Kid Konnection: Lost on Hope Island

Every Saturday, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. This week I'm going to share with you a middle grade book written by award winning and best-selling adult author.

Summary: Lost on Hope Island: The Amazing Tale of the Little Goat Midwives is an adventure story without villains, zombies or fire-breathing dragons. The book asks the real question “What if I were shipwrecked -- could I survive?” A page-turner for young readers or a family read-a-loud-book, Lost on Hope Island will give fans of Harman’s previous USA Today best selling books an opportunity to discuss, with their children, the topics of birth, death, racial diversity, climate change, loneliness, courage, family and hope. -- Flying Squirrel Press

A few years ago, I reviewed THE MIDWIFE OF HOPE RIVER by Patricia Harman. I really enjoyed this book and it was apparent that Ms. Harman, a midwife herself, truly understood the important of midwives. She has now taken her knowledge of midwifery as well as her writing talent to the middle grade crowd. Her new book, LOST ON HOPE ISLAND: THE AMAZING TALE OF THE LITTLE GOAT MIDWIVES, is an intriguing read that's perfect for those kids who are interested in adventure stories.

LOST ON HOPE ISLAND tells the story of Trillium and Jacob, two kids who find themselves alone on a deserted island after their family's boat capsizes. I say deserted but they do encounter a herd of little goats... and an abandoned house. Trillium, the narrator of the tale, is the older of the two; and she tries her best to provide food and shelter to her younger brother until their parents (or really anyone) finds them. Life certainly isn't easy for these kids, but they show an amazing amount of strength and hope!

Trillium is a fantastic character! She's smart and courageous and extremely resilient despite facing one problem after another. She develops an interesting relationship with the various goats on the island, and she even helps them during birthing season and when they get sick. I'm sure that young readers will find many things to admire in Trillium, and I'm willing to bet that they will also find a few of her traits in either themselves or their friends.

The book was filled with simple, black and white, illustrations by Trillium Stone (the narrator of the story); and I thought they were a nice addition to the book. They help bring the story to life... and give younger readers a little break from all of the words. They also highlighted Trillium's love of nature and art. Another thing I appreciated was that the author included a few text boxes with step-by-step instructions for things that Trillium "figured out" while living in the wild like How to Milk a Goat and How to Make a Tin Lantern.

The story was left rather open-ended, and the author did provide an Afterword with a few hints as to the future of the children. Suffice it to say, I suspect LOST ON HOPE ISLAND is only the first volume in new series of books; and I look forward to seeing what eventually happens to Trillium and Jacob.

THE GOATS OF HOPE ISLAND would certainly be an interesting book to discuss either at home or in the classroom. The story is definitely intriguing and brings up quite a few interesting dilemmas that the kids face. It also touches upon some serious issues like courage, birth, death, isolation, fear, diversity, nature/environment, and hope.

Overall, I think LOST ON HOPE ISLAND will definitely appeal to young readers who enjoy an "real" adventure story -- two kids surviving all alone out in the wild. It will also appeal to adults who are looking for a clean story with good messages to share with their kids.

Thanks to JKS Communications for providing a review copy of this book.

If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, please leave a comment as well as a link below with your name/blog name and the title of the book! Feel free to grab the little button too!

Review: The Emerald Atlas

Summary: Kate, Michael, and Emma have been in one orphanage after another for the last ten years, passed along like lost baggage.

Yet these unwanted children are more remarkable than they could possibly imagine. Ripped from their parents as babies, they are being protected from a horrible evil of devastating power, an evil they know nothing about.

Until now.

Before long, Kate, Michael, and Emma are on a journey to dangerous and secret corners of the world...a journey of allies and enemies, of magic and mayhem.  And—if an ancient prophesy is correct—what they do can change history, and it is up to them to set things right.

The Emerald Atlas brims with humor and action as it charts Kate, Michael, and Emma's extraordinary adventures through an unforgettable, enchanted world. -- Knopf

I debated featuring THE EMERALD ATLAS by John Stephens for this week's Kid Konnection, but I really felt as if I couldn't wait even another day to share my thoughts about this book. This book is fantastic and I think middle graders will just devour it. This story has fantasy, time travel, action, and adventure along with a great cast of characters. It's also exciting, heart-warming, and funny! And as a mom, I loved that there are some nice messages about honesty, devotion and the importance of family. It's all all-around terrific read!

Kids will love all of the fantasy and action/adventure scenes in THE EMERALD ATLAS (and I have to admit I actually enjoyed them too!) When Kate, Michael, and Emma find themselves moved to, yet again, another orphanage, they realize that this time might be a little bit different. They are quickly swept up into a journey to the past where they encounter a very evil woman, some mystical creatures, as well as a magical land. They also learn that the book in their possession holds the power to save people's lives. It's up to Kate, Michael, and Emma to figure out how!

I have to admit that I'm not usually a fan of fantasy -- I always make an exception for the Harry Potter books though because I loved them! However, I found myself drawn into THE EMERALD ATLAS from the very start. To be honest, I think it's because I loved the characters so much. The kids were each very special in their own way (and I'm sure that kids are going to be able to relate to at least one of them!); but I also thought that the adult characters, Gabriel and Dr. Pym, were interesting. Kate, Michael, and Emma had led rather depressing lives -- they had no parents, they grew up in orphanages, they were bullied, etc.; but somehow, they got through and perhaps were even made stronger as a result of the challenges they faced. Whatever the case might be, they certainly were smart and strong and loyal -- and all of these traits served them well in THE EMERALD ATLAS.

