[BOOK REVIEW] Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia by Herman Parish

Title:  Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia

Author:  Herman Parish

Artist: Lynn Sweat

Genre:  Children's / Humor / Cars / Birthday

Year Published: 1995

Year Read:  2019

Publisher:  Avon Camelot 

Series: Amelia Bedelia #13

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I have been reading the “Amelia Bedelia” books ever since I was little and I used to read this series at my school library.  I had actually forgot that I had owned one of the “Amelia Bedelia” books ever since I was little and it was a little book called “Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia,” which was written by Peggy Parish’s nephew, Herman Parish along with artwork by Lynn Sweat.  This book was such a treat to read through!

It was Amelia Bedelia’s birthday and Mr. and Mrs. Rogers decided to give Amelia Bedelia the day off to celebrate.  It was then that Amelia Bedelia told them that she will go and visit her cousin Alcolu and Mr. Rogers said that he will come with Amelia Bedelia to see her cousin.  Unfortunately, Amelia Bedelia has not driven a car in a while and whenever Mr. Rogers tried to give Amelia Bedelia directions to take on the road, Amelia Bedelia would either get everything mixed up or would take certain phrases seriously, such as when Mr. Rogers asks Amelia Bedelia to look for a fork in the road, Amelia Bedelia thought that Mr. Rogers meant to find silverware in the road.

Will Amelia Bedelia and Mr. Rogers be able to make it to the birthday party?

Read this book to find out!

Wow!  I never would have thought that Herman Parish would be able to bring out the same type of humor that was present in Peggy Parish’s “Amelia Bedelia” books! Herman Parish did a fantastic job at writing this book as we get to see more adventures from Amelia Bedelia and the Rogers and the adventures here are just as hilarious as ever! When it came to the “Amelia Bedelia” books, I was always laughing out loud at Amelia Bedelia constantly getting things mixed up or not quite understanding what other people are saying. So, when I came across a “Amelia Bedelia” book where Amelia Bedelia is learning how to drive, I just had to see how this situation will turn out with Amelia Bedelia at the helm!  Lynn Sweat’s artwork is truly cute to look at as I loved the clothing style of Amelia Bedelia herself as she is always dressed in a black dress with a white apron that shows off her status as the Rogers’ maid.

Overall, “Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia” is a treat to behold, especially if you are a huge fan of the “Amelia Bedelia” series!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

You might also like:

• Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

• Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

• The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

[ARC REVIEW] Hola! Let's Learn Spanish: Visit New Places and Make New Friends! by Judy Martialay (@judyruth10)

Title:  Hola!  Let's Learn Spanish:  Visit New Places and Make New Friends!

Author: Judy Martialay

Genre:  Mexico / Foreign Language / Educational / Party

Year Published: 2015

Year Read:  2017

Publisher: PoliglotKidz Press

Source:  eARC (Author)

Content Rating:  Ages 3+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

I would like to thank the author Judy Martialay for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Now, I have read many children’s books that dealt with teaching children about foreign languages, but I had never read a children’s book where a term would be phrased in English and then be translated into Spanish in the same sentence and author Judy Martialay has certainly created an intriguing story that combines both Spanish and English terms in her book “Hola! Let’s Learn Spanish: Visit New Places and Make New Friends!”

Basically, this book teaches children about Mexico and its culture and language, which their language is Spanish. There is also a story woven in this book that stars a small Mexican jumping bean named Panchito who wanted to find new friends that he could play with and he ends up journeying through the marketplace and winds up at a piñata party!

What will Panchito discover at the piñata party?

Read this book to find out!

Judy Martialay has done an excellent job at creating a book that would help children understand not only about the language of Mexico, but about its culture as well and I have always enjoyed children’s books that try to teach children about foreign cultures and how to pronounce their languages at the same time.  I had a lot of fun in trying to pronounce the Spanish verses for the English verses, such as “Hola” meaning “hello” in Spanish and “Los Frijoles” meaning “beans” in Spanish and I loved the way that Judy Martialay had the English verse being spoken first and then the Spanish translation for that verse coming right after the verse such as this phrase “Look! Miren!” as it helps children see how that English verse is translated into Spanish.  Judy Martialay’s artwork is extremely cute to look at as the characters are rendered in scratchy and simple outlines and I enjoyed the images of Panchito himself as he is shown as a jumping bean who has stick like legs and a small hat that he wears in each panel.

The reason why I gave this book a four-star rating was because I felt that the pacing was a bit too slow at times and I sort of wished that the story moved at a faster pace in introducing us to the world of Mexico.

Overall, “Hola! Let's Learn Spanish: Visit New Places and Make New Friends!” is a great book for children in learning about Mexico and their language Spanish and would be a great book in helping children understand foreign languages! I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book and the Spanish language is introduced in a way that would be easy for smaller children to understand.

