of being readable through the text, or listenable, so your child can enjoy this even when you can't read to them right that minute. Tricia Tharp's artwork is simplistic, but elegant, and perfect for young children.

There's a bilingual edition, and it strikes me that it wouldn't be hard to make this multi-lingual, so I have to ask why the voice of choice is female. Don't males love their children? I do! There is, however, a facility whereby you can record your own voice and save it so that you can play it instead of the stock voice included, so whenever your child listens to this, they can listen to it in your voice - or in the child's own voice. I think this is pretty cool. It doesn't replace sitting your kid on your lap or tucking them into bed and reading to them personally, but it will do at a pinch. It played well and was readable on my smart phone, so it's not like you have to rush out and buy a pad for it, either. I recommend this.


Sunday, August 7, 2016

Little Tails in the Jungle by Frédéric Brrémaud, Federico Bertolucci


Rating: WORTHY!

Note that this was an advance review copy for which I thank the publisher.

Yes, you read that right - it's tails, not tales! I liked that! I've been largely a fan of the Brrémaud/Bertolucci graphic novel series titled 'Love', a text-free set of stories about life in the wild. I was disappointed with volume three, but I really liked the first two volumes. It makes me happy, therefore, to report another win for them with this volume aimed at educating children about life on various continents.

Chipper and Squizzo are two little animal characters who take trips in their cardboard box airplane (something young children can readily emulate with any old cardboard box you have lying around). This part of the story is line drawings with a splash of monochrome color; it's refreshingly simple and will probably appeal to young readers, especially when its contrasted against the gorgeous full color images of the various animals they encounter.

As usual with this kind of children's book, I'm sorry to report that the animals featured are biased toward mammals, and largely situated on land (we humans are a very class conscious society aren't we, even when it comes down to biological classes!), but I'm happy to report we don't see exclusively those things. There does appear the occasional gastropod, arachnid, and other classes such as fish, bird, and reptile are represented. They writers even get the piranhas situated on the right continent this time - something I complained about in my review of the first volume of Love! Here I'd argue that the 'parrot' Chipper and Squizzo saw was actually a macaw, but that's just me being picky!

But I'm not going to let that get in the way of praising this as a charming and educational book. There's a couple (I'd have liked more) of pages at the end that give some detailed information about some of the animals featured - again heavily biased toward mammals, but it's better than nothing. Overall I recommend this as a worthy read for children.


Thursday, August 4, 2016

One Green Omelet Please by Sally Huss


Rating: WORTHY!

My first positive review out of my last nine! Eek! Of course it has to be Sally Huss, writer and illustrator of young children's books who never lets me down. Told in rhyme with joyful colored pictures, this tells the story of the family who went out to eat. Jenny orders a green omelette, which frankly sounds disgusting, but it turns out it's not so bad.

The important thing is that Jenny takes a minute to ponder the origin of everything from which the omelette is made. Eggs of course, but also broccoli and spinach, green onions and peas. There's a tomato and some cheese. I'm not sure why Jenny says a prayer of thanks, since it's the farmers who ultimately provide all this stuff, but at least she took the time to be grateful for it all. Another fun and useful book from a writer who seems never to run out of ideas!


Thursday, July 28, 2016

Aquila the Eagle by Yaa Asabea Boafo, Dennis Owusu-Ansaa


Rating: WARTY!

Note this was an advance review copy obtained from Net Galley for which I thank the publisher!

There are some amazing names here. It's copyrighted to Miriam P Boafo, and nicely illustrated by Dennis Owusu-Ansaa, and this book is for young children. It follows a small family of bald eagles. Dad is described with a pronoun which has an initial cap ("Himself") like this male eagle is a god, but it's his wife who is doing all the work in laying the egg! An eagle egg is about three inches long. That's some size to have to deal with!

The story is accurate in that eagles do mate for life, and they build huge nests over time, so the one depicted here is a starter kit, evidently. Young Aquila appears when snow is still on the ground, and the impression we get is that this story will follow his adventures, but in the end, it was nothing more than a prologue, and I was disappointed in it. Other than the eagle being born and our meeting the two children, nothing happens in over thirty pages!

I first looked at this on my phone, and I have to say that is not the best medium for reading this! The images are oddly broken-up and the text is badly formatted. Viewed in Adobe Digital Editions on a desktop computer, it looked much, much better, and displayed the artwork to full advantage. I haven't seen a print version or been able to look at it on my iPad yet (Net Galley was down when I tried to download to the tablet), but I imagine it will look good there.

