Category: reviewed by kids

4.5*, blog tours, book review, Children's books, reviewed by kids

#BlogTour #BookReview #giveaway London Hat Hunting Mission by Winnie Mak Tselikas @rararesources @onedearworld #competition #KidsBooks #diversity @InclusiveMinds

if only I could read faster

London Hat Hunting Mission Full Tour Banner

My Review:

London Hat Hunting Mission by Winnie Mak Tselikas is a lovely little book. The reader gets taken on a tour of London with four dolls as they try to find as many hats as they can to help Mr Globe to feel better.

I’m not quite sure how a hat would help Mr Globe feel better but this is a great book that celebrates diversity and shows just how diverse London really is. The dolls visit a number of sites, from Buckingham Palace to Brick Lane, with simple photos with the dolls superimposed in.

I think that London Hat Hunting Mission would be a great addition to any young kids bookshelf and I think that it would be best aimed at under 5s. It’s not only a lovely read but it’s also a great way to introduce diversity and help your child to understand how one city contains so many different people from different places.

Review by Dora aged seven and a half:

London Hat Hunting Mission is just amazing. I think that it’s very good for under four year olds. I think that it is very good because young children will like it a lot but older children over ten probably won’t like it but all the children under ten should like it a bit. I like that it has all the different stops of London, I like that it has Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral and Big Ben. I like that it is about the world and kind of about friendship. I like how all the stops are very different. It’s very, very, very good and I think that under sevens would like it. I like the different kinds of dolls because they are all different. I give it five out of five.

Review by Jake aged seven and a half:

I don’t think that this book is good for children under five, but older children won’t so much. I think that the younger children will like it because it has dolls in. In the book, it has how you say thank you in some different languages, I liked trying to say the words and we asked Alexa how to say thank you in a few of the languages that we weren’t sure how to say and that was fun. For me, I would give it a two out of five but if I was younger then I would enjoy it more.

Blurb:

londonhathuntingFour little Londoners, Hope, Jun, Lea and Parth, come from a different cultural background, are good friends living in London. They are travelling to the iconic places around the city in search of magic hats to cure Mr Globe’s headache.

 The book is illustrated with a mix of real life photographs of iconic places in London and digital illustration so children can have a vivid visual experience of London and at the same time open up their world of imagination.

 

Purchase from Amazon UK – https://amzn.to/2HbY6e6

https://onedearworld.com/products/childrensbook-london-hat-hunting-mission

About The Author:

winniemaktselikasWinnie Mak Tselikas is a believer in diversity. Born and raised in Hong Kong, she studied engineering, worked in commercial sales and in 2011 switched to education upon moving to London. There, she met her half-French, half-Greek husband and they had a son, who now has family in China, France, Greece, HK, the UK and the US. Winnie considers her son to be a world citizen rather than of a particular nationality or culture. Inspired by her family and London’s diversity, she founded One Dear World and created the lovely adventures of Mr. Globe and the little Londoner dolls.

Social Media Links –

www.facebook.com/onedearworld

www.twitter.com/onedearworld

www.instagram.com/onedearworld

Giveaway – Win a hard cover book and one doll of the winner’s choice:

To win a copy of London Hat Hunting Mission click the link below! Good luck.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c6949485/? 

*Terms and Conditions – Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

4*, 4.5*, blog tours, book review, Children's books, reviewed by kids

#BookTour Trolls by Ron Butlin @RonButlinMakar @BCKidsBooks @SKARPHEDON @BirlinnBooks @LoveBooksGroup

if only I could read faster

TROLLS BLOG TOUR POSTER FINAL VERSION1 (1)

Our Review:

Here Come the Trolls:

Dora aged seven: It is quite funny sometimes but it is a bit not kind which I didn’t really like as they weren’t very nice to the trolls. The pictures are a bit different to other kids books but I do like them, they aren’t that colourful though. The writing is also a bit different but I could read it ok although it was harder to read than normal books. 

I liked the book, there wasn’t a particularly strong storyline to it and there was no message in it as there often are with kids, it is just a book that is purely for fun. And it definitely is fun. The illustrations are great, they are quite simple and as Dora said not very colourful but the expressions on the trolls faces are often amusing and made my children giggle. I think that at seven the book is too young for my children, it would suit ages 2-6 quite well and I’m sure that the story would get lots of laughs from younger children who would enjoy the pictures and the lyrical story.

