Skimmer and Finn: Lurkers and the Little Boop Creature by Christopher Francis

Genre: Children's Graphic

Source: I received a copy from the author. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I loved this second book in the Skimmer and Finn series.  In book one Finn wakes from hyper sleep on another planet. The earth has been destroyed and they must survive. He has a robot named Skimmer who is supposed to help him survive. Finn and two friends he meets along with a monster he saved have a new issue.  They have run into a group of monsters who are not happy with them. Boop is another robot who now helps Finn.  What is making the group of monsters so angry and how can Finn help them and their planet?  As they search for materials to build a door over a cave they hear a signal.  This book is all about Finn learning to survive, helping a planet heal and of course friendship  It is cute, it is funny, and I am looking forward to reading the next one.  I don't read many graphic novels, but this is one I definitely recommend.

 

Student Saturday: Connecting Dots: Poems of my Journey by David L. Harrison

Genre: Children, Poetry
Student Reviewer: Aleah F.

"Connecting Dots” is a poetry book. The reason I like this book is because it is a book of poems about his life. He had lots of pictures he loved, and he always wrote poems about his life. His life was very difficult. His high school year was fun. He played basketball and always tried the best he could. He would always shoot the ball and miss the basket, but he never gave up. He kept going. He did not care who was in the crowd watching him. All he was worried about was if he was getting somewhere in life. 

The lesson he learned was that it's okay to miss the basket but never put that down on yourself. People would always laugh at him, but the lesson he learned was never to care what people thought about him.

After he was done with a basketball game, he was surprised with a puppy, and his teammates were so proud of him. The teammates told him to go outside right after the game, so he did. His coach was outside and told him to close his eyes; when the coach told him to open his eyes and when he did, his coach had a black and white dog for him. 

 After he did all of that, he went home and got puppy love from his new puppy named Freckles.

I would recommend this book to people who like basketball, and to those who believe they should never give up.

I Am A Big Sister by KidsUp

Genre: Children's Picture Book

Source:  I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

What a wonderful book to read with your soon to be big sister, or even your soon to be big brother. It puts a positive spin on being an older sibling. The story takes you through the things your child can do to help take care of your new baby. Instead of feeling left out they become a very important part of the help with the new baby.  I didn't have a book like this when my second child was born. However, we sat down nightly with our son and talked about the things he could do to help with his new sister when she was born. There was no feelings of being left out. He took his "job" seriously. Before she was born he talked to her in my tummy nightly and kissed it and told her good night. The funny thing is, he was the only one who could calm her down. She recognized his voice. They maintain that closeness today, forty years later.  

This is a must read book for all new to be brother or sister.

 

Student Saturday: Tales of the Cryptids by Kelly Halls, Rick Spear, and Roxyanne Young

 

Genre: Children, Science and Nature
Student Reviewer: Dylan H.

“TALES OF THE CRYPTIDS” by Kelly Halls, Rick Spear, and Roxyanne Young is about the authors investigating reports of many different cryptids around the world. Cryptids are animals that come from legends, like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. The book goes into extreme detail about the number of interviews and information that they found out about each and every cryptid mentioned in this book. Most importantly cryptids such as, Hellhounds are legendary dogs that accompany the newly dead into the afterlife, or the New Jersey Devil with the earliest reported sighting was during the American Revolutionary War. Did you know in the mountain ranges of the Himalayas local villagers have reported sightings of the Yeti, also known as abominable snowman, which resembles Bigfoot. Overall, this is an incredibly good book and has so much information about cryptids and the stories that go with them.

Wilda Reads at Recess by Karen Georgiev

 

Genre: Children's Picture Book

Source:  I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

There is a reason my blog is called "The Musings of a Book Addict". Read below to learn why.

