Wonderful Birthday Gifts

Tomorrow, January 25th will be my granddaughter Haylee's 6th birthday.  She is a book addict like me.  She has a collection of over 300 books between her house, my house and her other grandmother's house.  In addition to the other gifts we purchased for her I am giving her 4 books.  I received these books for review so I thought it only proper to write the review today so that you will see what wonderful books are out there and will be able to pick them up for your child or grandchild.

Jonah's Whale by Eileen Spinelli and Illustrated by Giuliano Ferri
Publisher:  Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Pages:  32

Eileen Spinelli and her husband Jerry Spinelli have written some of my favorite books to share with children.  Okay, so they are some of MY favorites.  This one is another favorite.  Jonah's Whale is the retelling of the Biblical story with a twist.  It is told from the Whale's perspective.  The whale is happy living and playing in the ocean.  One day a storm come up and he sees a boat.  A man in the boat is telling the other men to throw him into the water to stop the storm.  God speaks to the whale and tells him to save the man.  This is such a great lesson to talk about with  your young one.  If God expects obedience from the animals then we need to obey God as well.  The illustrations are so gorgeous that they could each be framed and hung.  This is one that I will enjoy sharing with my granddaughter.  Because I like it so much I'm purchasing a copy to keep here on my shelves for all of my grandchildren to share.

Lucky by Craig Inglis and Illustrated by Richard Kinsey
Publisher:  CreateSpace
Pages:  36

The story starts off with a man waking up.  From the picture we see him smiling from his bed and waving to the sun, who waves back.  He is a happy man but feels something is missing from his life.  He decides to get a dog.  He checks several places and finally finds the dog he wants.  They have a great time together.  One day the dog gets away from him and runs in front of a car.  He is hurt.  The doctor saves his life but he loses a leg.  He has to learn to do the tricks the man taught him all over again.  The man lets him know that no matter what he is still the same to him and he still loves him just as much.  This is such a simple story to teach kids about disabilities and how just because someone with a disability can't do things the same way you can, doesn't mean they are not a great person to get to know.  Wonderful book.   Fun and whimsical illustrations.

The Carrot King by Sally O. Lee
Publisher:  CreateSpace
Pages:  38

A young boy finds himself king when his parents die.  He is so young and all he wants to do is play.  One day he decides to go outside to look for rocks.  He sees a poor boy, whose clothes are all ripped.  He's never seen a boy like him.  He pulls out a carrot, his favorite food, and the young boy asks him for a bite.  He share the carrot with the boy and then is invited to the poor boy's home.  The young king is welcomed and invited to eat dinner with them.  Later he invites them to come to his house for dinner.  They do and become very close friends.  This is a wonderful way to teach kids that no matter where you are in life that people are still the same and need friends.  I enjoy reading and review Sally's books.  They are simple  and convey such wonderful messages.  They open up conversations with children in ways you may not have thought.  Her illustrations, created by her, are wonderfully simple like her messages.  This is another one of her books that I whole-heartedly recommend.

Ann's Amazing Adventure by Jeanetta Brancaccio  and Illustrated by Sara Petrous
Publisher:  Self-Published
Pages:  52

I really enjoyed this book.  In the back the author states that this book came about because of an event in their life.  Their daughter had a doll that was lost and twenty some years later they found the doll at an antique sale and purchased it for the granddaughter.  The story is about the adventures the doll had while she was lost.  Ann was the property of a little girl named Nancy.  Nancy loved Ann very much.  While on a trip they family stopped at a rest area and Ann fell out of the car.  The family didn't know this and kept driving.  Ann waited until dark and wished on a star.  A car stopped and she suddenly found herself in the mouth of a dog.  The dog's owner was a little girl named Julia.  Ann was taken home with Julia, cleaned and placed on a shelf.  She was taken care of but never felt the same love she'd felt from Ann.  By chance when Julia grew up, Ann found herself in a flea market where she an Julia were reunited.  I loved this book.  First because even at age 53 I still have a soft spot in my heart for dolls.  I make clothes for my granddaughter's dolls now.  I play dolls with her.  One of my favorite parts of the book was when the dolls were being packed away to go to the flea market.  Ann helped all of the other dolls with their fears. Such great lessons in such a simple, yet wonderful book.  I can't wait to read it to my granddaughter after she unwraps it.  It came with a bookmark and I will be able to give that to my granddaughter.  It will be her first bookmark.

I am looking forward to tomorrow.  Any day I can share a book with my grandkids is a wonderful day.

