Month: November 2019

And Pip Too Book Review

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Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book from the author to facilitate this review. As always, all opinions are my own and are not influenced in any way.

I LOVE when I get to work with authors multiple times. When I started to get back into blogging again in March, I connected with a fabulous author, Colleen Brunetti, who wrote a picture book about food allergies (click here to see the original post). Today, I’m so excited to share her new book with all of you.

And Pip too, by Colleen Brunetti, is an adorable picture book about a little sister and big brother’s sibling love.

Right away one feature that popped out at me was the font. I really like how the font was a little bolder than I usually see in a picture book, and how the author played with it. For instance when Big Guy stretched, the word is literally stretched on the page.

Pip is Big Guy’s little sister who wants to do everything her big brother does. From reading a book to building a tower, Pip is right behind him to trying join in the fun. While readers can infer that Big Guy isn’t always thrilled about this, he never actually says anything negative to Pip, which I really liked. Big Guy shows older siblings that even though younger brothers and sisters can be a lot to handle at times, it’s all part of being siblings.

The more we get to see some of the silly things that Pip does, my favorite is pouring the milk, the more she reminds me of the Cat from The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. Pip is just trying to join in with her older brother, and sometimes she doesn’t do something the right way, but she does it all out of love. Pip is only trying to include herself in tower building, and resting underneath the oak tree, just like the Cat was trying to make that rainy day fun.

I think this book would be great to use with preschool and kindergarten kids.

To purchase the book click here.

The Ring Book Review

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Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book from the author to facilitate this review. As always, all opinions are my own and are not influenced in any way.

Last week I connected with BLKDOG publishing, a new independent publisher. I’m super duper excited to read these amazing books and share my thoughts with all of you.

The Ring, by Sarah Anne Carter, is a military romance book that will take you on an emotional roller coaster of love.

In all honesty, I wasn’t crazy about the start of the book. The main character, Amanda, meets Lucas while she’s working at a coffee shop. She repeatedly says that she doesn’t want to get seriously involved with a military man, but doesn’t really discuss why too much. I would have liked for the character to dive deeper into her reasons and open up to readers a smidge more. I felt the first few chapters were a little rushed and it was hard for me to connect with Amanda because I wasn’t getting enough of her.

However, once Amanda and Lucas start dating there’s a shift and as a reader I was not only able to connect with Amanda, but I felt emotionally involved.

I was definitely drawn to the innocence and simplicity of the dating relationship between Amanda and Lucas. There was no mention of social media, no drama, or bedroom activity. It was refreshing to see love blossom between two characters in such an authentic and traditional way.

As a character, I really like how determined Amanda is. She has her own personal goals that are realistic and she will do whatever it takes to achieve them. She works two jobs to pay her way through school, which is NOT an easy thing to do. She studies her butt off to earn her teaching certification and get a full time job. I LOVE that she doesn’t stop pursuing her dreams just because she meets a guy.

Personally, no one in my immediate family has ever been in the military, so I don’t have personal experience with deployments. The author did a lovely job explaining all of the military jargon that Lucas used, and kept the events simple enough for someone like me to understand.

Carter also did a really great job of communicating how strong the military community is. I really loved how she included the different events that military wives created among themselves, like book club. As a complete outsider to this world, I was able to get a sense of how much of a family military life can be, and the incredible bond between all of those involved.

The longer Amanda and Lucas are married, the more we see the true sacrifices of being married to the military. This book had me in tears and took me on such an emotional roller coaster. The plot twists were crafted beautifully and implemented seamlessly. I can’t say any more than that because you just have to read it to appreciate the strength of the incredible women married to military men.

If you’re looking for a sweet story that takes you on an emotional roller coaster, this book is perfect for you.

To purchase this book click here.

I Like Me and I Love Me Book Review

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Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book from the author to facilitate this review. As always, all opinions are my own and are not influenced in any way.

As a middle school language arts teacher, I would use picture books here and there in my lessons to teach reading skills. However, it wasn’t until I started reading books to Molly that I developed a whole new appreciation for picture books. It’s incredible what pictures and simple sentences can convey to young readers.

I Like Me and I Love Me, by Abby Zaitley, is a charming picture book that teaches children the importance of self love.

I was instantly drawn to the simplicity of this text. Each page consists of a simple sentence with easy vocabulary for kids. The end rhyme allows the sentences to flow nicely and avoid choppiness, especially when reading it aloud. The pictures also add a lovely touch, especially the water color feel. They provide a very calm feeling that aligns really well with the text.

