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Category: Children’s Books

Review & Giveaway: The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe

[ 77 ] January 23, 2012

Reviewed by Meghan Saldecki

Kaelyn’s town has come down with a mysterious – and deadly – virus. First, you’re itching and you cannot stop. Next, you’re acting like you’re friends with everyone. Then there are paranoid hallucinations. And lastly, you’re dead.

The Way We Fall is about exactly that: a falling civilization, hindered not only by the deadly virus, but by the healthy inhabitants inside doing anything it takes to survive – even if that means killing someone.

Kaelyn holds her own and shines as a brave heroine, risking her life to help those with the virus and her family. She sometimes breaks down, sure, but who wouldn’t when the town you grew up in is crumbling beneath you? I felt proud of Kaelyn and would definitely want her on my side, should a deadly virus ever hit my town.

The romance in The Way We Fall was wonderful and very appropriate for the circumstances. Gav was sweet and was always saving Kaelyn, which got annoying at times but was easily overlooked. He provided a shoulder to lean on and not once did I feel that their relationship was forced.

In addition to the great heroine, Megan Crewe’s writing really shined. The plot wouldn’t be anything without her intense, page-turning writing. She made you feel just how desperate the inhabitants of Kaelyn’s town were. Some of them going so far as to form a gang and horde all the food and medicine for themselves and even killing the sick.

Overall, I loved The Way We Fall and would strongly recommend it to anyone. Megan Crewe paints a fantastic story of what could very well happen someday and the story left me breathless and wanting more, but also scared to have more.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Visit Megan Crewe’s website and check out the book trailer to learn more

Meghan is a 18-year-old book blogger. She likes to read and write in her spare time and would like to become a published author one day. She plans on going to college soon.

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Giveaway:
One winner will receive a Minimergency Kit and a copy of The Way We Fall!

Mandatory entry: Please comment here with your e-mail address (filling it in on the form works too).

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This giveaway is open to US and Canada residents. Deadline to enter is midnight on February 6, 2012.

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Big Honcho Media. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Did You Say Pears? by Arlene Alda

[ 6 ] January 21, 2012

Reviewed by Alyssa Katanic

What book lover doesn’t also love a little play on words? Did You Say Pears? by Arlene Alda is a picture book full of word play. Each page spread shows a set of homonyms or homophones and illustrates the meaning of each with a photograph. The last page of the book lists each example throughout the book, whether it is a homonym or homophone, and gives the definition of both.

I loved the idea of this book as a great way to teach my kiddos all about these fun twists in the English language, but I must say that I was not impressed at all by the included photographs. The cover is beautiful, but there were few other photos between the covers that measured up to it. Being an illustrations lover, this was a major disappointment for me. Hopefully my kids won’t be quite so picky; the words really are clever and it does show the difference between the meanings.

If you have a child who is interested in homophones/homonyms, or who has been getting them confused, this is a great book to add to your collection, but don’t say I didn’t warn you about the bright white press-on (finger) nails opposite the pile of carpenter’s nails.

Rating: ★★½☆☆ 

Alyssa is a wife and stay at home, homeschooling mother of five, with two boxers, two cats, a soft shelled turtle named after Bob the Builder, and 7 frogs (admittedly a homeschooling project gone froggy). In all her spare time, she loves to read and believes that there is no such thing as having too many books!

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Tundra Books. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: The Blade of Shattered Hope by James Dashner

[ 5 ] January 21, 2012

Reviewed by Caleb Shadis

The Blade of Shattered Hope is the third book in James Dashner’s 13th Reality series. This series is meant for young adults and is similar in many ways to Harry Potter, although Dashner likes to disagree and point out the differences. The series follows a teenage boy invited into a a secret world that few others know about with technology that has almost magical properties. Like all secret societies they have an agenda and enemies with ulterior designs.

Atticus ‘Tick’ Higginbottom has been selected to join the secret society of the Realitants who try to protect the 13 realities. The Realitants started as a group of physicists interested in exploring and mapping the realities but eventually found themselves fighting to protect reality from those with more dangerous motives. Tick was selected along with two other kids, Sofia and Paul, and the three became fast friends. They have been on many adventures together and have faced death more than once, which has only strengthened their friendship.

In my opinion James Dashner tells a great tale, starting with the The Journal of Curious Letters and continuing through the The Blade of Shattered Hope. Like the Harry Potter books, the story being told grows up with Tick as he grows older in successive books. I keep comparing these to Harry Potter not because I think it’s a copy but because I think that those who enjoyed Harry will really enjoy Tick as well, and Dashner does have his own unique tale to tell. I think the 13th Reality series fits well into the YA group of Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl and Alcatraz Smedry. It’s fun, funny and thought provoking. All in all a great read.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Caleb is a software engineer and amature woodworker living in southern Minnesota. He has more hobbies than he has time or money for, and enjoys his quiet time reading.

