When I Grow Up I Want To Be... a Veterinarian, by Wigu Publishing

 Title: When I Grow Up I Want To Be... a Veterinarian

Series: When I Grow Up...

Author: Wigu Publishing

Date: November 29, 2014

Paperback: 60 pages

Language: English

Age Range: 9 and up





About the Book
Sofia wants to care for all the animals in the world. But Mom does not think Sofia is ready for the responsibility of even one pet. Ready or not, when a hungry and sick-looking cat appears at the family's back doorstep, Sofia takes action. When Sofia is found feeding the cat, Mom gives in and agrees that a trip to the vet will tell them if the cat is healthy and not someone's lost pet. As the veterinarian introduces Sofia and readers to the important and wide-ranging work of animal doctors, Sofia learns how she might help all kinds of animals, including a little stray cat!


My Take
I must say I really love this series. I think it is one of the best ones out there for children to get a true understanding of what jobs are out there for them. I know my daughter gets very excited each time she reads one of these books. She gets to learn about a new career option. This particular story, about the veterinarian, was top of her list, as that is one of her options for when she grows up.


The cover along grabbed both of our attention. It is amazingly filled with bright attention grabbing colours.When you open the book, it has a list of saying from famous people regarding animals and how wonderful they are to have around. Next you find the Veterinarian Oath. This was nice to be able to read to my daughter and tell her that it will be something that she will have to uphold.


The story is a touching one. It shows how much love this young girl has for animals and how badly she wants to have one around. Even though most of the book is in cartoon form, there are pictures of actual people and animals. These sections give children a deeper understanding of what a Veterinarian does. Your children will also receive a deeper knowledge of cats, dogs, birds and reptiles. This book is filled with so much information that by time you are done ready the story, they will have a better understanding and know if this is the career for them or not. There is also two pages at the end that are dedicated to what makes and good veterinarian and pet owner.


About the Author
Wigu Publishing is a collaboration of talented and creative individuals working together to publish informative and fun books for our children.  Our titles serve to introduce children to the people in their communities who serve others through their vocations.  Wigu Books are unique in that they help our children to visualize the abundant opportunities that exist for them to be successful and to make a difference.  Our goal is to inspire the great leaders and thinkers of tomorrow.

This complimentary book was given to me by Wigu Publishing for my honest review.

The Christmas Cats Encounter Bats, by Constance Corcoran Wilson

Title: The Christmas Cats Encounter Bats

Author: Constance Corcoran Wilson

Publisher: Quad Cities Press

Date: September 13, 2014

Paperback: 24 pages








About the Book
The third book in the Christmas Cats adventure teaches us to honor life in all its forms. Love and accept all God's creatures. Some animals--(puppies and kitties come to mind)--are popular with nearly everyone. Others (spiders, lizards, bats, etc.) may not seem as worthy,  but all are small cogs in the universe. Bats serve a very useful purpose in God's grand scheme. All life should be valued. The bats of story three are just as deserving of respect and have as much right to life as any other creature on the planet.

My Take
This book happens to be just as cute as the other one I reviewed, The Christmas Cats Chase Christmas Rats. Just like the other book, this one has a lesson that one can learn. We all have issues with certain animals and some of us take drastic measures to make sure those types of animals are not to be seen in our dwellings. For instance, like the bats in this story. The cats must go on a journey to help figure out what is making a certain sound. They find out it is a bat. Of course they don't hurt the bat and explain that it can be helpful to have them around and so we should enjoy them.

I like the fact that the author doesn't drag the story out to make a point. I know the younger a child is, they don't tend to want to sit as long and hear a story. Another good thing is that it rhymes. This is also helpful for the younger ones. It can come across more or less like a song and so they tend to enjoy it more. The bright colours in the book will also attract a lot of readers. They make the pages stand out. Lastly, but not least, there is a colouring page at the end that has the reader or child interact with the story by colouring a page and adding to the "story". Once you are done, you can email them in and see it posted on the website.

Like I stated before. This book is cute and the lesson is just as good.

About the Author
Connie graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in English and Journalism, but she began writing for her hometown (Independence, Iowa) newspaper at the age of 10 and was Editor-in-Chief of her high school newspaper. She continued her education, including a Ferner/Hearst Journalism Scholarship and a Freshman Merit Scholarship at Iowa, and then at Berkeley, WIU, NIU and the University of Chicago. Connie holds a Masters (+30) in English, Journalism and Education. Her career path led to teaching 7th and 8th grade language arts (Silvis, Illinois) and teaching writing at 6 IA/IL colleges or universities, including a class teaching film at Black Hawk Junior College. She then established the second Sylvan Learning Center in the state of Iowa and a Prometric Testing site, in conjunction with ETS of Princeton, NJ. She has taught writing and literature classes at all 6 IA/IL Quad City colleges.

Connie lives in East Moline, Illinois with husband Craig and in Chicago, Illinois, where her son, Scott and daughter-in-law Jessica and their newborn twins Elise and Ava reside. Her daughter, Stacey, a graduate of Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, has been living and working in Australia since February of 2012.

This complimentary book was given to me by the author for my honest review.

Charlie and Felicity Go Wild, by David Driscoll

Title: Charlie and Felicity Go Wild

Author: David Driscoll

Publisher: Strategic Book Publishing

Date: January 8, 2014

Paperback: 56 pages








About the Book
Charlie and Felicity Go Wild is the imaginative children's story about two fishcakes who meet on the river. Charlie is a male fishcake who wants to meet a female fishchake.

After Charlie meets Felicity, everything goes wild! First they take an exciting canoe ride down the river, where they have a dangerous encounter with a crocodile. Charlie takes on some elephants to rescue Felicity and just then, hippos pop up and say hello.

A slippery snake sticks his nose into things, Charlie loses so much weight, his swimming trunks fall down! Felicity has fun bouncing on giant mushrooms and Charlie falls asleep in the boat.

My Take
Do you want to go on an adventure? Why not read the book Charlie and Felicity Go Wild, by David Driscoll. You will meet two lovely fishcakes that meet up and go on a wild adventure. As you read this story to your child, they will get to learn about the different animals that can be encountered on a boat ride. For instance, they encounter a crocodile, snake, elephant, etc. You also get to see how much fun one can have not only on the waters, but also on land when Felicity decides to pull over and see what is in the woods.

The story itself is cute. The writing style is simple enough for a young reader to be able to read to themselves. They may need help on a couple of words, but for the most part they should be able to handle it by themselves. The book isn't too long either, so the younger readers will not get overwhelmed with the length. I feel like the ratio of pictures to words is spot on. I have encountered some books where you have more of one than the other, but this book has it balanced out just right.

I love the artwork in this book. It is a form of pencil drawing, which I like because it shows how much time and effort was put into the pictures. It is very detailed and colorful.

About the Author

David Driscoll is director at Homestead PDS Ltd commercial painting contractors in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. He writes and manufactures film scripts, and supports local charities. The author has written a body of work; this is his first published book.

This complimentary book was given to me for my honest review.