Review: A Walk in the Rain With a Brain

By Carma Dutra

A Walk in the Rain with a Brain is written by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. This book is designed for four (read to) to eight year olds.

Children do not receive enough encouragement to develop their own unique talents, skills and attitudes. Dr. Hallowell's book, A Walk in the Rain With a Brain reinforces the important message that no brain is smarter than the other. Everyone is born with a brain and everyone can learn with their brain. The exceptional illustrations by Bill Mayer are richly drawn in a cartoon manner that young children will be attracted too as well.

The story's central character is a girl named Lucy who discovers a brain on the ground named Manfred (Fred for short) as she plays outside in the rain. Lucy asks Fred to make her smart. "Everyone's smart," Fred told her, "You just need to find out at what."

Fred tells Lucy about the time that his other brain friends used to feel they weren't smart but you'll have to read the story to find out what happened.

This imaginary tale is delightful and can be a helpful teaching guide for parents and teachers with its fact based discussion guide in the back of the book. Hallowell writes that with proper guidance every child can develop to the fullest of the talents that they are born with. Hallowell says "Not all kids know that brains run the show."

About the Author: Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. is a noted psychiatrist and an internationally acknowledged expert on ADD. Also Dr. Hallowell is director of the Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health in Concord Mass. The center is an outpatient treatment center service children and adults with a wide range of emotional and learning problems.

Learn more about children's writing tips and award winning book reviews by visiting Carma's Window at http://carmaswindow.blogspot.com Download the free EBook, "Unite to Write," a compilation of thirteen top expert authors as read on Ezine article directory and "Free Tips on Freelance Writing."

Review: The Monster on Top of the Bed

By Brenda Silver

Title: The Monster on Top of the Bed
Written by: Alan H. Jordan
Illustrated by: Manuela Pentangelo
Performed by: Virginia Castleman
Soft cover: 32 pages

Ages: 3-9 (Older children also like to use the book/CD and e-books with their younger siblings, and to help make e-books using the related My Monster on Top of the Bed e-book into which children's drawings may be uploaded.)

Publisher: LB Creative, LLC Press
ISBN: 978-0-9726318-0-8
Published: June 2008

Other Editions: Multi-media e-books in English, Spanish and Italian, audio-book with 98 tracks that read each page one-at-a-time.

In The Monster on Top of the Bed young Suzy learns that she never has to be afraid of monsters again after she befriends a "monster" who thinks of her as "the monster on top of the bed." This is a great children's book for children who love to read, and those who don't.

The author has created a captivating story. Manuela Pentangelo, the illustrator, has crafted ice-cream-parlor-delicious artwork. On the accompanying audio-book CD (available separately) the book is performed in English (2 versions), Italian and Spanish (2 versions.) As children listen to the different performances, they cannot help but develop an appreciation for the beauty of different languages. Just by listening, they pick up many Italian and Spanish words, and start to develop an appreciation of different cultures.

Like the Pixar movie, Monsters, Inc., this book allows children to discover the fact that a monster might be as afraid of them, but it does it in a very different, almost cerebral way. Also, as children read the story, they find a mantra that they can say to themselves to banish monsters, "You're welcome to stay, until I say 'nay,' then it's time to go, and you can't say no."

Children love to have magic enchantments, and this mantra can provide great comfort. Night-time fears (also known as bed time fears) is a very real problem with children. Telling a child that they don't have to be afraid of monsters doesn't usually work. It helps to give your child a flashlight that they can turn on to banish monsters at will. This book may be just the thing to enable your child to fall asleep without worry. The mantra itself may be sufficient to banish monsters without having to turn on that flashlight.

Brenda Silver has written many books and articles for internal publications of major companies. She is expanding to include freelance writing and ghost writing. Contact her at bsilver@advantapress.com

The Monster on Top of the Bed is one of many resources available from http://www.letsbecreative.org/ Once you register on the site (free) you may view the streaming video and even download an iPod version of The Monster on Top of the Bed for free.