Children's Series Books Books

This book is by far the best in the Raise the Flag series, that I've read so far. There wasn't anything that I felt I should skip over like there was in the first two. Even though I haven't been tempted to shoplift or haven't experienced being a foster kid, I can definantly relate to the problems Cheyenne had in this book! As w/ the previous two books, this one definantly got me thinking about some good spiritual issues, and I think there's few books that have left me w/ a such a renewed interest in "growing in God" recently. I highly recomend it! =)

"I Only Binge on Holy Hungers" adresses acceptance, foster care, and child abuse. Nancy Rue puts the subject manner in such a good way that the story and characters seem very real. Cheyenne's problems with her mother escalate to new highs when her mother writes her letters in the high hopes that Cheyenne will meet her. Meanwhile, Cheyenne is struggling with her crush on Fletcher L'Orange, and feels that she doesn't fit in with her close friends, the flagpole girls. She also feels as though she is having difficulty talking to God. As a result, Cheyenne feels as though she can't confront her problems and plans to run away.
A very, very good read. I would also recommend the first two books in the series.

Candace

I loved this book. This and the rest of the Raise the flag seiries is great. This book shows so much freindship. I recomend this book to any one.

I would recommend this book to teens girls or to parents of teen girls. It is a great plot and keeps you interested, but it is still good christian values through and through. My mom loves these books because she feels safe letting me read them, no inappropiate material. Many christian teen books are somewhat cut & dry, and always predictable, but this book has an unpredictable plot. I would recommend this and all of the raise the flag series books.

Don't Cry, Lion! pairs two greats in Christian children's literature. Author Dandi Daley Mackall has over 400 titles to her credit. Illustrator Elena Kucharik is best known as creator and lead illustrator for the Care Bears. She also illustrated the entire Little Blessings series and many more.

Don't Cry, Lion! tells the story of Daniel in the lions' den. Using rhyming verse, the story is told from the point-of-view of a tiny lion. He introduces us to a mean lion, Big-Mouth Leo, and tells how frightened he is of him. Being stuck in the den with Leo and a number of other bully lions, the little guy remembers to pray. Just then Daniel is dropped into the pit. Before Leo can reach him, an angel appears and reprimands Leo. Daniel reminds the frightened, little lion: "That bully might be pretty big, but not as big as God." The book concludes with an application: "So when you meet a bully, who is twice the size of you ... Ask God to help you, too!"

What I Like: The illustrations are fantastic! I also love the application. This is a different angle, one which kids can easily understand and apply. I like the different perspective. While the story takes some creative liberties, it does a great job making this story appeal to young readers. My daughter LOVES this book! We read it several times a day.

What I Dislike: The angel claims Daniel showed Leo how to pray and that's why the lion kept his mouth shut. It seems to make Daniel's safety a result of the lion's decision rather than the protection of God. It's a very small detail, and considering the many other references to God, it detracts very little from the overall value of the book.

Age Appeal: The publisher says 4-8, but I think even infants would enjoy this book.

Overall Rating: Very Good.

Tanya -- Christian Children's Book Review

Don't Cry Lion is an adorable tale with lilting rhyme, fantastic illustrations and a message rooted in the Bible. Parents and children will enjoy this book and it will quickly become a bedtime favorite! Toddlers will love to find the friendly frog on every page...look closely, he is always up to something related to the words on the page.

We now have the donkey book as well as Don't Cry, Lion and we love them both. I plan on buying all 4 books of this series. They rhyme and are super fast reads, but my 1 yr old as well as my 3 yr old love them! I love the lesson in the books too. You can't get a better book, great illustrations of the characters too!

My son is 2 years old & loves this book! He likes lions so that initially gets his attention. The illustrations are adorable & there are just enough words on each page. The book teaches children to look to God when they need help. I love it & my son does too. I'd like to get more from this series...

I first read this book in 1955, and for fun, I read it again in 2005.
It is reassuring to note that nothing has changed.
Enid Blyton's Adventure Series should be the mainstay of every childhood reading program, and "Island of Adventure" is the place to begin.

Just a wonderful childrens adventure novel...with great, friendly and lovable characters. If you've never read them before get your children to try them.

I devoured these Enid Blyton books when I was a kid, and while I can't say I remember much about them -- or even whether I read this particular one -- I do remember that I loved them. I guess they're eclipsed by Harry Potter these days, but if you have or are a kid in the right age group who loves kids' adventure stories, you may want to give these a try.

