Posted on by Maureen

Bears Make the Best Reading Buddies by Carmen Oliver

81hx5wesoflI received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

My daughters love reading as much as I do. We have seven bookshelves in our house, and there are still books on the floor! I constantly have to remind them to not leave books in their beds. I could go on, but that would turn this into a blog post rather than a review.

I received an opportunity to read Bears Make the Best Reading Buddies. This is the debut work of author Carmen Oliver. I was very excited about sharing the book with my daughters. They are in first grade and third grade, and their language arts curriculum includes something called “Daily 5”. Each day, the children choose two or three different activities to enhance their reading and writing. One of these activities is “Read to Someone”. This consists of picking a partner, sitting elbow to elbow and knee to knee, and reading together. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Three Little Kittens Illustrated by Lilian Obligado

51kzncpxetlMy oldest daughter and I have been reading the advanced copies of middle grade books that I receive from Netgalley. I wanted to be able to include my twins, who are a little too young for middle grade books. So, my twins and I have been reading books from the Best Book Club Ever. You might remember these books from the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have been picking one book each night, and I have been enjoying rediscovering some childhood favorites.

 

Three Little Kittens is a traditional children’s nursery rhyme. This edition was illustrated by Lilian Obligado, and it was originally published in 1974.

The text closely follows the original nineteenth century nursery rhyme, with very few changes. This is the story of a trio of kittens who lose their mittens, angering their mother. They are told that they can’t have any pie, and this motivates them to look for their mittens. They find their mittens, but then get them dirty because they’re wearing them while eating pie. Will things ever go right for these three little kittens? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Flap Your Wings by P.D. Eastman

51d5swrxyjlMy oldest daughter and I have been reading the advanced copies of middle grade books that I receive from Netgalley. I wanted to be able to include my twins, who are a little too young for middle grade books. So, my twins and I have been reading books from the Best Book Club Ever. You might remember these books from the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have been picking one book each night, and I have been enjoying rediscovering some childhood favorites.

Flap Your Wings was written by P.D. Eastman and was originally published in 1969, but I think our Best Book Club Ever edition was published in 1979. Our particular copy has my husband’s name in it. Most of our Best Book Club Ever books used to be his, but very few have his name in them.

Flap Your Wings is the story of Mr. and Mrs. Bird, who return to their nest to find a strange egg in it. When the egg hatches, they are surprised to find a strange creature in it (a baby alligator). They are not sure that their baby is a bird, but it is in their nest, so they feed Junior everything from berries to centipedes. Junior’s appetite never diminishes, and he grows very quickly. Junior is too big for his nest, and it is time for him to flap his wings and fly. But will an alligator be able to fly like a bird? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

My Little Hen by Alice & Martin Provensen

91whroxbkmlMy oldest daughter and I have been reading the advanced copies of middle grade books that I receive from Netgalley. I wanted to be able to include my twins, who are a little too young for middle grade books. So, my twins and I have been reading books from the Best Book Club Ever. You might remember these books from the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have been picking one book each night, and I have been enjoying rediscovering some childhood favorites.

My Little Hen was written by Alice and Martin Provensen, and it was first published in 1973.

This is the story of a little girl named Emily, who loves her hen Etta. One day, Etta lays an egg, and that egg grows into a little chick named Neddy. Emily and Etta are very protective of Neddy, but they don’t have much to be worried about because Ralph the dog is very gentle with the chickens. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Rupert and Polly by Jody Silver

My oldest daughter and I have been reading the advanced copies of middle grade books that I receive from Netgalley. I wanted to be able to include my twins, who are a little too young for middle grade books. So, my twins and I have been reading books from the Best Book Club Ever. You might remember these books from the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have been picking one book each night, and I have been enjoying rediscovering some childhood favorites.

Rupert and Polly was originally published in 1978, and it was written and illustrated by Jody Silver.

