Author: Bergers Book Reviews

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art

Drawing Animals Shape by Shape

Bergers Book Reviews

Drawing Animals Shape by Shape
Created by: Christopher Hart
Publisher: Drawing with Christopher Hart
Genre: Art
ISBN: 978-1-936096-95-4
Pages: 176
Price: $14.95

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If you’re artistically-challenged (like me), drawing all but the simplest things may seem far beyond your talents. Drawing Animals Shape by Shape challenges us to believe otherwise. Starting from circles, squares, rectangles and triangles, Christopher Hart shows us an easy way to master cartoon animals.

Animal categories featured in this guide include dogs, cats, farm animals, woodland creatures, safari animals, birds, water dwellers, reptiles, bugs and dinosaurs. Each animal is shown in various stages as details are added to its basic form. Almost magically, a half circle becomes an owl, a square becomes an elephant, an oval becomes a pig, and a triangle becomes a unicorn. Then the animal is colored as a final touch.

In order to see if this step-by step process actually works, I decided to give it a try, and managed a halfway decent hippopotamus and dinosaur. Making a perfect circle is a challenge for me, but once I had my basic shapes in place, adding the details wasn’t that hard at all. One of the nice features of this book is its spiral binding that allows pages to lie flat while budding artists attempt to copy Hart’s creations. I wish I had a copy of this book when I was younger, since it gives kids the tools to be successful at art. I highly recommend it.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

children, fantasy

The Witch, the Cat and the Water Dragon

Bergers Book Reviews

The Witch, the Cat and the Water Dragon
Author: Joanne Lécuyer
Illustrator: Brooke Alexander
Publisher: Topsy Books
Genre: Fantasy / Children
ISBN: 978-1-927353-34-9
Pages: 79
Price: $16.99

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In The Witch, the Cat and the Egg, a young witch named Juliane is entrusted with the care of a very special egg. Now the egg has hatched into the majestic water dragon, Tarak.

Just as Juliane is about to return Tarak to his mother, a stranger desires to be led through the forest. As guide, Juliane leads him inside, but this stranger has evil intentions. Juliane and her friends will need to work together to stop him. Good thing Tarak shows up just in the nick of time.

The Witch, the Cat and the Water Dragon is a sweet story demonstrating the power of goodness to overcome adversity. Without resorting to any unkindness, these friends defeat the intruder and save the forest from his actions. Children will enjoy this unique, magical series.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Bergers Book Reviews spent some time chatting with Joanne Lécuyer. Please be sure to read what she has to say!

mystery

Neurotic November (Mary Magruder Katz #4)

Bergers Book Reviews

Neurotic November
Author: Barbara Levenson
Publisher: CreateSpace
Genre: Mystery
ISBN: 978-1-5005-1945-2
Pages: 322
Price: $11.99

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Mary Magruder Katz is back in this sequel to Outrageous October. After her short stay in New Hampshire, she has come home to Florida and is now trying to reestablish her law practice.

Her newest client, college football star Jay Lincoln, is facing rape charges. Carlos’s father is caught up in some bank fraud issues, and Mary’s secretary’s fiance (and Carlos’s cousin) is facing murder charges. To add to the stress, Mary is all mixed up about her relationship with Carlos, and her family is pressuring her to commit. Does she really want to stay single, or would she like to get married one day?

Neurotic November is a fast-paced mystery with legal finesse, but there are some editing glitches in this one. Jay Lincoln becomes Jay Washington for a chapter or two in the middle, and there are numerous typos. Unfortunately, I lost respect for Mary in Outrageous October and she did little in this book to earn it back. In my opinion, she’s a spoiled brat who doesn’t deserve a nice guy like Carlos. Read this one for the mystery, but the hot romance is pretty much gone.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

children

Sophie’s Animal Parade

Bergers Book Reviews

Sophie's Animal Parade
Author: Amy Dixon
Illustrator: Katia Wish
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-1-63220-403-5
Pages: 32
Price: $16.99

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Sophie has a vivid imagination, so when she feels lonely, she decides to draw a friend. But the polar bear who now sits in her room prefers the cold. Drawing an igloo solves the problem, but now the bear needs a playmate. As she continues to draw more animals to join them, chaos ensues. Finally, Sophie meets a boy with a sense of adventure and the two enjoy their animal parade together.

