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Posts Tagged ‘young reader’

“The Lost Secret of Fairies: The Crystal Keeper Chronicles Book 1″ by Tiffany Turner is a great book about a young girl named Wanda, who becomes a protector, or Keeper, for the fairy clan. She has trouble protecting the fairies because she is stuck between the fairy place and the human world. The author’s style was beautiful; not only were her characters very well-developed, but she wrote with lovely and detailed description. I was interested in the book at first sight and wasn’t disappointed after reading it.

The first thing I noticed when I saw this book was the cover art. I loved the colors and the forms they made up. Just by looking at it, I could see mystery. Who were the three people standing in the picture? Where were they? Why was there a crow, of all things? Even after finding the answers to these questions, I still love sitting and looking at the picture.

The author’s beautiful and descriptive style matched the lovely cover art. Through the author’s writing, you can really can picture the scenes. For example, one of my favorites is the description of when Wanda came to a mysterious door. “It was nothing but a regular old door, with a polished surface. Except this door had no handle. It only seems like a door since it’s blocking the corridor. I tried rubbing my hands over the surface. Cool, smooth wood swam underneath my fingers as my nose wiggled from the fresh cut smell.” I really enjoyed scenes like these; how I could picture the door and even imagine what it would smell and feel like.

The author described her characters just as well as she described the scenes of the book. I felt like I really got to know the characters. By the end, I even knew Wanda’s cat’s personality! I knew pretty much enough about each of the characters to fill a page. From the beginning I realized just how much author Tiffany Turner talks about her characters. The very first sentence reads, “So, you want to know how I became keeper?” In the very next paragraph, you learn what Wanda looks like, what her favorite hobby is, and even more. Right away, my attention was grabbed and I wanted to learn more and more about the characters.

“The Lost Secret of Fairies: The Chrystal Keeper Chronicles Book 1″ by Tiffany Turner is a very good book with gorgeous cover art, a great, descriptive style by the author, and very well-developed characters, I would recommend this book to my friends, and hope I can read the next in the series, very soon.

Trafford Publishing (2007)
ISBN 9781425146719

Chet Spiewak is a self taught 3D artist, specializing in the transformation of original cartoon rendered characters, each with a unique style and great storyline. He also manages to single handedly take on the role of writers, artists, designers and production specialists to deliver 3D concepts to the public. The primary focus is to develop new CGI (computer generated) cartoon properties for the graphic novel, picture book and storybook markets. Chet’s first book “An Ornament’s Tale” came out for the holiday season last year and was his first computer generated storybook adventure for the whole family.

Juanita: Welcome back to Reader Views Chet. I had the opportunity to interview you for “An Ornament’s Tale” last year, and it’s great to see you’ve been busy working on your next project.

Chet: Thanks for taking the time out to interview me about my latest project. This time I meshed computer-generated 3D animated graphics with a graphic novel format creating the “Vinny the Bug Man” adventure. The first novel in this series is titled “Vinny the Bug Man: The Journey Begins.”

Juanita: I understand that “Vinny the Bug Man: The Journey Begins” is for an older age group than your first book?

Chet: The “Vinny the Bug Man” graphic novel series is geared children 7-13. But I feel that graphic novel format really opens the door to children of all reading levels. I spent a great deal of time ensuring that any reader can literally follow the plot even without reading all the scripting. This is really beneficial to struggling/entry level readers who might trip over a keyword or two and just give up.

Juanita: What happens in “Vinny the Bug Man: The Journey Begins”?

Chet: The Vinny the Bug Man series follows a young Vinny Mazola, helping his Uncle Guy with their families bug extermination business. Armed with a mail order high tech bug blaster, Vinny accidentally shrinks himself down to a size of a bug at a government research facility. A distraught Uncle Guy drops him out the window into a different world… controlled by mutant insects. Vinny enters new territories ruled by evil tyrants and menacing bugs. Vinny makes friends, humors enemies, frustrates rulers and maybe in the end unite an insect world against the Tarantula Horde!

