Crowned

Title: Crowed                                         

Arthur: Julia Dweck 

Illustrator: Beth Trott

About: From best selling children’s author, Julia Dweck, comes a tale of fantasy, adventure and bravery. Quinn is a fairy sprite who dreams of becoming queen. But how does one become a queen? All the books Quinn has ever read claim that damsels in distress are rescued by princes and then live happily ever after. Quinn’s search for a handsome prince is brought to an abrupt halt by a nasty two-headed ogre who threatens the safety of Fairy Land. And suddenly, a dreaded sound, As something wicked stomped the ground. A gruesome ogre, wide and tall, And both heads said, “I’m King of all!” Now looking round, Quinn was alone. How could she stop it on her own? But fairies always locked their doors When ogres came to settle scores. Can Quinn summon the queen inside her heart to outwit this evil foe? Crowned! is a clever fairy tale, which teaches young readers that two heads aren’t always better than one--especially when you’re dealing with one very determined young fairy. Artist, Beth Trott, waves her magic paintbrush, blending color and fantasy into each breathtaking page. Young readers will be dazzled not only by the story, but also challenging activities that extend the learning and fun. Crowned! is a crowning achievement.

When I saw Julia Dweck's new book Crowned I KNEW my girls would love it. The day I received the book I opened it and left it on a chair in my office. Well my 5 year old (who notices everything) was the first to see it and whipped it up to look at it. She as so excited and started "reading" it soaking in every page.

The bright and cheery colors made my smile when I looked through the book so I can see why a child would be included to keep turning the pages. She pointed out a LOT of characters that she liked or that reminded her of a character she has seen before.

She loved that the main character is a fairy. Since she is learning to read she was only able to recognize words here and there but that didn't stop her for being very engrossed in the book.

When my six year old sat down to read the book. I was happy to hear her sounding out the words and getting a lot of them correct.

My children loved this book. They were very excited with the characters and my 5 year old was interested in the quiz on the back. I love Julia Dweck books because they always have moral story to them. They are also beautifully illustrated. 

Crowed is available on Amazon 
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I received this product complimentary in exchange for an honest uncompensated review but the opinion expressed is all mine. Regardless I only recommend products that I feel are good for my readers. 

Faux Paw by Julia Dweck

Title: Faux Paw                                         

Arthur: Julia Dweck 

Illustrator: Walter Carzon






Description: Waldon Bear is a little boy who wants to be a bear. "that's impossioble," says his teacher, Mrs. Hunter. "Human children grow up to be human adults,  not animal!" But Waldon refuses to listen. Can Waldon make it as a bear in school? Will Waldon convince the other children and Mrs. Hunter that he's truly meant to be a bear? This humorous look at childhood will charm parents and delight young readers. At its heart, this story carries an inspiration message to believe in yourself and your dreams and for parents to believe in their children, too. And for those who can bearly wait to learn more about bears, the book ends with Mrs. Dweck's fun facts about bears from around the world.

When I told my children I had another book to share with them they hurried and gather around the computer to excited to read it. From the minute I opened the book my children were glued. They genuinely laughed at almost every page and I will admit I chuckled a few times myself.

With it's colorful pages and humorous story as with all of Julia Dweck's creations, this book manages to have a lesson intermingled as well. Believe in your yourself and you can be anything you want to be. I know as a I tell my children that constantly but Faux Paw has a lesson for parents as well.  Sometimes it may take more than words to help your child believe they can be anything they want to be.

My children loved the fun facts and matching game at the end.  I was not surprised my children enjoyed this book, Julia Dweck is a hit in my house. Two days later and my daughter is begging me to read this book again. She said she LOVED this story because his teacher said he couldn't be a bear but his mom said you can be anything you want to be.

Faux Paw is available on Amazon
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I received a copy of this EBook in exchange for an honest, uncompensated review.  

Humpfree the Humpless Camel

Julia Dweck has done it again her newest release, Humpfree the Humpless Camel is just as entertaining as the two other books I have reviewed for you.  Just as the others well written, easy to read,  and keeps my children's attention.   Every page that has a new "solution" Humpfree tries has a colorful illustration by Young-Min Yoon that goes along with it.

