A Hero Like Me - Children's Book Review

 

Title: A Hero Like Me

Author: Jen Reid and Angela Joy

Illustrator: Leire Salaberria

Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books

Publication Date: June 6, 2023

Length: 40 Pages

About the Author
Jen Reid grew up in the city of Bath, England. Her experiences of racism growing up were first-hand. From being the only Black child in her local primary school in the 1980s to moving to London in the 1990s and facing the daily microaggressions that black women suffer in the workplace, Jen has experienced the everyday racism that is ingrained in our society.

The Events of June 7, 2020, in Bristol, England
This children's picture book is based on the events of June 7, 2020, in Bristol, England. A statue of the seventeenth-century slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down and thrown into Bristol Harbour during a George Floyd anti-racism protest.

Jen Reid was one of the protesters that day and she spontaneously climbed on the empty statue base and raised her fist high above her head. This moment was captured on camera and shared around the world.

A statue of Jen was placed on the empty statue base and was called "A Surge of Power". It gained widespread attention for the 24 hours it was in place.

My Thoughts
This is a powerful book that deals with racism and activism. 

The book provides parents and teachers an opportunity to discuss these issues with children and answer their questions. Children of all races and nationalities could benefit from reading and discussing this book. 

The illustrations are excellent and add value to the text. The story is appropriate for children of all ages. Highly Recommended.

RATING: 5 STARS OUT OF 5

FYI ~ I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley to review.

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Kindle Books For Kids: My Little Pet Dragon; Bilingual Edition

Would your child like to have a smart, helpful pet dragon? Most kids love to read about the mythical winged monsters that can be frightful or friendly. "My Little Pet Dragon; Bilingual Edition (Spanish and English)", by Scott Gordon, is a delightful picture ebook for young children. The story is illustrated with colorful 3D images that kids will adore. The first half of this book contains the story in English and the second half of the book is the same story in Spanish.


About the Author
Scott Gordon is the author of several children's books, including My Little Pet Dragon, My Crazy Pet Frog, Pigtastic, A Little Book About You, A Pocketful of Dinosaurs, Ninja Robot Repairmen, Happy Healthy Hearts, My Daddy's Cool Car Collection and If I Were A Robot. Currently he is hard at work on his next project: Braedyn Bunny and the Missing Eggs.

A Dragon For Christmas
A child receives a pet dragon for Christmas. The dragon's name is Neka and she is very smart and helpful. Neka spends all of her time helping and entertaining the child and his family. She helps the child with his homework, fixes his computer and even helps brush his teeth!

Neka also loves to help the child's mother. She goes shopping, helps with the cooking and makes sure Mommy brushes her teeth each morning. Neka loves her family very much.

The next Christmas the child receives another dragon for Christmas. His name is Ness. There is love in the air and it looks like there is going to be a new target for Neka's affections!

My Thoughts
This is a very cute story for young children and the 3D illustrations are outstanding. Children will love to study the pictures and tell the story in their own words.

This special edition presents the entire story in English and then repeats the entire story in Spanish. I do not speak Spanish, but I have a basic understanding of the vocabulary and sentence structure. The translation of this story appears to be very good. There are some differences in the illustrations in the two versions. One of the most obvious differences is that Neka is a red dragon in the English version and a green dragon in the Spanish version. Children will enjoy comparing the text and the illustrations in the two versions.

I worked as a school librarian for many years in a community that had many bilingual students. I was always looking for easy picture books in Spanish. This book is a good fit for bilingual students, children who speak English as a second language (ESL) and students who are learning Spanish.

I think the demand for high-quality bilingual books for children is huge. I am glad to see that Mr.Gordon recognizes this need and is providing these books in digital format. This author is a real pioneer in the field of digital books for children. I highly recommend this book for pre-schoolers and early readers. You really don't have to be bilingual to enjoy both versions of this picture book.

My Rating:  5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I ordered this ebook from Amazon.Com when it was offered as a free digital download. Please check the price before ordering.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Kindle Books For Kids: Heaven Is For Real For Kids

Colton Burpo tells the story about how he got sick and went to Heaven when he was almost four-years-old. "Heaven is for Real for Kids; A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back", by Todd Burpo, is written in a child's words and is meant to be shared with other children. The color illustrations reflect the experience Colton had during his amazing trip to Heaven.


