Katie Comstock - Moonbeam

Moonbeam



By Katie Comstock



Kindle Version Available

Product Description (from Amazon)

Moonbeam lives in the magical land of Glaucio. She is the daughter of Fiona, lead mare of the main herd on in the land. When Fiona is brutally killed by Abaddon, Moonbeam is thrust into command of the herd. She must battle against Abaddon and his evil forces using her innocence and a gift from Stardust. Abaddon wishes to kill Stardust, the stallion in charge of all the land. Moonbeam and her friend, Comet, must fight together with mares and stallions of other herds to prevent this. If Abaddon succeeds, the land of Glaucio will be cast into 300 years of darkness, evilness and despair.

About the Author (from Amazon)

Ever since I was little, I've enjoyed anything to do with reading or writing. Any book I could get my hands on I devoured. Writing proved to be a wonderful way to temporarily get out of doing my math. I didn't write very much until my Mom bought me the One Year Adventure Novel (www.oneyearnovel.com) curriculum in the fall of 2009. This curriculum taught me how to come up with a compelling plot and characters. Through this curriculum, I've written two books, one of them in the process of being written and the other, Moonbeam. 
I have wonderful parents and four awesome younger siblings. When I'm not writing, I enjoy riding my horse, playing piano, ballet, reading and listening to music. I've been homeschooled since preschool and love the flexibility it gives me to be able to write more. 

O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Kendra

This is a book which I wish I could have liked more than I did. I first heard of it through an interview she had with Landry's Academy, and it sparked my interest. Unfortunately, I failed to bookmark the book, and while I remembered the title and the author's first name, I forgot her last name … and searching “Moonbeam” and “Katie” didn't come up with anything.

And then I was reading through the backposts on the Homeschooled Authors blog – and there she was. I didn't have the money to buy the book at the time, but as soon as I did, I snatched up a kindle copy. I read it in a day.

As I stated before, I wish I could have liked it more than I did. It's not that it was a bad book – it was delightfully unique, and for the most part the horses acted like horses (one of my pet peeves in animal books is when you could say that they're human and not change a word in the book – I've read such books before). Also it's a Christian allegory, one of my two favorite flavors of Fantasy.

Yet for all of its charm, it fell flat for me. I knew when I picked it up that the author was only sixteen – it was one of the reasons I wanted to read it – but it showed. There was a lack of maturity to the writing (especially the conversations, which is a biggie with me) and many of the characters. There was nothing to set it apart from other allegories (other than the fact that it was about horses, rather than regular people), indeed, I found it rather predicable, having already read many books in the genre.

The story begins shortly after Moonbeam, the titular character, finds that Abbadon, the leader of the bay horses, has killed her mother. There are two colors of horses in this world. White horses follow Stardust, the Jesus figure of the book, and bay horses are those who are in rebellion against Stardust.

While she is still trying to come to grips with her mothers death, a new horse shows up, Daryn, a messenger of Stardust to tell her that a great war was being set in motion and to ask her and Comet, the stallion of their herd, to join them. Since her mother was the leader of the herd, Moonbeam is to follow in her footsteps … of course going to help means that she has to find a substitute for a while, but her friend, Ellipse, is perfect for the job.

Then they go with Daryn, train for the battle, meet new friends (the stallions and lead mares of other herds), and have the battle.

After that, I found it rather predictable, since I already knew that it was an allegory.

I really, really wanted to love this book. I enjoyed it, definitely, and the author shows lots of promise, so I will continue to read her books (I follow her blog, and while she hasn't published anything else, some of the books she's working on sound very interesting), but this one fell flat.

Note: This would be a good story for younger girls, maybe eight to twelve, who love horses, but don't mind it if it gets a bit scary.

Genre/Theme: Fantasy, Christian, Animals

Reading Level: CHILD - children's literature 
Profanity: NONE - no offensive language 
Sexuality: NONE - not even hinted at 
Other: Fighting between horses, some death, but not much is described.