Rupert is an anthropomorphic goat, and Polly is his pet parrot. They get along well, and Polly loves when Rupert sings “Polly Wolly Doodle” to her. One night, Polly doesn’t feel comfortable sleeping in her cage, so she nestles on Rupert’s beard. Rupert is startled and yells at Polly, who flies out of the window. When Rupert wakes up and realizes that Polly is gone, he feels terrible- can he find Polly and apologize to her or is she gone forever? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Snow White and Rose Red illustrated by Sheilah Beckett

My oldest daughter and I have been reading the advanced copies of middle grade books that I receive from Netgalley. I wanted to be able to include my twins, who are a little too young for middle grade books. So, my twins and I have been reading books from the Best Book Club Ever. You might remember these books from the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have been picking one book each night, and I have been enjoying rediscovering some childhood favorites.

Snow White and Rose Red was originally published in 1978. It is based on a Brothers Grimm tale. There is no author listed for this adaptation, and Sheilah Beckett is listed as the illustrator.

This fairy tale is not affiliated with the more famous Snow White tale involving the dwarves and the wicked queen. In this story, Snow White and her sister Rose Red live in a cottage with their widowed mother. One winter night, a bear comes to the door seeking shelter, and his wish is granted. The bear comes to their house every day in the winter, but disappears in the spring. Snow White and Rose Red often see a gnome in the forest, and they help him out of several sticky situations. Could there be a connection between their friend the bear and the grumpy gnome? Read more

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Uncle Louie’s Fantastic Sea Voyage by Jan Loof

My oldest daughter and I have been reading the advanced copies of middle grade books that I receive from Netgalley. I wanted to be able to include my twins, who are a little too young for middle grade books. So, my twins and I have been reading books from the Best Book Club Ever. You might remember these books from the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have been picking one book each night, and I have been enjoying rediscovering some childhood favorites.

Uncle Louie’s Fantastic Sea Voyage was written by Jan Loof, and it was originally published in 1977.

Rusty is a young boy who enjoys tinkering with things. As the story begins, Rusty’s parents are going away, and are leaving him with his Uncle Louie. Rusty is pleased with this; his uncle has a scrap yard, and also enjoys tinkering. Uncle Louie has a grand plan to sail to Africa in a paddle streamer that he is building himself. Rusty meets Uncle Louie’s friend Millstone, who looks very mysterious. Rusty stows away on the boat, and sees Millstone casting some magical spells- but can the boat and the spells really take them all the way to Africa? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

The Golden Mountain by Willi Baum

My oldest daughter and I have been reading the advanced copies of middle grade books that I receive from Netgalley. I wanted to be able to include my twins, who are a little too young for middle grade books. So, my twins and I have been reading books from the Best Book Club Ever. You might remember these books from the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have been picking one book each night, and I have been enjoying rediscovering some childhood favorites.

The Golden Mountain was written by Willi Baum. It was first published in 1978, and it was translated from the German- Fred und Tom und der Goldene Berg.

Jack and Pete are a pair of brothers who live together on a farm. They are looking for an adventure, so they sell everything except for their dog and hop on a train heading west. They use their money to purchase gold digging supplies, but some mean cowboys chase them. This is certainly more adventure than they were expecting- will they ever find the Golden Mountain or is it just a myth? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

The Mystery at Number Seven, Rue Petite by Ellen Shire

91gsna3qz8lMy oldest daughter and I have been reading the advanced copies of middle grade books that I receive from Netgalley. I wanted to be able to include my twins, who are a little too young for middle grade books. So, my twins and I have been reading books from the Best Book Club Ever. You might remember these books from the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have been picking one book each night, and I have been enjoying rediscovering some childhood favorites.

The Mystery at Number Seven, Rue Petite was written by Ellen Shire, and it was originally published in 1978.

This is the story of Isabelle and Jean-Pierre, a husband and wife who work for the grumpy Monsieur Pompeux. Isabelle is a very good housekeeper and Jean-Pierre is a talented book, but M. Pompeux always finds something to complain about. They dream about opening up their own restaurant, but it doesn’t seem like their dreams will ever come true. What will happen when M. Pompeux leaves Jean-Pierre and Isabelle in charge of his antique store? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

I Am A Pilot by Christopher Nicholas

61qnduqcdvlAll three of my girls love Star Wars, but one of my 6.5-year-old twins really likes Star Wars. She has several Star Wars books, and when I saw I Am A Pilot at our town library, I brought it home for her.

I Am A Pilot is one of three Little Golden Books in a semi-connected series. The other two titles in the series are: I Am A Droid, and I Am A Jedi. Read more