THE EMERALD ATLAS is the first book in a planned trilogy and I must say that I am looking forward to the next installment already! I was satisfied with how book one wrapped up; however, I must say that the author also did a great job of setting up book two. There were enough teasers/cliffhangers that I was left anticipating what the future (or should I also say the past?) will hold for Kate Michael, and Emma. If the next two books are anything like THE EMERALD ATLAS, then I'm predicting huge things for this series and Mr. Stephens.

There is a gorgeous website devoted to THE EMERALD ATLAS. I thought the illustrations were terrific and captured the essence of the book perfectly. In addition, you can learn more about the characters and the author, and you can watch a trailer for the book and read an excerpt. You can even download an Emerald Atlas iron-on!

I recently discovered that there is an audiobook available for THE EMERALD ATLAS! It's narrated by Grammy and Tony Award winning narrator Jim Dale (who just happens to be the man behind the 146 voices that appeared in the Harry Potter novels.) I am dying to get this book on audio, and I think it would be perfect for our entire family during our upcoming 20 hour road trip!

I found THE EMERALD ATLAS to be a terrific middle-grade book, and I'm sure is going to appeal to a lot of fantasy and adventure fans!

Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy of this novel.

Review: The Call to Shakabaz

Summary: Newly orphaned, Doshmisi, Denzel, Maia, and Sonjay discover a carefully guarded secret about their family. Travel with them and their pesky parrot to the distant land of Faracadar, where they must attempt to retrieve the powerful Staff of Shakabaz and free the land from the clutches of the malevolent enchanter Sissrath. Their dangerous mission takes them over the ocean, under the ground, and into the deepest dungeons of the Final Fortress. Only if they discover how to use their individual gifts can children fulfill their destiny in the ultimate confrontation with Sissrath. -- Woza Books

I was extremely flattered that Amy Washspress, author of THE CALL TO SHAKABAZ, asked me if I'd like to read her adventure/fantasy book for children. Besides Harry Potter and Narnia, I haven't really read many books like this; but I thought that my nine year old daughter might really enjoy this story -- the book is geared to children in grades 4 - 9. It ended up that we both thoroughly loved this book -- it was wonderful!

My initial plan was to read THE CALL TO SHAKABAZ to my daughter before she went to bed at night. I figured that there were 20 chapters, and each chapter would take us about a half an hour a night. I thought we'd be done in three, maybe four weeks at the most. Well, you know what they say about the road to hell... I want to apologize to Ms. Washspress because it took us three months to finish her book instead of one. We were reading almost every night before school let out in June, but the book kind of slipped through the cracks for most of the summer. It wasn't that we didn't love the book, it's just that I got lazy and we weren't really following a routine at bedtime!

Last week, we picked up the book again and couldn't stop reading it. We had to limit ourselves to one chapter each night because the book got so exciting, and I didn't want bedtime stretching any later! In fact, we even found ourselves squeezing chapters into the middle of the day and the evening because we couldn't wait to find out what happened to the children, Sissrath, and the Staff of Shakabaz!

When I asked my daughter what she loved about this book, she said "everything!" One thing she especially loved was that each chapter ended with a cliffhanger of sorts. Of course, she kept begging me to read more (one more page, please), but I knew one would turn into two, would turn into three... After the first chapter, she actually cried because she wanted me to continue and didn't like being left in the lurch. The author did an amazing job of luring in the reader.

Another thing she liked were the many plot twists and turns. This book was an adventure story to end all adventure stories. The book had four children who were most definitely heroes as well as incredibly bad villain -- definitely a good versus evil kind of story. There were many times (probably many times in each chapter) that the characters' lives would be at stake; and her eyes would get big and I'd hear a gasp come out of her mouth.

She also really enjoyed using her imagination while I read the book to her. The author did an amazing job of describing each and every scene so we could picture them perfectly. The places and characters were all developed in vivid detail. I would love for this book to become a movie and see all of the extremely creative creatures come to life.

Perhaps the most important thing that my daughter learned from this book is that "two wrongs do not make a right" -- those were her exact words. She told me that her father tells her this all the time when she is upset about one of her friends slighting her. But I think she was able to make the connection between the events in her life and the events with Sissrath -- if someone wrongs you, it doesn't make things better by hurting them back. She also told me that "violence isn't ever the answer." While she has studied Martin Luther King a little at school, she was not familiar with Gandhi. I liked that this book celebrated these two great heroes, and gave us the chance to discuss their accomplishments.

One thing I really loved about the story, besides everything my daughter already voiced, was the message that every child has something unique and special to offer to the world. All of the children in this story had gifts that they utilized on their adventure. Many times these skills saved their lives and the lives of others. At the end of the story, each child was able to see that they are special and that they used their gifts in a positive way to help people.

Ms. Washspress definitely ended the book leaving open the possibility for a sequel. The first words out of my daughter's mouth were, "Is there more? Can we read the next one?" If that's not a ringing endorsement for a book, I don't know what it. I know that we are hoping that this book becomes a series, and we'll be the first in line to buy them!

I strongly recommend getting the book and reading it with your children. It is the perfect book to read aloud! My daughter is an avid reader and could have read this book to herself; however, I am just so happy that we read it together. I will treasure the time we spent reading it, and I'm sad that the book is over. While we wanted to know how the book unfolded; at the same time, we didn't want it to end. Not only did we both love the story, but we also had the opportunity to talk about the book each night and the lessons we learned from it!