How Three Brothers Saved the Navy by Charles A. Salter

This book is the third installment in the Kare Kids Adventure series.  For a more in depth look at this series, see my post on helicopter parenting.

The first two books in the series follow the stories of little girls.  This one, however, is about three brothers, which I'm sure you gleaned from the title.

These three brothers are military brats.  I use the term fondly.  Their dad is in the Navy and has taught them to be self-reliant.  The boys have started their own club and each has their own unique ability.  They practice what to do when confronted by the enemy or in a dangerous situation.  When they notice some paratroopers who shouldn't be there, they decide to investigate.  Finding important information, they battle the enemy in an attempt to get the information to the U.S. Navy.

This is one of the most suspenseful books I've read when you weigh suspense against page number.  My goodness!  We get a great glimpse at meeting the kids and then we jump right into the action.  Most of the time I found myself wanting to bite my nails.  Are they going to get caught?  What if they do get caught?  No Patrick!  No!  Run!!!

I can't imagine any child who loves adventure not loving this book.  It's not just for boys.  I know quite a few little girls who could kick butt given the situation.

As a mom, there were some parts that really worried me because I was seeing my own child in the situation.  It did help me to step back and take a look at my parenting.  The fact that these children have been prepared for any situation makes me wish I were able to do that with my own child.

Over all, another success in this series.  I've thoroughly enjoyed each one.  I would have devoured them as a child.  They're meant for ages about 8-13.  It's also a great parent/child discussion book.

Helicopter Parenting and the Kare Kids Adventure series

A lot of times when I receive a book for a review, I get paper inserts.  Usually these are ignored for two reasons.  First, it has a synopsis of the book, and you all know I hate to know what I'm getting into until I'm actually into it.  Second, there's usually a large portion of the author's credentials.  Usually, I don't care and that doesn't have any impact on how I feel about the book.

I've been working my way through Charles Salter's Kare Kids Adventure series.  I finished the third one last night and thought I'd take a glance at the paper.  At the top, it says 'Independence in the Age of Helicopter Parenting.'  What's a helicopter parent?  So I had to go do a little research!

A helicopter parent is one who hovers constantly.  You know the one...she makes her son's bed when he's thirteen.  Calls and makes his doctor appointments for him when he's twenty.  Goes up and tells the bully to back off when he's sixteen.  You get the picture.  A helicopter parent is always there, solving problems.

Being a special needs parent, I can easily identify with this.  There are days when my little guy just mentally can't do it.  He can't make his bed.  He can't fix his own cereal.  He can't get dressed.  Then there are the other days when he can conquer the world.  I could be a helicopter parent on the bad days.  I'm constantly watching.  Constantly stopping a barrage of events/scenarios that could make him so that he can't cope with life.  On the bad days, I hover.  On the good days, however, that's when he does everything and then some.  Those are the days he cooks his own meals and does his own laundry and does extra chores around the house.  On those days, it's fend for yourself.  Luckily, we've reached a stage where the good days are a lot more frequent than the bad days.

But all of this started me really thinking.  I wasn't a helicopter parent with my older child.  Not in the least.  He was so much easier though.  I remember vividly having a conversation with him when he was about eight.  He was upset about something and I asked him what he needed me to do when he was angry or sad.  He responded with, 'Make me laugh, Mom.'  And that was it.  With him, life has been pretty simple.  If he has a problem, I ask him what he needs from me.  He tells me and I give it to him.

'You can do it!'  has become one of the most used phrases in my life!

So what does any of this have to do with Charles Salter or books and why am I taking the time to write it all down?  I think the main reason I'm addicted to books is because I'm addicted to knowledge.  Not just facts, but studying people and realities and other viewpoints.  And honestly, I learned something about myself as well.  Even though I'll continue to not read the information that comes with the books, I really wish I had read this one before starting the series.  This series is actually intended specifically for children of helicopter parents.  Now, other children will enjoy them as well.  They're bright and full of adventure.  But in each one, there's a real element of danger and the children have to figure out how to problem solve on their own.  I'll admit, there were a few times where I was reading and I cringed.  My older son in those situations, no big deal.  The younger one?  You'd have to hospitalize me.

Here's the genius of this series.  A helicopter parent is going to be hyperaware of everything their child reads.  So, they have a third grade son who picks one of these up.  Mom and dad are going to learn a few lessons as well.  This isn't just about teaching the children critical thinking skills in an adventurous, fun-filled book.  It's also about getting these helicopter parents to realize they can buzz off for a few minutes and it'll be good for their child.

How I Started the Apocalypse: The Hunger Wars by Brian Pinkerton

Chaz's saga continues!  Woo hoo!

