Tag Archives: picture books

Veggie’s Bully by C. JoVan Williams

15 May

It’s May 15th and how many accelerated reader points do I have?!? With the addition yesterday of the unabridged Three Musketeers by Alxeandre Dumas, Brian’s Return by Gary Paulsen, and Crooked Star’s Promise by Erin Hunter, I have -

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I have until 3pm today to meet my goal of 1500! Will I do it?!? I’m actually kind of nervous I won’t… but I have three books to take tests on today that should put me over the top… as long as I get the answers right on the tests…

Wish me luck!

veggies

Veggie’s Bully (Chef ReCee Jay & Friends – Book 2)

By C. JoVan Williams

Illustrated by Jennifer Chappell

34 pages – ages 4+

Published by CreateSpace on December 28, 2012

Veggie Bunny is sad and feeling bad about herself. Piggie is bullying her and making her feel like she is worthless and not good at anything. Veggie’s friend Carb Monkey wants to get even with Piggie by doing mean things back to him. Uncle Bear lets the kids know that “getting even” is not the right way to deal with a bully. Uncle Bear tells Veggie to be her very best no matter what someone may say.

I love the message in this book! I think that the Carb character saying he wants to bully Piggie back and his Uncle Bear (does that make him a money’s Uncle *snicker*) telling him it’s wrong makes a great point for kids, especially since the book is meant for younger kids! I think it is a real reaction for kids who get bullied to want to get even, but Uncle Bear points out that makes you the same as the bully. I like how Ms. Williams takes Veggie through all the emotions of sadness, anger, and embarrassment – all things kids feel when they are bullied. In the end, Veggie Bunny learn to believe in herself and ignore Piggie. I think all kids should learn this. The illustrations were large and bright. They were a little too simple for my taste, but I can see how young kids will like them. They did work well in the ebook version of the book on my black and white Kindle.

I really LOVE what Ms. Williams says in the dedication of her book – “This book is dedicated to everyone, young and old, who may have run into a few “Piggies” in their life. Currently there are over 7 billion people in the world. Don’t let the spoiled words of a few ruin your day.”

Despite the fact I’m not too fond of the pictures, Veggie’s Bully has a five bookworm message! fivebooks

Check out the trailer!

To learn more about the Chef Recee Jay & Friends series, please visit the official website HERE!

Follow Chef Recee & Jay on Facebook HERE!

Follow Ms. Williams on Twitter HERE!

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Picture Books Everywhere!

20 Feb

Picture books are awesome. When I go to the library I usually have 4 or 5 picture books (and two novels) that I check out. A really good picture book will give you a lot of information and/or a great story in less than 36 pages! I like to read and review picture books and I have a couple I want to tell you about today!

First up is-

escuchaEscucha Means Listen

By Talia Aikens-Nuñez

Illustrated by Dina Ashraf Helmi

24 pages – ages 3+

Published by Musa Publishing on November 2012

A girl listens to the world around her. What she hears and sees is told in Spanish and English.

I have a special interest in bilingual books and I LOVED this one! I am trying to learn a different language (I am taking French and Latin classes) and my sister, Josie, is taking a Spanish class. Even though books like this one are meant for younger kids, they are great for older kids (like me) who want to learn words from other languages. The illustrations are great and I like the idea of the girl just listening to the world around her!

Robyn Campbell did a PPBF review of this book HERE. Check out the publisher’s website HERE.

Cinco de cinco ratones de biblioteca para “Escucha Means Listen”! fivebooks

Next I have a fun one for you!

caarinaCaarina the Cooking Fairy

By Julia Dweck

Illustrated by Gemini

Published by KiteReaders on December 1, 2012

26 pages – ages 3+

Caarina lives with master chefs who create new recipes. She is a cooking fairy. Caarina is excited because a great feast is to be made, and she was chosen by the Fairy Queen to make it! She starts making her fabulous foods, but a gremlin sneaks in and starts ruining everything when Caarina isn’t looking! At first, Caarina thinks she is the one messing her food up, but then she notices the uninvited guest in her kitchen!

This is a cute book! I like that it is about cooking. The illustrations are very sparkly and my little sister LOVED them. Josie liked the idea of a cooking fairy too. I like how the gremlin messes the food up and how… Well, I don’t want to give the ending away! I’ll just say, Caarina is one smart fairy!

Check out the publisher’s website HERE. Ms. Dweck’s website is HERE.

