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DBR Books The Books Magazine January 2013

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n ew year resolutions are easy to make

and easy to break. It’s human ten-

dency to want to make a promise to

oneself when embarking on a new

season or time in one’s life. However, this new year

let’s resolve to make meaningful promises we can

keep to ourselves and to our loved ones. The promise

may be as simple as smile more, or as complex as

write a book of about 100,000 words or more. Either

way, the promise should be personal and of great

value to you. The more valuable your resolution, the

more likely you are to challenge yourself to keep it!

Commitment to a resolution is a key factor in accom-

plishing the goals you have set for yourself. This

New Year, commit to your resolution and you won’t

be disappointed! Already DBR Books is extending a

heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS to you for taking the

plunge!

Happy New Year and may your dreams be realized in

2013!

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MY CHILDREN’S BOOK

A delightful children’s ABC book featuring page

after page of whimsical illustrations and

tongue twisting text.

Order your copy at:

www.catherinemcelroy.com/books.html

www.facebook.com/queeniemacbooks.

They can be strung together or mounted to form

names and words.

Check them out at:

www.catherinemcelroy.com/ABC-Collection.html

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Catherine G. McElroy WATERCOLOR ARTIST

Should Have Listened!

Cow Bubbles Gone Coastal

Wolves’ Tea Party

Phone (530) 467-5752

www.catherinemcelroy.com

cathy@catherinemcelroy.com like me at: www.facebook.com/CatherineMcelroyArt

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In the tiny desert town of Alice, Nevada

thirteen year old Lacey Patterson (who

has been on her own since her Mom

died and her Dad languished in constant grief and

work) and her friends Kenny and Charlie are about

to embark upon the adventure of a lifetime in the

book Rocket Summer, written by Chip Street.

Lacey and her friends’ lives will forever

change at the finding of three old military JATO

rockets; and now the long hot days of their sum-

mer vacation were proving to be exciting, adven-

turous, and even a bit dangerous. Their intention is

to build a rocket powered car with military rockets

as their source of power in an old 1968 Pontiac

Firebird convertible, running on rails and an old

barber chair as the ejection seat! Crazy idea yes!

New idea, no. Author Chip Street, taking the 1961

myth of a JATO (Jet Assisted Take Off) powered car, and sets out to recreate his version

using the fundamental elements (surplus rockets, an old car, railroad tracks, and a test

drive) of the legendary myth.

Rocket Summer is a book about coming of age issues, family issues, and friend-

ship. However, it’s also about accomplishing goals, and the adventure the book offers

from the finding of the rockets to the test drive of the car is intriguing and suspenseful.

There were several instances in which I held my breath because it’s a real page turner.

You’ll find yourself wanting to get to the end of the book to find out if they succeeded

in building a rocket car that really works! Then the tension created by Lacey’s antago-

nist, Darlene (Kenny’s older sister) provides great drama as the two girls rivaled each

other in a display of mechanical and engineering talents and hands-on experience.

Street has a knack for writing riveting and profound opening lines and paragraphs

that are metaphorically charged, as can be seen throughout many chapters in the book.

The book’s opening line, “It was half past sunset and still hot, the mountains a purple

cutout against the ruddy orange sky.” sets a visually appealing tone that the reader can

actually imagine and appreciate. Street continues on with a metaphorical description of

the setting in the opening paragraph - “On either side of the highway, long automated

irrigation pipes slowly marched down rows of potatoes on six-foot knobby tires, and the

sprinklers blew a cool mist across the dusty highway.” Street’s choice of words and ex-

ploding metaphors successfully moves the story forward with engaging and thought

provoking scenes.

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Rocket Summer is a great literature or reading book for book reporting for kids’

ages 10 to 14. It’s a great teaching aide in instructing middle school kids how to write

dramatically to make their work come alive with the use of descriptive metaphors and

scene and dialogue development. The following are some key elements in Rocket Sum-

mer that readers should look for when writing the book report:

The vivid way in which author Chip Street portrays his story through the use of

grounding personified metaphors. For example, in describing Kenny’s house, it took

on a human-like persona in which it was a “sad old house slumped in an overgrown

yard...shoulder’s sagging like it was too depressed to sit up straight” with “ half-

drawn window shades like drooping eyelids trying desperately to keep the morning

away.”