We have the good guys (those alive) who are actually pretty bad guys.  We have the bad guys (the zombies)  who actually aren't all that bad...they're just really hungry.  Then we have Chaz and his new mate, Dolores.  They're both the good guys (bad guys)  and the bad guys (good guys)  and really hungry, but with plenty of snacks!  Sound confusing?  It's really not...it's the fact that in the most dire of circumstances, humanity plays lovely little tricks on what we think we know and can take for granted.

I have zero complaints about structure or story telling or anything here.  Alright, that's a lie.  I do have one serious complaint.  I feel like I've just finished the season finale of Walking Dead and I have to wait three months to find out if Chaz is dead or alive.  Now, I could be smart and buy the Kindle version and read it right away, but I'm not going to!  I'm a purist!  I read the first two in hard copy format and by golly I'm going to read the third the same way!  So, I suppose that means it's my own fault.  It probably is.  The point, though, is that I was stuck on a huuuuge cliffhanger.

I easily breezed through this book this morning, along with a nap, so the reading went pretty quickly.  It's mostly because of Pinkerton's storytelling.  Half the time you forget that you're reading a book and you feel like you're just leaning back and relaxing and letting someone tell you a story.  I don't mean the mechanical sound that accompanies an audible, but that rich, warm, husky tone that comes from a real live person telling you a story.

Even though there are some grisly scenes in this one too, it's not really the same as the first.  Most of the time, you root for the humans to get what's coming to them.  It's actually pretty fun.  Yes!  Get the human!  Yeah!  Crunch his ear!  But I forget myself!  The main difference between the scenes in this book and the first is the level of severity.  In the first one, we have some pretty dark scenes where we're compelled to be emotionally involved.  Most of this is because Chaz is emotionally involved.  We feel everything and use the same pace he does.  By this book, however, Chaz is a little more used to his diet and tends to make plenty of jokes.  For example, he's out of finger food, so they share a bowl of toes.  Deliciously fun!

One of the things that kept niggling my mind while reading is the age difference between Chaz and Dolores.  Now, Chaz has a son who is in college.  Doloros is 23.  At first, while reading I kept doing the math in my head...'but he's old enough to be her father!'  After a little more thinking, I guess if you're the only man and woman of a species and your shelf life is expiring quickly, it really doesn't matter what age you were when you died.  Funny little things that pop up when you're reading, eh?

Over all, another fun read from Pinkerton.  I'm anxious to get my hands on the third.  Either it will wrap everything up so I'm not left on pins and needles, or it'll really throw me for a loop.  I'm not sure if Pinkerton is working on a fourth book or not.

GO ZOMBIES!

How I Started the Apocalypse by Brian Pinkerton

After my disappointment with Cannibals in Love, I really needed something that looked fun.  Evidently, the copy I have of Apocalypse is an older version, because it has a big smiley face on the cover with a bullet hole in the middle of the forehead instead of the one you see above.  How could this not be a fun book?!

So, the premise of the story is that Chaz wakes up dead.  We've all heard that story before.  The main difference here is that he's in a government lab and he's been given some sort of serum that has brought back his cognizance.  So, he's awake and aware.  His morals are intact and he's basically his old self.  Except for the fact that he's being held hostage in a government lab with crazy experiments down the hallway.

Chaz has a couple of main issues.  While he was dead and being held hostage, life went on without him.  It's not the same world it was.  Secondly, he craves human flesh, but his mind tells him that that's not acceptable.  The third issue is his decaying body.

Now, you guys should know I can be pretty brutal, but I really only had one complaint here. It's a structure issue.  I'm really disappointed that no one along the path in the making of this book caught it.  Near the beginning of the book, there's a pretty exciting chain of events going on.  We have some severe over use of 'Chaz.'  The fact is, this is usually pretty easily overlooked, but it actually pulled me away from the story because it was so severe.  We have SIX chapters in a row that begin with 'Chaz...'  'Chaz went to the ball park.  Chaz picked up a ball.  Chaz threw the ball.  Chaz wanted to catch the ball.  Chaz got bit by a dog.  Chaz enjoyed the pretty color of the blood.'  That's definitely not part of the story, but you can see my issue.  I truly wish there was a bit of rewriting done on this scene, and perhaps there has been.  Keep in mind, I'm pretty sure I have an older version.  While this was an issue in my copy, it may not be there in future copies.  If it's still there, hopefully Brian will read this and go back and fix it.

The rest of the story is actually pretty brilliantly done.  I've read books like 'I, Zombie' where the zombie still has somewhat of a thought process.  They're awake and aware.  I've read about a gajillion books where we have zombies that are battling their taste for human flesh.  Kozeniewski's Braineater Jones is one of the few books where the zombie comes back awake, aware and also mostly fully functional.  Where Braineater Jones is more noir mystery, Chaz's story is more lighthearted and survival packed.  Most of the book is us traveling with Chaz, trying to figure out the next step to stay alive, trying to process all of the changes both physically and emotionally.  It's a pretty fun trip!

