Savvy
January 3, 2009 by Book Dads
by Ingrid Law
Mississippi “Mibs” Beaumont comes from a family more unusual than most. In her family, when you turn thirteen you get your “savvy” – your own special and unique ability. Mibs’ thirteenth birthday is fast approaching, and she can’t wait to finally find out what her savvy will be. Maybe she’ll be like her brother Fish, who is able to conjure storms, or her brother Rocket, who can generate and channel electricity. Or maybe she’ll get a savvy like her grandfather, who can create new land, or one like her late grandmother, who could capture radio waves and store their sound in pickle jars. Whatever it will be, Mibs can’t wait for her special day. But before her birthday can arrive, Mibs’ father gets in a bad car accident and is sent far away to a hospital in the big town of Selina. When her mother rushes off to be with him, Mibs is left to face her thirteenth birthday under the lone supervision of her grandfather and the oh-so-helpful preacher’s wife. And when her savvy manifests itself on the morning of her birthday it’s far stranger than she or any of the Beaumonts could ever have ever imagined. Convinced that she can use her new savvy to help her father, Mibs desperately sets off to reach Selina while inadvertently drawing along in her wake three of her brothers, the preacher’s son and daughter, and a timid salesman stuck with a load of pink Bibles. Together they’ll journey along the road to Selina, meeting new friends and old enemies, until they arrive at their destination with each of them ineradicably changed by their adventure.
Savvy is a coming-of-age story and a road novel rolled into one. It’s an ideal read for children just entering the teen years, because it has a whimsical flavor rather than the tone of angst more typical of coming-of-age books. Adults and older children will also enjoy catching some of the sly references in Savvy to other stories, including The Wizard of Oz and Hansel and Gretel. Although Mibs is journeying to reach her father, he is largely absent until the end of the book. But the close bond between father and daughter – close enough that Mibs is driven to undertake her perilous journey because of it – is woven throughout the story. And when Mibs finally reaches Selina, we see how part of a daughter’s coming of age means that her relationship with her father must also change. Notably, it’s not just Mibs and her young siblings and friends who are changed by the journey but also the adults in this story as well. Savvy will teach children a lesson that, with any luck, they will remember even later in life- that the process of growing up never stops even after you become an adult.
Excerpt:
When my brother Fish turned thirteen, we moved to the deepest part of inland because of the hurricane and, of course, the fact that he’d caused it. I had liked living down south on the edge of the land, next to the pushing-pulling waves. I had liked it with a mighty kind of liking, so moving had been hard–hard like the first time I fell off my pink two-wheeler and my palms burned like fire from all the hurt just under the skin. But it was plain that Fish could live nowhere near or nearby or next to or close to or on or around any largish body of water. Water had a way of triggering my brother and making ordinary, everyday weather take a frightening turn for the worse.
- Jen Robinson’s Book Page
- The Well-Read Child
- Abby (the) Librarian
- After Potter
- Random Wonder
- Ms. Bookish
- KidsReads
- Studentofsaga’s Weblog
- Not Acting My Age
- The Children’s Book Review
- Turning the Paige
- Children’s Literature Book Club
- Cool Kids Read
- Eva’s Book Addiction
Product Details:
- Reading level: Ages 9-12
- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Dial; Reprint edition (May 1, 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0803733062
- ISBN-13: 978-0803733060
Happy New Year from Book Dads!
January 1, 2009 by Book Dads
Happy New Year Everyone!
Here are the 10 most read reviews at Book Dads in 2008:
- A Penguin Pup for Pinkerton by Steven Kellogg
- When Daddy’s Truck Picks Me Up by Jana Novotny Hunter
- Take Me Out to the Ball Game by Ben Nussbaum
- King Dork by Frank Portman
- Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard
- Families Like Mine by Abigail Garner
- Rocket Man by William Elliott Hazelgrove
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
- The Magician’s Book: A Skeptic’s Adventures in Narnia by Laura Miller
- We Belong Together: A Book About Adoption and Families by Todd Parr
photo credit, kanegen
The Fish That Wasn’t
December 31, 2008 by Book Dads
by Paul Borovsky
When Paulina’s parents take her to the pet shop for her birthday, she picks out a little gray fish to take home with her. Little do any of them know that this little gray fish is in fact Vincent the baby whale! First he lives in a fishbowl, then in the bathtub, and then in their pool. But when Paulina’s father sees Vincent spraying water out of his head, he learns the truth, so Father and Paulina have to bring Vincent home.
Although not the only parent in the book and not the focus of the story – which is mostly about Paulina learning to love and lose Vincent the whale – Father is the one who figures out the truth about Vincent and helps Paulina get him back to the sea. The Fish that Wasn’t isn’t a book solely about fathers, just one that subtly reminds us of what fathers can do.
