Blue Penguin and the Sensational Surf by Eileen Wacker

Title: Blue Penguin and the Sensational Surf
Author: Eileen Wacker
Publisher: Once Kids
Rating: WORTHY!

DISCLOSURE: Unlike the majority of reviews in this blog, I've neither bought this book nor borrowed it from the library. This is a print book which Once Kids were kind enough to send to me for review. I'm not receiving (nor will I expect to receive or accept) remuneration for this review. The chance to read a new book is often enough reward aplenty!

It's the grand opening of the new Fujimini Island Swim and Surf school, and all the penguins are there, setting up. Blue Penguin is the surf teacher, Red Penguin is serving food and drink, Orange Penguin is hanging ribbons, and last but by no means least, Purple Penguin is ready to greet the customers. Even Rainbow Panda is there trying to make up for his escapade with the firecrackers, by hanging the shop sign.

Everything seems to be going swimmingly until a Kappa shows up! Nope, that's not a Capra, as in a famous movie director, and it's not a Zappa as in an equally famous musician, it's a Kappa - a very naughty spirit which lives in water and looks like a monkey in a turtle suit. Yes, you heard what I said. Don't try to pretend you don't know what's going on here!

After a brief discussion, Blue Penguin resolves to ignore the Kappa and press on with his opening day plans. He doesn't want to disappoint, so he asks which of Silver Bunny, Pink Hamster, Green Hamster, or Rainbow Panda wants to get the first lesson. They all do, but as they're having fun out on the ocean, learning to handle their surf-boards, who is keeping a watchful eye on the kappa?

The Kappa does, of course, wreak its mischief, but with the help of Blue Bay Dolphin and Blue Wale, things are brought back under control. The resolution commendably comes not through fighting and antagonism, but through peaceful talk and offers of help.

This is the third in Eileen Wacker's series that I've read, and I've been pleased with all of them. This one is the first which I've read in print book form (many thanks to Lynn Coppotelli and the people at Once Kids for this opportunity). I have to remark that it's quite breathtaking to see the printed form compared with the ebooks to which I've had access previously.

The art work by Alan Low is beautifully done, and the overall layout and presentation is gorgeous. This is a glossy-paged hardback with a paper over-cover, so if I have one complaint, it's that both of these covers contain the same image. It seems to me that the hard cover itself is sufficient - can we help save a tree by dispensing with the paper over-cover?

Aside from that, I have no complaints at all about this book or this series. It's a well-done, engrossing, and and attractive read for young children, and continues in the sterling tradition set by previous volumes. I recommend this book unreservedly.

Silver Bunny and the Secret Fort Chop by Eileen Wacker

Title: Silver Bunny and the Secret Fort Chop (I was unable to find this book at B&N, not available at Amazon)
Author: Eileen Wacker
Publisher: Once Kids
Rating: WORTHY!

DISCLOSURE: Unlike the majority of reviews in this blog, I've neither bought this book nor borrowed it from the library. This is a "galley" copy ebook, supplied by Net Galley. I'm not receiving (nor will I expect to receive or accept) remuneration for this review. The chance to read a new book is often reward aplenty!

Illustrated by Curt Spurging.

Erratum:
P4 "moive" should be "movie"

This is another in a growing series of which I reviewed one edition in July last year: Rainbow Panda and the Firecracker Fiasco, so I was pleased to have this chance to revisit that world and see how things are going. This story is from the same stable and by the same author as the earlier one, but it's about a different character.

I don't know what the marketing plan is for this book but I was unable to find it anywhere. I could find no useful references to it online. It wasn't on B&N nor was it available at Amazon although they did list it, and I couldn't even find a cover image out there! Normally I take the cover image for a blog illustration directly from the ebook if I can, but in this case, the one on my blog is from Net Galley.

