Thursday, January 26, 2017

#Review & Activities: For the Right To Learn Malala Yousafzai's Story by Rebecca Langston-George/ Illustrated by Janna Bock #ReadYourWorld #Peace @MalalaFund


"In some parts of the world, students are going to school every day. It's their normal life. But in other part of the world, we are starving for education... it's like a precious gift. It's like a diamond."
~Malala Yousafzai


  • Age Range: 8 - 11 years
  • Grade Level: 3 - 4
  • Paperback: 40 pages
  • Publisher: Capstone Press; Reprint edition (July 1, 2016)

Summary:
She grew up in a world where women were supposed to be quiet. But Malala Yousafzai refused to be silent. She defied the Taliban's rules, spoke out for education for every girl, and was almost killed for her beliefs. This powerful true story of how one brave girl named Malala changed the world proves that one person really can make a difference.

My review:

Looking back into my teenage years, I could never imagine not being able to learn or read books. I came from a parent who was a teacher, so, it was a given. In essence, I took my education for granted.
This is why I admire Malala and her father so much. For them, education is highly important and they stood up without fear so all could learn.

From the very first time I heard Malala's story, I have wanted to read about her and know more about her. Isn't ironic that I finally have had the opportunity to read and review this children's book about her? Think about it, at the point that she began to stand up against the Taliban, she would not even have been able to read this book about herself. Wow!

I found it interesting that she wrote scientific formulas in henna on her arms just so she could keep learning. I also thought it was interesting that of all the things she received in the hospital, that her prized possessions were her books and a couple of shawls.That is what I call continued education and the desire to learn.
 I also loved that her father reopened the school for boy and girls after they were able to return from exile. His continued support of his daughter in a world where women have no standing is admirable.

The illustrations only enhance what is already and excellent book. The colors are muted are appropriate for the subject matter. 

As a whole, the book is straightforward and honest. It packs and punch and leave the reader wanting to take action. Excellent book!
5 stars!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for free. The views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. This review is also part of the Multicultural Book Day posting which as of this review, takes place Jan.27, 2017. Book activities and further information is attached below. ~ M.M. Hudson aka Naila Moon

Where to find the author:

Rebecca Langston-George is a middle school language arts teacher who also trains teachers in writing instruction.  Her articles, poetry and puzzles have appeared in many children’s magazines. When she’s not at the keyboard Rebecca volunteers for the local chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).  She is also a past president of the Kern Reading Association.  The granddaughter of a fabulous flapper, Rebecca lives in Bakersfield, California. Amazon Facebook

Janna Rose Bock is a freelance illustrator in Long Beach, California. She earned a BFA in illustration from California State University, Long Beach, and later continued her education at Concept Design Academy in Pasadena. She specializes in digital illustration and whimsical stylized illustrations.



Activities for further extension of this book:

1. Donate to the Malala Fund
    Inspired by co-founders Malala and Ziauddin Yousafzai, Malala Fund’s goal is to enable girls to complete 12 years of safe, quality education so that they can achieve their potential and be positive change-makers in their families and communities. We work with partners all over the world helping to empower girls and amplify their voices; we invest in local education leaders and programs; and we advocate for more resources for education and safe schools for every child.

2. Tweet to Malala and keep up with what she is currently doing. @MalalaFund

3. Be a pen pal to another girl from another country. You could talk about what it is like to be in your school, what you are studying, draw pictures, send each other photos, always sign your name.

4. Watch Malala's speech to the United Nations upon accepting her Peace prize.


5. Make posters that promote peace and/or education, post them in prominent places.

6. Volunteer to help a younger kid read or help with homework

ABOUT MULTICULTURAL BOOK DAY:
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/17) is in its fourth year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators. 
Despite census data that shows 37% of the US population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published have diversity content. Using the Multicultural Children’s Book Day holiday, the MCBD Team is on a mission to change all of that.

Current Sponsors:  MCBD 2017 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board. Platinum Sponsors include Scholastic, Barefoot Books and Broccoli. Other Medallion Level Sponsors include heavy-hitters like Author Carole P. Roman, Audrey PressCandlewick Press Fathers Incorporated,KidLitTV, Capstone Young Readers, ChildsPlayUsa, Author Gayle Swift, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee& Low Books, The Pack-n-Go Girls, Live Oak Media, Author Charlotte Riggle, Chronicle Books and Pomelo Books



We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHostsHERE.
MCBD Links to remember:
Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta
Free Kindness Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teachers-classroom-kindness-kit/
Free Diversity Book Lists and Activities for Teachers and Parents:http://bit.ly/1sZ5s8i

Monday, January 23, 2017

The Blessed Event by Frankie Bow #Spotlight #BookBlast #MurderMysteries


I was asked to promote this tour on behalf of the author, Frankie Bow. At this time, I have not reviewed her book.
~Naila Moon

