Reader Views

Who Was William Shakespeare?

I chose this book because I didn’t know about William Shakespeare.  After reading it, I learned he was an actor, and he wrote famous plays that are still read by people today.  The book tells you about his life. You learn everything about him. For example, I learned the he moved to London because he wanted to be an actor.  He worked hard and made a lot of money.  I think these books are great if you want to learn about a famous person. I think kids my age will enjoy “Who Was William Shakespeare?”

Who Was William Shakespeare?
Celeste Mannis
Grosset & Dunlap (2006)
ISBN 9780448439044
Reviewed by Gabriel Peralta (age 9) for Reader Views (5/08)

Vocabulary Power Grade 1

I liked this book because it helped me to learn the meaning of words I should know.  I found it easy-to-use because you can stand it up on the table and flip the pages. It has 200 words.  When I had trouble reading a word, the book showed me how it should be pronounced.  It also told me the meaning.  I liked the pictures.  I tried to learn five vocabulary words every week.  I think it will good for kids my age.

Parent’s Note:  This book is easy-to-use.  The spiral binding and stand-up format makes the book easy to handle, because it rests easily on any tabletop. Kids will find it attractive because of the colorful illustrations.  “Vocabulary Power Grade 1” is a good resource for parents’ home-schooling or for anyone wanting to provide extra help to their child.

Vocabulary Power Grade 1
Audrey Carangelo
Play Bac Publishing (2007)
ISBN 9781602140035
Reviewed by Samuel Peralta (age 7) for Reader Views (5/08)

Vocabulary Power Grade 3

This book helped me to learn new vocabulary words, but it wasn’t boring. I like learning new words.  I like it because it shows me how to pronounce the word and then it tells me the meaning.  I try to guess the meaning before I read it.  We also played games with my brothers; we would take turns going through each vocabulary word to see if we knew the meaning.  If we knew the meaning, we got a point.  The first one to get five points won. This book made learning fun.

Parent’s Note:  This user-friendly book is good for parents who are home-schooling or for anyone wanting to provide extra help to their child.  The spiral binding and stand-up format makes the book easy to handle, because it rests easily on any tabletop.  If you make learning the words into a game, the kids really enjoy themselves.  I highly recommend “Vocabulary Power Grade 3.”

Vocabulary Power Grade 3
Audrey Carangelo
Play Bac Publishing (2007)
ISBN 9781602140059
Reviewed by Gabriel Peralta (age 9) for Reader Views (5/08)

Maximum Performance Basketball: In-Season Workout Book for Players 7th Grade-12th Grade

“Maximum Performance Basketball: In-Season Workout Book for Players 7th Grade-12th Grade,” by James E. Brown, is a book for any basketball player that wants to improve their skills. The author is a former pro-European basketball player, and he has coached a number of teams throughout the U.S.A. and Europe. This book helps with passing, dribbling, shooting, post moves, and even helps with time management. There are clear illustrations and numbered steps on how to execute each move perfectly, and good pictures showing how to do the drills. It also has a really good exercise workout schedule on a weekly calendar.

This book is an in-season workout book so it’s better to have it with you on the court than for a quiet-time read. I would bring this book along with me to my practices, so I could read the drills then perform them. You should bring it every time you practice. It is easy to understand and even though it’s simple, it still gives you a great workout.

I would recommend this book to any student athlete because it doesn’t just help to improve your skills; it shows you how to manage your time, and balance homework and basketball evenly. You will find individual moves, workout schedules, and a list of students that excelled beyond the rest and reached their ultimate goals of getting scholarships, and even making it to the N.B.A. I liked this book and will use it myself, and I recommend Maximum Performance Basketball: In-Season Workout Book for Players 7th Grade-12th Grade” to any aspiring basketball player.

Maximum Performance Basketball: In-Season Workout Book for Players 7th Grade-12th Grade
James E. Brown
James E. Brown Publishers (2007)
ISBN 9780980119909
Reviewed by Mazuba Shunamon-S. (age 14) for Reader Views (4/08)

God Wants You to Shine: A Novelzine (Faith Thomas Series)

“God Wants You to Shine” is about a young girl named Faith, who works hard to live her life as a Christian. She experiences both good and bad things as she walks down the path to God.

Faith does not feel good about herself. She thinks she has too many flaws. That was until her mother convinced her to enter into a beauty pageant. At this pageant, Faith learns that it is the inner beauty that matters. She learns to love herself and to accept that she is who God wants her to be.

Throughout her life, Faith learns to grow closer to God even when negative things happen. She deals with a lot of stress as her friends are doing wrong and not trusting in the Lord. Will Faith help them? Or will she turn her back and leave them to face their own problems?

In my opinion, “God Wants You to Shine” is a well-written book. Even though Faith’s dad is a Christian singer, we can all relate to Faith and the situations she experiences. “God Wants You to Shine” is volume two of the Faith Thomas Series. The first book in this series is “God Can Work It Out.”

I think that “God Wants You to Shine” would be great for anyone age ten and over. Also, I’m really sure that if someone is not a Christian, and they read both books in the Faith Thomas series, they will become a Christian. I look forward to reading many more books by Stephanie Perry Moore.

