Sunday, October 14, 2012

Review of "Tamara Small & the Monsters' Ball" by Giles Paley-Phillips


Tamara Small book by Giles Paley Phillips



I was sent a free copy of “Tamara Small and the Monsters' Ball” by Giles Paley-Phillips for review. (I received no compensation for this review.) 


Of course, when reviewing any children’s book, the first thing I do is see what my children think of it. I read the story to my children Gabriella (age 10), Isabella (age 7), Connor (age 6) and Cameron (age 3). I’m happy to report that they all enjoyed the book. They did their own video reviews of the book for the Children Review blog and you can go here to view their reviews. (Cameron didn’t want to be on video at this time, so he didn’t create a review.)


As far as I could tell, the children enjoyed the story. They always like rhyming stories, and Giles Paley-Phillips is a master at creating rhyming stories that flow smoothly and engage the reader.  The illustrations by Gabriele Antonini are enchanting and colourful.  Isabella exclaimed with delight over one scene that showed Tamara Small’s teddy bear dancing alongside her. She thought it was really cute and she related to Tamara more because she, herself, has a special teddy bear.


Gabby loved the monsters and pointed out the ones she thought were the “funniest looking.” Connor and Cameron liked the story so much that they asked me to read it again, and later, when it was time for bed, all of the children asked me to read them the story for their bedtime story.


I would recommend "Tamara Small and the Monsters' Ball" for children. Monsters are traditionally portrayed as scary and children are taught to fear them, but this story gives children a new perspective on an old theme, and the idea that maybe they shouldn’t judge something by how it appears. 


The monster theme is perfect for Halloween, but also, with Christmas just a bit over 10 weeks away, this would make a wonderful gift for children for the holidays.




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