Juanita: Tell us about Vinny, and how you came up with his character?

Chet: Vinny was really the last piece of the bug puzzle. I created this bug world with hundreds of cool bug characters and whimsical worlds, but I needed a hero… and another bug just didn’t seem feel right. Then one night it came to me-What would happen if a bug exterminator was stuck in an insect world! Here is an individual who has spent an entire lifetime battling bug world and now he’s part it! Then it was just a matter of time creating carefree bug man character who would take his shrunken state in stride. Please keep in mind that Vinny is one of the key heroes in this adventure. He’ll be sharing the spotlight with “Lester the Jester”, a wash up exiled court aphid clown, and “The Whimsical Seed of Knowledge”, a know-it-all seed sprout and finally “Princess Ariana”, a rebellious ladybug princess bent on destroying the Tarantula Horde.

Juanita: I hear that Vinny has a quirky kind of humor that is not appreciated by everyone. Would you tell us about the humor you bring into this story and how it plays out in the storyline?

Chet: I could have easily created a dark dismal world of mimicking the real violent insect world but I decided to create a series packed with adventure, humor and fantasy. The insects clans are at odds with one another and are easily controlled by tarantulas. Each insect ruler behaves more like a spoiled child than distinguished king or queen and their loyal subjects are anything but loyal. This a perfect world for a gullible shrunken bug man to visit and get involved in some ridiculous insect plot. And at the top of this insect heap is a frustrated tarantula ruler surrounded by a cast of self absorbed incompetent soldiers.

Juanita: Chet, you mentioned that this book is actually the first in a series. How many books will you cast with Vinny, and why did you decide to develop this concept into a series of stories?

Chet: I chose to release three books introducing the main heroes in this adventure. The first book “The Journey Begins” introduces Vinny and Lester to readers. In the second book “Our Liberator Returns” Vinny and Lester rescue The Whimsical Seed of Knowledge from the Tarantulas. And the third book “Fortune Telling Woes” the Lady Bug Princess Ariana and the rest of the heroes from a pact to rid the insect world of the Tarantula Horde! After the first three books I’ll make a decision based on the response from the readers. Maybe, I’ll have an online contest for readers to pick the next insect invasion-Ditch Tiger Beetles, or Night Dwelling Gypsy Moths or Long Legged Spider Assassins or…..

Juanita: Most children’s are fascinated by bugs, and I wonder if you had a childhood interest in the insect world that influenced this story?

Chet: Most children are fascinated by bugs and I was no different. I would collect all sorts of insects and spiders in jars when I was growing up. To this day, whenever I stumble upon a weird looking bug I make effort to catch it- ’cause you never know where an inspiration for a new bug character might come from!

Juanita: For those who aren’t familiar with computer-generated artwork and how you blend it into your books, would you explain?

Chet: Instead of using traditional pen and ink to do final rendering of the images, I use computer-generated graphics to create all my images. To get effects I desire, I build virtual characters, worlds and props with realistic textures to illustrate my graphic novel. In these virtual lighted 3D worlds I pose my characters and render an image with my virtual camera. That image is then edited and placed onto a graphic novel page as a comic panel.

Juanita: What aspect of the writing/imaging process do you enjoy the most?
Chet: What I enjoy the most is telling a story with images. I can illustrate story quicker with images then with words. Almost all of my stories start off with sketch and a funny illustration, which turns into a storyboard. Then it’s refined with footnotes, story notes and character scripting.

Juanita: Many children’s books tell a story that is underlined by certain values and/or moralistic messages. What will children’s learn from this story?

Chet: Vinny the Bug Man series really emphasizes the importance of setting your differences aside and working as team. The tarantula’s rule the insect clans because they know that the squabbling insect are easy to control, hence if the insects would set aside their petty issues- freedom would prevail.