I absolutely loved this book. I was Wilda in first grade. My friend played on the swings, slides, and monkey bars while I sat against a tree and read. I preferred reading over everything else. This type of book should be in every kindergarten through second-grade classroom. It shows how some people value reading over everything else. It also shows that it is okay to be that person. This would also make an excellent mentor text when teaching alliteration to students. The story flows naturally, making it easier for children to pick up on. I loved the illustrations. My favorite was the picture of the children looking at Wilda reading, their mouths open in awe or surprise. Definitely, a book I will recommend to my friends who have younger children.

On a personal note, as I said above I was Wilda in first grade.  However, I did not stop there. My first-grade teacher asked if I would help another young girl with reading because she was struggling and I did. I tutored other students throughout my school years.  I have been a teacher for thirty-one years.  I teach middle school English. I make it my goal to turn non-readers into readers. I make them set a reading goal, and in exchange, the classes all choose my reading goal. (Just as a side note, this year my reading goal was set at  95 books by the end of May. When I left school last week I had read six.  I will add four more to that list since we were out for the hurricane.) I check in on them weekly. I know my first two - three weeks are hectic so I get little reading done. When I come in and write books on my list and tell them I'm trying to catch up, the game is on. I've been able to turn several in to life long readers. The best compliment I ever received was on the last day of school. A student told me he hated me. This was just before he grabbed me and hugged me and told me the reason was because I made him love reading.  He had stopped reading when his mother was accidentally killed before his eyes. She had read to him as a young child. His dad remarried 8 months later and that was the end of reading for him.  He keeps in touch and asks for recommendations for his young kids. It is fulfilling to get email with recommendations from former students.  So whether you are a teacher, parent, grandparent, or just someone who loves gifting kids with great books. This is one you must read.

It's Up To You by Christopher Francis

 

Genre: Children
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

ChristopherFrancis is one of my all time favorite authors. Whether he is writing for the younger reader or young adults, his books always have some sort of lesson to be learned. As a teacher of middle grade students I often see bullying at its worst.  It isn't just the name calling, and physical kind of bullying. Even worse is the bullying that degrades a person by ignoring them or leaving them out so they feel as if they are nothing. We see more of that in middle grades.  At the end of his book he has a game called stand up.  This is important not just for the youngest children, but for all ages.  When I teach about the holocaust, I do something similar called "walk the line".  We have to reach these kids when they are young. If we don't the consequences show up when they are adults.  This is a very important book that I highly recommend.

How to Be a Big Sister Book for 1 and 2 Year Old Toddlers by Mam Talk

 

Genre: Children's Picture Book

Source:  I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is a great book to read with your child when they are expecting a new sibling. The story is written so that each page has one line. This makes the book easy for kids to follow along. The story line follows a young girl who is a new big sister. It shows how she interacts with her new sibling. It shows how they do a lot of the same things and she even helps out. The pictures as always are bright and simple.

I Love My God-Given New Baby Sibling: How to Be A Big Sister by Lamb Library Press

Genre:  Children's Picture Book

Source:  I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

A young girl grows up having so much fun. Then one day she realizes it would be a lot more fun if she had a brother or sister to play with.  She tells her parents she wants a sibling. Eventually her mom has another baby and the little girl is thrilled. This is where real life sets in. The baby cries a lot and needs a lot of time and attention from the mother. The little girl feels left out. Mom sits her down and explains that her sibling is a gift from God. From that point on the girl takes special care of God’s gift.  A wonderful way to let children know how special they are, and that all children are a gift from God.

Four More Picture Books by Various Authors

 Genre: Picture Books                    Source:  Purchased

Books for Benjamin by R.G. de Rouen

I absolutely loved this book. Benjamin is a worm. Unlike his family who lives on the rotten fruit and vegetables the store owner throws out, Benjamin prefers reading. He slips into the store one night to hide inside a paper. His idea is to be taken to a home where he can read books. Instead he is almost eaten by a parrot. Read this wonderful adventure to see if he succeeds in finding books to read. Cute, while showing the value of reading. There is extra information at the end of the book about libraries.

