BOOK REVIEWS BY KIDS AUTHOR ARTICLES ACTIVITIES INSIDE
91 Reviews Inside!
JULY 2014 COVER: BROTHERS JACK, DREW & BEN
LIKE What you seE here? Then you’lL
LOVE the whole isSue! n a h t e r Mo s w e i v e r 0 0 1 $1.99 single isSue $9.99 anNual
e r e click h
30+ boO k categor ies
From the
Editor...
All of the kiddos should be out of school by now and in fullon “I’m bored” mode. Well, we’re here for you, parents. This issue is chock full of new-release books we recommend to keep your little ones busy until school starts up again. Perhaps your kids will be heading off to camp soon. If so, we have an excellent article inside called Books to Take to Summer Camp. To keep them busy for a couple hours, we have a crossword puzzle and word search puzzle. Both are 4th of July-themed, to get the kids in a patriotic mood for Independence Day. We would love to hear what you and your kids think about our puzzles. Too easy? Too difficult? You should be able to have them complete the puzzles on the computer in the pdf magazine or print the individual pages and let them have fun with a good ol’ fashioned pencil. Either way, we love feedback on our magazine! What else would you like to see inside? We have another article titled Making Historical Fantasy Fun to Read and a couple of bios on our cover models and book reviewers Jack and Drew. Find out why they like reviewing for Kids’ Book Review. With 91 book reviews inside, you’re bound to find something that your kids will enjoy this summer. To find even more book reviews written by the KBR kids, check out our website! Here’s to a fabulous summer for everyone!
Heidi Komlofske-Rojek President & CEO
CONTACT ME: heidi@ 1776productions.com
Children’s
The Most Magnificent Thing By Ashley Spires Kids Can Press, $16.95, 32 pages, Format: Hard
««««« Ashley’s best friend in the whole world is her pug dog. She is very creative and likes to build things. After she draws up her plans, she heads out to find all of the things she’ll need. But as she starts building it, she gets frustrated as it isn’t looking anything like she had imagined. So she keeps trying, over and over, but finally gets mad, and not just a little mad, but really mad. She gets so mad she hurts herself and that makes her have a tantrum. Once she gives up, you can tell by the pictures that she is sad that the magnificent thing she was trying to build just didn’t work out. Her best friend, the dog, brings Ashley the leash asking for a walk. And it works! As she comes back to all of the items she had left, she sees people are finding them useful for a lot of things and she finally gets her magnificent plans built!
Early Reader
Fourth of July Mice! (Green Light Readers Level 1) By Bethany Roberts, Doug Cushman, Illustrator HMH Books for Young Readers, $3.99, 32 pages, Format: Trade
«««« This was a great book about the activities of one mouse family on the Fourth of July. They begin their day with a family parade, led by mommy mouse, with two children following and daddy in the end. There is also a stuffed mouse that is also a part of the family. After their parade they stop for a cheese and sunflower picnic lunch, “Munch, munch, crunch, crunch, crunch!”
WE LOVE AMERICA! HOORAY! HOORAY!
Books to Take to
Summer Camp From the Editors of SFBR
Lucky Me by Cindy Callaghan Meghan McGlinchey is the most superstitious girl in her family. After receiving a chain letter from Ireland, Meghan passes it on. However, Meghan took a shortcut in the directions and now she is experiencing an unlucky streak, punctuated by losing the election for class president and embarrassing herself in front of her classmates. Her family decides to go to Ireland for spring break, and Meghan is on a mission to find the original sender and stop her bad luck.
Dreamwood by Heather Mackey Lucy has no choice but to leave boarding school. Her father, an expert in the supernatural, has been away doing researcher in the remote territory of Saarthe for too long. But upon Lucy’s arrival she learns that her father is missing, rumored to be off looking for dreamwood, a rare tree that might be able to help cure the blight that is destroying the forest of Saarthe. Lucy and her friend Pete endure the deadly woods and encounter some threatening characters, but they have no idea that the dreamwood might be the biggest threat of all.
