Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

A Reel Cool Summer

by Martha Rodriguez (Goodreads Author)

4.58 of 5 stars 4.58 · rating details · 24 ratings · 20 reviews

It's the hottest, most boring day of summer vacation! It's so hot and boring, it feels like you're in a mall that's made of really, really hot lava! Confused? That's okay. It will all make sense once you meet Joey, Danny and Jacqui.

Will the three siblings find a way to cool down? Can they turn this boring day around? Will aliens take over the world? Wait... What?

A Reel Coo...more

Paperback, 32 pages

Published June 21st 2011 by Read To Me Publishing, LLC

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Best Picture Books

187th out of 936 books — 644 voters

The Jupiter Chronicles by Leonardo Ramirez

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

Awesome Children's Summer Books

33rd out of 110 books — 110 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 118)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Sep 01, 2011 Author Anna del C. Dye rated it 5 of 5 stars

We all have heard our kids complaining of hot and boring days during summer vacations. In this well written book, Martha helps kids find a way to see things in a different light. She shows how to do something about boredom without expecting others to entertain you so your day will be fun.
The story is simple; three siblings are hot and bored one summer day. They finally decide to ask for a pool. Pools cost lots of money mother tells them. The oldest child finds a flyer that talks about a film co...more We all have heard our kids complaining of hot and boring days during summer vacations. In this well written book, Martha helps kids find a way to see things in a different light. She shows how to do something about boredom without expecting others to entertain you so your day will be fun.
The story is simple; three siblings are hot and bored one summer day. They finally decide to ask for a pool. Pools cost lots of money mother tells them. The oldest child finds a flyer that talks about a film competition for kids in the mailbox. The first price is $100. With that they could buy a pool.
Now the children have a goal in mind and they work together to make it come true. The older brother becomes the photographer and his brother and sister the actors. They include their pets in their movie and spend the whole day filming. They forget how bored and hot they were. At the end they barely make it to the film competition. Then they just have to wait for the results.
This excellent book will give new ideas to children of things to do to get un-bored when school is out. It can provide parents a break from their kids. It will also help them see that with a little imagination you can go a long ways on a boring day. It is fun and a great learning tool for all who read it. A Reel Cool Summer will become a must have addition to any home or school library.

Merged review:

We all have heard our kids complaining of hot and boring days during summer vacations. In this well written book, Martha helps kids find a way to see things in a different light. She shows how to do something about boredom without expecting others to entertain you so your day will be fun.
The story is simple; three siblings are hot and bored one summer day. They finally decide to ask for a pool. Pools cost lots of money mother tells them. The oldest child finds a flyer that talks about a film competition for kids in the mailbox. The first price is $100. With that they could buy a pool.
Now the children have a goal in mind and they work together to make it come true. The older brother becomes the photographer and his brother and sister the actors. They include their pets in their movie and spend the whole day filming. They forget how bored and hot they were. At the end they barely make it to the film competition. Then they just have to wait for the results.
This excellent book will give new ideas to children of things to do to get un-bored when school is out. It can provide parents a break from their kids. It will also help them see that with a little imagination you can go a long ways on a boring day. It is fun and a great learning tool for all who read it. A Reel Cool Summer will become a must have addition to any home or school library.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 14, 2011 Pam Leffler rated it 5 of 5 stars

This summer I had the pleasure of reading ‘A Reel Cool Summer’ by Martha Rodriguez to my 8 year old son. In this book, summer is hot and boring. Joey is tired of reading and Danny and Jacqui’s vivid imagination aren’t enough to keep them occupied. What they really want is a place to cool off and have some fun and a swimming pool is just the thing, but can they convince Mom of this? Joey sees an opportunity to add some adventure to their afternoon and hopefully a first prize award, when he reads...more This summer I had the pleasure of reading ‘A Reel Cool Summer’ by Martha Rodriguez to my 8 year old son. In this book, summer is hot and boring. Joey is tired of reading and Danny and Jacqui’s vivid imagination aren’t enough to keep them occupied. What they really want is a place to cool off and have some fun and a swimming pool is just the thing, but can they convince Mom of this? Joey sees an opportunity to add some adventure to their afternoon and hopefully a first prize award, when he reads a flyer about a movie contest for kids. Will the three siblings be able to work together to create an exciting masterpiece that will claim the prize?