The characters’ dialogues are believing and realistic with the use of everyday dialect

that is common to the region in which the story is set. This gives the characters of

Rocket Summer a three-dimensional presence between the pages.

Descriptive scenes that are well detailed are great for story development. Street took

the time to slow down the pace of the story to emphasize some key parts of the book

in which the reader will become familiar with the story setting of the town of Alice,

Nevada. The history of the town and its unique landmarks are vital to the story and

the characters.

In Rocket Summer, scene developments between the short chapters flow naturally,

giving the book a seamless continuous read with the drama and the action playing

out smoothly. There are also several underlying tension pockets within the story that

when doing a book report, the reader can address separately or together. For exam-

ple, despite her tough exterior why was Darlene so protective of her little brother

Kenny? or Why did Darlene and Kenny react the way they did at the mere mention of

their father? or Why was Lacey angry at her Dad; what did need from him the most?

Authors sometimes set the learning curve in literacy and reading with the books

they write. It is good to see a book that kids can easily relate to yet would have to look

deeper beyond the words to read between the lines. There is talk of Rocket Summer

being produced as a movie in 2013, and I am excited to see the story and its endearing

characters come to life on the big screen!

Rocket Summer is a great book to hold on to; kids will keep coming back for a

second and third read! (Reviewed by Children’s Book Examiner)

Book & Author: Rocket Summer by Chip Street

Paperback: 212 pages

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 11, 2012)

For Ages: 10 and up

ISBN-10: 1480202622

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the recent shooting of

20 children and 6

adults at Sandy

Hook Elementary School in New-

town, Connecticut brings to mind the

Virginia Tech University shooting in

April 2007. Our hearts and prayers

are with the families and friends of

each victim in both incidents.

There’s not much one can say or do to

ease the pain. The way we handle

pain and try to understand circum-

stances such as these all vary from person to person. Some people tap into

their creativity and raw emotions are expressed through their work. One

such person is author Kathryn Erskine in her book Mockingbird.

“Mockingbird, a National Book Award Winner, written by Kathryn Er-

skine highlights the shootings of thirty-three people at Virginia Tech Uni-

versity in April 2007 and coping with the loss of loved ones are the two

main source of inspiration for Erskine when writing this book. Erskine

chooses to tell the story of the grief and loss experienced through the

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eyes of a child with Asperger’s syndrome.

The main character, an eleven year old girl named Caitlin, has Asperger’s syn-

drome and learns to cope with the loss of her brother, Devon, who was one of

the victims in the shooting. Though the characters are fictional, the shooting

incident is real and Erskine successfully merged both to teach children effec-

tive ways to manage their pain.

Caitlin has the ability to retain words and their meanings. She used words to

adequately describe and to temper her feelings. She stumbled upon the word

CLOSURE, and set out on a quest to understand and achieve it. The quest was

not an easy one, but in the end it was a successful one. The journey to achieve

her closure was enlightening, as the reader sees Caitlin’s growth as she learns

to appreciate life and the beauty of it. The word CLOSURE is not one easily

understood by many children, and Erskine masterly broke down the word by

truly making it an action word! The reader is taken along a path of what it

really means to have closure and how to attain it!

Mockingbird also paints a vivid image of what it’s like to live with Asperger’s

syndrome. Even though the book is an easy-reader for kids, as it helps kids to

expand their vocabulary; it is also a complex read because it delves into the

world of Asperger’s syndrome. People suffering with this disease are often

times misunderstood because they have difficulty expressing themselves, and

therefore need to be taught behavioral skill repeatedly. Erskine successfully

tackled some of these misunderstandings and preconceived notions.”

(Reviewed by Children’s Book Examiner)

This is indeed an excellent find to add to your kids’ book collection to help

them deal with emotional pain and trauma.