The eagles, I have to say, are very anthropomorphized. This will work for young children, but it's rather misleading. Eagles, aside from their lifelong pairing, are solitary. By that, I mean that they don't flock, yet there is a gathering depicted here, and young Aquila is declared special by a matronly wise-old eagle. This story has a religious agenda, and Aquila is evidently some sort of Messianic figure. Eagles can live for half a century, but young Aquila is just beginning his life. He has golden down, which is unusual, and is eating all his food. He's going to grow strong. Meanwhile, we meet Benji and the oddly-named Faithlyn, playing in their house because of the snow and cold outside (eagles nest very early in the year). They see an eagle, a grown one, but do not meet any, so the cover illustration is very misleading.

So my main problem was that the story really isn't a story; it's an introduction, and introductions and prologues are the very thing I routinely skip when reading a book, because they rarely deliver anything that's worth the time spent in reading them. Another problem I had with this is that mom is shown in a traditional role in the kitchen. There's nothing wrong with being a traditional mom, but it's depicted so often in children's books that it amounts to brainwashing girls: you are hereby found guilty of womanhood! You are sentenced to life in the kitchen without the possibility of parole! I wish writers and artists would allow girls to decide for themselves what they will do with their life. Instead, just like the eagles, they're imaged and imagined as fulfilling no role other than one traditionally set in stone - or in this case, in the kitchen - and this when we're about to elected the USA's first female president! We need to ditch that paradigm - or at least show dad in that same role just as often. No dad is in evidence here, other than Aquila's dad, BTW.

Given these issues, I really cannot recommend it in good faith. I wish the writer success in her endeavor, but it's not one with which I can get on board.


Tuesday, July 26, 2016

The Spectacular World of Waldorf: Mr. Waldorf Travels to the Great State of Texas by Barbara Terry, Beth Ann Stifflemire, Vladimir Kirichenko


Rating: WARTY!

This is part of a series featuring an anthropomorphized dog, Waldo, who travels far and wide and reports back on what he finds. It's aimed at young children, but even so, I was disappointed in how blinkered and condescending the perspective was. The reason I was curious about this volume - the first in this series that I've read - was that it features a visit to Texas, something I know a little bit about!

I know you can't write a children's book the same way you would a more mature book, but neither do I believe you should demean children by simplifying things too much. For me, that was the problem here. I found it rather insulting in many ways. For example, the only observations the dog had with regard to Austin were flowers and how hot the chili was. There was nothing about music, nothing about technology, nothing about how fast the city is growing, nothing about the river - and nothing about the heat! Pretty much the only topic they offered for Houston was oil. There was nothing about the space program or about hurricanes for that matter. In fact, nature was pretty much ignored, with places being reduced to cook-outs, line-dancing, and cattle drives. Apart from the Alamo, there was virtually nothing about landmarks, scenery, and wildlife. It was really disappointing.

I understand that this was a short book, that children can't be bombarded with cold facts, and that children's books need to be relatively simple, colorful, and fun, and while the artwork, done I assume by Vladimir Kirichenko, was good, this doesn't mean we should underserve kids, or treat them like they're not capable of understanding more. You can't raise children up by talking down.

I get that you don't want to launch into a discussion of the Kennedy assassination when you're talking about Dallas, but given that we're celebrating the Alamo here, which has a claim to fame centered in a massacre, why would a mention that President Kennedy died in Dallas not have a place? If you don't want to talk about a death, then why not talk about births? Buddy Holly was born in Texas, as was Gene Roddenberry of Star Trek fame, and Bessie Coleman, pioneering African American civil aviator. If you want more "modern" celebrities, Kelly Clarkson was born in Texas, as was Beyoncé, Jim Parsons, Robert Rodriguez, Erykah Badu, Carly Fiorina, and so on. It's not just cattle drives and line dancing!

I know Texas and places like Houston have roots soaked in oil, but is that what we want children to take home from this when Texas is also awash in alternative energy? It bothered me that here was a chance to give children something expansive and educational, yet it was frittered away, and that's why I can't positively rate a book like this.


Sunday, July 24, 2016

The Spell Thief by Tom Percival


Rating: WORTHY!

