Book Review: Steam Train, Dream Train 1-2-3 and Colors

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Steam Train, Dream Train 1-2-3 and Colors cover imageFrom the authors of bestseller Steam Train, Dream Train comes two books to help kids learn numbers and colors.

Steam Train, Dream Train 1-2-3, takes kids on a ride while they learn numbers one through ten. Each page focuses on one number, the illustrations emphasizing that number in several different ways. The book starts with, “One engine holds one happy bear, rolling through the nighttime air. One headlight shines, one whistle blows, one bell rings as the engine goes.”

Young children also learn about the types of cars on a train, as animals ride in the engine, a flatbed car, a boxcar, hopper car, caboose, and more.

Steam Train, Dream Train Colors brings splashes of color while staying true to the overall look of the series. Animals, such as dinosaurs, monkeys, a giraffe, lion and others, ride the train. Some defy their normal colors, like a pink hippo and the purple bear. Others, like the white polar bear and the grey elephant, are more natural looking.

Both books feature soothing colors that evoke evening light, and they are great books to encourage little children to get sleepy while being read to.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Book Review: Two Across by Jeff Bartsch

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Two Across cover imageStanley and Vera bond when they meet as teen contestants at the National Spelling Bee. Named rare co-winners, they see each other once a year when they return as former champs. They each understand the quirky upbringing the other has experienced, which may be why they decide to fake their own wedding so they can start over fresh. But will they know how to remain together once their friendship turns to something more?

Two Across by Jeff Bartsch is a story that looks at what happens when two highly intelligent but emotionally developing people get together. Once they create their scheme for a fake wedding, they get comfortable telling lies to all the people who are important to them. Stanley creates the most elaborate web, faking his college enrollment and helping students cheat to support himself. When the lies catch up to them, their relationship isn’t strong enough to hold them together. But they are not happy apart either. It’s only when they discover truths about their own personalities that they are ready to try being a couple again.

There’s a bit of mystery involved in the story too, as Stanley and Vera are both avid crossword solvers and creators. When they are apart, they send coded messages through crosswords they hope the other will discover. It’s an interesting concept that may interest readers in creating their own puzzles.

While I thought the pacing of the novel was a little slow, the story is sweet and there is much for mother-daughter book club readers with girls aged 15 and up to think about and discuss. The book delves into issues of truth, honesty, ethics, and commitment, all topics that mothers and their teen daughters will benefit from talking about.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Spud by Jon van de Ruit

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Spud cover imageYoung John Milton (aka Spud) lives with his family in South Africa during the days before apartheid ends. He’s landed a scholarship to a prestigious boy’s boarding school and takes up residence in a house with a group of boys who become known as the Crazy Eight. Through his diary, Spud chronicles his adjustment to boarding school life and the challenges he faces fitting in, as he is one of the few boys his age (14) still waiting to develop.

Spud by John van de Ruit is lighthearted and funny even as it takes on serious topics that many boys will identify with. Spud knows he’s vulnerable because many of the other boys around him are bigger and stronger. He manages to find a middle ground that allows him to fit in enough to avoid most bullying without becoming a bully himself.

Other issues he’s working on include figuring out how to talk to girls and how to be a boyfriend; making friends, dealing with embarrassing parents, and experiencing loss. Tender moments, wise observations, and a bit of South African history and politics are sprinkled in amongst Spud’s escapades.

My daughter gave me her copy of this book and suggested I review it. She first picked it up thinking it would be similar to Roald Dahl’s hilarious memoir, Boy. While it was different from her expectations, she enjoyed it and recommends it. I believe Spud is especially appealing to boys aged 11 to 15, but girls should also enjoy reading about what boys this age are thinking.

 

Book Review: Living Large in Our Little House by Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell

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Living Large in Our Little House cover imageWhen Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell and her husband Dale built their 480 sq. ft. home on a lake in the Ozarks, they had no idea they would end up living in it full time, or that they would be at the forefront of a tiny house movement across the country. Yet since 2007 they have shared these tight quarters with up to six dogs at a time, and Kerri gives advice to others on how they can transition to smaller abodes as well.

In Living Large in Our Little House: Thriving in 480 Square Feet with Six Dogs, a Husband, and One Remote—Plus More Stories of How You Can Too, Fivecoat-Campbell recounts the couple’s journey and also highlights how other couples, singles, and families with children across the country are “living large” and living happily in a small space.

