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!

Woof Woof! Woof Woof!
Is that a dog barking at you?

Review: The Line by Paula Bossio

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

A little girl stumbles onto a line ... and endless possibilities for fun! With a twist and a shake of the line, it becomes a slide, a giant bubble or even a jungle vine. But what -- or who -- could be at the other end?

MY TAKE:
I was surprised to find out that The Line was a wordless picture book.

In The Line, a young girl follows and plays with a line that forms different shapes. What could be at the end of the line?

I had expected to find nice little rhymes along with the illustrations in this book. However, there weren't any words at all. That's okay, though, because it's easy to follow the story based on the illustrations alone.

The illustrations are kinda rough. They're like the kinds of illustrations you'd see in sketchbooks, with the pencil drawings drawn over with colored pencils. There are also smudges all over the page. To some, this would seem messy, but for me, it works for the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the e-ARC. Publication date of The Line is on September 1, 2013.

THE GOOD:

1. The story is easy to follow.
2. The illustrations are cute.
3. The ending is a little unexpected.

THE BAD:

1. Some people may find the illustrations messy.

READ IT IF:

1. You like sketches.
2. Your kid likes wordless picture books.
3. Your kid likes drawing.

RATING:


SOUNDS INTERESTING?

In My Mailbox

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

FROM NETGALLEY:

Sage's Song (Pumpkinheads Series) by Karen Kilpatrick
Ten Birds Meet a Monster by Cybèle Young
The Line by Paula Bossio
Loula Is Leaving for Africa by Anne Villeneuve
ABC of Toronto by Per-Henrik Gürth

Review: Black and Bittern Was Night by Robert Heidbreder

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

Halloween has arrived, but so have spooky skul-a-mug-mugs who frighten the grown-ups into calling off trick-or-treating. It's up to the kids to take back the night! Told in nonsense verse, this scare-fest will have you yak-yawling with fun!

MY TAKE:
I don't read a lot of nonsense-rhyme books, so I thought this might be an interesting book to try.

In Black and Bittern Was Night, skul-a-mug-mugs are threatening a town and Halloween looks cancelled. The kids don't take this lying down, though, and they put up a fight against the skul-a-mug-mugs.

Reading a nonsense-rhyme book was pretty strange for me. You don't really know most of the words, even though they're mostly mish-mashed real words, but you can still sort of understand where the story is going. Because Halloween is spooky and strange, I guess there's no better topic to use rhymes like these with.

The plot was just okay for me, as the summary reveals pretty much everything. The book's magic is really in the words and how they combine with the illustrations.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the e-ARC.

THE GOOD:

1. You can still understand the story.
2. Nonsense words are fun to say.
3. It's a fun book for kids to read out loud.

THE BAD:

1. The illustration style may not work for everyone.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

Their ghost-civverns off,
in sweetens heap-deep,
they miggled with big-ones
of SKUL-A-MUG creep.

READ IT IF:

1. Your kid is just starting to learn how to read.
2. You want to encourage your child to read aloud.
3. Your kid likes Halloween.

RATING:


SOUNDS INTERESTING?

Review: Mr. King's Castle by Geneviève Côté

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY:

Mr. King wants to build himself a BIG castle. So he uses the closest available material to make the blocks he needs -- the land around his house that just happens to be home to his forest friends. When Mr. King's friends make him see what he's done, he realizes he's made a BIG mistake. Can he be king of his castle and a good friend, too? Young readers will delight in this second adventure of the shortsighted but well-meaning Mr. King.

MY TAKE:
When I read the summary of this book, I thought it would be a little bit like The Lorax.

In Mr. King's Castle, Mr. King wants to build a big castle. To do so, he decides to make use of the hill around his house.

In the summary, it says that Mr. King used the land to build his house. I thought it meant that he used the trees or maybe the soil. As it turns out, Mr. King chops the land into shapes, which he then rearranges to make his house. Obviously, this isn't very realistic, since land can't be taken out and returned like jigsaw puzzles. However, it's still a cute concept and it does help get the point across that you should think of others and not just yourself.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the e-ARC.

THE GOOD:

1. The coloring style is pretty.
2. It has a good message.
3. The characters are cute.

THE BAD:

1. The illustration style may not appeal to everyone.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

All his friends jump up to help.

READ IT IF:

1. You want to teach your child to be more selfless.
2. You like books that have positive messages.
3. You like books that have pretty coloring styles.

RATING:


SOUNDS INTERESTING?

Review: Boy Meets Dog A Word Game Adventure by Valerie Wyatt

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

Strange things happen when you change one word into another, one letter at a time. A toy becomes a boy, a cat becomes a dog, and together they discover a funny, mixed- up world! Explore language and spelling on this wacky word game adventure.

MY TAKE:
If you 're a fan of word ladders/chains, you'll probably like this book.

In Boy Meets Dog, one object becomes another, one word at a time.

There's really no narrative to this story, other than, I guess, the first sentence and the final one. For the most part, the illustrations show one word turning into another one, while the text shows the corresponding word ladder.

I remember doing word ladders like this one when I was younger. I never really got hooked on them, though. However, I did think that this book was kind of fun, and kids who haven't tried doing a word ladder before would probably be eager to try one on their own after reading this book.

The last part of the book talks a little bit about the history of word ladders, tips on how to choose words, and examples you can try.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the e-ARC.

THE GOOD:

1. Kids learn about word ladders.
2. There are plenty of examples of word ladders.
3. It's a fun book for kids to read with their parents.

THE BAD:

1. The illustration style may not appeal to everyone.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

A cat could become a dog.

READ IT IF:

1. Your child likes word games.
2. Your child likes a challenge.
3. You are looking for an educational book for your child.

RATING:


SOUNDS INTERESTING?

Review: Hocus Pocus Takes the Train by Sylvie Desrosiers

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

A magician's rabbit is up against a fast train and a meddlesome dog in his quest to reunite a stuffed toy with its toddling owner. Even the earliest readers will delight in this second wordless comic adventure featuring Hocus Pocus and Dog.

MY TAKE:
When done right, picture books and wordless comic books can work for both older and younger audiences.

In Hocus Pocus Takes the Train, a magician's rabbit does all he can to return a stuffed rabbit to its rightful owner. However, he has his work cut out for him.

The book is like a comic book mixed with a wordless picture book. The action flows quickly because the story is told in several panels per page. This is a better fit for the story because the story tells of a bunny in a rush and it's easier to make you feel the urgency if your eyes can just slide from panel to panel and page-turning is at a minimum.

I really liked the illustration style and coloring for this book. The colors are quite vibrant and the bunny is very cute too. The illustrations are very reminiscent of some of the best Cartoon Network cartoons. This book would actually make a good Cartoon Network short in between cartoons.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the e-ARC.

THE GOOD:

1. The story is easy to understand, even without words.
2. The illustrations are very cute.
3. This book would make a great TV show.

THE BAD:

1. There's only one other book in the series for you to read should you want to read more.

READ IT IF:

1. You like wordless picture books.
2. You like Cartoon Network cartoons.
3. You like cute, funny bunnies.

RATING:


SOUNDS INTERESTING?