You might also like:

• Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant's Tale by Duncan Tonatiuh

• Adelita: A Mexican Cinderella Story by Tomie dePaola

[BOOK REVIEW] The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash by Trinka Hakes Noble

Title:  The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash

Author:  Trinka Hakes Noble

Artist:  Steven Kellogg

Genre: Humor / Animals / School / Field Trip / Farm

 
Year Published: 1980

Year Read:  2010

Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers

Series: Jimmy's Boa #1

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

 “The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash” is a truly hilarious story from the creative mind of Trinka Hakes Noble along with illustrations by Steven Kellogg and it is about a girl’s wild adventures at the field trip to the farm.  “The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash” is definitely one of the most memorable books about farm adventures ever written that many children will enjoy for years!

Trinka Hakes Noble has done an excellent job at writing this story as it details a girl’s adventures at the farm.  Trinka Hakes Noble writes the story in a creative and hilarious way as the book’s narration is set up as a dialogue between the girl and her mother, which helps children see the close interaction between the girl and her mother and seeing the story from their perspective instead of through a third person point of view meaning that there is an actual narrator narrating this story.  Trinka Hakes Noble’s writing is also hilarious as the girl details her adventures at the farm in a cause and effect fashion as each catastrophic event leads to another.  Steven Kellogg’s illustrations are both hilarious and beautiful at the same time as the children always have a smile on their faces and the antics that are caused by the realease of Jimmy’s pet boa constrictor is drawn in a chaotic way as the children and the teacher have wild looking hair and wild expressions as a peaceful trip to the farm takes a turn for the worse.

“The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash” is a brilliant and hilarious book for children who enjoy reading about the farm and love crazy adventures and will be a favorite among many children for years.  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate about this book.

* 1987 Flicker Tale Children's Book Award

  

[BOOK REVIEW] Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Title:  Anne of Green Gables


Author:  L.M. Montgomery

Genre: Middle Grade / Friendship / Childhood


Year Published: 1983


Number of Pages: 382 pages


Date Read: 2/14/2015

Publisher:  Grosset and Dunlap

Series: Anne of Green Gables #1


Source:  Library


Content Rating:  Ages 7+ (Some Mischievous Behavior)


Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“It's been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.”

Now, I will admit that I was actually introduced to “Anne of Green Gables” through the animated TV series that used to come on PBS and I remembered liking this TV series when I was little.  Now, I finally had the chance to actually read L.M. Montgomery’s all-time classic book “Anne of Green Gables” and I was surely not disappointed with the results!

Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert wanted to have a child who could help them around the house, so they decided to adopt a child from the orphanage and they wished that the child was a young boy.  Unfortunately, when Matthew went to the orphanage, he realizes that the owners of the orphanage had made a mistake and gave him a young girl named Anne Shirley instead of a young boy.  Even though at first, Matthew and Marilla tried to take Anne Shirley back to the orphanage, they soon grew to love the young girl as Anne Shirley is unlike any other little girl they had ever came across.  It turns out that Anne Shirley has a vivid imagination and she expresses her love for life through her poetic statements that would make anyone fall in love with her instantly.  The town of Avonlea will never be the same again!

Now, I had heard about this book for years now, but I never had the chance to really read this book due to me spending so much time reading other middle grade books.  Now, I finally got the chance to read this book and I will admit that this book has been nothing but pure love and creativity!  L.M. Montgomery had done a brilliant job at writing this book as the narrative is extremely poetic and flowery and I just find myself falling in love with all of the characters from Avonlea!  I honestly think the best part about this book was the characters themselves as they all brought something different and interesting to the story.  Anne Shirley is honestly one of my most favorite young heroines of all time as she is constantly shown as being optimistic in her goals and the fact that she always makes everything in her life seem so dramatic in a good way really made her into a truly interesting character.  I also connect so much with Anne Shirley because I used to have a vivid imagination when I was little and I would usually try to reenact my imaginations in real life, just like how Anne has often done so in this book. I loved Anne’s relationships with her fellow students, especially with Diana Barry as it shows how close Anne is towards Diana and I love how they are willing to be together throughout their lives as it shows how inspiring their friendship is!  I also enjoyed Anne’s rivalry with Gilbert Blythe as it was interesting seeing Anne still harbor resentment towards Gilbert when he called her “carrots” and pulled on her pigtails early on and yet as the story goes on, you start seeing Anne going from hating Gilbert Blythe to having some feelings for him.  It really makes me excited to see where Anne and Gilbert’s relationship will go after this book!  I loved how L.M. Montgomery made the narrative so beautiful to read as I really felt a connection with Anne’s journey from being an imaginative young girl to being a grown and mature young woman and there were so many quotes in this book that were so memorable, such as this little gem:

“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.”

Overall, “Anne of Green Gables” is easily one of the most beautiful books I had ever read and I definitely cannot wait to check out the rest of the “Anne of Green Gables” books in this wonderful series!