The review copy of this book was provided free of any obligation by Shadow Mountain. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

[ 5 ] January 19, 2012

Reviewed by Megan Saldecki

Nikki Beckett mysteriously vanished last spring, leaving her family, her friend Jules, and her boyfriend Jack devastated. She was taken to the Everneath, a place where immortals feed on humans’ emotions to sustain their immortality.

So when Nikki suddenly comes back to her old town, everyone is surprised. She tries to slowly get back into the flow of things, but she harbours a secret that’ll devastate her loved ones even more: she has to go back to the Everneath in six months. And this time forever.

Nikki must find a way to stay above the ground, or lose everyone and everything again…

I found the premise of Everneath by Brodi Ashton extremely interesting, but because of a few problems, I just couldn’t like this book as much as I wanted to.

Nikki was all over the place for me. One minute she’d be entirely selfless and the next very selfish about having to go to the Tunnels at the end of her six months. She spent entirely too much time whining about the fact that she had to go back and that she wanted to make her disappearance up to her friends and family. Considering that her dad and her brother, Tommy, hardly entered the story, I didn’t feel that she made things better with them. This was also the case with her “best” friend, Jules, whom she hardly ever talked to or hung out with.

Now this is not to say I didn’t like Nikki at all. When she and Jack were actually making progress with each other and figuring out how to keep Nikki on Earth, I really enjoyed her character.

I did like Jack from the beginning of the story, however. I thought he was sweet and incredibly brave and understanding. I thought that he accepted Nikki’s story about the Everneath and her being a Forfeit way too fast, though.

Ashton’s writing was pretty simple, which was good in a way since it balanced out the complexity of the plot. I found the plot complex because it basically forced me to come up with explanations for the new vocabulary words such as Everliving, Tunnels, Forfeit and Feed. Some things were explained briefly in the beginning, but I thought the full answers were given too late, after I had already figured out what most things meant by the context clues.

Two things I definitely enjoyed, though, were the mythology incorporated in the story and the ending. The ending was executed perfectly in my opinion and I wish the rest of the novel was of the same quality.

Overall, once I looked past these flaws, I did enjoy Everneath quite a bit, but since so many things fell flat for me, I couldn’t give it a better rating. I would recommend this to fans of paranormal romance, though with some hesitation.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Meghan is a 18-year-old book blogger. She likes to read and write in her spare time and would like to become a published author one day. She plans on going to college soon.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Balzer + Bray. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: How Do You Feed a Hungry Giant? by Caitlin Friedman

[ 4 ] January 17, 2012

Reviewed by Alyssa Katanic

How Do You Feed a Hungry Giant? by Caitlin Friedman is a super cute and interactive (pop-up, pull-here) book about a boy who finds a hungry giant, with a “Food Please” sign, hanging out in his back yard. The boy generously empties his family’s fridge in order to sate this giant’s hunger, but it takes the eventual help of his mom to fill the giant’s belly.

How Do You Feed a Hungry Giant? may also be a way to talk to your children about the people we see holding signs of their own (we saw two such men today as we were out and about). So many of us are blessed and have plenty to eat each day, but there are those nearby who are not. How can we help our children to see the needs of others and work with them to find creative ways to fill those needs as best we can? Perhaps How Do You Feed a Hungry Giant? will give you some ideas.

Caitlin Friedman also includes a small cookbook with giant sized recipes that will be fun to make with the kids: a huge burger, a pizza sized Chocolate-chip cookie, and a giant blueberry muffin, just to start.

How Do You Feed a Hungry Giant? is a fun and colorful book to explore together.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Alyssa is a wife and stay at home, homeschooling mother of five, with two boxers, two cats, a soft shelled turtle named after Bob the Builder, and 7 frogs (admittedly a homeschooling project gone froggy). In all her spare time, she loves to read and believes that there is no such thing as having too many books!

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Workman Publishing Company. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Cows Can’t Quack by Dave Reisman

[ 3 ] January 16, 2012

Reviewed by Kathie Smith

Cows Can’t Quack is a fun read that will delight children from infancy through the early elementary school years.

Babies will be captivated by the rhythm as well as a story that can easily be read in an engaging and enthusiastic manner. Toddlers will enjoy learning animal sounds, recognizing rhymes and looking at whimsical illustrations. Kids up to age 6 will get a kick out of imagining animals making the wrong sounds and studying the reactions of each animal as they hear the unfamiliar sound of an another animal.

The expressive illustrations in Cows Can’t Quack are equally responsible for making it such a delightful book. Each animal is scared silly by the animal before it, running away crying out with their own sound, only to scare the next animal in line. The illustrations successfully complete the charm of the book by depicting hilariously surprised reactions and attempts to flee the scene.

