ARC Book Review: Secret of the Portals: The Adventures of Bruten and Tommy by Brant Waldeck

Title: The Secret of the Portals
Series: The Adventures of Bruten & Tommy
Author: Brant Waldeck
Publisher: Create Space Independent Publishing
Date of Publication: October 8, 2012
Source: received from author for honest opinion
Format: paperback, 224 pages

Goodreads Description:
Bruten Stone and Tommy Staunton discover secret portals to other worlds... right in their own town! It's an adventure like no other that leads them to amazing worlds and untold riches, but it soon becomes clear that they will have to defend the worlds from those that would like nothing more than to exploit them for profit. As two recently graduated 5th graders, are they up for the challenge?

Mom's Thoughts:

This is one of those books that would be a perfect anthem for young boys.  It has adventure, exploration, unexpected characters, and two best friends.  I would even imagine some girls, that are a bit on the tough tom-boyish side, would benefit from the story too.  

As an adult, the story did flow a little slow for me; but I think my sons, however, loved the flow and rhythm of the book.  It also helped that there were fight scenes back to back to keep one's attention at all times.  

I would even think that those kids that aren't big on reading, could enjoy the different fantastical elements included here, and may find a new respect for books. 

How cool would it be to set out to explore, in the woods, pretending to be warriors visiting other worlds, then actually find portals to different planes of existence?  I really enjoyed the vast imagination Mr. Waldeck has as he puts his creativity to use personifying animals and stones.  

I also enjoyed how our author took two characters that are pretty different in many ways, like Bruten is the athletic one where Tommy is more of the thinker, and he made them best friends.  

Secret of the Portals is a great fantasy story for middle grade readers and younger, with lots of excitement that is fun to read to the kids.  And there is a twist that will make even the adults sit up and take notice.  

What a great little story with some very positive attitudes for boys and girls to always believe in yourself and in the right honorable way to do something.  

I give it four stars!

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Brant Waldeck lived in a small town in rural Ohio until he was fourteen years old. From there he moved to a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. After high school, he attended Miami University (OH) and graduated with a degree in marketing. After five years working at advertising agencies, Brant set out on his own to be a freelance designer. His business evolved into a successful marketing agency. His life revolved around creativity, but it wasn’t until he had kids of his own that Brant began to explore the idea of writing. Brant credits his children as the key to his creative inspiration. The minds of children see possibilities that adults tend to shut out. The trick to being creative... never stop thinking like a kid.

Brant currently resides in a suburb of Charlotte, NC with his wife, Jenny, and three kids, Gillen, Brannen and Braelyn.

REVIEW: Zombie Dog by Clare Hutton

Title: Zombie Dog
Author: Clare Hutton
Series: A Rotten Apple Book #2
Pages: 192
Publisher:  Scholastic, Inc. 
Date Published:  August 1, 2012
Format:  Paperback
Source:  Bought

Goodreads ~ Amazon

Rotten Apple Books: Unexpected. Unforgettable. Undead. Get bitten!

Becky's family has moved right next door to the creepy, abandoned McNally house. Rumors fly around school about the ghosts and monsters that live there, and Becky isn't sure what to believe. Even her mischievous dog, Bear, stays away from it.

When Becky starts hearing mysterious howls coming from next door, paired with an awful smell, she starts to wonder if the rumors might be true. Snarls and glowing eyes confirm it--something is over there, and it's not happy. Worse, Becky's parents are blaming Bear for all the unexplained damage around their property. Can Becky stop this creature before it's too late?

The house beside Becky has rumors about monsters and ghosts.  Weird things start happening and then there is a rotten smell from next door.  Zombie Dog was a scary book.  I liked when they discovered the zombie next door.  Nate and Becky were trying to put it to rest.  They tried Bear's ball because Becky had thrown away the zombie's ball and the zombie was mad about it.  When they found the zombie dog I got nervous.  I think this book was really good and very scary.  I think anybody that hears about this book should read it.  They will probably get freaked out! 

Jessica - Age 8


Mom's Thoughts
Jessica loves Monster High, but the books are geared more towards middle/high school grades.  We picked this book up (along with book #1, Mean Ghouls) at the book fair thinking that it would be similar.  In reality, these books are more like Goosebumps or Fear Street books.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing, just an FYI.  I don't think Jessica would have chosen them had she known how spooky they would be, but she really enjoyed Zombie Dog!  I thought the story was great, too.  Jessica and I are looking forward to reading Mean Ghouls next.  I recommend these books to anyone that enjoys spooky stories.  I think they are aimed more towards girls, but I see no reason why boys wouldn't enjoy them, too.

Book Review: Poppy and The Stranger by Eli Jay

Title: Poppy and the Stranger
Author: Eli Jay
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Date of Publication: Sept. 5, 2012
Format: paperback, 42 pages
Source: received from author for honest review


Goodreads Summary:
In this fabulous and delightful story for children ages 2 and up, our adorable and sweet Poppy, the Wandering Balloon once again continues on his adventure of learning, fascination, and self-realization. This time, he faces a dark stranger under the moonlight. The stranger appears to follow Poppy no matter what he does, or where he goes. In hopes of escaping from the stranger, Poppy finds his way through the woods, meeting both old and new forest friends. But only Lyndon might have a real solution to Poppy's fear. Read this enchanting story and find out what Poppy learns at the end of his puzzling, but intriguing journey.....

Mom's Thoughts:

What an interesting idea to make a balloon the main character!  My younger sons loved this concept.  Just think: Poppy could be one of those balloons that little kids have unwittingly let go only to watch them float high up into the air off to another place.  I loved that this helped the younger children relate to Poppy.  
It was fun to meet the forest animals that helps Poppy solve his problem.  Everyone had a favorite.  Mine was the snake.  We enjoyed reading the snake's voice, especially putting a lot of emphasis on the "s" sound.  I would give this 3 stars for the fun we had reading it together.  The plot was simple for young kids to understand while the illustrations weren't very elaborate to cause too much stimulation.  Now let's hear what my sons thought of Poppy and the Stranger.

Michael's Thoughts:

I loved Poppy!  Balloons are so much fun to play with anyways.  My little brother, Jace, and I always like to pretend our balloons have special powers that make us superheroes.  This story was pretty funny when Poppy was afraid of the stranger following him.  I knew who it was the minute we read it but I didn't want to give it away for my little brother.  This story was easy for me to read, even though I liked my mom reading it to us too.  
I also loved all the green in the book.  This is one of my favorite colors, besides yellow, and I really liked all the pictures.  My favorite animal was the fox.  It was nice to meet a helpful fox instead of the sneaky ones in most kids stories.
Poppy is a great friend and I can't wait to read some more of his adventures!

Jace's Thoughts:

Mama wanted to read us a new book about a balloon that gets scared of something that he sees following him.  We get to see him ask all of his friends what they think the stranger is.  I got to see an owl and a fox and a snake but my favorite was the Bear.  He seemed so nice and it was funny because he lived in a house instead of a cave.  I laughed a lot at that.  I liked the pictures a lot.  They made the story really fun to listen to and my older brother, Mikey, could read it to me too.  We read it a bunch of times the next day.  I loved this story so much I can't wait to get a new balloon.  I am going to name it Poppy!

Get your copy at: Amazon / Barnes and Noble