A Review of my book "If You Swallow That Seed"

 

If You Swallow That Seed
Written by Wayne Harris-Wyrick
Illustrated by Matthew Hughes
Published by 4RV Publishing, 2015

Review By Kena Sosa

 

Parents say the weirdest things. In the case of the story, If You Swallow That Seed, a mother’s words literally sprout into action. The main character is shocked to find carrots growing out of his ears after swallowing a seed just as his mother warned him. He puts the carrots to good use feeding horses, but before he can overcome his problem, his mother has even more wacky comments to say and they all come true!

The boy shows determination time and time again, finding solutions to the weirdness until it gets out of hand. Matthew Hughes’ illustrations are full of texture, adding dimension and additional flavor to the story, especially in the cover illustration where we see the boy and his horses enjoying their role in the adventure.

Kids will get a kick out of this story and connect with it as they’ve been confused by their own parent’s idioms and sayings. A story that feels straight out of the childhood of the author, Wayne Harris-Wyrick, this book takes it further than just one metaphor. Swallowing the first seed is only the beginning of the adventure of what happens when words are taken literally. It is packed with excitement, fun and a great segway into the silly and savvy world of idioms and sayings.

Reprinted by permission of the author.

 

Book Review: Forty Winks

 

Book Review: Picture book Forty Winks

Written by Nancy Allen

Illustrations by Diane Brown

 

 

Generally, picture books for kids have one of two primary purposes: to entertain or to inform. While these two ideas don’t begin to cover all the variations in picture books, virtually all picture books articulate these two qualities in some proportion.

 Virtually all children’s books have a moral or help the child reader understand good choices. The best children’s books both teach and entertain. In Forty Winks, Nancy Brown offers what seems, on the face of it, a bedtime story to entertain young readers. Joey has trouble getting to sleep. Although he tries some methods to bring on sleep, his imagination keeps him from becoming drowsy. That is until he meets Sir Nod, a book-loving monster living in his closet.

 Sir Nod shows Joey his “magical book.” “Read it,” Sir Nod says, “ and you can travel anywhere,” then immediately falls asleep. Joey takes the book and reads a story about a pirate adventure, but is soon fast asleep, dreaming about pirates.

Joey wants to keep the book, but Sir Nod cries that it is his only book. Nod tells Joey he can read his own books, but Joey complains that his books aren’t magical. Sir Nod replies, “The magic happens when you read a book.” Joey and Sir Nod settle their disagreement about using the book and come to a mutual, and sleep-inducing, solution.

 As is common with picture books published by 4RV Publishing, the book contains an appendix with discussion questions and extra “fun facts.” Here, Nancy Allen continued her mix of entertainment and information.

 Diane Brown’s illustration nicely captured Joey’s adventures on a pirate ship, traveling through space, and more. These illustrations will trigger the imagination of young readers just as well as the story does.

 This book may help a child go to sleep, but even better, it encourages children to experience the magic of books. I applaud any book that encourages children to read, whether or not it helps them sleep.