children’s books

Book Review: IS Underground

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Is Underground by Joan Aiken
Is Underground (The Wolves Chronicles, #8) 
by Joan Aiken

5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


I love this 8th book in the Willoughby Chase series! Dido’s little sister, Is, vows to find her long-lost cousin, and ends up looking for a missing prince too. All the children in London are being snatched up and sent to “Playland”, where they are promised treats and games and fun. But the horrible reality is a dark mine where they are forced to work as slaves, and Is has to go underground to continue her search. Is gets unexpected help from some unique and interesting characters, but it is only her fierce determination and street-smarts that will save her cousin and the other children from the horrors of the mines.
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Book Review: Travels with Gannon and Wyatt: Great Bear Rainforest

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Travels with Gannon and Wyatt by Patti Wheeler
Travels with Gannon and Wyatt: Great Bear Rainforest 
by Patti Wheeler, Keith Hemstreet (Goodreads Author)

5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


Twin brothers, Gannon and Wyatt, are invited to the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia, Canada, to search for the “spirit bear”, a rare albino bear said to be the Spirit of the Rainforest. But when their parents go missing, the brothers must trek into the wilderness alone to search for their parents and uncover a plot to destroy the delicate rainforest ecosystem. They face danger from the predators of the forest, wolves, black bears, and grizzlies, and it will take all their wilderness survival skills to make it out alive.

I loved this second book in the series! There is even more action in this one, and the plot really keeps you in suspense! The writing is in a journal style, as the two brothers write about their experiences and adventures.  Continue reading →

Book Review: Travels with Gannon and Wyatt: Botswana

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Travels with Gannon and Wyatt by Patti Wheeler
Travels with Gannon and Wyatt: Botswana 
by Patti Wheeler, Keith Hemstreet (Goodreads Author)

4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


I thoroughly enjoyed this story told through the travel journals of twin brothers, Gannon and Wyatt, as they explore the Kalahari Desert and the Okavango Delta in Botswana. When the brothers hear about a lioness with cubs who has been wounded by a poacher, they trek into the wilderness with a native guide to find the lioness and give her some medical attention before the poacher tracks her down to finish her off! Searching for the lioness, they encounter a plethora of wild animals, and learn how to survive in the wild. Continue reading →

Trilogy Review: Lion Boy

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Lionboy by Zizou Corder
Lionboy (Lionboy Trilogy #1) 
byZizou Corder
4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

 

Charlie’s parents are kidnapped, and Charlie goes searching for them, traveling with a circus, and becoming the LionBoy for a lion act. But the lion tamer doesn’t know that Charlie can talk to cats! Charlie and his lion friends decide to escape the circus and strike out on their own to find his parents.

What a fun book! Just a romping, rollicking adventure story with lots of layers to it. I read this book all in one day; it’s an easy read and really captured my attention. The plot even surprised me a few times!

I love Charlie’s character! His emotional ups and downs are perfectly timed to the pace of the plot, and give us a feel for his humanity, making him an interesting and endearing character.
I loved Charlie’s parents right away too; such a quirky family with their own little language!
Even the villains are superbly written- creepy and petty and spiteful and sly. Just brilliant!
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Picture Book Review: Wild Zoo Train

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Wild Zoo Train by Carmela LaVigna Coyle
Wild Zoo Train 
by Carmela LaVigna Coyle (Goodreads Author), Steve Gray (Illustrations)

5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

The Wild Zoo Train is leaving the station, and the conductor calls out, “All Aboard”, while the children pile into the cars. One little girl is very concerned that their stops are not on the Zoo Map, but the conductor safely shepherds the children through the jungle, the desert, savanna, and
Antarctic, with a surprise destination at the end that is definitely NOT on any Zoo Maps.

When the children disembark at each place, the conductor tells them to look out for various indigenous animals, and the cartoon illustrations of the animals are colorful and they each have funny expressions on their little faces.
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Picture Book Review: My Hike in the Forest

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My Hike in the Forest by Neecy Twinem
My Hike in the Forest 
by Neecy Twinem

4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

This children’s picture book takes the reader along for a hike in the woods, searching for animal tracks, noticing interesting plants and animals, and exploring through the streams and bushes and trees. Each two-page spread focuses on one animal or group of plants, with a story that follows the hiking trail, and little factoids about the animal/plant written in a border around the edges of the page.  Continue reading →

Book Review: Fairies 1,2,3

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Fairies 1, 2, 3 by Liza Gardner Walsh
Fairies 1, 2, 3 
by Liza Gardner Walsh, Hazel Mitchell (Goodreads Author) (Illustrations)
5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

So much cuteness!! Adorable baby fairies take a bath, play hide and seek, slide down a mushroom, fly with a bird, and finally fall asleep on their rose petal beds.

Their cute little wings are just as unique and bright as their own little fairy selves. Each baby fairy is diverse and colorfully dressed. Such sweet illustrations with pretty little details will keep any child interested looking for butterflies, inchworms, and ladybugs on each page. The plant-life gives the perfect background for this fairy world with acorn hats and leaf showers for the tiny folk.

A charming board book that teaches little ones to count, and play and fly with the fairies!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are influenced by anyone.

Book Review: Searching for Dragons

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Searching for Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
Searching for Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #2) 
by Patricia C. Wrede, Peter de Sève (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


King Mendanbar, Monarch of the Enchanted Forest, is having trouble with wizards burning up bits of his forest. He visits Kazul, the King of the Dragons, for some advice, but Kazul is missing, and Mendanbar teams up with Princess Cimorene to find Kazul and restore the Enchanted Forest.

I enjoyed this book even more reading it for the second time! I still wish that there were a little more romance between Mendanbar and Cimorene, but I do enjoy their friendship and the way they respect and rely on one another through all the sticky magical situations they find themselves in.

There are so many delightful characters in this book! Even the side characters shine with originality and wit.
The basic plot is rather straightforward, but there are so many misdirects and twisty roads for the characters to get delayed and misguided and thrown off course, that it feels like a complex plot.

Book Review: Nurse Matilda

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Nurse Matilda by Christianna Brand
Nurse Matilda 
by Christianna Brand, Edward Ardizzone (Illustrator)
4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


The Brown children are the most ill-behaved, mischievous, naughty little children in all the world, and the only nanny who can possibly control them or teach them any manners is Nurse Matilda. With her magical walking stick, Nurse Matilda teaches important lessons like going to bed when you’re told, not chomping your food, closing doors after yourself, and putting on your best clothes when you’re told. Only the insane magical situations the children find themselves in could possibly teach them to say please and thank you!

I started rereading this one as a way to de-stress and help me fall asleep at night, but then I got so interested in the story that I stayed up late reading it!

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Book Review: On the Far Side of the Mountain

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On the Far Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
On the Far Side of the Mountain (Mountain, #2) 
by Jean Craighead George

4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

Sam and his sister Alice are living alone on the mountain, away from the turmoil of civilization. They hike and fish and forage for forest berries and roots, and of course Sam has his falcon, Frightful, to do the hunting. But their peaceful life is thrown into chaos when Frightful is confiscated by government conservation authorities, and Alice disappears into the forest with her pet pig. Sam, heartbroken over the loss of his bird, must lay aside his grief in order to track down his little sister through the treacherous Catskill Mountains.

I loved reading about how Sam and Alice build a plumping mill to make acorn flour, and how they built a dam by watching the beavers. All the little details of their forest life are so interesting and well-described! Continue reading →