We enjoyed the playful nature of this book. Not only was it realistic, which is appreciated, but it also put emphasis on positive habits, such as working together and striving for an end goal. The book also shows the children using their imagination in creative ways.

Martha Rodriguez has a real talent for writing for younger readers. She doesn’t talk down to them and she uses verse that children are able to relate to. This book was also very fun, which is attractive to children. Books at time, are similar in nature and very monotone and children actually become bored by the storyline. That is not the case in ‘A Reel Cool Summer’.

I believe that this book is best for children between the ages of 6 to 9. My son could have read this himself and younger readers could have read this with a little help. However, it is also an enjoyable read during family story time.

We really enjoyed the book and I find that Martha Rodriguez has a genuine talent for writing and look forward to seeing what stories the future will bring. It’s refreshing to read a book that is so positively written with children solving their own problems. I also think that it’s important to show that reading is fun which is what Ms. Rodriguez does within her book and with her book. Not only do the characters decide that reading isn’t boring anymore, but children reading this book will not be bored either.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Sep 13, 2011 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kids-read, juvenile, rtbook

Bored on a hot summer day, Joey, his brother Danny and sister Jacqui want something to do. They want a pool, but mom says it cost a lot of money. Finding a flyer on the mail box for a movie competition with the reward of money is what gives Joey a great idea. Getting right to works on props, costumes and filming because they have only a few hours till the deadline. After a couple false starts, things seem to come together till the kids are happy with what they have done. Seeing some of the other...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 14, 2011 Fran rated it 5 of 5 stars

A Reel Cool Summer
Author: Martha Rodriguez
Reviewed by Fran Lewis

There is nothing as boring as a hot summer’s day with nothing to do but sit under a tree and complain about the heat. Sweltering, the air so still, the wind calm and the sun blazing hot making everyone tired, bored and looking for something else to pass the time of day Joey, Danny and Jacqui needed to do something else to keep cool. So, why wouldn’t they want to go shopping in with their mom to get out of the heat? Who wouldn’t want...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 02, 2011 Janette Fuller rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: children

It is a hot summer day and Danny, Joey and Jacqui are bored. They wish they had a swimming pool. Joey receives a postcard from the public library that is announcing a movie making contest for kids! The contest ends TODAY at 5:00 pm. The first place prize is $100.00, the second place prize is a trip to Adventure World and the third place prize is a mystery gift!

The children find their family's old video camera and get to work. The entire family works on the props and costumes. The kids combine t...more It is a hot summer day and Danny, Joey and Jacqui are bored. They wish they had a swimming pool. Joey receives a postcard from the public library that is announcing a movie making contest for kids! The contest ends TODAY at 5:00 pm. The first place prize is $100.00, the second place prize is a trip to Adventure World and the third place prize is a mystery gift!

The children find their family's old video camera and get to work. The entire family works on the props and costumes. The kids combine their ideas and come up with an out-of-this-world script for their movie. Joey is the photographer and Danny, Jacqui and their pet hamsters are the actors.
The children complete the video and get to the library just before the deadline. They anxiously await the announcement of the contest winners.

Did they win first place in the contest? I am not going to spoil the surprise at the end of the story. I will say that the kids were happily rewarded for their creative efforts!

I really like the theme of this book. Children should be encouraged to use their imaginations and explore creative outlets. With the help of modern technology, children are very capable of creating a video movie to share with their friends and family. This book demonstrated that you don't have to have the most modern equipment to make a movie, the kids in this story were using an old video camera that used VHS tapes.

The computer-generated illustrations are colorful and fun. Joey Rodriguez did a wonderful job creating illustrations that complement this story.

This book uses a picture book format but the text is more verbose than a typical picture book. I would say this book is appropriate for children in the 2nd/3rd grade levels. The book is a good read-aloud selection for younger children.