Tweens
West of the Moon By Margi Preus Amulet Books, $16.95, 224 pages, Format: Hard
««««« Astri lives with her aunt, uncle, cousins and little sister, Greta. One night, her aunt gives Astri to the goat herder to work for him. She finds that even though she has read a story about a bear who has taken away a young maiden and gets to have whatever she wants, her life is quite the opposite. The man is cruel to her, though he pretends that he has treated her perfectly. During her time working with the goat herder, she is thrown into a storage place and meets a girl who can spin very well and takes care of Astri. She is a prisoner too. Astri tries to escape with this girl, get her sister, and go to America where her father is waiting for her.
Tweens
Secrets of the Terra-Cotta Soldier By Compestine, Ying Chang Amulet Books, $16.95, 224 pages, Format: Hard ««««.5 When Ming’s dad, Old Chen, has to go to Xi’an to try to stop the officials from closing the factory he works at, the Gee brothers come to their house, and they try to sell Old Chen and Ming stuff that they dig up. Old Chen and Ming are poor, they don’t even have enough money to buy good food, and usually artifact is worth pretty much nothing. But this time is different. They bring something big in a wheelbarrow. Ming takes it and tells them to come back in a couple days for their money. When Ming looks in the wheelbarrow he sees a Terra-Cotta Soldier. A Terra-Cotta Soldier is a clay soldier that protects a tomb. There are a bunch of soldiers protecting General Wang’s tomb. He was the General when the Mongols were attacking a long time ago. Only the bravest soldiers get to be Terra-Cotta Soldiers when they die. The statue is a soldier named Shi. Shi tells Ming his story. If you are between the ages of 10 and 12 I think you would like this book. I liked this book because I like books where someone is telling a story. I also liked this book because Shi’s story is interesting. Reviewed by Alina, Age 11
Want More
Book Reviews? Browse our review archives at citybookreview.com
LIKE What you seE here? Then you’lL
LOVE the whole isSue! n a h t e r Mo s w e i v e r 0 0 1 $1.99 single isSue $9.99 anNual
e r e click h
30+ boO k categor ies
Making Historical Fantasy Fun To Read By Robert Treskillard
The Merlin Spiral is a blend of Arthurian legend, fantasy, and 5th century history. We all know legends are interesting, otherwise the ancients wouldn’t have handed them down to us. And these days fantasy sure holds everyone’s attention. But how do I make history grab readers by their throats? By mixing it with a thrilling plot, real characters, interesting descriptions, and my personal THIRST method of writing.
A Thrilling Plot Dragons, Celtic deities, werewolves, assassins, druids, enchantments, treachery, a touch of romance, battles … oh, yes, and history! From things as simple as the foods they ate to how a sword might have been smithed in the 5th century, I try to steep my readers in the era. But I also avoid boring the reader. For instance, during the forging of the sword, I have the smith tell how he romanced his wife and saved her from death—something for everyone! Another thing I attempt to do is thoroughly research the geography where my books take place, setting each scene in a real place that can be visited today. For instance, my village of Bosventor is placed in the exact spot where the old British ordnance maps say one existed, and the outline of the fortress on the hill can still be seen today using Google Maps. The stone circle? It’s still there. The lake? Dozmary Pool, a lake steeped in Arthurian legend.
Real Characters With Limitations Merlin is blind, Garth is an orphan, Natalenya’s father is uncaring, Owain’s wife drowns, Dybris won’t fight, and Mórganthu’s son was slain. Pain. Longing. Sighing. Suffering. Weeping. I want you to care for the characters … to feel their pain … even the villains so that you understand what motivates them. But Merlin is the main character and he’s mostly blind, so that puts him at a real disadvantage … or does it? You see, a meteorite crashes to Merlin’s village and brings a stone. Anyone who sees the stone’s glow becomes enchanted by it. But Merlin’s blindness makes him immune, causing his weakness to become his strength. Merlin must find a way, despite his disability, to save his family, his village, and eventually all of Britain from the plots of the druids.