Five out of five bookworms for this treat! fivebooks

Now for a great picture book app!

andsoyouwereAnd So You Were Born

By Mona Parsa

Illustrated by Nidra N. Kilmer

Published by Twin Peacocks Publishing

This interactive book app talks about why you were born. It is a spiritual book about God’s love (not about any one religion). In fact, there are prayers and scriptures you can read from many different religions. I like that part of the book. It seems to include all religions. I think the book is best for very young kids and would make a nice read aloud for parents and kids to share together. The illustrations are beautiful and the app works well.  There are puzzles and painting games included. The app can also be personalized so your kid’s name and birthday will appear in the story.

Click HERE to get the app!

Five out of five book worms! fivebooks

Finally, A book that really helped me.

mynewgrannyMy New Granny

By Elisabeth Steinkellner

Illustrated by Michael Roher

32 pages – ages 4+

Published by Sky Pony Press on September 11, 2012

Fini loved being with her old Granny. They fed the ducks together and when Granny traveled, she’d send postcards. Granny made the BEST foods too. Granny went to the hospital and when she came back, she was “new Granny.” Now she does things like she wants to eat the bread that was for the ducks, she turns the stove on to warm her hands, not to cook, and she can’t travel. She has to move in with Fini and her parents because she needs to be watched now. Fini likes her new Granny, but she is kind of upset that she has to help take care of Granny instead of Granny taking care of her, and gets fed up with it.

This book has a great story. Granny has dementia and a lot of kids don’t understand this subject. I first read about this book on Patricia Tilton’s blog (see her review HERE) and when I commented on her blog, the publisher offered to send me an ebook copy to review. I got the book, just as my great-grandfather started to get sick. I didn’t understand why he was doing some of the things he was and my parents told me it was dementia. I showed my mom this book and she got the “real” book version for our family to read together. I like how the book tells kids that the person going through this is still the same person, only a bit different.  Besides the great, meaningful story, the illustrations are magnificent. I love how they are drawn. I especially like how Granny looks the same but just acts different.

Check out the publisher’s website HERE.

I would give this book more than five bookworms if my scale went higher! fivebooks

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It’s A 12×12 in 2012 Blog Party!!

13 Dec

Last year at this time I signed up for Julie Hedlund’s 12×12 Challenge. It was a challenge to write 12 picture book drafts in 12 months in 2012. You may have noticed the cool badge on my side bar all year long -

I started out with my ideas from doing Tara Lazar’s PiBoIdMo last year in November (I did it this year too – it’s VERY fun and if you haven’t done it, try it next year :) ). My goal was to write one picture book manuscript. I never wrote a whole picture book before and didn’t really know where to start (other than having my ideas from PiBoIdMo) and I didn’t know how much I’d be able to do. I am happy to say I wrote 3 whole manuscripts and I have a bunch of ones that I have started that I’d like to get back to. I’ve learned a lot this year and I thought I would come up with my top ten things I learned. Here it goes -

10. Be organized. Having a work area and a notebook (only ONE notebook in my case because I tend to lose things) that holds your ideas helps.

9. Set deadlines for yourself. Even if you don’t make them, it gives you a goal.

8. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice.

7. Don’t be afraid to write down a draft that isn’t particularly good the first time. Get it down and then go back later and fix it (I have a lot of unfinished ideas like this).

6. The idea you think is the best isn’t always the one that you can write a whole book about.

5. Listen to people who want to help you. There are a lot of great people who have helped and encouraged me.

4. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t meet a goal. Keep trying!

3. Don’t get discouraged if you find out someone has already wrote the book you are thinking of! That just means you like that idea too!

2. Do try to have fun while writing. If it is making you frustrated, stop for a while.

and the number one thing I’ve learned from 12×12 in 2012 is…

WRITING PICTURE BOOKS IS HARD AND RHYMING IS EVEN HARDER!!! Those people out there who think it is so easy should give it a try (like that turtle-neck guy ;) [Debbie Ohi's PiBoIdMo Post])!

Thank you to everyone in 12×12 in 2012 and ESPECIALLY to Julie Hedlund for hosting it! If you haven’t seen Ms. Hedlund’s awesome dance party video, you HAVE to hop over to her blog and check it out. Her air guitar is AMAZING! Click HERE to go there!

