Reader Views

Find Your Rainbow: Inspirations for Children

“Find Your Rainbow: Inspirations for Children” by Patricia Overson has pages with quotes on them hoping to inspire children; it also has a poem on every other page. There is not a lot to say about this book, but I can tell you they use the word rainbow a lot. On the page to the left, there are three quotes from people such as the author, Albert Einstein, and lots more. On the right pages, there are poems from many different people as well. I believe some of these quotes are good and encouraging for children, but I find some that are just plain cheesy.
 
It seems to me that “Find Your Rainbow: Inspirations for Children” by Patricia Overson is better for smaller children, such as Kindergarten through third-grade. Some quotes are small and are pretty simple, but others would fly right over many kid’s heads. I read this book once a day for about a week with my mom and sister and we thought it was kind of awkward. The information was not necessarily bad, but the way it’s presented doesn’t seem to work as it was intended.


Find Your Rainbow: Inspirations for Children
Patricia Overson
Beaver’s Pond Press (2012)
ISBN 9781592985036
Reviewed by Madeline McElroy (age 11) for Reader Views (1/13)
 

Seed by Seed: The Legend and Legacy of John “Appleseed” Chapman

Zoey:

I have read a lot of books about Johnny Appleseed but really didn’t know about his life or if he was real until reading “Seed by Seed: The Legend and Legacy of John ‘Appleseed’ Chapman” by Esme Raji Codell. I found out a lot of great information. His real name was John Chapman and he was a real person. This book was very pretty in colors, gave maps and most of all it taught all of us a lesson. I have always wondered if you could take seeds from an apple and plant them. I’m not sure yet. But Johnny Appleseed was so different from what I had read- he had goals, he helped poor people, he traveled and he said take what you have and use it. I never understood that until my Nana explained it to me. We all have talents and they are different from others. We have to learn as we grow up. I am smarter now than I was last year and I learned you have to be kind and helpful to people no matter what you think of them. I read this one time and then told my Nana what I read and how surprised I was from what I read before. All kids should read this; it tells you to be kind, warm and love everyone.
 
Nana:

Zoey loved “Seed by Seed: The Legend and Legacy of John ‘Appleseed’ Chapman” by Esme Raji Codell. She cited facts that I never knew about Johnny Appleseed, i.e., his given name, his family, what he did and how he started.


Seed by Seed: The Legend and Legacy of John “Appleseed” Chapman
Esme Raji Codell
Greenwillow Books (2012)
ISBN 9780061455155
Reviewed by Zoey Crane (age 8) and Nana for Reader Views (11/12)

Grandma, You Rock!: And Other Great Stories for the Young at Heart

“Grandma, You Rock!” by Karen O’Connor is a wonderful book about how Grandma’s enrich their grandchildren’s lives by telling stories or giving gentle guidance. Each story has an event that happens and a behavior; then there is a moral to the story with references to what God would want a child to do.
 
Zoey:
 
I loved this book- so many of the stories remind me of what my Nana says to me. She does it in a quiet way and the book does the same thing. It doesn’t make you feel bad, but makes you think about what you did. Some of the stories I had to have my Nana explain the morals and what God is saying but I loved it. It is just like my Nana does for me. All kids should read this book with their grandma’s.

Nana:

Zoey read “Grandma, You Rock!” by Karen O’Connor eagerly from the beginning. She did have some trouble with some of the morals or references to what God would do but she said they wrote the book about us.


Grandma, You Rock!: And Other Great Stories for the Young at Heart
Karen O’Connor
Harvest House Publishers (2012)
ISBN 9780736948944
Reviewed by Zoey Crane (age 8) and Nana for Reader Views (11/12)

But Mommy It’s Not Fair!

The author’s main point of this book, “But Mommy It’s Not Fair!,” was to show that not everyone is the same but they can still be family. It shows that is okay for a mommy and her kids to not look the same.  It shows us that everyone is different.  I think the author, Sherria L. Elliot, did a good job of sharing this point in the story.

Sherria L. Elliot writes well; she did a good job getting the point across because it is the story of her. The story was about her daughter, Sheterria.  I disagree with the statement on the cover that says it is for all age groups.  I think it is more for kindergarten through second graders. I think it would be boring to people older than that. I do think it would be a good book for school counselors to own.  I can understand “But Mommy It’s Not Fair!” because I am the darkest in my family except for two people.  My mom told me that I was darker because I probably took after those two people.  I can’t think of any changes the author could make to her writing to improve the book.

