Children's Book Review - Messy Tessy by Leah Orr

Messy Tessy is inspired by Aly, Camy & Ashley (Leah's children), written by Leah Orr and illustrated by her mother, Josephine Lepore. Tessy is a charming bundle of curls who gets into mischief while her aunt is babysitting. Orr has written a warm and fun loving adventure that sends a great message. While Tessy does make more than one mess while her babysitter is napping, in the end the end she has fun helping her aunt straighten it all up before mom comes home. Messy Tessy is an adorable book that little girls will love and that will bring a smile of remembrance to her parents.

While this book is adorable, what really makes it charming, is that all proceeds from the sale of this book are generously donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. ABC's Health Watch did a segment with the Orr Clan. You can watch it here and check out Leah's You Tube Chanel. Be sure to check out her other books, Kyle's First Crush and Kyle's First Playdate.

*This book was provided by the author.

Children's Book Review - The Land of Expression by David and Mulyia Vision

**Spoiler**
The Land of Expression is a children’s book where colors are the characters. The Vision’s bring you the story of Black, who is bullied and shunned by the other colors. When Black becomes sad and despondent from the loneliness, the Creator moves him to the heavens. Soon the other world in which the other colors still inhabit becomes desolate without Black, the colors realize that Black was an important part of their lives can do nothing now but “pray and cry, cry and pray.” Their cries become so loud that Black hears them out in the universe and wants to go back to the world to end their sadness. The Universe doesn’t want to give up Black and the Creator doesn’t want Black to suffer the way he did before. Black becomes so upset with the pain the Colors are suffering that he begins to cry, and his black tears fall to the world making it better. The Creator, seeing this and the change of heart in the colors, allows Black to not only return to the world but to stay in the heavens also. All the colors now can learn to live in harmony.

I give you the whole storyline here because I really don’t think very young children are reading this blog. Plus since this is a children’s book, I don’t think I need to create any suspense. This is a lovely book written by David and Mulyia Vision and illustrated by Ignacio Alcantara. Children will love it for the fun pictures and bright colors throughout. Parents will love it because it teaches a valuable lesson’s. It teaches to believe in yourself, just because we are different doesn’t make us any less valuable or special. It also teaches not to bully those who are different from us because we all have a purpose and something to offer. I would recommend this to any parent raising a child in today’s multi-cultural society. With the holidays just around the corner, it will also make a great gift for any small child this Christmas or any parent-to-be.

*This book was provided by the author.

Children's Book Review - Wally The Walking Fish Meets Madison and Cooper/WalkingFish Books Fishing Journal by Gary Lamit

I don't normally review children's books, but when I heard about these, it reminded me of my childhood. That and I have lots of fish lovers in my family and nieces and nephews.

Wally the Walking Fish Meets Madison and Cooper is a charming children's book about a young girl, Madison and her big yellow Lab, Cooper. Madison and Cooper are fishing at a local pond when they meet Wally, a friendly catfish. They form an unlikely friendship and have an adventure. Parents and children will love this whimsical tale that promotes the value of friendship. Children will love the beautiful drawings and the talking animals and fish. Cooper, reminded me of my own dogs, who also always seem to be hungry, even right after they eat. It's probably a good they can't talk.



One of the things, I thought was great about this book were the animal facts that popped up throughout the story. Lamit gives a child, not only a cute story but educates as well. A very nice touch. This book is great for children up to age seven or eight.

I have to be honest, I haven't fished since I was a little girl and although I loved hanging out with my brother and dad, I never really liked the fishing part. Maybe I was too girlie, but I had no desire to touch the slimy fish and they usually died before we got them off the hook and thrown back in. That always made me sad. For anyone who does enjoy fishing, the Fishing Journal I received with Wally the Walking Fish is great. It is packed with information. It is great for the younger fishing enthusiast because, it describes and has illustrations of fishing equipment, lures, flies, types of fish, etc. It also lets them record there day of fishing... where they went, with whom, weather conditions, tides, what they used, what they caught, etc. It also has sections for them to draw, add photos or write a journal entry. It's a useful tool for all ages. This version may not hold a child under seven's interest, so I would get My Fishing Journal as a companion for the Wally book. It's geared toward the younger child. Who knew that were so many types of Salmon, Trout, etc. A great book that encourages learning and interaction. With the holidays just around the corner, these books would make great gifts for any child on your list.

*This book was provided by the author.