ARC Review: The Eyes of the Desert Sand by Edwin Wolfe {Book 1 Chrysalis Chronicles}

Title: The Eyes of the Desert Sand
Series: Chrysalis Chronicles
Author: Edwin Wolfe
Publisher: Aauvi House Publishing Group
Date of Publication: January 11, 2012
Format: paperback, 320 pages
Source: received from the author for our honest opinion of it.


Goodreads Summary:
How many parents would believe their thirteen year old son who told them that two vampires and a hooded stranger had tried to abduct him? Strange thing is, young Ethan Fox is convinced his parents, George and Betsy do believe him. Could it have something to do with the mysterious poem he wrote in his sleep? Or maybe it has something to do with his past, the past he cannot remember before his eighth birthday. Something strange is afoot, and it is about to turn Ethan’s world upside down.While vacationing with his parents, to get away from the crazy events of the previous two weeks, Ethan encounters a young girl named Haley Hunt who he is strongly drawn to… and the feeling is mutual. Together, Ethan and Haley are lured to The Residence, home of the Caretakers, an organization of intelligent beings sent to earth to nurture the human race and protect them from un-earthly influences.Armed with special abilities, including the power to evolve any earthly creature, the Caretakers take in their unexpected guests. They have been watching young Ethan Fox, and are curious as to why the Grimleavers, their mortal enemy on earth, would want to abduct a young human child. Together, Ethan and Haley journey to magical worlds, make new friends, and help the Caretakers unravel the stories greatest mysteries. Along the way, they learn that the Caretakers have been here since the beginning of human history and have played a key role in shaping human lore. In their world, vampires, werewolves, trolls, and even Medusa herself really do exist but have been kept hidden from the human world around them. Ethan is the key as they ultimately discover the Grimleavers true intentions, to unlock the four portals to the elemental worlds of the Chrysalis

Mom's Thoughts:

This is a interesting story that mixes the two genres of fantasy and science fiction to create a great adventure for middle grade students.   
Ethan Fox is a wonderful protagonist in this story.  He is smart, funny, a good kid in general, and has a pretty cool family, including his dad that makes video games.  And then we have Haley Hunt, who is the mysterious girl that just shows up in Ethan's life.  She is definitely an enigma.  She seems like she is much more but has no memory of where she comes from, just like Ethan's foggy past too.  But Ethan and Haley seem to draw strength from each other, which makes their friendship even more special.  
This story takes an unique perspective on the idea of evolution including the idea of an advanced race having a hand in this process.  These characters are called The Caretakers which seems like such a fitting name since they seem to take care of the inhabitants of Earth as well as the magical beings here too.  We have so many different fantastical creatures including vampires.  
There are parts that tend to drag a little but it seems to balance out with all the amazing creatures we get to meet in this story. 
There were parts that made me think of Harry Potter's world, but Wolfe takes these similarities and puts his own creative spin on it.  He creates a brand new fantasy world that I can't wait to see what else happens in it.  

Anthony's Take:

This was a really cool book!  I liked the cover with all the eyes on the sand.  It was a little freaky but really neat too!  
I loved the fact it had vampires in it but it was still a kids' book.  Ethan is a pretty cool guy and his dad makes videogames.  That is a really big plus for me!  
The Grimleavers were scary but exciting, especially when they tried to kidnap Ethan.  
Haley was pretty cool too.  She seemed like a really good friend and helped Ethan make sense of these new environments he travels to with the Caretakers. RGB was really funny.  I liked them a lot.   I think kids 9 and up could enjoy and get into this book really good.  

Conner's Ideas:

Haley and Ethan are great characters to follow through this adventurous story about beings from outer space watching over Earth and all of its creatures.  The Grimleavers are the bad guys that keep trying to kidnap Ethan and they have vampires.  How freaky is that?  
While I was reading this, it made me think of Star Trek(I have watched it with my Nana a couple of times) especially when Haley and Ethan find the hidden room in the garden with Daavic's help.  
That was really cool!   I am still not sure why Haley and Ethan was so scared of The Hall of Doorways, unless they were afraid of getting lost.  Personally, I think it would be fun to play hide and seek in there.  
I really liked Mrs. Moongarden too.  She reminded me of my Nana working in her garden, except Mrs. Moongarden's creations in the garden were a lot more cooler!  
I have to give this story four stars and I can't wait to read other books by Mr. Wolfe.  

