A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Reviews

No Matter What

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Do we truly understand what it means to be in the foster care system?   No Matter What: A foster care tale, gives us a personal look into the life of a foster care child.  Speaking into the pain and loss and then into the determination of a child.  A sweet book that opens to the eyes of parents and shows hope to children.  An excellent read that I am delighted to share with you. 

No-matter-what

What I am Reviewing

Tenderly written, No Matter What: a Foster Care story tells a true-to-life story of a young squirrel in the hands of the foster care system.   Would he ever find a home to call his own?  Josh Shipp is the author with David Tieche assisting.  

This picture book is carefully illustrated by Yuliya Pankratova.  Pretty, yet detailed drawings showing the resilience and bravery of young feller in a hard situation. 

From the cover: 

Josh was a squirrel without a family. Between the pelicans, the leopards, … and many more, no one seemed to want a squirrel like him. Josh didn’t want a family, either. He did everything he could to scare those families away first, but the elephants weren’t like other families. ….. When Josh takes his plans a little too far and gets into a sticky situation, will Josh finally be convinced that this family is his?

Reviewed on behalf of Raincoast Books. 

The Details of No Matter What

The cover is done well with a stork in mid-flight carrying a squirrel on her back. The title is clear and easy to read, as is the book.

It is about an abandoned squirrel, who needs a home and a family. It takes us from one family to the next, until Josh finds the perfect family.

You’ll find this picture book an amazing read with clear, easy to read and understand wording. The pictures are very descriptive in what the main character is going through, and how he is feeling. The pictures compliment the reading very well.

Should You Get It?

“No Matter What” is a book about is being in foster care. The best thing about this book is it was written on a personal level by someone who went through this.

This book, I think, is an excellent read for children to help explain foster parents. It also gives adults a glimpse into a foster’s life, and some things they may have gone through.

How Cities Work Activity Book

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Oh… How Cities Work is a rather neat activity book that I can’t wait to tell you all about!   Stickers, colouring, word searches and more fill the pages.  Help your children understand how cities work! Tall skyscrapers, bustling waterways, and even the city architect!  

How cities work activity book

What I am Reviewing

How Cities Work (activity book) is a lonely planet kids book.  A book that is illustrated by James Gulliver Hancock that helps your children understand the workings of a city through hands-on activities.  With over 200 stickers, word searches, writing assignments, mazes and such like you’ll explore most aspects of city life.   Written for children 6-8 years old. 

I am reviewing this book on behalf of Raincoast books.    A companion book to go along with this activity book is How Cities Work.  These books are part of the How Things Work Series.    This series includes such books as Trains and Airports, and you may remember How Animals Build that I reviewed a bit ago.  

Details for How Cities Work

With so much going on in a city environment, there’s plenty here to discover, explore and get creative with.  Stuffed full of facts about the inner workings of the city.  You’ll discover wonderful illustrations of scenes including rush-hour traffic, garden centres and building sites. There is plenty here to keep your children occupied and challenged either at home or on the road. 

Activities include:  Search and finds, colouring, spot the difference, add stickers, design a poster, word search, writing assignments, mazes, etc. 

Among the pages you’ll find six pages of more than 200 stickers.  I love that it’s not just a “put a sticker on” book, but it’s also a “thinking it through” exercise of figuring out what is going on and use a sticker to fix it!   Or today we’re learning about animals in a zoo, can you help the escaped animals get back to where they belong. 

how cities work stickers

The illustrations, done by James Fulliver Hancock, match those of How Cities work (another in this series).   Fitting these two books together will help your children learn a great deal about the workings of a city.   They are well done, fitting smoothly together. 

Should you Get it?

Yes! It’s a fun book and well worth getting.  It will not only teach your children various functions of a city, but also let them have fun while doing so.  How Cities Work (activity book) is informative and gives your children a productive way to utilize their time well.  🙂 

Other books to pair this with that I have reviewed are: 

The Word for Friend

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Some picture books speak to the heart while providing evocative images to stimulate conversation between reader and child.   The Word for Friend by Aidan Chase is one such book.  Imagine if you would, moving to a new place and not knowing the language.   What would an imaginative child do? Find a way through, with the help of another imaginative child.  🙂 

word for friend

What I am Reviewing

The Word for Friend is a 40 hardcover picture book geared for children 4-8 years old. Published by Farrar Straus Giroux, Aidan Cassie is the author and illustrator.   This review is on behalf of Raincoast Books. 

From the cover: 

Kemala the pangolin is sure she’s going to make friends at her new school in her new country. After all, Kemala loves to talk. The kids at school like talking, too – but their words are all different. ….

At first, no one understands Kemala either. This realization makes her curl into a little ball … But a classmate helps draw her out with an art project that …. Soon, Kemala is learning the most universal language of all: friendship.

The Details of The Word for Friend

I really like this book.  I do.  The bright colours, the well-done illustrations, and the fantastic story.  It’s a wonderful package. Kemala is a wonderful youngster wrapped up in her pangolin suit.  

