Category: Early Readers Review

REVIEW: Duck and Moose by Kirk Reedstrom

REVIEW: Duck and Moose by Kirk Reedstrom

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of both of these books from Netgalley and Disney Hyperion in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Duck Moves In – Summary

A moose looking for some peace and quiet gets a rambunctious new neighbor. So Moose keeps taking Duck to other places he could live. But Duck is determined to stay put – on Moose’s head!

Moose Blasts Off – Summary

Moose is playing astronaut, and Duck wants to play too. But this is something Moose likes to do alone. So he teaches Duck about using his imagination. But what happens when Duck’s imaginings are different from Moose’s?

Review

These early chapter book/graphic novels are a lot of fun! Each book has 3 chapters with full color artwork. I LOVE the illustrations, and the friendship struggles will feel familiar to kids. These would be great books to use for talking about resolving conflict, compromise, making new friends, etc.. And I think kids will crack up at some of the things Duck and Moose get into. Fans of Piggie and Gerald, Ballet Cat and Sparkles, or other best friend/”odd couple” pairings will enjoy Duck and Moose! Book 3, Duck in the Dark, is currently scheduled to release in December.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

REVIEW: Cranky Chicken Party Animals by Katherine Battersby

REVIEW: Cranky Chicken Party Animals by Katherine Battersby

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary and Review

Cranky Chicken and Speedy the worm explore parties in their latest adventure.

Another delightful grumpy/sunshine buddy book starring Cranky Chicken and Speedy. The sass is a little stronger in this one, and I cackled more than once.

If you are looking for a book kids and their grownups can enjoy, this series is a winner!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it! Would re-read.

REVIEW: Cranky Chicken by Katherine Battersby

REVIEW: Cranky Chicken by Katherine Battersby

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary and Review

Cranky Chicken inadvertently saves a worm and finds herself with an unexpected, chipper friend.

As I said recently in another review, when it comes to books for adults, I don’t usually seek out the Grumpy/Sunshine trope. But when it comes to kids books, I love it! This reminds me a lot of Piggie and Gerald books or Ballet Cat in all the best ways. This made me laugh out loud more than once. Don’t miss this one!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

REVIEW: Doggo and Pupper Save the World by Katherine Applegate

REVIEW: Doggo and Pupper Save the World by Katherine Applegate

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Pupper longs to be a hero and save the day, but his anxiety – mostly over giant squirrels – makes him wonder if he could ever really be a hero.

Review

Another clever story starring Doggo and Pupper. The short, simple sentences and sweet illustrations are only the beginning of the list of delightful things about this book. I was also fascinated by the way the author chose to help Pupper be a hero. It’s a quiet solution that I think will make for interesting conversations with kids. Doggo and Pupper are a treat!

Book 3 in the series, Doggo and Pupper Search for Cozy, will release in the spring of 2023.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great!

REVIEW: Doggo and Pupper by Katherine Applegate

REVIEW: Doggo and Pupper by Katherine Applegate

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Doggo is slowing down these days, yet he’s enjoying his quiet life.  But his humans think a puppy will perk Doggo up. When Pupper turns out to be a bit of a handful, the family sends him to obedience school. And Doggo starts to worry it’s taken all of the fun out of Pupper.

Review

When I was building my Holiday Hint List for this year, I realized I hadn’t really tried out many early readers and transitional chapter books this year. We thoroughly enjoyed the author’s Roscoe Riley series when my son was younger, so I decided to give Doggo and Pupper a try.

This was ADORABLE! I’m always so impressed with how authors for this age group manage to tell rich, fun stories with short, simple sentences – and this book is a great example of that. The illustrations are also darling and help tell a sweet story kids and families will enjoy!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ – Great!

REVIEW: God Cares Series by Debbie Duncan

REVIEW: God Cares Series by Debbie Duncan

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received electronic review copies of these books from Netgalley and Lion Hudson Ltd. in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

These are two books in the new God Cares series, one for older kids, and one for younger ones. There are other books coming in the series including God Cares When I Am Strong: Friends in the Fire (ER) and God Cares When I Feel Down: Jonah and Other Stories (chapter book).

When I Am Anxious: Moses and Other Stories

This is a paraphrase of Bible stories including the life story of Moses. There is no actual scripture text. The non-Moses stories include references to the book and chapter where the story can be found. The emphasis here is on the emotions of the stories, those referenced in the Biblical text and those inferred by the author or the reader. The ultimate goal of the book is to normalize anxiety as something that everyone feels from time to time and to point readers to God when they are anxious. There is information for parents at the end of the book, written by a therapist, specifically about helping children with anxiety.