I devoured these books too and loved them and the characters. I remember staying up half the night because I couldn't bear to put them down! And by the way, Harry Potter wouldn't exist without Blyton, as its format is based on her school series (also excellent.)

I highly recommend these for children 6-10, although my sister and I still reread them.

This package is a great place to start your children on the way to learning Italian. I wish they made a part 2. Best place to start 3yrs and up.

The illustrations are great along with the little work sheets,so
colorful and easy for little ones to understand plus the audio
is very clear sounding.We are thrilled with the book and audio.
arriverderci

My son and I enjoyed the music, activities and games provided in this learning program. The use of children's voices for the cassette was very effective. A great starting point for both children and adults alike.

It would be great to have this program on video.

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I have been searching for an easy way to teach my daughter, age 4 who has grown up only speaking english, my native Italian. I have tried various computer programs, books and tapes, and other teaching methods. All were rather boring and unhelpful, my daughter soon lost interest. This system is wonderful! The lessons are interesting and fun. They are blended wonderfully with songs and activities that keep a child's attention. I highly recommend this program. I do recommend that someone in the family practice with the child and participate with them while they listen. This is by far the best children's language packet I've seen.

My fifth grade students just finished reading "Joseph's Choice" by Bonnie Pryor. They previously read, "Joseph: 1861-A Rumble of War". My students read these books as part of an ELA unit on the Civil War. As a wrap-up for this unit, I asked the students in question and answer format to review "Joseph's Choice". For classroom teachers, I think it is interesting to read book reviews from the students' perspective. Below I have written a summary of my student's reviews.

This book is full of action and suspense. It begins with a bridge explosion and a train crash adverted with seconds to spare. Mr. Byers, Joseph's stepfather, is an abolitionist in a town where the majority is on the Confederate's side. Joseph and his family are affected by Mr. Byers beliefs. Mr. Byers's business is set on fire and he is kidnapped. As the war draws closer, the reader will see how the town and Joseph change.

As my students read "Joseph's Choice" they learned important information about the Civil War. They learned the Civil War was not only about slavery, but state's rights. Some masters treated their slaves cruelly (cutting off their toes and separating families as they are sold at auctions). They learned about Kentucky and its division within the state and towns causing brothers and neighbors to fight against each other. Kentucky was neutral at the beginning of the war, but eventually joined the Union.

The students felt there were many important themes that emerged in this book. These included racial inequality, violence, peer pressure and standing up for what you believe is right.

The students all rated the book 5 stars. Their favorite parts included Hannah and Joseph stopping the train before it crashed, the Vengeance Committee tarring and feathering Mr. Byers, the town working together to put out the fire, and Joseph standing up to the Vengeance Committee.

They recommend this book to other students because there is a lot of action and it keeps you interest throughout the book. "It is an adventure every chapter and it is hard to put down." In addition, you learn information about the Civil War in a fun way.

I love all of Mrs.Pryor's books, but this one is my favorite !!!
You see our teacher read it to the class and when we finished our 2 chapters for the day, everybody would ask for one more chapter . This book is really fun to read because Mrs. Pryor really reasearched and her editor checked well. Overall, the book is beautifully written and I highly reccomend it !!

I read the book Joseph's Choice by Bonnie Pryor. In the beginning of the book The civil war is starting and Kentucky is still a neutral state. It seems that this statement is not true because people in Branson Mills start siding and friends turn against friends and people start to harm each other. Mainly Joseph's dad is getting hurt because he is an abolitionist and works to stop slavery while almost everyone else in town is for slavery. Now that all this is happening Joseph thinks it is now impossible to keep Branson Mills neutral. Now Joseph is stuck because he can't decide which side to be on. He doesn't like slavery but he knows the south can have things he is for as well. Joseph will have to decide for his own good.

I liked how the book started because there was a ton of suspense like when the two men blew up the bridge and the train almost crashed. I also liked how Matt would always have something very exciting happening to him like when the Vengeneance Comittee took his dad and he fought to get him back, and then finally the police got him back.
The books theme is a story of a war that caused a lot of problems to the people in the U.S. The lesson the author is trying to teach you is that you should always stick up for what you believe in and to never give up.