Juanita: Sounds like a great message Chet. You have been working in the computer graphics realm for many years. Did you always know you’d get into writing children’s books, and was there any additional research involved pertaining to how to write a book geared for kids?

Chet: When I first started out I expected to work for one of the many design studios creating computer-generated feature films, but it didn’t quite work out. So instead I combined my vivid imagination with my strong story sense and artistic style to create cartoon adventures for kids of all ages. I decided to go with what I feel than follow some textbook formula for creating children’s books.

Juanita: You must have had a great time in the computer imaging process coming up with bug graphics. What kind of bugs does Vinny encounter?

Chet: In this adventure, the bugs are mutated and take on some human qualities, for example they uniforms, carry weapons and sometimes act like fools. Vinny will encounter armor clad tarantula soldiers, uniformed army ants armies, underwater bug pirates, black widow spider bikers, aphid wizards and even talking plants and flowers.

Juanita: I am a strong advocate of connecting children with nature, and in the world we live in today that can be a challenge. Was the idea of bringing in a natural element important when you were conceiving this story?

Chet: One of the keys to making a cartoon adventure believable is to have based on something that actually exists-like the real bug world The bug world is right at a child’s eye level all they have to do is just spend a little time and investigate their surroundings. It doesn’t matter if one lives in the city or a rural country side, there is always something to discover in the world below. I do think Vinny the Bug Series is a great way to get children talking about a world that’s buzzing all around them.

Juanita: What are children enjoying most about this new book so far?

Chet: The children are really getting a kick out Vinny-”what a goofball!”. He’s always seems to get himself into some sort bind throughout the story, but finds way out and then stumbles back in! I also had children comment the colors and quality- most graphic novels for grade school are printed in black and white-but the Vinny the Bug Man series is full real color.(over 700,000 possible colors)

Juanita: Chet, would you tell us about your website and its interactive options?

Chet: I do have a web site devoted to the “Vinny the Bug Man Adventure”, it contains a variety of interactive and informative online pages. I have online coloring section, interactive puzzles, 3D character animation, information on the 3D design process and a variety of downloads and viewable 3D images. The site address

Juanita: Have you ever done any animation with your computer graphics? It seems this particular story, with the incredible range of imaginative characters, would translate well to a TV, or big screen format.

Chet: I have done some animation with some of these characters on a CD-ROM, titled Operation Extermination(it’s a bonus when ordering a Vinny Bug Man Novel from my site). The OPEX CD-ROM(2002) contains about 40 short animated clips featuring characters in funny situations, and end up being just over 5 minutes of animation. The CD-ROM gave me real look at all the animated possibilities with this series– a astounding feature film, video game adventure or even an afternoon kids TV series. We’ll have to see what happens in the future…

Juanita: Chet, it’s been great talking with you once again. Thanks for your time and best to you with your “Vinny the Bug Man” adventures! Do you have any final thoughts you’d like to share with readers?

Chet: I have created a real cartoon series packed with humor adventure and plenty of imagination. It’s a series that’s safe for all readers and will make a great addition to any home, or grade school library.

No matter how old or young you are you can look back and remember the special books you read as a young person. Whether you became an adult yesterday, a long time ago or absolutely refuse to make that transition in your life you can look back and think about the books that you loved in the past. They were special to you for many reasons maybe they helped you through a tough time or broaden your imagination or even gave you the courage to believe in your dreams, I would encourage you to revisit these old friends and remember what made so special to you then and maybe you can even uncover something new about them as well. By doing this you not only reconnect with these special books you enjoyed as a young reader but this will help you to be able to excite your young reader about the book as well.

If you skipped making friends with some wonderful book as a young reader yourself or if you haven’t read any children’s literature recently I would encourage you to get involved with some of the newish books that have come out in recent years. Children do sometimes follow the example they see so if we read the books we want them to read it could help encourage them to read… if it doesn’t help it won’t hurt and you might even enjoy it.