Salvador Alva - Come Back Home, Sugar Bear

Come Back Home, Sugar Bear
The story of a dog lost, and a spoiled little girl's love


By Salvador Alva



Kindle Edition Available 




Product Description (from Amazon) 

Publication Date: January 27, 2012
When nine year old Lisa's mother brings home a chihuahua, she is not pleased about it.

With the dog getting all of the attention and her older brother happy, she does everything in her power to get rid of it.

The only thing she cares about is her herself.

Eventually, and over time, the little girls love for the dog becomes so strong, that being separated breaks the little girls heart.

Will she ever find him again?

A warm and loving story coupled with a beautiful life lesson.


About the Author (from Amazon)

No Author Description  Available



O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Rachel


This story is written for young children, so it is simple with very little plot or character development – of course, it’s hard to do much in a book you can read in 10 minutes.  It is engaging enough that any child who loves dogs should enjoy the book.

Their are two 9 year old little girls, I’m not sure what the first girl’s name is ... as I’ve combed the story and cannot find it.  But the second one is Wendy.  And there is Sugar Bear – the tiny dog.

As I am pretty sure that no 5 – 7 year old children are going to be reading this blog to find a book ... I’ll not worry about spoilers ... the basic story line goes like this ...

Mom brings home the little dog, and her spoiled little girl hates the dog, kicks him, screams at him, and is mad because she is no longer the center of all the attention.  One night she has a bad dream, slams the door on the dog and then is worried that she has hurt it.  Mom puts them both in the bed with her while Dad sleeps on the couch ... things begin changing between the girl and the dog.  Later, at her 10th birthday party at the park, Sugar Bear is lost.  A lady finds the dog, and gives her to Wendy.  Months pass before they find the owners, but in returning the dog, the girl and Wendy become best friends.

There is a LOT more to the story ...  as it is around 25 pages long without pictures.  It is actually quite an entertaining little story.

I suppose it is (will be) a cute and enduring story to most people, and most children will enjoy it and read it again and again.

But this is not a story that my family will be keeping.  I found the little girl’s attitude to be quite shocking, especially the way she bossed around her parents and felt that their job was to make her happy.  It wasn’t until the dog showed her attention that she decided to like it.  It gave her undivided attention.  The one thing I DID like, was that the little girl Wendy was not a popular child, but the first girl noticed that she was sad and invited her to play and share the dog.  This was the only glimpse that I saw of the girl thinking of anyone other than herself.  She did miss Sugar Bear as well, but I was unsure whether she missed the dog or the attention that the dog gave to her.  I do understand that most parents or adults do not feel the same way I do about this subject.

Now, if a bratty little girl amuses you, you will probably love this book.  The writing style is simple and clean, easy to follow, and emotional.   It is well written and cute, and who can resist a tiny little dog?

Ms. Alva has some definite talent for writing a simple, clean cut, and easy to follow for the early readers that is sure to find captivating and enjoyable.


Genre/Theme:   Children, Pets – Dog,  Bedtime Story, Lost/ Found Pet
Reading Level: CHILD - children's literature   -  Ages 4 and up  to listen – 2nd grade reading level
Profanity:  LOW - few mildly offensive words  -  hate and a couple others
Sexuality: NONE - not even hinted at 
Other: None

Daisy Griffin - Samantha Loses the Box Turtle

Samantha Loses the Box Turtle
by Daisy Griffin
Illustrations by Matthew Griffin

Kindle Edition Available



Product Description (from Amazon)
When Samantha's grandfather finds a box turtle on a busy street the only thing to do is bring him home. Sam's mom says that he has to be let go, but not before some zany drama ensues. You'll have to read to find out how Samantha Loses the Box Turtle!


Samantha Loses the Box Turtle is a children's chapter book filled with fun and adventure while teaching about the lovable critter, the Eastern Box Turtle. It is broken up into 11 chapters, which contain 15 wonderful illustrations by Matthew Gauvin.

