Cleo' Big Ideas:One Things Leads to Another

Cleo's Big Ideas: One Thing Leads To Another by Janice Milusich; Illustrations by Jennifer Bell    84 pages

Cleopatra W. Darby, Cleo for short, is an amazing little girl. She’s not scared to be who she. She’s a strong girl who always wears a fedora and aquamarine cat eyeglasses. She loves science and thinking up projects. Some work and some don’t, which is realistic. I like that her first idea with wheatgrass wasn’t exactly a hit. But, like the sign on her Re-Act Shack says, “Caution: Ideas Bubbling Inside. Sudden Bursts Likely.”

Two other things reapply appealed to me. First I loved that Cleo doesn’t have a standard pet, like fish, gerbil, dog or cat; she has a turtle named Winston. Second, I think early chapter book readers and their caregivers will enjoy is the activities after each chapter. It was nice to see them get progressively more involve and harder, but I’m not sure that the later activities are geared toward the same age group as the text. Therefore, Cleo's Big Ideas: One Thing Leads To Another receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Oh: Susannah Series Books 1 and 2 by Carole P. Roman, illustrated by Mateya Arkova

 

Oh Susannah series Books 1 and 2 by Carole P. Roman, illustrated by Mateya Arkova   34 and 62 pages, respectively

Oh Susannah: It’s in the Bag: There’s a lot of stress at Susannah Logan’s house. Her parents have demanding jobs. It’s time to get up, but she doesn’t want to; She dilly-dally’s a bit, but not much. When she gets up, there’s the matter of her unfinished math homework. When Mom starts to yell, she stuffs it into her backpack. From there Susannah’s day gets worse: breakfast is a disaster, Dad and Mom are screaming at each other, her best friend, Lola, invites her to a sleepover and she doesn’t want to do, and she can’t decide what book to get out of the school library. Lola is feeling stressed and overwhelmed too.  She stuffs it all inside her backpack, filling so full, the zipper rips. Trying to sleep, she has a dream---and the backpack explodes!

This is a great story to teach kids about dealing with stress and how to ask for help.

Oh Susannah: Things That go Bump: The day Susannah has been dreading has arrived. It’s time for her best friend, Lola’s, sleepover. Susannah would give anything not to go. She’s afraid of all the noises that Lola’s house makes. And throw in Lola’s brother, Kai, who loves to scare her, well she just as soon stay home. But she doesn’t want to hurt Lola’s feelings, so as she is getting ready for school, Mom packs her overnight bag. The word “Afraid” keeps popping up in  Susannah’s day:  Her teacher is “afraid” she is getting a cold and her sight-impaired friend, Macy, is “afraid” of unicorns. At Lola’s, she learns that houses make noise and that isn’t ghosts. Susannah learns that everyone is afraid of something, and that it’s okay to be afraid. She learns how to confront her fears and keep her imagination in check.

A perfect story for kids who are having fear issues.

Both books are very well done, with delightful illustrations by Mateya Arkova. Each receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.