Day of the Trolls:

Jake aged seven:  It was really gross when the troll farted and when the troll had snot. It was really funny when the granny got thrown to the roof. The pictures were really funny because it looked like it was so weird and silly. I think that boys and girls aged three to five would really like this book.

Dora aged seven: It was quite gross but it was quite funny when the troll picked his nose. I do think that it was quite good and I did like the pictures a bit too. 

I enjoyed reading Day of the Trolls and felt that it was better than the first book as it had a better storyline and more happening in it. It is a funny book and the words and the pictures make it funnier, they go well together. I think that this book would be perfect for children aged 2-6 who I’m sure would find it hilarious to hear about these naughty and rude trolls!

Blurb:

trolls1

Through gaps in the roof we didn’t repair

through cracks in the walls we pretended weren’t there…

…the trolls have come creeping

while we were all sleeping.

Trolls on your chair, trolls in your bed –

is anything worse than a troll on your head?

What happens when your house is invaded by trolls – mischievous creatures who do nothing but cause havoc and mayhem? Find out in this zany and charming book which tells you how to get rid of them for good and make your house a troll-free zone!

trolls2

It’s the Day of the Trolls: Fart-Fart and all the trolls are back! Join them in the shopping mall where they go wild, causing havoc as they overrun the place. But when they follow sign saying All Trolls – This Way, things turn out very differently to what Flycatcher, Bumscratcher, SnotFace, Squeer and the rest of them expected …

About The Author:

Ron Butlin is an award-winning poet, playwright, novelist, short story writer and librettist whose works have been translated into many languages. He regularly gives creative writing workshops in schools, and was Edinburgh Makar from 2008 to 2014.

James Hutcheson is Creative Director at Birlinn. He has been designing books, book jackets and album covers for many years.

The books are out now and you can buy Here Come The Trolls here and Day of the Trolls here.

5*, book review, Children's books, christmas, reviewed by kids

#BookReview The Christmas Tale of Elaine Gale by Daniel Thompson, illustrated by Connor Edwards @AuthorDThompson

if only I could read faster

 

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The Christmas Tale of Elaine Gale by Daniel Thompson.

 

My Review:

I think that The Christmas Tale of Elaine Gale by Daniel Thompson is the first book that I have read that came about thanks to a Kickstarter campaign. I heard about it on a Facebook group and jumped at the chance to review the book, it sounded intriguing and I knew that having a Christmas theme would appeal to my children who are aged seven.

When the book arrived my daughter was especially excited. She did try and read it but found the font quite difficult so soon gave up and asked me to read it to her. The font and the way it is worded means that it isn’t, in my opinion, suitable for a learner reader to read themselves. To fully appreciate the rhyming it is also best read by a confident reader. Even I struggled at times with the book, the font and unexpected words used to help with the rhyming did not suit my dyslexia, but this was minimal and just required more concentration on my part. At 96 pages the book is also quite long, far longer than our usual bedtime story so we spread it over a couple of nights.

The book is a lot of fun. I loved the story and especially loved that Claire, the girl who names Elaine Gale is the leader of the group and the one who helps to defeat Elaine Gale, with Santa’s help of course. Definitely a great book for girl power. The story was great, fun and a bit scary but fast moving and very clever.

I think that this book would be loved by children aged 6+, it is a little scary and it is quite wordy so I don’t think that younger children will appreciate it as much. I’m sure that we will be reading this book for quite a few Christmas’ to come.

Review by Dora aged seven:

I loved the pictures, I didn’t like Elaine Gale because she was mean. I loved the Santa part. I loved the start and I loved the building of the snowman.

Review by Jake aged seven:

I loved the pictures and I loved the book.

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About the Author:

22894527_533128290354859_8553091132211693350_n I’m Danny, a Poet/film maker/musician and all round creative human from Birmingham.

I wrote this book because I love Christmas and I wanted to create something to add to the already rich tapestry of the Christmas festivities. I felt it was really important to tell an original Christmas story that a new generation of readers can claim as their own. I am really proud of what Connor and I have created with this book and I hope you enjoy our work.

 

About the Illustrator:

I’m Connor, a graphic design student and illustrator from Birmingham.

For me the book was an exciting project to work on because its quirky story and writing style really inspired my imagination. As a Christmas story it was unlike anything already available, this refreshing look at the Christmas story gave me a lot to work with. I hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I loved making it.

The Christmas Tale of Elaine Gale by Daniel Thomson and illustrated by Connor Edwards is out now and available from Amazon UK and Amazon US or you can buy it directly from the website of The Christmas Tale of Elaine Gale.