The dialogue is written to sound like children really talk. Parents might cringe but kids will love it. Here is an example from the text;
"You know how much I hate going to the mall because it's so boring and you have to walk for hours and Mom takes forever to pick out a pair of socks and lava is hot, like a million degrees hot, and it melts everything? Well, that's what today feels like; it's boring and hot. Like a mall that's made of really, really hot lava!"

Mrs. Rodiguez has done an admirable job on her very first children's book. I love the fact that an author can now write and publish their own book and share it with the world. I look forward to more books from Martha and her Read To Me Publishing Company.

Disclosure: I want to thank Martha Rodriguez for sending me a complimentary digital copy of this book to read and review. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Nov 11, 2012 Mary rated it 5 of 5 stars

Technology to the Rescue!

What a perfect book for kids ages 6-9 to ward off boredom. First, A Reel Cool Summer is great fun to read, but to apply the technology idea the three siblings learned would be amazing.

The dialogue is so accurate and the illustrations are outstanding. It isn’t hard to imagine this scene taking place in Martha Rodriguez’s home on a boring summer day, or any other family’s home on any given day. Kids are always saying they’re bored.

Starting with the kids wanting a pool, and...more

1 like · like · see review

May 07, 2012 G. rated it 5 of 5 stars

GRRRR Matey!

Both of my sons are grown, so I don't know a whole lot about what picture books and early readers talk about nowadays, but A Reel Cool Summer by Martha Rodriguez could not be more timely and is a must see for all families with pre-tween children. Those old enough to be inspired by the book to go out and make their own movie or play may benefit the most, but it's never too early to get any child thinking creatively.

While listed at 32 pages, there's plenty going on, from the unique and...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 08, 2011 Jennifer Short rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I'll admit that I'm a sucker when it comes to books about guinea pigs. Add in a contest, and it's a sure winner, right?

The illustrations in this book are great. They are very rich, interesting drawings that are full of color. In fact, one of the few things I didn't like about the book was the words were on a rich blue background sometimes making it a bit hard to read, at least for me.

It's a cute story of two brothers and their sister who use an old video camera to make a movie. After all, it's a...more

2 likes · like · see review

May 05, 2012 Lisa Miller Chandler rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-book

This children's book, the paperback version, was a cute little book, with a nice little story about determination & trying to earn things for yourself for children. The drawings remind me of a "South Park" style, but they are actually for children. The story is about a few kids who want a particular item for play during their summer & end up entering a contest in an attempt to achieve their goal. The style of illustration was cute after I'd looked at & studied the illustrations. The...more

like · see review

Apr 14, 2012 Paul rated it 5 of 5 stars

I titled this review excellent because I used that word so many times while reading this book. I loved the reference that "we'll see, usually means no in Mom language." Danny wearing the eye patch and talking like a pirate was excellent, as was the illustration of Danny crossing his fingers as the 3rd place winner of the movie contest was announced. Yes, excellent is the perfect descrition of this book. The book has a great feel to it, excellent for read alongs. This is a great book for children...more

1 like · like · see review

May 08, 2012 Jeff Dawson rated it 4 of 5 stars

If my grand daughter could type, I'm sure she would do it more proficiently then her "Grandpa Bill."

She came home from school yesterday with nothing to read. I handed her the Kindle and off she went. Within in an hour she came boucing out of the house announcing to her mom and I, she was finished and really enjoyed the story.

I think that is a good review in itself. The words of a seven year old more then outweigh an adult on this one.

Well done Martha!

1 like · like · see review

Jan 19, 2012 Scott Bury rated it 4 of 5 stars

A very cute and believable story about three siblings who enter a video contest for children, and earn an unexpected by well-deserved reward.

The pacing and dialog are right on target! Rodriguez has obviously observed well how children communicate and react.

This is a fun story to read for all ages, and best of all it probably would inspire other young people to do creative things.

1 like · like · see review

Oct 27, 2011 Charity Parkerson rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a fantastic book. The attention to detail in each picture was amazing. I don't normally review that many children's books, but as a pre-k teacher and author, I really enjoyed this one. It takes us through the boredom of a summer day with 3 children Joey, Danny, and Jacqui as they turn it around by trying to win a movie contest. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys children's books.

