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Tuesday Tales: The Notebook of Doom Series

Posted on February 9, 2015 10:37 am by TheAngelForever

If you had asked me a year ago if my youngest son liked to read, my answer would have been very different. He enjoyed reading picture books and spending time having chapter books read to him. Over the summer, something clicked with JSL and he fell in love with reading chapter books on his own. He always travels with a book in his hand.

JSL has devoured many series of books over the months. There was one that his best buddy told him about while they were at camp that he was eager to read. For Chanukah, I was able to get the first five books of The Notebook of Doom series by Troy Cummings.

I watched as JSL started the series and kept reading one book after the other. I would hear him laughing and he would complain when he had to get out of the car and stop reading. These Scholastic books are part of their Branches series for children. They are illustrated chapter books for young readers. The books are geared towards kids in first to third grade and written on a second grade level.

One afternoon while the boys were at school, I grabbed Book 1 Rise of the Balloon Goons to read. I immediately understood the appeal of the books. You meet Alexander Bopp and follow along as he gets to know Stermont. Something in this new town isn’t quite right and Alexander finds a notebook that may have some answers.

The illustrations add a fun touch to the story to help readers to bring the charters and monsters to life. We keep turning the pages because we want to know more and find out what these balloon goons are about.

I applaud Scholastic for publishing more books to capture the hearts of young elementary readers. These books will not only appeal to young boys, but girls alike. The books by Troy Cummings will make children want to continue along with Alexander to figure out what truly is going on with the notebook filled with drawings. I highly recommend these books to children that may be getting ready to read on their own or reluctant readers. JSL definitely wants to check out more of the Branches books because he loves The Notebook of Doom and Eerie Elementary.

What books do you recommend for young elementary children breaking into more independent chapter book reading? As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

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books Tuesday Tales

Tuesday Tales: Pickle Weasel Picture Riddles

Posted on December 16, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Pictures of pickles dance in our heads thanks to the extremely talented author JC Little. JC is known to many as The Animated Woman and we have been fans of hers for quite some time. When JC mentioned that her third book was being published, I could not wait to check it out. We love the Pickle Weasel app and were excited to see this familiar pickle face in a book. We received a complimentary Kindle copy to check out the interactive features. Of course, there is also a paper version of the book, isn’t it pretty?

One of the fun features of the Pickle Weasel app is the picture riddle area. Now, Pickle Weasel comes to life in this book to get your brain grooving to figure out what the green super star is up to.

As you move along in the book you can try to guess what each picture riddle is about. I decided to share this screen capture because Fezzes are cool, especially on Pickle Weasel.

Not sure what the riddle is about? No worries, JC has included fun clues to help readers out.

Did you figure it out yet? Here’s the answer:

This is just a teaser because there are 100 additional picture riddles in the book with Pickle Weasel featured in them. Yes, the book contains 101 illustrations and riddles for readers to enjoy. Here is another quick taste since JC said I could share a few with my readers.

I definitely recommend this book to adults and kids that like picture riddles. The fun illustrations will keep you turning the pages to see what Pickle Weasel is up to next. I know I am saving this book to keep the kids busy when we take our next road trip.

What would you like to see Pickle Weasel doing if you could request JC to draw something special? Remember to keep it PG rated because this is a family blog. As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Additional posts I have written about JC Little and her talent:

Disclosure: As noted above, I received an eBook copy of this book from JC Little to review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

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bloggy friends books Tuesday Tales

Tuesday Tales: The Night Before Hanukkah

Posted on November 18, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Growing up, there were not a lot of books about Hanukkah or most Jewish holidays. My children do not understand this because they are lucky enough to have so many wonderful Hanukkah tales to pick from. As fans of The Night Before series of books by Natasha Wing, we were excited to receive an email asking us to review her latest book. The Night Before Hanukkah is the latest of Ms. Wing’s 22 children’s books which include popular favorites like The Night Before Kindergarten which has sold over 1.5 million copies since it was published in 2001.

The Night Before Hanukkah – Written by Natasha Wing – Illustrated by Amy Wummer

Published by Gosset & Dunlap October – ISBN 9780448481401 – $3.99 – Ages 3-5

Like other books in The Night Before series, The Night Before Hanukkah uses the familiar rhyme and pattern from The Night Before Christmas story. The focus of the book is on the family within it and how they celebrate Hanukkah. The beautiful illustrations by Amy Wummer help to make Wing’s words come alive. We are able to see this Jewish family get ready for The Festival of Lights the night before the eight day celebration. Then, we follow along to see their traditions each evening when the family lights their menorah. We are able to watch them play the dredel game, eat chocolate gelt, listen to the story of the Maccabees, devour latkes, and more.