Fivecoat-Campbell, who is also a journalist, writes with candor about the struggles she and her husband have faced as well as their triumphs. She’s also quick to point out that she’s not a tiny purist, as she and Dale have space for storing equipment and other items on their property. But I didn’t find that to lessen her core message that scaling back and living simply brings rewards of many kinds.

Living Large in Our Little House is part memoir, part how-to, and totally inspiring. Anyone considering downsizing is sure to get ideas that will help them plan for getting what’s most important to them when making the move.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Book Review: Old MacDonald Had a Truck by Steve Goetz, Illustrated by Eda Kaban

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Old MacDonald Had a Truck, written by Steve Goetz and illustrated by Eda Kaban, is a wonderful play on words for a familiar song that most children know. It starts out as expected: “Old MacDonald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o.” But then it veers off: “And on that farm he had an excavator. With a dig, dig, here and a dig, dig, there…”Old MacDonald Had a Truck cover image

The rest of the story goes through different types of equipment, among them a front loader, a bulldozer, a motor grader, a dump truck, and a steamroller. All that equipment is preparing something special that Old MacDonald and his wife are building.

Farm animals get in on the action, with chickens, sheep, pigs, goats, cows, dogs and others acting as the construction crew, driving the equipment, shoveling, and generally having a good time as they work. It’s all a lot of fun, especially when kids discover what the group is building.

Illustrations of tools are featured on the inside covers. Parents can point to things like hammers, pliers, a shovel, a wrench, a drill, a screwdriver and more, to help little children learn about tools to use around the farm or the home.

Turning the familiar song into something new will surely delight young readers and their parents.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: She Stood for Freedom by Loki Mulholland

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She Stood for Freedom cover imageIn the late 1950s and early 60s, Joan Trumpauer was a teenager living in Virginia. The times were turbulent in the South, as court decisions went against the “separate but equal” mindset of race relations, and schools and other venues were ordered to integrate. Joan was white, but she believed that everyone should be treated equally. As she grew older, she participated in the Civil Rights movement, getting arrested and beaten time and again.

She Stood for Freedom: The Untold Story of a Civil Rights Hero, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, tells not only the experiences of one person, but also of the struggle that gripped the South during those years. It’s difficult to understand how Americans, black and white, were dragged from barstools at diner counters and beaten simply because they believed it was unjust to treat one race inferior to the other.

The dangers were real, as quite a few people working to create change were murdered for their actions. Joan continued to work for the cause even after she married and started a family. In a poem she wrote for herself to explain what she did, Joan wrote in part that she did “nothing but act like an American,” who was a Christian and had read the Declaration of Independence.

She Stood for Freedom is written by Joan’s son, Loki Mulholland, and it contains artifacts she kept from the time, including a letter written by her jailer in Mississippi to her mother, questioning how parents could allow their daughter to act the way she did. It’s all very sobering in an age appropriate way. Readers 9 to 12 will learn more about this recent period in American history. This book and a companion picture book for younger children were both illustrated by Charlotta Janssen. The images as well as old photos, flyers, and more, evoke the times and should inspire interest in this movement that still resonates in issues today.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Let Kid-Friendly Recipes Add to Little Reading Time

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You won’t have to encourage your kids to read at all if you ask them to help you make nutella and raspberry sandwiches by reading the recipe. That’s just one of the meals featured in an article from Real Simple Magazine, “9 Recipes Kids Can Make.”

Your children may not like all the recipes, I know the Baked Potatoes with Broccoli and Sour Cream would have never gone over in my house, but others, such as Yogurt Parfait with Gingersnaps and Honey, are more likely to be a hit.

You may also want to try out a couple of cookbooks for kids. Here are a couple I’ve used:

Book Review: Roy’s House by Susan Goldman Rubin, Art by Roy Lichtenstein

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Roy's HouseRoy Lichtenstein was known for his colorful art depicting everyday items. Susan Goldman Rubin showcases 20 of those works in Roy’s House, a children’s picture book.

Children aged 3 to 5 can follow along to a simple narrative that connects Lichtenstein’s works of art, each showcasing simple things found in the home, like couches, stoves, bedrooms, and bathrooms. Bright primary colors surround the words and complement the colors found in the art.

Words connect what Lichtenstein created to things children will identify with, such as these: “The bathroom has a tub and sink. We can wash our sticky hands.”

An author’s note at the back of the book talks about the artist and his signature style of painting using tiny dots. Roy’s House is a fun way for parents to introduce the world of art to their children.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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