Some of my favorite “then” books are:

• The Box Car Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
• Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
• Peter Rabbit by Beatrice Potter
• Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
• The Hobbit by J. R. R Tolkien
• The Narnia series by C. S. Lewis

Yes my tastes were and still are all over the place. I love reading a good story and the best stories have been written in my opinion by those who wrote and write children’s literature. I have continued to read these good stories written by the incredibly talented children’s writers of today and below are some really good ones in my “now” or newish books favorites:

• Harry Potter series by J. K Rowling
• Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo
• The Magyk series by Angie Sage
• The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black
• The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver
• Little Critter series by Mercer Mayer
• The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley
• Ink Heart series by Cornelia Funke

I have began reading several other books that I am excited about and will continue to search out wonderful new stories to enjoy for myself and to recommend to young readers and all those who enjoy a really good story. I will also continue to write my own books and hope they will become special friends that others can read and remember with affection as I do with my old friends, the books I read as a young reader.

Kendu Films, Inc. (2008)
ISBN 9780615192338

Do you like to watch a race? Sarai the perch fish never missed it! Her brother Sesom liked watching the race too. It was a real family affair when Momma and Papa Perch watched it too. However, Momma and Papa Perch have been caught in a net.

The youngsters aren’t sure when they will ever see their parents again. They can only hope that they will be reunited safely. They have to keep their hopes alive. But with the parents gone they have many adventures on their own to discover. They have heard many stories about the Bright Beyond and Fire Fish. Sarai hopes to someday become one of the famed Fire Fish. Like any parents should, they arrange a place to meet their children again; in this case, it is the Turtle Pool.

“Fire Fish” is a well-written story with adventures of what happens under the water and the life that many fish live in the ocean. The glossy pages and delightful characters make this an excellent book for kids. I especially liked the way the parents and kids showed their concerns for each other while they were being separated. The kids never gave up hope on seeing their parents again. Fire Fish are supposed to be the best of the best fish and I liked learning about them. I recommend “Fire Fish” by Davy Liu for any kids who would like to see under the sea and read a great story of perseverance and love no matter what the situation. I can’t wait until I can read “The Giant Leaf” which is the first book in the Invisible Tails Series!

iUniverse (2007)

ISBN 9780595448081

“Danny and Life on Bluff Point: The Conflict” by Mary Ellen Lee is the story of a ten year-old farm boy, Danny Lee. His story takes place in May of 1895 in Bluff Point, New York. All is not well when a white Southerner named Robert Overhouser moves to the area. Many people, who 30 years after the Civil War still harbor resentment, are very hostile to this new resident. Will the people on Bluff Point see their folly and stop the conflict?

Danny Lee, the main character, is a hard-working farm boy who milks cows, cares for his horse Sally, and treks far and wide running errands for his parents. Once, when returning from an errand, the steamboat he was on nearly sank! He is in the third grade and has to pass a geography test (geography is his least favorite subject) in order to move on to fourth grade. His favorite activities are playing ball with his friend Stan and riding his horse. From reading about Danny, I could almost imagine what it would be like if I were living in 1895.

Danny’s community of Bluff Point was a peaceful place until Mr. Overhouser moved in. Mr. Overhouser moved to New York from Virginia – the rebel South! Many people still harbored resentment against the South, even though the Civil War ended about thirty years before. Some people had so much hatred that they even left church early in order to avoid their new neighbor from the South. Because Danny was friendly and spoke to Mr. Overhouser, he was shunned by some kids at school. Will Mr. Overhouser ever be welcome in Bluff Point? Will people ever overcome their prejudice?

I would recommend this book to people who like historical fiction. Once you pick up “Danny and Life on Bluff Point: The Conflict,” you will really want to keep reading it. Readers will be happy to know that this is the sixth book in the “Danny and Life on Bluff Point Series.” Also, readers who like illustrations will enjoy the child’s drawings scattered throughout the book. I hope you will like this book as much as I did.