The Magi - Kevin M. Turner

Publisher: CreateSpace
Pages:  432
Source:  Copy received from author in exchange for my honest review
Genre:  Middle Grade/Young Adult Fantasy

From Goodreads:
Thirteen-year-old Elijah Hawk has never heard of the Magi. He doesn't know about the secret power they have. He has never been to Savenridge, the Magi city hidden deep inside the northern forests. Most of all, Elijah is unaware of the dangers hunting him, in search for something he has. After one terrifying night, however, all of that changes! 

On a quest to solve the murder of his parents, Elijah stumbles upon the land of the Magi. Learning their secrets and training with their power is the least of his problems. In order to find out why his parents were killed, Elijah learns that he must confront the dangers that are hunting him. What's more terrifying is learning that stumbling upon this new world of the Magi may not have been an accident after all.


My Thoughts:
Kevin Turner is an extremely accomplished writer.  When I started out reading The Magi I was drawn to the fact that Elijah Hawk reminded me of Harry Potter.  Harry's parents were killed by his enemy and Harry didn't understand at first that he was special and there was a "plan" for his life.  Such is the life of Elijah Hawk. He awakes with a feeling that something in his house is wrong and he needs to get out, escape.  He does so and runs into his father in the yard.  His dad tells him to run and to know that there is a plan.  That is the last time he sees any of his family alive.  Elijah is sent to live with his uncle until his uncle is "supposedly" arrested, and the creepy detective who originally questioned him about his parent's and sister's death comes for him.  He is delivered to Saint Phillip's Academy in Canada.  He is befriended by Roddick, one of his teachers.  Essentially he is rescued from there, along with his roommate Samuel.  They are taken to Savenridge where a group of Magi live.  Elijah fits right in.  He learns that the Maliphists are after him.  Now all he needs to do is stay alive and find out why they want him dead.


I'm not sure I could really tell you how much I enjoyed this book.  I enjoyed it enough to write the name and author on the board at school and told all of my students that if they had an e-reader they needed to purchase this book.  If they didn't own an e-reader they needed to order the book as soon as possible.  This is going to be one of those books that is hard to wait for the sequels.  


Kevin Turner is someone I admire for several reasons.  Like me, he is a middle school English teacher.  I am a published author.  I know we should never compare our writing to another and I won't.  We write different genres.  However, I am striving to create the type of story and voice that flows as well as Kevin's.  His writing is pure magic.  I was there in Savenridge  with Elijah.  I was in the Maliphist's prison with Elijah.  I could visualize the characters and the landscape.  I could feel the power.  The most intriguing part was the science.  When Elijah began to study the elements I realized I'd never really thought about the properties of water and how it reacted.  It was a refreshing story to read and one I will tell everyone about.

About the Author:
The Magi is Kevin’s first novel, but he has been writing since he could hold a pen. He is in the middle of the next installment of The Magi Series. Kevin is a middle school English teacher and a professor of philosophy and education. He currently lives in California with his wife and daughter and two dogs.



Where you can find him:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/themagiseries
Facebook: http://facebook.com/themagiseries
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/kevinmturner
His blog: http://themagiseriers.blogspot.com

The Wounded Heart - Adina Senft

Publisher:  FaithWords

Pages:  320

Source:  Unsure if I purchased, won it, or received it for review.  Either way the review is my own honest opinion.

Genre:  Amish, Romance

This must truly be my most unorganized year to date.  I was re-organizing items in folders on my desktop and found this review.  The reason this is so sad is because  when I went back to see if I had posted it on my blog, I realized I had not posted the review before I did my giveaway in November.  I keep finding reviews I’ve hand written or have gotten shoved into other folders on my school laptop.  So I present you with a review of a wonderful book that I read way back in October or November. 

One thing I really enjoy about Amish books is that they usually have something to do with cooking or quilting.  Quilting has been bringing people together for years.  That thread alone will be enough to tie you to this novel.  We find characters we can relate to in many ways.  Amelia Beiler is a widow who is trying to hold her life and family together.  When she starts having some tingling and numbness in her hand and arm she is forced to check with a doctor.  After checking with a third doctor where they all agree she has multiple sclerosis she has several things to consider.  She considers selling her husband’s business, yet that is what is keeping them fed.  She has no money to pay for the expensive treatment.  To add to her frustration Eli would like to start courting her.  She has to ask if it would be fair to him because of her disease.  She is joined in this story by her friends  Emma and Carrie who have problems of their own.  Quilting brings the three together where they can talk and help each other heal.  This is an excellent book.  It is actually the first I have read by this author.  It will definitely not be the last.  My mother has already asked me to find other books by the author.  She enjoyed the fact that like all Christians, their human side was allowed to show when there were occasions that faith was questioned.  I hate reading a book where everything seems perfect in the Christian’s life.  That is unrealistic.  This book rang true and is one I would definitely recommend to anyone who loves Amish Fiction.  This is the first book in a trilogy and that is another reason to read this book, there are two others to follow.