Her struggle is real.  New community, new classmates, new language, and a new living situation.  It’s hard for a child to adjust to so many new things. 

“Let’s just go back home!” was the plea.

But…. a friend happened.   It wasn’t easy, not being able to talk well, but through puppets and effort, a lonely pangolin learns.   Until finally she sees a possibility.  Can she and Ana pull it off?

Should you Get it?

The Word for Friend by Aidan Cassie is a darling book.  Just as Little Juniper Make it Big was a great picture book, so is this one.  You will enjoy reading this with your littles, and perhaps can even turn it an opening for your own theatre production!   Now wouldn’t THAT be fun?  🙂 

It’s also a great way to start introducing some Spanish into the lives of your little ones.   Learn that amiko means friend, and build bridges to new friendships as well!  🙂 

The Blue Wings

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Sometimes families fracture. Divisions happen as dreams lay unfilled, or become more important than other decisions.  Sometimes in the fracturing secrets lurk, pain hidden, to be revealed later.  And then healing begins.  It’s an interesting occurrence to observe. The Blue Wings is a tenderly written tale of two boys, one who is neurally diverse, the other with a fierce love for his older brother. 

Affiliate links will be used throughout this review, no extra cost to you, may help me with blog costs.  🙂 

The Blue Wings

What I am Reviewing

Reviewing The Blue Wings on behalf of Raincoast Books, I was given an ARC version of this tome written by Jef Aerts.   A good middle school read containing great artwork within its 224 pages. Published by Levine Querido c/o Chronicle Books, it has been translated by Laura Watkinson. 

From the cover: Two brothers bound together by affection and responsibility. Jadran is five years older than Josh and huge enough to be nicknamed Giant. Josh is younger, and smaller; but his sweet and stubborn brother thinks in a way that would be more typical of a small child. They are both dealing with changes to their newly blended, Muslim family. So Josh looks after Jadran and they both adjust. When the brothers find an injured young crane, Jadran wants to bring it back to their small apartment and teach it to fly at any cost. And it turns out the cost is high.

Details of The Blue Wings

I love the artwork I found hidden within the pages, from the crane opening each chapter, to the two page spreads scattered throughout. 

Don’t you just love the detail in the illustrations?   Just love these drawings.  🙂 

The story is good though difficult. There are aspects to this story that are so true to life, it’s hard to read.  You just know that something not so good is going to happen. In the end, it’s not all made right, which is how life is eh?  BUT different pathways are laid, which leads to a family being less fractured.   THAT makes for a real story. 

Textually you’ll find it fits in well with middle school abilities.  You’ll learn a good amount about cranes, and see how families stick together, even when life is hard and filled with change. 

Should you Get it?

This is a hard one.  I left The Blue Wings feeling very conflicted, I suppose that’s good though right?  It means I had a gut-reaction and books that do that stick with you a while.   (at least in my experience). The difficult story of boys closely linked, one with difficulties, and the other needing to figure out separation. It’s not always an easy read. But you know what?  Sometimes harder reads are necessary to our growth and development. 

Ergo, in the end, yes… get this book.  Read it.  Not just your middle schooler but YOU too!  🙂 

Pirate Nell’s Tale to Tell

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Who doesn’t love a good pirate story?  Four to eight year-olds will delight in the story of Nell aboard a pirate ship.  She’s a sweet, determined character whose light is not dimmed by the nay-sayers in her life.  It is my distinct pleasure to review this delightful picture book Pirate Nell’s Tale to Tell for Raincoast Books. 

Pirate Nell's Tale to tell

What I am Reviewing

Pirate Nell’s Tale to Tell is written by Helen Docherty and beautifully illustrated by Thomas Docherty.  The words and images work well in tandem.  40 pages of storybook adventure await the 4 to 8-year-old reader.   Published by sourcebooks jabberwocky, you’ll find this hardcover book a delight to read. 

From the cover:

Nell is finally a pirate!
And she has her trusty Pirate’s Almanac to help her sail the seas, even if Captain Gnash doesn’t like books on his ship. But when the journey gets rough and the captain is in trouble, it’s Nell and all her pirate knowledge that saves the day and leads them to the greatest buried treasure of all. . .

The Details for Pirate Nell

Helen Docherty who also wrote The Snatchabook has written a delightful book of rhymes.  It is so easy to read, the words will just roll off your tongue.  As I reading quietly to myself, I couldn’t help myself and started reading aloud startling my hubby.  🙂  It’s good to do those things you know? 

Nell’s love of books is evident throughout, even if her captain disagreed.   He couldn’t see the importance of books, how could they help you be a good pirate afterall?

You’ll find loads of colour filling the pages, finding Nell hard at work whether it be scrubbing the decks or saving the Captain.  The Captain seems the not so nice sort, but by the end of the book, Nell has won him over. 

It’s a good read for both adult and child, the font big enough to read with a group of children, and illustrations varied enough to provide lots of talking points with them as well.   I received the ARC version, but the hardcover style it will come with will provide great durability.  Snatch it up, and enjoy with your pirate study today!  🙂 

Should You Get It?

