Review: The Worm Whisperer by Betty Hicks

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

Ellis Coffey loves animals. He spends so much time outdoors that sometimes he thinks he can talk with them. When he discovers a caterpillar that seems to follow his directions, he knows he has a chance to win the annual Woolly Worm Race. The prize money is $1,000—exactly the amount of the deductible for his dad's back surgery. If Ellis is right and he can train his woolly worm to be the fastest in the county, he's sure can solve all his family's problems. But when you're trying to talk to insects, nothing is as simple as it seems.

MY TAKE:
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book other than that Ellis would be something like Cesar Milan.

In The Worm Whisperer, Ellis discovers that he can sort of communicate with animals, particularly caterpillars or woolly worms. This newfound talent will come in handy when he decides to enter the Woolly Worm Race which, if he wins, will net him $1,000, which will allow his father to have much needed back surgery.

I really liked this book. It's very charming and makes you want to live in a small town. The community is very close-knit and helps one another by giving or trading produce from their own backyards. Some readers may also be able to relate to the financial situation of Ellis' family. His father has a herniated disc and cannot continue his job. His mother was laid off work and works as a house cleaner and waitress, and scavenges fixable items and makes blueberry products from the blueberries on their farm.

Ellis is a class clown, which can be annoying sometimes, but he has a good heart. He does his chores and other tasks that his parents give him without complaining, and the only reason why he really wanted to win was because he wanted to help out his parents. This makes him a perfect role model for kids everywhere.

Thanks to NetGalley and Roaring Book Press for the e-ARC. Publication date of The Worm Whisperer is on January 22, 2013.

THE GOOD:

1. Ellis is a good role model.
2. It shows you a nice community that will make you want to live in a small town.
3. You learn a lot of new words and about animals.

THE BAD:

1. Some people might get grossed out by woolly worms.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

Ellis thought if she could find a way to make pencils out of blueberries, they'd be selling those, too.

READ IT IF:

1. You like animals and insects.
2. You like stories set in small towns.
3. You are looking for a children's book that has a good role model for your child.

RATING:


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Review: Food for a Fish The Whopping Story of Jonah and the Whale by Kelly Pulley

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

Author and illustrator Kelly Pulley presents familiar Bible stories in a fun and fresh style for children 4 to 8. Food for a Fish brings to life the “whopping” story of Jonah and the whale. The Magnificent Tales are enjoyable, rhyming Bible stories with clever art and clear lessons. These are stories that the whole family will enjoy, presented in an entertaining way that parents and grandparents won’t grow tired of reading and re-reading night after night. The humorous, contemporary illustrations will keep even today’s media-deluged kids laughing while they learn important biblical messages. Parents will love that their kids are asking to read Bible stories!

MY TAKE
I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would.

In Food for a Fish, we read about the story of Jonah, who was swallowed by a whale after trying to run away from God's plan for him.

It's been awhile since I read the story of Jonah, but this book does match what I remember. The rhymes are pretty good, but my favorite thing about this book are the expressions on the characters and the little things that were added to the illustration to give it a little more depth and add to the story.

Like with the other book I read in this series, I wasn't a fan of the font, though, and I didn't really enjoy the style used to render the illustrations.

Thanks to NetGalley and David C. Cook for the e-copy.

THE GOOD:

1. The illustrations are funny.
2. Kids will enjoy the rhymes and the story.
3. It's a good way to introduce kids to the Bible.

THE BAD:

1. The font and illustration and rendering style might not appeal to everyone.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

Then God made a storm,
and the rain began lashing!
The wind was whish-whooshing!
The waves were splish-splashing!

READ IT IF:

1. Your child enjoys stories from the Bible.
2. You're looking for a children's book with funny illustrations.
3. Your child likes rhymes.

RATING:


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Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

There is no definite online (or indeed offline) source to help you to decide whether surname X is in fact a variant of surname Y, or what variant spellings you can expect for a particular name.

Review: Good News of Great Joy The Amazing Story of Jesus' Birth by Kelly Pulley

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

Author and illustrator Kelly Pulley presents familiar Bible stories in a fun and fresh style for children 4 to 8. Good News of Great Joy brings to life the amazing story of Jesus’ birth. The Magnificent Tales are enjoyable, rhyming Bible stories with clever art and clear lessons. These are stories that the whole family will enjoy, presented in an entertaining way that parents and grandparents won’t grow tired of reading and re-reading night after night. The humorous, contemporary illustrations will keep even today’s media-deluged kids laughing while they learn important biblical messages. Parents will love that their kids are asking to read Bible stories!

