AllBooks Reviews by Shirley Roe

Every parent loves a book that will entertain and teach their child. CE Bilingual Books has come up with a clever way to teach language and culture that is sure to please even the most discriminating young mind.

“The Frog in the Well” is a beautifully illustrated Chinese children’s fable about the foibles of close-mindedness. A frog living in a well believes his well to be the whole world, and is confident in his vast knowledge of the world, until he meets a sea turtle and learns the world is much larger than he imagined. The story ends with a straightforward pronouncement of its very valuable moral.

The short tale is sweet and amusing enough to stand on its own, but these series of books offer much more. The book begins by defining the style of the Chinese idiom, and their cultural position, then explains how the author uses the Mandarin Chinese “pinyin”, a phonetic system to represent sounds. Each line is then translated into Mandarin Chinese, with the corresponding sounds above that.

The idea for the series is the brainchild of Irene Tsai, an American-Chinese engineer and a published children’s author, whose love of books was nurtured by her mother. Pattie Caprio designed and illustrated the book, and the translation was done by Joyce Lin.

Whether a child is learning Chinese or simply filled with natural curiosity, “The Frog in the Well” will fascinate them. I personally know one 8 year old, my daughter, who had great fun reading the story and discovering a piece of Chinese culture in the symbols and sounds, and who is earnestly looking forward to seeing more from this educational series.

Highly Recommended by Reviewer: Nancy Morris, Allbooks Reviews.

Title: The Frog in the Well

Author: Irene Y. Tsai & Joyce Lin

Publisher: CE Bilingual Books

ISBN: 13 978-0-9801305-1-5

Pages: 33

Price: 14.95

Available: Amazon.com

Books may be purchased directly from the publisher and available on: www.amazon.com

Everyone at Allbooks Reviews wishes to congratulate Haley on her academic accomplishments this year. she has been included in the school honor roll. we are proud to have an honor student amongst our reviewers.

Reviews by Haley Hodge

Haley, age 14, represents the target market for Children's books and will be giving short reviews on some of the Kid's Voice selections.

Genre: Children’s religious

Title: Ruben: Grandpa Jacob’s First Christmas Donkey

AUTHOR: E. A. LaPalme

Joseph and Mary have to travel to Bethlehem, and need a good, strong and reliable donkey to help. Ruben, with the mark of a star upon his forehead, appears to be chosen by God himself to help the couple see the baby Jesus into the world.

“Ruben: Grandpa Jacob’s First Christmas Donkey” is the nativity story told from the perspective of the donkey that carried Mary to the stable in Bethlehem. Ruben is the donkey that belongs to Joseph’s father, soon to be called Grandpa Jacob, and plays a significant role in this familiar story that is made much more child friendly by the author. As with the original, this story is told as reminiscence by the much old Ruben to a group of young donkeys. The book ends with potential for more tales, as Ruben becomes a dutiful friend to the child Jesus.

E. A. LaPalme was inspired to write this book by his own experiences of becoming a grandparent. He looks at the perspective of Jesus’s grandparents, and it works wonderfully to give a delightful childlike quality to the telling of an often serious and didactic story. Children will definitely enjoy this book, for both its talented telling and its charming illustrations.

E. A. LaPalme is a retired teacher and the proud grandfather of seven. He lives in Brantford Ontario, where he is building a handcrafted violin for each of his grandchildren. He has already completed a second story for Ruben, as equally enjoyable, titled “My Friend Jesus is Lost in Jerusalem” and has promised his fans yet another.

Sure to be a treasured Christmas favorite for many families.

Reviewer: Nancy Morris, Allbooks Reviews.

Title: Ruben: Grandpa Jacob’s First Christmas Donkey

Author: E.A. LaPalme

Publisher: Self-published

ISBN: 0-9687215-0-8

Pages: 25

Price: $20.00

May 2007

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