Lesa's Book Critiques: Orris and Timble: Star Stories by Kate DiCamillo
Showing posts with label childrens books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label childrens books. Show all posts
Friday, April 24, 2026
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Review: "Gracie The Undercover Beagle and her sidekick Boston Blackie: Ghost of the Forest" by Douglas Quinn
The latest mystery involving Gracie
The Undercover Beagle finds her morning eggs in jeopardy in Ghost
of the Forest. Henny Penny, Chief Chicken and the head of the hen
house, saw something in the nearby woods late one night. She wanted Gracie to
investigate it, but Gracie’s sidekick Boston Blackie refused to wake her up.
All the barnyard animals know not to disturb Gracie when she is sleeping all
tucked in under the covers.
The next morning the autumn air is a
bit chilly but Gracie feels better once she has had her usual breakfast of
scrambled eggs and bacon. Henny is still agitated as she is sure she saw a
ghost wandering around in the forest. Gracie isn’t interested and the other barnyard
criminals treat the whole thing as a joke because they never saw anything. Frustrated,
Henny throws down an ultimatum. She threatens to withhold Gracie’s eggs.
Gracie does love her morning eggs. With
great reluctance and some coaxing from Boston Blackie, Gracie begins to do a
little investigating. She soon proves that Henny did see something. There is a rational
explanation as it was not a ghost.
The secret of what she found as well
as a small dictionary of a few new words brings this charming small book to a
close. Sadly, while the real life inspiration for this series crossed the
rainbow bridge some time ago, the spirit lives on in these short tales.
Following The Egg Thief and Little
Miss Stinky the latest read for small children, Ghost
of the Forest continues the tradition of a gentle and compassionate short
mystery tale with plenty of illustrations. All is well that ends well in each
book of the series and that very much continues here in the latest read by
author Douglas Quinn.
Gracie The Undercover Beagle and her sidekick Boston Blackie: Ghost of the Forest (a Little Book for Little Readers)
Douglas Quinn
AAS White Heron Press
AAS White Heron Press
May 2016
ISBN# 978-1530979691
Paperback
68 Pages
$7.95
Material supplied by the publicist
in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2016
Sunday, September 06, 2015
Review: "Gracie The Undercover Beagle and Her Sidekick Boston Blackie: Little Miss Stinky (A Little Book for Little Readers)" by Douglas Quinn
The Undercover Beagle known as
Gracie is back in Little Miss Stinky. Gracie has her morning routine that she
goes through each day at the farm. She checks around the hen house, then moves
to the barn which she checks inside and out, and then she moves to the edge of
the nearby woods. She goes up and
The search for the source of that
smell as well as the hunt for a missing animal are the storylines of the latest
adventure Little Miss Stinky. Latest in the line of books in the A Little
Book for Little Readers by Douglas Quinn is another good. This book
features another charming tale as well as short word list to help young readers
build vocabulary. There is a certain melancholy to the read for those of
us who are aware that the real life inspiration for the series passed while the
author was working on this book.
Little Miss Stinky which is part of the Gracie Undercover Beagle and Her
Sidekick Boston Blackie series is another good one. Interesting at times and
plenty of illustrations make the read a good one not only for kids but the
adults in their lives.
Gracie The Undercover Beagle and Her
Sidekick Boston Blackie: Little Miss Stinky (A Little Book for Little Readers)
Douglas Quinn
AAS White Heron Press (Via
CreateSpace)
ISBN #978-1515139089
August 2015
Paperback
60 Pages
$7.95
Material supplied by the author in
exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2015
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Got Mine!
Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: Review Copies Available: I have a couple more eBook review copies left to give away, so if you'd like to review this great book on your blog or on Amazon (or b...
Saturday, April 06, 2013
Review: "Double Vision" by F. T. Bradley
They say that each person has a double floating
around on the world. Somebody that looks like him or her and may even act the
same way. Nearly everyone who knows Lincoln, who goes by the nickname Linc, hopes
and prays for his parents’ sake that this is not true. Twelve year old Linc has
quite the reputation. Some of which he nearly deserves as he has caused a few
issues over the years. At other times, he was just in the wrong place at the
wrong time.
Both are at work in the latest fiasco during the
recent field trip. Thanks to the incident and the use of social media by one of
his classmates, agents Stark and Fullerton are now aware of Lincoln’s existence
and his resemblance to a missing agent. They represent “Pandora” which is some
sort of top secret special operation team connected to the United State
government.
They have a missing kid agent by the name of
Benjamin Green. Despite Linc’s lack of spy skills, lack of athletic skills and
other issues, Linc closely resembles the missing agent. After a quick crash course in training, they want
Linc to assume the mission Benjamin was on in Paris, France where he went
missing and deliver a certain package. If Linc will agree, Pandora in the form
of agents Stark and Fullerton will clean up the mess he made during the recent
field trip and deal with the financial fallout of those events. It doesn’t take
long before Linc is on the ground in Paris and trying to be the missing agent
with surprising results.
Aimed at readers ages 8-12 this is a fun read that
is pure escapism. While the parents remain clueless about the real nature of Linc’s
activities and location, readers are taken to the streets of Paris where
culture and history await. Readers learn a bit about history and more as Linc and
others in the team work the case in the streets of Paris.
