Maya & Filippo Make Friends in Auckland

by Alinka Rutkowska, Konrad Checinski (Illustrations)

Mom's Choice Award Winner. Alinka Rutkowska hit the ball out of the park with this series and this book in particular. 5.0 stars from Readers’ Favorite Reviews. Embark on a one-of-a-kind, unprecedented, breathtaking adventure with Maya and Filippo as they travel around the globe on board the “Fun Princess” — a cruise ship full of surprises. Discover their fascinating ports of call, find out what the local customs and traditions are, join the kids in activities at sea, and explore the remarkable world they create through the power of their positive outlook. This time Maya and Filippo discover Auckland and meet different kinds of people depending on...read the book to find out! Spoiler the kids ride a big hop-on, hop-off explorer bus, where strange things happen. They stop at the famous Sky Tower, where they do something very exciting.

Genres: Childrens

26 pages, Paperback

First published July 6, 2011

About the author

Hi, I'm Alinka Rutkowska and I'm an award-winning and best-selling author and coach.



I've been featured on Fox Business Network, Examiner, She Knows, She Writes, Blog Talk Radio, The Writer’s Life and many more.

I'm giving away presents!

READERS: Go to http://alinkarutkowska.com and get one of my children's books for free!

AUTHORS: Go to http://alinkarutkowska.com/authors-home/ and get my ebook "200 Book Marketing Tips" for free!

Reviews

[C Exley Books (Cassandra)]

This is our first "Maya and Filippo" book and won't be our last. This book was the bedtime story for tonight. I just read this with my five year old son. He loved that it was set here in our hometown.

A wonderful story with moral lessons. I always love reading books set here in New Zealand.

All questions answered by my son (Nicholas).

Do you like this book?
Nicholas said "Yes"

What do you think of the cover?
Nicholas said "Cool"

Do you want me to read it again?
Nicholas said "Yes"

[Heather]

Alyce’s Thoughts (7 years old):

I think the whole book was a pretty good book. I would spend time reading it to other people like my little brother Nano (4 years old) and if I had more time before I go to bed, I could read it to you and Kat (10 years old).

There is lots of pictures that I like and they use thinking bubbles and exclamation points and question marks and periods and a couple of other things I don’t know the names to. Some of the pictures have lots and lots of colors.

My favorite picture was the whale behind the boat. My favorite part was when Maya and Filippo were jumping on the trampoline.

It was a pretty good book because when Maya and Filippo went to the city they made new friends and jumped on a trampoline and a whole day of good of good things. Only one really bad thing happened, they ran out of chocolate, because I love chocolate.

Mom’s Thoughts:

I thought this was a really cute book with a great message of positivity and focusing on good things throughout. If you notice, I was able to get my 7 year old to sit down and help me with this review, but my 4 year old wasn’t in the mood. I can tell you that he enjoyed it and had fun while I read it to him. He pointed out various things in the pictures and answered questions that I asked.

I have to say one question I asked my kids – do you ever go off without mommy anywhere, let alone in a strange place you don’t know? Noooo. Good answer. I know it’s fiction and all, but you know how literal preschoolers can be. I wanted to make sure that he got that point.

I can also be honest and say that my almost 10 year old poo poo’ed this as too young for her. Family reading time is awesome. She just doesn’t know what a good time is anymore. :)

I think honestly, my 7 year old (1st grade) enjoyed it the most. She is sitting here reading it to me again as I type up this review. There are a few words that I have to help her with, but for the most part she is doing a really good job reading it on her own.

Cute book with fun illustrations that my youngest two enjoyed is definitely a win to me.

Thank you so much for the copy of Maya & Filippo Make Friends in Auckland for me to share with my kiddos. I would definitely follow the rest of this series with them.

[Joyce Mitchell]

Traveling the world with Maya & Filippo is fun and educational! Valuable lessons taught as the siblings hop on and off the explorer bus, and how a change in attitude makes a big difference!

My little niece found this delightful book by Alinka Rutkowska so interesting that she decided to do her own research on Auckland. Some interesting facts: 1.5 million people in Auckland, New Zealand, breathtaking beaches, lots of shopping places and she thought it was amazing that everyone in Auckland lives within half hour of a beach!

