Friday, July 10, 2015

Jake's Monster Mess by Ken Spillman, illustrations by Chris Nixon


About Book

Jake's room is only slightly messy—until he to clean it! After he has cleared out his sock drawer, jock drawer and his toy cupboard and dragged dusty and forgotten clutter out from under the bed, he realizes all those things are piled high on his floor—and worse, they've expanded! Packed with inventive and fun illustrations, this is a hilarious story of one boy’s battle with his topsy-turvy bedroom. 

 ISBN 978-1-59572-681-0
48 pages, 5 1/4"x7 5/8"
ages 6-8
Paperback


CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS Language arts, vocabulary development, understanding sequences of events, understanding narrative voice, story developments, understanding characters, humor, friendship, responsibility, family and relationships, respect, self-esteem, emotional well-being, values and virtues.


About Author

Ken Spillman is an award-winning author whose work spans the genres of history, novels for young adults and children, short fiction, poetry, scriptwriting and criticism. He is the author of 20 books including Blue, an acclaimed novel for teenagers. Spillman’s work is represented in many anthologies, and the US reference Contemporary Authors has compiled a detailed entry on his career.

Author's website:  http://www.kenspillman.com/



About Illustrator


Chris Nixon is a freelance illustrator and adventure tour guide. He grew up in the foothills of Perth and spent all his spare time outside. He feels passionate about getting kids to experience the natural world.




My Thoughts


Jake's mess reminds me of my youngest daughter's good intents at cleaning her room.  Jake had some brilliant ideas for organizing his things that ended up overwhelming his good intentions.   Thankfully his family and friends knew Jake meant well and was not just being mischievous.   

Just reading the story I became overwhelmed for poor little Jake! With some children a few suggestions and overseeing the project with patience seems to be the key. Making it fun using some of their ideas meets with rewarding success!

From my own experience I especially found sorting through the childs clothes and toys while they were at school, boxing the stuff up for donations was of great help  in cutting down a stressful situation. This kept my children from having to make monumental decisions.  They never even seemed to notice anything was missing. If they did notice I simply explained why it was donated or discarded.  My children are now wonderful parents with children of their own!

Great book in which I am sure most children and parents will connect.  Good story to read with your kids and share ideas and past experiences. Be sure to make it fun and not accusatory. 

I recommend this book! 

I rated this book a 4 out of 5.  Mainly due to the fact it was somewhat overwhelming.


Disclosure: I received  a free copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.  I was in no way compensated for this review.  This review is my honest opinion.


1 comment:

  1. This looks like a great book for my current 4 year old's bedroom situation. I believe we may have to get a copy. Thanks for joining us on the Kid Lit Blog Hop

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