Bertie Bumble Bee: Troubled by the Letter “b”
Author: K.I. Al-Ghani
Illustrator: Haitham Al-Ghani
Publisher: Schiffer Books
Genre: Children / Dyslexia
ISBN: 978-0-7643-3993-6
Pages: 44
Price: $16.99
Buy it at Amazon
Schiffer Books
Bertie Bumble Bee is excited to be going to school. But once he’s there, he discovers he has a problem. He can’t tell his b’s from his d’s. When his classmates start making fun of him, Bertie doesn’t want to return to class.
Luckily for Bertie, his mom has a simple solution to his problem. Once she shares it with him, he never has trouble with b’s and d’s again.
In Bertie Bumble Bee, kids learn about dyslexia. They find out how it affects the ability to see letters, and what they can do to compensate. Parents are also provided with a guide to help their children master the alphabet and phonics.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
Wild Colt
Author: Lois Szymanski
Illustrator: Linda Kantjas
Publisher: Schiffer Books
Genre: Children / Horses
ISBN: 978-0-7643-3975-2
Pages: 40
Price: $16.99
Author’s website
Schiffer Books
Buy it at Amazon
Assateague Island is well-known for its wild horses. In Wild Colt, the reader is treated to a delightful glimpse of how these horses live until they are ultimately rounded up for sale each year.
Gentle, rhyming verse tells the story of a newborn colt. As he and his mother wander around the island, other birds and animals cross their paths. Occasional storms brew overhead, and they enjoy lazy summer days with moonlit evenings. But summer comes to an end, and the wild colt is sold in the annual auction. Although he’ll miss his mother, the girl he’s going home with gives him a hug, and he knows he’ll be happy.
Illustrations by Linda Kantjas are beautifully done in oil painting, setting the scene for warm summer afternoons at the beach. A wildlife identification list shows some of the animals in this book, so children can try to find them in the story. Discussion topics and questions are also provided for classroom use. This charming book will please all who love horses or summer days at the beach.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
Oscar Did It!
Author: Joy Cowley
Illustrator: Don Tate
Publisher: Hameray
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-1-60559-368-5
Pages: 16
Price: $5.95
Author’s website
Buy it from Hameray
Poor Oscar always gets blamed for everything. If the older children make a mess or do something they shouldn’t, they tell their mom “Oscar did it!” But Oscar finally gets even with them when lunch is served.
Oscar Did It! is part of the Joy Cowley collection, meant for classroom use. At the end of the text, lesson pointers for teachers are provided for guiding discussions about this story. Features like punctuation marks, repeated sentence patterns, and consequences of actions are summarized.
This fun read will have kids giggling as Oscar gets his revenge. I highly recommend it.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
Yogurt the Ogre: The Big Tale of the Not-So-Tidy Whale
Author: David Rendimonti
Illustrator: Agnes Garbowska
Publisher: pdo!nk
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-09868013-0-3
Pages: 32
Price: $17.99
Author’s website
Buy it at Amazon
Yogurt the Ogre likes to pretend he’s a big whale. But whales are messy, splashing water on unsuspecting creatures, tracking mud through the house, and sloshing tub water onto the floor while bathing. Yogurt is not a tidy whale, and his parents scold him for his behavior.
After a good night’s sleep and time to reflect on what they’ve said, Yogurt decides an apology is needed. He makes amends to all those he had unintentionally harmed the day before. Now he knows it’s great to have fun, but only if his fun doesn’t cause problems for others.
Kids don’t mean to be untidy, so they need to learn how their behavior affects others. Yogurt the Ogre shows them how to act, in a gentle and non-preaching manner. This series is a fun read for all children.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
The Rose and the Lily
Author: Susan Ross
Illustrator: Megan Stiver
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-0-9810634-6-1
Pages: 36
Price: $12.99
Author’s website
Buy it at Amazon
Poor King William is desperate to marry off his spoiled daughter, Rose. Suitors come from near and far, but no one is good enough for her. She finally agrees that Prince Sterling might be a potential husband, but only if he brings her the perfect hairpin.
