Book Review: The Mirror by John Heldt

I have been getting a lot of review requests lately but have found myself skipping over most (at least for now). But when I saw the description for The Mirror by John Heldt I immediately said yes.

The Mirror is a stand alone book in the Northwest Passage series. Ginny and twin sister Katie Smith were born on September 11, 2001. It is now September 11, 2020 and they are celebrating their 19th birthday at a fair in Seattle. They have a great time till they encounter a strange fortune teller. Ignoring her warnings they decide to visit the house of mirrors. Soon both girls are traveling through the mirror and back into 1964. They decide to bide their time till they can get back to 2020 but things like boys begin to complicate things.

The good news is that even though this book is part of a series you can read it without reading the other books. When I started the book I was worried that one of my biggest pet peeves was in there...the dreaded head hopping (changing first person perspective). I was worried because the chapters had the name of the different sisters. But I didn't have to worry as this was not first person and there was no real head hopping. Believe me I gave a sigh of relief.

Of the two sisters Ginny was my favorite right out of the gate. But I loved the relationship between the twins. Each one was unique but they had that special bond that twins seem to have including communicating without speaking.

I used to be a HUGE fan of time travel stories but this one was unique in that it takes place in the 60's. I can't remember another time travel book that I've read that has done that. I love that it was close enough to have been in recent memory for some people but yet far enough away to seem a whole lifetime ago (which I suppose for some it is).

I really enjoyed the book and plan on checking out at least one other book in the series.

4 out of 5 stars.


*I received a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Book Review: The Surfer & The Seal by Paul Gallagher

A few weeks ago I was delighted to receive an email from author Paul Gallagher asking me if I could review his children's picture book. I immediately jumped at the chance. The book sounded so cute from his description and I loved that the book is dedicated to his grandson Logan. A portion of each book sold will be donated to non-profit organizations dedicated to protecting the marine environment.

The surfer and the seal is based on a true story. Paul, a surfer who has been going to the beach since he was a little boy, has a special spot he likes to surf at. Along the way he checks out the tide pools and the various sea creatures that can be found in them. When he arrives at his secret surfing spot he finds a seal. Soon he and the seal become friends and everyday the surf together.

First I have to mention the illustrations by Monica Chenglo. They were AMAZING! Such gorgeous vivid colors. My adored all the pictures of the sea creatures and kept pointing them out before I could even begin reading the words on the page. These pictures were perfect for this children's book! I'm a sucker for great artwork.

The story itself is very cute. I love that it teaches children about marine life. Also I'm glad that it teaches children not to be scared of the water. I've met children who are scared of the ocean because of sharks and jellyfish. But this teaches that there are our marine cousins that are friendly and curious about us humans as much as we are curious about them.  Living in Jersey the shore is pretty important to me so I'm glad to read books to my son that feature ocean (even if it is a different one than the one we go to).

My son loved this book. As I said earlier he was pointing out the different sea creatures. He said how he wanted to meet a seal too. He also expressed an interest in surfing. I told him he would have to learn how to swim first.

This was a solid 5 out of 5 stars.



* I received a physical copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion
** This book was read with my severely learning disabled son and my review reflects his opinion as well as mine.

Book Review: Why is the Moon Following Us by María Escobedo Cubas

In my quest to find new and different books to read to my son for the summer I joined a group on facebook that connects with children's authors. This was one of the authors who was gracious enough to send me a copy to review. 

Why is the Moon Following Us tells the tale of Lucy and her pet bunny Lulo. Lucy notices that the moon is following her and proceeds to ask everyone that she can why it is following them. No one seems to have the time to tell her why. 

First things first the artwork in this book is INCREDIBLE! This is the kind of book where I could stare at it for hours. To start with the colors are gorgeous and really immerse you. I can't even begin to describe just how wonderful the artwork truly is.

Second...I don't know if I was just a bit too sleepy when I was reading this to my son but I had a moment where I was like, "Wait, whoa...what happened?" I had to go back and see if I missed something. It kind of took a bit of a turn that I wasn't expecting. 

My son loved this book. I didn't even get a chance to ask him before he was bursting out that it was a 5 star read.

So there you have it 5 out of 5 stars.

PS. Check out the authors facebook page https://www.facebook.com/lucyandlulo and website http://lucyandthemoon.com/!

*I received a free copy of this ebook from  the author in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

Book Review: The Story of Little Birdy by Tristesse Genevieve

So in my search to find new and different books to read to my son I was happy to come upon a request from the author posted on goodreads. I liked that the book was based on a true story and immedately contacted the author to request a *review copy.

The Story of Little Birdy tells the tale of when Tristesse and her family came across an injured baby bird. The book details how the bird was cared for over a three week span and the triumphs and heartaches of nursing the baby bird back to health.

I enjoyed the book but immediately had concerns when I saw just how many words there were. I was worried my son wouldn't sit through it as he has a tendency to get antsy over books with too many words or books that are long. But surprisingly he sat still through the whole thing. While I was loading up the book on the laptop he got excited when he saw the cover picture of Little Birdy. He was immediately intrigued. I liked that I found a true story book. It was a nice change of pace to the silly rhyming books I usually read to my son.

I love that the pictures in this book are all real pictures and show the intimate moments of caring for Little Birdy. The pictures kept my son interested. Oh and the mentioning of Little Birdy pooping entertained him and helped keep him wanting to hear more.

The book states it is good for all ages but I don't think very young readers or those with very short attention spans would be able to do the book in one sitting. Though I do think they would love to see the pictures of Little Birdy and his adoptive parents.

After discussion with my son on what he thought of the book we are going to go with 5 out of 5 stars.




*I received a free copy of this ebook from  the author in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well