Children's Book Review Tuesdays: Books about Pandas!

There are several children's books that I have read about pandas, so I decided to group them all in one adorable post!



Book Title: Peter Panda Melts Down!

Author: Artie Bennett

Illustrations by: Jon Nez

Publish Date: February 11, 2014

 Why I Read this Book: I received a free copy of this book for review purposes from Edelweiss.  This in no way influenced my review.
Find it Here: Amazon (affiliate link)

Review

This is an adorable book about a baby panda that has a fit over everything and then at the end the Momma Panda has a fit. The illustrations are fantastic and the story is very cute (and it rhymes!).

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  2-5

 Overall Rating: 4/5

 Book Title: Does a Panda Go to School?

Author:  Harriet Ziefert

Illustrations by:  Emily Bolam

Publish Date: January 28, 2014

 Why I Read this Book: I received a free copy of this book for review purposes from Edelweiss.  This in no way influenced my review.

Find it Here: Amazon(affiliate link)

Review

This is a "Think about..." book.  These books provide the opportunity for children to learn and be active in reading.  It gives children the opportunity to think for themselves and learn things about animals at the same time!  Each book has a list of activities for children to do and think about that relate to this picture books.  I think it is a great idea for children to be active in learning and not just sit and listen.  This book has a great story line and the pictures are adorable!

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  3-7

Overall Rating: 5/5

Defy by Sara B. Larson

Book Title: Defy

Author: Sara B. Larson

Publish Date: January 7, 2014

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Similar Author/Books:  The writing style reminded me of Graceling by Kristen Cashore.

Find it here: Amazon (affiliate link)

Plot (from Goodreads):  A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and a thrilling love triangle.

Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?

Why I Read this Book: I received a free copy of this book for review purposes from Netgalley.  This in no way influenced my review.

 

Review

Defy is the book that I have been waiting to read for a long time.  I do not mean that particular story, but the quality of work that was in this novel was what I was much longing for.  I was longing for a fantasy novel that really delivered with a great, unique plot.  I do have to say when I started reading this book, I did put it down.  Here is a slight spoiler, but this is in the first 10 percent of the book so I do not consider it a major spoiler.  The king took all the females in the kingdom and raped them in order to produce a larger army.  As a victim of child molestation, I really hated that this was in the book, but I decided to give the book another chance.  As the book progresses, you see that this part of the plot serves to show how evil the current king is and therefore also shows how evil this part of the plot is.  The story progression was absolutely perfect.  At the beginning of the story, you do not know a lot of information about the characters and I believe that this is wonderful.  It gives you something to look forward to and question.  I loved the characters that are in this book.  They are so well developed and they change throughout the story.  This is a book that I could (and totally will) fangirl over!

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: This book is definitely for mature teens and older due to the mature content of rape (no details were provided about the rape).

Overall Rating: 5/5

Children's Book Review Tuesdays: Okay, Andy by Maxwell Eaton III

I am going to be starting a new weekly segment for my blog.  I love the creativity in children's books and I would love to start reviewing some of them.  As I love to promote family friendly books, I think this would be a great new segment to this blog.  It is very important to be involved with your children's education and I think reading is a great way to encourage young children to be excited about school.  I hope you enjoy this segment on my blog as much as I believe that I will!



Book Title: Okay, Andy!

Author: Maxwell Eaton III

Publish Date: February 11, 2014

Genre: Children's Picture Book

Why I Read this Book: I received a copy of this book for review purposes from Edelweiss.  This in no way affected my review of this book.

Find it here:  Amazon (affiliate link)

 

 

 

 

Review

This is a very cute children's book!  It has great illustrations and a simple, but entertaining story line.  There is also a bit of quirky humor that made me giggle.  I love the animals interactions with each other.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: 5-8

Overall Rating: 5/5

Book Blast and Giveaway: EKHO by Marie D. Jones

EKHO by Marie D. Jones

Ten-year-old Elvis Jones is tired of being picked on, taunted, and teased by the bullies at his elementary school, so he does what any smart, technologically brilliant kid his age would do: he creates EKHO, the Evil Kid Hunting Organization, a sophisticated network of kid spies and secret agents that utilize a variety of cool gadgets to stay one step ahead of the enemy – the bullies. They hire kids, make them swear allegiance to the organization, and train them as Commandos, Privates, and Elite Spies. As kids rise through the ranks, the missions, posted on an encrypted EKHO website, require more smarts and skill, especially when the bullies form their own counterspy group called DEKE (Destroy EKHO Kids Everywhere).