MY TAKE:
There are a lot of Nativity books out there, but Good News of Great Joy is entertaining enough to be worth a read.

In Good News of Great Joy, the story of the Nativity is told through rhymes and amusing illustrations.

The rhymes are pretty good and they more or less tell the story, with as much detail as you can possibly fit into a rhyme meant for a young audience. I'm not too fond of the font, though, since I feel like maybe a different font would be a better fit for the story or at least would be more visually pleasing.

The illustrations are okay. They look to me like they were drawn and rendered in a computer program, so it's more of a preference thing if you're going to like the drawings or not. I did enjoy, though, that the illustrations bring a little more humor to the rhymes. I also noticed a bird in one of the pages, which I remember seeing in another book in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and David C. Cook for the e-copy.

THE GOOD:

1. The illustrations are funny.
2. The rhymes are entertaining and cute.
3. It's a happy read for your kids.

THE BAD:

1. The font and illustrations might not appeal to everyone.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

To Bethlehem Joseph and Maqry were sent,
so they packed up some things
on their donkey and went.

READ IT IF:

1. You're looking for a nice Christmas story for your child.
2. You enjoy children's book composed of rhymes.
3. You like funny illustrations.

RATING:


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In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

FROM NETGALLEY:

Backyard Foraging 65 Familiar Plants You Didn’t Know You Could Eat by Ellen Zachos
Why Are Orangutans Orange? Science Questions in Pictures—With Fascinating Answers by Mick O'Hare

Review: Hooligan Bear A Special Day by Ian Toynton and Andrea Dietrich

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

When Hooligan Bear discovers that Little Louie has never had a birthday, he quickly comes up with a plan. He gathers the other bears together, and they set off for an exciting adventure at the bakery.

MY TAKE:

I wasn't expecting a lot from this book, but I'm glad I requested it.

In Hooligan Bear A Special Day, Hooligan Bear and his crew try to give Little Louie a special surprise after learning that he has never had a birthday.

I thought the story was very cute. I think I would have appreciated it more had I been able to read the other books, but for those who, like me, haven't read the other books, there's a short introduction at the start that tells Hooligan Bear's story. Hooligan Bear and his group's adventure remind me of a spy action movie. It's definitely the kind of thing that young kids, especially boys, will definitely enjoy. The ending is also quite nice and gives you a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling.

My favorite character is Little Louie, even though he only appeared for a short period of time. He is such a cute little bear!

Thanks to NetGalley and Smith Publicity for the e-copy.

THE GOOD:

1. The bears are very cute.
2. Their adventure has just enough excitement to entice young boys and girls to read it.
3. The format of drawings mixed with text remind me of Beatrix Potter's books.

THE BAD:

1. Younger kids might not be able to appreciate it.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

"I think the answer is at the bakery," announced Hooligan, "and I have a plan."

READ IT IF:

1. Your child likes bears.
2. Your child likes stories with actual plot.
3. You're looking for a children's story with a sweet ending.

RATING:


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Review: Cozy Classics: Pride and Prejudice by Jack Wang and Holman Wang

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

Give a kid a classic! Cozy Classics is a new board book series presenting well-loved stories through 12 child-friendly words and 12 needle-felted illustrations. Pride and Prejudice is a timeless romance about how a bad first impression can turn into love, and one of the world’s most beloved classics. Now this classic can be shared with children of any age.

MY TAKE:

I wondered how Pride and Prejudice could be simplified into a children's book. I was pleasantly surprised by how it actually worked.

In Cozy Classics: Pride and Prejudice, the classic book is made into a children's book comprised solely of a few words and pictures that illustrate those words.

Given the format, the choice of words is important in order to tell the story. The book succeeded in that, I think. I also enjoyed the pictures as it really looked like how you imagine Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth to be.

I think this book would definitely appeal to moms as bedtime reading material to their kids since it has something for them too.

Thanks to NetGalley and Smith Publicity - Simply Read Books for the e-copy.

THE GOOD:

1. It's able to tell the gist of the story.
2. The dolls in the picture are very identifiable.
3. It has something for both mother and child to enjoy.

THE BAD:

1. Since there's only one word per page, older kids might not appreciate this as much.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

sisters

READ IT IF:

1. You have a young daughter.
2. You are looking for a book you can read to your toddler, which you'll like too.
3. You enjoyed Pride and Prejudice.

RATING:


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