Time Square Time Shift – S.W. Lothian

Genre: Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Suspense, Humor
Source: I received a review copy from the author

 This is another wonderful series from this author.  In this series we meet Dr. Rex Hudson and his family.  Dr. Hudson and his assistant are in Peru at Machu Pichu looking for something important.  They find a black oblisk and have it shipped back to his home.  Once home he shares the exciting find with two of his three children, twins Eva and Lewis.  While inspecting it the three of them are sucked into it and find themselves in Time Square where all time goes through.  Unfortunately when they are sucked through the youngest son Thomas is left at home with his aunt who had been staying with them while their father is away.  Once in Time Square Dr. Hudson realizes by bringing back the oblisk he has upset time and time travelers everywhere are stuck.  He and the children must find a way to get back home and get the oblisk back to where it belongs.  Unfortunately the oblisk is stolen making their job more difficult.  The children are set to the task of helping to rescue those stuck in time.

Like his previous books in the Quest Series, S.W. Lothian is a master at creating time travel stories. The oher thing I love about his books is that he has the ability to tie adventure, suspense and humor all together in one book.  This is definitely the recipe for hooking a middle grade reader. I am so glad I had the opportunity to read and review this book. It is one I will put on my shelves at school and then sit and wait impatiently for the next book in the series.

Author Bio From Amazon

S.W. Lothian is a funny and cool guy from Australia. His kids call him 'Phil Dunphy', because he reminds them of the dad from Modern Family. He isn't sure whether this is a compliment or not, but he takes it as a compliment.
As an imaginative kid he dreamed of creating exciting worlds and funky characters, and thought he'd be the most famous person to ever do this. He loved to draw and was dux of Art in High School. Top of his dream list was to be an animator. He loved watching all those classic cartoons on TV - Scooby Doo, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Road Runner, Wacky Races, The Simpsons, the list goes on and on.

BOOM! Reality hit. The dreams were parked as the corporate world beckoned. Then, 25 years later, the long-held dream to create erupted like a jam donut in a microwave and S.W. started writing fiction for kids of all ages.

His books can be summed up as fun-action-packed-time-travel-adventures-for-the-kid-in-everyone. He writes stories to excite, inspire, teach and thrill. Stories with awesome edge-of-your-seat fun. Stories that let kids escape to new places, and adults remember the dreams of their own childhood.

His debut novel, The Golden Scarab, was a 2013 READERS' FAVORITE BOOK AWARD FINALIST.

S.W. Lothian can be followed via

Twitter 

Facebook 

Websites: www.swlothian.com and www.timesquaretheshift.wordpress.com

Great Lessons in Picture Books

Joey and the Net – Amos Ordan
Genre: Children’s Picture Book
Source: I received a copy for review from the author

The book starts out talking about a fish called a tilapia. I enjoyed the information the author gave about the fish. It is one of my favorite types of fish to eat, yet until I read this book, I knew nothing about it. The story is about Mam, a mother tilapia who carries her babies in her mouth to keep them safe. She lets them out from time to time but makes them swim back in when danger is present. They all obey except little Joey. He likes hiding. One day they see a worm dangling from a hook. All of the babies except Joey swim into Mam’s mouth. Joey is about to take a bite of the worm when his mom slaps him with her fin. She tells him of the danger. The next day she is so determined to keep Joey in her mouth that she doesn’t see a net that has been dropped in front of her. When she cries out Joey swims out. Joey convinces his siblings to swim out and help to save their mom. You must read the book to find out how they save her. This was a wonderful book and there was even a link to the video book at the end of it.