It’s all in good fun, until the kids of EKHO must put their pretend skills to use for far more serious, and dangerous, missions. As field agents come across evidence of more sinister forces, they now have to deal with the strange, weird, and the unknown as they look for the truth about the bizarre and creepy threats to their school, their families, and their own lives. They experience betrayal, intrigue, infiltration and counter-espionage as well as teachers and adults who act more mysterious with each passing day, which leaves Elvis and his EKHO team wondering: who can you trust when the person standing next to you might not be entirely human?

Coming February 4, 2014

Amazon (affiliate link) * Barnes & Noble * The Book Depository

Tour Schedule

Author Marie D. Jones

Marie D. Jones is a best-selling author with an extensive background in unknown mysteries, metaphysics, science, and the paranormal. She has been featured multiple times on the History Channel in Ancient Aliens and Nostradamus Effect. Marie also served as a special UFO/abduction consultant for the 2009 Universal Pictures movie, The Fourth Kind. She is a staff writer for FATE Magazine and Intrepid Magazine and a regular contributor to Paranoia Magazine and New Dawn Magazine. Marie has been interviewed on hundreds of radio talk shows all over the world, including Coast to Coast AM, and has been featured in dozens of newspapers, magazines, and online publications, internationally. She has lectured widely at major paranormal, new science, and self-empowerment events, and is the screenwriter and co-producer of 19 Hz, a paranormal thriller in development with Bruce Lucas Films.

Website * Facebook * Twitter

BookBlast Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 2/28/14

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.


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Affiliate Links

Hello everyone!  I am going to begin including affiliate links to my reviews.  I have read so many great books over the course of this blog and I would really like it if you were able to enjoy these books with me!  I will now be including links to purchase these books in my posts.  If you follow the links, I will also be able to get a small portion of the profits (4%) in exchange for my referrals.  This will help me to be able to purchase more books and enable me to bring more content to this blog.  It will also help the authors and publishers too!

Thanks for the continued support!

Jessica

Prime of Life

Book Title: Prime of Life

Author: P.D. Behendam

Publish Date: July 1, 2012

Genre:  Christian Fiction

Find it Here:   Amazon(affiliate link)

Plot (from Goodreads):  Ben used to be a cardiothoracic surgeon before he suddenly abandoned his career and became a janitor at a retirement facility. Now, other than dealing with minor problems such as an unhealthy obsession with prime numbers, an inept boss, and a feud between two cantankerous retirees, he lives a relatively stress-free life. There is even hope for romance when an attractive podiatrist shows an interest in him.

But it is not long before his past catches up with him and his carefully protected world begins to unravel. He is forced to face deep issues about life and God head-on, rather than hide behind his cleaning cart. 

P. D. Bekendam is a practicing eye surgeon. Prime of Life is his debut novel.

Why I Read this Book: I was given a copy of this book for review purposes from Netgalley.  This in no way affected my review.

Review

The eloquent writing style grabbed me from the beginning.  I read from 5% to completion in one day!  I really enjoyed the unique plot and characters.  The suspense in this story was perfect; it gave me enough information to want to keep reading, but not enough that I figured out the ending.  I am not going to lie.  I was a little disappointed to find out that this book had an epilogue and was not going to be a series.  I enjoyed the book so much that I wanted to keep reading.  My favorite character had to be Ben.  I often don't enjoy the main characters as much as the side characters, but Ben was so humor and quirky that I could not get enough of him.  One of the few disappointments was that there was some adult humor and that the epilogue was a little disappointing.  Overall, this is a great debut novel!
 

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  Adult (adult humor present)

Overall Rating: 4/5