Excerpt:
After awhile, Paulina noticed something odd about Vincent’s fishbowl. It seemed to have gotten smaller! So Paulina moved Vincent to the bathroom sink. And it wasn’t long before the sink seemed to have shrunk, too, so she put Vincent into the bathtub.
Product Details:
- Reading level: Ages 4-8
- Hardcover: 1 pages
- Publisher: Hyperion (Juv); 1st edition (April 1994)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 156282581X
- ISBN-13: 978-1562825812
How Do You Make a Baby Smile?
December 29, 2008 by Book Dads
by Philemon Sturges
Illustrated by Bridget Strevens-Marzo
You make a baby smile by grinning like Papa Crocodile, or by acting like any of the other playful animal Papas and Mamas in this book for young children. The animal fathers in this book share equal time with animal mothers, and are shown happily care giving and playing with their children. The illustrations are bright and joyous, and this is an especially appropriate book for bedtime for little ones.
Excerpt:
So how do you make a baby grin?
Tickle the baby under its chin!
When baby yawns and nods its head,
Tuck the baby snug in bed.”
Read Other Reviews:
Product Details:
- Reading level: Ages 4-8
- Hardcover: 24 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins (May 29, 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0060760729
- ISBN-13: 978-0060760724
Choose Children’s Books and Reading Activities That Will Make Reading Fun For Your Child
December 28, 2008 by Book Dads
Convincing your child to fall in love with reading can be a tiring task. That’s why it is so important to choose those kids’ books and activities that will make reading fun. Constant motivation is the key to encourage reading for your child. Whether your child is five or ten years of age, you can easily encourage more reading by selecting certain types of books and activities based on your child’s personality and favorites.
Reading as a “have to” will not be fun for your child at all. Reading as a “want to” can cause your child to want to read more and more. You must find ways to turn reading into a “want to” past time. One way is to promote the joy of reading in the classroom. Even if you’re not a teacher, you can make your child’s assigned books more interesting by getting involved with the reading yourself. Help your child use their imagination and perhaps even act out scenes of the book in a mini-play at home. Use puppets or dolls to bring the pages to life or encourage reading two chapters per day in exchange for a reward - such as a trip to the ice cream shop or candy store, or maybe a fun day at the park. There are many ways to motivate without being too pushy. Once your child gets started reading the book, he/she might even find it hard to put down!
Don’t Forget Library Trips
Another terrific way to make reading fun is to take weekly trips to the library. Allow your child to select books from their favorite sections. Also, consider signing up your child for library reading clubs. These are typically for children of younger ages (11 and below) and best of all - they’re free. Some libraries offer special reading times with puppets and other fun activities. There are also reading contests held by some library clubs to encourage reading for a prize or award at the conclusion. With such contests, students must record how many pages or chapters they’ve read and turn in their information at the end of the race to be combined with the recordings of other team members. The team with the most reading wins!
Library trips give your child something to look forward to each week, and they’ll be amazed at the vast selection of books the library has to offer. There are plenty of pages filled with mystery, fantasy, animals, history, funny stuff, and more.
Encourage to Read after Favorite Authors
Once you establish a regular library routine, encourage your child to look for books by their favorite authors. This will help your child become familiar with looking up books using a library file or computer, and also will encourage continued reading. If your child loves a certain mystery book, let them know that authors usually write other books that are similar in story telling. Some mystery books, for example, are available in a series to keep a young reader’s interest for months or years to come. If your child really enjoys a certain author, you might want to buy a collection of their books as a children’s gift for a birthday or Christmas present.
Also, look for upcoming kid book authors such as Chris Helwink, author of the mystery action series, Kid Combat. Grab the first few volumes when the book is first released, and then encourage your child to look for the new volumes as they’re released. This is a great way to keep your child in suspense for reading!
You can encourage reading during school breaks, long road trips, doctor or dentist visits while sitting in a waiting room, plane or bus rides, and even during bathroom breaks. Any time there’s a spare moment, your child can delve into a world of comedy, fantasy or mystery while enhancing his/her reading abilities. And don’t forget…there are hundreds of children’s products on the market designed to help your child with reading. These can spark reading interest in remarkable ways and help improve grammar and reading skills dramatically.
Encourage Childrens Book Reading as a Teacher
If you’re a teacher, encourage reading for each child by allowing them to choose their own books to go along with a teacher lesson plan or a teacher activity. Create your lesson plan or activity neutrally to work with any type of book so no child will feel pressured to read something they dislike. This will give each child a sense of freedom and accomplishment by completing a book they really enjoy.
When buying a kid activity book or any type of kid book, check out online bookstores first to find great bargains. Use these ideas to get your child motivated to read!
Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web.