Young Adult
Stolen Songbird By Danielle L. Jensen Strange Chemistry, $9.99, 480 pages, Format: Trade
««««« If by the end of the first chapter, you aren’t entirely devoured by Cecile’s unpredictable story, then you must be reading the wrong book. Cecile is about to make her singing dreams come true until she is kidnapped by her neighbor Luc and traded to the Trolls for her weight in gold. The Trolls had visions that bonding the Prince to this human would undo the curse and set them free into the world. When the bonding fails, a human is now Princess, stories are told, cover ups are made, and knowing who you can and cannot trust could result in life or death. Can Cecile really come to like these monsters, let alone fall in love with one and still hope to find a way home…alive?
“BEAUTY CAN BE CREATED, KNOWLEDGE LEARNED, BUT TALENT CAN NEITHER BE PURCHASED NOR TAUGHT.” Stolen Songbird sets the bar unreachably high when it comes to the YA Fantasy genre, showing that not everything has to be about vampires and dystopian fights to the death. You won’t be able to put this book down and will gain a deep connection to the characters. You too will be yearning for the next book in this series to be printed. Don’t just take my word though, seriously, read this book. You won’t regret it!
Young Audlt
Reviewed by Janessa, Age 16
Autumn Rose: A Dark Heroine Novel By Abigail Gibbs William Morrow, $13.99, 400 pages, Format: Trade «««.5 Autumn isn’t a typical teenager. She’s a Sage, an outcast, and human guardian for Kable Community College, where she must protect the humans from Extermino’s rogue Sages, whose attacks have increased. When out of the blue, another sage, Prince Fallon, shows up at the school for an unknown reason, she is not only perturbed as to why nobody told her, but outraged how the other students so easily dismiss their dislike for sages while cooing at his feet. As events start spiraling out control and the term Seer is thrown in the mix, Autumn can’t help but just wanting to be human. Is that too much to ask?
“BUT AT LEAST THEY CAN CONTROL WHAT THEY SEE. I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO WATCH HORRIBLE THINGS, LIKE… LIKE…” Within the first thirty pages you get the feeling you are reading a Harry Potter meets Twilight fan fiction novel. You have magic, vampires, multiple dimensions, and teenage drama, which can be a bit much, however, the characters aren’t all too involved and the story maintains a pleasant pace throughout the entire book while offering readers a unique spin on the fantasy genre. Autumn Rose is a sequel and should definitely be read prior to this book or you might find the story a bit dry and lacking important characters from the previous story. Overall, the story was good, but I have mixed feelings about it being a good standalone book. Reviewed by Janessa, Age 16
Books About Books Divergent Thinking: YA Authors on Veronica Roth’s Divergent Trilogy By Leah Wilson, Editor Smart Pop Books, $12.95, 256 pages, Format: Trade
«««« This is, hands down, been the best companion book to any I have read so far. Divergent Thinking takes readers through the entire book, breaking down the psychological foundation of the story and what it all means. Included in the book are maps, drawings, pictures, and plenty of citations that support the author’s basis for breaking down the story into some type of psychoanalysis. If you really take the time to absorb the actual meaning behind every action in the Divergent book, it is amazing how it all just suddenly pieces together and makes complete sense.
“REPORT WHAT HE MEANS, NOT WHAT HE SAYS!” From symbolism, to the reasons why a character does or acts a certain way, to the emotions that drive them, be it from bravery, fear, or love, author Leah Wilson took a great dystopian story and opened it wide up and provided readers with even more opportunities to question ones motives, to feel a person’s inner struggle, and even lets readers know that the Divergent author, Veronica Roth, writes from experience from her own personal demons. This book is a must, as you will never read the Divergent series in the same way! Reviewed by Janessa, Age 16
LIKE What you seE here? Then you’lL
LOVE the whole isSue! n a h t e r Mo s w e i v e r 0 0 1 $1.99 single isSue $9.99 anNual
e r e click h
30+ boO k categor ies