CHILDRENS' BOOK REVIEW- STAY! A TOP DOG STORY by Alex Latimer

Eye appeal is crucial when creating a book for children and the cover of STAY! A TOP DOG STORY by Alex Latimer looks like something my 7 year old grandson would be interested in. Aside from the graphics which were pretty cool the book was not for him.
The plot an overactive dog, was conceptually interesting. Unfortunately the wording did not flow in such a manner that it is easy to read aloud. Nor could it capture and hold the attention of a 7 year old particularly if your goal is to get him or her to read the book with little or no assistance.
The graphics were drawings which were apparently digitally enhanced. This may have been OK if the story was not so wordy.  Older children, particularly those who are tech savey, will find the graphics boring.
I reviewed an ebook copy of STAY! A TOP DOG STORY which did not present well. The publishing credits were mixed in with the first pages of the book. Because this was an advance copy of a book that is to be released in print I disregarded those technical errors.

Even evaluating this book on a “curve” I cannot recommend it. I don’t know what child would find this book worth owning.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.  The opinions of this review are my own.

The expected release date of STAY! A TOP DOG STORY: September 1 2015

CHILDREN'S BOOK REVIEW: THE BEHEMOTH DINOSAUR IN THE LAND OF UZ by Maryluz Guerrero Salas

Children’s books have to capture instantly the eye catcher for this book was the dinosaur. Boys love dinosaurs and some girls do to thus the expectations of the book were high. But then there is the title THE BEHEMOTH DINOSAUR IN THE LAND OF UZ, say that three times real fast!  But there was something I did not see at first glance because other than the dinosaur I did not like the cover and that was the other title of the book.
This book is bi-lingual which does not make sense to me. As an English speaker I purchase books written in English, I know my Spanish speaking friends can obtain the same book translated and vice-versa. The fact that I was reading an ebook eliminates the excuse of saving trees, the publishers could have very easily produced an English version, a Spanish version and any other translation. The problem is having to skip over the other language interrupts the flow of reading, for a children's book this is even more of a problem.
This is not a book conducive to learning how to read English or Spanish thus even though the plot, about sharing and helping each other may be a good one, it really gets’ lost in the multiple translations.

 I did not enjoy this book, my eight year old grandson showed absolutely no interest in this book. This is one of those books in which you can judge by it’s cover. I don’t recommend

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”