children’s fiction – That Madras Mom

November 25, 2021

Two must read picture books for kids this November

With kids having vacations during thanksgiving we often look out for a long of options to keep them engaged. Though we do have a lot of options to keep them engaged in terms of activities like craft or painting.

But reading books can be done to keep them involved and transport them to the world of imagination. How many of us read to kids before they sleep? If you haven’t done I’d urge you to start doing it and see the wonderful changes it promotes in children.

Here are two books I’d recommend reading this season.

The boy who breathed under water by Izzy Reez

A young boy lies down on his bed gazing around his room. As we know young minds are curious a thought crawled into his little busy mind.

He wanted to know how would it be if he has super powers. But he wasn’t sure which one he’d wanted. So decided to give a try to check out some and then finalize. A mysterious genie comes out just like making the whole situation magical.

He suggests tryouts of powers so that he can finalise the one the boy chooses after a time of one week. The boy decides to try out as many as he can like being invisible, being able to lift up things, being able to breathe underwater, being able to fly, being able to control with his mind, turning into animals.

Though he had imagined having these powers they came with their own disadvantages. By the end of the week he felt that there wasn’t one he chose to decide upon.

The genie appeared and gave him a valuable life lesson that as a kid him playing and pretending would be lot more fun than to have magical super powers. The boy understood the reality and immediately chose to live the moment cuddling the cat.

The book sends out a lovely message to young readers to enjoy the life at the moment. Also helps understand to be happy with whatever we have, because something that we long for and get could have their disadvantages.Having magical powers can seem fascinating but not more than their playful attitude and curious little minds that finds an idea of play and pretending.

The illustrations wonderfully support the text and makes it much more engaging.

The kind who didn’t like snow by Jocelyn Porter and Michael S Kane

Who doesn’t love snow?? Those tiny white flakes bring in a lot of joy cause it’s the season of celebration. But here is a King who dislikes snow. The book brings out a lovely little story of why the King Mark hated snow and how the wizard Bertram Ebenezer Rufus
Togtangle shortly called Bert made the King love snow.

Bert and his friend Broderick a bookworm had a lot of fun. Bert was friendly and helped children and people in the village. Broderick was living in Berts book of spells. He’d always wanted to read from the book nd one day he did and he turns into a big squish green bookworm.

Bert doesn’t have space to accommodate Broderick so he asks the King and he readily agrees to make Broderick the Royal Librarian and gives him place to stay in the library.

One fine day it starts snowing and King Mark gets really annoyed. Bert uses his magic spell but it makes situation worse what does he do later to make the King love snow? Read the book to know what he does.

A short read but definitely a fun one. The illustrations are bright colourful and definitely promising for young readers to keep them glued.

Loved the conversations especially the ones between Broderick and Bert. The book definitely sounds an awesome plot for pretend play.

What I loved

This story is dedicated to the volunteers of Hospital
Radio Plymouth who broadcast musical messages of love
to patients, families and friends whether it’s snowing or sunny.
Nothing stops HRP broadcasting every day of the year.

September 8, 2019September 9, 2019

Review of Ginormous Joe – book 1 & 2 #myfriendalexa

About The Ginormous Series

Through The Ginormous Series children learn how to communicate their problems and work through their feelings. Loving, engaging adventures that follow pets discussing their ‘life handling’ problems and how they solve them together.

In ‘Ginormous Jo’s Silly Bullies’, ‘Ginormous Jo’s Welcoming Arms’, ‘Ginormous Jo’s You Are Special’, ‘Ginormous Joe’s Broken Bark’ and ‘Ginormous Joe’s Annoying Friend’ the animals chat about lots of ‘stuff’. Bullying, recycling, welcoming new members to a family or classroom, feeling alone, listening, learning and caring for others. A great addition to any child’s home or teacher’s read-aloud library. Encouraging thought-provoking conversation between adult and child.

Series Purchase Links:

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07RN8JY24/
US – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RS4XLVN/

Ginormous Joe’s Broken Bark

by S C Cunningham
Illustrations by Scarlett Raven & S C Cunningham

Can a dog be saved by the love of a family?

Can he find his bark to save them from the local thief?