Night Cats by Pippa Pralen

This is the story of cats that are homeless. One day when the author left a restaurant she saw a hungry cat and decided to feed it. That was the beginning of her adventure.  I loved this book because of the humorous pictures. At the end she has pictures of the cats she takes care of. I could understand. We inherited five semi-feral cats from a gentleman across the street. He had been feeding them and took them to the vet to be fixed. When he passed he left them to us in his will. We still have four of them.  I couldn’t imagine not helping them.

 

The Unusual Penguin by Madeleine MacRae

I loved this book.  A penguin finds a lone egg on the ice with no one around. She takes it home and cares for it. When it hatches she proudly takes care of her son. When he begins school it is quite apparent he doesn’t fit in. He can’t seem to do what the other penguins do. He doesn’t even look like them.  There is a reason for this, but I won’t tell.  A great book about being proud of who you are and not worrying if you aren’t like each other.  We need to celebrate our differences.

 

This is Not Enough by Anna Kang

Two friends try to find gifts for each other to show how much they care.  Neither of them think what they have chosen or made is enough.  However as we learn, when it comes to friends, the love they show us in whatever form is always enough.  Cute little book about friendship.

Three Lovely Books by Lois Petren

Genre: Picture Books
Source: Purchased

Lulu and Lainey…the Lucky Day – Lois Petren

Lulu visits her grandmother with her knitting. Her grandmother suggests they take their knitting to the park. She watches the bees, plays with a boat, watches the ducks and then they go to the carousel. This was her favorite spot. Today was lucky because she caught the ring. They find a place to sit and eat and knit. Suddenly a squirrel grabs her favorite yarn she calls Lainey.  An adventurous quick read. You must read it to find out if her luck holds out.

Lulu and Lainey…a Christmas Yarn – Lois a. Petren

It is Christmas time and Lulu visits her grandmother with her knitting basket. After lunch she sits down prepared to make her brother a beautiful scarf from Lainey. Lainey her green yarn is not in her basket. She sees her grandmother’s cat playing with it, and then it disappears. Her grandmother gives her some red yarn to use for the scarf.  But, what happened to Lainey and will she find it?

Lulu and Lainey…at the Farm – Lois Petren

Lulu is excited. They are going to visit their grandparents on their farm. She loved visiting the farm. She loved the sheep named Lainey the best That is where her soft yarn come from. Her grandmother takes her out to the barn and shows her the new baby goat. That night her grandmother asks a special favor from Lulu. Read the book to see how Lulu and Lainey help out her grandmother.

Three More Cute Picture Books

Genre: Picture Books
Source: Purchased

The Little Mouse in My House – Adisan Books

A cat goes out to catch a fish for his dinner. When he returns he finds a mouse has moved into his house. He tries staring at him, scaring him, offering him cheese. The little mouse ignores him. The cat just really wants the mouse out of his house. Very cute bedtime story.

 

Parker & Penny Save the Penguin Olympics – Brent Stradford

Penny and Parker are penguins. They wake up excited. It is the day of the penguin Olympics. When they get down to the Olympic playing field they see their friends. Their friends are sad. There is a big ice block in the middle of the field. They try to move it on their own. When they can’t move it they have to think of another way.  This is a great book about friendship and teamwork. It leaves a message of never giving up.

 

Honey Bee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera – Candace Fleming, Eric Rohmann

Think you know everything there is about honey bees?  I used to think that. Then my husband became a bee keeper and I realized I actually knew nothing about them.  In this book, the author takes you through the life of a bee, which is approximately 35 days long. The end of the book is fabulous. The author has included a page that tells you about the body parts of the bee and what each part does. Then they have included information on what you can do to help the bees.  Very informative book.  Read it and find out like I did, what you thought you knew, but didn’t.

Three Wonderful Books by Darcy Pattison

Genre: Children's Picture Books, Early Chapter Book
Source: Purchased

Diego is a Galapagos Tortoise originally from the Island of Española. Over 200 years beginning in the early 1600s the tortoises were harvested for food.  Scientists visiting the island in the early 1900s found only three tortoises. A female laid eggs and a short time later they found the tortoise they would eventually name Diego. He lived in the San Diego Zoo. 