Also included at the end of the book are Box Turtle Fun Facts and a Quiz to help further your child's reading enjoyment.

About the Author (from Amazon author page)
I am a mother of 3, aunt of 7. My degree is in zoology and my heart tends to love all things natural. I love animals and plants and gazing at the stars at night. I am an avid reader. I am married to a technophile who lovingly bestowed a Kindle upon me for my birthday one year. I love it. I love reading on it, and am now enjoying creating books for children to go on it.

This biography was provided by the author or their representative.

O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Kendra
Growing up with a younger sister who loved animals, we had a few turtles … or more like lots of turtles. Four of these turtles were box turtles, and three of those came from the wild. I really enjoyed this book, as it brought back so many memories from those days.

     The story starts with them finding the turtle on the way home from a trip to town one day. They bring it home in a plastic sack because they found it in an unsafe location, and when they get home, their mother tells them they could not keep the turtle as it was wild and would not survive properly in captivity, something I can attest to because we had to release all three of the box turtles we got from the wild rather soon after my sister acquired them. They decide to take the turtle to the local nature preserve.
     Samantha is also studying the Food Chain in school and, with permission from both her mother and teacher, brings the turtle to show her fellow students. While at school, the turtle gets out and they have to re-find him again, and after school they take the turtle to the Nature Preserve.
     It was a good story, and flowed pretty seamlessly. There were plenty of turtle facts peppered throughout, but they were never annoying. To my surprise, there was no mention of evolution. All facts were the hands-on type that you can prove. The pictures were naturally black and white, so that should not be an issue on the black and white Kindle.
     Samantha did not get along with her sister as well as I would have liked her to, and I found the baby’s speech a tad bit unrealistic, but not much.

All in all, this is a good book, one I’m sure my younger sister would have devoured back during her turtle days, and one I’m sure my younger brother will enjoy reading.

Genre/Theme: Chapter Reading Book, Animals, Children
Reading Level (by appropriateness): CHILD Children's Literature
Profanity: One Gray Area word
Sexuality: NONE - although some parents might ahve issues when, in explaining the difference between girl and boy turtles, it is mentions that tboy turtles get on top of girl turtles

Ben Woodard - The Boy Who Flew With Eagles

The Boy Who Flew With Eagles
Mythic Adventure Collection #1


by Ben Woodard
illustrated by Laura Leikona

Kindle Edition Available




Product Description (From Amazon)
Famine. A giant eagle. And a boy who would be prey.

The book combines excitement, adventure, and the dream of all humans. To fly. Naa'ki, a boy snatched by a giant eagle, must use his wits and knowledge to survive. And to save his people and animals from starvation. To succeed, he will have to give up his future.

O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Tenya

Having been raised in the Pacific Northwest, I have a great appreciation for these kind of Native American tales, full of wisdom and a true appreciation for the natural world.

Ben Woodard has woven this story beautifully. It's easy to read. As an adult, I enjoyed it immensely. What human has not wished to soar on the wind? I was charmed from the first sentence. Wonderful!

As a homeschooler of 13+ years, I recommend this book as an example of Native American folklore and as a thought-provoking, unobtrusive invitation to wildlife conservation. Most third or fourth graders should be able to read this book on their own, and even those into their teens will probably enjoy it. Even though it is aimed at boys, which is fantastic, I think many young ladies will value it as well.

Notes:
Additionally, the illustrations by Laura Leikona which highlight each chapter are simple and beautiful.  Between the lovely aesthetic of this book and the good writing, it's a must read for all families, and especially for boys.  One of Ben Woodard's goals is to create books which excite young men about reading.

Genre/Theme:  Native American Tales, Children's Literature, Wildlife Conservation
Reading Level:  CHILD to ADULT - Most 3rd graders should be able to read this book independently.
Profanity: NONE
Sexuality: NONE