Children's Books, and Other Cool Stuff

  Author Spotlight October 2021     Book Review - “No Dinosaurs Allowed” was a great book with a strong message for children. The Illustrations were simple and well done. The idea that public places are for everyone even Dinosaurs, was interesting. I also liked how the story arc came to a full circle. The few minor issues this book had are some forced Rhyme in places and No character growth. It definitely is a fun read for two- to six-year-olds. Overall, I will give this book four stars. Biography Deborah is a writer and nursing professor who lives in New York with her family and the incorrigible Chewy Belle who is one of the main characters in her chapter book “The One-Eyed Pug”. Deborah holds a PhD in nursing and has taken myriad writing classes. Deborah refers to herself as an eclectic author as she writes in several genres.  She published her first award winning children’s books “Same Inside Different Outside” and “The One-Eyed Pug” in 2017.  She has also p...

 I am very happy to spotlight an Author from UK this month, Please enjoy and if you have any comments please share them. If you are interested in a my spotlight Series please e-mail me to Spiritw74@yahoo.com  Author Spotlight September 2021 Review- “What’s an OG?” This book reminds me a little of Dr. Seuss. It combines beautiful illustrations with very simple rhyming words. It has a great flow that younger children will enjoy. I think it will be a good read for children 2- to 5-year-olds. The main character a wise owl, is talking to the audience trying do explain What is an OG? I can imagine this book being read in front of a classroom of pre-k to kindergarteners, and I can picture the children getting into it. I will give this one 4 stars because I believe the author could have played more with the rhyme and expand the book a few more pages. Overall, this is a great read and a book many young children can enjoy.         Mary Barry:  Auth...

  Author Spotlight August 2021    Biography Cheryl Cheatham is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator. She has published 2 books, Perry the Sheep – The Search for The Magical Rainbow and Yaya the Sheep – Super Silly, Furry, Friends with a matching coloring book. Cheryl’s books are fun, silly, adventurous, and full of imagination. Cheryl loves writing and illustrating books with adorable animals and adventures that make kids smile. Cheryl loves giving back to her community. For each book sold, a book and the matching coloring book is donated to SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and many other local children in need of a smile. Cheryl is a proud grandma, aka Yaya, of 3 little girls who love reading books that spread love, hope, and kindness. Questions Who was the inspiration for you to become an author? My inspiration is my 3 little granddaughters.   When Covid put our family on lockdown our time together completely changed.   ...

  Author Spotlight July 2021 Book Review- “ The Fastest Dinosaur .” Overall, this book by Mrs. Caren Cantrell tries to work with a simple concept of a dinosaur who is in a race for being the fastest runner out of his friends. Yet, at the same time he has a large heart and wants to help everyone. So, when he is challenged by another dinosaur to a race, he accepts this challenge and as he races, he comes to situations where he is asked to help others. The illustrations by Mrs. Amy Klein use simple colors and shapes to represent the characters really well. The one issue I found with this book is that it seemed not to tell the full story bringing in many characters that we knew nothing about. The characters even the main one, Enzo were very genetic and not realistic. It also lacked a story arc where a character has to grow in some way. I am not sure what the target age of this book is or what message it was trying to send it’s readers? It could definitely have used some more work and ...

  Author Spotlight 2021 Book Review “Ishkabibble unafraid”- I read this book and overall found it was an interesting idea and a good play on the famous saying that kids are told “That monsters live in their closets or under the bed.”   That concept made this book surprising and rather interesting. The illustration by Jack Foster were incredibly good and used simple colors and shapes to bring the main character to life. Yet. I found that the book had several forced rhymes and might be confusing for some children. It also lacked what we call a story arc where the main character goes through a full circle and grows in some way. In general, this book could be fun read, but it certainly needs some development and clarity. Also, many picture books I have read while working as a free-lance book reviewer for Scholastic for two years were not written with moral lessons but written to be just fun stories.   I would give this one three stars.        ...

  Author spotlight 2021 Book Review   "Welcome to Washington Fina Mendoza" by Kitty Felde is a well written book with a fun story and lovable characters. The voice was the most realistic girl's voice I have read. The combination of  of mystery, and comedy made this book amazing. It not only a wonderful emotional story, but it also was a great view of both Washington DC life and the different role family plays in someone's political career. It did have a few minor hiccups with editing and page changes, but the book defiantly is a wonderful read for anybody and deserves a rare five star rating from me.               Kitty Felde   Kitty Felde’s debut novel Welcome to Washington Fina Mendoza (Chesapeake Press, 2020) is the story of the ten-year-old daughter of a congressman from California who solves mysteries on Capitol Hill. The book got a rave from Kirkus Reviews (“A ...