Maya and Filippo Look for Whales – Book and Coloring Book

Genre: Children's Picture Book
Source: I received a review copy in exchange for my hones review

 

Maya & Filippo live and travel on the cruise ship the Fun Princess, with their parents and cat. ON this trip we find them visiting Ketchikan, Alaska. Maya wants to see whales on this trip. Their first tour stop takes her and her brother to a native village. Filippo loved the totem poles, but Maya thought they were boring. All she wanted to do was see a whale. She listens to the story of one totem pole that was about a man trying to catch fish. He  wasn’t having any luck so he pretended he had caught lots of different fish. He finally caught a salmon who told him if he would put him back then he would soon have many fish. The Review native put the salmon king back in the water and soon caught many salmon. Maya listened to the story and decided to pretend she was watching whales.  Id she get to see whales? I guess you’ll have to read the book to find out. While you are at it this book also has a wonderful matching coloring book. It is full of scenes from the book.

 

Maya and Filippo Find Happiness in Tauranga

Genre: Children's Picture Book

Source: I received a review copy in exchange for my honest review

On this trip Maya and Filippo travel to a small town in New Zealand called Tauranga.  Maya slept in on this morning. Her brother ate breakfast with his parents. He had five cups of chocolate mousse because his parents weren’t paying attention.  When Maya got up there was none left. She blamed Filippo for eating it all and he blamed her for his stomach ache.  Their mother made them leave the ship and explore Tauranga. They went separate directions. Maya visited a Maori village and watched the dancers. One of the dancers saw how sad she was.  Maya told her what had happened with her brother.  The dancer explained everyone was responsible for their own happiness and how they reacted to things they didn’t like.  Filippo visited a geyser.  When a young boy gets mad at him because he won’t play ball with him and he is bored, Filippo screams it is not his job to make him happy.  Can you guess what lessons Maya and Filippo learn from this experience?  Check out the book to find out.

Ice Dogs – Terry Lynn Johnson

Middle Grade Adventure

When Victoria Secord set out to try to get new lead dogs for her team, she finds herself in trouble. Victoria is a champion dog-sled racer.  Her mother doesn’t think she needs new dogs. But, Victoria wants to win the White Wolf race and feels she can only do this with a few new dogs.  Without letting her mother know her plans, she waits until her mother leaves for work to head out.  She is in unfamiliar territory. She has her map and all of the skills her now deceased father taught her.  Almost to the camp she was heading for she comes across a snowmobile wrapped around a tree. She finds the owner lying in the snow hurt. Once she gets Chris loaded onto the sled, with his directions she heads to his home.  It isn’t long before she realizes they are lost. To make matters worse a blizzard has set in.  It will take everything her father taught her along with help from Chris if they and her dogs are to survive.  The characters were spot on. The author definitely knows how teens think. The plot progressed smoothly enough, with enough heart stopping twists and turns to keep me turning page after page.  The author definitely knows about dog sledding, and Alaska. I felt, as I read, I was there with Victoria, Chris and the dogs along for this adventure. I loved watching the relationship build between Victoria and Chris. This was not a romantic relationship but a relationship that stretched them in ways they had not expected.  I've read books where the characters come across as flat, but this book has very well rounded characters.  It brought out a lot of emotions in me.  This is a book  that I know my students will enjoy as much as I did.  It reminded me a lot of Gary Paulsen’s book Hatchet.  I know the students who have read his books will enjoy this one as well. I look forward to more books by this author.  It is an asset to all classroom shelves.  I am definitely recommending this one to our media specialist.

Disclosure:  I received a copy from the author in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed here are my own and no way influenced by receiving the book.

You can find out more about Terry at:

Her Website   

Her Blog     

Goodreads 

Retarded Girl Raised in Dog Pen: Authorities Say Girl Witness to Murder – Lauren Leigh

Genre: Adult, Realistic Fiction, Murder Mystery
Format:  Kindle edition
I received a copy of this book as a gift in exchange for my honest review.