Once again, Natasha Wing has hit it out of the park with The Night Before Hanukkah. The book shares the essence of this Jewish holiday. Kids will be able to identify items that they do with their families, and others that may be new and different. She also incorporates traditions that the family has continued from generation to generation, which is important to the Jewish community. I know that I will be taking this book in to share with my son’s second grade classroom. I think the kids will adore listening to a story and hearing how JSL does many of the same items with our family. I definitely recommend this book to young readers to learn more about this holiday even if you do not celebrate Hanukkah.

Have you read any of The Night Before series? I would love to know what if your favorite and why. As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Disclosure: As noted above, I received this book from the author to review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

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books holidays Tuesday Tales

Tuesday Tales: The Albany Children’s Book Festival

Posted on November 4, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Over the weekend, TechyDad and I took the boys to The Albany Children’s Book Festival. The sixth annual event was hosted by The Albany Academies and included over fifty authors and illustrators. Last time we went to the event, we had an amazing experience. We met new talented people and were able to say hello to familiar faces from books that we love.

When we told the boys about the event taking place in November, they were beyond excited. Then I had told them that Artie Bennett would be there and they kept talking about meeting him thanks to our review of his book Belches, Burps, & Farts – Oh My! The kids wanted to find him as soon as we walked in the door. So, we followed the trail and located Artie. He immediately knew my name and blog. Such a kind, funny, and creative man.

As I finished chatting with Artie, the boys moved along and happened to stop to chat with Jennifer Berne. She is the author of the Calvin books that we have also reviewed over the years. The silly boys had forgotten that we own her newest book about Calvin and his new glasses. I know we are looking forward to more tales with Calvin.

As we wandered around, we said hello to illustrator Diane deGroat. She has a great sense of humor and joked with us for awhile. As we moved down the row of tables with more and more author and illustrators, I was pretty sure I recognized someone.

Sure enough, I noticed author and illustrator Nick Bruel walk by. That is when JSL was on a mission. He brought two of his Bad Kitty books to be signed. My shy little guy was so thrilled to be seeing the man that truly inspired my kiddo to read this summer. As I have mentioned, JSL was afraid to read chapter books on own until he tried Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel. He devoured that first book in just under 24 hours and finished the series early in the summer. We shared this with Mr. Bruel who was beyond kind and showed JSL the next book in the series that will be coming out in January 2015.

Oh and check out the fun sign he put out when he left for five minutes.

The boys also kept busy meeting new authors and illustrators thanks to a scavenger hunt of sorts for the event. They had specific authors to locate, answer a trivia question, and get an autograph. This helped us to meet Gail Carson Levine – Ella Enchanted, Coleen Paratore –The Wedding Planner’s Daughter, Steve Sheinkin – Lincoln’s Grave Robbers, Mark Teague – illustrator of the Where Do Dinosaurs books, and many others. We also learned that my oldest had met Elizabeth Zunon last year when she visited his school. I vaguely recall him mentioning something, but was amazed with this talented local woman.

Before heading home, the boys were allowed to select a book to purchase and get signed by an author or illustrator. It took them a bit, but eventually they selected new series to try reading. NHL selected Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to NOT Reading by Tommy Greenwald. JSL picked out Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look.

More about these books coming soon because both boys are already reading them and having a hard time putting them down.

Have you or your children met any of their favorite authors or illustrators? I would love to hear about their experience. As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Previous posts about The Albany Children’s Book Festival in April 2013 are The Albany Children’s Book Festival – Part 1 and The Albany Children’s Book Festival – Part 2.

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books Educational local event Tuesday Tales

Tuesday Tales: Children’s Activity Atlas

Posted on October 21, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Imagine a book that can take your child around the world and back again. This is the reality of the Children’s Activity Atlas – An Interactive & Fun Way to Explore Your World. I received this book from Sterling Children’s Books to review with my family.

Children’s Activity Atlas – Written by Jenny – Illustrated by Katrin Wiehle and Martin Sanders

Published by Sterling Children’s Books August 2014 – ISBN 9781454913207 – $16.95 – Ages 5-9

The book by Jenny Slater is a hands on atlas that includes 13 illustrated maps by Katin Wiehle and Martin Sanders. The book also includes a small passport tucked away inside. This is where the book becomes something that will engage kids. The thirteen regions represented in the book with their own map have a section in the passport. The passport gives facts about that part of the world and also asks them to find answers to questions on their map. To do this, they must utilize the map grid to reply.

The maps are beautiful and include capital cities, important cities, rivers, mountains, and country borders. The How to Use the Atlas section explains using the grid. The maps also have biome information and and area where children can place flags for the countries in each regions.

My older son loved looking at the maps to see areas that he has been talking about in school. He was also able to help my second grader when he wanted to explore.

As a parent and teacher, I think this book is a fantastic way to get kids involved in maps and different regions of the world. The information included will likely make many want to learn more when they are finished. I could see adults making more passport questions to keep kids busy on rainy or snowy days ahead.

Do your children like to explore with maps? I would love to know favorites books that they have used to explore educational areas like this. . As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Disclosure: As noted above, I received both of these books from Sterling Children’s Books to review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.