She absolutely fell in love with Maya and Filippo as they traveled around the world on the 'Fun Princess' and you will, too. So happy that this book inspired her to read more! Great story! Love the part about when you think happy thoughts, good things come to you.

Highly recommended - great bedtime story for all little ones!

[Julie Barrett]

Maya and Filippo Make Friends in Auckland by Alinka Rutkowska
Maya and Filippo live on a cruise ship and get to explore many places.
Illustrated very colorful children's book about Maya and Philippo and their adventures.
Everything seems to be going wrong, no chocolate for their breakfast and on the explorer bus two women sit in front of them so they can't view the scenery.
They decided to try something new=pretend to be happy and they'd meet happy people.
Love what happens next. Lots of travel and new things to learn about.
Nine other stories by the author are highlighted at the end of the book.
I received this book from Library Thing via the author in exchange for my honest review.

[Diana]

review also at booknerdloleotodo.blogspot.com
Received from author for an honest review.

I loved this book for many reasons: 1) It is a great book for both boys and girls. As a mother of a boy and a girl I’m constantly on the lookout for both boy and girl friendly books. 2) I love that it takes place in Auckland! Great opportunity for students to learn about New Zealand 3) I love the lesson about attitude! Both Maya and Filippo attracted negative people to them when they were negative and positive people to them when they were positive. The lesson about thinking happy thoughts when you’re sad was also a great lesson. This is a great story! I plan on reading it with my kids.

[Sandra Stiles]

Imagine living on a cruise ship with your family. That is exactly how Maya and Filippo, their parents, and cat Otello live. They cruise to New Zealand and their parents encourage them to get off the boat and go exploring.
They get on a bus and realize they can’t see over the people in front of them. They become cranky and the people around them are cranky. Next a young couple get on board. The children learn a valuable lesson about how attitude affects them and those around them.

[Steph]

I am becoming very fond of the "Maya and Filippo" books. I read one about them yesterday, and today I read this one. I like how each story has a lesson at the end, and shows how the children are able to understand the lesson on their own. These books would be excellent for children, by showing them a lesson and letting them have fun along the way.

[Donna Sadd]

A Positive Message Wrapped up in a Trip!

There's a lot that kids will enjoy about this fun story. The child-like illustrations are vibrant and appealing, the positive take-away doesn't sound preachy, and they'll learn a bit about geography too.

I have an inkling that children will love to travel the world with Maya & Filippo in Ms. Rutkowska's series of children's books.

[Stephanie Wolf]

Great children's read about how your attitude and outlook can affect your day. The sadder you are, the more you are likely to attract sad people near you. The happier you are, the more likely you are to have happy people near you. Climb aboard the Fun Princess and enjoy your day.

[Tina Peterson]

Maya & Filippo are two kiddos who live on a cruise ship where they have unlimited chocolate everyday and even in their cereal for breakfast! When they wake up and find there isn't any chocolate to be found - because they ate it all - they start crying and complaining and then their mother encourages to visit Auckland and learn about the city. Along the way through the experiences they have that day they discover that when they are complaining others complain and when they have a bad attitude everything seems to go wrong. I personally wasn't really expecting to see a book about attitude (which is mostly what this book is about) and was expecting to read a book that told me about the beautiful city of Auckland and New Zealand. So, I was a bit disappointed about that. I would of liked to see a book that showed me more than the Sky Tower and the top level of the bus. But my two kiddos Sierra (4) and Connor (6) didn't seem to mind and we had a nice chat about how our attitude affects others and even how our day goes. We were able to tie it into when one of the kids has a hard morning before they head to school that sometimes it can make their day at school harder - nothing goes right, they get into trouble, etc and how important it is that we listen, are kind to others and that sometimes we can help others with what they are struggling with and it can help that persons day improve.

Disclaimer: I was offered a copy of the book to read and review on CCB in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to have a positive review & no $$$ exchanged hands. Thanks for reading CCB!

[Grampy]

I received a free copy of this book through LibraryThing; the author requested an honest review.