Sophie’s Animal Parade is pure fun for kids. Animals, friendship, laughter, and bright cheery colors fill the pages of this delightful book. I highly recommend it.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Christian

The Truth About Lies

Bergers Book Reviews

The Truth About Lies
Author: Tim Chaddick
Publisher: David C. Cook
Genre: Christian
ISBN: 978-1-4347-0524-2
Pages: 176
Price: $14.99

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Jesus spent time in preparation for his ministry by praying and fasting in the desert. After 40 days, Satan came to tempt him. While most of us would probably agree that the temptation to turn stones into bread might be one we’d fall for, the other two temptations seem far less threatening. Worship Satan? No way! Jump from the top of the temple? Hmm, no, I’ll pass. But in all three temptations, Satan was attempting to divert Jesus from his mission in doing the Father’s will.

Satan still tries to tempt us today, and as surprising as it may seem, we see variations of these three in our own lives. Craving certain things to make us happy? We need to learn how to pursue them in the right way. Feel passionate about your religion? We must be careful not to misuse it and hurt others. Looking for success? Even when pursuing great religious goals, our motives may not always be pure.

It’s easy to think that good Christians don’t fall into sin. If we just read the Bible, pray and go to church, we’ll have it made. But Satan preys on those who become complacent and forget that he’s the father of lies. Jesus needed to face temptation to strengthen him for his mission. Maybe Christians also need it to strengthen their faith. And with a strong faith, we can draw others to God through our words and actions. The Truth About Lies shows you how to discern the lies you’re facing and break their hold on you. I highly recommend it.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

children

Celia

Bergers Book Reviews

Celia
Author: Christelle Vallat
Illustrator: Stéphanie Augusseau
Publisher: Peter Pauper Press
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-1-4413-1536-6
Pages: 36
Price: $16.99

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Celia spends all day on Sunday listening to the people as they come to her to share their worries and problems. When they leave, each feels lighter and happier. And in exchange for her services, they pay her one seed.

Celia then begins a week of sowing these seeds of kindness into bright balloons, flowers, fruit and stars. On her journey one day, she discovers a lone seed, lost by a boy who never had the chance to share his worries with Celia. She seeks him out and together they plant his seed. Every day, he visits Celia to see how his seed is doing, and while he is there, they talk about many things. And when his seed finally grows into a small flower, his spirits have been lifted.

In a world where everyone is tied to electronic devices or just too darned busy, it’s hard to find a special someone who is willing to listen to your worries and concerns. Celia demonstrates the power of a kind, sympathetic ear. The story’s accompanying illustrations follow the theme, as they go from black and white to bright and cheerful, as Celia takes away the gloom and spreads her magic throughout the village. Celia is a delightful read for children of all ages.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

mystery, teen

Mr. Samuel’s Penny

Bergers Book Reviews

Mr. Samuel's Penny
Author: Treva Hall Melvin
Publisher: The Poisoned Pencil
Genre: Mystery / Teen
ISBN: 978-1-9293-4504-5
Pages: 264
Price: $10.95

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Lizbeth Landers is spending the summer of 1972 with relatives in Ahoskie, NC. Soon after arriving, she finds herself at the Danbury Bridge, looking on in horror as Mr. Samuel and his baby girl are pulled from his submerged car. His hand clutches a penny, which mysteriously vanishes from the police evidence the next day. The two deaths are determined to be murder.

Collecting pennies is Lizbeth’s passion, and she realizes this particular penny is special. After witnessing Mr. Samuel’s widow’s grief at losing her husband and baby, Lizbeth is determined to find the missing penny and discover the murderer. There are plenty of places to search for pennies, and she won’t rest until it’s in her possession.