Double Vision is the start of a new series that, while it reminds one of the classic Hardy Boys and Encyclopedia Brown, clearly is firmly rooted in the 21st century with its use of technology. The use of technology does not get in the way of making the characters - and by extension the readers - think to work through the various clues to solve the case.
Short chapters with plenty of action keep the story
moving forward while also providing plenty of material for all age groups to
enjoy. Linc gets himself into predicaments that will make adults especially
parents cringe and laugh at the same time while thoroughly entertaining to 8-12
year old set. This solidly good book has something for both boys and girls with
solidly strong writing and plot development. A short book that parents don’t
have to worry about anything inappropriate makes Double Vision a win for
ages 8 and up.
DOUBLE
VISION
F.
T. Bradley
Harper
October
2012
ISBN#978-0-06-210437-3
Hardback
256
Pages
$16.00
Material supplied quite some time ago by the author
in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2013
Thursday, August 02, 2012
July 2012 Reads and Reviews
As always, the blog reflects a lot of reading/reviewing
and not always mystery books. Along with market news, links to interesting
pieces elsewhere, conferences, etc. these are the books that were read and
reviewed for July 2012.
“No Remorse” by Ian Walkley
“The Poacher’s Son” by Paul Doiron
(FFB Review by Kevin)
“Pigtastic!” by Scott Gordon
“Alphabet All-Stars” by Scott Gordon
“Save Me the Aisle Seat: The Good, the Bad and the
Really Bad Movies: Selected Reviews by an Online Film Reviewer” by Alex
Diaz-Granados
“Baby
Shark’s Showdown at Chigger Flats” by Robert Fate
“The
Marble Orchard” by William F. Nolan (FFB Review by Barry)
“Murder of
a Beauty Shop Queen: A Dan Rhodes Mystery” by Bill Crider
“Available Grace: True Short Stories
of the Rewards of Intentional Living” by
Marianne Cassell
“Gone Missing” by Linda Castillo
“Sara's
Search” by Jan Christensen
“Artie And The Green Eyed Woman: The
Artie Crimes” by Jan Christensen (Short Story Review)
“Murder On The Side” by Day Keene
(FFB Review by Barry)
“Damage Control: A Jonathan Grave
Thriller” by John Gilstrap
While the reviews
are always popular and the sample from the anthology I am in was as well, by far
and away the most popular piece for the month was Dave Zeltsterman’s follow up piece
to his original post “E-books and The Future” that first appeared on September
1, 2010. When his sequel piece appeared on July 12 of this year the site visits
exploded. Both pieces are well worth your time and attention.
Kevin
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Review: "Pigtastic!" by Scott Gordon
Charmingly illustrated by Julien Tromeur, Pigtastic!
by Scott Gordon gently teaches little ones to accept their own
individuality. Facing the reader, the pig explains that though the pig may not
be rich, the pig has a heart of gold and that is what matters. The pig stresses
through various other examples to consider the
interior of a person and not
what he or she is on the outside.
The book concludes with six ads for other books
created by the author Scott Gordon. Many of these books have been translated
into other languages including Pigtastic.
Colorful and fun, the pig provides a positive role
model for little ones ages 3-6 in a very short read that will entertain and
educate. Illustrations and text are very simple and tell the thoughts well.
While the artwork and text may be very simple, the taught concepts of being
positive and accepting of yourself are very important. Like Alphabet
All-Stars, Pigtastic! by Scott Gordon is a good one.
Pigtastic!
Scott
Gordon
Kindle
E-Book
December
2011
(Estimated
print length 39 pages)
$1.29
Material
picked up during the author’s recent free book promotion for my objective
review. Pigtastic! was read via the free “Kindle for PC” program.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Review: "Alphabet All-Stars" by Scott Gordon
With colorful illustrations by Iryna Akolzina,
Lorelyn Medina, and Nadezda Kouzntsova, the e-book Alphabet All-Stars by
Scott Gordon teaches little ones the alphabet. Each letter of the alphabet is depicted
with an upper case and lower case letter, an illustration and a short two
sentence explanation. For example:
“C is for Crab.
Crabs are funny
Creatures that
Walk sideways.”
A little explanation goes with each
letter in a fun filled way of importing knowledge to little ones. The
illustrations are a nice touch as they colorful depict not just the alphabet
letter, but the accompanying item image.
At the end of the book there is an
illustration of all the letters on one page, followed by a congratulatory
message about being an alphabet all-star. That is followed by six ads for other
children books developed by author Scott Gordon.
Overall this is a colorful and well done
e-book that teaches the little ones approximately three to six the alphabet. In
addition to teaching the alphabet, Alphabet All-Stars provides a little
information about various things using the letters. Flat out fun and a book
that not only works well for the little ones it also meets the expectations of
the adults in their lives.
Alphabet
All-Stars
Scott
Gordon
Kindle
E-Book
(Estimated
print length 32 pages)
$1.49
Material
picked up during the author’s recent free book promotion for my objective
review. Alphabet All-Stars was read via the free “Kindle for PC”
program.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