Favorite parts:

Mom: When Haley and Ethan visit Mrs. Moongarden and learn everything about the plants in it.  Those were some very interesting trees and flowers.  

Anthony: I liked the whole book!  I didn't really have a favorite part because it all rocked!

Conner: Me too!  Though, I do like how the Caretakers travel with the portal books.  I sure do wish I could get one of those!

We give The Eyes of the Desert Sand four stars!  

Mikey's Review: Spongebob Superstar (Chapter Book # 5) by Annie Auerbach

Title: SpongeBob Superstar
Author: Annie Auerbach,  Mark O'Hare(Illustrator)
Series: Spongebob Squarepants
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Date of Publication: April 2001
Format: paperback,63 pages
Source: bought 










Mikey's Thoughts:

I love Spongebob Squarepants!  I watch the tv show all the time and I even get to watch it on Netflix too!  So I was even more excited to find out I could read about Spongebob too.

In this book, Spongebob gets to do a whole lot of stunts and it gets put on a T.V. special in Bikini Bottom.  He does many things like he paddles with his hands on the water;  he also makes krabby patties blindfolded.  

There are a lot of characters from the show in this book including, Mr. Krabs, Spongebob, Sandy, Squidworth, and of course Patrick.  We also get introduced to a new guy named Bailey who is trying to direct the show.  Bailey is a sneaky one too!
I liked this book a lot especially since I haven't seen an episode for this book yet.  
I think this book would be great for anyone 7 and up.  I am very proud because I read this book all by myself quietly.  
I hope you can pick up a copy of this for your Spongebob Squarepants library too!

Thank you very much!
Mikey 

Four Stars! 

Another exciting MG Greek Mythology book!!!

We are super excited to announce that another wonderful book about Greek Mythology has come out for younger kids like ourselves!

It is called  Heroes in Training: Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams.  Take a look at the book blurb for it below:



 After pulling a magical thunderbolt from a stone, ten-year-old Zeus goes on the adventure of a lifetime in this thrilling start to a brand-new series! The terrible Titans--merciless giants who enjoy snacking on humans--have dominated the earth and put the world into chaos. But their rule is about to be put to the test as a group of young Olympians discover their powers and prepare to righteously rule the universe....
     
     Ten-year-old Zeus is mystified (and super-annoyed) by the fact that he keeps getting hit by lightening. Every. Single. Year. He also longs for adventure, as he has never been far from the cave where he grew up.

     Zeus gets his wish--and a lot more than he bargained for--when he is kidnapped by dangerous, giant Titans! In self-defense, he grabs the first thing he sees--an actual thunderbolt he pulls from a stone that is covered in mysterious markings. Zeus is the only one who can decipher the markings, and sets off on a quest to rescue his youthful fellow Olympians from the evil Cronus. Armed with his trusty thunderbolt (named Bolt, of course), Zeus is on an adventure of a lifetime--and a journey to fulfill his destiny as King of the Gods.

We can't wait to get our hands on this!!!

Last Days of Freedom Giveaway Hop

We are super excited to be hosting a giveaway for our first ever hop!!! *Mikey is doing the happy dance right now*  

We want to say thank you to very nice people at I Am a Reader, Not a Writer and The Elliot Review  for putting this together for everyone!!

So everyone knows that we are huge Goosebumps fans.  In fact, our long time wish is to meet R.L. Stine and have dinner with him.  Then we will talk about all of his wonderful books and give him some of our ideas about Goosebumps.  (Oh it will happen...eventually)

We have already started school here :(  We aren't exactly jumping for joy for it either, well Mikey is but he is always jumping anyways.  

Anyways, we really wanted to giveaway a Goosebumps book that we have read and just know that everyone else would like these too.  So we are giving away 1 used paperback copy of Piano Lessons Can Be Murder by R.L. Stine.   Here is the book blurb of it:

Practice till you drop . . . dead. When Jerry finds a dusty old piano in the attic of his new house, his parents offer to pay for lessons. At first, taking piano seems like a cool idea. But there's something creepy about Jerry's piano teacher, Dr. Shreek. Something really creepy. Something Jerry can't quite put his finger on. Then Jerry hears the stories. Terrifying stories. About the students at Dr. Shreek's music school. Students who went in for a lesson . . . and never came out.    -Goodreads summary

You guys can enter below and remember that if you are under 16 you need to make sure you have a parent/or guardian's permission.    Hope ya'll enjoy your last days....of freedom too!  





a Rafflecopter giveaway And don't forget to go to the other blogs on this hop and check out their awesome giveaways!

