‘Children’s Book’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Book Review: The Little Linebacker

May 24, 2016 · Narrative

Man, it’s been forever since we’ve done a book review here, either kids OR adults. We’ve been reading, apparently just not writing about it. #goals

We are no stranger to children’s book author, Maria Dismondy, and have reviewed two of her other books, The Potato Chip Champ and Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun in the past. For her newest title, she teamed up with NFL middle linebacker, Stephen Tulloch, to tell the story of how he got started with his football career in The Little Linebacker.

The book begins when Stephen is first introduced to football, and follows his childhood as he plays ball with the town league and for the school, but receiving minor set backs along the way. Similar to Dismondy’s other books, the theme of perseverance and determination is prevalent in this story as well, which is always a welcome message to drive home to our kids. No matter what obstacle came along Tulloch’s path, he received good support from friends and family and kept focused on his goal, a goal that earned him ten seasons with the NFL, a career with the Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans, and the honor of being named one of the top 100 players in the NFL for two years in a row.

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Book Review: Molly the Pony

May 15, 2013 · Narrative

I went to the front desk at our local library, to pick up a stack of books that they were holding for me, while the kids headed off to the children’s section to search for their own selections. When I found them, Madeline was holding Molly the Pony in her hands. She asked if we could get it.

With her own library card. Because now that we’re entering Kindergarten, she has her own.

Just stop the growing up already.

Seriously.

I looked at the book and said “of course,” and asked if there was anything else that she saw she liked. Then she came back to me and said she wasn’t sure about getting the book, because maybe it was sad.

And given the cover picture, I completely understood her hesitation.

But I told her that I’m sure everything in the story would end up ok and let’s just go for it.

So we did.

And man, what an awesome book.

Based on a true story, by the way.

Molly the pony was on her family’s farm, and they were scurrying around, getting ready for the approaching Hurricane Katrina. They secured her in the barn and left the property.

Days later, they hadn’t returned and she was still there.

Alone.

Luckily some locals noticed that the entrance to the barn was blocked by a fallen tree, and when they went to investigate further, they saw the pony inside. They worked to remove the tree, and help Molly, taking her back to their own stable so they could properly care for her.

Since she had been alone for so long, she needed extra food and plenty of TLC.

One day, while she was out in the field, a stray dog came up and started messing around with her. She tried to get him away, but not before he bit her on the leg.

The injury turned out to be so bad that a portion of her leg had to be amputated.

She certainly had quite the hard life, doesn’t she?

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Book Review: Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-a-Zoo (Mercer Mayer)

May 1, 2013 · Narrative

When it comes to Mercer Mayer, I am a huge fan. With over 300 titles to his credit, his imagery is, in a word, amazing. The illustrations in his books are so vivid and colorful, you can’t help but be drawn into the story. Although I’m very familiar with his catalog of books, Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-a-Zoo is not a title that I was familiar with. It was originally published in 1976, but was re-released just two years ago, destined to become a favorite against a new crop of children.

Madeline and I have read the book several times over the last few weeks, and the storyline has a way of making something scary (monsters) seem not so scary after all. And if you have kids, you know that anything that takes the sting out of monsters is a pretty big deal. Professor Wormbog has amassed quite a collection of cute, loveable, and downright odd monsters, but he is still intent on finding the Zipperump-A-Zoo, the last, and quite elusive, monster for his alphabetical collection. You’ll have to read the book if you want to see if he’s successful or not.

Some of the phrasing and made-up words throughout the book remind me of the tongue twisting words that a Dr. Seuss book will throw out at you. Which I happen to like, because if you can’t escape into a world of made-up words and downright silliness in a children’s book, when can you? We loved the story, and the fantasy-like nature of the idea of collecting monsters, but we were a bit let-down with the ending (don’t want to spoil it for any of you). That being said, much like the illustrations in Maurice Sendak books, it’s worth a read and a serious look for the pictures and detail alone.

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