Book & Author: Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Paperback: 256 pages

Publisher: Puffin; Reprint edition (February 3, 2011)

For Ages: 10 and up

ISBN-10: 0142417750

ISBN-13: 978-0142417751

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“Have you ever

wished for any-thing? What if you

could have every-thing you ever

wanted?” Book Cover excerpt

Meet the author,

Chanz’e Witcher.

View her online

interview about

her book!

Book: All I Want

Author: Chanz’e Witcher

Paperback: 28 pages

Publisher: Tate Publishing

(October 16, 2012)

For Ages: 4 to 8

ISBN-10: 1621471926

ISBN-13: 978-1621471929

“...All I Want can be appreciated by all because of the lesson it teaches,

which is that belief in God is not just a coping mechanism but a key

building block of faith.” Children’s Book Examiner Review

This book is the first in the series of spiritual empowerment books for children ages 4 to 8!

A MUST-READ for kids!

aLL i Want by Chanz’e Witcher

Available online!

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Great WISHLIST books for January 2013! Why not make them yours too?

O The Quiet Place by Sarah Stewar t Illustrated by Caldecott Medalist, David Small

A Kirkus Reviews Best Children Book of 2012

O 1-2-3 Peas by Keith Baker Also Author of New York Times bestselling LMNO Peas

O Old MacDonald Had Her Farm by JonArno Lawson

Illustrated by Tina Holdcroft

O What to do if an Elephant Stands on Your Foot by Michelle Robinson

Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

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DBR Books The Books Magazine January 2013

Here is a list of newly released books for kids’ ages 8 to 12. These are now available in our local libraries nationwide or anywhere books are sold:

1. Diary of a Parent Trainer by Jennifer Smith

2. The Classroom (the Epic Documentary of a Not-Yet-Epic Kid)

by Robin Mellom

3. Paula Danziger’s Amber Brown is Tickled Pink by Bruce Coville

and Elizabeth Levy

4. Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin

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5. Nerd The Villain Virus by Michael Buckley

6. Flying the Dragon by Natalie Dias Lorenzi

7. What Came from the Stars by Gary D. Schmidt

DBR Books The Books Magazine January 2013

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for the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing

Month) competition, where writers are challenged

to write 50K words in 30 days in the month of

November, Children’s Book Examiner mentioned in an article entitled Adding

Meat to Your Story, some key points for writers to adopt when their stories are

falling flat.

“So you have the skeleton, the bare bones, but find that your novel is falling

flat; then it’s time to add some meat. Here are some ways in which you can do it:

1. Add depth to the character by delving in the mind of your leading man or

woman. This helps to brings out thought processes of the main character. In

other words, it’s okay to let your readers in on the inside.

2. Add personality to your character. Is he/she talkative, a worry-wart, kind-

hearted, cheerful etc. Develop your main character to exist in the mind of the

reader as a person and not as a two dimensional character in a book. Tap into

what makes us human!

3. Import setting into your work to give your story life and body. Use setting to

bring expression and life to the character’s existence, so that he/she is not just

evolving on a page but instead is existing (in the reader’s mind) in real time

and space.

4. Don’t tell the story, show it. Where you are tempted in the story to tell what

happened, fix those scenes to show what happened, and how it happened.

These are just a few ways in which to add meat to the bones of your story.

Look for other ways your character can live on outside the pages of your book!”

DBR Books especially likes point #3! ‘Tap into what makes us human!’

To successfully do this, the writer has to study different character traits; and a way

to do this is to take a trip to a park and observe people as they pass by. This field

study will yield a variety of personalities and traits. This is needed for your story

to become three-dimensional! You’ll find that your book will come to life when

you incorporate the emotions, attitudes, and tendencies that are only unique to

humans!

Good luck with your writing, and bring what’s in your head to real life in

2013!

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A Note to Children’s books and YA fiction Authors:

DBR Books reviews children’s and YA fiction books, which are featured in our magazine.

Reviews are done by the Children’s Book Examiner

for Examiner.com.

Do you have a recently published book in this genre and would like a free review?

Then contact us at: Editor at dbrdesigns1@gmail.com

Check our website

frequently

for our most recent

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