According to the publisher’s website, this is a “chapter book” for readers 8 and up. To me, the book feels young for kids 10 or older. I might target this more for the 7 to 10 range. It is unillustrated, but each section ends with a suggested activity for readers.

I was frustrated by this book. The chapter content moves from Moses to other Biblical personalities like Jesus or Gideon without a clear indication of what is happening. This may be a function of the structure of the review copy. I would have liked these transitions to be more clear. The chapters could have focused on one personality at a time for clarity, and then references could have been made back to Moses to tie them together.

I was also frustrated that there weren’t more references to the Bible. The research I am hearing says that the younger generations are growing up without a concrete connection to the Bible. I am all for storying the Bible in contemporary language – as a starting point. But I try to point kids back to the Biblical  text so the Bible itself is comfortable and familiar to them. Then they will go back to it time and time again. If they are counting on me, or on another resource to paraphrase for them, they will miss out on all the Bible has for them.

Here is the cover for When I Am Anxious. I love it. I think they could have offered this as an illustrated book, too. The art would have enhanced the story.

When I Am Afraid: Jesus Calms the Storm

This is one of the Early Reader books in this line, an illustrated book for readers between 6 and 8 years old. Originally this was also going to release in April, but some places are showing this as a July release now. There are pictures to accompany the story here, another paraphrase that focuses on the feelings and emotions of the narrative. There are a few places in the book where a few lines in verse are included.

Of the two formats, I preferred this illustrated Early Reader. The artwork is sweet and captivating. I didn’t care for the shift from prose to verse. The prose sections would have been sufficient. I feel like the paraphrase makes more sense here, with a younger reader, but I would have liked at least a reference to where kids could find the whole story in the Bible.

After the story, there are a few questions for kids to discuss with their parents as well as some prayer prompts. The Early Reader also includes advice for parents/caregivers about helping children who are afraid. There is no reference in the review copy to who wrote the information for parents. Therefore, I am not sure if that was provided by the author or by a therapist or psychologist like with the chapter book.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for Christian resources to talk about anxiety or fear with children, I think these could be a good starting place. I would definitely anchor your discussion in the full stories from scripture if you use these resources to start your conversation. I would love for kids to see the WHOLE Bible as a resource to help them with fear, anxiety, and other feelings they experience.

Rating: ♥♥♥

 

REVIEW: Leveled Readers

REVIEW: Leveled Readers

Posted on by Jaymie

I’ve been able to read a few leveled readers lately and wanted to share some reviews. I love this format for new readers because you can find (a) a variety of familiar characters for kids to enjoy while they read, (b) a variety of reading levels,  and (c) a great format for fun, engaging nonfiction. Here are some of the early readers I have read lately.

 

The Chestnut Challenge – [I received a review copy of this from the publisher. All opinions are my own.] This is book 4 in the Nocturnals series starring three friends – Tobin the pangolin, Bismark the sugar glider and Dawn the fox. In this story, the friends are playing a checkers-like game called Chestnuts when they meet a chinchilla named Chandler who says he is a Chestnuts champion. But is Chandler really that good at the game, or is he a cheater? This was a solid story about dealing with cheating among friends. I also liked learning a little about these different animals in the backmatter. Rating: ♥♥♥½

 

A Sea Otter to the Rescue – Part of the Tails from History series, this tells the story of Toola, a five-year-old sea otter rescued by a California aquarium in 2001. The aquarium also rescued a baby otter. The staff knew pups raised by humans don’t do as well when they are returned to the wild. They introduced the pup to Toola, and she treated him as if he was her own pup. She taught him to swim and eat and groom himself like otters do. And that pup did so well back in the wild, he had a family of his own. Toola ended up raising 12 rescued pups – and other aquariums used the same system to help rescue other pups. Kids can read all about Toola and the impact she had on orphan pups and other environmental issues for otters. This was a delight to read – cute illustrations and an engaging story! Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

 

If You Love Dolphins/Video Games, You Could Be… – This new nonfiction series introduces readers to careers and fields of study that go with popular interests like dolphins and video games. (Future books will look at fashion and cooking.) Each book digs into three careers and then touches on five more in the backmatter. This is a clever idea and I think these will be great for classrooms and school/public libraries where kids can then dig into those careers even deeper. Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Peanut Butter and Jelly by Ben Clanton

REVIEW: Peanut Butter and Jelly by Ben Clanton

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Narwhal has never tried peanut butter. In fact, he only eats waffles! But after tasting one of Jelly’s peanut butter cookies, Narwhal is in love. He loves it so much, he changes his name to Peanut Butter instead of Narwhal. And he’s eaten so much of it, he’s turned a nice peanutty-tan color. Jelly is not quite sure what to do.

