Book Review/Giveaway: My Yellow Balloon. Ends Feb 20th

My Yellow Balloon by Tiffany Papageorge, illustrated by Erwin Madrid

About the Book: It all started at the carnival. That is where Joey makes a new friend: a bright yellow balloon. Joey and his beloved balloon do everything together, until the balloon accidentally slips off Joeys wrist and flies far, far away. What will Joey do without his special friend? Tiffany Papageorge has crafted a poignant tale of love, loss, and letting go that will serve as a comforting guide to children who are navigating the complicated emotions of grief. Rich, luminous illustrations by Erwin Madrid perfectly capture these timeless themes, making them accessible to even the youngest reader. Honest, unflinching, and ultimately reassuring, this book will resonate with anyone who has endured the darkness of grief, while offering hope for brighter days ahead.

My Review: This is a story about a boy dealing with the loss of his favorite Balloon. It also gives an insight to the meaning of grief and loss, and how children handle both.

The carnival had come to town and Joey was so excited that his parents could barely keep up with him. Then he saw hundreds of big, bright balloons and couldn’t wait to get one. The balloon man handled him a big bright yellow balloon with a string tied to Joey’s wrist. Joey spent every moment with the balloon playing until one day the balloon slipped off his wrist and floated away. He called for his big bight yellow to come back and watch it as it disappeared into the sky. Joey was angry, confused and sad for days and wish this balloon would come back. Not even a new toy will make him happy until…. You will have to buy the book to see if there was a happy ending.

This is a great book to help children with situations like this whether it’s their favorite toy, pet or a loss of a love one.

The illustrations by Erwin Madrid are wonderfully beautiful, bright and bold. The brightness of the colors help tells the happy days and the dark gray colors, the not so happy days which general help tell the story and bring it to life. I highly recommend this book for school libraries.

FTC Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from New Shelves Distribution in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion in any way.

Hardcover

48 pages

Giveaway Rules

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There will be 1 winner  

This Giveaway is Open to the USA Only!

Winner will be selected by Random.org

Giveaway Ends Feb 20th, 2015

Comments like these would be deleted – Great contest, please enter me, Love to win this! This is so cute!

Mandatory: Leave a comment about the review below. Leaving a helpful comment relating to this book would be appreciated and valid to the giveaway.

Giveaway Guidelines and Disclaimer  

Winners are selected via Random and notified by email. You have 48 hours to respond;

If no response, the prize is forfeited and an alternate winner is chosen.

This Giveaway Has Ended

Winner is #3 – Lavonne Yates

Book Review and Giveaway: Our Emotions and Behavior by Sue Graves. Ends Sept 10th

Big feelings are part of daily life for small kids, and happiness just isn’t always within reach. Unwelcome events, from a broken toy to a missing pet, bring on sad feelings that can darken kids’ days. In this charming feelings book, follow along as Ben helps cheer up his friends and shows how kids can turn sadness into smiles.

My Review: We welcome another great picture book series from Free Spirit Publishing called “Our Emotions and Behaviors” written by Sue Graves and illustrated by Desideria Guicciardini.

These wonderful books will help young children with the help of their parents understand and recognize their feelings and behavioral actions with themselves and others. 

I’m Not Happy. The story is about helping others who feel unhappy. Meet Ben a boy who doesn’t like to see his friends say and unhappy. He goes out of his way to help them fix broken toys; help Molly find her lost dog.  Then it was time for Ben to visit his grandmother and his mother told him to wear the sweater his grandmother made for him, Ben wasn’t happy at all as the sweater was too big and scratchy. When he saw that his grandmother was delighted to see him in the sweater it made Ben feel happy too. This book is about exploring ways we can help others feel better when they are sad. The last page of the book gives positive ideas to children on how to deal with sadness and strategies for overcoming things that make children unhappy. I highly recommend this book for parents and classroom teaching.

 

But Why Can’t I? When Jenny came over to babysit Noah and his baby sister Rosie they were given a set of rules by Noah’s mom. They had to be in bed at7 o’clock and listen to Jenny. They had to follow the rules.  But Noah didn’t want to follow the rules because it thinks rules are silly. He refused to look both side of the crossway when crossing the road to the park, he wouldn’t take turns playing a board game and when it was time to go to bed he wanted to stay up late. “But why can’t I? Jenny explained that adults follow rules too. And that rules are important to follow to help keep people safe and healthy.  Jenny also went on to explain why she had to follow rules at her job (my thought: That example wasn’t relevant to a child as young as Noah as he is too young to know about the rules Jenny had to follow at her job).

We know how hard it is for children to follow rules. But this book shows the important about talking to their children about why rules need to be followed. A great example was given at the last two pages of a picture story about a girl Emma dropping her can of drink on the path and a boy tripping over it and fell. What did Emma do? I highly recommend this book for parents and classroom teaching.

 

Who Feels Scared? Jack’s friendsRavi and Kevin were very excited to be having a sleepover at his house. But while playing in his room they heard a noise and his friends were scared they hid thinking I was a lion or tiger. But Jack wasn’t afraid because he knew it was Gus, the dog. Then they heard a noise from Jack’s closet and they thought it was a monster and they were really scared. They talked about things that made they scared like scary story, fireworks and noisy from big air planes. This book helps reassure children that they can cope with their fears and be brave. I highly recommend this book for parents and classroom teaching.

 

Not Fair, Won’t Share.  Some children do not like to share even when the toy isn’t theirs. This cause the other child to show emotions of hurt, anger and frustration, this happens when a child is unwilling to share. When Miss Clover builds a space station in her classroom she said only three children could play at a time but everyone wanted to play at once. She decided it would be best to draw names in a hat and the first three names will take turns and share. Nora, Henry and Dan were up first and Nora when for the boots, helmet and started pulling all the levers, buttons and didn’t want to share with Dan or Henry. This book shows playing fair and sharing with others can be fun. In my opinion, “Our Emotions and Behavior” series are a good choice for parents to use with their children because of the positive message they bring! I highly recommend this book for parents and classroom teaching. The illustrations are simple and show each of the character feels and emotions about what is happening in each story.

For more books visit http://www.freespirit.com/

Ages: 4 – 8

Pages: 32

FTC Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from free spirit publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion in any way.

 

Contest/Giveaway (US ONLY)

Comments like these would be deleted –  Great contest, Please enter me, Love to win this!, This is so cute! So please leave a helpful comment relating to this book.

PLEASE FOLLOW ALL MANDATORY RULES – Rukes not followed will be deleted immediately.

The winner will have a choice to select any I book from the series. Free Spirit Publishing will mail a copy of your choice to you.

Mandatory: Leave your comments in the comment field below Don’t forget to leave your email address for contact if you win.

Giveaway Ends September 10th  @ 12 noon

The winner will be selected via Random.org

 

This giveaway has ended!