The book, “But Mommy It’s Not Fair!” by Sherria L. Elliott was easy to understand. My favorite part was when her family tells her she is a gift from God and I like the illustration that went with it.  Overall, I think the book “But Mommy It’s Not Fair!” has good illustrations.  I also liked the part where they go to the mall to look at differences in families.  My least favorite part of the book was when the kids at school were being cruel to her. The illustration made her look really sad.  I think that we need more books to that teach us to treat each other better. The book wants us to stop bullying.  I think having books about bullying is good.  Bullying needs to stop because it can hurt people – the ones that are being bullied and it can hurt the bullies.  I would like to know more about Sheterria and her family and how they are doing now.


But Mommy It’s Not Fair!
Sherria L. Elliott
4elliottpublishing (2011)
ISBN 9780984696307
Reviewed by Katarina Askew (age 8) for Reader Views (12/12)

My “What If?” Book

“My ‘What If?’ Book” by Tonya and Chad Walker lets you know what you should and should not do if you are home alone and cannot find your parents.  It is also about what to do if a stranger comes around.
 
Most of the advice was pretty smart.  The book is a good reminder to kids about what to do if there is a stranger (get away!).  It also talks about not giving out personal information like your phone number or your address over the internet.  The one thing I really didn’t like was where it said that “adults and older kids do not need help from kids your age.”  I know that kids shouldn’t help a stranger find a lost pet or anything like that, but kids CAN help adults with lots of things.  So I think the author was kind of unfair.
 
I didn’t like the pictures very much because it shows you (the kid) as a weird person (sometimes green, sometimes with cat ears) and everybody else as a more normal person.  Some of the people you should go to for help look pretty scary, too, like the lady with the square yellow face.  The type is weird, too, and can be kind of hard to read.
 
“My ‘What If?’ Book” by Tonya and Chad Walker is a pretty good book for most kids age four and up to read with their parents.  Younger kids could read it with their parents, too, but they should never really be away from their parents.



My “What If?” Book
Tonya and Chad Walker
CreateSpace (2011)
ISBN 9781477675045
Reviewed by Marten Weldon (age 7) for Reader Views (11/12)

The Little Wave: Adventures in Earthly Care, Part One

This book is called “The Little Wave: Adventures in Earthly Care, Part One,” written by Stephen Lamoreaux.  In the first part of the book it tells about how the little wave is born.  The book, this first part especially, is like a poem.  The wave started out as a little ripple and then when the wind blew it turned into a little wave.
 
Lots of insects and animals said things to him when he was first born.  They all wanted to play with him.  They played fun things like hide and seek.  That had to be pretty hard for a wave to hide I think!  One day, a truck came and sprayed stuff.  After it sprayed, the turtles and frogs didn’t play anymore and the dragonflies disappeared.  A duck told him that the spray was to keep bugs out of the crops, but there was no food for the frogs and other animals to eat now because of it.  The duck says that he hopes their kids do it differently and learn different things to help save the Earth.  Then the wave tries to find kids to teach this to.
 
The book tells about how it is important to learn how things you do can hurt the ponds and the Earth.  It teaches you to do things differently.
 My favorite part of the book is the end where the wave teaches the kids.  “The Little Wave: Adventures in Earthly Care, Part One” by Stephen Lamoreaux is a good book to teach everyone how to be good to the Earth.


The Little Wave: Adventures in Earthly Care, Part One
Stephen Lamoreaux
Strategic Book Publishing (2012)
ISBN 9781612048048
Reviewed by Cayden Aures (age 8) for Reader Views (10/12)

JoJo’s 1st Day of School (Tag Along With MoMo and JoJo: You're IT! Book #1)

The first day of school can be nerve-wracking for children.  Most kids have some fear and anxiety about making friends, though they may be excited about the things they will learn and discover at school.  In “JoJo’s 1st Day of School” by Anthony Roth Bouldin and Morshica Bouldin, brothers MoMo and JoJo head to school.  JoJo is unsettled but MoMo encourages him and helps him find his class when they arrive.  Soon JoJo learns how much fun school can be – even the bus ride- and he makes friends easily.  The journey is all about the discovery and friendship along the way.
 
Hailey:
 JoJo was scared to go to school. It was his first day. His brother helped him. MoMo was bigger. They woke up, got dressed, ate a snack and went to school. He tried to say hi to his friend, he looked out the window. They said good morning to all the children, it was the first day of class. Everyone was scared. They just had fun. They didn’t know what to do but that’s okay, the teacher will tell you if you don’t’ know what to do. At lunch time he said “Do you want some of my sandwich?”  Yes, he did.  Soon it was time to go home. He was sad. They rode the bus home. The end.
 
