Back to School with 4RV Publishing

 

From letters A to Z, 

furry faces are here to see. 

Living in cages and ponds

or feathered friends in a tree, 

explore a zoo of exciting animals

from land, air, and sea. 

ABCs from the Bible helps children learn the alphabet using examples tied to the Bible. The author's words and the artist's illustrations bring the ABCs to life. The back pages give more information for adults to share with their youngsters.

The teacher’s idea for celebrating the 100th day of school excites everyone. While the other students share their ideas for 100 unique things, Freckle Face Fred doesn’t. Join the celebration to discover what Fred finds unique.

Have you ever seen anything besides rain, hail, or snow fall from the sky? When the Sky Falls, Duck takes you on a trip to all kinds of places and shows you unusual things that have fallen from the sky and explains why.

Concepcion loves TV, but she has to sit close to see the screen. She holds her books close to her face to read. Her teacher seats her in the front row to copy her spelling words from the blackboard. When she gets a chance to look through her Papa's glasses, she decides that must be the answer. She wants to get glasses so she can see better. But first her eyes need to be tested, a new experience to be faced."

Eleven-year-old Kate Taylor dreams of being the star of her basketball team, Angels. When Kate's tooth is knocked out at one of the games, and her mother, who is also her coach, says she can't play until the tooth the dentist replants heals, Kate's dreams are in jeopardy. Add Emily, the new girl at school who claims she's the best, and Kate faces a challenge to prove that she is the star. ​

Will Kate succeed? Or will Emily ruin Kate's plans?

To purchase these and other titles from 4RV Publishing, please visit our online catalog at http://www.4rvpublishing.com/full-book-cover-catalog.html 

Review: Kindertransport by Kena Sosa

 

Kindertransport 

by Kena Sosa, illustrated by Jeanne Conway

Review by Cheryl C. Malandrinos

Kindertransport by Kena Sosa is the touching story of a young Jewish girl in Germany who gets onboard the Kindertransport train headed for England.

In the days before the outbreak of World War II, Helen finds herself trapped inside her house. Unable to understand why her family’s life has changed so suddenly, she worries as Vater’s mood changes and Mutter pretends she doesn’t like eggs simply so Helen will have enough to eat. Then one day, Mutter tells her to pack her suitcase so she can ride a train that will bring her to England until the danger is over.

Sosa has done a fabulous job of bringing to life the experiences of so many Jewish children in the days before the war started. She captures the emotions, the frustrations, the uncertainty Helen feels as life has changed. I’m sure the interviews she conducted with Jewish survivors helped flesh out the details, and it is that research that allowed her to create such an incredible story. An afterword shares more about Kindertransport, and a list of materials used in the research for the book is included.

Accompanying Sosa’s moving text are the black and white illustrations by Jeanne Conway. The burning of Vater’s bookstore, how Helen clings to her bunny as she packs, and the hope Helen feels as she holds on to the ship’s railing on her way to England are all brought to life by Conway. 

Kindertransport might be one of the most stirring books I read this year. I highly recommend it to readers everywhere.

Kindertransport and other books by Kena Sosa are available at https://www.4rvpublishing.com/kena-sosa.html and other online retailers. 

Review: Joy and Mary Save Christmas by Wayne Harris-Wyrick

Joy and Mary Save Christmas

by Wayne Harris-Wyrick, illustrated by Carrie Salazar

Review by Cheryl C. Malandrinos

 

Joy and her friend, Mary, are taken on a magical adventure to help Santa and the elves when stolen presents and electrical problems hit the North Pole in Joy and Mary Save Christmas by Wayne Harris-Wyrick. 

While playing in Joy’s backyard and lamenting the lack of snow in Oklahoma City at Christmastime, the two girls find themselves transported to the North Pole, where an upset Santa Claus begs for their help. Thanks to Joy’s photographic memory and Mary’s eagerness to help, Christmas might just be saved. 

What a fun, magical adventure. Harris-Wyrick has created a seasonal story filled with Christmas magic that will have everyone believing in Santa Claus. Inspired by a dream, this delightful story will charm tweens and teens with inventions only the North Pole might have.

Artist Carrie Salazar provided the cover art and interior illustrations for Joy and Mary Save Christmas. The snowy scenes and glimpses into Santa’s world are so sweet and relay such emotion the reader will feel like they are right there alongside Joy and Mary as they work to save Christmas.

If you enjoy seasonal stories filled with special magic, you need to pick up a copy of Joy and Mary Save Christmas.

Joy and Mary Save Christmas and other books by Wayne Harris-Wyrick are available at www.4rvpublishing.com and other online retailers. 

Writing Children’s Books: Genre Differences P2

Writing Children’s Books:

Genre Differences Part Two

By Karen Cioffi

Part One of this two-part article discussed books for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers: Bedtime Stories, Board Books, and Picture Books. If you haven’t read it yet, please CLICK HERE.

Part Two moves on to school age children.

Chapter books for the 6 - 9 or 7 – 10 year old group: Children in this group are learning to read. The vocabulary and storyline is expanding, but clarity is still a must. These books may be labeled as ‘early readers’ or ‘easy readers’ by educational publishers and are designed to be read by the child. The word count is usually between 5,000 and 12,000.

An example of a chapter book is Clarice Bean, That's Me by Lauren Child, another is Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.

In regard to Because of Winn-Dixie, the protagonist is ten years old. Since children tend to read-up (the protagonist will be 2 – 3 years older than the reader), the target audience is around 7 – 8 years old, placing it within this genre and possibly the younger end of middle grade.

Middle grade books: The middle grader is between 8 and twelve years old. The middle-grader will go for stories that he can associate with and characters he can form a bond with. The word count is usually a minimum of 20,000.

As the child is able to comprehend more and is maturing, so should the stories. Stories and conflict can be more involved and you can now introduce more than one protagonist or point of view. This age group can also be introduced to science fiction, fantasy, and mysteries.

An example of a middle grade book is Walking Through Walls by Karen Cioffi. The early Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling are also middle-graders.

Young adult books: This genre encompasses the twelve to sixteen and up age group. YAs can be edgy; plots and characters can be complex and serious issues addressed.

An example of a young adult book is An Audience for Einstein by Mark Wakely. The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer is also in the YA genre.

A useful way to get a better idea of what the different genres consist of is to visit your local library and talk to the children’s section librarian. She’ll be able to show you books in each genre and give you tidbits of information on which are the most popular, which are classic, and much more.

One final note here, each publisher will have his own criteria for categorizing a book and its minimum and maximum page length within a category.

What are your favorite books within these categories?

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