Books I've read this week - The Laceyville Monkeys: Say the Right Words

The Laceville Monkeys: Say the Right Words by Harriett Ruderman
Illustrated by Beverly Luria
ISBN: 978-0615264820
Publisher: Illusion Press
Date of publish: March 1, 2009
Pages: 32
S.R.P.: $15.95

About the book: Thirty years ago author Harriett Ruderman entered into the fairytale world of Laceyville. As she listened to her mother tell her daughter the stories that would later inspire her to write the first in a series of books for children based on Grandma Ethel's stories.

It all began at bedtime; Grandma Ethel was telling one of her stories about an imaginary town filled with memorable characters and three very special monkeys who possessed amazing talents. Their names were Eva, Keva and Sheva and the town was called Laceyville. Over time, the Laceyville characters grew in numbers and the stories just kept coming. The story came from Grandma Ethel's creative spirit and Harriett's daughter's anticipation and requests for more.

The Laceyville Monkeys: Say the Right Words teaches children the importance of warm words to others, and also tells a fun story about three talented monkeys. The Laceyville Monkeys stars Eva the ballerina, Sheva the singer and Keva the gymnast. Their owner, Miss Hepzibah Mott, brings her beloved monkeys to Laceyville for the big talent contest.

Readers will meet George the Gorilla, who plays the piano, Jake the Snake who charms all with his Cobra Dance, and silly old Granny Scott, who 'says the wrong words,' and is utterly embarrassed at the results. These characters, and others, are part of the Laceyville cast, created to entertain and amuse children with their antics and fun while emphasizing the importance of warm, caring words of encouragement and love.

This was a very cute story with nice colorful illustrations and although it gives a great moral lesson about speaking nicely to others, it does it in a very gentle way. It would be a great read-aloud book for story time leading into discussion about the lesson it gives.

Thanks to Rachel Rausch at Newman Communications for sending me the book to review.

Books I've read this week - Messy Tessy

Messy Tessy © 2009 by Leah Orr

Illustrated by Josephine Lepore

About the book: Everyday, thousands of children are left in the care of a babysitter. Have you ever wondered what mischief a child could get into if the babysitter fell asleep?

Children’s book author Leah Orr is chronicling a day in the life of a new storybook character, Messy Tessy, a beautiful and fun-loving child with a great sense of adventure. Tessy takes full advantage of her babysitter’s nap and enjoys a few hours to make a mess during her unsupervised time. Parents, along with children of all ages, are sure to enjoy the mischief she creates for herself in this fun-filled page turner.

“While “Messy Tessy” is fiction, it is based loosely on my experiences of raising three girls and the numerous messes they’ve created along this journey called growing up,” said Orr. “From playing salon stylist and cutting their doll’s hair, to decorating our walls with their crayon drawings and creating havoc during mealtime, I used many of my children’s memories to delight the readers with Tessy’s silly antics.” According to Orr, not only did her children Aly, Camy, and Ashley assist her with the story, her mother, Josephine Lepore, was the illustrator.

This is a fun children’s book with cute illustrations that look like they’ve been colored in crayon. There’s a full-page colored picture opposite each page of writing which makes it a great read-along book. The book is done in rhyme. The rhythm isn’t always correct but I don’t think a child will mind. Tessy finds LOTS of ways to amuse herself while Aunt Fran sleeps in front of the television. A parent may want to use this book to teach a lesson of what NOT to do. Of course, that includes telling the babysitter not to go to sleep and leave the child unattended! LOL

Proceeds from Ms. Orr’s two previous children’s books, “Kyle’s First Crush” and “Kyle’s First Playdate” as well as a portion of the proceeds from “Messy Tessy” are generously donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Ms. Orr’s daughter Ashley suffers from the disease. Messy Tessy is available through Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com .

Books I've read this week - Aurora of the Northern Lights

Aurora of the Northern Lights © 2009 by Holly Hardin.
Illustrated by Donald Vanderbleek. Recommended ages, 3 – 8.

About the book: “Named for the Northern Lights, Aurora faces a woeful plight. To many lands she must roam, searching for her true home.

Come along as author Holly Hardin conjures a mystical world of adventure, sprites, and magical charms. After losing her parents, little Aurora sets off on her own. Because she’s different, Aurora finds it difficult to find anyone who will listen to her story, even at Christmas time. As her story continues, Aurora receives special gifts to keep her safe and important clues to find her new home.

Follow the journey as Aurora encounters a host of creatures along the way – including one very famous bearded man. What follows in this beautifully illustrated and delightfully written book is a heartwarming story of a home lost and found – and a Christmas lesson for us all.”