Meet Joe. He’s got the worst owner that dumps him by the road where he is found by the Tuttle family. They take him in, even though he has no bark at all. But he is a very large dog which should help protect the family from the recent break-ins around the neighborhood. But Joe loves to sleep. He stretches out and snores loud, barking while he dreams of chasing rabbits. He just can’t bark while he is awake
.
Will he save the family when a burglar enters the house? Will Joe find his bark to warn them in time?
This delightful story is the first of a series of stories featuring Ginormous Joe. It shows how he becomes part of the Tuttle family. It’s a great read-aloud for families that have recently got a dog and teaches a lesson on how everyone has a purpose.

REVIEW

It’s always great to have a dog as a pet. The amount of love they show on you, the care they take , the little tail wagging as a sign of gratitude all that makes your heart chirpy.

One such story here in this book is that Joe here is a cute , white fluffy dog. Initially with nasty Nik, who doesn’t care a bit for the dog eventhough how much love the dog shows on him. One fine day Nasty Nik drops him off on the highway. Joe unable to react due to the shock. He loses his bark. Nasty Nik mocks at this and leaves.

Joe is devastated and goes on without food water and struggles which is when the Tuttle family finds him and decide to keep him

Joe is best friends with Mary, the little girl but they do not feel bad that he cannot bark. Mrs Tuttle is happy that Joe will be a good watch dog eventhough he doesn’t bark. Will he save the day ? What happens ?

A lovely tale for the little ones. I thoroughly enjoyed reading and I’m sure the little kids will also do.

Purchase Links
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005U5EAL0/
US – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005U5EAL0/

Ginormous Joe’s Annoying Friend

Written & Illustrated
by S C Cunningham

Do you have a child that has trouble talking to people? Or expressing their feelings?

Here is a story about dogs with the problem of communicating their feelings, and how they solve it together. The Tuttles enjoy walking their dog, Ginormous Joe. But one day, they bring home a new friend, another dog named Mo. Joe and Mo don’t seem to hit it off. She is always ignoring him and not wanting to play. One day, Joe realizes that all he needed to do was reach out and talk. This gave Mo a chance to tell him why she never would play with him. She was shy. The awkwardness between them evaporates, and they become friends, all from finally being brave enough to tell each other their feelings.

This is a great book to show children how to communicate to solve their problems and work through their feelings. It will make a great addition to any child’s home collection or teacher’s read-aloud library.

MY REVIEW :

A good book that shows importance of communication, eventhough if it’s between dogs. Communication plays key role in conveying emotions at the right time.

Joe is the sole owner of all the love at Tuttle’s home. But when aunt decides to go away on a trip, Mo makes her entry which makes Joe sad that he has competition.

Mo tries to impress him in every possible way, but to Joe it appears as interference. So he wishes that she goes away sooner.

But he soon changes his mind and wishes for her to comeback sooner. What incident made him think that way ? Read on…

I loved the illustrations and brief narration which was easy to comprehend.

Purchase Links
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07RCZH6TJ
US – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RCZH6TJ

About S C Cunningham

Owning 3dogs and a cat, Cunningham normally writes suspense thrillers. As respite from her crime novels, she creates children’s picture books, each with a theme to gently teach our precious young, and help open up conversation. The Ginormous Series is based on Cunningham’s beloved family pets – Joe, Muttley, Dali (Jo), Tom and Vinnie.

She is an ex-model, British born of Irish roots that married a rock musician and has worked in the exciting worlds of music, film, sports celebrity management and as a Crime Investigator and Intelligence Analyst for the Police. She supports causes for: Veterans, MH, Child and Animal Protection.

Social Media Links –
WEB
https://www.sccunningham.com/the-ginormous-series-by-s-c-cunningham.php

TWITTER
@sccunningham8
@ginormousjoe

FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/pg/GinormousSeries/posts/

I am taking my blog to the next level with blogchatter’s #myfriendalexa.

February 11, 2019

Books to read to your child #superbloggingchallenge #instacuppa

Reading out to your baby can begin as early as when the baby is in the womb. The baby has the ability to listen and this would make it even more easier once the baby is born. You can read out or even sing to them so that they get used to it. Listening to your voice has so many positive effects once the baby is out.

As early as two months’ baby can identify black and white so books with images in those colours can make them respond. When they are three months and older who can hold them close and start reading out aloud. Trust me this is a wonderful shared activity and something that can continue for many more years; someday or the other they are thankful to you for cultivating this habit.

