Tag Archives: comedy

The Early Life of Becky Bexley the Child Genius by Diana Holbourn (Book Review)

It can be frustrating being a child genius. Grown-ups are always telling kids what to do and what to think – but it’s harder with Becky Bexley! Unbelievable things happen in this funny story! She can talk from the moment she’s born! Her mum thinks she’s going crazy when she hears her! And Becky has soooo many questions – for the doctor, the priest and her poor mum! And she has one or two suggestions as well… but will they listen?

The Early Life of Becky Bexley the Child Genius is a fun and comical story about what it’s like to be a kid in a grown-up world, and why children’s voices should always be heard.

Amazon Purchase Link

 


I received a complimentary copy of this book from Reedsy Discovery. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

 

Imagine if you heard your newborn speak on day one. Imagine if they said more than one word but a string of words. You’d be flabbergasted. Doctors and nurses would be baffled by this medical miracle. Jaws would be hitting the floor, and minds would be blown!

Becky Bexley came into this world, and mere seconds later, she spoke complete, coherent sentences. Becky was a humourous newborn. “That’s better. But what’s this ‘milk’ stuff I’ve heard you raving about, saying you’ll give me some? Let’s try it” (Becky 2). Becky amused me when she complained about only being served milk. Her mom explained why she couldn’t eat like her yet. Becky’s workaround was hilarious. “Tell you what: Eat foods with very strong flavours, and then maybe the flavours will come out in your milk; it’ll still be milk, but it’ll be a bit more similar to the foods you’re eating” (7-8). Becky’s ingenious idea worked! 

With newfound success with her milky experiment, Becky had another weird but kind of brilliant idea. She wanted her mom her label her what’s today’s flavor. So weird but so comical!

Medical professionals, educators, and those not in either field were in disbelief the baby was talking. The comedic scenes were overflowing and had me laughing non-stop. The dialogue coming from Becky was hilarious. 

Becky was not like your typical baby. She talked way, way early. Read early. She started school when most babies were still nursing. When most children learned to speak, she corrected other people’s speech. She could play the piano without a professional lesson. At ten, she was ready to attend a university. Becky reminded me of Sheldon from the hit tv show Young Sheldon

As an American, I wasn’t familiar with “A-levels.” Wikipedia informed me, “The A Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational authorities of British Crown dependencies to students completing secondary or pre-university education.[1] They were introduced in England and Wales in 1951 to replace the Higher School Certificate.” I don’t think most children will encounter any other UK jargon that might be foreign to them. 

There weren’t many images in the story, but the ones added were perfect and captured key moments in the story perfectly. The 1/2 donkey and 1/2 elephant image was very creative. The look on the hybrid animal amused me. 

The Early Life of Becky Bexley the Child Genius is a chapter book best suited for upper elementary grades and middle-school students. It’s a comedic story that I think children would love to see animated for television. 

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤

Amazon Purchase Link

 

 

Meet the Author

Diana Holbourn: I’ve written books as a hobby for several years, but am only now getting them self-published. The first one’s just a bit of fun that I started after a niece of mine asked if I’d write something on a blog she had, and I had the idea of writing a funny story that made believe she was a child genius.

Reedsy Author Link

 

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Magician Emu by R.C. Chizhov (Book Review)

Celebrate the magic of being YOU!

In old and charming Emu Town…an emu aspires to be like the great magician, Spikey Spike. But her magic goes all wrong and nothing like Spikey’s! Will the emu find her magic and dare to be different?

With award-winning author, R.C. Chizhov’s playful rhymes and Anastasia Yezhela’s colorful illustrations, Magician Emu is a funny and heartwarming tale of embracing who you are!

Perfect for holiday gifting, read aloud, classroom discussion and bedtime!

GRAB YOUR COPY NOW!

Other books in EMU TOWN STORIES:

  • Nope-Nope Emu
  • Adventure Emu
  • Yogic Emu (coming soon)

Amazon Purchase Link

 

 

(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 

 

Anastasia Yezhela did an outstanding job with ALL the illustrations in Magician Emu. Children will adore EMU, who wears a magician’s cape and hat and has a lovely set of curly locks. Spikey Spike, another magical emu, looked quite adorable with their bowtie and Harry Potter-style glasses. 

