If You Were Me and Lived in Colonial America

-April

This is part of the Civilizations Throughout Time series.  This series is meant for kids 8-12, about a third grade reading level.  Though there is plenty of information, the purpose is to expose children to as many facts as possible.  That way, when they hear something mentioned later on, their brain will make the connection that they've heard of it before.

I've read several of the Civilizations books, and if you're thinking of transitioning your child to them after reading the Culture Around the World series, this is the book that you want to start with.  Though it has more words and longer paragraphs, it isn't quite as long or difficult reading as the rest in the series.  We think this is the perfect transition book.

Even though most of the pages in this book are dark, the white typeface makes the words jump out easily.  The pictures are done in a lot of earth tones with splashes of color.  They seem to work well with the information pages.

This book begins with explaining the reason for the colonization in America and takes you all the way to short biographies of people who were influential at the time.  Because it has a snippet of the first Thanksgiving, this could be an excellent opportunity to start your child on this series.

If You Were Me and Lived in Renaissance Italy by Carole P. Roman

-April

This is one of the books in the Civilizations Throughout Time series.  This series is built for ages 8-12 and we figure about a third grade reading level.  There's a lot of information in these books, but the point is to give children a broad range of information so that if they hear it somewhere else, their brain will make the connection that they've heard it before.

The written pages are darker, making it a little more difficult to read the black wording.  The pictures themselves are more earthy tones, with splashes of color, which works well for the time period.

This is a great introduction to Renaissance Italy.  It gives you information from what your  name might be to famous people from the Renaissance.  It could be fun to show your younger child where the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got their names!

Most pages have a few paragraphs with mostly easily readable words.  A few more difficult words are put in to challenge readers.

If You Were Me and Lived in Ancient Greece by Carole P. Roman

- April

This is one of the books in the Civilizations Throughout Time series.  We're treated to facts about everything from where clothing would be bought to Greek Gods.

I really enjoyed the illustrations.  They're more abstract and light and airy, but still colorful.  It seemed to fit nicely with the book.  Each illustration fit nicely with the page it was put next to.

There are about 25 pages of reading material.  Each of these pages is smaller type and a couple of paragraphs.  The target audience here is  probably around third grade.

When attempting to read this to younger children, I found that though they loved the illustrations, there were just too many facts to hold their attention, fascinating though they were.  An older audience would definitely get more enjoyment out of it.

I think most children that are of reading age and have any interest in history or other cultures would love this book.

Being a Captain is Hard Work by Carole P. Roman

-April

The captain is heading towards a volcano, but he's not listening to his crew!  The captain learns that he has two ears and one mouth for a reason!

I read this book to my day care children, and we all enjoyed the pictures.  The children are aged 3 to 5.  They're colorful, even when there's trouble brewing.  They go really well with the story, so as you're reading, there's no disconnection.

I always enjoy the morals in Roman's stories.  There's always a lesson for children to learn, but it's presented in a fun way.

There's a small paragraph every other page, without any really difficult words.  I think beginning readers could enjoy this easily with minimal help.

I Wonder by Jane Altman

-April

The first half of this book is poetry, ending in a section where you can add your child's photo, with an accompanying poem.  Then we have a short story about children who leave their village and find stones glowing in ruins.  Then we have more poetry.

In the first half, each poem is about an animal and has a picture of that animal drawn on the opposite page.  The pictures are pretty, but I wish they had been a bit more humorous.  I wish they had worked more with the poems, rather than just portraying the animal it's about.  The poems are short and rhyme and would keep the attention of a small child.

The short story was actually pretty interesting, even though it only spanned a few pages.  There was just enough story to get my attention, but I wanted it to be longer and more fleshed out.  For a child, it's just enough.

Tucson Knights by Robert C. Mowry

In this book, I have no idea what happens.  Neither do any of my reviewers.

I attempted to read it.  I truly did.  I made it to chapter three before I could no longer force my fingers to hold the pages.  Perhaps I wasn't giving it a fair shake, but I was having to repeat sentences in my head three or four times each because they were so dry I couldn't figure out what was being said.

Enter reviewer number two.  'Oh!  This is right up my alley!'  Returned two days later with a quick, 'I was wrong.  This is dry.  I choked.'

Enter third, and final reviewer.  'Oh!  I love history!  Let me try it!'  Returned a few days later with a simple, 'I can't to.'

So what I can tell you, is that three people tried to read this book, and three people failed.  I have no idea what it's about, but I'm sure someone out there loves it.  That person, however, has never step foot in our office.

Vampire Books for Blood

With the month of October, comes a unique opportunity for you to take part in a charity.  Vamp Books for Blood was founded a couple of years ago by author Scott Burtness.  Authors and publishers take part and agree to donate a share of the sales of their books to The American Red cross and Canadian Blood Services.  All you have to do is buy a book from one of the participating authors or publishers during the month of October.  For example, Burtness is promising to donate one dollar for every book of Wisconsin Vamp sold this month.

It is our plan to partake of Vamp Books for Blood in our own way.  You all know that we do ordering on every Wednesday.  For the month of October, each week we will make sure that we purchase at least one book will add to the charity donation.

This is a great time for you to start doing a little Christmas book shopping and help out some great people at the same time!

If you're an author or publisher who would like to take part, or if you'd just like more information, please follow the link.

How do you know which books are viable?  See the list below!

Publishers:
Ageless
DonnaInk Publications, LLC
Double Dragon Publishing
Pumpjack Press
World Weaver Press

Authors:
C.S. Anderson
Alison Armstrong
Dean Baker
Scott M. Baker
Alison Beightol
Scott Burtness
Rachel Carr
Jeff Dawson
Katja Desjarlais
Rob Ferreri
R. David Fulcher
C.D. Gallant-King
Michelle Gantz
James Garcia
Sandrine Genier
Jeanie Grey
Susie Griscom
Rick Gaultieri
Amy Hoff
Lisa Lane
Cate Lawley
Susanne Leist
Zeece Lugo
Patricia Lynne
Brian McKinley
K.D. McQuain
Claudette Melanson
T.P. Miller
Lindy Moone
Stephen Morris
Nicholas Paschall
Dave Robertson
Dea Schofield
Maggie Shayne
Martin Sigournay
Aaron L. Speer
G.A. Stratton
L.D. Towers