Mom:
 Though “JoJo’s 1st Day of School” by Anthony Roth Bouldin and Morshica Bouldin was quite long for Hailey’s attention span, she really enjoyed it.  Hailey identified with the story, because she started Pre-K this year and understands what it is like to start school and feel the anxiety of being new and not knowing what’s going on.  I think it was wonderful that another child wrote this book.  It’s evident in the manner of understanding the characters portray.  I wasn’t exactly sure what age range this book was targeting, but it seemed to be one that was a little outside the first-grade range in terms of its storyline, as most children start school at 4 to 5 years of age.  However, in terms of reading and attention span the book is great for first and second graders.  Overall, it’s a good story and worth the read.


JoJo’s 1st Day of School (Tag Along With MoMo and JoJo: You're IT! Book #1)
Anthony Roth Bouldin & Morshica Bouldin
AuthorHouse (2011)
ISBN 9781456720773
Reviewed by Hailey (age 4) and Mom Tiffany Schlarman for Reader Views (10/12)

I Could Have Been Born an Ant

What would it be like if you were born an ant instead of a boy or girl? What if you born a flower or a tree? How about a duck, dog, elephant, horse or giraffe?  “I Could Have Been Born an Ant” by Rochelle Weiner takes little readers on a journey through the lives of other living beings and what it would be like if they were born as that animal or plant.  Vibrant and colorful, children will have a blast discovering how other life forms live, while deciding for themselves what they would want to be if they weren’t a human.
 
Hailey:
 I like it, if I was born a lion, I would ROAR, really loud!  If I were born a lion, I would have fun and eat you for dinner.  But I was born a baby girl. I have hair and a nose and a mouth and teeth and a family. I’m glad I’m not a lion.  I love it.
 
Madison:
 I could have been born a Unicorn Pegasus. Flowers are pretty. Trees are pretty; we don’t want to pick them. They are part of nature. We are children; we have families, love and blood. I liked that this book had animals.
 
Mom:
 
The girls were very expressive in their voices regarding this book. Though the amount of feedback they gave me was short. For me, the book was cute and fun to read, but I haven’t found it to be one the girls ask me to read over and over. The illustrations are large and life like.  The story itself encourages imagination and understanding of other living organisms and beings.  The girls commented on their favorite animals or plants, but both were glad to be little girls instead of alternatives.


I Could Have Been Born an Ant
Rochelle Weiner
Xlibris (2012)
ISBN 9781469142463
Reviewed by Hailey (age 4) and Madison (age 6) and Mom Tiffany Schlarman for Reader Views (10/12)

Guess What is on Grandpa’s Farm?

Charlotte (as questioned by S.G. Smith):
 
What did you like about this book?  “It was fun!  I like animals!”
Why was it fun?  “All of the animals.”
Did you like the pictures?  “Yes.”
Why?  “Lots of kids did them.”  “Read it again!”
 
S.G. Smith (Charlotte’s mom):
 
This book was not only fun for Charlotte; it was fun for me to read to her!  Nancy O’Neill is a wiz at rhyming cadence involving animal descriptions.  Each page provides a short rhyme with enough clues for the child to guess which animal is being described.  As a reward, when the page is turned, a colorful drawing by a child depicts the animal described.  What makes the book so charming is not only the sing-song cadence of the rhymes, but the illustrations by children from around the world.  The artistic talent that O’Neill has accumulated in this short book is astounding.
 
“Guess What is on Grandpa’s Farm?” by Nancy O’Neill is a book that will not elicit the “Again?” sigh when your child says “Again!” at the end!


Guess What is on Grandpa’s Farm?
Nancy O’Neill
CreateSpace (2012)
ISBN 9781475220735
Reviewed by Charlotte (age 4) and S.G. Smith for Reader Views (10/12)

Good People Everywhere

What did you like about this book (“Good People Everywhere” by Lynea Gillen)?  “The pictures are nice.”
 What is nice about the pictures?  “I like the colors.”
 What did you learn about the people in the book?  “They like to help.”
 Why do you think the people like to help?  “Because it makes them happy.”
 What would you do if you saw that your friend needed help?  “I would help them.”
 
S.G. Smith (Charlotte’s mom):
 
Lynea Gillen has written a book which helps open the door for conversing with children about what it means to help others.  In very few words, she addresses numerous situations which provide teaching opportunities for parents and teachers to aid children in understanding what it means to help.  The situations Gillen uses in her book range from repairing homes damaged by storms to helping a friend who has fallen to growing and delivering food.  Not only does each situation provide a “help” learning opportunity, many also provide a “life” learning opportunity.  There are so many ways that a child can help, and Gillen tries to help children see many of those ways.
 
At the end of “Good People Everywhere,” author Lynea Gillen supplies “good people” activities to participate in with your child(ren).  These activities provide a fantastic opportunity for children to identify and discuss the good people in their lives.


Good People Everywhere
Lynea Gillen
Three Pebble Press (2012)
ISBN 9780979928987
Reviewed by Charlotte (age 4) and S.G. Smith for Reader Views (10/12)