As all great magicians will tell you, you can read how to do the trick a thousand times, but implementing the steps perfectly is not easy. It takes lots and lots of practice to master a magical feat. Some magicians make a trick seem easy; they make it look effortless. EMU realizes that magic is not easy at all. The unthinkable, the unplanned happens. But, you shouldn’t be discouraged. Keep practicing like EMU; one day, you’ll become a great magician too. 

As EMU practiced and his magic went awry, comedic moments did shine. I won’t disclose all of them, but I will note one. It’s slime time!! 

While EMU’s magic wasn’t precisely perfect, it did delight and entertain his friends. Their happiness made EMU happy. 

I recommend you check out Magician Emu by R.C. Chizhov. Make sure and catch all the books in the Emu Town series! 

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score:  ❤ 

Amazon Purchase Link

 

 

About R.C. Chizhov

ALX00719_315.png

R.C. Chizhov grew up in India, moved to New York in 2005 and spent fourteen years as an investment banker before pursuing her childhood dream of becoming an author. She now lives in Florida with her ever-supportive husband and ever- energetic son. She is a member of SCBWI.

Website Link

Instagram: @rcchizhov

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Spacekid iLK: Stranded! by Andrew Hammond (Book Review)

Spacekid iLK is a sci-fi comedy about an alien finding courage through connection.

iLK’s dad is an alien overlord that invades Earth, but finds ruling over this complex planet too annoying, so he hands it down to his son to look after. iLK resists, but ultimately find a diverse range of friends on Earth and discovers a planet that is worth protecting.

In book 2 – Stranded! – having only recently saved Earth from complete destruction, Spacekid iLK now finds himself stripped of his power and sent to school!

iLK must find a way to get his power back, in order to save the world, from the evil genius he accidentally left in charge – Emilio.

Amazon
Waterstones
B&N 
Author’s Website

 


I received a complimentary copy of this book from Reedsy Discovery. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

 

Spacekid iLK: Stranded! by Andrew Hammond is a comedy, sci-fi novel illustrated with comics and cartoons. While the suggested reading age is 7-13, I (a mid-age person) was drawn to the story. The characters were lovable, and the plotline’s resolution was unique. 

iLK, an alien, came to Earth with his father. His father’s mission was to make Earth go boom. Thankfully, he didn’t carry out his orders. Instead, he put his son in charge of the planet, who then delegated the “boring stuff” to Emilio, a human. iLK and Emilio soon butted heads on who should run the world and be named King. Emilio suggests having a special election in forty-six days to decide who should rule the world.

While iLK plots to win the special election, more aliens arrive on the planet. It was funny how earthlings seemed to grow accustomed to being invaded by aliens from outer space. The “Bubbles” were so cute, and earthlings loved them. The bubble aliens went pop a lot – some by accident and some not. I might’ve been a person who popped them on purpose. 

This story had several storylines happening simultaneously, but they soon merged at the end. Humans and Glubwark aliens were working together to save the planet! 

As I said in my opening statement, this book had comedy. I know readers will laugh at the “villain” who has set out to destroy Earth and the means to defeat them. The illustrations will delight young readers. I loved them all, especially the image of a drooling midget fartfly from Squench. It was oddly cute. Oh, and Y-bot posing as a Philosophy teacher was humorous. iLK wondered why no one saw through Y-bot’s disguise. I have three words for you: Superman, Clark Kent. 

I 100% recommend this series to readers of sci-fi or comic books. 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: 

Amazon
Waterstones
B&N 
Author’s Website

 

 

Meet the Author

Andrew is a Writer, Illustrator and Director from London. He believes we all have the capacity to be creative and regularly attends schools, delivering comic book workshops, creating opportunities for kids to discover their own stories.

Reedsy Author Link

 

 

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Madison: The Tale of a Corgi with no Tail by Susan Erickson Catucci (Book Review)

HOW CAN THIS BE?

Yesterday was just a typical day in the life of little Madison, a Corgi who lives with her family in a little blue house. She considers herself to be one of the luckiest animals within her world – even if she has to share the little blue house with Whiskers, a cat who tends to be grouchy and awfully prickly most of the time. But today, everything has changed! Madison has discovered she is not like the other animals around her. She is missing something and she needs to know why.

HOW CAN THIS BE?

And she hopes to find the answer.

Amazon Purchase Link

 

 

Meet the real Madison!