At the start of the Civil War, Joseph's loyalties are torn between the North and the South. His abolitionist stepfather has persuaded him that slavery is wrong, and among his friends are a freed black girl and a Quaker boy. Yet his family are treated as outcasts in their small Kentucky town, and Joseph feels tempted to support the Southern cause just to shake their contempt. It's that longing to be accepted that makes him want to hide his friendship with Hannah, the free black girl. As he watches the hatred spread among his friends and neighbors as they turn against each other, Joseph will have to make a choice which side he truly supports. This was an excellant novel about the hardships of living on a border state during the Civil War, where people turned against their friends and neighbors.

Sixteen-year-old Hannah Stahlhut, a home-schooled high school student, decided she would test her writing skills and enter the 2007 Tweener Time International Chapter Book Competition. The challenge was for high school students to write a book especially tailored to 8-12 year olds. Her entry, JOURNEY TO THE HOMELAND, emerged as the winning novel.

In the mythical land of Diggeret, an eight-year-old orphan, Keegan, is looking for a home. He is able to communicate with animals, and has developed a friendship with a jaguar that he calls Adrian, named after his mother.

This gift is misunderstood and, due to fear, he is forced to leave every place that he comes to until he finds a family in the settlement of Crempton who offer to give him a home. For the next three years, he lives with them, helping with chores.

In the neighboring country of Iviannah, the King has heard rumors of a child who can talk to animals, and he sends his soldiers to search for this child.

They overhear Nora, a young girl from Keegan's village, as she tells a wild tale of being rescued by a jaguar, and they are sure that she is the child they are looking for. They kidnap her to take her to the King. Keegan realizes that they were really looking for him and so he and Adrian set out to rescue her, along with the help of a smart-aleck bird.

Their adventures and ingenuity in outsmarting the soldiers is electrifying. The suspense builds to a dramatic and satisfying climax.

JOURNEY TO THE HOMELAND is an exciting story with fast action, great characters, and a well-developed plot that will keep young readers entranced from beginning to end.

Reviewed by: Grandma Bev

My kids are too young to enjoy this book yet (two boys under 3yrs) but I look forward to reading it together in a few years. Very well written storyline and carefully created characters keep you interested and wanting more. I hope that there is a sequel!

Enter the fantasy world of Diggeret where a young orphan boy has been born with the stunning gift of being able to communicate with animals. Seeking a home, he travels from village to village, finally staying for another brief time in Crempet. Outside of Crempet is Adrian, an animal who is now Keegan's best friend. Adrian helps rescue a young, bold girl who attracts friends by her far-fetched stories.

Nora, however, cannot stop herself from exaggerating and finds herself in a frightening situation when she lies about how she was rescued by a huge jaguar. She tells the tale so convincingly that she is about to be kidnapped, and Keegan feels terrible at allowing her to take credit that has now resulted in her debacle.

Silence, Keegan realizes, is not always golden or heroic. Determined to rescue her, he and Adrian set off toaccomplish the task in a hair-raising series of acts.

Keegan and Nora decide to travel to the land where there are others who possess Keegan's uncanny gift of speaking to and understanding the language of animals. A jaguar and a friendly bird help them travel safely to Iviannah which Keegan and Nora hope will provide a safe haven and home. However, little do they expect that the inhabitants believe Diggeret is their deadly enemy and little do they know how it will be resolved, again by speaking truth.

Journey to the Homeland is crafted amazingly well for a 16 year-old girl and bodes well for novels that the reader will expect from this talented writer.

Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on March 30, 2008

This book is absoultly fantastic. I would recomend it to anyone who doesn't like to read because they will once they start reading this one. Journey to the Homeland catches your attention at the very begining and holds it to the end. Sow what if the main character can talk to animals. This book presents the idea in a non corney way. I really can't wait for the sequel.

A kelpie helps a misunderstood old woman to find a happier life. If you love horses then you would probably like this book. Extremely otherworldly. A real page turner that is my absoute favorite. Explore Scottish lore in this story, the setting of which takes place beside the Loch Ness, complete with an appearance by Nessie even. A timeless story that touched my soul. Intended for children, but it's a good read for adults with an open mind also.

Horse girl

I read this book when I was about 9-11 years old and I loved it. I read and re-read itover and over. I loved the story.
Now I have a little boy who reads books about old myths and legends. I want him to experience this book and I want to read it again for myself.

I read this book when I was in the fourth grade and I was enrolled in the Scholastic Book Club - I loved it then and I still like it as an adult. I bought it for my son who also likes myths, legends, and fantasy; he enjoyed it very much as well. Great book for young adolescents, a good story to read to kids at bedtime, and a quick read for adults who just want to sample a story about a witch woman and a kelpie.

