Book Review – Too Tall Alice

Too Tall Alice
Written By: Barbara Worton
Illustrated By: Dom Rodi
Published By: Great Little Books LLC Books, 2009, First Edition, 32 pages, hardcover
ISBN 978-0979066115

Product Description- From Great Little Books LLC.com
“Alice is tall. Not T-Rex or Empire State Building tall. Just four inches taller than the other girls in her class, and Alice is worried. FOUR INCHES! That’s a lot of inches taller than everyone else. Her mom says it’s okay to be tall, and her dad says it’s okay to be tall. IT’S OKAY FOR THEM TO SAY THAT. THEY’RE NORMAL! Alice wishes, really wishes, she was just like everyone else. Then, her dream takes her to the place where the tall girls live, and she sees, really sees, herself for the first time.”

Too Tall Alice is a really cute book with a really great message. This story will help young girls understand that being tall and very slim is natural and perfectly okay. The text is very large and easy to read. By the end of the book, Alice understands that her extra height and slim build could even be assets when she grows up. This story is a fun way of teaching girls that they are fine just the way they are (tall and slim) without them understanding they are being taught something; some children like to come to these conclusion by themselves.
The illustrations are very cute for the most part and they are all are very bright and colourful; Alice is absolutely adorable! I did not particularly care for the other “people” drawn in the book; they didn’t meet the same technical and creative standard as the rest of illustrations.
I would recommend this book for tall, slim girls 7-10 years of age.
 

Link to the Publisher’s Website:
http://www.greatlittlebooksllc.com/

A special thanks to Bostick Communications for sending me a copy.

Copyright ©  Book Reviews By Bobbie — Bobbie Crawford-McCoy

Book Review – For the Love of St. Nick

For the Love of St. Nick
Written By: Garasamo Maccagnone
Published By: BookSurge, a part of the Amazon.com Group Companies, 2008, First Edition, 46 pages, softcover
ISBN 978-1439210123

Product Description – From Amazon.com
“Two boys who have lost their mother tragically, worry they’ll never see their father, a Naval Commander, after he embarks on a secret mission with the United States military. After the boys are advised by their nanny to seek the help of St. Nick, the boys are shocked by an early Christmas visit.”

For the Love of St. Nick is a nice, short story about two young boys who live in an isolated cabin with their father. When their father leaves them to go on a special mission, the boys are promised that their Dad will be home in time for Christmas. As the weather worsens and one of the boys suffers from a reoccurring illness, tensions run high as they wait to see if someone will help them and bring their father home in time for Christmas.
I would recommend this book for children 8-14 years of age.

 
Link to the Author’s Website:
http://www.garasamomaccagnone.com/
Link to the Publisher’s Website:
http://www.booksurge.com/

A special thanks to Bostick Communications for sending me a copy to review.

Copyright ©  Book Reviews By Bobbie — Bobbie Crawford-McCoy

Book Review – Archibald’s Swiss Cheese Mountain

Archibald’s Swiss Cheese Mountain 
Written By: Sylvia Lieberman
Illustrated By: Jeremy Wendell
Published By: Seven Locks Press, CA, USA, 2007, First Edition, 48 pages, hardcover
ISBN 978-0979585258

Archibald’s Swiss Cheese Mountain is an interesting little book about Archibald’s first trip out into the ‘world’ without his mother watching over him. He doesn’t remember all the warnings until it’s too late. Then he must figure out how to keep himself safe while getting out of precarious situations.
The moral of the story is to heed your mother’s advice and always use caution when you are out on your own exploring and trying new things.
This story would be a little too difficult for children to read themselves or understand unless they are at least six years old. Less challenging phrasing might be a suggestion, so that the book could be more easily understood by children younger then six.
The illustrations are very large, plentiful and colourful, though they do not meet a very high technical or artistic standard.The text is large and easy to read.
I would recommend this book for children 6-8 years of age.

