Maggie Testa

Adventure and action shift into high gear as the group of friends do their best to survive.

Robby's and Mo's cybersleeves are no longer working, so they decide to head to the place where the Terrans first appeared, hoping the water there will fix them with its powers. But things go wrong, and the group finds themselves stuck lost in the caves with several very dangerous enemies close behind. Worse yet, they have no idea how to get out.

This short picture book packs a punch and is suitable for show more those readers, who are pretty sure of their words. It also works well as a read-aloud for individual settings. The print is on the smaller side (white lettering against a dark page), holds around two paragraphs on each page, and helps build word skills as the adventure races along. The tension stays high the entire way through as the group of siblings runs from one dangerous situation into the next. The story glides along nicely and lets even those, who aren't quite as familiar with the characters, sink into the action.

The tension will keep action fans at the edge of their seat, and the illustrations help bring the moments to life. These hold with the text, giving aid to the story flow, but they are also engaging and add to the tension. The dark color tones and constant dimness fit well to the dreary cave atmosphere. However, thanks to the dark coloring of the entire page, the scenes are often very difficult to see. This makes the book less ideal for a group read-aloud, but it's still very entertaining for individual, reading sessions.

The exciting tale grabs and makes this an engaging read, especially for fans, from beginning to end. show less

With simple fun, this book does awake curiosity for eating those veggies.

This is a robust, little board book, which is great to take on a bit of abuse and fit right into younger readers' hands. The spoon on the side is a nice touch and caught my interest (yes, I'm easily intrigued).

The illustrations follow exactly the type of scenes as seen in the CoComelon show. So, fans will have no trouble recognizing and finding familiarity with the characters and situations. These are bright and very show more busy illustrations, not only due to the pictures shown, but also, the words dance everywhere. I find it a bit too busy, but others might disagree.

The main text is easy to find and read, since this is placed in green text boxes. The vocabulary is great for the younger listeners. It makes for an easy read-aloud, too...which is what this book really works well as. In addition to the main text, which accompanies the mother's and child's dialogue as they eat vegetables, there are the words for the fitting song (which I'm assuming comes from the show), so this can also be sung along. This does make it easy to really get engaged in the read, when a parent/guardian/caretaker read this for the child, since it adds more interaction and variety.

I can see this one working to encourage kids to eat their vegetables, especially when they have the exact same thing on their plate as the character in these pages. And if nothing else, it is a lot of fun to read. I received an ARC copy and found this one packed with tons of fun for fans. show less

CoComelon fans will enjoy exploring words and sentences with this read, but even those who aren't into the show will have no problem joining in.

This starts out with a few exercises to help ease into the read. There are some sounds to practice (-ay, -ool, and -ook) as well as twelve basic 'sight' words and nine more difficult ones. This does a good job at preparing young readers for the tale and gives them some practice before facing the words in sentence form.

The story follows JJ as he show more spends a day at school and tells what the class does throughout the day. The sentences are kept short, most three to four words long. They incorporate the words practiced at the beginning of the book and tend to repeat the same phrases with slight alterations. It's a gentle way to ease into reading.

The illustrations are scenes taken from Cocomelon and will be recognizable to fans. But even those who don't know the show will enjoy the lively and familiar situations. The scenes also offer other activities such as color recognition, counting, and shapes. All of these are bright and bold, making them easy to see and use.

At the end of the book, there are several questions to help readers reconsider not only what they read but also connect the story with their own experiences. This last part will need assistance from the teacher, guardian, parent or adult but then, the book is laid out with the purpose to use in a guided reading situation. After the first run through, readers will enjoy revisiting the story. It's fun to read and is well laid out as well. I received a complimentary copy and found it well thought out. show less

Snoopy fans are in for lots of love and good feelings with this read.

This is a board book for the younger readers out there and brings across the warming message of love. Snoopy is front and center on each page, accompanied by a short phrase about love. These are very general and directed toward the reader, giving off wholesome vibes the entire way through.

The illustrations are simple but set Snoopy in slightly different scenes, which fit to each phrase. The few words on each page make this show more a quick read, which is no problem for even young listeners to understand. It's sweet and brings across the goodness of being loved on each and every page. show less