Mr. Samuel’s Penny is not just a clever murder mystery, but also gives the reader a glimpse of the south during a time of racial unrest. As a black girl, Lizbeth feels discriminated against by some of the white members of society. Over the summer, she discovers that not everything is exactly as it seems.

Full of interesting plot twists and side stories, Mr. Samuel’s Penny is an enjoyable read. I look forward to reading more books in this new Elizabeth Parrot Landers mystery series.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

children

Martian Mustache Mischief

Bergers Book Reviews

Martian Mustache Mischief
Author: Brian Rock
Illustrator: Joshua Dawson
Publisher: CreateSpace
Genre: Children
ISBN: 9781514777589
Pages: 30
Price: $9.99

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Mars is beginning to lose its red color, and soon fuzzy, ketchup-eating, caterpillar-looking Martians arrive on earth. When the earthlings laugh at their demand to turn over all their ketchup, the Martians try a new tactic.

Soon everyone in town is wearing a Martian mustache. And as the Martians devour all the ketchup, they turn red. How can the people stop them? Well, you’ll just have to read Martian Mustache Mischief to find out!

This cute tale will have kids giggling and attempting to try out the tongue twister, “Martian Mustache Mischief” along with the main character. They might even find themselves wearing their own ketchup mustache.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

romance, teen

Summer by Summer

Bergers Book Reviews

Summer by Summer
Author: Heather Burch
Publisher: Blink
Genre: Teen / Romance
ISBN: 978-0-310-72963-1
Pages: 288
Price: $12.99

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Summer is working as a nanny for a couple vacationing in Belize. When their oldest son, Bray, arrives, Summer takes an instant dislike to him. Bray is a college party guy, and Summer is a conservative and modest girl. Their values are far too different.

When a violent storm strands them alone together on a remote island, they’re forced to get along in order to survive. Both discover hidden depths in each other as they work through challenges in finding food, water and shelter. As the weeks progress, they find themselves falling in love.

Being a teen romance, Summer by Summer is full of drama and physical attraction between Bray and Summer. Since their whirlwind romance takes place over a mere month, there is little substance to their relationship. Summer’s faith in God and a purity promise hold them back from taking things too far, but Bray has no such restrictions, other than his respect for Summer.

Maybe I’m just a little too old for teen romances, or maybe the drama in this book is a bit too much. But although this is a fast and engaging read, the story left me feeling unsettled at the end. Summer and Bray are both too immature to be making a lifetime commitment.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

children, science

That’s What You Think!

Bergers Book Reviews

That's What You Think!
Authors: Jan Van Holleben, Michael Madeja, Katja Naie
Publisher: Little Gestalten
Genre: Children / Science
ISBN: 978-3-89955-725-1
Pages: 184
Price: $24.95

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Our brains are the computers in our heads that allow us to think, move, and keep our bodies functioning properly. But what exactly is a brain made up of, and how does it work?

That’s What You Think! shows us many facets of the brain in short, one-page or less snippets, each focusing on a single concept. What does a brain feel like? How does the brain send commands around the body? How do we store knowledge? Does the brain switch itself off at night? These and many more questions are answered in this book. Clever photos of kids in various positions imitating brain function are interspersed between the narrative sections.

This is not a true science book, although it does touch on scientific concepts. There is no bibliography or cited sources of any kind. As a result, I felt unsure of some of the statements it made, such as, “Scientists don’t exactly know if [a concussion] causes any real damage to the brain.” With all the discussions lately about sports safety and traumatic brain injury, this doesn’t seem to make sense. The book also attributes the creation of animals and humans to “nature” rather than God, which Christians will find objectionable.

If approached casually, this book is an easy read and interesting overview of how the brain works. But for serious study, it would be wise to consult a true science book.

Reviewer: Alice Berger