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The Adventures of Freddie Spaghetti and Meat Ball by Brandy Herr

4 Dec

freddiesapgThe Adventures of Freddie Spaghetti and Meat Ball

By Brandy Herr

24 pages – ages 4+

Published by PublishAmerica on July 9, 2012

Freddie Spaghetti thinks that there is more to life than sitting on a plate and waiting to get eaten. So, he and his trusty pet Meat Ball board a bus and go to Mexico. There, they meet Enrique Enchilada, who is suffering from a broken heart. His friend, Teresa Taco, is a hard taco, and she has been mean to everyone since becoming one. Freddie and Meat Ball want to help Enrique. When Teresa comes down the street, Freddie and Meat Ball try to help her, but she wouldn’t listen. Will Teresa ever become a nice, soft taco?

This was a good book. The book had a nice plot to it. It seemed like there was a bit of romance with Enrique and Teresa which was funny. I found a couple of editing errors with quotes. I thought the pictures were ok but Josie really liked them. The story has a lot of words and younger kids would need it read out loud (Josie liked hearing the story out loud). The idea of Freddie a spaghetti noodle coming to life and being bored in his bowl was funny. I think this is a good book for kids 4+.

I give “The Adventures of Freddie Spaghetti and Meat Ball” 4 out of 5 bookworms (I was going to give it a 3 – meaning a “good book” but my sister was yelling to give it 4 – meaning a great book, so I decided to listen to her because this book is more for her age ;) ).fourbooks

To learn more about Freddie Spaghetti and Ms. Herr, Please visit the Freddie Spaghetti website HERE!

Check out the Freddie Spaghetti trailer!

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Perfect Picture Book Friday- Naughty Bus

30 Dec

Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday . It is a list of “perfect” picture books recommended by all sorts of people. I chose this book because of its unusual illustrations and great imagination story.

Naughty Bus

By Jan and Jerry Oke

46 pages – Ages 3+

Published by Little Knowall Publishing March 10, 2005

Theme/Topic – Using Your Imagination to Play

Opening and Synopsis – “This is for you. I hope you’re a good driver.”

When a little boy gets a toy double-decker bus as a gift, he uses his imagination to make the bus come to life. The little bus gets into all sorts of trouble -driving over the table, crashing through breakfast and falling in a lake. The toy bus is certainly naughty!

Why I liked this book – I first read about “Naughty Bus” on the “One Book On The Shelf” blog (see the original post HERE) . The blog post was an interview of the owner an independent bookstore in England called Victoria Park Books (visit their webite HERE). The store owner said that “Naughty Bus” was one of the store’s bestseller. I figured if it’s a bestseller in England, why not try it out (you can buy the book through Amazon sellers)? I am glad I did because I really enjoyed it! First of all, the illustrations are real photos and they are awesome! The photos were really funny and really amazing because of the action shots. The words are large print and should be a great read aloud and good for beginning readers. The fonts and the lay-out of the words made the book even more interesting! For an example look down below! ;) See how the words get all bumpy when the bus is on a rough road?

This is one of my favorite illustrations in the book

Activities and Resources – I really like how the book encourages kids to use their imagination. Parents can have their kids take any ordinary object (not necessarily a toy), for example a spoon, and pretend it’s something else. Perhaps that spoon could be a magic fairy wand or a sleek, silver yacht. Parents could let their kids take pictures (or if the kids are too young the parents could take the pictures) of their favorite toy and use their imagination to make up stories about it. As an example, I did a photo of Godzilla “editing” my blog. Want to see? Check this out!

I was happy to learn that Jan Oke wrote another book called “Major Glad, Major Dizzy.” Ian Nolan did the photography for this book because sadly, Mr. Oke who created the awesome pictures in “Naughty Bus”, passed away. I already asked my mom to order me “Major Glad, Major Dizzy”. The description of the book said that the book will “entertainingly introduce the topic of recent British history.” To learn more about “Naughty Bus” and Ms. Oke’s other books, please visit the Little Knowall website HERE.

To find more Perfect Picture Books please visit Susanna Hill’s blog  HERE!

*** I Announced the winner of the That Pup! illustration give-away!! Click HERE to see if you won!

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I Got to be a Guest Blogger for Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo)

3 Dec

Check out my guest blog post for the very last day of PiBoIdMo! Tara Lazar organized Picture Book Idea Month a 30 picture book ideas in 30 days challenge! I really learned a lot from reading all the guest blogger’s posts and I get to blog about what I learned!

Check it out by clicking the badge!!

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Check out Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo) hosted by Author Tara Lazar!