Reading out to them is an important form of stimulation and helps them explore. Your child is exposed to words, which makes communication easier. Children who have knowledge of more words at a young age, imitate words from surrounding person have a rich vocabulary, identifying words from pictures makes them a good conversationalist. So let me jot down some of what I’ve read to mine and I hope it helps you too. Raising a little reader can begin any time after you conceive.

TO READ TO YOUR BABY IN WOMB:

The complete tales of Winnie the Pooh by A A Milne, illustrated by E H Shepard

This book is first on my list, mainly cause of the language used by the author. Milne is known for writing great stories for young audience, supportive of illustrations by Shepard. The book is even now handed over to next generations.

The Cazuela that the farm maiden stirred by Samantha R Vamos illustrated by Rafael Lopez

Let me tell you, I love learning and I would really want my child also to explore the world of learning. Especially many languages. This book introduces English and Spanish. The pronunciation guide at the back is a plus. The story is about farm workers and animals bringing in ingredients to make a pudding. The recipe at the back can be tried out to feed your baby when they are old enough. This is such a wonderful gifting option if you know someone who loves reading and is a pregnant or has a baby.

Dr.Seuss’s books

How can you forget Dr. Seuss’s book when you are reading out? The rhyme and tongue twisters give you a whole new experience. Green Eggs and ham is a favourite.

Llama llama red pajama By Anna Dewdney

This is a wonderful bed time story that any kid would love to listen to. How I love those illustrations.

BOOKS TO READ TO YOUR TODDLER:

I will just list them out and you can read them out to your child.

Brown bear brown bear what do you see by Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle
The Pout pout fish by Debora Diesen
Guess how much I love by Sam McBratney
Giraffes can’t Dance by Giles Andreae
Bellybutton book by Sandra Boynton
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
If you give a mouse a cookie by Laura Numeroff
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
A bear called Paddington
The giving tree
The rainbow fish
The day the crayons quit by Drew Daywalt
The smartest giant in town
One mole digging a hole

These are my favourites and my daughter’s too. I hope you enjoy them too.

This article as a part of SuperBloggerChallenge2019 conducted by Healthwealthbridge.com, Allaboutthewoman.com and should not be repurposed, republished or used otherwise. The content herein is owned by the blogger. SuperBloggerChallenge2019 is not responsible for any kind of infringement caused.

November 30, 2018

Review of The shining tiger

BLURB:

Raja and Baja set off on a dangerous journey to find the famous shining tiger. Days go by, and there’s no sign of it – in fact, nobody in the villages they visit is even sure it exists! But deep in the hearts of two daring boys is the conviction that the shining tiger is somewhere in the mountains – and it’s up to them to find it!

MY REVIEW:

The book starts with an afternoon story telling session between a grandmother and grandson Meer. The boy looks engrossed when grandma starts narrating the story of “the Shining Tiger”.

The shining tiger as the grandma says is a tale that is being passed on by villages generations after generations. But there is no record as such that any person has seen it.

The story goes about two young orphan boys Raja and Baja. They stay in a tree house in the village and play with the kids. They swim in rivers, climb trees and have an interesting livelihood. Meer looks amazed when his grandma narrates the plot. She dozes off in between too.

The boys realize that the children in the village play games in an unfair manner and get them accused for crimes which they didn’t do. So they decide to move on to the neighboring village. They pack their mats, food, water and set out on the quest to find new friends and a home.

They come across a small pond, decide to take a dip and cook food when the elder kids chase them away. They move further and reach a village with empty houses. They enjoy the freedom, cook and eat. At dark, they overhear two men talking about the shining tiger, which is when they decide to go on a quest to find it.

Did they find the shining tiger, meet it, what do the villagers say when the boys narrate their tale of meeting the shining tiger is the rest of the story? When the story of Raja and Baja ends, Meer wants to learn to climb trees; so he seeks his dad help. When they have a casual talk about making friends the dad comes to know that Meer complains of not having a friend near at home.

When he teaches Meer how to climb they see another boy seated on the trunk and they get introduced. Meer asks the boy if he knows the story of ‘The shining Tiger’ and when the boy nods that he doesn’t know, Meer starts narrating the story and it goes on.

The writing style is simple and the illustrations are very thoughtful and so real. Nothing looks very clichéd and would definitely be liked by kids. A wonderful read in deed.

The font in the book is bold and readable. Overall it’s a good read for kids between 6-12.

BOOK DETAILS: