An Extra Post: Review, I BROKE MY TRUNK by Mo Willems

Okay, you may have noticed things are not flying as according to usual plan here at Mommy Authors. It's been one of those months. I missed TWO of my scheduled blog posts. My fellows Mommy Author Bloggers assure me that I've been forgiven and they understand, but I need your forgiveness too, followers. :D

So I want to treat you to a review of a book by an author who is fast becoming a favorite in our house.

I BROKE MY TRUNK by Mo Willems 

Genre: Picture Book

Age: 4+

We have DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS, and it's one of those books my boys bring to me over and over and over. And we giggle every time we read it. The best part for me is going all-out-dramatic with the voices. We just ... yeah, love it. So when my six-year-old brought I BROKE MY TRUNK home from school from the library, me and my four-year-old immediately sat down, and voices and all, commenced to LOVE IT as much as DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS. This author is a genius. I'm probably late to the show on this one. You've probably all loved Mo Willems from the beginning. Anyway, this book involves a "long, crazy story" about how Elephant broke his trunk, all told in that signature Mo Willems style of dialogue and simple pictures. I adore the way my youngest can tell the story using the pictures. And when he does the voices, it's priceless.

So I need more Mo Willems books. What are your favorites?

My Fave Children's Books

(Original post published on my writer's blog May 7, 2012)

In honor of National Children's Book week, I'm rounding up a list of some of my favorite children's literature from picture books to chapter books. I suppose I wouldn't be a writer/mother worth my salt if my kids didn't have books. Don't worry. They have plenty. They have four, over-flowing shelves full of books. Granted, not many are those award-winning, deeper-meaning books. Most come from Walmart, or from my sister, a second grade teacher. But we still have a few we love to read over and over.


1. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault Illustrated by Lois Ehlert
This book is sort of like a big "duh" on the list. It's got an awesome rhythm, fun stuff happening to the letters, and of course, the alphabet itself! Both my six-year-old and my four-year-old request it numerous times a day.

2. I'm a T. Rex! by Dennis R. Shealy Illustrated by Brian Biggs
Whenever I say, "Let's read a book," this is the one my four-year-old brings. It's a rhyming, rhythmic, growling story about a little T. Rex, and the four-year-old loves to yell along with the oft-repeated line, "I'm a T. Rex!"

3. Hop On Pop by Dr. Seuss (Board book version)
You know those 3-in-1 Seuss board books you can buy at Costco? Yeah, we bought lots of those when my six-year-old was a toddler. He LOVED books (and still does). And later on, when he got in kindergarten, this book basically taught him to read. Of course, after several hundred readings he probably had it memorized.

4. Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton
My four-year-old thinks he's so awesome because he can "read" this book to Grandma over Skype. And all of us giggle non-stop at every page. SO adorable. Every child needs this book. Seriously.

5. Utterly Me, Clarice Bean by Lauren Child

 I'll brag here for just a second. My kindergartner is a pretty awesome reader and is more interested in chapter books than picture books. (He can read a Magic Treehouse Book in a matter of hours.) He's always plucking books off my shelf like Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and even the Gallagher Girls. Once, when I told him he could bring one chapter book on a long trip, he chose my all-in-one collection of Chronicles of Narnia. In an effort to help he read something more along his level, I picked up Utterly Me at Sam's Club one day. Then I started reading with him. And started laughing my head off. We haven't finished it, but the voice is the most darling thing in the world. Believe me, there's a review coming soon! 

Ranee` Reviews: MY SECRET WAR: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck by Mary Pope Osborne

So maybe you've noticed some changes going on here at Mommy Authors. Like reviews. This is a first for one of my posts, and I'm excited. In fact, I picked MY SECRET WAR especially for this, because one, I don't read middle grade often, and two, we're Mom's and Authors. We all need book recommendations for our kids, because of course, we'd like to make them readers too!

Title: My Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck
Age: Middle Grade

Length:  179 pgs. w/ additional facts

From Amazon: Thirteen-year-old Madeline's diaries for 1941 and 1942 reveal her experiences living on Long Island during World War II while her father is away in the Navy.

The Rating: ****

The Good

I love World War II stuff. I do. I'm still a history geek at heart and get some of my greatest ideas from listening to a fun podcast called "Stuff You Missed In History Class." (You may already know I based my last NANO novel on the French Revolution, but that's a story for another day.) I don't read middle grade books often, though that's a fact I expect will change as my genius 6yo (no seriously...) continues to progress in his love of books, but I'm glad I ran my finger over this one. I was always a big American Girls fan (remember those??) so this is right up my alley. It is a cute, fun glimpse into the life of an average girl during World War II. It includes some fantastic insight as well as some heart-pumping action. (About half-way through I couldn't put it down.) I loved the "family" that is central to the story, and all the small things that make their lives tick and sometimes stop ticking. 

The Bad

It was a little hard for me to get into at first. As I mentioned above, once I got about half-way through I couldn't put it down, but it did take that long to work into the real meat of the plot.

The Recomendation

If you've read "The Magic Treehouse" series with your kids and swore you'd never read anything of Mary Pope Osborne's again (okay, I'll admit right here, I have a prejudice. I can only take so much "Jack said, this" and "Annie said, that.") don't let it keep you from reading this book, especially if you have an itch for things historical and entertaining.

Content: Can I say, "Mild theatrical elements" and will you know what I mean? (Maddie faces some scary guys one night on a beach. Again, it's middle grade and told from the POV of a 13 yo., so not really scary, only mildly so.)