Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Jason Reynolds ILLUSTRATOR: Alexander Nabaum GENRE: Middle-grade story collection. RATING: 4.5 stars. A wonderful collection of ten stories all set around a common theme of children walking home from school. The characters overlap in a few of the stories but the main character(s) are distinct for each tale. This isn’t a typical children’s anthology and these are the reasons why: 👉 So many authors steer clear of "taboo" topics -- parental illness, deaths, abuse, bullying, homosexuality -- and make children's fiction goody-goody happy experiences. Not Jason Reynolds. 👉 So many authors will try to incorporate higher level vocabulary in their works so that the book ends up as an "educational" experience for its young readers. Not Jason Reynolds. A tardigrade isn't called a tardigrade, it's a water bear. That's indicative of an author who knows what his readers enjoy. 👉 Show me one author who can write a story around boogers and still make it ...

Author: Jane Davis Genre: Contemporary Literary Fiction. Rating: 4.5 stars. This was a tough one to review. I’m still at a loss about where to begin. My usual “Nutshell” summation escapes me. So I’ll just start by saying: I LOVED this book, but it is not for everyone. Read on to see if this book will work for you. Story: The story comes to us from multiple perspectives and over multiple timelines. Ayisha, July 2010 onwards – A high school teacher, the story begins with her discovering that one of her colleagues, Jim Stevens, has been stabbed in broad daylight in the school grounds. There’s a big group of stunned students surrounding him, but no one wants to confess what happened. Ayisha chooses Shamayal, one of the students, to assist her in providing first aid to Jim until medical assistance arrives. But when she later discovers that Shamayal and Jim are friends, she wonders if she should report her colleague to the educational authorities. Why does she hesitate? What makes her, a str...

AUTHOR: Stephen G. Bowling GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: November 30, 2020 RATING: 4.25 stars This is a sweet little story about a little robin named “Simon”. He wants to invite all his farm animal friends to his home. But as can be expected, they are too big to fit in his little house. Simon is depressed until his mother figures a way around the problem. The story is simple and straightforward, and yet it drives home many important points, two of which are: 👉 Where there is a will there is a way; and 👉 Home is where your heart is. It was also nice to see Simon have a variety of animal friends, rather than being restricted only to birds. It drives home a subtle point of being open to diversity. The book is written in simple rhythmic verse that flow in pleasant harmony. So this will be a wonderful read-aloud companion for early readers as the rhymes don’t sound jarring. The illustrations are really cute and vibrant, though in some cases, actual animal proportion...

AUTHOR: Stephen G. Bowling GENRE: Children's Picture Book. PUBLICATION DATE: July 25, 2021 RATING: 4.5 stars Simon the robin returns with yet another quest. This time, he is off to seek a scary dragon whom he has heard of. But none of his friends seem to be aware of this dragon until Simon finally meets the Wise Owl who points him in the right direction. This story is even cuter than the first book. Once again, it was nice to see a variety of animals in the narration. Simon’s exuberance is contagious and you will be as curious as he is to know the whereabouts of the dragon. Of course, I was a bit surprised to see him, a robin, approaching an eagle and an owl to seek answers. Wouldn’t he be instinctively scared of birds of prey? I was also confused about how Simon heard the stories of the scary dragon while none of his friends had even heard of a dragon being around. But that’s just me, over-applying logic as always. From a child’s perspective, the book should work just fine. I love...

AUTHOR: Glenn Ringtved ILLUSTRATOR: Charlotte Pardi TRANSLATOR: Robert Moulthrop GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: February 16, 2016 RATING: 5 stars! What a wonderful book this is! Never thought a book on such a dreary topic could be handled so beautifully. Death has come to take away the grandmother of four little children. So they decide to try diverting his attention away from his task. He then tells them a beautiful story that helps them understand how life is incomplete without death. This would be a fabulous book to help little children understand something as tragic as death. As the Grim reaper himself puts it, "Cry, Heart, But Never Break." Don't allow the grief to overwhelm you but remember that life moves on, and focus on the good memories of those who are no longer with you. The message that the book conveys is important for adults too. So this can be a beautiful book to read together if you want to explain the why's of death to your chi...

AUTHOR: Kimberly Garvin ILLUSTRATOR: Saadiq Wicks GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: July 26, 2017 RATING: 3.5 stars This is a book that has its heart in the right place. Oliver is a seven year old who is great in many activities but hates to speak. The reason? He has a stutter. After escaping his school speaking assignment on “All About Me” for a long time, he approaches his mother for help. She makes him realise that his stutter is a part of who he is and he needs to accept it willingly. This marks a turnaround in his thinking. The moral of the story is fabulous. You actually feel for Oliver when he stutters, “I don’t want them to know all about me.” So many children lose their confidence because of their so-called shortcomings. But if they accept it, laugh at it, and don’t shy away from it, life can certainly be a bit easier for them. That’s where this book does really well. The message comes out very clearly. I do wish the end weren’t so abrupt. It would have been...

AUTHOR: Christina Furnival ILLUSTRATOR: Katie Dwyer GENRE: Children's Nonfiction. PUBLICATION DATE: September 14, 2021 RATING: 4.5 stars As parents, we tell our children to be kind and friendly with everyone. But in the course of giving this advice, we tend to forget that there are bullies too in this world. All of us know at least one bully who doesn’t listen to reason but insists on getting things their way. For children (and adults), a bully is difficult to deal with. That’s where this book steps in. The biblical adage of “Do unto others as you would like others to do unto you” is something I firmly believe in. The child in this story also follows the same approach. She is sweet and friendly with everyone. But despite her best efforts, one of the children always fights with her. After trying harder and speaking with her parents, she realises that she needs to set some boundaries not just for herself but in how she allows others to treat her. The idea of the book is great, the ex...