God Wants You to Shine: A Novelzine (Faith Thomas Series)
Stephanie Perry Moore
Harvest House Publishers (2007)
ISBN 9780736919203
Reviewed by Tabytha Joy (age 15) For Reader Views (1/08)

Cha-Cha and Zee Explore San Antonio

Would you like visit the Alamo with the two of the most adorable tour guides? Cha-Cha and Zee are two sightseeing penguins who travel from their home in Washington, DC to the historic city of San Antonio. They are going on this trip to visit their cousin Frobby. Frobby speaks Spanish which is very practical since San Antonio is so close to Mexico.

Some of the places that they visit are the River Walk, the Alamo and the Tower of the Americas. They go on a river cruise and to the little village known as La Villita. The pictures are colorful and beautiful with the penguins being implanted onto them.

Just by reading “Cha-Cha and Zee Explore San Antonio,” I would definitely want to visit San Antonio. This is a great book for anyone who has been, or will be going, to San Antonio. I hope that Cha-Cha and Zee go on many more adventure trips and Indigo Tyler writes many more books like this one.

Cha-Cha and Zee Explore San Antonio
Indigo Tyler
TK Publishing (2007)
ISBN 9780976510031
Reviewed by Brianne Plach (age 10) for Reader Views Kids (10/07)

Hanukkah!

Are you looking for a small picture book which describes Hanukkah? If you are, Roni Schotter has created just the one for you. Inside the front cover is a description of four specific things associated with Hanukkah. The pictures throughout the book show you just how the traditions of Hanukkah are celebrated. There are little ones that small kids will be able to relate to for celebrating the holiday, including being tempted to steal food before mealtime.

With thick pages, “Hanukkah!” is a terrific book for the youngest reader. Lots of families celebrating together are a big part of this book. Isn't that what this special time of year is great for, celebrating with friends and families getting together? I love this book!
Hanukkah!
Roni Schotter
Little Brown & Company (2003)
ISBN 9780316776233
Reviewed by Brianne Plach (age 10) for Reader Views Kids (10/07)

Just for Kids Cookbook (Christmas at Home)

Do you like to cook and bake at Christmas? I always enjoy cooking and baking with my mother at Christmas. But sometimes those cookbooks have directions that make it so much harder. If only, the recipes were easier for us kids to follow. Brittany and Erica Sindeldecker have done it. They have created a Christmas cookbook just for us kids.

After reading these recipes, I am more anxious to try cooking and baking some of these great recipes. There is everything from appetizers, beverages, main dishes, side dishes, cookies, candies and desserts included. As each section is introduced, another tidbit about Christmas and its many Scripture verses, like the story of Christ's birth, are included.

Hopefully around Christmastime, a whole meal will be planned and prepared by a kid thanks to Brittany and Erica's help in “Just for Kids Cookbook.” Hopefully the meal will be topped off with peanut butter and jelly cookies or another one of these taste tempting treats! Happy Cooking and Baking, all you children!

Just for Kids Cookbook (Christmas at Home)
Brittany and Erica Sindeldecker
Barbour Publishing (2007)
ISBN 9781597898027
Reviewed by Brianne Plach (age 10) for Reader Views Kids (10/07)

The Yoga Adventure for Children: Playing, Dancing, Moving, Breathing, Relaxing

Reviewed by Brianne Plach (age 10) for Reader Views (8/07)

Have you ever practiced yoga? Yoga has been around for many years. Many grownups have practiced yoga to calm their emotions and increase physical strength. Helen Purpehart has created a book which focuses on children doing yoga as a way to gain self-confidence, coordination and flexibility.

“The Yoga Adventure for Children” is a valuable resource. There are many pages of yoga exercises for kids to try. Each exercise is illustrated with step-by-step instructions. There are many child-friendly stories included to help the older children with the concepts presented. Kids of all ages will enjoy the many yoga exercises in this book. Teachers may even use this as a manual to assist them in introducing yoga to their classrooms.

I found many of these exercises to relax me. I tend to get nervous when taking tests. Maybe I will be able to use some of the techniques presented in this book to calm me down and receive a better grade. There are so many games in this book both for small groups and larger ones. There are also many stretching exercises which can help me become more flexible before competing as part of a sports team at school.

Note from Brianne's mother: Brianne loved “The Yoga Adventure for Children.” She is always looking for new ways to play and new ways to relax in stressful situations. I could see her using this book both for herself now and throughout her growing into adult years.

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Wising Up: A Youth Guide to Good Living

Reynold Feldman and M. Jan Rumi
Cowley Publications (2007)
ISBN 9781561013135
Reviewed by Anthony Pettrone (age 14) for Reader Views (7/07)

“Wising Up” is one of those books that your mom or dad buy for you, trying to help you to find out what is right and what is wrong during your teen years. And it is one of those books that you put off reading time and time again because you think it’s going to be too boring and too preachy, until you finally find yourself forced to crack it open and check it out. And when you do, you will most likely find, as I did, that this book really has some common-sense advice and answers for today's hard questions. I was pretty surprised at all the information within this book and how simply the author made some of the hard questions and issues become clearer just in a short chapter.

Read complete review at Reader Views Kids