Children's Book Review: Beware Of The Teacher! by Jason Bardwell

Beware Of The Teacher!

Author: Jason Bardwell

Publisher: CreateSpace

Date: April 19, 2012

Number of Pages: 26




About The Author
Jason Bardwell is an author and artist who has written, illustrated and published two children's books.

The Big Bad Teacher
I think most kids wonder what their teacher does when he is not at school. This is a rhyming modern fairy tale about a big BAD teacher and his innocent little students.

The students at school notice that their teacher is twitching badly and doing strange things. The children have good reason to beware of the teacher because he EATS the bones of little children when he goes home at night!

The story ends with the following warning;

"Run home, run away,
As fast as you can,
Then you at least will not,
Be in his frying pan!"

My Thoughts
This story has a good vs. evil theme that is so popular in fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs.

Kids love to read stories with strange and unusual twists. Children will be surprised and delighted to read this funny fantasy about a teacher gone bad. The author has taken us out of our comfort zone and stretched our imaginations in a very different direction.

It is important for young readers to know that this story IS NOT REAL and that teachers do not eat or harm their students. This might lead to a discussion about how to determine the difference between fact and fiction. It would be fun to have students compare and contrast the teacher in the story with their own teacher.

This "bad teacher" story is sure to be a hit with kids. Students will realize how lucky they are to have a smart, kind and caring teacher in their classroom.

My Rating ~ 5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ The author sent me a complimentary paperback copy of this book to read and review.

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Children's Book Review: Penelope Popper Book Doctor

Penelope Popper, Book Doctor

Author: Toni Buzzeo
Illustrator: Jana Christy

Publisher: Upstart Books

Date: March 28, 2011





About The Author
Toni Buzzeo is an author as well as a career library media specialist. She writes picture books for children as well as many professional books and articles and lives on a colonial farm in Maine.

Penelope Popper Wanted To Be A Doctor
Penelope wanted to be a doctor and was always looking for opportunities to practice her doctoring skills. Her friends were tired of having their heartbeats listened to, their blood pressure taken and their reflexes checked.

One day she went to visit Ms. Brisco, the school librarian. Ms. Brisco showed Penelope some books that were "sick" and needed the attention of a book doctor. The librarian taught Penelope how to clean and repair the sick books so that children could read them again.

One of the illustrations in this book show a poster with the following five rules for taking care of books;

1. Wash your hands before reading a book.
2. Turn pages from the upper right-hand corner.
3. Never dog-ear a page.
4. Keep books safe from babies, pets and liquids.
5. Use a shelf marker to hold your spot and then replace books carefully on the shelves.

Penelope was called to perform an emergency "operation" when a huge dictionary fell behind the classroom radiator. She was able to rescue the dictionary and repair the damaged pages.

Penelope was awarded a special badge to wear by her teacher and librarian. The badge said, "Penelope Popper, Book Doctor."

My Thoughts
When I was working as an elementary school librarian, I was always looking for books to help children learn the library rules and how to take care of books. I love to see a book that features a school librarian as the "star" of  the story.

Children need to learn that books are their friends and they must be treated with care. This book will reinforce the library rules that children have learned in the past. The illustrations are bright and colorful and Penelope is sure to be a hit.
A great book for children in early elementary grades.

My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5

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Kindle Book For Kids: Katie Sue's First Day Of School

Katie Sue's First Day Of School (A Beautifully Illustrated Rhyming Children's Picture Book)

Author:Kimberly Bennet
Illustrator: Daniela Frongia

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Publication Date: April 6, 2012





About The Author
Kimberly Bennet is the author of four Kindle books for kids on Amazon.

School Days
School bells will soon be ringing and kids will be headed back to school. When I worked as an elementary school librarian, I always looked for a good "first day of school" book to share with students during their first visit to the library. Children love to read about kids who are experiencing similar experiences, feelings and fears. They relate to the characters in the story and realize that there is really nothing to fear.

Katie Sue is getting ready to attend her first day of kindergarten. She is worried that she will have a grumpy teacher, the work will be too hard and she won't like the snacks. Katie Sue's biggest worry is that she will not have any friends. Her mother tells her not to worry because school will be a great place where she can learn and make new friends.

The picture on the cover of the book shows Katie Sue giving a huge "thumbs-up" at the end of her first day of school. She can't wait for another day!

My Thoughts
Katie Sue is a delightful character and the full-page illustrations really make her come to life. I read this book on my Kindle 3 and I was very impressed with the digital formatting. The full-page illustrations alternate with four lines of text on each screen view. The black text is easy to read on the white background and the illustrations are outstanding.

The black-and-white illustrations on my Kindle are clear and bright. Children will not have any problem reading this book on the small screen of the Kindle. I viewed the illustrations in color on my Kindle for PC Application and the colors are bright, cheerful and will be very appealing to children.

The story deals with a problem that many children will relate to...the first day of school jitters. A few of the rhyming patterns in the text are a little rough, but the theme of the story is presented in a very positive and kid-friendly way.

My Rating:  5 Stars Out Of 5

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

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Children's Book Review: Natalie Wants A Puppy

I received Natalie Wants a Puppy (That's Nat!) by Dandi Daley Mackall as a free download on my Kindle.  This book is also available in paperback format.  The book is part of the "That's Nat!" series of Christian fiction books published by Zonderkidz (Zondervan) Press. 
This book is a short chapter book that would be appropriate for beginning readers.  It would also be a good read-aloud book for younger children. 
Natalie is starting her last week in kindergarten.  She becomes Detective Nat because strange things are happening around her house.  Her parents are whispering, secretive and acting extremely happy.  Natalie believes something is going on and she is determined to find out what is happening.  She listens to her mother talking on the telephone and hears the word "adopt".  She remembers a boy in her school went to a place called "Adopt-A-Pet" and came home with a new puppy.  Natalie believes she has solved the mystery...she is going to get a new puppy!
Natalie soon finds out that her parents are using the word "adopt" because they are going to fly to China and adopt a baby boy.  This little boy has had a rough start in life and has had surgery on his mouth to correct a cleft palate.
At first, Natalie is not happy that her parents are getting a new baby.  She has been "Only Natalie" for a long time.  To make matters worse, her parents are going to China and leaving Natalie at home with her grandmother.
This is a good story to share with children who will soon be getting a new brother or sister.  International adoption has become fairly common so this story is something that many families could benefit from.  The story portrays the family praying together and trusting God to show them the right things to do.  The story has a happy ending and Natalie gets a baby brother AND a new puppy.
This book is illustrated with several pictures in each chapter.  The book works well on the Kindle.  The black and white illustrations are large and humorous.  This book will please young Kindle users.  The story might remind you of the popular Junee B. Jones series.  Parents should note that the author writes the way children talk.  She sometimes uses incorrect grammar to make the conversation more realistic.  Some people will like this and some people won't.  This book will definitely fill a need for parents and teachers who are looking for books on adoption.