I love horror, but the one thing that makes me squeamish is vivid slicing of flesh.  I don't mean stabbing or scoring.  Bring it on!  I mean, slicing a piece off like a slab of bacon.  YICK!  *shiver*  So there's a scene in this book, and I won't tell you too much because I don't want to ruin it, but there's slicing involved!  Now, normally this would mean I have to skip a page or two until the slicing is over.  Nope!  Not here!  Pinkerton set it up so that you know it's coming.  Then there's a series of small paragraphs.  One short paragraph about slicing.  Then a short paragraph.  Then a short paragraph of slicing.  Then another short paragraph.  So this way, I was able to easily skip the slicing parts, but still catch the story line that was attached to those in-between paragraphs.  I'm pretty impressed with how this was written.  Mostly because I felt like it was written specifically with people like me in mind.

There are a few really humorous parts, and a lot of character study.  You'll find plenty of action and some fun death scenes.  There's plenty of gore and suspense.  It's a quick and fun read that I'm really glad I picked up.  I was left feeling pretty depressed and down after my last read, but this book more than fulfilled the promise of both the last book and this one.

I have the next book in the series on hand and ready to read, but I didn't realize until I started writing this review that there's a third in the series!  I'm a little torn!  I really like the new covers, but I'd much rather have all three covers match.  So, I may go ahead and re-order the entire series so that I have all three, or e-mail Brian Pinkerton and see if he happens to have (by my lucky stars!!)  a copy of the third book with the original cover that he's willing to part with.

This was my first Pinkerton read, but if I enjoy the next book as much as this one, he'll find a spot on my bookshelves right next to Steve Kuhn and Dext of the Dead.

If You Were Me and Lived in the American West by Carole P. Roman

-April

This book is part of the Civilizations Throughout Time series.  It's intended to familiarize children with a broad range of facts so that later on, when they hear anything from the time period/culture, their brains will begin to make connections.

This is also a shorter book in the series, and may be a great beginning book to transition into from Cultures Around the World.  American West is comparable to Colonial America.  The settlers come to America to in Colonial America, and American West is when they begin to move west across the territory.  We have a lot of information about indians and wagon trains.

The pictures are mostly brightly colored and easy to look at, but they're still very Saturday morning cartoony.  The pages with words are black with white font, so it's very easy to read.  Most of the words in the book aren't too large.  I think this book, would in fact, appeal to the younger readers as opposed to some of the longer books like Ancient China.  

If You Were Me and Lived in Elizabethan England by Carole P. Roman

-April

This book is part of the Civilizations Throughout Time series.  It's intended for children at about a third grade reading level.  It's packed tight with information so that children will gain exposure to lots of new things.  That way, later when someone mentions something about/from that era, the child can make connections.  'Oh!  I remember reading that!'

The artwork in this one is more Saturday morning cartoonish.  It's relatively dark.  The pages with the writing on them are light purple with dark lettering, so the writing shows up pretty well.

This was a really informative book.  You learn where the expression 'It's raining cats and dogs' comes from in this book!

This is one of the shorter books in the series, so if you're transitioning from the Cultures Around the World series, this one might be a good choice for a beginner as well as Colonial America.

The information here feels a little lighter so it doesn't feel heavy with facts.  It was a relatively quick read.  It's really fun to compare Elizabethan England with current times.  For example, back then, nobody drank water.  Can you imagine?

If You Were Me and Lived in the Middle Ages by Carole P. Roman

-April

This book is part of the Civilizations Throughout Time series.  These books are meant for children ages 8-12 and are packed with information.  The hope is that later, when a child hears something from a book somewhere else, their brain will make the connection that they've read it before.

I enjoyed this book, as I always do with Carole's stuff.  This one was more interesting to me than any of the others I've read in this series.  There's a lot of class separation in the book, but she tells both sides.  In most of her books, she seems to show the more well-to-do side of the civilization, so it was really interesting to see this civilization through the eyes of a commoner.

The art is more watercolory, but there are darker colors in it.  It's lots of browns and greens, so it's more earthy than light and airy.

Medicine is explained a little bit.  For me, it was intriguing reading this part.  I'm not sure how children would relate to blood-letting, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was really interesting to learn about barber surgeons and the representation of the barber pole.

This is my favorite book in this series so far.  You hear a lot about the artists from the Middle Ages, but for me it was really interesting getting a glimpse of every day life, be it common or wealthy.