This is a large, 8.5” x 11”, children’s paperback with about 30 pages. The story is written in rhyme and the illustrations are colorful and depict the story well. A young man, William, is exploring up North, meets a lady named Mistletoe, falls in love, and they get married. She lives where it’s very cold but he can’t stand it there so they move back to his farm where it’s warm. Aurora is born from this marriage. When she’s 7, her parents both get sick and die, and she’s left alone. She goes to town for help and is turned away because she’s different. They send her to the forest where she’s again told she doesn’t belong. Eventually, she makes her way north and finds her grandmother and a new home with Santa’s elves. The book does have a few words that a child would probably have to look up or have explained like fey, solstice, hearth, and gaggle.

I’ve been debating with myself and even discussed this book with my husband. I like the verse and the illustrations but I think the price ($19) is unreasonable. And I realize it’s just a story, but coming from a large, diverse family like I do, I wish it did a better job of promoting tolerance and acceptance of differences.

Books I've read this week - Fairy Hunters, Ink.

Fairy Hunters, Ink.: A Book of Fairies for Children and (Not So) Grown-ups ©2009 by Sheila A. Dane. Illustrations by Rose Csorba.

About the book: “Have you ever wondered why your child's clothes, or even your own, always end up on the closet floor? Or why your socks go missing from your laundry? Or why ants inevitably show up at your picnics? If you want the answer to these and many other vexing questions, then Fairy Hunters, Ink. is the book for you.

All this and more await you as you follow the adventures of the intrepid band of Fairy Hunters made up of a little girl named Ashley, her friend Big Rabbit, and their fellow companion, Turtle. You will discover which fairy hates to fly, what Teacup Fairies eat, and the favorite games of the Mud Puddle Fairy. And you'll delight to the dry, amusing voice of Laura, the narrator whose age is uncertain, but whose gentle management of occasional conflict among the band's members teaches wisdom and tolerance in a way that children can fully understand.”

This was a delightful book full of fantastical fairy illustrations. I wished as I read it that I had a child here to share it with me. I know a couple who are going to love it. Here’s an excerpt about the Sock Fairies –

“Sock Fairies come in various colors and will often steal Socks that match their coloring. This isn’t because they’re vain: it helps them hide from us. They sometimes steal handkerchiefs, too, which they use as blankets in the winter, with tiny pillows of Sock lint. In the summer they use their stolen handkerchiefs in elaborate games of “Charades” and “Guess When". I am uncertain as to the rules of the “Guess When" game; I am told the Sock Fairies get confused sometimes, too, and end up playing an odd mixture of the two games. When this happens, they began waving their handkerchiefs wildly, shouting Incomprehensible Things like, “What am I on Wednesday?” “What weathervane was Thursday?” “When will I be a Spotted Purple Weeblebarger?” (S.P.W. B. for short).”

As you can see, a child (or not so grown-up adult) would find this very amusing. It has stories about Chimney Fairies, Blue Bottle Fairies, Mud Puddle Fairies, Sock Fairies, even Book Fairies, and many others. It’s a very fun book and the author has a sequel in the works. For more information, you may check out the author’s web site at http://www.fairyhunters.net/ .

Books I've read this week - Her Name Was Beauty

Her Name Was Beauty by Deborah A. Williams

About the book: Her Name Was Beauty, a new book by behavioral specialist Deborah A. Williams, is the story about a young multiracial girl and her encounters with being teased by others as she goes to school for the first time.

Williams, the daughter of a biracial father, knows firsthand the complexity that comes with the blending of cultures and with dealing with people who are unable to acknowledge that it is okay to be different. In her book, Beauty finds that her peers at school do not want to sit next to the "dark girl" and even call her a "mutt." The author hopes that readers will see how this world has changed in regards to diversity. With so many children of all different ethnicities in foster care, detention and ready for adoption, Williams says, "children are the future whether we know it or not."

The author stated in her letter to me that the book is intended ‘for young children and for families of all nationalities.’ The idea behind the book is very good - a racially-mixed mother and father explaining to their little girl that while she may be different, she is just as good as other children and they think she is beautiful. The book is large like a coloring book and only about 25 pages. I think a child would look at the book and say, “Where are the pictures?” for there are none in the entire book and even the choice of a dove on the cover is odd. It is written in a very large font with only a sentence or two on each page like a young child’s book, but it’s definitely a read-aloud book with the parent needing to explain words as they go along, and probably not a book the child would read by themselves.