The book is all about how scientists work together to try to protect near extinct species. Once again I learned so much. I definitely recommend this book.

I have to say I love this author’s books. I teach 8^th grade, yet I put her scientific books on my shelves because my reluctant readers will pick them up. Then I hear them talking about what they learned.

This book has two parts on each page. The author takes you through the history

of the 1919 eclipse. In a second box she adds more detailed information. This is what my eighth grader enjoy.  I myself had never known about the first eclipse photographed, and what they learned from it.  I highly recommend this book.

I have to say I love this author’s books. I teach 8^th grade, yet I put her scientific books on my shelves because my reluctant readers will pick them up. Then I hear them talking about what they learned.

This book has two parts on each page. The author takes you through the history of the 1919 eclipse. In a second box she adds more detailed information. This is what my eighth grader enjoy.  I myself had never known about the first eclipse photographed, and what they learned                                        from it.  I highly recommend this book.

Student Saturday: Monster Blood for Breakfast by R.L. Stine

 

Genre: Upper Elementary, Middle Grade, Horror

Student Reviewer: Landon M.

This book, Monster Blood for Breakfast by R.L. Stine is a horror story that you do not want to miss. it is full of action and excitement. The setting is both at Matt Daniel's the main character's house, and his school. Matt is an athletic person. He is on the school swim team.  Bradly Wormser is his friend next door. They call him worm because he is super skinny.  This book is about two friends, Matt and Bradley. matt is strong and on the swim team. So, Bradley orders something called monster blood. Bradley brings it over to Matt's house and explains to him what it is and what it does. Bradley says that it is monster blood and if he eats it, he will be strong like Matt. He explains that Monster blood is dangerous, and he will get rid of it the next day.  But, they have a science project and Matt is mad at Bradley for stealing his idea. So, the morning that Matt has a swim meet he puts the monster blood in Bradley's cereal. When Matt goes upstairs to change his shirt Bradley noticed Monster Blood and switched cereals with Matt. The monster blood does not just make him stronger, it makes him a lot bigger. Now he must do the swim meet because his teammates depend on him.

Will he figure out how to be normal again, or will he have to be like that forever? Find out and read Monter Blood.  In this book  when he grew super big from accidentally eating the monster blood, I thought while reading this book of something I would have done. Something I would have done is try to throw up the monster blood. Another thing I would have done is act like I was sick and not go to the swim meet.  

This book was full of adventure and excitement. I thought it would have been scarier, but it was it was still good, and I still enjoyed it. I would recommend this book to ages 10-14 and to people who enjoy adventure. Also, for people who like excitement this book would be for you. 

Four Wonderful Books By Sarah Read

Genre: Children's Picture Books
Source: Purchased

A cute picture book that introduces to different unicorns with names that show their feelings. The book not only teaches kids about different feelings, but that it is okay to have them. In some cases it give them information on how to deal with them.

This is similar to many others the author has written. This is a book about feelings. Her characters are dinosaurs. The illustrations are wonderful. The setting for each dinosaur helps bring the picture to life, as well as the story. Since our youngest child learns to love reading through being read to. They will pick up a book with wonderful pictures first. This is one of those books.

This should be a book read to every kid getting ready to begin first grade. Through different animals we learn what first grade is about and how much fun it will be. The animals all show such excitement for first grade. Another great book by this author

Let me start by saying the cover of this book is adorable. It is full of dinosaurs in pajamas. A sweet bedtime story showing the dinosaurs preparing for bed. The author has covered quite a few. Most are well known to children, but some even I had not heard of. Cute way to prepare children for sleep.

Day Two Picture Books by Luna Lark

 Genre: Children's Picture Books

Source: I purchased

This is similar to the author’s egg book about feelings.  We have little dragons express a series of emotions, fear, joy, shyness, sorrow.  Each dinosaur is illustrated in a color that we usually associate with that emotion. Another cute book to have that talk with your child to explain emotions they may not understand and give them  ideas about how to handle them.

