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!

Buy the Book:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

Connect with the Author:

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook |

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: The Wizard of Oz (Great Illustrated Classics) by L. Frank Baum

 

Title: The Wizard of Oz (Great Illustrated Classics)
Author: L. Frank Baum
Pages: 240
Publisher: Playmore Publishers
Date Published: August 22, 2000 (Original Pub. 1977)
Format: Hardback
Source: Bought

Goodreads ~ Amazon

Dorothy, a farm girl from Kansas, is whisked away by a cyclone to a mysterious and magical land called Oz. There she makes unforgettable friends: a talking scarecrow, a man made out of tin, and a cowardly lion afraid of his own shadow. Dorothy and her new friends follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City where they hope to have the famous wizard grant their wishes. But their path is thwarted by a wicked witch! Can Dorothy and her friends reach Oz and have their wishes granted?

The wizard gets Dorothy home. Dorothy sings and dances and makes new friends. She takes Toto with her. Toto is her dog. I liked The Wizard of Oz because Dorothy killed the Wicked Witch. I liked her friends.

Emma - Age 5


The Wizard of Oz was about getting to the Wizard and getting back home to Kansas. She makes friends with a scarecrow, a tin man and a lion and she meets some mice and winged monkeys. She got a whistle from the mice and a golden cap from the winged monkeys. She realizes that the Wizard is not really a great Wizard and she couldn't fly back home to Kansas because Toto ran off. I like that she finally got to kill the witch and she gets the ruby slippers. The scarecrow gets his brains, the tin man gets a heart and the lion gets some courage.

Jessica - Age 8

Mom's Thoughts
I enjoyed reading this book to the girls.  The Great Illustrated Classics are a great way to introduce children to the classics since the adaptations are more child friendly.  Emma enjoyed the fact that even though this was a thick chapter book it still had pictures on every page.  We were all a little amazed at how different the book is compared to the movie, which we've seen countless times.  I'd be interested in reading the entire Oz series.

Anthony's Take: The Night of Living Dummy

I recently read R.L. Stine's The Night of the Living Dummy, and I have to say I like it!

It's about two sisters named Linda and Kris Powell who share the same room.  Linda finds a dummy in the trash and decides to keep it and name it Slappy.  Kris gets jealous of the prize she finds and really wants her own dummy.  So their dad, Mr. Powell, finds Kris her own dummy at an antique shop and brings it home.  Kris decides to name it Mr. Wood.  Then strange happenings begin to take place around their home.  For example, Kris gets up to get a drink of water and wakes Linda up; as Linda is falling back to sleep she hears her sister scream.  She dashes down the stairs and finds the refrigerator has been dumped out completely, and Mr. Wood is sitting in the middle of the mess with a piece of chicken on his lap.
The two dummies are a good find in the beginning but now are starting to become a nightmare for the two sisters.

It's not very scary to me and I am 8 years old but it could be a little frightening for someone younger than me.  I would recommend this book for both boys and girls.
If I had to rate this I would have to say: four thumbs up!

Let's have some fun with books!

So I have decided to make this new blog for all the books that might be better suited for the kids to read.  I will even have my sons do some reviews on books that they believe others might enjoy too.  If anyone has a book that they would like us to read and review please feel free to comment below or send me a message in the Contact Me area.  I can't wait to get started on this blog for the younger ones and I hope everyone will enjoy this journey as much as I know I am.