Saturday 20 June 2015

Kid Lit Blog Hop #62

Kid Lit Blog Hop
Welcome to the 62nd Kid Lit Blog Hop where we continue to develop a dynamic and engaged community of children's books bloggers, authors, publishers, and publicists. So, you are always more than welcome to join us by popping in a post and hopping around to meet some of your fellow Kid Lit bloggers and authors! This week, we are excited to be including a Facebook Linky Party to be held in conjunction with the Kid Lit Blog Hop. These linky parties are designed to give you the opportunity to connect with and grow your network of fellow kid lit bloggers, authors, and parents through your various social media platforms. *** Please note that we will only be hosting 1 Kid Lit Blog Hop during the months of July and August. These will take place on the 3rd Wednesday of each month (July 15 and August 19).  

Hostesses:

Mother Daughter Book Reviews

Julie Grasso, Author/ Blogger

Cheryl Carpinello, Author / Blogger

Stacking Books

BeachBoundBooks

Pragmatic Mom

Reading Authors

The Logonauts

A Book Long Enough

Spark and Pook

Today, I am going to embark on a book that is fairly well known in the universe, but I am keen for our blogger community's take on it.

 
I can't seem to be able to save a cover photo, so It will have to just be the link
 
 
 by Lemony Snicket
 
Description from Amazon
In a fading town, far from anyone he knew or trusted, a young Lemony Snicket began his apprenticeship in an organization nobody knows about. He started by asking questions that shouldn't have been on his mind. Now he has written an account that should not be published, in four volumes that shouldn't be read. This is the first volume.


This starts out with a great deal of intrigue when Snicket finds himself in a cafĂ© with people he calls his parents, but things are not what they seem. As I am a huge fan of mystery in any form, I am naturally taken in.  I actually started reading this as a research endeavour, for a steam punkish middle grade that I am intending on writing as my next project.

Snicket is certainly famous for this kind of genre, so I thought I would read the best in the business.  Interesting how the writer in me, became instantly critical.

The story for me, meandered along, with excessive details, and descriptions I found myself getting very tired with. Lemony is apprenticed to an eccentric women, who seem to do nothing but want to control him, and teach him little, and she constantly uses large words then explains them, which felt so jolting and lesson like.

I did like the quirkiness of the mystery, but as the book drew to a close, I was 300 pages in and no wiser as to what was happening.  It set up for a second book very much so, which has been published, but I couldn't help wondering, what kid would read this at the age of 10, with all that I have mentioned so far.

The illustration throughout were simple and kitchy, which I enjoy, but didn't really add very much to the story for me.   
 
 So, this is not so much review, but a research project.

How would this story captivate children, especially reluctant readers, and why are these kinds of books even pitched to kids.

It is a mystery to me, so if anyone has kids that love these books, I would love to hear it.

Until then folks, happy hopping.
 
 
 

Kid Lit Blog Hop & Linky Party Rules *Please Read*

1. LINKY PARTY: Add the link to your Facebook fan page in the Facebook Linky Party list below. Be sure to visit at least the two links directly before yours as well as your hosts' Facebook pages. Be sure to follow some folks with similar interests and like & share posts that catch your eye. If you do not have a Facebook profile, you are welcome to link up a different social media profile (Pinterest, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, etc.). 2. KID LIT BLOG HOP: Link up any Kid Lit related post in the Kid Lit Blog Hop. This can be a link to a children’s book review, a discussion about children’s literature/literacy, or a post on a recently-read children’s book or one that you love from your childhood.
* Don't link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post.*
* For Authors, we prefer you to link to your blog if you have one. Please link unique posts each time ~ no repeats please. *
* Make sure you include an image relevant to the POST (e.g., book cover), not your blog button or photo of yourself.*
* Feel free to link more than one post.*
3. KID LIT BLOG HOP: Please visit AT LEAST the TWO LINKS from the Kid Lit Blog Hop directly ahead of your own and leave them some love in the form of a comment. We are trying to build a community of bloggers, readers, parents, authors, and others who are as passionate about children’s literature as we are so please CONNECT and follow any or all of the blogs that interest you! 4. If you like, grab the button above and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you're linking up. If you'd prefer, you can just add a text link back to this Hop so that others can find it and check out all these great book links! 5. It would really help us get the word out about the Kid Lit Blog Hop if you would be so kind as to tweet, share, and spread the word about the Hop!

Happy Hopping!

