Elle Pierre's Blog, page 4

Microblog: WOMEN'S DAY 2017 Reading List

Hello all!

March 8th is International Women's Day! To celebrate, I've compiled a short list of books I've read featuring some intriguing young women that I hope you'll enjoy! The books included here are fiction and nonfiction titles, and are suitable for young readers:








Do you know of any other books that would be good for the list or that I might enjoy reading? Say so in the comments!

Also check out the listopia list I created! https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Happy Women's Day!!
Lauren :)

Book Review: "Little Miss HISTORY Travels to Ellis Island" by Barbara Ann Mojica, (Artwork by Victor Ramon Mojica)

Little Miss HISTORY Travels to Ellis Island Volume 6 by Barbara Ann Mojica

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



”A long time ago, as a little girl, I dreamed of traveling all over the world ...”


LITTLE MISS HISTORY Travels to Ellis Island is a wonderfully whimsical and intelligent lesson in American history. In it, we meet a young woman nicknamed “History,” due to her lifelong love of the past, who takes us on an informative journey through the history of Ellis Island, from its days as a sandbar in the Manhattan bay and onward into the present (still in the Manhattan bay, FYI).

Ms. Mojica writing will capture the attention of children (and adults!), and though it covers all the facts, it is never “boring”. I love that the illustrations are superimposed onto real-life photographs, which gives this book a unique “educational cartoon” feel to it. Well done!



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Book Review: "Word of Mouse" by James Patterson [with Chris Grabenstein], (Illustrated by Joe Stuphin)

Word of Mouse by James Patterson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"In life you have to stand for something; otherwise, you'll be sitting on your butt." - Isaiah

Poor Isaiah! Separated from his family while attempting to escape from an inhumane research lab, Isaiah is left to fend for himself in the outside world, complete with hungry hawks, devil cats, and rancid-smelling rats. Let's just say that Isaiah is officially a nervous wreck (not that he wasn't before).

Fortunately, Isaiah discovers the courage to thrive hidden within himself, his unusual talents serving him every step of the way. With the help of his new (and equally unusual) friends, Isaiah just may reunite with his family, and better yet, rescue them!

I loved this book! I didn't even think these types of stories were written anymore. Its plot was clean and captivating; and the narrative itself was dryly hilarious. Fans of classics like Beverly Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle series and tales by E.B. White will fall in love with the adventures of a tiny mouse with a big heart, namely, Isaiah.



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Book Review: "Tree's Adventure: 'Making New Friends'" by Kristin Montgomery Small

Tree's Adventure: "Making New Friends" by Kristin Montgomery Small

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In Tree's Adventure, we meet a talking tree with one desire: he wants to make new friends! So what does he do? He gets up from his home in the park, puts on some boots, and marches down the road in search of a new friend. And thus, the story begins.

This is a really cute book! Tree is a likeable character and his quest to make new friends is engaging and endearing from cover to cover. The illustrations are very vibrant and unique to the story. Children will enjoy this gentle read.



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Book Review: "BIG and Small in the Mirror" by Mary Feliciani (illustrated by Rose Tingyi)

BIG and Small in the Mirror by Mary Feliciani

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


In Big and Small in the Mirror, we meet Carlo and Marco, two friends attending the same school in medieval Roseto, Italy. Each boy has a personal run in with Danny, a hot-tempered boy with a tendency to bully other children at the school. Now, Marco and Carlo are tasked with figuring out how to prevent any future taunting from Danny, while Danny tries to understand himself as a bully.

I’ve wanted to read this book for a while, and I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed. The characters are very relatable and the artwork was cute. However, I felt that the story was focused on too many characters, and quite frankly, I thought it could’ve been a little longer (with a couple extra pages, this could make a terrific early chapter book!). Also, I thought of the ending to be abrupt. The lesson of how to deal with bullying is clear, but what about the bully? He doesn’t change. Not to give children the false impression that every bully will become nice eventually, I think as a children’s story about bullying, it spoke more to the victim than the actual bully, and in my opinion, it would’ve been a nicer ending if Danny apologized or attempted to be friendlier to the other children, as opposed to being this poor, angered creature everyone felt sorry for. It just left a bad feeling in my head.

Besides that, it’s a good story; I enjoyed it. At the end there are discussion questions, which make for a good debate among children and their parents, teachers, etc.



