Truly Magical! James and The Dragon by Theresa Snyder is an Excellent Myth and Magic Middle Grade Book!

James & the Dragon by Theresa Snyder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Farloft is a solitary dragon who lives a quiet life on his mountain top retreat, where he likes to observe the lives of the villagers below. James is a hard-working orphan who does his best to take care of himself. One day, when James nearly drowns, Farloft rescues and then adopts him.

What a charming story this is. James and The Dragon has something for just about every young reader – action, adventure, team building, problem-solving and, best of all, friendship. Laval the Wizard, is perfect in the antagonist role, where he causes plenty of problems for Farloft and James to work through.

For middle grade readers (and adults who enjoy reading this genre) James and The Dragon is a wonderful way to introduce them to a kid-friendly series of myth and magic. The vocabulary is perfect for the intended age group. Book 1 is an excellent start to what I’m sure is a truly magical series!

5 of 5 Stars, Susan Barton https://diymomblog.blogspot.com

View all my reviews

A Wonderful Book to Teach Children About Making and Keeping Friends - Knife and Fork by Gita V. Reddy

Knife and Fork is a chapter book geared towards children, grade level 8 thru 10. In this Gita Reddy story, readers meet Bholu the monkey who lives deep in the forest. The forest was all Bholu knew until one day a little bird told him about the world outside his forest. No longer content to simply swing from branches and play games with his friends, Bholu leaves the forest in search of worldly adventures.

This book is separated into six brief chapters. Readers are taken through a fun and engaging retelling of Bholu’s travels from his forest into a city several days from his home. Bholu experiences a variety of encounters during his adventure and he exhibits both positive and negative reactions to them.  Bholu finds himself having to deal with many new feelings and he doesn’t always handle things in the best way. This makes Bholu’s character easily relatable and sympathetic to youngsters.

As with Ms. Reddy’s other books, there are plenty of lessons to learn here. Friendship and pride are at the heart of Knife and Fork. This would make a wonderful book to read to children when explaining what it takes to make and keep friends.

I love books that teach children valuable lessons while entertaining them at the same time and as usual Ms. Reddy does a wonderful job of doing just that. The vocabulary in this book is suitable for its intended age group, but Ms. Reddy makes a point of providing the definitions of the very few words that may not be familiar to older youngsters. I could also see this book being read to younger children at bedtime or anytime!

5 of 5 Stars, Review by Susan Barton

*THIS BOOK IS CURRENTLY FREE ON AMAZON UNTIL JULY 1st!