 One thing that captured my eye from the beginning was the Headline type  title.  This read like something from the newspaper.  The book starts with a young couple in the hospital waiting for their new baby.  They decide to adopt the child even though they are told the child is born blind, will never walk or talk and may be mentally disabled.  They name her Baby because they believe she will always be that way.  From the very beginning it is evident that her mother, named Rivers,  loves Baby  no matter what.  She sees so much more potential than most people.  As we read we learn that Rivers husband is a highly respected deputy sheriff.  I believed he was apprehensive about adopting a child like this until I read about how highly he thought of his hunting dogs over Baby.  He reverses their role and brings them into the house and places this young child out in a dog pen to live.  I was appalled on so many levels. Every time Rivers brings baby into the house, Baby is taken back outside and put back in the pen. Her food is placed in a dog dish. When her mom tries to intervene she is beaten.

Now most of you who are reading this are thinking, why didn’t she just take the baby and leave if they were being abused? I know from watching a family member who was in an abusive relationship, that they are mentally beaten down until they fear if they do anything they and their children will be hurt or worse.  Mentally their mind goes into survival mode. Many women live this way for years until they finally get the courage to run. Many of them end up dead. In Rivers’ case, she ends up dead, baby ends up in an institution and the deputy ends up dead. Rivers doesn’t remember killing him.

This was a fantastic book.  The characters were so believable that was empathetic to their situation from the very beginning. I fell in love with Baby from the beginning.  I hated the Deputy almost from the beginning. It felt like he allowed the adoption just to give his wife something to do. I was so engrossed in the book that I read it during every spare minute I had, which wasn’t much, just to find out how things would work out.  If you want a book with that human touch to it, that will keep you on the edge of your seat reading, then this is the book for you.  I would definitely read more by this author.

Two Wonderful Books by Hope Irvin Marston

Sackets Harbor Powder Monkey: The War of 1812 – Hope Irvin Marston


From Goodreads:


It's 1811 and eleven-year-old Rankin McMullin has joined the warship ONEIDA to fight the British and end the laws that force New York farmers to smuggle their potash across Lake Ontario to Canada in order to survive. As a powder boy on the brig, his job is to carry gunpowder to the carronades. Eventually the shooting war begins. How the first battle ends surprises Rankin and everybody else.


My Thoughts:


This was a wonderful book.  I love reading historical fiction.  The author has done a lot of research into the War of 1812.  As a teacher I can tell you we don’t teach a lot about this war.  I was surprised at how much I learned.  I didn’t know what a powder monkey was. To think that young boys, around the age of 11 served on these war ships and gave their lives at such a young age was surprising.  A powder monkey had to be fast and agile. Their main job was to run up and down the ladders from the deck, bringing gunpowder to the cannons. For that reason alone they were often targeted.  If the person firing the cannons couldn’t get the powder from below then they couldn’t fire their cannon.


I couldn’t understand why Rankin was so set on joining the battle. He seemed almost fearless. His older brother William signed on and was trained to fire the cannon.  One reason they were both signed on was because they could read and write.  Most boys of that time, unless their parents were wealthy were unable to read and write. The bibliography and glossary helped a lot.  For those people like me who want more information the bibliography was perfect.


 
Eye on the Iditarod Aisling’s Quest

From Goodreads


'I was born to race. Born to drive a team of sled dogs. Born to follow my dream of running the Iditarod.' This is the real-life story of a young girl with a big dream. From the time she was three years old, Aisling (pronounced 'Ashley') Lara Shepherd loved watching sled dog racing on television. Inspired by the drive and determination of the dogs and the people who race them, Aisling set out on a personal quest to one day run her own dogs in the famous Iditarod race in Alaska. Follow eleven-year-old Aisling as she conquers obstacles, deals with heartbreak and loss, and achieves great victories—all while keeping her eye on the Iditarod.