About The Author
Todd Burpo is the pastor of Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Nebraska where his sermons are broadcast locally every Sunday via the local radio station. He volunteers at Chase County Public Schools as wrestling coach for Junior High school students, as well as serving as a member of the school board. Todd graduated from Oklahoma Wesleyan University in 1991 with a BA in Theology. He was ordained in 1994.

A Little Boy's Journey to Heaven
Colton Burpo was almost four-years-old when he became ill and was taken to the hospital. During his stay in the hospital, he closed his eyes and found himself being carried to Heaven by an angel.

Colton describes all the things he saw and all the things he experienced while in Heaven. The text is very simple and is written in a way that children can understand. Each page is illustrated with a beautiful color illustration that complements the text. There is also a Bible verse on each page that supports the experiences that Colton described while he was in Heaven.

My Thoughts
This book is a child's version of the best-selling adult book "Heaven is for Real; A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back." I have not read this original version of the book but plan to read it in the future.

I read this book on my Kindle 3 (black and white illustrations) and on the Kindle for PC Application (color illustrations). The illustrations and text are a good fit for the Kindle. Children will find this book easy and enjoyable to read on the small screen of the Kindle.

I think the child's version of "Heaven is for Real" is a book that is well-suited to share with children of all ages. This book will help parents explain what happens after a person dies. Colton remembers seeing all kinds of animals in heaven so this book would also be appropriate to answer questions about what happens to pets when they die.

Christian parents will find this book poignant and astounding. It is truly amazing that this young child could have an experience like this and be able to describe it in such vivid detail. There will always be skeptics, but I found Colton's story very believable and inspiring.

The theme of this book is "Jesus really, really loves children and Jesus really, really loves you." There is a FAQ section at the end of the book that provides more information about the Burpo family and Colton's experience. Highly recommended.

FYI ~ I checked-out this ebook from my public library.

Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Book Review: The Mystical Wood

"The Mystical Wood", by Simon Jenner, is a story about a boy and his dog. Max gets out of the yard through a hole under the gate and the boy runs to rescue him. The boy learns some very valuable life lessons as he searches for his beloved pet.
This ebook is available from Amazon and can be read on the Kindle and all of the Kindle applications.





About The Author
Simon Jenner is an independent author who lives in the United Kingdom with his wife and son. He has worked as an accountant for the past 20 years.

A Boy and His Dog
This is an exciting adventure story about a boy in search of his lost dog. The story is written in rhyme and has some repetitive text that children will love. The boy opens the gate to leave his yard and falls down into a magical kingdom. He meets a wizard who warns him,

"Little boy, oh little boy, what business have you here?
This wood is full of monsters and other things to fear."

The wizard gives the boy a magic green bag with three boxes inside. The wizard tells the boy that he can use the bag to help him find Max.

The boy walks through the woods and meets a dragon, a giant bumblebee and a T-Rex dinosaur. Each of these animals threaten to do great harm to the boy. The boy is brave and uses the magic green bag to barter with the monsters and go safely on his way.

Did the boy find his dog? You will be happy to discover the fate of Max at the end of this story.

My Thoughts
I found this book absolutely delightful. The color illustrations by Pierrre Fihue are wonderful. They add a great deal of excitement and suspense to the story.
The boy faces some very real dangers in the woods but he never gives in to fear. His determination to rescue his beloved pet is his only concern. This book will entertain young readers and teach them some valuable lessons about life.
I am so happy to see new books for kids being written for the Kindle. The  Kindle Fire has a color screen so this will make children's books very appealing to parents. I believe the future will be very bright for authors who write ebooks for children and young adults.

If you would like to learn more about "The Mystical Wood", please view The Mystical Wood [Book Trailer].

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Back To School Card Challenge

Back To School!
Mo's Digital Challenge #97
The challenge is to create a card or other craft item with the theme of going back to school.I made this card of a girl sitting in a window seat reading her library book.
Doesn't she look comfortable in this cozy window seat? It looks like the perfect place to read. 

This is how I made the card;

• The base card is a pre-made card and matching envelope made from kraft card stock. The card measures 5" by 6 1/2".
• The background is a piece of patterned paper from my stash that is lined like a child's writing tablet. It is peach colored with a green border.
• I used the digital stamp named "Window Seat" from Mo's Digital Pencil Store. I colored the image with Prismacolor markers and colored pencils. I sponged the wall with distress ink. I mounted the image on dark blue card stock.
• The letters that spell out "School Days" and the ruler came from "The Girl's Paperie" by Margie (Hobby Lobby). I punched out the parenthesis from dark green card stock.