Set in fairy-tale land, this book for children really stirs things up. Yes, we have the regulars here, Jack (of the Beanstalk - and can those beans talk? Well yeah, if you eat too many!), Rapunzel (of the hair today, gone tomorrow method of escapology), Red Riding Hood, and so on. But there's a new kid on the block: Anansi, who is visiting from far away. Jack also has a talking hen called Betsy, but she only seems to squawk "Whaaat?" so frankly, I'm not 100% convinced that she can actually talk at all....

From the off, Jack is suspicious of Anansi, who seems to be way-too-friendly with trolls to be on the up and up, so Jack makes a pact with the local mer-witch who can sell him a magical trick or two which might help expose the Anansi boy. But is Anansi as bad as he's lamented, or is he merely caught in a web of his own troubles?

I loved this story for the craziness, and the chicken, and the mermaid, for the sly wit, and for Jack's schemes always seeming to trip themselves up. Story unrelenting with great ending? I recommending!


Friday, July 22, 2016

Spot the Duck by Gerald Hawksley


Rating: WORTHY!

If you liked Gerald Hawksley's Don't Juggle Bees, or his If You Have a Hat, both of which I liked, then you'll also like this one, unless you hate endings with a twist - and this one has a doozy!

This is Chuck. He's lost his duck. And if there's one thing about chuck, it's not bad luck. Off he goes through the town, face all covered in a frown. He has to find his duck he says, and he looks for Spot always. But can he find his ducky friend? You'll have to read it to the end.

Written and illustrate colorfully for young children and anyone they can find to read it to them, this is an amusing and entertaining story that has a fun ending. I recommend it.


Bell's Big Move by Tom Shay-Zapien, Matt Wiewel


Rating: WORTHY!

As part of the international Christmas in July celebration that I just made up (I guess that makes it a decelebration?), This was a fun and charming book for young kids who are fans of wint'ry days and warm furry dogs (and who isn't?!). It's evidently part of a system whereby there's also a plush puppy which costs an addition thirteen dollars or so, and is electronically linked to the book so when certain words are spoken out loud (and assuming the toy is within range), it reacts, presumably by barking or whatever. I can see parents loving that after the first fifty thousand such barks! It's yet another example of electronics creeping into every corner of life. I haven't made up my mind if it's a good thing or a bad one yet! I guess I shouldn't complain too much since I work for a corporation which is entering the home electronics market, although were not making plush toys. Not yet!

This is evidently part of a series, and I am reviewing a companion book separately today, which appears to be a kind of prequel to this one. This one is narrated nicely by Matt Wiewel, and colorfully illustrated with what actually looks like painstakingly posed toys and models. The images are quite remarkable and are evidently taken from a stop-motion animated show. The story follows Bell, the husky dog, who is having to move to a new home during the winter with her friend Sofia. Will they like their new home? Will they miss the old place? Perhaps meeting Jingle, who looks like Bell's twin, in the new town will be the start of a beautiful friendship? If not, there's always Rick's place, where everybody goes....

This is another books with an accompanying sound track, and the great thing about it is that it engages all the senses. You can swipe the screen with fingers (this book worked well on my smart phone which is very convenient), you can listen to the voice-over, you can enjoy the artwork, you can taste the adventure, and you can smell those electronic circuits warming up as you read...wait, maybe not so much on that last one. I thought it was a great way to get kids listening and reading. You can even engage them in seeking out interesting animals and items in the pictures. I recommend it.


Jingle All the Way by Tom Shay-Zapien, Matt Weiwel


Rating: WORTHY!

As part of the international Christmas in July celebration that I just made up (I guess that makes it a decelebration?), This was a fun and charming book for young kids who are fans of wint'ry days and warm furry dogs (and who isn't?!). Narrated nicely by Matt Weiwel, and colorfully illustrated with what actually looks like painstakingly posed toys and models, this little picture book follows Jingle, the husky dog, who is spending Christmas not only alone, but also out on the street! Ulp! (Do dogs say ulp? It's been a while since I've teamed up with one, but I don't recall mine ever saying that). The interesting thing is that Jingle isn't actually as alone as he fears. There's this guy in a red suit roaming around, and he has some ideas about matchmaking this year.