Review

This was my first Narwhal and Jelly book, and it’s cute! The format is like a mash up of a Ballet Cat sort of story with chapter-ending spreads like you find in a Stink Moody chapter book.

Pages are set up like comics or a graphic novel so kids can start to work through sequencing in a story. One “chapter” transition is facts about the eating habits for narwhals, jelly fish and whales. The second is a comic.

I appreciated the references to common allergies – like to peanuts and peanut butter. This could be used to introduce kids to the idea of knowing what you are eating and what food they are allergic to.  This is a fun book – third in the series – to introduce to the Piggie and Gerald set.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tundra Books for the opportunity to read an electronic review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ♥♥♥

REVIEW: The Golden Nutmeg by Christopher Tozier

REVIEW: The Golden Nutmeg by Christopher Tozier

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Revel Harrison loves soccer. Video games or school he could take or leave, but he eats, sleeps and breathes soccer.

His team, the Fighting Pomelos, isn’t very good. They have moments of brilliance, but their coach is a volunteer who doesn’t know a lot about technique. He doesn’t really even know the names of the kids on the team.

But Revel has potential. His friends know it. So does the coach. The local travel team is even scouting him. But travel teams are expensive. There’s the uniform and specific equipment and all sorts of fees. On a regular day, that would be a lot of money. But Revel’s mom just lost her job. And then his dad loses his job, too. Maybe it would be better if Revel just stuck with the Pomelos. Maybe soccer isn’t all Revel thought it was.

Review

I received a copy of this book from the author along with a review request. In return, I promised an honest review of the book.

This story is very heavy on soccer details. In 165 pages, there are five games and several practices. I think this would appeal to kids who love soccer and play it a lot. They’ll understand the different positions and game rules and maybe be able to picture the action. Kids who don’t play soccer may have a harder time engaging with this book.

The story around the games felt thin to me. There were things going on with Revel’s parents and then another plot point with a guy on the soccer team. I didn’t feel those parts got the same attention as the soccer games. Since I am not big on soccer, it was harder for me to enjoy the story without a more balanced treatment of the different plot points.

In the hands of the right reader, this could be a great story. I was not that reader. In a school setting, I might have had luck finding an audience for this, but it would not have had wide-spread appeal for my students. My rating for this one is based on finding readers who love soccer like the main character does. For a more general audience, my rating would have to be a little lower.  This seems to be marketed as more of a middle grade story, but I feel this would be a better fit for a younger reader who needs a simpler story line or perhaps an older elementary student who struggles to stick with a longer, more intricate plot.

Rating: ♥♥♥

REVIEW: The Eagle of Rome by Dan Metcalf

REVIEW: The Eagle of Rome by Dan Metcalf

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

It’s 1928. Lottie Lipton lives at the British Museum with her Uncle Bert who is the Curator of Egyptology there. One day adventurer extraordinaire, Lady Viola, shows up at the museum, announcing she is off to find the Eagle of the Ninth Legion. She’s at the museum to check their library for clues.

Lady Viola is one of Lottie’s idols. But once the reporters are gone, Viola turns from gracious and sophisticated to rude and ruthless. While Lottie would put the missing Eagle into the museum so everyone could enjoy it, Viola wants it so she can sell it to finance her vacations. So Lottie vows to find it first.

Lottie, Uncle Bert and Reg, the museum’s caretaker, will have to solve several logic puzzles if they’re going to beat Lady Viola to the Eagle!

Review

This is a cute, simple book with puzzles embedded into the story (with solutions). Lottie is sweet and values learning and art for the masses. The fast story means we don’t get to know her very well, but she is likable from the start.

The puzzles are fun and appear to be set up so the reader doesn’t see the solution until he/she turns the page (I saw an early electronic arc, so I don’t know what the final version will look like). There are bonus puzzles in the back matter along with vocabulary and facts related to the book.

Good for early elementary elementary classrooms and readers starting to test out short chapter books.

Thanks to Netgalley and Darby Creek Publishing for providing and electronic review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ♥♥♥