Link to the Author’s Website:
http://www.archibaldmousebooks.com/theauthor.html
Link to the Publisher’s Website:
http://www.sevenlockspublishing.com/

Thank you to PR By The Book for sending me a copy.

Copyright ©  Book Reviews By Bobbie — Bobbie Crawford-McCoy

Book Review – How the Moon Regained Her Shape

How the Moon Regained Her Shape
Written By: Janet Ruth Heller
Illustrated By: Ben Hodson
Published By: Sylvan Dell Publishing, SC, USA, 2006, First Edition, 32 pages, hardcover
ISBN 978-0976494348

Product Description – From Amazon.com
“How the Moon Regained Her Shape, influenced by Native American folktales, is a delightful story that emphasizes building self-confidence and understanding the phases of the moon. After the sun insults her, the moon gets very upset and disappears – much to the chagrin of the rabbits who miss their moonlight romps. With the help of her friends, the moon gains more self-confidence each day until she is back to her full size. The “Creative Minds” section explains the phases of the moon and helps to answer those pesky questions like “why is the moon up during the day?”, or “why does the shape of the moon change?” Moon crafts and games supplement the understanding.”

How the Moon Regained Her Shape is a culturally-rich story which will educate children in a fun and interesting way. With topics including self-esteem, bullying, encouraging the ‘bullied’ seek help and various subjects about the moon. This book takes a fresh and enjoyable approach to issues which many children face on a daily basis once they start school and during many of the early, formative years onward. Included at the end of the book are 4 1/2 pages which teach the reader about: moon observations, fun ‘moon’ projects, the phases of the moon and its orbit around the Earth, an Earth to Moon scale drawing and more. This book is beautifully illustrated with deep, vibrant colours and has wonderful intensity and character. It is the recipient of the following Awards: ‘Moonbeam Children’s Book Award’, ‘Benjamin Franklin Award’ and ‘Children’s Choice Award’.
I would recommend this book for children 4-8 years of age, though children as old as 12 years of age would almost certainly enjoy the last 4 1/2 pages.

 
Link to Information about the Author:
http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/moon.php
Link to the Publisher’s Website:
http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/

Thank you to Elaine Krackau for sending me a copy.

Book Review – Stanley the Christmas Tree: A Wish Come True

Stanley the Christmas Tree: A Wish Come True
Written By: Richard E. Hughes
Illustrated By: Anita Saunders
Published By: Pennie Rich Publishing, CO, USA, 2008, First Edition, 32 pages, paperback
ISBN 978-0-9820328-0-0

Product Description – from Amazon.com
“Stanley’s lifelong wish for a Special Family to spend his Christmas with seems lost when, on Christmas Eve, he finds himself standing in an alley with the Trash Can Family. Alone and rejected, teased by the trash cans, Stanley is flocked by new fallen snow and even in his loneliness feels proud when the cans agree, he is the best looking tree ever set out. Are the trash cans to be Stanley s Special Family or is there a surprise waiting to make his Christmas, A Wish Come True? Stanley the Christmas Tree, A Wish Come True is a story for all ages.”

Stanley the Christmas Tree: A Wish Come True is a short Christmas story which teaches about love of family, second chances, making others lives more enjoyable as well as their own and the happiness of a holiday wish come true. This is a carefully and lovingly written book which focuses on Stanley and his wish to make one family’s Christmas the very best.  He wants so badly to be a special Christmas tree. There are 19 colourful illustrations which should be very eye-catching for young readers and Stanley himself, is adorable!
The author wrote this Christmas story for his young daughter, over 35 years ago.
There is a companion Audio Book/CD for Stanley the Christmas Tree: A Wish Come True, which can be purchased separately at http://www.stanleythechristmastree.com/.
I would recommend this book for children, 4-8 years of age.

 
Link to the Author’s Website:
http://www.stanleythechristmastree.com/
Link to the Publisher’s Website:
http://www.pennierich.com/

Thank you to Elaine Krackau for sending me a copy.