Jack Templar Monster Hunter - Featured Author Review

Jack Templar Monster Hunter by Jeff Gunhus The Templar Chronicles #1 Genres: Fantasy, Children,    Action Adventure

     Jack comes from a long line of monster hunters. Unfortunately, he is unaware of this fact as he is an orphan and doesn't remember his parents at all. There is even more bad news for Jack, on the eve of his 14th birthday he learns that monsters will come crawling out of the woodwork with one goal in mind: targeting the powerful monster hunter. But they don't want to kill him, oh no, that would be too easy. They want to torture him until he begs to die and be put out of his misery.

Supernatural Hero - Book Review

Supernatural Hero by Eran Gadot Genres: Adventure, Fantasy,    Children, Paranormal

     Andy is a sixth grader who feels he has been over looked by life. His glasses, skinniness, and ineptitude at sports make him prime fodder for bullying by his older sister and all of the mean kids at school. Mostly ignored by his parents other than their unwanted concern for his mental state, Andy spends most of his time daydreaming about the prettiest girl in school and getting even with those who bully him. He also likes hanging out with his best - and only - friend Tom, who is a brainiac yet somehow still considered cooler than Andy.

Learn To Tie A Tie With The Rabbit And The Fox

Learn To Tie A Tie With The Rabbit And The Fox by Sybrina Durant Genre: Children, How-to

     This is an adorable book that tells a tale of a fox chasing a rabbit. Not only is the story entertaining it serves as a mnemonic device to help children learn and remember how to tie a tie. I knew there was one for tying shoelaces but had never known about this one. The fun illustrations made me wish that I had a Kindle Fire so I could see them in full color. A great gift idea for Christmas that is unique and can be fun for the whole family. There is even an accompanying song that you can listen to at the author's website.

I give it 5 stars!

Santa's Twin by Dean Koontz - Featured Review

Santa's Twin by Dean Koontz Genre: Children

     This became a traditional Christmas Eve read shortly after my mom gave it to me. We read it every year. Last year was the first year that my neice had joined us on Christmas Eve and even at the age of 24, she enjoyed it as much as my 12 year old did.

     The story is written in the form of a humorous poem that tells of two brave sisters who defeat Santa's berzerk twin and go to the North Pole to rescue Santa and save Christmas. Talk about sibling rivalry, I guess it would be hard to be Santa's brother.

Featured Author for November - Danielle Steel!

Danielle Steel Born:   August 14, 1947 Main genre:   Romance

     Steel's novels have been translated into 28 languages and can be found in 47 countries across the globe, and 22 of her books have been adapted for television. While her books are romances, she does not always guarantee her characters a happy ending. Many of her books can also be considered family sagas as most of her stories usually deal with rich powerful families who face some crisis. While many critics might consider her books as "fluff" her plots do go beyond the normal "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back" formula.

The Jungle Book - Review

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling Genre: Children, Classic

     Surprisingly, this book contains more than the story of little Mowgli that Disney chose to portray in the animated classic movie of the same title. This is actually a collection of short stories that revolve around an assortment of animals.

     The second story tells the tale of a white seal who stumbles across he horrors of man slaughtering seals and eventually leads his kin to a safe haven, far from man.

Review of Nikki Powergloves

     Nikki Nickerson is an average nine year old girl. She isn't overly popular or stunningly attractive. She probably wouldn't stand out in a crowd. One fine summer day, that all changes when Nikki stumbles across a fantastical creature. A cross between a porcupine and a beaver and possessing the ability of speech, this creature gives Nikki a treasure chest. He warns Nikki that she must be willing to shoulder the responsibility that comes with his gift. Inside the chest are 9 pairs of gloves, each give Nikki a different superpower. This is the birth of Nikki Powergloves.

     As an adult reading a children's book targeted at 8-10 year olds, I was still quite impressed. The assorted superpowers are very imaginative and quite cool. Some might not exactly help much in defeating a villian, but are quite handy nonetheless. I'm not very confident in my ability to review a children's book. I think as adults our opinions of favorite childhood stories become biased with a decent dosage of nostalgia. I can't quite compare Nikki Powergloves with Judy Blume's Freckle Juice or Laura Lee Hope's Bobbsey Twins series. I can say that Estes does not talk down to his audience, or use words or phrases that children would find hard to understand.

Featured Author - David Estes

David Estes Born:   April 13, 1981 Main genres:   Young Adult, Children's Books,   Paranormal, Dystopian.

     David was born in El Paso, TX. When he was small he moved to Pittsburg, PA where he grew up and attended Penn State. He has since moved to Australia, met his lovely wife, Adele, and lived happily ever after. Well that might be a slight generalization. David and Adele are currently spending their days in Hawaii where David writes on the beach and Adele writes and pursues her love of photography. They are enjoying an opportunity of globetrotting and indulging their dreams.

Beauty and the Beast - Review

Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne Marie Le Prince De Beaumont

     Anyone who has, or has had, teenaged girls knows that they like to talk. Its impossible to get a word in with my daughter, or hear myself think. I can pretty much forget about reading when she is wound up. I had already been contemplating holding off on this week's scheduled pick of the month until September 11th. So as a compromise we read something together instead.

     My daughter chose this because it is a story that she is somewhat familiar with and because it was only 21 pages long. The Disney movie was fairly faithful to the overall plot, except for the animated household objects, but the Beast's castle is not without magic of its own.

     There are enough differences to keep children curious as to what might happen next. I suggest this as a wonderful story to read with children, even those with fairly short attention spans. The book is within the free domain and the Kindle version is free on Amazon.

The House on the Corner - Review

The House on the Corner by Michael Rains

     This book is targeted at middle school-aged children and it could be quite an interesting story that children would enjoy. The story starts off with a boy who is trying to avoid cleaning the hall bathroom. When sent on an errand to run mail to his strange uncle, Chester decides to dawdle in hopes to avoid cleaning the bathroom. At his uncles' house he finds that not all is as it appears.

     Please visit A Goddess of Frugality to read the entire review.

Little Women - First Impressions

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Genre: Classic, Young Adult, Children

     I know that I have read this before. My grandmother had given me a beautifully bound book with the entire trilogy in it when I was just knee high to a grasshopper. She had given me the book after Little Women had been read by my class in grade school. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I hadn't really cared for the story and I doubt that I bothered to read the other stories. I remember nothing about this book, not even why I hadn't liked it before.

     Four sisters are encouraged by their father, through letters while he is off to war, to conduct themselves as little women. Each girl takes a personal inventory of their defects of character and chooses one to work on. A very mature undertaking I must say, as the youngest is not quite school age, I think.

     I haven't really bonded with this book yet as, in the tradition of my facebook group reads, I have only read the first 5 chapters. I'm trying to keep an open mind and disregard any prejudices that I may have had the first time that I read it.