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Book Review: “Brown Girl Dreaming” by Jaqueline Woodson

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Brown Girl Dreaming truly deserved its awards!

Readers will be immersed into the active life of young Jaqueline Woodson. Through her light, yet meaningful free-verse poetry, she reveals antiquity through a child’s eyes, from her toddler years all the way to junior high school. Each account will leave you eager for the next, peppered with humor, sass, a plenty of wistful thinking.

I especially enjoyed the mini-scrapbook located at the end of the memoir, which feature childhood photos of Ms. Woodson and kin.

This creatively-produced memoir is proof that writers are not merely born; they are shaped by their experiences. And that is what makes each writer so amazing!




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Update! - 2/20/2017

Hi everyone!

Now that my sale is out of the way, I can focus on book reviews once again. I finally feel moved to do so...

ANYWAY, here's the list of books I have yet to archive onto this blog, in the order of completion:

-Brown Girl Dreaming
by Jacqueline Woodson (Read, reviewed)

-Tree's Adventure: "Making New Friends"
by Kristin Montgomery Small (Read, reviewed)

-BIG and Small in the Mirror
by Mary Feliciani (Read, reviewed)

-Word of Mouse
by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein (Read, need to review)

Whether or not I'll post them in this order, I couldn't say. But I'll try, lol!

ALSO, I've received my first non-Goodreads ask this week! You can read my answer here: https://www.goodreads.com/questions/9...

Always,
Lauren :)

Announcement: Children's Ebook FREE Promotion 2/17/2017-2/19/2017

Hi everyone!

I'd like to announce that my latest picture book, Tip & Lulu: A tale of two friends, will be available for FREE this weekend, starting on Friday (the 17th-19th) in Ebook format. Feel free to download a copy to your Kindle device or Kindle App*! Reviews are more than welcomed!

LINK: https://www.amazon.com/Tip-Lulu-tale-...

TRAILER: https://www.goodreads.com/videos/1140...
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://laurenpierrearts.wixsite.com/t...

Thank you!! :)
Lauren

*You can also read kindle books in your browser! After downloading, go to this link and login with your amazon customer account: https://read.amazon.com/

"A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This was such a beautiful poem... I wanted to share it on my blog! Enjoy!

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
   Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
   And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
   And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
   Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
   Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
   Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
   And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
   Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,
   In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
   Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
   Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,— act in the living Present!
   Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
   We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
   Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
   Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
   Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
   With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
   Learn to labor and to wait.

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Copied from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem....

So Let’s Talk About Escapism (And How We Can Make It Better)

Goodness me! It’s been far too long since my last blogpost. I haven’t felt in the mood for reviewing, plus I haven’t been able to get my hands on any new books (despite my New Year Resolution). Anyway, I’ve found that I really enjoyed writing my article on success as writer (found here: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...), and I’ve been stirred to write yet another one! May it provoke thought...

So, what is escapism? Well, according to Wikipedia, escapism “is the avoidance of unpleasant, boring, arduous, scary, or banal aspects of daily life.” Basically, it’s a coping mechanism/boredom buster people use to endure the craziness found in this world. In the modern age, there are dozens of ways to step out of reality: video games, virtual worlds, cosplaying/roleplaying, books, movies, tv shows, music, and even… here it comes… social networks (shocker!). The list goes on.

Now, a healthy dose of escapism is good I think, but when you begin to neglect the real world… it kind of becomes a problem. With the seemingly constant negativity that appears to emanate from the earth by human hands (and mouths and minds), it can be easy to say “this world sucks, no use paying attention to it,” and tune it all out. But, that’s not the best practice, nor is adding to the problem.

But, what all this have to do with writing? I was just getting to that.

Have you ever read a book where a character’s profound musing spoke to you? Or how about a movie with a positive theme? When the credits started to roll, did you walk out of the theater with a bit more confidence or a new look at how to handle the real world?

Writers possess the ability to embed virtue into their fiction works whether through screenwriting, creative writing, even self-help or opinion pieces (like this one…?). For example, a fantastic adventure novel can be woven with themes of courage, teamwork, and tolerance, which for a reader, could benefit them as they struggle with these traits in a real life situation.

This is obviously a known fact, but I just wanted to emphasize the importance of bringing people up and together (especially these days), by giving them good, positive media to "escape" to, with the hope that they come back with solutions to our real-world problems, and have the courage to make changes. Don’t just write for entertainment; write for enrichment of the mind and heart of your readers.