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The Tale of The Pumpkin Seed Squad
The Tale of The Pumpkin Seed Squad tells a buoyant and spirited children’s story about a fun-loving field mouse that wants to play football. But when he tries to play with the human ball, it’s too big and he gets squished. Luckily his friend Gus has come up with a creative solution for the field mice to play football. The game that ensues if a thrilling match of football that is animated and funny.
I really enjoyed how this story used a simple premise like football and twisted it to include a merry group of mice creatively playing a wholesome game. This children’s book gets a lot more in depth with the game then I thought it was going to, which I really appreciated and I think kids who like the sport will also really enjoy.
This is a fantastic book for elementary school readers as it tells a story with many scenes that will help test their reading comprehension. It includes interesting and easy flowing rhymes that conveys the joyful tone of the story. This is a wonderfully educational book in a variety of ways as it teaches sportsmanship, friendship, thinking creatively, along with helping with reading comprehension.
The Tale of The Pumpkin Seed Squad is an imaginative picture book that will be a great fit in any elementary teacher’s classroom. This is also a great book to get children during autumn or football season. With a delightful cast of characters and a charming art style, this is a children’s book that is fun from beginning to end.
Pages: 40 | ISBN: 1643610627
From Hair to There
![From Hair to There by [Cindy Lurie]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51i4xO6D8xS.jpg)
From Hair to There tells the imaginative tale of a girl’s incredibly long hair and how it is used by a diverse cast of characters to travel across the world. But when a gum chewing camel spits a wad of gum in her hair the magical adventure comes to a stop. Will Cynthia get her incredibly long hair back?
This is a fun and creative children’s book that takes readers on a fairytale adventure around the world where young readers will learn about a variety of locations. This provides a great opportunity for parents and teachers to talk about different geographical locations as well as cultures.
The art in the book is excellent. Every other page has a colorful and sharp graphic art piece that is fit to be framed all on its own. Cynthia and her hair get into a lot of whacky situations that will surely keep children giggling.
Author Cindy Lurie has created a charming picture book with simple rhymes that educates as well as it entertains. I loved Cynthia’s character she, and this book, has so much character that the story can easily be read again and again.
For parents and teachers looking for a lively and educational children’s book that will inspire their kid’s imagination look no further than From Hair to There by Cindy Lurie.
Pages: 56 | ASIN: B096Q3LLCJ
JoJo’s Tiny Ear
Jojo is like any other kid. He laughs, he plays, and he helps his mom, but he has one small difference. Jojo has a tiny ear. Through this colorful children’s book young readers will learn about Jojo and about microtia. Admittedly, I had never heard of microtia before, so this book was certainly a learning experience for me as well. I felt well informed by end of this book. I think this book is great for children and adults as it will educate all readers.
Readers learn about microtia and Jojo through rhyming verses throughout this heartfelt story and we get to see how Jojo is just like every other child. Helping children relate to Jojo is important in getting them to understand that there is not much difference between us. The vibrant watercolor art does a fantastic job of showing Jojo in various states of play and shows how he is just like anyone else. The one thing that makes him unique is his hearing aid, which is on a headband. The story goes on to explain what the device is and how it works. We also learn a bit of sign language as well, as Jojo uses it to communicate.
JoJo’s Tiny Ear is a wonderfully educational story that promotes acceptance, diversity, inclusion and being comfortable with who you are. I really loved how Jojo stood up to the bullies by educating them on his condition. This vibrant picture book will entertain as well as it educates.
Pages: 28 | ASIN: 1956159053
The Adventures of Charlie, Blue and Larry Lamp Post
![The Adventures of Charlie, Blue and Larry Lamp Post by [Sarah Duchess of York]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61s3aeO35AL.jpg)
Young Charlie has a secret. Every night Larry the Lamp Post and Billy Barrow come alive and whisk Charlie and his dog Blue away on a magical star filled adventure that empowers Charlie and teaches readers about different star constellations.