Amazon has priced The Blessed Event by Frankie Bow at just 99⊄ for the month of January! (Free on Kindle Unlimited)



Publisher: Hawaiian Heritage Press (June 10, 2016) Paperback: 344 pages ISBN-13: 978-1943476251 Kindle ASIN: B01GW5WUAE


Synopsis:
"You may wonder what my least-favorite student was doing in my living room. In a twist of fate that might seem hilarious if it happened to someone else, he was now my stepson." Professor Molly Barda is looking forward to a quiet summer in Mahina, Hawaii working on her research and adjusting to married life. But when a visit from her new husband's relatives coincides with a murder, Molly wonders what she's married into--and realizes she might have a killer under her roof.

author-photo-b-squareAbout The Author
Like Molly Barda, Frankie Bow teaches at a public university. Unlike her protagonist, she is blessed with delightful students, sane colleagues, a loving family, and a perfectly nice office chair. She believes if life isn’t fair, at least it can be entertaining.
In addition to writing murder mysteries, she publishes in scholarly journals under her real name. Her experience with academic publishing has taught her to take nothing personally.
Author Links Webpage Facebook Goodreads 
Purchase Links Amazon     


BOOK BLAST PARTICIPANTS:
January 23 – Reading Authors January 23 – Books,Dreams,Life January 23 – Bibliophile Reviews January 24 – The Book's the Thing January 24 – Maureen's Musings January 24 – Cozy Up With Kathy January 25 – A Blue Million Books January 25 – The Ninja Librarian January 25 – Readsalot January 25 – Fantastic Feathers January 26 – Dee-Scoveries January 26 – Celticlady's Reviews January 26 – QUEEN OF ALL SHE READS January 27 – Rainy Day Reviews January 27 – Author Annette Drake's blog January 28 – Laura's Interests January 28 – StoreyBook Reviews January 28 – Valerie' Musings January 29 – Mythical Books January 30 – Melina's Book Blog January 30 – Brooke Blogs 

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host? Click Here Find Details and Sign Up Today! 

Thursday, January 19, 2017

#Giveaway & #spotlight: Let’s Hug and The Unusualasaurases by Efrat Shoham Open WW (4 Winners!) @iReadBookTours #kidlit #efratshoham #thepinkcamel

I was asked to promote the following two books on behalf of the author, Efrat Shoham, as part of the iRead Book Tours. At this time, I have not read or reviewed either book. The giveaway prizes are sole responsibility of the author.



Book Description for Let’s Hug: 15 Hugs for Beginners:

There must be over a millions ways to say "I love you" or "I care about you", but with a single hug, even without words, you can simply feel it. This book is for toddlers, and encourages children and adults alike to try out all possible types of hugs. It's everyone's gain.

It took seconds for the sweet testers who accompanied the writing of this book to adopt these 15 ways of showing love, to give and receive it. And our testers are not alone. Recent studies reveal that Oxitocin, the most fun hormone available, also known as the Love Hormone, is released into our bodies when we hug.

Hugs are proven to have a generally positive healing and relaxing effect, since they increase calm and happiness, reinforce our self esteem, and support our sense of connection to those who are close to us. If you'd like to validate these studies, go ahead and hug.

This book was beautifully illustrated by Yuval Israeli, and it's the second creative collaboration between Yuval Israeli and Efrat Shoham.

Buy the Book: Amazon



Book Description for The Unusualasaurases:

Ages and ages ago, many different kinds of dinosaurs roamed our planet. Some were as large as whales, while others were the size of small dogs. Some were plant-eaters, while some ate other animals. Some had very long necks and tails, while others were tiny. Some had horns. Some had wings and could fly.

Despite all of these many variations, they were all part of the dinosaur family. And, as is often the case with family, they shared many common features.

No one has ever never whatsoever seen a live dinosaur or spoken to one of them. So, what if dinosaurs could really talk, or smile, cry, dream, dance, play and joke?

To answer all of these questions, all you have to do is become an Imaginesaurus, and meet the Unusualasauruses.

This book is aimed at children aged 4 to 120. It introduces the readers to different types of personalities, characters, and skills and thus helps us to spot them at a glance.

This book was beautifully illustrated by Lilach Ramati.

Buy the Book:  Amazon


About the Author:


Efrat Shoham is an Israeli writer and independent publisher (The Pink Camel).

Shoham grew up in a small agricultural village in Israel. Her father was a farmer and her mother – a teacher and librarian. She lives with her family in Tel Aviv, on a small street lined with eucalyptus, mulberry and loquat trees, where 3 rabbits from the nearby kindergarten run wild.

She thinks and believes that curiosity, imagination, humor, green fields, fresh mango or avocado and pink camels are some of the keys to a good and happy life.

