Over the past week or so, I have been reading an awesome book called The Secret of Wellington’s Map.  Granted, this isn’t my normal reading genre (usually if I can get a few minutes away I pick up Stephen King or Dean R Koontz book), but you know what?  I enjoyed this book just as much as I do books by those authors (though I think this book would be considered in either the sci-fi or mystery genre).  I would say that The Secret of Wellington’s Map is probably geared towards the ten and up crowd.  However, as an adult, I truly enjoyed the book too.  I found the author’s style a joy to read, and she really caught the essence of teenage girls in this book.  I also enjoyed finding a book that girls are the heroines.  The other thing I liked is that even though the main characters are teenage girls, they weren’t boy crazy.  Granted, there were a few boy mentions, but their lives didn’t revolve around boys.  The author had the girls talking, acting, and dressing like teenage girls, so I found them very believable.  There is also a bit of real life history intertwined into the story.

The story centers around two girls, Jaime and Nicole, that had expected a carefree summer.  However, after they come across a magic map, they go on an adventure of a lifetime.  I hate to go into more of a synopsis of the book, because I don’t want to spoil any part of it for you.  I will tell you that the map is somewhat of a time space portal, and they do go through it and end up in 1885.  However, if you want to find out why and if they make it back, you have to go read the book!

The Puppy Who Lost His Bark is a great book for a young reader.  It contains only 61 words which helps with word recognition for the young reader at your house.  The book is about a puppy who seems to lose everything from her ball to her bag.  I am surprised she didn’t lose her Manolo Blahniks shoes! Instead, the puppy lost her bark, so her friends must help her find it.  They look all over, but finds it in the park!  This is a short book that any little one will like.

A great book for the colorer in your house is First Words.  This book comes with tis own erasable crayons.  The colors then erase with a soft cloth or tissue.  The kids can then color the book up again!  Each page is colorable.  It has large pictures to color and a label next to each item telling you what it is.  I swear, the next awesome idea they are going to come up with is colorable birthday invitations! If you have a child who likes to color, this is a book for them! It is not your typical throw away coloring book.

A great bedtime book is Goodnight, Thumper. This book is about Thumper not being sleepy and going around the forest saying goodnight to everyone. Don’t you remember the days when we didn’t have to worry about weight loss diet pills and our biggest concern was staying awake as long as we could?  Since this is a Disney book, the illustrations are awesome.  They are so detailed and gorgeous.  This is a great book for any family that reads to their kids before bedtime.

Touch and Feel: 1, 2, 3 is another book in our house that is a huge hit.  Any cardboard books that make it through two kids definitely get a thumbs up from me.  This book teaches both counting and different textures to your kids.  Though out of all textures, I have to say that the ten sticky cherries has to be the favorite texture for both my kids.  You can also feel the texture of rough sandcastle and a snake too (sorry, no nice and soft baby bedding)!  If you you need a great book for a little boy or girl, this is one you should get!