Series: The Diaries of Robin's Toys
Publisher: Sweet Cherry Publishing
Publication Date: August 8, 2013
Source: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Receiving these books in no way effects my opinion or review of the books.
Rating:
Goodreads Synopsis:
Bertie is about to go on his first flight from the hive and collect the pollen for making honey, like he has watched all his friends do! But he is so keen to impress the Queen on his first day that he gets into a spot of bother! This mistake helps Bertie learn the importance of working as a team and not trying to do it all by yourself! Bertie the Bee is one part of the lovely series, The Diaries of Robin's Toys! Robin and his Grandad buy a new toy from the car boot sale every weekend, and with the help of Grandad's magic spell, they bring them to life! Each toy has a fascinating new story to tell Robin, and helps to teach him some very important life lessons!
Review:
This was the first book I read out of the Diaries of Robin's Toys series and it was very cute. Coming from a publisher in the UK, there were a few times I had to stop and think - pence instead of US dollars, the car boot sale instead of a flea market or yard sale... but other than that it was very easy to read.
Robin's grandfather brings him to the car boot sale every week and gives him money for a toy - once they bring the toy home his grandfather casts a spell to get the toy to tell their story. These stories often lead to a lesson that Robin and his grandfather can use on a problem they are currently facing.
In this first book, Robin buys a toy bee who tells him all about being a bee and teamwork. Robin is able to take the tale and use it in his own life with a problem his soccer team has been facing recently.
The book is designed to look like a diary, lined pages and sketches of the events, even dates and times. It was very cute. The books are short and easy to read and complete. I think these would be best suited to more experienced beginning readers, as the paragraphs are a little on the longer side and there is a good amount of dialogue.
Overall, I think the tale in Bertie the Bee is an important one for any child to learn and the book can be read alone or with an adult. It was a wonderful story.
Also an adorable note is that this series is written by a father/daughter duo.
The Diaries of Robin's Toys: Carla the Cow by Ken and Angie LakeSeries: The Diaries of Robin's Toys
Publisher: Sweet Cherry Publishing
Publication Date: December 9, 2013
Source: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Receiving these books in no way effects my opinion or review of the books.
Rating:
Goodreads Synopsis:
When Robin bought Carla the Cow from Pete's Treats stall at the car-boot sale, he was warned that she was moody and selfish but he bought her anyway. He soon found out that the other cows did not like her but when she realized this she made a real effort to fit in with the herd but how did she do it?
Review:
Another book in the Diaries of Robin's Toys series, Carla the Cow tells a tale about friendship and being a loner. After the wonderful tale of friendship in the last book and how Robin applied it to himself, I was surprised when this tale was used more for his grandfather and adults. It was an interesting take as well.
Carla the cow is a downer, she is mean to other cows and then when they all talk about how mean and depressing she is Carla gets more upset and rude. She later realizes that she needs to make an effort to show them who she really is and what she is really like. My biggest issue is that they way she refers to this process is 'becoming popular' and I think that the authors meant 'fitting in' or allowing people to see the real you. I think the idea of wanting to become popular is an issue that children and teens face but really the more important want is to fit in. I think a better way of going about this tale would have been to make the overall theme about being yourself, instead they went this route.
Again the book was short and pretty easy to read. I think that this one's theme was a bit harder to grasp than Bertie the Bee, especially in the application with Robin and his grandfather at the end of Carla the Cow's tale. It was cute with pictures again, but I found Bertie more enjoyable overall.
Special Thanks to Sweet Cherry Publishing for these copies.
More reviews to come.
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