Learn more about Make Reading Fun - Children’s Books
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Robertson
The Babe & I
December 27, 2008 by Book Dads
by David A. Adler
Illustrated by Terry Widener
“For my birthday I was hoping my parents would give me a bicycle. They only gave me a dime.” In the midst of the Great Depression in the Bronx, New York, everyone is poor. The young boy who narrates this story knows that at least his own father has a job, and leaves for work with his briefcase every morning. But soon he discovers that his father doesn’t have a job at all, and instead is selling apples on the street. When his friend Jacob gets him work selling papers as a newsboy, he finds a way to help both his family and his father – with a little help from none other than the Yankee’s famous Babe Ruth.
As fathers we all try to do our best to provide for our children, but we can’t always - and perhaps shouldn’t always – shield them from economic realities, especially in hard times. Unlike more prosaic stories about the Great Depression like Mama’s Bank Account, this book is honest in expressing the complex tangle of emotions that can evolve between fathers and children when money becomes tight. The Babe & I will strike a chord instantly familiar to anyone whose family has ever struggled economically, for example when it shows the shame that fathers can feel when they can’t support their families, or the simultaneous disappointment and pride that children can feel in fathers who are struggling to provide. The stylistic illustrations by Terry Widener evoke both the feel of the period and the emotions of the characters, and are at their most powerful when portraying the relationship between the boy and his father.
Product Details:
- Reading level: Ages 4-8
- Hardcover: 32 pages
- Publisher: Gulliver Books; 1st edition (April 1, 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0152013784
- ISBN-13: 978-0152013783
Wordless Wednesday: Happy Holidays From Book Dads
December 24, 2008 by Book Dads
Happy Holidays from Book Dads
Getting An E-book Reader? Sony or Kindle?
December 19, 2008 by Book Dads
Check out some CNET reviews of how the e-books rate at SFGate Home of the San Francisco Chronicle.
I’ve been thinking of getting a Kindle
Do you have an e-reader now? Thinking of getting one?
Rocket Man
December 18, 2008 by Book Dads
Dale Hammer is husband and father caught in the middle. He’s moved his family out to the suburbs in search of a better life, but everything seems to be going downhill. Dale is battling authority figures out to ruin him, from the cop who is convinced Dale has cut down the sign to his subdivision to a wannabe-military Boy Scout troop leader. Matters aren’t going well within his family either, from his increasingly hostile relationship with his wife to his failed connection to his two children, especially his son. It doesn’t help that his father – who was never a good role model for fatherhood himself – has decided to move in over Dale’s garage. It’s all building up to Rocket Day, when Dale will have to not only launch the troop’s model rockets, but also discover a way to be the kind of father that he really wants to be.
Rocket Man is a novel that speaks poignantly to the difficulties of being a father in today’s world. Like so many of us, Dale is caught between the often conflicting expectations of career, society, marriage and fatherhood. Navigating the demands that these obligations impose on our time, attention and emotional energy is not a simple task. And the hard truth is often that loving your children and wanting to be a good father simply isn’t enough to resolve these challenges. One of the greatest demands on a father is the necessity to be “normal”; to put aside – to some extent – our own desires and our own drama for the sake of your children. This is one of the necessary jobs of a father: to provide children with a safe and stable place in which to grow and to develop their own lives and desires. Dale’s story is that of a man struggling with himself to find the balance between being normal for his family and honoring his own identity and needs, and finding that each may be essential to the other.
Excerpt:
HAIR of the dog.
The vodka is fighting the tomato juice, but it does the trick, and I mitigate the vagaries of selling popcorn at the Kane County Fair with ten screaming Cub Scouts, Bloody Mary firmly in hand, shades firmly affixed. The margaritas from the night before are a headache I’d rather be doing without, but osmosis and a little old-fashioned self medicating has gotten me to the point where I can drive Cub Scouts and be the charming father of two, husband of one. But I have to make a decision.
Read Other Reviews:
Product Details:
- Paperback: 376 pages
- Publisher: Pantone Press Inc.; 1st edition (September 29, 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0615213073
- ISBN-13: 978-0615213071
Book Giveaway: A Day With My Dad At The Beach
December 17, 2008 by Book Dads
This contest is now closed, and the winner is!
- Nancy B.
Congratulations, the winner was chosen using Random.org.
We have one copy of A Day With My Dad At The Beach by Lance Waite to giveaway.
A little girl gets to spend time at the beach with her father in this delightful rhyming book about enjoying togetherness between fathers and children. Read Our Review
The contest ends on Wednesday, December 31st. We will announce the winner the following Day.
The contest is open worldwide.
How to enter:
For one entry, simply leave a comment below expressing your interest in winning the book.
For three entries, write a post on your blog about this contest with a link back to this contest post. Comment below with a link to your post.