 

I love the way the author has each animal performing a night time ritual such as washing their hands or curling up for the night. This book gives the child a feeling of being loved by their mother and going to sleep feeling safe and secure.

 

A calm way to end the night is by reading about zoo animals as they prepare to go to sleep. As each animal snuggles with their parent a sense of calm surrounds them. A calming way to put your young one to sleep each night.

Day One of Picture Books By Luna Lark

 Genre:  Children's Picture Books

Source:  I Purchased them.

This picture book has some of the most gorgeous illustrations I’ve seen in a long time. It is a simple
bedtime story of forest animal big brothers, letting their siblings know they love them. They show this through reading bedtime stories to them. They run through the meadows with them. Watch the moon, take night walks and howl at the moon together. They gather nuts, sit and snuggle. All of these things we do with our young ones and it makes it so relatable.

A great picture book for explaining to young children that it is okay to have all kinds of emotions and feelings. It also explains what they can do to handle those emotions. I enjoyed this because I often hear parents that it is not okay to get mad about something. They are essentially telling their kid that you can only have certain feelings.  Instead this book gives them a way to handle them all. I loved the fact that each egg was colored in a way most of us think of feelings. For example we are angry we think of red, sad we think of blue.   Simple and cute way to talk about feelings.

A great story to read before bedtime. It shows little dinosaurs with their mothers doing things together. They brush their teeth, have cookies and milk, meditate, read, listen to music.  All of these things are done to get the little one prepared for a good night sleep.

Summer Math Bridge by MamTalk

 

Genre: Children’s workbook
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

 

For this review I am going to step into my teacher mode. I am currently teaching middle school English. However, my background is in elementary education. I started out teaching kindergarten. This would have been a wonderful book for that age.  I love the idea of using it to bridge the summer months when we see so many students slide backwards.

This book is geared towards children ages 5-7. It’s table of contents breaks it into  parts. Part one is learning numbers. The idea is that children learn their numbers or reinforce their learning by counting, tracing, and coloring.  Part two is all about counting. Kids count the shapes and circle the correct number, leading up to coloring, counting and writing the correct number. Part three is all about comparing things. They start out drawing lines from the same number to the same number shapes. They move on up from that to more, less, fewer, bigger and smaller.

Part four is about putting objects inside, outside, to the right, left, top or bottom of shapes. This section reinforces direction and shapes and of course there is plenty of coloring to make it interesting. Part five is all about recognizing patterns. I believe this is an area student  don’t get enough practice with. When asking middle school students to recognize patterns in different subjects, and especially math, many struggle. Maybe if they had a book like this when they were younger they wouldn’t struggle so much in middle school.

Part six is all about recognizing size, such as big, small, tall, short, long.  This not only asks the child to recognize  the difference, but is teaching the youngest child important vocabulary words they will need to be successful in school. Part seven introduces them to basic, simple addition. We start with simple shapes, fingers and finally writing and adding the numbers. Part eight is your basic subtraction. It is handled very similar to the basic addition. Part nine  is naming the basic shapes. Some of this is more of a reinforcement as they will have been introduced to many of the shapes throughout the workbook.  Connecting real life objects to the basic shapes help with that reinforcement, as does making them choose the shape that is different.

So, putting my teacher hat back on for a minute, only because my grandkids are in upper elementary or have graduated. This is a book I would recommend to parents of all young children who would like to keep the learning fresh over the summer. With this book it can be done in as little as ten to fifteen minutes.

Twell Town by Harriet M. Winter

 

Genre:  Children, Middle Grade, Fantasy

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I absolutely loved this book.  It was fun and full of humor. The author created an alternate world that is so interesting. All the characters of Twell Town are made from fabric, yarn, and other recyclable items.