 
My Thoughts


From the very beginning I had a connection with Aisling.  When she described her eye condition and surgery I understood. Thyroid disease almost cost me my vision.  I didn’t let it stop me. I wrote and finished my first book while going through my five eye surgeries.  I am not sure anything would make me brave enough to try the Iditarod.  I admire the strength, perseverance, and courage a race like this takes. The fact that Aisling was only eleven years old makes me admire her even more.  The book not only teaches you about the race and all that goes into it, but also gives you a look at Aisling’s life. I do have to mention the illustrations.  Bob Renaud has created a set of illustrations that resemble photographs. They are that good.  I look forward to reading more books by this author.  The amount of research she puts into each and every book makes this something that I really enjoy having on my shelves.  There were two other things I enjoyed in this book besides the glossary that helped me understand the terms I didn’t know. One of them was the list of books she has included that are on the subject of the Iditarod and lesson ideas for teaching about the Iditarod. Now all I need to figure out is how I can bring the Iditarod into my Florida classroom curriculum. Like always when a subject intrigues me, I’m sure I’ll find a way.  This is a definite must read for boys and girls and for shelves in all middle schools.


About the Author (From Goodreads)


Hope Irvin Marston was the founder of the Black River Valley Writers Club and the founder and director of the North Country Children's Writers and Illustrators Workshop. She has taught creative writing workshops at Jefferson Community College and the Jefferson-Lewis Teacher Center for many years. She has also been on staff at Christian Writers Conferences at Hephzibah Heights (MA), Montrose Bible Conference (PA), and a St. Davids Christian Writers Conference at Beaver Falls, Pa. Hope is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and a book reviewer for Church Libraries.


I received copies of the book in exchange for my review.  I was not compensated for it and the comments here are my own.

Two Wonderful Books by Mahamad Ali Elfakir

 The Ancient Secret of the Leprechauns

Three leprechauns, D;Arcy, Lorcan and Scully live in a hidden home on top of a mountain.  Each day they get up with the sun and greet it.  Then they get in their boat and sail to a secret island. This island is actually at the end of the rainbow.  Once there they would push a hidden button on the tree and their pot of gold would come up out of the sand. They greeted  the parrot who lived in the tree above their pot of gold, then spent the rest of the day playing in their gold. At the end of the day they would push a button and their gold would be hidden again. One day they forgot to push the button. When they got up the next day they knew something was wrong. The sea was rough, and when they got to the island their gold was gone.  A group of pirates had seen their gold and stolen it.  Now they must find a way to get their gold back so that they can once again play with it.  This was a wonderfully, cute fantasy.

Stinky Fumes King of the Wild

This story teaches children that it is a good thing to be unique and different. Every year on the first day of Spring the skunks gather for a big party.  The new young skunks get a chance to spray for the first time. Pepper is a new skunk.  He lives with his mother, father and two adopted rabbit brothers.  The rabbit brothers are not allowed to go to the party because the spray would be too strong.  They follow along behind and hide in the bushes.  When it is Pepper’s turn to spray he hears a loud noise and jumps, spraying a large blast that smells like flowers.  Pepper’s brothers new that his spray smelled like flowers but had never told him.  All of the other skunks make fun of him.  Pepper runs off. When the rest of the skunks find themselves in danger it is Pepper that they look to for help.  Read to find out how Pepper and his brothers are able to save the day.

About the Author

Mahamad Ali Elfakir was born in Detroit, Michigan, in January of 1975. He is an entrepreneur who is blessed with a wonderful wife and amazing children. Mahamad’s books also include Blueberry Bubble Gum.

You can find out moreat his website     


I received a copy of these books from the author. The review is my own opinion and I received no other compensation for it.

Life Lived Twice - Sherrie Wouters

Adult, Romance, Fantasy

I received a copy from the author in exchange for my honest review

From Goodreads:

Some promises are made to last forever...

What if you fell in love with a stranger...but that stranger had come from your past, a past you never knew existed until the moment your eyes met?

When Tess Winters locks eyes with a stranger at an airport bookstore, it ignites a feeling of passion somewhere deep inside her that she can't explain.

Although the encounter is innocent and brief, the intensity of it lingers, leaving her overwhelmed by a yearning for the mystery man now consuming her every thought.

