Birdseeds: Fiction

Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Truth of the Matter by Andrew Klavan ~ Book Review

Teenager and ex-convict and possible terrorist, Charlie West is on the run, in book three of The HomeLanders Series by Andrew Klavan, and not remembering a whole lot from the past year. With a bit of help from a police officer who told him to find someone by the name of Watermen he escapes. Watermen, maybe his only hope to regain his memory, and find out who he truly is. Once he finds Watermen, the action just doesn't stop!

The youth based book, The Truth of the Matter, seems like a good book for those who like action adventure. It has a good message of perseverance that is intertwined within the pages of the book, along with the theme of patriotism and loyalty.

Although this book was action packed a fast paced, I found it easy to guess what would happen next, which took out the element of suspense for me because of this I found that I really didn’t have a desire to read it. I did try to keep in mind that this was a book geared toward a young male audience, which I’m not, with that said I think that it is worthy of suggesting this book to others such as teenage boys, or someone who likes action adventure books. With three sons of my own and one that likes stories of adventure, I know just whom I’m passing this book onto, Royce.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Dragon and the Turtle ~ Book Review

When I was offered the chance to do a book review for the book The Dragon and the Turtle written by Donita K. Paul and Evangeline Denmark, I jumped on it because I'm working on bringing Giovonnie into the world of reading. I know I've said it before, but I really want all my boys to harbor a love for reading. This book looked like one Giovonnie might like because of the love he has for animals; it seems he is a bit more drawn to books that have animal personification.

When the book came in the mail, I allowed him to open the package. His eyes lit up in delight, as he asked, "Is this book for me?" I said, "Well, yes. Would you like to read it with me?" Giovonnie bounced up and down in delight, and then headed toward the living room couch saying, "Come on." I took a seat next to him and we began to read, me reading one page then him the next page. Soon he was reading every page forgetting to give me a turn. I smiled knowing that he was enjoying the story of Padraig the dragon as he helped his friend Roger the turtle.

Padraig was out looking for bugs to eat when he found Roger who had lost his home. Roger became lost while he was out adventuring as a pirate. Padraig took the time to help a stranger, and became fast friends with Roger as he tried to help him find his way home. Along the way they use the five senses (taste, touch, smell, sight, and hearing) to aid them in finding Roger’s home, as well as chat about their likenesses and differences. The illustrations by Vincent Nguyen were dynamic helping to create that personification of the animals giving them a true sense of life and adventure.

In the back of the book there is a quick little book discussion guide that you can go over with your child, which I found to be a nice way to end the story.

We were also surprised to find a recipe in the back of the book. This was great because Giovonnie likes to pretend to be "Chef Giovonnie" when we do a bit of baking or cooking together. It will be a nice way for us to spend some more one on one time together creating a tasty treat for the family.