My children and I couldn't wait to turn the page to see if Humpfree would get the results he desired. Just when I started to feel sorry for Humpfree, the end came with a valuable life lesson for Humpfree and the kids. There is a reason you are different and there is nothing wrong with being different.

My children are 3, 4, and 5, so you can imagine getting a review out of this next to impossible. My nine year old can help but he wasn't home when we read this book.  These are a few of the comments I got when I asked, it was "cool' , "I liked it", my youngest son "awesome"  So as a mother, I can read their minds, they loved it. I will no doubt have to read it to them again tomorrow night!

Humpfree will be available for purchase 10/5/13.

Click here  to win a copy of Humpfree the Humpless camel plus Mary had a Sleepy Sheep and Blusy.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest, uncompensated review. 

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Mary had a Sleepy Sheep by Julia Dweck

 Author: Julia Dweck 

Illustrator: Wilson Williams, Jr.

Summary: “Young Mary had a little lamb.  His name was Sheppard sheep,
And everywhere that Mary went
That sheep was sure to sleep.”

This is not your average Mother Goose nursery rhyme. In this hilarious parody, poor Mary has one very sleepy, slumbering, snoozing sheep named Sheppard and Mary’s mom is not happy. Can Mary can keep her sleepy sheep awake?

Young readers will laugh along at Mary’s zany attempts, as she tries everything from spicy-hot fiestas to water fights. The humor is fast and fun in this easy to read rhyming adventure.

I received a complimentary copy of this EBook in exchange for an honest, uncompensated review. 

In rhyming verse this parody of Mary had a Little Lamb is very entertaining. It's also very amusing with poor Mary trying everything she can think of to keep her sleepy sheep awake.  Up until the end every page you turn shows Mary unsuccessfully trying another sleepiness antidote. 

My children laughed at all the tricks Mary tried and they enjoyed the pictures that went along with with them.  But wow, Mary sure is persistent so it teaches children to never give up. 

Once again Julia Dweck has a winner in my eyes with this page turner.  My children will no doubt make me read this again hundreds of times. I won't mind reading it  because it is quick and easy to read. Making it a perfect bedtime story. I see more Julia Dweck books in my children's future, maybe Humpfree the Humpless Camel that is set to be released October 2, 2013.  

Buy a copy of Mary had a Sleepy Sheep on Amazon 

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Stay tuned for details on how to win your own Mary had a Sleepy Sheep EBook. 

Blucy by Julia Dweck

Some of you may not know this about me but I love to read. When I had the time I would read for hours. I would get lost in a book and not go to sleep until the morning.  I don't really have the time to read myself but I am trying to pass down my love of reading to my children. To me there is nothing better than getting lost in a book. 

So here goes one of two book reviews I will be doing. Who knows you may see more book reviews in the future. 

Title: Blucy

Author: Julia Dweck

Illustrator: Erika LeBarre

Year published: 2013

Publisher: Xist Publishing

Number of pages: 21

Recommended age: 3+

Summary:Once in a blue moon, a special pet comes along. When Mandy adopts the best cat at the shelter, she doesn't realize it has a big secret and an even bigger personality. Features full screen images and pop-up text.

I received a copy of this EBook complimentary in exchange for a fair, honest, non-compensated review.

This is my first time reading a Julia Dweck book but my children have tons of books. I'm always looking for new books tor read at bed time but I like them to be small books that are quick and easy to read. I don't like very wordy books because obviously the more words the longer it takes to read and they lose interest very quickly.. It has 21 pages but there are not a lot of words on each page. The story flows effortlessly from one page to the other and draws you in. 

I found this story attention grabbing, humorous, and extremely entertaining. My four youngest children were glued and didn't say a word during the entire story.  That's a really big deal. I can always tell when they lose interest because one (hopefully not all of them) will start talking or fidgeting. Thankfully that was not the case with this story even as an adult I looked forward to turning the page, to see what antics Blusy had in store.

The illustration  by Erika LeBarrre is adorable and vibrant.  Each page filled with colorful pictures some even made my chuckle. They both do such a great job on the story and illustration a blue cat doesn't seem impossible even to me.    

It is a available on Amazon for $3.99 and can be read on your computer from Amazon's Cloud Reader. This service is free and can be used on or off line.  Stay tuned for your chance to win your own Blusy EBook.

Have you read any Julia Dweck books? What's your favorite? Leave me a comment and let me know.