Aw, this is such a cute book that fosters a love of reading.  Books helps us in so many ways

YES, go get Pirate Nell’s Tale to Tell!  Read it with your children.  Delight in the antics of the pirates, frown at the short-sightedness of the captain, and sit back in wonder at lessons learned. It’s a great romp through the world of books and learning. 

You don’t have to just use for 4-8 year olds though… it would be a great addition to a “fun with books unit”, or a Pirate study, or even a history of oceanic travel book… to talk about the work you need to do abroad ship.  Even a unit on how being kind and willing to share knowledge is a great thing to do.   It’s simply a lovely book.. read it with your children!  I think I’ll have my son read it as part of his speech studies!  

Other pirate based posts

Florence and Her Fantastic Family Tree

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When I opened the cover to Florence and her Fantastic Family Tree, I was immediately brought back to a conversation with a cousin.  One of her children was being asked to do a family tree yet her child had a rather divergent family tree and was very frustrated by this.  The child didn’t want to look strange to peers, but wanted to complete the assignment.  The words “antiquated lessons” came up. 

Florence has a VERY divergent family tree and she handles this assignment with all these worries, and yet, she looks beyond her worries to her ability to show off her family.   A timely book I think hmm?  

Florence and her fantastic family tree

What I am Reviewing

On behalf of Raincoast books and Familius books I am reviewing Florence and her Fantastic Family Tree.  It will come as a jacketed hardcover of 32 pages.  Written by Judy Gilliam with the soft illustrations by Laura Addari.

From the cover

Florence and Her Fantastic Family Tree explores the idea of what it means to have a big, messy, complicated, and remarkable family as a young girl tries to complete her family tree assignment for school. With adorable drawings and the succinct words of a child, you can’t help but love your own family tree, no matter how large or small, simple or chaotic.

Florence and her fantastic family tree information

The problem is real so… does a child run away from it or grab up the opportunity?   Florence, using her own words, tells us how she handled this challenged.  How can she make a family tree when “my family tree doesn’t just have a trunk, roots, leaves and extra limbs.  My family tree is prickly, scaly, and partially overgrown.“

Using soft tones, the illustrator helps us watch Florence’s worry turn into a sense of accomplishment.  And I have to tell you as adult… it was wonderful to see.  I love watching children take what could be a painful assignment and turn it into something that is great.  THIS happens.

The story is told in Florence’s own words.  Sharing her words, her working out what her family is like.  It’s like sitting next to her as she does her homework listening in. 

You’ll find the font easy enough to read. It’s not in bold and appears handwritten. It would be easy enough to hold up with a group of children to share it. I could see a teacher using this with her class before she gives them a family tree assignment. What a great way to let children know it doesn’t matter what their family looks like, just follow how the branches go even if they intertwine or go off ways.

Should you Get it?

I thought Florence and her Fantastic Family Tree was a good read.  Enjoyable, easy to read, the character develops, and good results.  Regardless of what YOUR family looks like, it would be good to share with your children. Help them develop empathy for what other people’s families might look like.  Instead of calling it an antiquated idea, let us celebrate with children what their families look like. 

Where Is Our Library?

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Did you know that the New York Public Library is guarded by two lions?   Their names are Patience and Fortitude.  Today’s review is about those two lions and their love for children’s literature.  Where is our library? is a sequel to “Lost in the Library“.   Such a delightful picture book… it was a cute read I’d love to share with a child. 

where is our library

About Where is Our Library

Published by Henry Holt & Co., Where is our Library? features Patience and Fortitude from the New York Public Library.  In this their second book Patience and Fortitude are bewildered.  Where has their lovely children’s library disappeared to?   The Lions are LONGING to read some good stories, but they must suss out where they have been taken.  Over the course of 40 children in grades 1 and 2 will be delighted to follow the lions around New York searching for their books.   

Stevie Lewis did a marvellous job of illustrating Where is Our Library by Josh Funk.   It is part of the series “A Story of Patience and Fortitude”. 

Raincoast Books sent me an ARC copy to review.   

The Details

Lions waking up and roaming through the library!  That’s what you’ll find.  Then they move out of the library and onto the city streets.   As they move along they’ll meet characters and solve a mystery…that of lost books!

Rhyming couplets fill the pages, with a large font making it an easy to read book.  It would be so much fun to sit on the floor with a group of children around reading together.  Holding it up so the children can follow along easily.  It’s a fun read for littles (and their grown-ups too!)   🙂

Since the story happens at night, many of the illustrated pages have a dark background. The pace is fast-moving because lions themselves are fast moving and besides… they had a mystery to solve.  Would they do so before morning came?

Should you Get it?

The best picture books are ones that adults can enjoy alongside the children they read them with.   Where is our Library is easily enjoyed by adult and child alike.  I urge you to pick it, enjoy the mystery with Patience and Fortitude.  You won’t regret it.    The excellent illustrations by Lewis and the fun story by Funk make it a winner all round.