Bunny Thread is a very unique character. Bunny lives with her mother at the back of her mother's button shop.  Bunny has no school friends.  She doesn't exactly fit in with them.  She makes all her own clothes.  They are very unique to say the least. One day she comes home from school and decides to make herself a friend. She gathers up her materials and sews up a friend. Her first few tries are rejected as they aren't quite good enough. Finally she grabs some yarn and knits herself a bear. She goes to bed with him that night and when she wakes up in the morning he is gone. She finds him sitting in her window. When she goes to him he speaks to her. He makes sure she knows his name is Dexter, not Buttercup, like she had named the bear she created. He tries to explain where he is from. Finally he takes her hand and off they go to where he lives, Twell Town.

Bunny is given a tour of the town which is quite fascinating.  Everyone accepts her there. Then they get to his house. She is impressed, but he is not. Someone has been in his house. She doesn't understand how he figures that since everything is in place. That is when we learn he is definitely not a neat freak.  He is sure he know who was in his house and what they are looking for.  He tries to explain that to her but she doesn't quite understand. But she will. Dexter must get her back to her land and then try to stop the fiends from getting what he has hidden from them. But, what happens when they find Bunny and the item?

Fun adventure from the very beginning.  I loved the author's play on words.  When they visit a clothing store in Twell town the owner of the store starts listing off clothing designers whose names are very similar to those we know today. She also used a lot of figurative language that made the images jump off of the page.  Everything was well thought out and planned.  At the end I wondered if maybe there would be a sequel to this book.  It was wrapped up nicely. However, there could be more adventures down the road. 

Cameron and the Shadow Wraiths by Mark Cheverton

 

Genre:  Children, Middle Grade, Fantasy

Source:  I won a copy from LibraryThing. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is the second book in the series: Order of the Stones.  This is a fabulous series.  I read the first book, Facing the Beast Within, and loved it.  In this sequel a year has passed and the kids are back at camp. Leonard has learned to stand up to his father when it comes to his love of History, Bobby is his same jovial person. Elise who loved archery comes back not wanting anything to do with it. Karl comes back a new person. He is no longer a bully. When Cameron steps off of the bus he hears kids chanting "The Hero of Pontchartrain."  He feels like a fraud. The school year was rough. His anxiety is back in force.  Then a childhood friend and bully show up. Twins Jessie and Jamis show up at camp.  Jessie and Cameron were best friends. Jamis does his best to torment Cameron.  When Jessie is taken by a shadow wraith it is up to these heroes to rescue her.

This journey is not going to be easy. Lord Malphas wants Cameron. He has a reason for all of this. Will he succeed? We learn a lot more about Mr. Watson the grounds keeper.  He is more than just a grounds keeper. He will play a major role in shaping the person that Cameron becomes.  The tension in this book was very high. Just about the time we think things are going to work out, something else is thrown in their path and we see Cameron's Beast come back, This time he doesn't only have to battle his own beast, but also Malphas who has found a way to get into Cameron's head.  This was such a wonderful book. The third book in this series, The Gargoyle's Revenge comes up sometime in 2025.  I will definitely be reading it.  Go ahead, read it. I recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy, kids who overcome their fears and find belief in themselves.  This one is a keeper

Facing the Beast Within: The Anxiety of Cameron Poole by Mark Cheverton

 

Genre: Children, Middle Grade, Fantasy
Source: I own a copy.

Mark Cheverton has written a book that children today will be able to connect.  He has taken his main character Cameron, who suffers from anxiety, and placed him in a summer camp. This isn’t any ordinary summer camp. That would make anyone anxious. This camp has monsters and it is up to Cameron and his friends to try to stop them from entering their world.

The world building is well done. Any kid who has gone to any type of summer camp or watched movies with summer camp will understand that for an outdoorsy person this is the best place to be. For a kid who suffers with anxiety, maybe not so much.  They will be able to identify with kids, especially Cameron, being bullied. After all, they deal with or see things like this all the time.  What this book does is shows what happens when someone steps up and faces their monsters. It shows how strong they can be, especially with the help of some friends. It shows that they don’t have to do things alone. What better lesson can one learn and in such a charming, and fantastical way.  Well done. I look forward to reading the second book in this series.