"Maya & Filippo Make Friends in Auckland" by Alinka Rutkowska is one of a series of children's books about various adventures shared by siblings Maya and Filippo, who live on a ship with their parents and travel to exotic places.

The children start their day upset because they are out of chocolate for their breakfast cereal. Their mother urges them to go ashore and explore Auckland, New Zealand. While griping about the lack of chocolate for their breakfast, they encounter a couple rather crabby older ladies. Surmising that the ladies were griping because the kids had been griping, the siblings decided to think about happy things, and see if they would meet happy people.

As it turned out, that's exactly what happened. After an exciting day of exploring Auckland with a young couple, they returned to their ship in a much better mood, only to find that their mother had baked them a chocolate cake! They learned a lesson about how their own attitudes could affect others around them, which their mother confirmed was an important lesson.

This whole series is highly rated by reviewers, with good reason. The quality and intensity of the colored illustrations will certainly help to maintain the interest of whatever child or children you read the story to. I think this is a great addition to a child's library, and recommend it for any youngsters on your shopping list. I won't be surprised if you come back for more episodes in this series.

[Cate (The Professional Fangirl)]

This is a Reading Good Books review.

Isn’t it just the cutest thing? :) I would have loved a physical copy of this. I was gifted a digital copy via LibraryThing.

Siblings, Maya & Filippo, are living the sweet life on deck aboard their cruise ship Fun Princess. They travel all around the world. One of their stops is Auckland, New Zealand and for one day, they explore the city and make friends along the way.

This is a “Color It Yourself” edition. I think it’s a wonderful way to get kids more involved in this book. To have them read about Auckland, New Zealand and at the same time, making an image of it on their own. The illustrations by Konrad Checinski are so cute and fun.

I did see some words that might be a little big for, say, a 6-year-old or whatever the target audience of this book might be. And letting kids explore a whole city all by themselves? I don’t think it’s safe.

Overall, it was a good one. It teaches children how to be happy in their lives and cease the day. There’s a lot of places to explore out there.

Rating: 4/5.

Recommendation: A perfect read-aloud during storytelling time. Or a cute bedtime story.

[Julie Barrett]

Maya and Filippo Make Friends in Auckland by Alinka Rutkowska
Maya and Filippo live on a cruise ship and get to explore many places.
Illustrated very colorful children's book about Maya and Filippo and their adventures.
Everything seems to be going wrong, no chocolate for their breakfast and on the explorer bus two women sit in front of them so they can't view the scenery.
They decided to try something new=pretend to be happy and they'd meet happy people.
Love what happens next. Lots of travel and new things to learn about.
Nine other stories by the author are highlighted at the end of the book.
I received this book from Library Thing via the author in exchange for my honest review.

[Cassie McCown]

Unfortunately, we had the ebook version of this book, and I wouldn’t be too happy if my kids took their crayons to my Kindle. But, it is still a super cute read that we all enjoyed very much! Maya and Filippo have such fun adventures, and there’s always a nice little lesson tucked in along the way. This is one of those books my kids enjoy reading over and over—good for car rides and last minute bedtime stories! I’d love to have the print version so they could go crazy coloring Maya and Filippo’s world!

[Rhonda]

Cute story about brother and sister cruising on a boat and visiting Auckland. They learned a good lesson or two.
The idea of two little kids getting off a cruise ship and exploring new countries by themselves is terrible at the age I would not let my kids anywhere by themselves.
I read the ebook and did not realize that kids could color in the book too. Its a big that you can read with children and than talk about it with them.
I was given this ebook in exchange for honest review.

[Krizia Anna]

This book just doesn't make sense. I know it's a children's book but it was incoherent at times. Filippo's ever changing mood and thoughts were disconcerting. One moment he was crying then later he's laughing. They were talking about aliens and then Filippo will change the topic to chocolates without any segue at all. They visit Auckland but we don't really see Auckland just Filippo whining and then laughing the next. This was a confusing book and a bit wordy too.

[Courtney Whisenant]

It wasn't one of my favorite books for children but it was cute. I especially liked the illustrations. The sailor on page 10 reminded me of Popeye. I also liked the message to be the kind of person that you yourself would want as a friend.