Rated By Kids

Book: Hardback
235 x 159mm
96 pages
ISBN 9780756655518
29 Sep 2009
Dorling Kindersley
 
There's alot of renewed fascination out there today of the mythical creatures known as vampires. They are making headlines with best selling books, movies, and have been making waves on the small screen as well. So what's all the hype about, anyway?
 
Turns out there's alot of history behind the pointy-toothed monsters; even more than what we've learned from the previously mentioned medias. To this end, Dorling Kindersley has compiled a book dedicated to these scary creatures of the night.
 
True to DK form, the book is put together with tidbits of information paired with colourful pictures on lovely,  thick pages. It gives the book that extra, reference type feel. It talks of different societies' myths and legends, of the different forms vampires have taken over the years, and the evolution that has brought them into the newest form of pop cultural fame today. There's some interesting true life stories recounted, too; just enough to maybe make you look over your shoulder at night.

While the age range states from 10 years and up, there are some particularly gruesome pictures involved (though when you're dealing with blood sucking fiends a little gruesomeness is hard to avoid). I think this is a great gift idea for the vampire lover in your life or an excellent addition to your own library, right beside all those books featuring a certain 100 year old vampire that I know you have!

Happy Reading!
Jackie

Book: Hardback
Dorling Kindersley

We are very excited to offer up this wonderful contest to our followers! Thanks to Chris at DK Canada, he is kindly providing us with a set of either LEGO Brickmaster Pirates or the LEGO Brickmaster Castle as an awesome prize to one lucky winner.

To enter, please leave you email address below and tell us (briefly) if you have a favourite pirate or castle related book, movie, toy or story. You must be a follower to enter. This contest is open to Canadian addresses only but if you live outside of this area we encourage you to go check out these great products! (Check out Melissa and Jacob's review of the Brickmaster Castle to see why.)

Contest closes January 15th, 2010.
For every tweet, blog post/sidebar link you get an extra entry (just provide a link)

The fine print: E-mail addresses provided will be submitted to DK to be added to their newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time after the contest has ended (though we here at Rated By Kids think you should stay on their list; they have such wonderful, colourful books, toys, etc. for ages 0-100 that it's great to see what's up and coming from them!) 

Good luck to all!

Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix
Hardcover: 320 pages
Published: August 25, 2009 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Ages: 9-12

*THIS REVIEW DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS B/C IT IS THE SECOND BOOK IN THE SERIES. SORRY!

Synopsis of Book 1:
Book One of The Missing is titled, FOUND.  (This will contain spoilers).  It starts off when an airplane suddenly appears at an airport and is discovered to hold about 30 infants in infant seats but no adults and no pilot. The airport scrambles to find out what happens and deboards all of the babys to the hangar.  As the last baby is de-planed and taken to the main building, the airplane dissapears and never to be seen again.  Skip 13 years later, and the story of FOUND begins, following Johan and his friend Chip as they discover that they were adopted, their origin on the plane, and where they really came from.  It involved time travel and a lot of futuristic concepts with the story ending as Chip, Jonah, Katherine, and Alex are transported back in time.



Book 2, SENT, begins in the place.Thirteen-year-olds Jonah and Chip are reeling from the news that they're both missing children from history, kidnapped from their proper time period. Before they can fully absorb this revelation, a time purist named JB zaps Chip and another boy, Alex, back to the fifteenth century, where they supposedly belong. Determined not to lose their friends, Jonah and his sister, Katherine, grab Chip's arms just as he's being sent away. The result? Jonah and Katherine also end up in the fifteenth century, where they decidedly do not belong. Chip's true identity is Edward V, king of England, and Alex is his younger brother, Richard, Duke of York. But Chip is convinced that his uncle, Richard of Gloucester, plans to kill them and seize the throne for himself. JB promises that if the kids can "fix time," he will allow them to return to the present day. But how can they possibly return home safely when history claims that Chip and Alex were murdered? In a riveting tale that climaxes on the battlefield at Bosworth, master storyteller Margaret Peterson Haddix brings readers back in time to an unforgettable moment in history and plunges them into the adventure of a lifetime. 