Prince Sterling is enchanted by Rose’s beauty, and gladly sets off on a quest to find her hairpin. But each time he returns to see her, she rejects him and his gifts. Lily, a plain and simple village girl, helps Prince Sterling by taking care of his horse and chatting with him about his quest. As the Prince gets to know both ladies, he finds Rose gets uglier and Lily prettier every day.
It’s a well-known truism that beauty is only skin-deep. In The Rose and the Lily kids will see this for themselves, as Lily’s beauty shines brightly from the inside. As this story clearly demonstrates, character will always be more important than appearance.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
Good Food
Author: Jean Elliott Junis
Publisher: Hameray
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-1-60559-343-2
Pages: 8
Price: $3.95
Kids seem to gravitate toward cookies and salty snacks. They may not realize that fruits and vegetables taste good, and they’re healthier, too. In Good Food, kids are photographed eating these healthy snacks, while saying “I like to eat…” the items pictured.
This simple book is easy to read while also conveying helpful information. And by showing kids smiling while eating, it also shares the message that this food is really tasty. Good Food would be a great addition to classroom discussions on nutrition.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
The Puppet Master
Author: Paul Blum
Publisher: Hameray
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-1-60559-024-0
Pages: 48
Price: $9.95
Something strange is going on at Greenock School. Is it just coincidence, of does it have anything to do with the school’s unusually high test scores? The FBI wants to know, so they send in two of their best agents to find out. But what they discover shocks them both.
Puppets appear to be running the school, but what kind of control do they have? How are they able to ensure that everyone complies with their demands?
The Complete Set of The Extraordinary Files includes 16 titles in this high interest, low vocabulary book series, suitable for ages 10-14, but reading at a grade 2-3 level. Each has its own story and stand alone plot and a clear resolution. The stories are linked by subplots or themes which gather momentum as the series progresses. These tales of danger and intrigue will keep the reader hooked until the final page.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
Yogurt the Ogre: A Magical Tale in Mudd Hollow
Author: David Rendimonti
Illustrator: Agnes Garbowska
Publisher: pdo!nk
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-0-9868013-5-8
Pages: 32
Price: $17.99
Author’s website
Buy it at Amazon
Yogurt the Ogre and his friends are excited to put on a magic show at Poplar Peak. They bring props, costumes, and snacks for all to enjoy. And when the day is over, they leave their things behind for a future magic show. But the wind blows everything around that night, creating a big mess.
Poplar Peak is a public park, and Yogurt realizes that what they left behind was litter. So he and his friends start a new magic show – this time making the litter disappear.
Yogurt is a whimsical creature who just wants to have fun. Unfortunately, he doesn’t always realize how his actions impact others. In A Magical Tale in Mudd Hollow, he learns an important lesson in keeping public places clean for everyone to enjoy.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
Monkey Magic: The Great Wall Mystery
Author: Grant S. Clark
Publisher: Monsoon Books
Genre: Children / Animals
ISBN: 978-981-08-6132-2
Pages: 160
Price: $9.95
The mysterious appearance of a group of monkeys at the Great Wall of China has scientists baffled. These monkeys are not native to China, so where did they come from? And why are they there?
Monkey Magic worked before for 11-year old Romy, allowing her to communicate with orangutans in The Curse of Mukada. Now she uses it to discover the monkeys’ story, but what they tell her isn’t pleasant. She will need all her wits to help them, while also keeping herself out of danger. Her new friend, Pei, shares part of her adventure, as well as some intercultural humor. And when she learns of the possibility of using Monkey Magic whenever she wants, Romy is determined to know more.