This book was a treasure we found in a used book store. I read it aloud to my 9-year old daughter who was entranced. It's a book about an aging loner, whose ancestors were witches, who one day spies a kelpie in her pond. They become friends and reminisce together. The kelpie gives the woman a necklace of pearls from the bottom of the kelpie's lake. When a greedy wanderer finds out about the pearls, trouble begins. Included in the tale are the loch ness monster, an abused boy who loves nature, tourists, scientists looking for the l-n monster, magic, and a description of the peace which comes to the old woman riding away on the kelpie (transformed into the death horse) as she is returned to her youth and beauty. The words and phrasing made me try to imitate a Scottish accent, for they were too beautiful to read in my midwest voice.

I've read Bill Holbrooke's 1st K & K book,"Quest For Content", & throughly enjoyed it. His 2nd book continues the adventures of the Dewclaw family and expands on it with more info on Rudy's teacher Ms. Aura and girlfriend Fiona, fun with websites and the corporate environment, & a delightful side trip into X-Files territory. A warmly humorous anthromorphic look at the modern blended family!

Looking for cute animals? Go elsewhere! Looking for extremely intelligent humor, interesting characters, unusual situations and good drawings? Buy this book! Bill Holbrook creates a real-life world with predators and prey and then fills it with humor. If you enjoy Monty Python and similar humor, this book is for you!

Another great book from a great cartoonist! Cyberspace humor, family and office dynamics, teens and adults find online romance! Muldar and Sculley investigate the weird abduction of Rudy's girlfriend, Fiona. For those who like intelligent and contemporary humor, especially computer users and animal lovers!

The sad truth is, most on-line comic strips are third-rate efforts, shoestring productions by creators who haven't yet reached syndicate-quality levels.

"Kevin and Kell" is a delightful exception. Bill Holbrook -- already a proven syndication strip artist with "On the Fasttrack" and "Safe Havens" -- has created an on-line comic strip with as much depth, sophistication, and high-quality art as the best of the newspaper funnies. In fact, I can easily name a dozen comics out of my daily paper that are paled by K&K.

What really elevates "Kevin and Kell" to five-star status are the characters. No matter how minor their roles are, Bill Holbrook gives everyone an authentic personality, complete with dreams and secrets and motives and desires. The one-shot jokes (often dealing with computers or herbivore/carnivore relationships) may draw the curious to the strip, but what truly makes K&K worth staying with in the long term are the characters and their lives.

For fans of comic strips in general -- and especially for fans of Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, Pogo, and the ilk -- "Kevin and Kell" is definitely worth reading. Odds are good that you will get hooked very quickly...

Whether you have recently experienced the death of someone close or want to prepare children around you, Joy's book provides information in a non-threatening, conversational format. Reading the stories of real children and the questions they ask, helps to make death a part of living.

This is an extremely readable, concise, enjoyable book about a very difficult subject. We give it to our families in our hospital.

I reviewed this book for Bereavement Magazine and was touched and delighted by the many stories and very human examples. I'm giving it as gifts to friends who work with grieving children.

This is the book I heartily recommend to clients and to workshop participants who need to know about helping children around issues of death and grief. Joy Johnson has put together a practical and extremely helpful book that reads easily from cover to cover or can be used as a reference. She addresses the most frequently asked questions and also makes sure to address the more difficult issues....anger, AIDS, suicide, murder, drunk drivers, and others. It's also one of the best bargains you will ever see in a book. 180+ pages for $7!

Packed with the information you need to deal lovingly with a grieving child. Explains death and grief from the various perspectives from infants to teens and offers you the information you need to respond compassionately

Easy to read and informative. Good suggestions and insights for preparing for and becoming a bleneded family.

This book was fabulous! It is helping us to understand some of the comments and situations we are dealing with through our adoption process!

Discusses all sorts of issues on a high level. Great introduction to issues that may come up in adoption! And it isn't "scary." ;)

The bargain pricetag notwithstanding, this is one of the best parenting books I've ever read. It's concise but comprehensive, covering domestic and international adoption issues, special needs topics, open adoption, and a host of other important matters related to building happy, healthy adoptive families. I found the material on interracial and international adoption issues to be among the book's strongest features; the author offers great advice for sensitively answering kids' questions, straightforwardly dealing with nosy strangers, and maximizing the joy of being a multicultural family. An excellent resource.