This is another of those books with an accompanying sound track, so young kids can read or listen or both. It's also sync'd to a plush toy dog which costs an additional thirteen dollars or so, and which barks in response to key phrases (supposedly. I haven't tested that, and I'm not sure how many parents would really want a kid controlling a yapping dog, but there it is). I'll bet if I were a kid I'd want it! LOL! The narrator is Matt Weiwel, who seems to have the contract for all of these books.

The great thing about it this is that it engages all the senses. You can swipe the screen with little fingers (this book worked well on my smart phone which is very convenient), you can listen to the voice-over, you can enjoy the artwork, you can taste the adventure, and you can smell those electronic circuits warming up as you read...wait, maybe not so much on that last one. I thought it was a great way to get kids listening and reading. You can even engage them in seeking out interesting animals and items in the pictures. I recommend it.


Cassidy and the Rainy River Rescue by Keely Chace, Nikki Dyson, Diane Marty


Rating: WORTHY!

This was an interesting and charming book for young kids who are fans of horses (and who isn’t?!). Narrated nicely by Diane Marty, and colorfully illustrated and colorfully and boldly illustrated by Nikki Dyson, this little picture book follows young Cassidy (and what a great name for a horse? No? yes? I liked it) as she roams around the ranch looking for fun and adventure. She finds it. She’s a bit too young to take part in the cattle Round-Up. Why anyone would want to spray weed-killer on cows anyway is a mystery to me (that was a farming joke). She does find out that she’s perfect to help a little calf-pint who’s in trouble down by the river.

This is likely part of a system whereby there's also a plush pony which is electronically linked to the book so when certain words are spoken out loud (and assuming the toy is within range), it reacts, presumably by neigh-saying or whatever. I can see parents saying aye-aye after the first couple of hundred whiny whinnies!

The great thing about this book is that it engages all the senses. You can swipe the screen (this book worked well on my smart phone, FYI) with your fingers, you can listen to the voice-over, you can enjoy the artwork, you can taste the adventure, and you can smell those electronic circuits warming up as you read…wait, maybe not so much on that last one. I thought it was a great way to get kids listening and reading. You can even engage them in seeking out interesting animals and items in the pictures. I recommend it.


Thursday, July 14, 2016

The Zebra Said Shhh by MR Nelson, Tamia Sheldon


Rating: WORTHY!

Well, it's time once again to review some children's literature! I have two wonderful ones for you. This is a beautifully illustrated young children's book aimed (and good luck with that!) at getting your young 'un off to sleep at night! I actually think this has a good chance of succeeding because it has a mantra-like, almost hypnotic cadence as the zebra finds himself, stripe me, having to shush, in turn, all the other animals in the zoo which, apart from one reptile and one bird, seems to be exclusively devoted to mammals.

So once he's talked in turn to those pesky monkeys (and you know what those guys are like after they get high on peanuts!), risked hurting the lion's pride, repeated himself to the parrot, asked the tortoises to slow down for the day, managed, at a stretch, to convince the giraffe, and on and on, suddenly, everything seems remarkably quiet. Hmm!

I liked this story and adored the images, and the book works well even on a smart phone in the crappy Kindle app, FYI. They look awesome on the iPad in landscape mode, even in the crappy Kindle app. I think Nelson and Sheldon are a team to be reckoned with. Assuming they continue to get a good night's sleep. Shhh!


Sunday, July 10, 2016

Bearded by Jeremy Billups


Rating: WORTHY!

This is a charming and weird rhymed tale of a bear with a beard. The redheaded child is telling us about this bear. The bear is apparently a beard-wrestling champ, and rumor has it he may have even beaten Santa Claus himself! If you sign up for the author's newsletter, you can even get free coloring pages from the book, for your kids to color between the lions...er lines. There are no lions. Perish the thought. Who even said that?

This bear, and we know he's not bare-faced, so I'm assuming he's not a bear-faced liar...has been knighted even though he may (or may not) hang around with pirates! The redhead likes to travel far and wide with her bear, and it was pleasing to see that this author knows whence bearded dragons hail!

I loved The End! I heartily (yes, people still say that!) recommend this one for young children and their parents and guardians and grandparents and baby-sitters and older siblings. It's crazy enough that it doesn't even have to be educational, which I normally look for in children's books, but even though it's crazy, it will still tell you where bearded dragons can be found! I discovered that most children's books are shockingly mum on this topic, and even seem to be dragon their feet....