Connect with the author:  Website  ~ Facebook


About the Illustrator of Let's Hug


Yuval Israeli 

"I grew up in a kibbutz in the north of Israel and for years I live in Tel Aviv with Roy and our cat "tsimuki". I studied design and illustration at "Vital" the school of visual arts, which reunited later with "Shenkar".

I also learned classical painting in the "station studio".

I always paint pop icons and characters which affected me, and I also always paint portraits of friends. Besides, I always enjoyed painting all kinds of creatures from my imagination". 

About the Illustrator of The Unusualasauruses

Lilach Ramati

"I majored in visual communication in Holon Institute of Technology. I studied Interactive, but eventually my final project was an illustrated book. Today I work as a designer in games company".

GIVEAWAY:
Win one of two copies of Let’s Hug or one of two copies of The Unusualasaurases (4 winners, open internationally)
Ends Jan 28. Naila Moon of Reading Authors is not responsible for prize shipments.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

FIRST KID LIT BLOG HOP OF 2017 #Linkup #ReadYourWorld #KidLitBlogHop #KLBH



HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017! We welcome you to the January 2017 Kid Lit Blog Hop. It was great to have a break for the holidays but it is also just as great to enjoy a brand new year of reading, reviewing, and sharing terrific children's literature. This monthly hop, happens every 3rd Wednesday of the month. It is designed to engage a  group of people who love everything that has to do with children's literature. Everyone is welcome to join us: bloggers, authors, publicist, and publishers!

Have you seen the  Kid Lit Blog Hopper Facebook fan page? This page has all the news and information related to the hop plus ongoing posts, giveaways, news articles, etc. related to Kid's Lit. Check it out and of course, please like the page.


We want to take this opportunity to promote a yearly day in which kid lit bloggers around the world share. Multicultural Book Day has been going on a few years now. Several of us participate and promote this day. You will find a list of 100's of books to choose from as well as activities to enhance the books. Children need to always seen themselves in the books they read. Join us on January 27th.



So for our hop, please make sure that your posts are related to Children’s literature only and add it to the linky. (Please make sure to add your direct post only) If you are an author, feel free just to link to your blog. Once you are done, then hop around to visit others. Please follow the co-host and visit at least the one or two people above your link. Please leave a comment when you do visit, we all like those.

Also, it would be appreciated if you grab the Kid Lit Blog Hop Badge and display it on your blog and/or your post. Note: Make sure you have the newest badge as the old one goes to the wrong page.
We would also be grateful if you tweet and/or posted on Facebook about the blog hop. Let’s grow this wonderful community.

This year's Kid Lit Hop dates are as follows:

January 18th
February 16th
March 15th
April 19th
May 17th
June 21st
July 19th
August 16th
September 20th
October 18th
November 15th
December No hop


Thanks for sharing your great children's books with all of us! The hostess will be around to see you.
Happy Hopping!




BeachBoundBooks, co-hostess
Pragmatic Mom, co-hostess
The Logonauts, co-hostess
Spark and Pook, co-hostess
                                                          

Monday, January 16, 2017

Winter's Respite Read-a-thon is a go! #WintersRespite

As with previous years, I have participated in the Winter's Respite Read-a-thon hosted by Michelle from Seasons of Reading. This year is no different and this is my official kick-off post.

Different this year is that she is having it for two whole glorious weeks. Yep, two weeks cuddle up in my pjs, hunker down from the cold, and read whatever my hearts desire.

I decided to begin "Ashes" by Steven Manchester and hope to get to "The Cody Musket Story: No Pit So Deep" by James Nathaniel Miller II.  I am sure there will be a children's book or two in there as well. Be looking for those reviews and an upcoming one, "Loreena's Gift" by Colleen M. Story.

Wish me luck!

M.M. Hudson aka Naila Moon

Sunday, January 8, 2017

Book #Giveaway 4 Winners! Let's Hug and The Unusualasauruses by Efrat Shoman

This giveaway is part of a tour, going on now,  on behalf of the author which I am part of. Enter now and come back to see about the books at my stop on January 19th.


Giveaway:​ Win one of two copies of Let’s Hug or one of two copies of The Unusualasaurases (4 winners, open internationally) Ends Jan 28 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, January 1, 2017

My Reading Challenges for 2017



Hello everyone and welcome to a new year and new reading challenges. This past year I did a few and completed some but did not meet all of the goals I set out to do. THIS year though, I plan to complete all of my reading challenges. I have decided to do at least the following:

Goodreads Challenge
Alphabet Reading Challenge
Gargoyle Bruce's Wild Goose Challenge
Diverse Reading Challenge
Mount TBR Challenge (Pike's Peak Level)

I think this will do me throughout the year but I may do sporadically others. In any case, if you would like to sign up for reading challenges, I suggest you check out this Master List.

Happy Reading and Happy New Year!
Naila Moon