What Writers Can Learn From 'Goodnight Moon'

There was an interesting article posted on The New York Times Blog and I wanted to share it! The children’s book sets up a world and then subverts its own rules even as it follows them. Aimee Bender discovers a useful writing tool that can help other aspiring writers. Click the link above to read the article.

Perseverance and loyalty save the day.

Bee Helpful is a heart warming story of loyalty and friendship. Sunny Bee is enjoying the day until he comes across his good friend Myah. She is in trouble, drooping and in need of water. The helpful Bee attempts to bring water, and despite many drawback, he perseveres to such a point that he is put in peril. A spider want to eat him! He is able to escape, and rejoin all his friends. Nice lesson in dedication and friendship, as well as never giving up. Bright and colorful illustrations to go with story.

Happy Reading!
Carole P. Roman

Love the mother's expression!

Fun, rhyming story about Tommy and his dog Paco. Instead of cleaning his room, they stuff all the toys under the bed. Mommy is dismayed when she finds Tommy fibbing about the fact that he really didn't clean his room properly. Tommy reflects that he is feeling guilty over Mom's disappointment and makes an effort to do it the right way. Great book use to set up a practice of cleaning up the room before bed. Hilarious cartoonish mommy, I love her eyes, they add the the humor of the book.

Happy Reading! 
Carole P. Roman

Insightful story that can be interpeted in any number of ways

The Little Seed is a simple story told with sparse illustrations but delivers a powerful punch. Written by Martha Wolfe, it was inspired by a court battle between the Lakota People and the government of the United States. It could be interpreted many different ways from a celebration of failure of repression, to the cycle of life. A seed grows into a beautiful, productive plant, but for whatever reason, it is cut down, suppressed from growing. By squashing the plant, the seeds grew despite the prohibition, nurtured by the elements to spread beyond the control of the silly law. This books celebrates the goodness of nature, its renewable ability to come back despite hardships. It delivers another message, that law may suppress as well, but nature will take its part and spread the message, overcoming even the mightiest forces. Really insightful book.

Happy Reading!
Carole P. Roman

Chick lit for the 21 st century

Well written novel that based about three single sisters and their quest to find a soulmate. Using Jane Austin's style and verve for capturing the angst of unattached women everywhere, Mary Rizza has modernized the issues and brought it into the 21 century with humor. Realistic, ironic, and a picture of our times, Rizza manages to be a voice representing the different types of women from the freewheeling Shelly, to steady Rachel and lastly, passive Meredith and deal with their issues individually. Gathered together to celebrate, or perhaps mourn the impulsive wedding of their cousin Charlotte to a presumptuous mushroom, they each find themselves drawn to a new man, and various situations that will lead to satisfying conclusions. If you like chick lit, you will enjoy this. If you like Jane Austin, you will enjoy this. If you like a good book, you will enjoy this!

Happy Reading!

Carole P. Roman

The Crew Goes Coconuts!

There is a storm brewing on the Flying Dragon, and it's not about the weather. When the crew finds themselves parched and not enough juice to go around, blame falls on Matie the goat, Hallie's friend. Divided, they square off, ready for a fight and Captain No Beard must teach his crew that not only is bullying wrong, they must learn to value and respect each and every member of the crew. Watch the crew of the Flying Dragon learn an important lesson about being a true friend.

"The characters' expressive eyes convey their emotions, whether they are scared, sad, angry, or upset...A fun story for children and adults alike, The Crew Goes Coconuts! takes a positive way to turn bullying around, while entertaining, too. Pirates, animals, and coconuts make an amusing story from which to learn. Beth Van Houten  ForeWord Review

The King's Curse

Really well written story of Margaret Pole, ill fated cousin to Henry VIII's mother Elizabeth. Caught in the Cousin's war, or as it is known today as The War of the Roses, Margaret is the daughter of George Duke of Clarence, brother to the king and granddaughter of Warwick the Kingmaker. She and her brother are in line for the throne and seen as rivals by the victorious Henry Tudor. Her brother is imprisoned despite his simple nature, and eventually beheaded to prove to the Spanish that there is no threat to their daughter, Princess Catherine of Aragon's way to the throne, as the wife of Henry and Elizabeth's son Arthur. Confusing, yes, fascinating, without a doubt. Margaret is married off to an unimportant knight, thus leaving her buried and destitute in the country. Gregory takes the story from Margaret's lowest time to her rise under the new monarch Henry the VIII. Despite the fact that Catherine of Aragon's arrival caused the death of her brother, Margaret aligns herself with the princess becoming both friend and confidant. She makes a powerful enemy of Henry's VII 's mother , Margaret Beaufort when she colludes with Catherine, helping her in her quest to marry Henry the VIII. The story weaves through her precarious position in court, where a careless remark or an accident of birth can cause not only a person's downfall, but death. Gregory has a unique way of bringing Tudor England alive, letting us get familiar with the players, whether they were considered key or not. A reader is able to put faces to the names that have haunted history, the information of their existence so dim, their role seemingly unimportant, yet they lived and died for the politics of their country. I liked this book. Margaret Pole was a survivor, a thorny rose in the history of England. Someone who tried to grow under catastrophic circumstances, playing the courtiers game where the outcome of losers meant certain death. This is not a flowery book about living in Tudor England, yet Gregory imbues a real sense of the time, the terror of disease, the horrors of childbirth, a woman's helpless role in society. The King's Curse is allegedly the curse made by Elizabeth the queen in response to the death of her brothers, the princes in the tower. It was in essence the downfall for her own house. In the case of Margaret Pole, the King's horrible curse reflected right back to her, including anyone with Plantagenet blood as well in its carnage.



I received a copy of this book for an honest review.

Happy Reading!
Carole P. Roman