My Thoughts:
I adore this book series.  It may be written for intermediate grade level children, but Haddix is one of my favorite children's authors.  She once again has delivered a fantastic, fun read.  She also taught a bit of history and kept it as true to reality as possible.  She made history fun which can be daunting for 10 year olds.  Jonah is a typical kid in his character; he displayes the sass of a regular 13 year boy showing protectiveness over his little sister, but still clearly annoyed by her at the same time.  This book is once again a "can't put down page turner" with cliff hanger chapter endings.  Book 3 should be amazing. A great read for the young, both literal and of mind.

Heather

Hardcover: 192 pages

Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Ltd. (Sep 29 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0756655153

ISBN-13: 978-0756655150



My thoughts:

This book, published by DK books, is intended for an age range of 10 years and older. It's full of pictures and factoids, with lots of information on what our brains are and how we can use them.

When I brought it home to look through, my 7 year old daughter grabbed it first, then my 65 year old dad got into it too. Between them, they tried working on the puzzles throughout the book, including things like left brain/right brain coordination and optical illusions. What I take from this is that it's an awesome reference for any age. I think, in particular, Jordan loved it because of the cartoons and vivid pictures, some even a little gross at times. But kids are quite often attracted to these the most. While her understanding might still be limited, the images piqued her interest enough that she wanted to actually read the facts accompanying the visuals. That's good, right? Absolutely, I say.

As I browsed through the pages, I could see how much information was provided. It talks about the different senses and how you can trick some or experiment with them. There are many other facets discussed, too, and put in such a way that even if we already know some things, there's definitely other, new information in there to be gleaned.

This is a great reference for school projects or just general knowledge, making it fun for kids (and adults) to learn about what's going on in their heads. Definitely a cool book!

Happy Reading!
Jackie

Publisher: DK Children

Released: September 1, 2009

Book: Hardback, 48 pages

Ages: 7 - 15 years




From Publisher:

Building bricks and books come together in this fantastic set. With more than 140 LEGO ® bricks and two minifigures, LEGO ® aficionados can build to their heart's content. The hardcover book features easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions on how to build castle or pirate models. Or, young builders can come up with their own fantasy castles or pirate lairs for the ages! Dynamic full-color photos and clear illustrations make this the perfect book-and-toy set for all LEGO ® fans. There's no end to the creative building options for young LEGO ® Brickmasters ™ everywhere!

Jacob's thoughts:

I liked how easy it was to read the instructions so I could build everything. When I made my first castle, I had so much fun building and playing with it. I really liked that you could build lots of different sets. Lego is so much fun because you can build anything you want.

Mom's thoughts:

I wish every Lego set was like this! The "cover" is actually a box that holds all the Lego pieces and lists all pieces included in the set, while the pages of the book inside contain the instruction booklets. I know we have a drawer filled with various booklets from other sets and after the first build they hardly get used again. With this Lego set, the Lego pieces & booklets are kept nice & safe. Another bonus is that the Lego pieces in the set are used to make 13 different models & 7 different scenes. Included with each scene is a little paragraph describing the scene. My son would make one model then flip the page & start the building process all over again.I'm not sure how many times he's built each scene, it really is endless fun! Currently there are only two versions (Castle and Pirate) but I am hoping to see more in the future. I would have to say this is one of my favorite toys of 2009.

Publisher: The Blue Sky Press

Released: August 15, 2006

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Paperback: 176 pages

ISBN: 978-0439376143 

Book Description:

When we last saw George and Harold, they were about to take their pet pterodactyl Crackers back to the Cretaceous period. But things didn't work out quite as they had hoped. They've entered an absurd alternate reality where teachers are nice, kids are allowed to read banned books, and the cafeteria food doesn't smell like dirty diapers. Even worse, they've discovered alternate versions of themselves--Evil George and Evil Harold--who plan to unleash some preposterous plans on Piqua, Ohio. Now it's up to George and Harold to defeat the evil twins and THEIR superhero, Captain Blunderpants!

Caleb's thoughts (age 8):

This book is about George and Harold's evil twins and when they come to their world. I liked when the evil twins turned the principal into Captain Blubberpants. I liked this part because it was funny.  George and Harold's grandma and grandpa turned into superheroes and I thought that was pretty awesome. At the end, Professor Poopypants came from the giant pants. My favorite part about Captain Underpants books are the stories because they are funny to me.

Mom's thoughts:

Caleb loves Captain Underpants and its not hard to see why. One look inside the cover and you'll discover comic strips, "loud" illustrations, and activities among the story; all elements that young children love. While I may not appreciate the Captain's humor, I can appreciate my son's enthusiasm to read it.  He finished this book in 2 days, reading much longer than his required reading time for homework. This book appeals to boys, and since boys are the hardest to-reach-readers, I don't care what the plot is...I'll let Caleb read Captain Underpants anytime.