 

FACEBOOK LINKY PARTY

(***Please do not link a blog post here - see below for the Kid Lit Blog Hop***)


KID LIT BLOG HOP

Wednesday 3 June 2015

Kid Lit Blog Hop #61 Lulu by Georgie Donaghey

Kid Lit Blog Hop
Welcome to the 61st Kid Lit Blog Hop where we continue to develop a dynamic and engaged community of children's books bloggers, authors, publishers, and publicists. So, you are always more than welcome to join us by popping in a post and hopping around to meet some of your fellow Kid Lit bloggers and authors! This week, we are excited to be including a Google+ Linky Party to be held in conjunction with the Kid Lit Blog Hop. These linky parties are designed to give you the opportunity to connect with and grow your network of fellow kid lit bloggers, authors, and parents through your various social media platforms.  

Hostesses:

Mother Daughter Book Reviews

Julie Grasso, Author/ Blogger

Cheryl Carpinello, Author / Blogger

Stacking Books

BeachBoundBooks

Pragmatic Mom

Reading Authors

The Logonauts

A Book Long Enough

Spark and Pook

 


 
I am so excited to bring you this book review.

Lulu by Georgie Donaghey and Ann-Marie Finn
 
 
Book Description:
Lulu’s life was quite cosy and nice, with mountains of fish and even more ice. But something was missing, something wasn't quite right. She dreamed of the stage, she yearned for the lights. Join Lulu on her adventure and see what she discovers…
 
 My Review:
 
From the first page, you can't help falling in love with Lulu. This beautiful polar bear with something more on her mind than her cosy life of fishing amongst the ice.
Lulu longs for the lights of the stage, and will be never content to only dance in front of a pack of sea lions.
When her friends remind her of her place, Lulu packs up and heads for the city. 
Opening night, the butterflies flutter and tickle her belly, but Lulu doesn't give in to her limbs wobbling like jelly.
She conquers the stage with polish and grace, night after night with a smile on her face.   
Her dream of performing has certainly come true, but Lulu is lonely and misses her crew.
She heads on home, to find her friends have built her, her very own show.
 
Lulu's life is once again cosy and nice with her wonderfully supportive friends on the ice.
 
I read this with my almost 4 year old who was captivated from start to finish. We loved the whimsical rhyme that flowed so smoothly, making this a great read aloud.  The stunning illustrations by Ann- Marie Finn bring Lulu to life. Every page is so beautiful I wanted to print them to put upon my little girls walls. My absolute favourite illustration is this one.
 
 
The overarching theme of following your dreams but keeping grounded in yourself is expertly woven into the story, making this a book I suspect will be read over and over again in our household.
 
My final thoughts:
Georgie Donaghey has a true sense of what entertains children and I believe this will be a great addition to any child's book shelf ages 3-6.
 
FYI, This is Georgie's debut of which we are incredibly impressed.  Not only is she an author, she is also runs an amazing Aussie children's book review site, with loads of tips, tricks and links for new and aspiring authors. 
 

 
 

Kid Lit Blog Hop & Linky Party Rules *Please Read*

1. LINKY PARTY: Add the link to your Google+ profile page in the Google+ Linky Party list below. Be sure to visit at least the two links directly before yours as well as your hosts' Google+ pages. Be sure to follow some folks with similar interests and share posts that catch your eye. If you do not have a Google+ profile, you are welcome to link up a different social media profile (Pinterest, Facebook, etc.). 2. KID LIT BLOG HOP: Link up any Kid Lit related post in the Kid Lit Blog Hop. This can be a link to a children’s book review, a discussion about children’s literature/literacy, or a post on a recently-read children’s book or one that you love from your childhood.
* Don't link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post.*
* For Authors, we prefer you to link to your blog if you have one. Please link unique posts each time ~ no repeats please. *
* Make sure you include an image relevant to the POST (e.g., book cover), not your blog button or photo of yourself.*
* Feel free to link more than one post.*
3. KID LIT BLOG HOP: Please visit AT LEAST the TWO LINKS from the Kid Lit Blog Hop directly ahead of your own and leave them some love in the form of a comment. We are trying to build a community of bloggers, readers, parents, authors, and others who are as passionate about children’s literature as we are so please CONNECT and follow any or all of the blogs that interest you! 4. If you like, grab the button above and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you're linking up. If you'd prefer, you can just add a text link back to this Hop so that others can find it and check out all these great book links! 5. It would really help us get the word out about the Kid Lit Blog Hop if you would be so kind as to tweet, share, and spread the word about the Hop!

Happy Hopping!

 

GOOGLE+ LINKY PARTY

(***Please do not link a blog post here - see below for the Kid Lit Blog Hop***)


KID LIT BLOG HOP