The Adventures of Charlie, Blue and Larry Lamp Post is a uniquely imaginative children’s book with gorgeous water color art that fills every page. I enjoyed the colorful palette and the beautifully whimsical imagery. All of the illustrations are perfect for capturing a child’s attention and imagination while creating an interest in astronomy.
The art style works perfectly to bring the universe to life once Charlie starts zipping around the stars. Young readers will learn about a variety of different constellations and even be treated to constellation and space facts at the end of the book. All of this serves to make this a spirited adventure that is also wonderfully educational as well.
This is a perfect addition to any teacher’s science section in elementary school. This book is also perfect for parents to share with their children as it arouses curiosity in the world and sends a positive message of hope. The Adventures of Charlie, Blue and Larry Lamp Post is a marvelous picture book that sends readers on a wondrous journey through the stars.
Pages: 38 | ASIN: B09DM68N56
ITz Little BeWitchMents
![ITz Little BeWitchMents : The Bag of Worries and The Magic of Faith by [Eva Heather Kerr]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/517zUxKb03L.jpg)
Eva Heather Kerr’s “ITz Little Bewitchments” is a children’s book, classic story about great friendships, loyalty, magic, love of nature, discovering and faith.
It follows the life of two friends, Eve and Suzie as they navigate life in a witch training academy. While they are two of the most loved students in the school, the book also explores the little mischievous and curious side of their personalities.
Like all children, they never turn down any opportunity for adventure, discovering and making new friends. At the beginning of the book, they even follow something into the courtyard of the academy, a venture that will literally, land them in the academy’s laboratory and a spot of bother. Ultimately, their characters depict what it means to be curious and wise.
Like all good children books, ITz Little Bewitchments has a strong antagonist – Miss Dingbat. She is the academy’s inspector, very determined to get the girls expelled. She follows them around and keeps constant tabs on them, by using her dedicated magpie, Mr Mag to spy and follow the girls everywhere. She keeps reporting the girls to the headmistress, Miss Butterscotch.
Fortunately, the headmistress knows only too well why Miss Dingbat is so determined to see both girls expelled from the academy. Knowing the truth behind the wicked lies of the Inspector, Miss Butterscotch always supports the girls, encouraging them to excel. Ultimately, the support of the Grand Wizard Bruadarach, Miss Butterscotch and many others and the powerful friendships, keep Eve and Suzie winning over many adversities. Time and time again, we see them gracefully face many difficult situations and come out safe with lessons learned.
As we turn the pages of this wonderful book, it is clear that the author’s intent is on communicating and educating about the great importance of friendship and in having strong faith. Believing in oneself, in magic and always following your dreams. As such, the book becomes a great friend and a guide through adversities allowing one to fully grasp the power and importance of friendship, trust, loyalty and truth.
Another thing this book does well is illustrating its scenes. The illustrations are colourful, engaging, and awe-inspiring – things that make them attractive to children. Moreover, it uses colourful descriptive language that inspires imagination.
ITz Little BeWitchMents is a fun, light, magical and educative book that will inspire children to explore, learn and discover.
*Screenplay of the book’s adaptation is currently in the preproduction stage, film featuring over 20 songs.
Pages: 156 | ASIN: B09DJFKTJ8
Through Individual Ingenuity
Oscar the Osprey follows a newly hatched osprey who has difficulty relating to his peers because of his handicap and must face a threatening winter world alone. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
The inspiration goes back over 35 years, and emanated from a trip to the Royal Gorge in Colorado with my family. While walking across the gorge suspension bridge that was 1000 feet above the Arkansas River, my oldest son remarked that it would terrible for a bird to be afraid of heights. He sympathized with the problem because he had a fear of heights. The story about a bird having that problem was the idea that I found intriguing and it led to finally formally publishing the book 30 year later.
Oscar is a charming character. What were some driving ideals behind his character’s development?
