BOOK REVIEWS
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This book is so amazing, such a play with words as Addison gracefully winds through her life experiences. The book is not only vocabulary building it promotes language skill development. Hats off to Laura James, such creativity!
Mary Jane Heck-Housh
Sped. Teacher/MEd Educational Psychology
Absolutely loved it! Love the concept around highlighting the letter a. I think the verbiage is great for 2nd-3rd grade readers; some more difficult words which would hopefully trigger them to do additional research into what the word means.
Bryanna M. Parmentier, M.B.A(H.M), B.S., C.N.M.T
Ge Healthcare
PET Clinical Product Specialist
Addison’s Abrupt Adventures is a work of fiction for young children by author Laura James. How many words can you think of that start with the letter ‘A’? Can you write an entire story using mostly words that start with the letter ‘A’? Well, there is a little girl named Addison, an average girl who’s agile and sometimes awkward. Her mother’s name is Agnes, and she makes lots of Addison’s favorite foods, mostly those made with apples, but particularly apple pancakes with lots of apple butter and apple juice to drink. But there are no almonds for Addison, as she’s allergic. Addison has lots of adventures, including one where she has to rescue her annoying brother, Albert. And, best of all, Addison is an artist and loves to visit art galleries. Had enough of the letter ‘A’? Well, there’s lots more.
Laura James’s picture book for early readers, Addison’s Abrupt Adventures, addresses the advantages and agility of the letter ‘A’. There’s an unusual twist to this A-ranking story because many parts of Addison’s adventures feature lots of words beginning with the letter ‘A’. Using all kinds of ‘A’ words – verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs – the author makes reading a fun adventure in itself, all while increasing a young reader’s vocabulary. She has created an entertaining story, full of fun, adventure, and a little touch of humor. This is a story to broaden reading vocabulary and the author achieves her goal with great aplomb, which is quite an admirable accomplishment. So many ‘A’ words to appreciate, enjoy, and use. It actually becomes quite addictive. Addison really has a knack for all that is a okay. Lovely illustrations.
Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford
for Readers' Favorite
This book was a nice challenge for my son who is in 1st grade. He does read young chapter books but they typically have images on every page. I liked that the letter A is written throughout. We read it once and then I re-read it slowly and you really pick up on how many “A” words there are. It makes it more fun for my son to, as he kept pointing out all of them. His favorite page was when Albert was hanging from the tree about to fall into the alligator cage. If your kid is moving closer toward books with more words and less images, I think this is a great book for that transition.
NEW RELEASE - SECOND EDITION
This book was educational for my 6-year-old son. We would spend time going over all of the “B” words at the bottom of each page. He liked discovering what some of them meant and thought some words were silly. He liked learning about the term “host family” and now wants us to host a family here with us and we go live somewhere else. He liked learning about another culture. It’s funny listening to him speak, thinking that everyone around the world lives the same way we do. One “B” word he learned was Brigadeiros. This was like a dessert candy that looks like a bonbon, covered in chocolate sprinkles. We are now searching for where to buy those. Addison gets to do lots of fun things that kids enjoy like boating, going to the beach, fishing, rolling down a hill, and seeing wild animals that you’d never see in the United States. This was just a great book for introducing culture to a child at a young reader level.
Kid's Picture Book Review
Adventure to Brazil, let’s go! Introduce your child to Brazilian culture, all while increasing their vocabulary and language skills. Definition of focus letter words (B) at the bottom of each page assist your child to apply and transfer vocabulary knowledge and language skills. Only Laura James can bring excitement like this to learning...
Mary Jane Heck-Housh
Sped. Teacher/MEd Educational Psychology
Do you know a child who enjoys learning new words? Do they have a curiosity about other places and cultures of the world? Do they sometimes have fears of the unknown? If so, they will enjoy reading about Addison’s experiences in Addison Braves Brazil!
Pat Edmonds
K-3 Teacher
Addison Braves Brazil, written by Laura James and illustrated by Jasmine Smith, is a mid-grade interactive storybook that takes readers into South America through the eyes of a young girl. Addison is introduced as an upbeat girl from Arkansas with a mother who is a pilot and a father who is a writer, just as they embark on a trip to Brazil. It seemed bizarre, but a book about Brazil’s jungles had gotten mixed in with her books about beaches. This makes Addison uncomfortable. Once in Brasilia and settled with a host family, Addison experiences local food and culture, a hiccup with another child, and a place she was hoping never to see: a Brazilian jungle.
Laura James crafts a clever little story in Addison Braves Brazil, taking the opportunity to educate on two different fronts. The first is the misconceptions foreign visitors can have that are most often wrong. By allowing Addison's fears to chip away organically at stereotypes through positive experience, we are able to see a girl who is vivacious in North America find her vivacious self in South America too. The second is the incorporation of words that stick as close to the letter 'B' as possible within the story's framework. The intent here is to enhance vocabulary and word definitions, which it does. Jasmine Smith breathes life into Addison, her family, her hosts, and the beauty and diversity of Brazil in a vivid color palette and gorgeous illustrations. This book was all kinds of fun to read with my youngest and I have no doubt others will have the same experience.
Reviewed by Jamie Michele
for Readers' Favorite
Work in process...
Addison's Abrupt Adventures was written with an unusual twist, highlighting the letter A, while promoting new vocabulary.
While working on my second book in the Addison series, I included brief definitions for the unfamiliar new words in the story. As I had only published two books, I decided to add word definitions to book one too. Thus, creating Addison's Abrupt Adventures... SECOND EDITION.
In Addison Braves Brazil, this delightful tale provides new vocabulary words that begin with the letter B. As a bonus, you will also find a simple definition for those same, unfamiliar B words, on the bottom of each page.
Addison's Canadian Caper will deliver the same warm-hearted entertainment, while promoting language skill development.
Addison's Delaware Discovery will promote language skill development, while capturing your child's attention.