In this edition, we follow the antics of Silver Bunny, who is bored in Orange Bunny's taekwondo class. I used to date someone who pursued taekwondo, so this was interesting to me. Silver already knows the moves, but she isn't disciplined enough to understand that you not only have to know the moves, you also have to live them - to be able to put your heart and soul into them to make them real and worthy.

Silver would far rather be off surfing, and isn't even remotely deterred by the fact that last time she went surfing she was almost swallowed by a whale - that was just an accident, she protests! Eventually she and her friends come up with a plan to sneak off and do their own thing.

This book is illustrated, but none of the illustrations were visible in my Adobe Digital Editions reader - it was all text and white space, so I can't show any samples as I normally do. I saw the illustrations in the Kindle edition, but they were grey scale, which effectively prevents me from saying anything useful about them, except that I recall them being really quite good and very colorful in the earlier volume I read. I can only assume that the illustrations in this volume will be along the same lines. This doesn't mean the illustrations won't be as good, but do note that the illustrator here is not the same one who illustrated Rainbow Panda.

Teaming up with a couple of hamsters (you know what hamsters can be like, I'm sure - they're almost as bad as rats for mischief and exploration), Silver Bunny goes surfing; then they look up Rainbow Panda to get help building a secret fort where they can make a movie about taekwondo. There may be a dragon involved here, too.... The problem is that things don't turn out too well, and they discover a valuable lesson about the importance of proper learning and sound preparedness.

As in the previous volume I read in this series, this one also features quite an extensive glossary explaining aspects of Far Eastern culture, including the things depicted in this story. I recommend this young children's book.

Rainbow Panda and the Firecracker Fiasco by Eileen Wacker

Title: Rainbow Panda and the Firecracker Fiasco
Author: Eileen Wacker
Publisher: Bookmasters
Rating: WORTHY!

DISCLOSURE: Unlike the majority of reviews in this blog, I've neither bought this book nor borrowed it from the library. This is a "galley" copy ebook, supplied by Net Galley. I'm not receiving (nor will I expect to receive or accept) remuneration of any kind for this review. Since this is a new novel, this review is shorter so as not to rob the writer of their story, but even so, it will probably still be more detailed than you'll typically find elsewhere!

Here's the shortest review I will probably ever write! Don't worry, it's a good one. This is not a children's book blog, but it is a book blog and there are some kid's stories, even at my age, which resonate. My kids are too old for this story to entertain them, but I know that when they were younger they would have loved an exotic story like this if they'd had access to it.

Rainbow Panda and the Firecracker Fiasco is part of the Fujimini Island series, and is about a panda who wants to light some firecrackers, and who predictably makes a mess of it. Some of his forest friends (an improbable assortment of multi-hued dragons, hamsters, penguins, dolphins, and rabbits) help out. I have some qualms about anthropomorphizing animals and coloring them unnaturally, but in a book for the age range this is aimed towards, it does no harm. Overall the story is well written, colorfully and beautifully illustrated, charming, and educational in a non-preaching manner.

The book is 75 pages, but the story is only half of that. The latter half is a useful glossary of some aspects of Asian culture, which is where the Rainbow Panda stories have their roots. It talks briefly about bonsai (not banzai!), and sushi (which my kids love), as well as other foods, and Asian traditions, so it could definitely educate both child and parent. I particularly liked the section on chopsticks, having just seen The Wolverine where chopsticks are mentioned (it's "bad luck" to stick them upright in your food because then they are reminiscent of incense sticks which are burned at funerals!).

This brings me to one issue I did have with this story which is where it mentions performing certain ritualistic acts to bring luck. We all know that's nonsense (at least I hope we do!). I think it would be more useful to teach children that they make their own "luck", and that while some ritual does have disciplinary value, it isn’t a very practical method of living your life to rely on luck or talismans. But that's a very minor qualm when set in the larger context of a really useful, educational, and entertaining children's story.

Having read this story, I have no problem recommending it and looking favorably on this series. Anything we can do to promote smart-thinking and safety amongst children is to be encouraged.