Struggling to break the powerful hold he has over her heart, Tess starts to experience strange but familiar dreams...dreams from the turn of the twentieth century of the charming Mr Addison Taylor.

As her dreams start to materialize into reality, and past and present begin to blur, Tess is forced to put the pieces of a forgotten time together, and soon discovers that love isn't the only thing that can find you after an eternity.

Captivating, mysterious, and romantic, Life Lived Twice will leave you wondering whether love is so powerful it could last more than a lifetime.

My thoughts:

Let me tell you how much I enjoyed this book. I watch two or three shows a week.  I read through the show I normally watch.  I tuned my husband and family out.  I didn’t check email or Facebook at all once I started this book. That is how good this book was.

As I started reading this book I felt the writing was almost lyrical the way it flowed.  Tess’s dreams keep taking her back to someone named Lylah and Addison. For years she’d had dreams.  Some of them left her feeling terrified, while others left her feeling somewhat confused.  After a chance encounter at an airport her dreams return. To her the dreams seem so real.  I think that is one thing I loved about this writing.  When in the dream with Lylah, I felt like I was right there with them.  There was such a passion about that time period that the reader can feel it. 

The characters are fleshed out and very believable.  There were enough twists that kept me reading from beginning to end. I don’t read very many romances because I don’t like what I call mushy, gushy romance novels.  This definitely was not one.  There was some suspense and trying to figure things out only to realize that the author had magnificently thrown me off the trail.  Some things I was able to figure out, and I believe the author did not try to hide those things from the reader, she just delayed their discovery, which made them pleasantly like hidden nuggets of gold, that the reader discovers along the way. The small supernatural element was written so as not to offend anyone.  I won’t say what it is because I’d rather you the reader, figure it out. I have to say I did not feel like I was beaten over the head with it.

The book leads you to a wonderful place, then throws the curve of all curves at you. Everyone has read books where the ending left you unsatisfied.  This book leaves you satisfied even though you may not like the ending.  The ending set things up so if the author got enough response she could continue it on in another book, and if not she could end it nicely the way it is.  I am glad to say at this writing the author is two-thirds of the way through the sequel.   In case you can’t hear me I am squealing with delight. I would gladly read and review the second book.

I would definitely recommend this book to all romance lovers who like the addition of a little bit of the supernatural.

Yu can check out the book trailer for this book here

About Sherrie:

A qualified Homeoeopath and Kinesiologist, Sherrie lives in country Victoria, Australia with her husband, and two daughters. She is currently working on the sequel to Life Lived Twice.

You can find her on:

Website

Goodreads

Facebook

Two Books by Jim Pransky

Championship Expectations  

Pages:  78

Source: Review Copy from Author

Genre:  Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

From Goodreads:

Mickey Baker and his teammates have experienced a rewarding and unprecedented athletic season, winning league titles in both basketball and football. As they approach the opening of the American Legion baseball season, hopes and expectations are running high for the opportunity at another championship.


My Thoughts:  
At first I wasn't sure I would like this book.  I agreed to review it because I knew it would be something my students would want to read.  I'm glad I did read it.  The writing is simple enough.  I was afraid that it would be full of stats and things I wouldn't really understand.  The plot was engaging enough to  keep my attention and progresseds smoothly. This was a simple book to read. And one I put on my shelves at school for the to enjoy.





Playoff Run

Pages: 88

Source: Review Copy from Author

Genre:  Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

From Goodreads

The Riverfront Eagles have just clinched the league championship and are headed to the district playoffs, riding an eleven-game winning streak. Their storybook season is dramatically changed, however, by an automobile accident that rocks the entire community.



My Thoughts

I actually enjoyed this book more than the first book.  There was a lot more action in this book than in the first book.  The story is carried on smoothly yet could be a stand-a-lone book.  This is another book I was glad to put on my shelves at school.  It is always checked out.