This card was fun to make and will be mailed to my granddaughter this week. I love to make cards that encourage reading.

Please share your thoughts in the Comment Section below. 



Book Review: A Reel Cool Summer

It is a HOT summer day and the kids are bored. "A Reel Cool Summer", by Martha Rodriguez, is a delightful children's book about three young movie makers and their quest to win a contest at the public library. This story was inspired by Martha's real-life children and it is illustrated by her son, Joey.  This book will inspire children to tap into their own creativity and find new ways to fight the summer-time doldrums.

About The Author

Martha Rodriguez was born in Havana, Cuba and emigrated to the United States as a child. She is a wife and mother to three children.
Martha is an independent author and this is her first children's picture book. She is also the owner of Read To Me Publishing, LLC.

An Old Video Camera And Some Creativity
It is a hot summer day and Danny, Joey and Jacqui are bored. They wish they had a swimming pool. Joey receives a postcard from the public library that is announcing a movie making contest for kids! The contest ends TODAY at 5:00 pm. The first place prize is $100.00, the second place prize is a trip to Adventure World and the third place prize is a mystery gift!

The children find their family's old video camera and get to work. The entire family works on the props and costumes. The kids combine their ideas and come up with an out-of-this-world script for their movie. Joey is the photographer and Danny, Jacqui and their pet hamsters are the actors.
The children complete the video and get to the library just before the deadline. They anxiously await the announcement of the contest winners.

Did they win first place in the contest? I am not going to spoil the surprise at the end of the story. I will say that the kids were happily rewarded for their creative efforts!

My Thoughts
I really like the theme of this book. Children should be encouraged to use their imaginations and explore creative outlets. With the help of modern technology, children are very capable of creating a video movie to share with their friends and family. This book demonstrated that you don't have to have the most modern equipment to make a movie, the kids in this story were using an old video camera that used VHS tapes.
The computer-generated illustrations are colorful and fun. Joey Rodriguez did a wonderful job creating illustrations that complement this story.
This book uses a picture book format but the text is more verbose than a typical picture book. I would say this book is appropriate for children in the 2nd/3rd grade levels. The book is a good read-aloud selection for younger children.

The dialogue is written to sound like children really talk. Parents might cringe but kids will love it. Here is an example from the text;

“You know how much I hate going to the mall because it’s so boring and you have to walk for hours and Mom takes forever to pick out a pair of socks and lava is hot, like a million degrees hot, and it melts everything? Well, that’s what today feels like; it’s boring and hot. Like a mall that’s made of really, really hot lava!”

Mrs. Rodiguez has done an admirable job on her very first children's book. I love the fact that an author can now write and publish their own book and share it with the world. I look forward to more books from Martha and her Read To Me Publishing Company.

Disclosure: I want to thank Martha Rodriguez for sending me a complimentary digital copy of this book to read and review.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

DREAM Children's Book Giveaway

Happy Friday the 13th!  This is your lucky day. I am sponsoring a SUPER book giveaway for TWO copies of Dream by Adam Montierth. I would like to thank the good people at Sortis Publishing for sending two brand new copies of this book to share with my readers.
I wrote a review of this delightful book on April 4th, 2011.  Dream encourages kids to set out and accomplish goals even when others may say it can’t be done. This book will motivate and inspire children of all ages. If you know a young reader, this book will make a perfect gift.

How To Enter
Just leave a comment on this blog and you will be entered to win this contest. Don't know what to write? Just tell me, "I want to win a copy of DREAM." That is all there is to it. On Friday, May 20th, I will draw TWO lucky names out of a hat. Please leave an email address so that I can contact you. You will have until the end of Monday, May 23rd to respond to my email and send me your name and shipping address. If I do not hear from you, I will pick another name on Tuesday morning.

Who Can Enter
This contest is open to anyone age 18 or older. I am willing to ship this book (at my expense) to any location in the United States or Canada. The books will be shipped via USPS Media Mail or 1st Class International.  I ask that you just submit one entry per person.


Deadline
You must post a comment on this blog post no later than 12:00 noon (Central Time) on May 20, 2011. I will announce the names of the winners on this blog the week after the drawing.


Follow Me!
I would love for you to push the "Follow" button and add your name to my group of loyal blog readers. If you are on Facebook, I now have a Networked Blogs widget that you can use. However, this is not a requirement to enter this contest.

Leave a comment below to win a copy of this awesome children's book ~ TWO lucky winners will be chosen on Friday, May 20th!