While I was reading this book, I have to say that I felt very zen, as though I was taking a yoga class. The affirmations are supportive and reassure young readers that not only is it acceptable to love yourself for who you are, but to embrace the quirks. The story in fact opens with the lines, “I like me when I feel perky. I love me when I’m quirky.” We live in a very judgmental world sometimes, so being able to tell young children that it’s okay to be different is a very powerful message.

My favorite pair of pages is when the main character is at school. “I like when I trust in me. I love me when we are we.” The picture shows the little girl holding hands in a circle with friends and it just evoked such a safe feeling. When kids are around their friends they should be able to be themselves and enjoy their friendships. The wording reminded me a little bit of Winnie the Pooh, which also adds to the warm and fuzzy zen feeling of the story.

This is a great book to use with young readers at home or in school settings. I could see it being used by a guidance counselor to do some self-esteem/confidence building skills when working with preschool, kindergarten and elementary aged students.

For more information about this book check out the author’s blog here.

To purchase the book click here. 

The Happiest Birthday Ever Book Review

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One of my favorite things about being a teacher is that kids always surprise me. I’ve seen students share their lunch with a friend who dropped theirs in a puddle on a field trip. These little acts of kindness warm my heart.

The Happiest Birthday Ever, by Stephanie Berger, is a fantastic story about children participating in random acts of kindness which who shows young readers that it’s all about the little things in life.

Ben is turning seven. He tells his mom what he wants for his birthday (candy, a treasure hunt), but most of all he wants to make people happy. Ben invites his closest friends to his party with a very unique invitation that has RAOK written on them, and the children are asked to bring a stuffed animal. When they arrive at Ben’s house on the day of the party, Ben reveals that they will be doing seven random acts of kindness to celebrate Ben’s birthday.

The acts of kindness are truly thoughtful and realistic. The children bring the stuffed animals to a police station for officers to give to little kids who are upset and scared. Ben and his friends create a treasure hunt for kids at the park. My personal favorite was when the children made cards to send to soldiers.

There are so many things I like about this book that I don’t even know where to start. The writing style of this book is perfect for doing a class read aloud. When I first saw RAOK in the pictures I actually thought this would be the perfect time to stop and ask readers to make a some guess about what RAOK stands for. I like the consistency with the pictures on the left and the text on the right. The sentence structure allows the story to flow naturally without choppiness (perfect for reading aloud). I love that the pictures really do explain what the text is saying on each page, especially for those students who need that visual to help with comprehension.

I am also a HUGE fan of the acts of kindness mentioned in the book. They are ones that kids of all ages can do, they don’t require much money, and they don’t take too much time. With every act of kindness, Ben and his friends placed cards with the act to explain their purpose. The author was generous enough to provide copies of those cards in the back of the book for children to use.

It’s clear that the overall theme of this picture book is happiness. Not only do Ben and his friends make strangers happy with their acts, but they each feel happy knowing they did something kind. This just gives me the warm and fuzzies.

I think this book can be used with students in grades K-3. I would highly recommend making it a read aloud activity for character education or to help celebrate Veteran’s Day. Burger provides readers with a link about more information for sending thank you cards to active military members, and a percentage of sales will be donated to Make A Wish Foundation to help children smile.

To purchase this book click here.

 

Writing Assessments Offered by Little Reading Coach

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As a teacher and tutor over the last ten years, I’ve guided students with learning how to write an effective paragraph to crafting their college essay. Strong writing skills are imperative in today’s society. Earlier this week I posted reading assessments Little Reading Coach offers (click here), and today I’m sharing writing assessments.

Virtual Writing Evaluations for Grades 6-12
Each evaluation includes a write up that can be shared with schools and teachers

Quick Write
*on demand writing (paragraph or essay depending on student’s grade level)
*Evaluation of the following skills:
-Content (writing on task, answer the prompt, textual evidence)
-Punctuation
-Spelling
-Sentence Structure

The Basics
*on demand reading (grade level text) and writing (paragraph or essay depending on student’s grade level)
*Evaluation of the following skills:
-Content (writing on task, answer the prompt, textual evidence)
-Punctuation
-Spelling
-Sentence Structure
*1 hour Zoom conference to discuss findings

The Works
*on demand reading (grade level text) and writing (paragraph or essay depending on student’s grade level)
*Evaluation of the following skills:
-Content (writing on task, answer the prompt, textual evidence)
-Punctuation
-Spelling
-Sentence Structure
*Basic grammar diagnostic (knowledge of parts of speech, sentence structure)
*1 hour Zoom conference to discuss findings

All writing evaluations are created by a certified Teacher of English (K-12) and Reading Specialist (P-12).
​Little Reading Coach can conduct reading and writing assessments, but can not officially diagnose any reading/writing disabilities.

For more information click here.