1 like · like · see review

Jan 23, 2012 Lisa Ard rated it 4 of 5 stars

A 'reel' cute story about three kids who are hot and bored with summer. When a movie contest presents itself, they find they're not so bored anymore, as they keep busy making costumes, sets, props, etc. The whole family gets involved.

What a fun project for a mother writer and illustrator son! Congratulations Martha!

1 like · like · see review

Feb 23, 2012 Julie Powell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Apart from the wonderful drawings, I found this story delightful. I loved the way it delved into the minds of children and made me remember not only my own childhood but those of my children. It made my smile wide.

Certainly one to pass on to younger generations.

1 like · like · see review

Oct 27, 2011 Greg rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a review that was written by my 12 year old son Coty:

It was so funny. I want to know if there will be more

I hope that you enjoy my son's first book review

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 16, 2013 Alpha rated it 5 of 5 stars

It's a funny story about a family who wants a pool.

1 like · like · see review

Dec 09, 2011 Patsy Leo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-read

Fun, funny, and cute story

1 like · like · see review

Aug 06, 2012 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Cute storyline. I think this would interest many kids as a good summer reading book. You could even go one step further and have the kid read the book and then make there own movie.

1 like · like · see review

Jan 16, 2013 Zari rated it 5 of 5 stars

It's a funny, little story about a family who wants a swimming pool. ~ ZR, 11 years

1 like · like · see review

May 19, 2013 Codie marked it as to-read

May 15, 2013 Legato Darksummers added it · review of another edition

Shelves: daddy-dark-s-baby-warrior-list

Apr 22, 2013 Iroulito91 marked it as to-read

Apr 16, 2013 Theresa marked it as to-read

Mar 24, 2013 sweet peas marked it as to-read

Mar 15, 2013 Stephanie marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Feb 16, 2013 Hong_zhu_99yahoo.com marked it as to-read

Feb 06, 2013 Roy Huff marked it as to-read

Nov 21, 2012 Sara marked it as to-read

Oct 09, 2012 Crystal Marcos marked it as to-read

« previous 1 2 3 4 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Q&A with Mart...: Ask the author... that's me!	50	21	Jan 27, 2012 09:43am
Books 2 Read: Martha Rodriguez	21	6	Nov 03, 2011 02:43pm
Q&A with Mart...: Welcome! Please introduce yourself.	101	28	Oct 30, 2011 05:36am
Q&A with Mart...: Ask the illustrator... that's Joey!	10	10	Oct 24, 2011 07:52pm
Q&A with Mart...: Kids, what kind of movie would you make?	3	4	Oct 10, 2011 04:05pm

combine
Other Editions (1)

Popular Shelves

to-read

83 shelves

daddy-dark-s-baby...

1 shelf

to-buy

1 shelf

children-to-read

1 shelf

children-s-book

1 shelf

kindle-to-read

1 shelf

now-on-my-kindle

1 shelf

kids

1 shelf

books-i-won

1 shelf

About Martha Rodriguez

Martha is a wife and mother of three and the author of three children's books.

A Reel Cool Summer is a picture book about three wacky siblings who are bored out of their minds on the hottest, most boring day ever! Will they be able to turn this day into a summer of fun? Fingers crossed!

Smell My Feet! 10 Seriously Silly and Sweet Short Stories for Squirts (ages 7-10) includes a story about an angel,...more

More about Martha Rodriguez...

Books by Martha Rodriguez

Smell My Feet! 10 Seriously Silly and Sweet Short Stories for Squirts

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About A Reel Cool Summer

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

title link	preview: A Reel Cool Summer
avg rating	preview: A Reel Cool Summer Goodreads rating: 4.58 (24 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12062453-a-reel-cool-summer?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1311019938l/12062453.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12062453-a-reel-cool-summer?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]A Reel Cool Summer by Martha Rodriguez[/url]

A Reel Cool Summer

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

combineOther Editions (1)

Popular Shelves

About Martha Rodriguez

Books by Martha Rodriguez

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About A Reel Cool Summer

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (1)