North Winds Press/Scholastic Canada Ltd.

Released: October 1, 2009

ISBN 978-0-545-98577-2

Hardcover, 32 pages

Ages 3 to 8

From publisher:

It came in the night. “Perfect!” said Scott. “Snow!” said Jim.

At recess the schoolyard is full of happy kids. Scott is making snowmen. Jim is working on the world’s greatest snow fort. At lunchtime they join forces… to create a prefect snow surprise!

Barbara Reid combines her renowned Plasticine art with ink and watercolour panels to bring a timeless Canadian tale of winter fun to life.

Jacob's thoughts:

I really, really liked this book. My favorite part was when the big twister of kids happened. It was funny when Jim said he wanted to make the "totally massive, indestuctible Snow Fortress of Doom". The big fort was really cool. I wish it would snow soon so I could make a snowmen fort like that too!

Mom's thoughts:

The story is fun for the kids, while at the same time provides a subtle lesson on teamwork and compromise. The illustrations are absolutely stunning. Along with the colorful Plasticine art, snap shots (almost like mini comics) are used to show action sequences. One page is an aerial shot of the kids during recess in the school yard playing in the snow and the first time we read the book, Jacob had to search out the main characters Jim & Scott (almost like Where's Waldo). Each time we read this book, somewhere in the story Jacob stops to say "I really like this book". This was a great read-a-long book for me and both kids (Jacob being age 7 and his brother almost 3). I can see us reading this book many, many times this winter.

Publisher: DK CHILDREN

Released: September 29, 2009

Reading level: Ages 6-8

Paperback: 32 pages

ISBN: 978-0756655273




From publisher:

DK Readers draw in young people and captivates their imagination while helping them develop and improve their reading skills. Indy's Adventures and Traps and Snares include full-color movie stills from the Indiana Jones movies. The charismatic hero and adventure theme will make these titles popular with reluctant readers. Lively age-appropriate text engages children throughout the book while developing their reading skills.

Jacob's thoughts:

I liked that this book had all the movies mixed up together. My favorite movie is #4 which is called Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. My favorite trick in the book is when Indy puts a sack of sand since he thinks it will weigh the same as the Golden Idol but it didn't. He made a big giant rock ball come down.


Mom's thoughts:

My son has been in love with Indy since the latest movie came out last year. This book was great for him as it covers all the exciting adventures Indy has been on throughout all the movies. Each page is filled with a picture from the movie. Basically, this whole book is action packed! My son loves to read but sometimes skips over words he doesn't know and I found this book was the perfect level for him. He needed a little help but only with a few words & some of the places/names (Egypt, Venice, Russians, Germans). I can see him re-reading this book many times.

Publisher: Dorling Kindersley (DK Children)

Released: 24 Nov 2009

Board book

28 pages

ISBN 9780756655440

Age: 1 - 3 years


From publisher:

My First Farm: Let's Get Working! helps kids develop first language skills by introducing them to the animals and machines on a farm. Each tabbed section focuses on a different category of farm life, from baby animals to tractors.

Mom's thoughts:

This is a great book that I think every toddler would enjoy. Each square you see on the cover represents one page: baby animals, cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, horses, chickens, more farm birds, tractors, farm vehicles, crops & foods, around the farm & noisy farm. On each page you see many 'real life' pictures with their names, as well as a question. I think the question is a great addition as it adds another level of interaction when reading the book. My son's favorite page was the tractors. He loved the animal pages and making the sounds but we have many other books with animals on them. For him, the tractors were new and really grabbed his attention.

Publisher: Dorling Kindersley (DK Children)

Released: 05 May 2008

Hardcover

144 pages

ISBN 9780756635008



From publisher:

Since his debut in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, fans have followed the adventures of learned scholar and hunky professor Indiana Jones. He is the unlikely action-hero who undertakes perilous adventures involving snakes, rats, spiders, and villains, in order to stop powerful, mystical artifacts from falling into the wrong hands. With a fourth installment underway, fans can brush up on their Indy knowledge and relive the archeologist's best--and worst--moments.

Packed with a wealth of information from all four movies--about the characters, movie story lines, ancient ruins and artifacts, the history, and the mysticism - Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide provides fans with everything they need to know about the unconventional archeologist and his world.