24 Oct

I’ve been asked to be a guest blogger for Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo)!! How cool! At the end of the month I get to blog about what I learned during PiBoIdMo. Every day there will be a different post by bloggers, authors, writers, publisher, all sorts of people! To participate you have to write an idea for a children’s picture book a day for 30 days. At the end of the event you can win prizes. To learn more about PiBoIdMo visit Tara Lazar’s blog Writing for Kids by clicking HERE! Pickup the cool participant badge too!!

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An Interview with Pooja Sardana, Children’s Book Author and One of the Creators of PictureBookTree

16 Aug

Today I am posting an interview I did with Pooja Sardana, children’s book author and one of the creators of the PictureBookTree website. When you join Picture Book Tree, you can read any book listed on the website and you have unlimited access for a whole year for only one dollar! You can print the books out or you can read them online. There is also a page called “Magic Box” where there are coloring pages and other activities. Picture Book Tree is a great place for younger kids (Ages 4+) to read books online. You can also track what you read by organizing the books into a reading list and check which books you have already read.  The site is very easy to use and young kids should be able to navigate it with a little help from Moms or Dads. The stories tell about nice characters like Benji in Mr. Might Meets His Hero (my favorite).  The books have nice messages about things like how nice life is, being respectful, having good friends, and helping out. The illustrations are colorful and very nice to look at. You can even read a sample book, “I Love You Mommy” at the website (click on the book to go there)!

INTERVIEW:

 I read on your website that you got the idea to write books for other people because you used to make picture books for your son, Aman, and he really enjoyed them. How did you get the idea to turn it into The Picture Book Tree and the interactive website?

It is a very interesting incident how this whole thing shaped up. One day, I went out with my friend to buy some books for his son. The bookshop was filled with children books but the books were quiet expensive. With heavy heart, she could only pick two. On our way back, I thought, why not gift her my picture books? I could always make more for Aman. I came back home, wrapped the books in a beautiful gift wrap and gave it to her. Her son just loved the books even more than what she has bought for him. I was narrating this incident to my husband and he said, “Children books should not be sold in a bookstore. They should grow on a tree, where every parent and kid can climb and pick as many as they wish. Children should not be denied the joy of reading because they or their parents cannot afford it.” And that was it. With the help of my husband, we planted this seed, which has grown into PictureBookTree now. This tree wish to serve all parents and children across the globe with its fruits of love, care, and affection in the form of short and beautiful stories about caring, sharing, love, and growing up.

You write and illustrate your own books. Where do you get your ideas for the books? Do you ever start with a drawing or illustration first and then make a story out of it?

The ideas are nothing new. They are the same good things which every parent wants their kids to know, learn and experience. And like any parent I as well wanted Aman to understand the importance of giving, loving and sharing things. Respecting the nature and the world he lives in. Being sensitive towards other fellow beings, animals, and our natural resources. I did not want to preach him that this is right or wrong but my idea was to make him aware, make him enjoy loving, giving and other values and not do it for the sake of doing it, so I thought of these stories, which were a great way to make him understand the love we can spread around us.

Regarding making the books, I usually start with a story and then the illustrations follow. However, my new book, ‘How do I Look’ which is due for release this month, started with the illustrations and then parallelly I started writing the story for the same.

 The option to read the books online or print them out is very nice. How many books have you written and how often are books added to The Picture Book Tree website?

There are 8 books which have been digitized and are available on The PictureBookTree. 5 more books are due for release this month and early next month. Around 15 books  are in the pre-production stage right now and are planned for release by October-November. Lots of parents are writing to us and sharing the stories they use at home and tell their kids. So our tree of stories is growing and we hope by end of this year this tree will have lots of stories for parents and children.

 Your books have great messages like sharing, friendship, love and just enjoying life. The illustrations are bright and detailed. What age reader are you writing your books for and what do you hope others gain from your books?

Thank you for the compliment :) I am glad you liked them. Most of the books are for 4 years and above. None of the stories actually teaches you anything, it simply points at the beautiful side of the life we are blessed with, and the moment a kid looks there, the book has served its purpose. I believe the only thing we need to do with these young adults :) , whom we call kids, is make them aware, make them aware of these beautiful feelings like caring, sharing, love, and friendship. That is all we need to do and then rest happens on its own as they are beautiful gentle souls and connect to love much more easily than we do.

*Thank you for letting my readers know about PictureBookTree Mrs. Sardana!*

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