The Chicken Pox Panic

The Chicken Pox Panic
By
Beverly Lewis
Illustrations By: Barbara Birch
Published By: Bethany House Publishers
Copyrighted: 1993
Series: Cul-de-sac Kids #2
Number of Pages: 60 pages
Age Group: 7-10 year-old
Type of Book: Christian Fiction
Physical Description: Paperback, 5x7 inches
About the Book: Abby Hunter (third grade) wants to make a special cake for her adopted brother, Shawn’s birthday. She keeps the plans for her cake a secret from everybody, even her best friend, Stacy Hunter. Stacy has a secret of her own. Her mother is not telling her where her birth certificate is, so Stacy thinks she is adopted. Abby helps Stacy look for her birth certificate or old pictures. They don’t have any luck. They just have problems when Stacy’s dog eats the roast and ice cream. Abby uses her own money to buy another roast and then has no money for the birthday surprise. Stacy asks the rest of the Cul-de-sac Kids to loan Abby money. Abby is able to get enough money for Shawn’s birthday surprise and she invites everybody to the party. Stacy calls her dad, who agrees to come see her and send her a copy of her birth certificate. Stacy helps Abby with Shawn’s cake and the birthday party is a success. Abby and Stacy learn it is good to not have secrets and it is good to help others.
Extras: Map of Blossom Hill Lane, synopsis of book #3, extra information from the author about when her children had the chicken pox.
About the Author and Illustrator: Beverly Lewis lives in Colorado with her family and has written many books and short stories. The Cul-de-sac Kids remind her of her friends when she was younger. Barbara Birch illustrated the book realistically, which goes well with the clear plot line and characters.
What I liked: I liked everything about this book. I thought it was important that Stacy and Abby learned that keeping secrets does not help anybody. It shows the readers they shouldn’t keep secrets either.
What I disliked: There was nothing I disliked.
Would I recommend: Yes.

Becky's Brainstorm by Elaine Shulte

Becky's Brainstorm, book one of the Twelve Candles Club series was written by Elaine Shulte. It was copyrighted in 1992 and published by Bethany House Publishers. It has 144 pages and is for readers 8-12. This Christian fiction book's main characters are girls, so girls may enjoy reading it more than boys.

Becky is worried they may have to move somewhere less expensive. She decides to start a money making club with her friends. Becky's mother gains courage from Becky and applies for a job with success. They are able to stay in Santa Rosita, California. On Becky's birthday she gets a wonderful idea to start a club that will do odd jobs and babysitting around the neighborhood. They have a lot of success cleaning Mrs. Llewellyn's house and helping her with a party. Becky and her friends have a morning group for kids and Becky sells pizza party invitations to Mr. Morelli and his pizza restaurant. Becky is on television, because she is chased by dogs as she delivers her invitations. The publicity give a lot of business to the club. Becky is still worried that her mom is going to want to move, so she uses prayer guidelines her youth pastor gave her. She prays with one of her friends and her prayers are answered. Becky's mom is accepted for a higher paying job and they will be able to stay in Santa Rosita. Becky learns it takes time for a prayer to be answered. She needs to be patient. Her mom learned to have courage, which she learned from Becky when she started the club.

Elaine Shulte has written 25 novels for women and children. She lives in San Diego, where she writes full-time. She has received a Distinguished Alumna award from Purdue.

One of the best parts of the book is when Becky used real pepperoni on her pizza cards, which caused her to be chased by dogs. The other part I enjoyed is the prayer guidelines sent by Bear, the youth pastor, and how he says God answers prayer in 4 different ways; yes, no, later, and thought you would never ask. The part I did not like is Becky's mother's unwillingness to try for a higher position and letting her mother know about it.

These books remind me a lot of the Babysitters' Club series, but these were better. I would recommend this book, because it shows us faith through prayer. Becky and Bear give us a better understanding of the importance of prayer to those who have a basic understanding of God and those who are learning more about Him.

Bad Bug Blues by Sigmund Brouwer

The Watch Out for Joel! Series was written by Sigmund Brouwer. The first book in the series, Bad Bug Blues, was copyrighted in 2002 and was published by Bethany House Publishers. It has 29 pages and is for beginning readers ages 6-8. My 3 year-old and 5 year-old both enjoyed having the story read to them again and again.

Ricky and Joel need to go to a concert with Old Mr. Jones. They enjoy part of the concert, the go out for ice cream, where they all become friends. Joel and Ricky did not want to go, but their mother says Old Mr. Jones needs friends. Joel takes his jar of caterpillars and he lets them out during the concert. Old Mr. Jones has fallen asleep and one of the caterpillars crawls over his mustache. When Old Mr. Jones wakes up the caterpillar falls into his mouth. He bites down and swallows half of the caterpillar. Joel, Ricky and Old Mr. Jones leave the concert, because Old Mr. Jones needs ice cream to get the caterpillar taste out of his mouth. Joel and Ricky learn that they should be kind to others. Friends can be made when you least expect it.

Sigmund Brouwer has won many awards and holds writing camps and classes for more than 10,000 children each year. He is also the author of the Accidental Detectives series for older children.

This few illustrations were by Tammie Lyon. The characters are realistically drawn and my favorite picture is the one with Mr. Jones and the caterpillar in his mouth.

There are two section in the book to give the reader more information. The section at the beginning of the book talk about being kind to others. The section at the back of the book discusses the lesson in kindness and different discussion questions that can't be discussed with a parent or teacher.

The theme for this book is taken from Proverbs 17:17, about how friends need to show their love to one another. This book shows us that if we are kind it will come back to us and we may even make new friends. I had that experience just the other day, when I was at a store and let somebody go first to get popcorn. The man got the popcorn for my two children instead of himself.