ARC Review: Song For Papa Crow by Marit Menzin

Title: Song for Papa Crow
Author: Marit Menzin
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
Date of Publication: 
Format: hardcover, 32 pages
Source: ARC from Net Galley


Little Crow loves to sing, and Papa Crow loves his song. But when Little Crow shares his crow songs with the other birds at the big old tree, they laugh and scatter. Maybe the Amazing Mockingbird can teach him to sing songs with the finches, flycatchers, and cardinals – and help him make some friends. But Little Crow should be careful what he wishes for… Using Mockingbird's tip, Little Crow quickly becomes the most popular bird on the block. But, in a moment of danger, he learns that singing someone else's song can have terrible consequences and that his own voice – and his father's love – is of the greatest value. Paired with colorful collage illustrations, this inspirational story is complemented by fun facts about North American birds and their sounds. . Grades Pre-K to 2.

-blurb from  publisher

Mom's thoughts

This was a beautifully illustrated story with a wonderful moral to be learned at the end as well.  I love to read books to my children that are engaging, colorful, but most importantly, teaches them confidence and compassion.  This book does that and much more.  

Song for Papa Crow has this collage- like feel to it which makes the birds really stand out for us.  They seemed to come alive and pop off the pages for me and my sons.  For young children, pictures are mainly what will keep them entertained.  If the pictures are fun then the story will be more interesting to them too.  

Little Crow loves to sing but the other birds don't like his singing voice and they fly away whenever he starts belting out his "caws."  

This story book shows little ones that it is okay to be different and that is what makes you even more special.    I am so happy that all my sons loved this story, even the older ones,  and they were able to see the beauty in Little Crow, inside and out.  Papa Crow is very supportive of his baby crow and is a good example for parents to see the differences in their "little crows" and celebrate them.  

Then in the back is this "Fun Facts" section that gives us details about all the birds mentioned in the book, including their specific calls.  This is a great little book for that young bird watcher in the family with all the different birds, including a mockingbird.  

I have to give Song for Papa Crow five stars!

Jacey and Mikey's thoughts:
J:  I love all the pretty colors in the book.  Baby crow is funny and really cute especially when he can't remember what a crow sounds like.  My brother and I had fun pretending to be the different birds and singing like them.
M: This book is really neat with all the different birds and learning about their different calls.  I could read this book with my mommy because the words weren't very hard to say at all.  
I liked how Papa Crow told Baby Crow to just be himself because my mommy always tells me to be happy just the way I am.  
I liked learning about the mockingbird and I always wondered why it was named "mockingbird".  Now I know why.  

Review: iSad by Shane Saathoff

Title: iSad
Author: Shane Saathoff
Publisher: self
Date of Publication: July 10, 2012
Format: paperback
Source: pdf copy from author for honest review

Goodreads Summary:
When a child receives an iPad for Christmas, he soon realizes that it is not everything he thought it would be. iSad tells the story of the child's quest to turn the clock back on his neighborhood, returning it to the way it once was before the "cold circuitry" interfered in their every aspect of life.








Anthony's thoughts:


I really liked the book especially the colors of the different pages.  The illustration of the kid was funny too.  He reminded me of a snowman for some reason.  I know how he feels about reading books on the computer I would much rather have a book in my hand with a cover and everything.  
I also like how the writer rhymes the story to make it more fun.   I am almost 9 years old so I could understand all the big words in it but anyone younger than 7 would probably just be attracted to the bright colors of the book.  I give it 4 stars!


Conner's Thoughts:


I liked this story because it teaches kids not to rely completely on electronic devices for happiness.  Although the rhyming was cool, the story was kinda boring for me.  There really wasn't much action in it for me.  But  I did like all the different colors throughout the story.  So I gave it 3 stars.