Monkey Magic: The Great Wall Mystery shows us how human greed hurts wild animals, and why we need to take immediate action to try to protect them. I highly recommend this delightful, magical tale with a great environmental message.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
The Huggles’ Hug
Author: Joy Cowley
Illustrator: Richard Hoit
Publisher: Hameray Publishing Group
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-1-60559-303-6
Pages: 16
Price: $5.95
Author’s website
Buy it from publisher
Huggles loves to hug. He gives a hug to the dog, and another to the cat. But where does Huggles’ hug go? In this adorable picture book, the reader watches as the hug is passed around from one person to the next, finally ending up back at Huggles.
Since this book is meant for classroom use, lesson pointers for teachers are provided for guiding discussions about this story. Features like punctuation, alliteration, circular story, and text written in the present tense are summarized at the end of the book.
Kids know how nice it is to receive a hug. But in this story, they learn that hugging someone else can have far-reaching consequences of goodwill. I highly recommend this fun teaching tool for kids.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
How to Request a Review
If you’d like to have your book reviewed, please contact us at the following email addresses with a synopsis of your book. Please use the subject header “Review Requested: Title of your book” so your request doesn’t go to our spam folder. Don’t send a file copy of your book as an attachment. It will not be read.
Email: Gene Berger
Fiction: adventure, humor & satire, literary, science fiction & fantasy. Nonfiction. No children’s books.
Email: Alice Berger
** Closed to new requests until September 30th, 2012. **
Genres: Positive fiction and non-fiction only. At this time, I’m mostly interested in Christian books, although I will review anything with a positive message. I’m also interested in motivational and inspirational audio programs. Educational tools for children and Christian-themed products may be considered.
Once we have agreed to review your book, we will provide a mailing address. We only review print books. No e-books or electronic copies of any kind will be considered.
If you are requesting a review in advance of publication, please indicate the date we can expect to receive your book.
Due to the large volume of requests we receive, we may not be able to fit your book into our schedule. We are only two people, so if we do accept your book, please anticipate at least a four month wait for your review to be posted–we follow a “first-in, first-out” schedule. We have day jobs, too, and this is a free service we offer to authors.
Acceptance of your book does not guarantee a review. At this time, we are accepting self-published works on a very limited basis.
For a complete listing of all books reviewed, please see the Catalog. All books featured on this site have been provided free of charge to the reviewer.
Want to receive our reviews by email? Subscribe to Bergers Book Reviews here.
Coming Soon:
- Embracing the Gray by Mark A. Hollingsworth
- Healing Touch by Dorothea Hover-Kramer
- Junior Dragster Dreams by Carol Carter
- Mallory the Forgetful Duck by Elaine Allen
- Music for a Shift in Consciousness by Bruce Lipton & Russel Walder
- Off to Class by Susan Hughes
- The Skinny on Success by Jim Randel
- Tibetan Dream Journey
- Tiptoe Through Tasmania by Janice Anderson
- Your Daily Walk With the Great Minds by Richard A. Singer, Jr.
“Who’s Taking a Bath?” by Alice Berger
-
Archives
- May 2012 (3)
- April 2012 (2)
- March 2012 (8)
- February 2012 (8)
- January 2012 (4)
- December 2011 (4)
- November 2011 (7)
- October 2011 (3)
- September 2011 (3)
- August 2011 (6)
- July 2011 (9)
- June 2011 (8)
-
Categories
- adventure
- Amish Fiction
- animals
- art
- atlas
- author interview
- beauty
- bilingual
- biography
- birds
- boys
- Buddhism
- business
- cartoon
- cats
- chick-lit
- children
- Christian
- cooking
- crafts
- dogs
- education
- fantasy
- fashion
- fiction
- finance
- fitness
- gay & lesbian
- graphic novel
- health
- history
- holiday
- Holocaust
- home
- how-to
- humor
- inspiration
- international
- Jewish
- journal
- literary
- marriage
- meditation
- memoir
- men
- music
- mystery
- nature
- new age fiction
- non-fiction
- paranormal
- parenting
- philosophy
- poetry
- reference
- relationships
- romance
- science-fiction
- self improvement
- short stories
- spirituality
- sports
- teen
- travel
- true crime
- tween
- Uncategorized
- western
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
