Author: Bergers Book Reviews

Author and book reviewer.
animals, children

The Peaceable Forest: India’s Tale of Kindness to Animals

Bergers Book Reviews

The Peaceable Forest
Author: Kosa Ely
Illustrator: Anna Johansson
Publisher: Insight Kids / Mandala Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-60887-115-5
Pages: 32
Price: $16.99

Author’s website
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A hunter once stalked the forests of India. This man not only hunted for food, but also for the joy of killing. One day, the kind Sage discovered an injured fawn. After hearing its sad story, he journeyed on to find other injured animals, all shot with the hunter’s bow. Finally, he tracked down the hunter for an explanation of his actions.

A deep and meaningful conversation ensues, and the hunter repents of his evil deeds. Peace is restored to the forest, and the animals can roam safely once again.

The Peaceable Forest is a beautifully illustrated fairy tale that teaches the value of all creation. Written for children, it inspires them to be kind to animals. And in learning kindness to our animal companions, they may also learn kindness to each other and the whole human race.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

children, holiday

Stable In Bethlehem

Bergers Book Reviews


Author: Joy N. Hulme
Illustrator: Dan Andreasen
Publisher: Sterling Children’s Books
Genre: Children / Christmas
ISBN: 978-14027-9764-4
Pages: 22
Price: $6.95

Author’s website
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A stable in Bethlehem is the location of the very first Christmas, as the holy family receives the baby, Jesus, into the world. Children can experience this gift through Stable in Bethlehem. In this board book, the author counts down those present at the birth, from twelve doves down to two parents and one baby. All of these animals, people and angels come to worship Jesus, born to Mary and Joseph.

Christmas is a magical time of year for children, but they often forget the meaning of the season behind the glitter and gift-giving. This sweet and simple story reminds them of the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Christian, holiday

Christmas Lights

Bergers Book Reviews


Author: Christine Pisera Naman
Publisher: Doubleday
Genre: Christmas
ISBN: 978-0-385-52245-8
Pages: 122
Price: $14.95

Buy it at Amazon

The holidays can be a magical time, or they can bring intense sadness if life has been especially hard. But it’s nearly impossible not to have a strong emotional reaction at Christmas. In Christmas Lights, we meet seven women, all at different stages of their lives, experiencing their own feelings during the holiday season.

Each chapter in this story introduces one of the women. Dealing with illness, mourning the loss of a child, looking for a new love, or making peace with a current one, these women face choices and challenges in their lives. But the strong forces that unite them all are family and faith.

Happy endings are a must at Christmas, and this story doesn’t disappoint. It might even evoke a tear or two, as each story unfolds to a satisfying conclusion. If you’re looking for a book that focuses on the real meaning of the season, Christmas Lights would make a great addition to your holiday reading list.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

animals, children

The Silly Looking Thing

Bergers Book Reviews

The Silly Looking Thing
Author & Illustrator: Eva M. Sakmar-Sullivan
Publisher: Schiffer Books
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-0-7643-4144-1
Pages: 40
Price: $16.99

Author’s website
Schiffer Books
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Itsy-Bitsy Boy Frog wants to find a friend. He goes to the lake, but he doesn’t find any frogs. Instead, a strange looking creature offers to be his friend. Itsy-Bitsy Boy Frog decides he won’t be friends with any “silly looking things” and walks away. Each day this same thing happens – Itsy-Bitsy Boy Frog goes to the lake, and the silly looking thing offers to play with him.

Finally Itsy-Bitsy Bog Frog stops going to the lake, and his parents ask why. When he shares the reason, they explain that he is not being kind. When he realizes how hurtful his actions have been, he goes to the lake to apologize, but he can’t find the silly looking thing. Instead, he finds a young frog.

Itsy-Bitsy Boy Frog has just discovered the life cycle of frogs, from tadpole to adult, as will children reading this story. Along with a science lesson, it also provides a reminder to treat everyone with respect, no matter how different they look. Told in a non-preaching manner with great illustrations, The Silly Looking Thing will appeal to young readers. I highly recommend it.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

children

And Still They Bloom

Bergers Book Reviews

And Still They Bloom
Author: Amy Rovere
Illustrator: Joel Spector
Publisher: American Cancer Society
Genre: Children / Cancer
ISBN: 978-160443-036-3
Pages: 48
Price: $14.95

Author’s website
American Cancer Society
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Emily and Ben have just lost their mother to cancer. As time passes, they go through the emotional stages associated with grief: anger, sadness, fear and hopelessness. Although And Still They Bloom doesn’t have an actual plot, these feelings are explored through the actions of the characters involved.

The children want to know why this happened to their mom, and not to others who have cancer. Although also grieving, their father reassures them that she had the best care possible, and nothing more could have been done. He tries to comfort them and help them see that their lives still have meaning.

Healing from the loss of a loved one is especially painful, and children often have no one to help them get through it. The American Cancer Society hopes that this book will show kids they’re not alone in their feelings, and that there is hope for them to find peace.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

children, holiday

The Great Christmas Crisis

Bergers Book Reviews


Author: Kim Norman
Illustrator: Jannie Ho
Publisher: Sterling Children’s Books
Genre: Children / Christmas
ISBN: 978-1-4027-8632-7
Pages: 26
Price: $14.95

Author’s website
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Christmas will be here any day, and Santa suddenly realizes he has a crisis. The elves are bickering, toys aren’t being made, and he’s seriously behind schedule. The unusually frantic pace has everyone tired and frazzled, so Santa needs to come up with a solution.