Jacob's thoughts:

I think Indy is cool. I wish I could be like him and go on lots of adventures. I liked looking at the pictures then reading stuff about them. I liked seeing all the movies in one book.


Mom's thoughts:

I love how almost 30 years later, Indy is still popular with the kids. I think it was thanks to Indy that my son became interested in archaelogy. As always with DK, this book is filled with amazing pictures (including the beating heart & money brains dessert from Temple of Doom *shivers*). My son carried this book around for days (and even brought it to school) looking at the pictures and talking about his favorite parts in the movies. This book provides details on everything you could imagine in the movies and is a great book for any Indy fan, young and old!

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Released: March 12, 2008

20 flash cards

ISBN: 978-0811862943

Ages: infant to toddler


From publisher:

These durable flash cards from Eric Carle, best-selling author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear Brown Bear and many others, feature his beloved animal illustrations and serve as a delightful introduction to counting. The thick, sturdy cards are durable enough for play and decorative enough to hang on the wall. Includes two sets of the numbers 1-10.

Mom's thoughts:

The box contains 20 very sturdy cards, two sets of cards ranging from 1-10. The first set shows pictures/numbers, the second set shows pictures/dots & word.

I am a huge Eric Carle fan and my two year old son loves the pictures in his books so this was a perfect addition to our library. As always with Eric Carle, the pictures are vibrant and quickly grab a childs attention. The cards are very thick so this makes it easy for him to pick up himself. He likes to name the animals on the card, while I ask him to count them then show him the back of the card. Since there are two sets, later we can play a game where we match a picture with the correct number. I see these cards providing lots of learning fun for many years to come!

Hi everyone, I'd love for you to meet Shelly!



Shelly Faith Nicholson is the author of "Jake the Snake and the Stupid Time-Out Chair" and the soon to be released second book in the early chapter book series, "A Stinky Surprise for Jake the Snake." Shelly is also published in several children's magazines and is working on a picture book, a middle school novel, and her third Jake the Snake book. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and the Ligonier Valley Writer's Group. Besides writing, Shelly enjoys running, skiing, cooking, reading, and spending time with her four children. Shelly's youngest son, Jacob, was inspiration for her Jake the Snake series of books.


SYNOPSIS: Jake the Snake is a rambunctious kindergartner who is always getting into mischief! And when that happens, he is sent to the "stupid time-out chair." Jake the Snake is scared Santa Claus is watching and will bring a stupid lump of coal for Christmas 'cause Christmas isn't far away! When Jake the Snake drowns his brother's pet lizard in chocolate sauce, he is really afraid. But things only get worse when Jake the Snake goes to the mall to visit Santa and barfs in the mall elf's hat! Will Jake the Snake get a stupid lump of coal for Christmas? Or will Santa forgive him for all the naughty things he's done all year?

To learn more about Shelly, you can visit her website www.booksbyshelly.com

Published by: Visible Ink Press

ISBN: 9781578592197

Published October 2009

352 pages in color

100 photos and illustrations

6.8 x 9.7 paperback


Recommended for: everyone!

My rating: 5/5

My thoughts:

Whether you are a parent or not, this book is a great reference book to have handy. Answers to almost 800 different questions are provided in a very simple manner. The book itself is beautiful, almost every other page contains a colourful picture on thick, glossy paper. I'm still in awe as I flip through the book.

The book is broken down into 10 sections:

• Outer Space
• Planet Earth & Our Moon
• Creatures Big & Small
• Plant Life
• People Around the World
• Politics & Government
• How Things Work
• Math, Measurement & Time
• All About My Body
• Daily Life

As soon as the book arrived, both my husband and 7 yr old son grabbed it & started flipping through it. It was really fun watching them point to the different topics & learning new things together. For instance, many of us know that you can tell the age of a tree by counting the rings BUT did you know that the thickness of the rings also tell scientists what the climate was like that year (ie. thick rings means there was plenty of rainfall)? It seems common sense to me now that I know, but this was not something I had thought of before!

Here are a few examples of questions in the book that I've been asked or expect to be asked one day:

• Why is the sky blue?
• What is a fossil?
• Why do flies like cow plop?
• How did my life begin?

I know my son will start asking me tougher questions & I am so happy to have a quick guide (other than Google) to help me! Some answers I already know (i.e why do zebras have stripes? camouflage) but thankfully the books adds more details then just my one word answer. I recommend this book for everyone as I think it's such a fun, fact filled book covering basic topics everyone should know.

