Middle Grade Book Review: The Owner's Manual for Driving Your Adolescent Brain

Book Title: The Owner's Manual for Driving Your Adolescent Brain

Author: JoAnn Deak, Ph.D. and Terrence Deak, Ph.D.

Publish Date: November 25, 2013

Genre: Middle Grade Nonfiction

Plot (from Goodreads):  

Think you know everything about your brain? Think again! In this exciting follow-up to Your Fantastic Elastic Brain, you’ll get the goods on glia and the news about neurons, presented in a fun and engaging format. Hang on to your hemispheres, and prepare to have your mind boggled as you learn about the workings of the brain in its first decade.

Why I Read this Book: I received a copy of this book from the Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.  This in no way influenced my review.

 

Review

Full of information about your brain, this book is great for anyone who is eager to learn.  The authors use analogies that would be easily understood by middle grade children.  The information is accurate and interesting.  The illustrations are fun and informative!  Even as a college student who has taken classes in similar subjects, I learned a few new things.  I am so impressed by the quality of this book.

 

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: 10-15, some discussion of hormones related to puberty and how your brain grows during puberty

Overall Rating: 5/5

Children's Book Review Tuesdays: Educational Books

Book Title: Boy Meets Dog

Author:  Valerie Wyatt

Illustrations by: Dave Whamond

Publish Date: August 1, 2013

 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 great interactive book!  This book starts out as a simple word game (changing one letter at a time in a word to make it another word) and became a cute little story. I would definitely recommend this book for children!

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  4-8

Overall Rating: 5/5

Book Title: The Wonderful Egg

Author:   Dhalov Ipcar

Illustrations by:  Dhalov Ipcar

Publish Date: May 13, 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

I found this book a bit dry and I think children may find it dry also.  I liked the overall idea behind the book, but I do not think it was executed well.  I did like the illustrations.  It would be good for children who want to learn more about the different types of dinosaurs.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  4-8

Overall Rating: 2/5

Children's Book Review Tuesday: Picture Books

Book Title: Eric, The Boy Who Lost His Gravity

Author: Jenni Desmond

Publish Date: March 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.

 

 

Review

This book was not my favorite picture book.  The illustrations were not very pleasing.  I did love how the illustrations took up the whole page.  The story did not have much of a plot.  It was very simple.  I think that this book had potential, but I do not think it would be very memorable for a child.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  5-8

Overall Rating: 2/5

Book Title: Scribbles and Ink: The Contest

Author: Ethan Long

Publish Date: September 10, 2013

 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.

 

 

Review

The illustrations in this book where drawn by the characters in the book.  I think that this was a great idea.  The story line was simple, yet really creative.  I think that children would really enjoy these books.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  5-8

Overall Rating: 5/5

Children's Book Review Tuesdays: Books About Bears!

Book Title: Bear in Underwear: Goodnight Underwear

Author:  Harriet Ziefert

Illustrations by: Todd H. Doodler

Publish Date: April 9, 2013

 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 would be a great book to read before a child goes to sleep.  It is a cute book about a little bear that goes camping!  The meter for this book was fantastic and made it very catchy and song like.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  4-8

Overall Rating: 4/5

Book Title: Does a Bear Wear Boots?

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.  In case you missed the previous posts about other "Think about..." books, these books provide the opportunity for children to learn and be active in reading.  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 explores the idea of what clothes everyone wears.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  3-7

Overall Rating: 4/5

 Book Title: 100 Bears

Author:  Magali Bardos

Illustrations by: Magali Bardos

Publish Date:  March 18, 2013

 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 (find it here)

Review

This would be a great book to learn about counting.  It is very long for a children's book though.  The illustrations are great!

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  3-7

Overall Rating: 3/5

Children's Book Review Tuesdays: More Books by Harriet Ziefert

Book Title: Backstage Cat

Author:  Harriet Ziefert

Illustrations by: Jenni Oesmond

Publish Date: March 12, 2013

 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 book has a great story that I think children will really love!  The illustrations are really adorable!  I think children how love cats will also love this book!

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  4-8

Overall Rating: 4/5

Book Title: You Can't Taste a Pickle With Your Ear

Author:  Harriet Ziefert

Illustrations by: Amanda Haley

Publish Date:  July 13, 2006

 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 book makes children excited to learn about their senses.  It both poses questions and provides information about the senses.  The pictures and poems are cute!  Some of the language may be too elevated for younger children to understand, but this may be a good thing as it invites children to learn new words and to ask more questions.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  4-8

Overall Rating: 4/5

Book Title: You Can't See Your Bones with Binoculars

Author:  Harriet Ziefert

Illustrations by: Amanda Haley

Publish Date:  July 13, 2006

 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 book is about the bones in the human body.  As an anthropology minor, I think that this is really cool!  This book has many long paragraphs that I am not sure if small kids would be enthusiastic about reading.  The pictures are very fun and the educational value is great! 

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  4-8

Overall Rating: 4/5

Book Title: You Can't Ride a Bicycle to the Moon

Author:  Harriet Ziefert

Illustrations by: Amanda Haley

Publish Date:  March 25, 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

I think this book is written too scholarly for a child.  I do not think a child would love this book as much as other books.  I loved the illustrations though!

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  4-8

Overall Rating: 2/5

Children's Book Review Tuesdays: "Think about..." Books

Book Title: Does a Beaver Sleep in a Bed?

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 book shows where all types of animals sleep.  It is very educational.  This would also be a good book to read when trying to get a child to sleep in a "big boy (or girl) bed".

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  3-7

Overall Rating: 5/5

Book Title: Does a Camel Cook Spaghetti?

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 book teaches children what different animals eat.  It is very educational, but has adorable illustrations.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  3-7

Overall Rating: 5/5

Book Title: Does a Woodpecker Use a Hammer?

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 book shows different tools that animals use.  This seems to talk about evolution of humans.  The story line was not as great in this book as in the other books.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  3-7

Overall Rating: 3/5

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