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Author: Harry Markov
Title - Dragon Lady
Readers are invited to sit in as a grandmother recounts the tale of two princesses and the way they handled a challenge with their own special magic. It is a story of hope, healing, and love, the best magics of all.
*** The author exhibits a great ability to draw word images sure to enchant younger readers, though those over ten or so will want longer, more fleshed out tales. Given the youth of the author, this is a promising start to what we can hope will be a bright career. ***
Author: Sarah V. Richard
Title - Is Christmas Coming? (Children's / Ages 4 and up)
***** This is a wonderful little story, just PERFECT for reading with little ones as the Christmas holiday draws near. It begins ten days before Christmas and ends on the actual holiday. It is a daily conversation between a son and his mother. The little boy is anxious to open the presents, even just one. The mother must calmly sooth her son as they count down the days.
Each day has a rhyming beat to it. This makes it excellent as a tool to teach your young children how to read. Parents may read it to their children, but the children will want to read it to themselves over and over. It may be purchased in print form from the publisher (and possibly at B&N or Amazon) online, however, I would recommend downloading it to your computer from the publisher. By doing so, your child can get a head start on working with a computer. (Many schools begin teaching the use of computers in FIRST grade.) I highly recommend this story as a learning tool to help your child get ready for his/her school days. *****
Author: Various
Title - The Thing In The Tub & Other Poems
(Preschool and up)
***** This is a wonderful collection of poems for children. Each one made me laugh. It is full of fairies, dragons, rocket ships, funny creatures, and so much more. Children will ask for it to be read over-and-over again.
As a special treat, each poem is illustrated with a wacky picture that can be printed out for coloring! There are over twenty poems and pictures for hours of fun! This would also make a terrific present for your kids, nieces, nephews, or to be used by teachers in their classrooms for years!
I can only hope that these talented authors get together again real soon to create another delightful book of poems. I will be waiting! *****
Author: Rita Y. Toews
Illustrator: Jon Ljungberg
Title - The Bully (Ages 6-12)
This is a FREE book that anyone can read about dealing with
bullies. You can either download to your computer, it takes only seconds,
or open it up from the site. It looks like a picture book! Simply click
the arrow to turn each page. And just like a "print" book, the reader
sees the page flip. COOL!
The story is set in an elementary school and teaches how a bully
operates and what your child and you can do to stop it all. There is also a
multiple choice quiz for parents/teachers and children to do together.
For the younger kids, there are lots of wonderful drawings that can be
printed out for coloring.
Highly recommended reading for ages 6 - 12.
(Author) Karen Sue Wiesner
With Linda Derkez
(Illustrator) Candace
J. Hardy
Title - Cody Knows (Pre-school)
This story follows one weekday in the life of little Cody. It begins at
daybreak and ends at bed time. Most any child will be able to relate
with the story of Cody.
**** This is a wonderful picture book for pre-schoolers. Simple words
to follow and short sentences per page so your child can read along
with
you. The illustrations are bright and colorful, very eye-catching, with
many details.
Many schools introduce the computer in first
grade. Therefore, this ebook is a perfect way to help your child learn
to read, as well as, assist your child in becoming comfortable with
simple commands of computers. It is a story your child will ask you to
read many times. ****
(Author) Karen Sue Wiesner
(Illustrator) Robert Lee Beers
Title - Taking Responsibility Builds Trust
(First Book in the Making Good Choices series)
The Making Good Choices series is an interactive set of
stories and illustrations designed to help parents and kids understand
each other and to work together toward making good decisions. The
series
is designed for preschoolers and elementary school-aged kids.
Each book has a set of short stories where the character (a child)
makes choices. This book focuses on "responsibility" and "trust". This
book has a boy with two stories. In the first, his choices are made on
a
playground. In the second, his choices are made during a sleep-over
with
a friend.
Your child will read this story and decide whether
the
story's character made good choices or not. By clicking on YES
or
NO your child is able to be interactive with the story. Which
ever answer your child clicks on, the story will take your child to
another section of the book and tell him/her if the answer they chose
was good or not. Then it explains WHY.
***** The host of the
book is Reb Raccoon. Reb will award your child gold stars for good
choices, as well as, plant "seeds of knowledge". Children will enjoy
interacting with Reb Raccoon and will read the book over and over. It
is
a perfect way to help children learn about building trust and taking
responsibility for their own actions. A print version of the series
will
be released later. PERSONALLY, I prefer the electronic version
of
the series. WHY? A simple click of a mouse shows your child
whether his/her answer was a good choice or not. The print version will
have the answers in the back of the book. I look forward to the second
book of this series. Highly recommended! *****
(Author) Wendy Peterson
(Illustrator) Ardy Scott
Title - Ocean Fairies
Jesse is a teenager who lives at the beach. Known only to her, fairy
penguins live in nests hidden on the foreshore. Part of their magic is
that they could understand and speak every language in the world. When
they are near Jesse, she could understand other creatures too.
While exploring a sunken ship with the fairy penguins one day, Jesse's
rubber dinghy is torn. She is rescued by the Selkie. The Selkie is the
mightiest of all the merfolk. He can summon the wind and storm. The
ocean obeys his every whim. As he leaves Jesse, he promises to grant
her
a wish. Jesse is enchanted with the Selkie and wants nothing more than
to meet him again.
***** Thus begins a magical journey for Jesse and her little friends as
they search for an elusive island. They meet a few mythical creatures
and experience many magical things.
The story is like the fairy
tale of "The Little Mermaid", only in reverse. The heroine is human and
longs for a prince of the sea. This story will amaze readers of all
ages. Yet it is written simply, so even those around the age of eight
can understand it. Highly recommended. *****
(Author) Rita Y. Toews
(Illustrator) Jennifer Macaire
Title - Christmas Stars
Catherine's father had decided that she was old enough to help him decorate and put lights on the trees outside. Winter had come early. The snow was deep. When Catherine noticed two hungry deer eating seeds from the bird feeder in the back yard, she asked her father if they could help the deer through the rough winter.
***** Author Rita Toews warmed my heart with this touching story. She showed that by doing little acts of kindness, such as putting food out for the deer, the rewards would come back three-fold.
Illustrator Jennifer Macaire created lovely pictures for each page of the story. In addition, there is a picture of Catherine's trees that, when you touch them with your mouse, they light up!
As a special bonus, once the story is over, there are a few pages with puzzles, games, and projects. This is a perfect way for parents and children to have some delightful time together. Children will beg, "Can we read it one more time?" Highly recommended! *****
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