Not only is the book entertaining, it also includes important underlying messages of respect and valuing diversity. Each animal brings an equally important element to the book and their differences are a valuable part of the story. Just as the story would be uninteresting if every animal sounded the same, the world would be dull without each of our own unique qualities.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Check out our review of Cows Can’t Jump

Kathie is a writer, wife, mother and volunteer living in the beautiful Appalachian mountains. Her passion for the written word is fulfilled by creating her own fictional work, freelancing, acting as an adviser to another author, and reading with her six year old daughter.

Review copies were provided free of any obligation by Jumping Cow Press. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Elphame’s Choice by P.C. Cast

[ 5 ] January 14, 2012

Reviewed by Jennifer Jensen

Elphame, daughter of the goddess Epona’s Beloved, has always been treated differently by the citizens of Partholon. Born a combination of human, goddess, and centaur, Elphame’s uniquely beautiful figure is met with awe and shock by all she meets. Having never been comfortable with being an object of worship among her mother Etain’s people, Elphame is led by her prophetic dreams to set out on her own and rebuild the castle of her ancestors. Damaged in the war against the Fomorians centuries earlier, the MacCallan Castle requires all the assistance it can get to be restored to its former glory.

With the assistance of her centaur brother Cuchulainn and a small group of followers, Elphame makes the MacCallan Castle her new home. Instead of looking at her through worshipful eyes, the new tenants of MacCallan Castle become the friends that Elphame has always longed for. It is in the surrounding forest that Elphame will meet her destined lifemate, a man damned by the sins of his ancestors, the Fomorians. Like Elphame, Lochlan is of two worlds. Will he fulfill the prophecy that calls for the blood of a dying goddess and end the madness that plagues his people? Or will Lochlan forsake those like him for true love?

First published in 2004 by Luna, P.C. Cast’s coming-of-age story Elphame’s Choice has been beautifully repackaged and marketed toward teens under the Harlequin Teen publishing house. Fans of the House of Night series will undoubtedly be drawn to Elphame’s Choice, which promises “a different world…where the blood-suckers are truly dangerous”.

Elphame’s Choice takes place in the same world as Divine by Mistake (originally published as Goddess by Mistake) and Divine by Choice. Though each book could be enjoyed as a stand alone story, I highly recommend reading the Partholon books in the following order as suggested by goodreads.com: Divine by Mistake, Elphame’s Choice, Brighid’s Quest, Divine by Choice, and Divine by Blood.

Like Cast’s previous works, there are dark themes and adult sexual situations presented throughout the novel that may not be suitable for less mature teen readers. Adults shouldn’t shy away from this book, as I believe it was originally intended for that audience. Cast’s writing style is definitely appealing to younger readers; I especially found her use of foreshadowing in this novel to be too “telling.” When the events foreshadowed finally occurred, there was no element of surprise. For teen readers especially, Elphame’s Choice will be the perfect bridge to Cast’s adult-oriented novels.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Jennifer graduated from the University of Utah with a BA in English. She occasionally dabbles with her own fiction writing, particularly with the Young Adult and Paranormal genres. She currently resides in Utah with her husband and daughter.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Harlequin. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: In the Bag!: Margaret Knight Wraps It Up by Monica Kulling

[ 3 ] January 13, 2012

Reviewed by Alyssa Katanic

In the Bag!: Margaret Knight Wraps It Up by Monica Kulling is part of the Great Ideas Series of biographies of inventors for early readers. It does a great job of showing the difference one person can make, especially at a young age as Margret Knight’s first invention was put into use around the age twelve.

The illustrations for In the Bag! are very well done by David Parkins, and it was great to discover that the book’s two-sided cover doubles as a poster. This is a wonderful way to keep the lessons and encouragements of Margret Knight’s example in front of our children, thus expanding the experience of the book.

I do admit to wondering, “What’s so exciting about paper bags?” but the excitement comes more in Ms. Knight’s journey as an inventor in the mid to late 1800’s as an unmarried woman, and the struggle she had to go through to prove herself. She is definitely shown as a very confident and independent women who worked hard… to invent machines that would allow for her not to have to work quite so hard – gotta love that!

Monica Kulling’s well written account of Margret Knight’s accomplishments is a great way to show kids that they are never too young to begin inventing. I look forward to checking out a few of the other biographies in the Great Idea Series.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Alyssa is a wife and stay at home, homeschooling mother of five, with two boxers, two cats, a soft shelled turtle named after Bob the Builder, and 7 frogs (admittedly a homeschooling project gone froggy). In all her spare time, she loves to read and believes that there is no such thing as having too many books!

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Tundra Books. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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