A good children’s book should have, in my opinion, likeable characters, a strong moral behind the story, and be readable on multiple levels. That is, it should be interesting to a non-reading young listener, challenging to a young reader, and interesting to a grownup. Dr. Suess was a master of this technique. I tried to combine those elements in telling the story about Oscar’s handicap and how he learned how to deal with it. The moral of Oscar’s story is that we all have to overcome hurdles in life, not through miracles, but through individual ingenuity.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Sibling rivalry, overcoming personal limitations, dealing with life’s dangers, handling ridicule… all common problems of growing into adulthood.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I’ve written two additional books (through AuthorHouse) in the Oscar series, the second one focuses on his relationship with his brother and the third with his sister. All of the books, I hope, followed the basic premises of the first Oscar book. The books are available on-line through AuthorHouse, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I had originally planned on completing a trilogy, but now I’m working on a fourth book in the Oscar series, which should be available in early 2021.
Author Links: Facebook | Website
Hickory Doc’S Tales
![Hickory Doc’S Tales: The Pack: First Generation by [Linda Harkey]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51urbwIZusL._SY346_.jpg)
This bucolic children’s book contains a collection of humorous stories following the adventures and misadventures at The Lazy Dog Hacienda kennels in Oklahoma.
Hickory Doc’s Tales is a cute story about a family of hunting dogs. Zeke is easily my favorite character because he is the misunderstood uncle and sort of the black sheep of the family. Zeke considers himself better than his brother and family. Eventually he becomes humble and children will learn a good lesson along the way as well. Newt is my second favorite character because he is loyal and even though he is a different breed of dog, they still consider him family, this sends a wonderful message of diversity and inclusion to young readers. He is a little insecure, but quickly realizes his differences are positive and helpful. It’s cute to see how close this family of dogs are, the lengths they go through for one another and the adventures they share. There is also a delightful variety of colorful side characters that appear throughout the book.
Now, even though the characters were lovely I wasn’t fond of the author’s writing style. I felt like that held back the story a bit. It was well edited, but some of the wording felt almost robotic.
This is a book for young readers that are transitioning to chapter books. The book was well edited, but I wanted there to be more of a flow to the language so that the writing matched the easy flow of life in the book.
I loved the illustrations! They were very well done and added life and dimension to the story. The illustrations were placed perfectly throughout the book giving you a better feel for what happened in that chapter. The chapters are very short. The book itself is perfect for an elementary student from grades four to six. I found it interesting that the author is a hunting dog owner and wondered about all the sources of inspiration she must have had!
Hickory Doc’S Tales is such a cute story that young readers will absolutely adore.
Pages: 116 | ASIN: B0796623SZ
Bobby the Bear and His Missing Dinner
![Bobby the Bear and His Missing Dinner by [Ryan O'Connor, Xiang Manke]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51u6Hr9NquL._SX260_.jpg)
This delightful children’s book follows a good-natured but hungry little bear on his way down to the lake to catch dinner. After catching his dinner and getting ready to take a bite, one of his friends comes by and distracts him. Just then his dinner goes missing. Luckily, several of his friends are around to help him find where the fish went. The answer to this charming mystery is abolueltey adorable.
This children’s book is filled with colorful illustrations with a soft scheme and cute pictures that will surely capture young children’s attention. I could not get over how adorable Bobby was throughout the story. He is a fun character to follow and also sends a strong message to readers at the end of the story to share with your friends.
Bobby the Bear and His Missing Dinner is a fantastic picture book to read to kindergarteners or first graders as it teaches a wonderful lesson, but also has some very entertaining scenes and wonderful pictures to keep eager children glued to the pages. This wonderful story reminds me of children’s cartoons such as Peppa Pig or Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood as they also tell a simple but entertaining story with a good lesson at the end.
Pages: 26 | ASIN: B08KSY9XVT
LITERARY TITAN 