Mikey's Thoughts:


I liked it a lot!  I thought it was funny and there were some words that my mommy had to explain to me but I still enjoyed the rhyming.  My favorite part was when the little dude went out into the street yelling for someone to come play tag with him.  That is a really funny part.  But I would still like to have an iPad, I just wouldn't use it all the time.  


Mom's Thoughts:


The book had a great moral to teach, especially in this day and age, when electronics are a staple in almost everyone's home.  There were parts that were funny because of the exaggerations of the parents not paying any attention to their son at all while busy on the iPad.  
The rhyming was cute, although, there were some words that may be a little over some 7 year olds' heads.  The illustrations were vibrant with each page a different color.  The little figures reminded me of the advertisements for the iPod with all the shadows.  I don't know if that was what Saathoff was going for but I found it ironic nevertheless.  
It was cute and we enjoyed reading it but it was a little boring for kids any younger than 8.  I gave it 3 stars.




If you would like to connect with Shane Saathoff:


website: http://roguebeemer.tumblr.com/

Review: Chase Danger Mystery of the Special Sauce by Lisa Oliveria, Chase Oliveria, Adam Goodman

Title: Chase Danger:Super Spy Mystery of the           Special Sauce
Author:Chase and Lisa Oliveria
Publisher/Date of Publication: Magic Fire Music Studio
Source: we received this book from the author for our honest review of it.
Website: www.chasedanger.com


Join 6-year-old super-spy Chase Danger on his very first illustrated adventure. Chase Danger is the world's youngest super spy - ready to fight villains wherever they appear. In his first adventure he battles a giant octopus and terrifying scorpion, builds a super flying car, takes a quick trip to space, and befriends Ali Bali - a mysterious 6-year-old girl that helps him along the way. Chase Danger and Ali Bali will return in Book 2. 1st in a series of Chase Danger: Super Spy books. 22 full color illustrations by Adam Goodman. Read-Along CD included featuring a dramatic performance of the entire story.  -Amazon summary




Mom's thoughts:

I remember when I was a little girl my parents collected The Gremlins books and in the back of these paperback goodies were a 45 record.  (I know I just dated myself there a little but oh well)  I would get up in the rocking chair and listen to that record as I followed along through the book.  It was amazing and it was almost like I was a part of the action.  

Chase Danger Mystery of the Special Sauce is even a hundred times better than that!  It comes with a cd read a long that will narrate the book but it does much more than that.  It has these awesome sound effects to go along with the action of the book. I personally, loved Chase's voice, it was adorable and is done by a real child.  (At least it sounds like it)

The illustrations are colorful and bright and easily captures the child's attention.  Even my 3 year sat in my lap the entire time while we listened to the story.  He would pick out the pictures that went with what we were listening to at the same time.  

This is a wonderful story with non stop action, creativity, humor, and the sweetest lil hero the world has ever seen.  I would recommend this book to anyone with kids.  It is truly fun to read for all ages!  

Anthony's Take:

This book is really really good! When we opened the package it came with coloring sheets but you can also go to the website and download activities too.  We listened to it before bed the other night and then when we got up in the morning we begged mom to let us listen to it then.  I don't really have a favorite part because I love the whole thing!  It's real easy to follow along with the CD through the book and I like the all the different sounds that go along with the story.  

Conner's Take:

My favorite part in The Chase Danger book was when he has to take control of the scorpion.  I have a toy scorpion that looks exactly like the one in the book and that was pretty amazing for me.  

This story is great for little kids like my baby brother but it's also really cool for me and Anthony who are almost 9 years old. I can't wait to see what happens to Chase in the next book with his friend Ali Bali!  

Mikey's Take:

This book is so simple to understand and follow along.  I liked it alot!! It was very good and I loved how Chase and me are close to the same age.  I think Chase and me could be great friends going on adventures together.  I love to invent different things so I liked how I was kinda the same as Chase too!  My favorite part was the Flashblack.  He was a cute little baby and I laughed at his disguise too!

Jacey's Take

My favorite part was the giant octopus in it!  That was wow!  I liked all the sounds on the CD and I can hold the book while the man on the CD reads it to us!

Every one of us agreed Chase Danger Mystery of the Special Sauce deserves five smiley faces!  This is a great book that we will probably wear the CD out listening to.  We can't wait till the next book comes out and we can go on another adventure with Chase Danger-Super Spy!!!