Featuring: The Book that Sneaks Up on You by C. Alex Velazquez, Captain Freddy Counts Down to School by Elizabeth Shreeve, and Quest for the Rogue Robot by Gerry Gaston.
3 for the 3-to-5 is where I give brief reviews of three books that I found in the 3-to-5 age range on Amazon. These books are theoretically in the science fiction and horror genres for little kids. (Although obviously for little readers ‘horror’ basically just means including ghosts and ghoulies.)
The Book That Sneaks Up on You Synopsis: Sometimes we all feel a little bit lonely. It’s the same with books. One book, in particular, hasn’t been read for a very, very long time, but maybe today is the day that you’ll change all of that. Just beware of being too curious! Some books remain closed for a reason! The Book That Sneaks Up On You is a creep-a-licious, slow-burn, text-heavy, eldritch-summoning literary children’s book romp,… meandering across forty (40) fun-filled pages that finishes up with a twist. Are you brave enough to read The Book That Sneaks Up On You? Open at your own peril… 😉
Rating: 2 out of 5
Review: I get where they were going with this, but it just wasn’t a success. It’s done very much “The Monster at the End of This Book” style, but it just falls flat. They try to counter the drab black and white with funny fonts, but some of the fonts mean kids aren’t going to be able to read it by themselves. The funky illustrations at the end are okay. Overall, just ‘meh’.
Captain Freddy Counts Down to School Synopsis: It’s Freddy’s first day of school, and he needs to get ready. But school is big, it’s far away, and it’s full of strangers. Luckily, Freddy remembers he has work to do—in space! When his mom reminds him to put on his shoes, he pulls on his moon boots instead and blasts off. Captain Freddy’s adventures in space may just make him ready for his big day back on Earth.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review: Captain Freddy Counts Down to School has simple, brightly colored illustrations. It shows kids how they can use their imagination to deal with something that scares them. That they can turn even getting ready for school into a bit of space-faring fun. While it was nothing exceptional, this was a cute, easy-to-read book that would be great for beginning readers just heading into Kindergarten.
Quest for the Rogue Robot Synopsis: As the Space Ranger, your mission is to capture an elusive Robot in this “Choose Your Own Path” Galactic adventure! Can you follow the right trail to catch your prey? Your decisions will guide your journey as you find and return the advanced robot that has suddenly disappeared from a top secret research facility. And so begins your Epic Adventure!
Rating: 3 out of 5
Review: A decent, simple ‘choose your own adventure’ book for beginning readers with a science-fiction spin to it. Quest for the Robot is easy to follow and well-illustrated. A good intro to these type of books, especially for adventurous little space rangers.
Captain Freddy Counts Down to School was the easy favorite from this week’s 3 for 3-to-5. It was simple, engaging, and encouraged children to use their imaginations.
Great reviews. Tells me just what I need to know about each of these. I have such fun reading kids books too.