Part 1
Author: Dav Pilkey
Format:Trade Paperback, 176 Pages
Ages 7 - 10
Published: October 1, 2003
Publisher: SCHOLASTIC INC

Strangely enough Part Two picks up right where Part One left off. Coincidence? Don't think so, after all it is the second part of the cliffhanger and that's where they usually start up again. So the second part of our story begins with robo-boogers and ends with…Ha! We're not telling you that, no spoilers here…just know that this book is a monster-mashin', robo-wranglin', time-travelin', brain-switchin', nose-pickin' good time.


Part 2
Format:Trade Paperback, 175 Pages
Ages 7 - 10
Published: reissued September 1, 2003
Publisher: SCHOLASTIC INC

George and Harold's latest prank has snotty school brainiac Melvin Sneedly seeing red, and he has a plan to get them back. But when Melvin tries to transform himself into a bionic-powered super boy, things go from bad to worse and the Bionic Booger Boy is born! Will Captain Underpants beat this blobby behemoth of blech, or is the entire world doomed to drown in disgusting nose dribble?


Jacob's thoughts:
Melvin makes a machine called the Combine-O-Tron 2000 that switches up things but Melvin sneezed at the wrong time and the machine also made monster boogers. Now Captain Underpants thinks he can fly because they switched up Melvin & Captain Underpants' brains! They make a time machine to go back and fix things but end up seeing dinosaurs. This book is about them fighting boogers. I really like when they change the letters on the boards so that they say silly things. My favorite part was when a guy got squished by a tank. I liked these books and give them two thumbs up.

Mom's thoughts:
I know some people may shy away from a book about potty humor and boogers but if it gets my kid reading, I'm all for it! Jacob is at the Grade 2 reading level but I am sure he did not read everything on each page instead he used the pictures to follow the story. After his first Captain Underpants book, Jacob starting writing his own comics just like George and Harold from the series. I love that these book have got his creative juices flowing and he is now making up his own stories.

There are tons of reasons to contact us (besides the obvious, we're cool cats, lol)

• Would like to become a contributor to our group blog? Please contact us & we will get back to promptly.
• Are you an author, publisher or publicist? We would love to hear from you!
• Or if you have any questions, comments or concerns we're just an email away!
  

ratedbykids AT gmail DOT com

we can also be contacted directly:

Jackie (everexpanding AT gmail DOT com)
Mel (hefollowedme AT gmail DOT com)


We look forward to hearing from you,
Jackie, Mel, Jordan (age 7), Jacob (7) and Justin (2)

Hi and welcome to our group kids blog!

If you are an author, publisher or publicist and would like us to review a book, please take a few moments to review our guidelines.

We accept ARCs as well as books that have already been released. At this time we do not review e-books.

We are open to participating in blog tours, hosting guest posts & giveaways.

We will review books received within two (2) months. If you have a specific deadline in which you need a review posted, just let us know. We will try to to post ARC reviews during the first week of their release.

We review books honestly, which means we reserve the right to post a glowing review, a less then favorable review or none at all. If we are unable to finish your book we will pass it on to another blogger & contact you with an explanation.

At this time, the kids reviews will be done by a 7 yr old girl & boy and 2 yr old boy (Please note: paraphrasing may be necessary in order to clarify the kids reviews). The kids will rate with a thumbs up or thumbs down. Young adult books will be reviewed by Jackie and/or Mel with the option to have others joining the group in the future.

In addition to posting reviews here on our blog, we are open to posting on Amazon.com, Chapters.Indigo.ca, Barnesandnoble.com, Goodreads.com and Librarything.com. We post the review links on Twitter and bookblogs.ning.com in addition to emailing the link to the book provider.

While our main focus on this blog is book reviewing for younger readers, we would consider on a case to case basis reviewing other kids related products, such as games or toys.

Thank you for your consideration, please contact us for further inquiries!

Jackie & Mel
ratedbykids AT gmail DOT com

This blog came into being when we were having so much fun with our individual book blogs, we decided to get our kids involved. As moms, we thought it would be great to have a site which reviewed books from a kids perspective. To us, this is an opportunity to share our love of books, making it fun for the kids while at the same time strengthening their reading abilities....when they're not looking;-)

He hope you enjoy your time with us!

Jackie & Mel