 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Reedsy Discovery. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

 

I don’t always read the dedication page, but I’m glad I didn’t skip over it today. It had a real-life photo of Madison, and the corgi is adorable! 

I acknowledge that I am unfamiliar with all the dog breeds, but I am acquainted with corgis. They appear to be jolly dogs. In Madison: The Tale of a Corgi with no Tail, the pup starts all smiles until they realize they have no tail. 

Madison goes on a mission to ask other animals why they have a tail. Each animal Madison meets is a teaching moment. For the wee ones, it helps teaches animal names. Maybe you could incorporate animal sounds too. For the slighter older listener, it teaches the function of different tails. For example, kids will learn about an opossum using its tail to hang from a branch and protect its young while they nap. 

Madison heads home down because they do not have a tail. They think they are unlucky; however, Whiskers the cat tells them how lucky they are not to have one. The illustrations of poor Whiskers with his mouth stretched wide in an AHHHH moment will make your child laugh. 

Madison might not have a tail, but that’s okay. Dogs are loads of fun, with or without a tale!

While my daughter loved all the photos, she cracked up at the last image. She said, “Look at the dog’s big butt.” Her laughter brought a smile to my face. 

Madison: The Tale of a Corgi with no Tail held my daughter’s attention from beginning to end, and if you are a parent, you know that’s a sign of a well-crafted book. I encourage others to share this book with their youngsters. Also, show them pictures of the dearly departed Queen’s famous corgi companions. 

Review submitted to Reedsy on 9/13/22

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤

Amazon Purchase Link

 

Meet the Author

I have loved reading and writing all my life, second only to art, especially illustrations. My co-author Susan Permuy was the real Madison’s mom and together we have brought her to life in order to share a valuable life lesson. My main focus is mindfulness and well being for children.

Reedsy Author Link

 

 

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

The Wrong Side of Murder by Lauren Carr (Book Review)

THE WRONG SIDE OF MURDER (a Nikki Bryant Cozy Mystery) by Lauren Carr

 

One spring morning, Jodi Gibbons got up and went to school as she did every day. Her young life went sideways though when the police found that her mother had been brutally killed during the night.

Twenty years later, many in Pine Grove believe Jodi got away with murder. After all, how could she have possibly slept through her mother’s violent death in the very next room?

After decades of silence, Jodi accepts investigative journalist Nikki Bryant’s invitation to tell her side of the story. However, before the interview can take place, someone silences Jodi permanently.

Now it is up to Nikki Bryant and her friends to uncover the secret that Jodi Gibbons has been protecting—a secret someone believes it is worth killing to keep from being revealed.

 
 
 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from iRead Book Tours. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

 

 
The Wrong Side of Murder had multiple murder cases to solve – past and present crimes. I was impressed at how well Lauren Carr connected the crimes. That’s no easy feat and demonstrates her skill as a storyteller.

 

Not all the murders were quick to solve. Not every motive popped off the pages in a clear picture, which was fantastic. Oh, how I love a mystery that isn’t wrapped up in the book’s first half. I will say that I solved 50% of the cases: suspects and motive. The other 50% left me guessing. I’m sure other readers will be baffled about who killed who and why. 

Even though The Wrong Side of Murder revolved around a not-so-funny topic, Lauren did sneak in some comedic scenes. For instance, Kathleen grounding her 36-year-old daughter. Another example is Elmo’s need to tidy up a messy home. Yup, the dog has OCD. Oh, and the flashback image of Harrison and Kathleen at their kids’ dance and doing the infamous lift from Dirty Dancing from the song, “Time of your Life.” If that had been my mom or dad, I would’ve switched schools the following day. 

 

Special Note: Like with Killer Deadline (A Nikki Bryant Cozy Mystery Book 1), The Wrong Side of Murder is rated G for everyone! Nikki and Ryan are still together, but there’s only a smooch here and there. No hanky panky at all. The death scenes are not graphic; however, they do vary in causes. One involves a staged suicide. 

 
Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤
 
 
 
 
 
Meet the Author:

Author Lauren Carr and Sterling

​Selling over half a million books worldwide, Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, Thorny Rose, Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries, and Nikki Bryant Cozy Mysteries—thirty titles across five fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!

 
Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor.
The owner of Acorn Book Services and iRead Book Tours, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, and virtual book tour coordinator for independent authors.  

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. 
She lives with her husband, and two spoiled rotten German shepherds on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV. 

connect with the author: 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized