Company: Guardian Angel Publishing
Price: PDF e-book - $5
CD of e-book - $9.95 (+s/h)
Printed book - $10.95 (+s/h)
DVD Book Video - $10.95 (+s/h) - Selected Titles
Apple's I-Tunes I-Kidz play - $2.99 - Selected Titles
Where to Buy: GAP
I received 5 e-books from Guardian Angel Publishing to review as part of the TOS crew.
From their website: " GAP eBook downloads, eBooks on CDs, full color Print books 8.5x8.5 inches, and book video DVDs are based on the fundamental concept of using art, music and special activities to captivate the preschool and primary child's attention in order to instill a Christian and healthy attitude of learning, sharing and caring. " I am an automatic fan of any publishing company devoted to sharing Christian values through children's literature. And books that also teach a lesson along the way, either a moral or an educational one, are an added bonus. I am a firm believer that children learn and retain more through a well-written story than they will from a textbook.
I am not a big fan of e-books. I have come around to reading them for informational purposes. But not for entertainment (i.e. - storybooks). So I wouldn't have chosen to receive the books in e-book format. I also wouldn't want to print them out, as it just wouldn't have the same feel to me. This format must appeal to some costumers, though, since it is available in this format. Possibly in a classroom setting. I would, however, love to have quite a few of the GAP's books in the printed format. At best guess, they have around 100 titles available. The books are geared for ages 0-12 and are available in several categories.
Guardian Angel has some free e-books on their website. I recommend them to help you get a feel for their products. Most of the books for sale also have a sample page and some have a SneakPeek book trailer (which is really neat).
Several of the authors and illustrators have won awards for the books. You can check it out in more detail on this page.
Earthquake by Susan J. Berger. Illustrated by Eugene Ruble
This was an informational book about what causes earthquakes, the probability and magnitude of one, the damage and dangers, ways to prepare, and much more. The book contains charts, maps and interesting factoids (such as "The biggest number of earthquakes happen in the Ring of Fire"). It helps children feel empowered by including ways for them to prepare (they can keep a flashlight by their bed) and ways for them to deal with the fear in an actual situation (they can take deep breaths and count when the adrenalin is kicking in). This book has a great craft idea, some experiments and a emergency kit packing list. But the author is sensitive to the suggested age range of 6-9 years old and keeps it light with some humor thrown in. For example, the author suggests that you replenish the supplies in your emergency kit every 6 months...and while you are it, have a party because you just lived through 6 months without an emergency.
The book has lots of information, ideas, facts, and things to do. It would make a wonderful unit study on Earthquakes. I found this book very informative and helpful. A lot of the tips would be useful in any number of emergencies and natural disasters. I printed out the emergency packing list for our family's use.
Maybe We are Flamingos by Safari Sue Thurman. Illustrated by Kevin Scott Collier
This is a cute little story about how we sometimes don't feel like we fit in. Our reasons may vary: we feel like we are too short, too tall, too chubby, too thin. We wish our eyes were brown or we wish they were blue. We wish our hair was brown or we wish it was blonde. Or in the case of Flora and Fernando, they wonder why they aren't pink like all of the other flamingos. They fear that since they are different than everyone else, they might be asked to leave the flock. Once their mom explains the color difference, young readers will get a short science lesson in a flamingo's diet and how that affects their coloring. The baby flamingos then begin drawing hilarious and adorable pictures of how they might look if they ate other foods, such as tacos and pineapple.
This book is recommended for ages 3-9. It was my 10 year old's favorite of the five books.
Gifts from God written by Cynthia Reeg. PhotoArt by MarySue Roberts
The author believes that God surrounds us each day with wondrous gifts...simple, joyous, loving gifts. This book is her list of just some of these simple gifts.
Each page has an adorable and beautiful photograph of a child in a nature setting. One side has a Bible verse and the other side mentions a gift from God. It is a simple little book that should be enjoyable to the younger age group...maybe 3-5 year olds. The verses would be good choices for the older age group to memorize. The photographs will be enjoyed by all ages.
Hamster Holidays - Noun and Adjective Adventures
written by Cynthia Reeg. Artist - Kit Grady
Hamster Holidays is a cute way to introduce nouns and adjectives to the younger age group (maybe 5-7 years old). All nouns in the story are printed in blue. All adjectives are printed in red. What a clever idea. The child is painlessly introduced to the concept by simply observing the colors in the cute little story.
Each page introduces a "holiday" in the hamster's "world". It then describes in silly rhyme-form how some of the hamsters celebrate. For example, on February 15th, the hamsters enjoy Stick Horse Day. Spotty Lotty celebrates by riding an orange horse with blue spots all around. There is a predictability to each page. such as Spotty Lotty always having some sort of spots all around, no matter what the celebration may be. Younger children love this type of repitition.
For anyone that is not a big fan of Halloween, I want to point out that October 28th is "Monster Madness Day".
In the back of the book, you will find a study guide, a noun match-up worksheet, an adjective crossword puzzle, a story puzzle, and ideas for more practice.
The suggested age is 5-12. This was my 7 year old's favorite book. But it was too young for my 10 year old.
The Sum of our Parts: No Bones About It
Written by Bill Kirk. Illustrations by Gene Ruble
I will say up front that this book was my favorite. I can truly see my children learning the names and locations of the bones using this book.
Starting from our toes and working up to our head, each page has a poem for a particular bone. The poems are short and simple, and several are humorous. You will find a drawing of the bone, as well as a drawing of how it relates to the body...for example, a picture of the kneecap and then a picture of the kneecap on the leg. The bones are animated, with cute little eyes and smiles. The skull is a "little less than cute". But let's face it, there is nothing pretty about a skull...even with a smile.
Each page has a factoid. Lots of interesting tidbits are included and could easily lead to a unit study on the skeleton or even the whole body, as exercise and diet are mentioned.
The back of the book has a worksheet for the student to write in the bone names.
The suggested age range is 8-13. I think my 7 year old could learn the bone names from the poems. But the factoids are more in depth and technical and, as such, are more for the upper age range.
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Disclaimer: I received this product free of charge to review, as part of the TOS Crew. The above is just my opinion. Please remember that opinions may, and do, vary.
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