I liked how the book repeated a lot of phrases, to help the reader lean the words. I did not like how they all called Mr. Jones, “Old Mr. Jones.” I thought that was very disrespectful.
I would recommend reading this book. It is funny and different themes from the Bible are learned. The large print and white pages make it easier for beginner readers to be excited about reading.

The Case of the Giggling Geeks by Bill Myers

The Case of the Giggling Geeks, was written by Bill Myers and illustrated by Meredith Johnson and copyrighted in 2002. It is book one in the series, Secret Agent Dingledorf and his trusty dog, Splat and is 88 pages long. This Christian mystery adventure was published by Tommy Nelson and is for boys ages 7-10.

Bernie Dingledorf is mistaken for Secret Agent Ralph Dingledorf and is sent on a mission to stop Dr. Chuckles from forcing everybody to laugh. He is able to stop Dr. Chuckles and they both learn a valuable lesson about respect. Bernie is having a fun time at school trying to turn his friend I.Q. into a cool person like himself. He is taken by men from an agency who keep insisting that he is Ralph Dingledorf, secret agent. They never change their minds and he is sent home with a special backpack and awaiting orders. He is at school when he is told that the agency found Dr. Chuckles’ hideout and he is to leave immediately. He goes home and is taken to Dr. Chuckles hideout by the Dr. Bernie sees the laughing machine, which Dr. Chuckles turns on. He wants everyone in the world to be like him and laugh. There is a pie fight and Splat, Bernie’s dog finds a pie and accidentally turns off the switch. It is good, because everybody in the room was laughing and could not stop. Dr. Chuckles decides that it is not fun to be force to do something. Dr. Chuckles and Bernie learn that God made us all differently and we should respect that not try to change it.

Billy Myers has written over 70 books and his films have won over 40 awards. He is also the author of the McGee and Me series. The illustrations were fun and realistic. I enjoyed studying each one.

I liked everything about this book. The best part was when Bernie first got his backpack and he pulled dental floss out of its container and it was rocket powered. He went shooting all over the room until the rocket quit. It was funny.

I would recommend this book to people of all ages, not just those 7-10, because we all need to learn God made us all differently. We need to respect that and we should not change them.

Veggie Tales: Dave and the Giant Pickle by Phil Vischer

Big Ideas, Veggie Tales: Dave and the Giant Pickle was written by Phil Vischer and the art direction was by Ron Eddy. It was produced in 1998 by Big Idea Productions Inc. and is 30 pages. This book is a lesson in self-esteem and is an easy reader.
This book is a fun version of David and Goliath taken from the animated show. Children will enjoy this version, because of the child friendly sentence structure and word usage. The funniest part of the story is when Dave and his brother’s speak of Dave having to pick up the sheep that tip over all the time.
The important part of this story is that Dave knows that God is on the Israelites side and that he has nothing to fear. Dave shows us that everybody can fight for God and we just need to believe in God and ourselves.
The illustrations are still drawings from the movie of many of the regular Veggie Tales characters. The colors are very vivid.
My 4-year-old enjoys this story very much. His favorite is Goliath, the giant pickle.

The Double Dabble Surprise by Beverly Lewis

The Double Dabble Surprise, was written by Beverly Lewis and copyrighted in 1993. This 65 page book of the Cul-de-sac Kids series was published by Bethany House and is for girls and boys ages 7-10. The point-of-view for this Christian fiction book is a girl’s.

Abby and Carly Hunter were all set to get two Korean sisters and instead two boys arrived. The Hunter family then had to decide if they wanted to adopt Sung Jin and Choon Koo or to file adoption papers again to get the girls. Abby and Carly were both very disappointed when Sung Jin and Choon Koo arrived. Abby knew she had to pray to God to help her decide what to do about the boys. She decided to introduce the boys to her friends, teach them about God and Thanksgiving. In the week the boys are there Abby learns to enjoy their company. Her last great idea is to get a dog for Sung Jin, similar to the one he used to have, when the family tells the boys they are going to be adopted. For Abby to agree to adopt the boys she needed to learn about boys being just as good as girls and that God was providing them with who they needed.

Beverly Lewis lives in Colorado with her family and has written many books and short stories. The Cul-de-sac Kids remind her of her friends when she was younger. Barbara Birch illustrated the book realistically, which goes well with the clear plot line and characters.

The issue that readers deal with in The Double Dabble Surprise is acceptance. The experience may not be what we want it to be, but it might be what God wants to help us become stronger.

I liked how Abby prays when she needs to decide what she thinks about the boys living there. She is depending on God to help her. I also liked it when she got the dog for Sung Jin.

This paperback book is a nice size for holding and was printed in a large dark font. I would recommend this book if someone would like to learn about acceptance and a fun book to read.

Jesus is My Friend by Linda and Alan Parry

Jesus is My Friend is a cardboard book written and illustrated by Linda and Alan Parry. John Hunt Publishing published it in 1994. It is an easy reader.
Every page of this book begins with, “Jesus is my friend because…” It then mentions different things that Jesus does or teaches, such as loving me. There is a Bible verse at the end of each sentence that gives greater depth to the sentence. This is a good book for all children. It can be read with just the sentence or the verses. The verses can be used as a tool to talk to children more about Jesus. I read just the sentences to my 2-year-old and all of it to my 4-year-old.
This is a book that is wonderfully artistic with a heart-shaped at the top and realistic drawings with mice. The mice are in different poses in each picture. The picture at the bottom stays the same throughout the book.

Tomorrow is the day!!!!

Tomorrow will be the day when the new site for reviews of Christian children's books begin. I hope you join me for the excitement. Thank you.

A New Blog for Christian Books

Coming soon will be a blog all about Christian Books. First I will be focussing on juvenile books. In the coming weeks expect to see book reviews for young adult books as well.