After trying to spend some time in relaxing and sharing holiday cheer with his crew of elves, Santa realizes that what he really needs is more time. After mulling this over, he comes up with an ingenious plan that will ensure the stress-free manufacturing of Christmas gifts, right on schedule.

The Great Christmas Crisis is a funny look at the pitfalls of mass production, from a North Pole perspective. Unlike in business, Santa’s magic can cure any problem. Kids will enjoy this lighthearted story, told in rhyme, with cheerful illustrations.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Christian, tween

Shades of Truth (From Sadie’s Sketchbook)

Bergers Book Reviews


Author: Naomi Kinsman
Publisher: Zonderkidz
Genre: Tween / Christian
ISBN: 978-0-310-72662-3
Pages: 208
Price: $7.99

Holiday Read-along
Author’s website
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Sadie has just moved with her family to Michigan. Her father’s new job as mediator for the Department of Natural Resources makes him unwelcome in the community, and Sadie realizes she will face many challenges in fitting in. Plus, her mother’s incurable illness makes life at home more difficult. With courage and determination, Sadie makes a new friend and hopes life will get better.

When a local artist discovers Sadie’s latent talent, Sadie begins art lessons, which she enjoys immensely. And her faith is kindled by attending a Compline service and youth group meetings. But how will she deal with the accusations thrown at her father, knowing what she thinks she knows about one of the men who dislikes him so much?

Shades of Truth is the first in the “From Sadie’s Sketchbook” series from Faithgirlz. Combining challenging situations with growing faith lessons, this series shows real life handled from a Christian perspective. Girls will love reading about Sadie and her friends, while also seeing a great role model. I highly recommend this series.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

children, holiday

A Pirate’s Twelve Days of Christmas

Bergers Book Reviews


Author: Philip Yates
Illustrator: Sebastià Serra
Publisher: Sterling Children’s Books
Genre: Children / Christmas
ISBN: 978-1-4027-9225-0
Pages: 32
Price: $14.95

Buy it at Amazon

Ahoy there, buckos! It’s time to celebrate Christmas, pirate-style. As one of the pirate crew is left behind while the rest go ashore, he suddenly realizes, “On the first day of Christmas, a gift was sent to me – a parrot in a palm tree!” The following days include jolly rogers, black cats, dolphins swimming, and mermaids singing.

As the song gets more complicated, adding the next day it celebrates to a growing list, so too do these adorable illustrations. Each day’s gifts are added to the previous days’, for a collection of colorful characters aboard this pirate ship. And the lonely crewman finds out his shipmates haven’t really deserted him for Christmas after all.

Although this looks like a picture book for children, anyone with a love of pirate lore will enjoy A Pirate’s Twelve Days of Christmas. In fact, your family may even find themselves singing a new Christmas song.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

children

Mommy, Daddy, I Had a Bad Dream

Bergers Book Reviews


Author: Martha Heineman Pieper, Ph.D.
Illustrator: Jo Gershman
Publisher: Smart Love Press
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-0-9838664-0-4
Pages: 32
Price: $18.99

Author’s website
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Joey, the bouncy, happy kangaroo has just had a bad dream. Running to his parents, he tells them all about it. His parents reassure him that bad dreams are normal, and help him figure out what might have happened during the day to trigger the dream.

This happens twice more, with Joey running to his parents for explanations. Finally, he decides to reason things out for himself. And once he determines the cause of his bad dream, he goes back to sleep.

In this unique story, children’s dreams are explained in a way that makes sense to them, rather than making light of them. Children are encouraged to do their own thinking, knowing that their dreams may have messages for them. A winner of the 2012 Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) and Mom’s Choice Award, this book provides powerful information for kids. I highly recommend Mommy, Daddy, I Had a Bad Dream.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

fantasy

The Unraveling of Wentwater

Bergers Book Reviews


Author: C.S. Lakin
Publisher: Living Ink Books
Genre: Fantasy
ISBN: 978-089957-892-7
Pages: 352
Price: $14.99

Author’s website
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A long time ago, a prophecy was uttered at a baby-naming ceremony. This babe would be the unraveling of Wentwater. Now an adult, Teralyn, the girl of the prophecy, only wants to play her music with Fromer, the man she loves. But when the prophecy suddenly comes true, Teralyn is the only one who can put Wentwater back together again.

Words have power, and when words start disappearing from Wentwater, disaster results. Jealousy leads to recklessness, and things quickly get out of control. Will Fromer be lost to Teralyn forever? One man holds the key to Fromer’s return, but will he come to his senses and allow him back?

In this fourth book in The Gates of Heaven series, it appears that the forces of evil are too strong for Wentwater. But ultimately, good triumphs over evil, and all is restored to normal. Although written as fantasy, one can clearly see the powers of good and evil at work in our own lives. Good can triumph, but only if we let it.

See also The Land of Darkness, book three in The Gates of Heaven. I highly recommend this series.

Reviewer: Alice Berger