"What a Bragger" - Lee Ann Mancini

Genre:  Picture Book
Publisher:  GLM Publishing
Pub Date:  3/1/2015

From Amazon:

Multiple Award-Winning book series helps to build a strong, foundational relationship with Jesus, while teaching love, and compassion for others! Melissa likes to brag that she can swim the fastest, climb the highest, and has the best of everything. Corey finds her crying in the sand box with her broken shovel, the only toy she had. They all chip in treasure coins for her birthday present. Melissa prays, giving thanks to God for her friends, and learns they are more important than all the toys in the sea.  Lee Ann Mancini and Dan Sharp have created an underwater world that explodes with color, drawing the children into the captivating story.

National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist, Readers Favorite Award.

My Thoughts:

I love the cover of this book!  The vibrant colors are eye catching, quickly grabbing a little ones attention, begging them to enter the inner pages of the book.  The wonderful illustrations are continued throughout the story, adding visual appeal to those that may be too little to fully comprehend the text.

Speaking of the text...the puffer fish is the perfect "character" to play the main role of the bragger.  Often when one thinks of a "bragger", that person is thought to be someone that continually builds themselves up, making them seem bigger and better than they really are.  Hence, the puffer fish.

Whether for your own children or as a gift, this is a great book to gently help spread the word of Jesus to others.  Teaching life's lessons in a fun and entertaining way is so subtle with this book that many children will not even realize they are learning while listening. 

I give this book 5 stars and can't wait to share it with others!

*I received this item in exchange for my honest review*

The Deepening sea: Reagan and RJ in Space Mini-Adventure - Mr. Richard M. Collins

My Thoughts:

An author puts a lot of time and consideration in to their works of art known as books.  While some authors will complain about negative reviews, they have to realize, putting themselves out there with their books is like an actor releasing a new movie.  Not everyone is going to like it, you will have both positive and negative reviews.  I would hope they would expect honest reviews, not just something to build their ego or make them feel good about what they have produced.  More often than not, a reviewer is able to find something positive to say about it, even if they did not thoroughly enjoy it.  And let's be honest...what reviewer likes writing a negative review?  With that being said, the positive to this book is the spiritual aspect and the great alternative it could be for many kids. Note, I said "could be", not that it is.

The publishing aspects of this graphic novel leave a lot to be desired.  I work in a library, I've reviewed books for years, so I've seen it all.  The layout is poorly put together, and the "drawings" or pictures look like the beginning stages of a rough draft, and the pages appeared to have just been printed off of a home computer.  This is not an item we would be able to place in our library either, I'm afraid it would just not circulate well with the others it has to compete with.  In order for this graphic novel to be taken seriously, I think a complete overhaul would need to occur.  There are some projects that should just remain self-published for the enjoyment of one's own family, and this is one, sadly, is one of those items.

**I received this item from BookCrash in exchange for my honest review**

SuperGal vs. God

From the publisher:

2 parts memoir 
1 part fiction 
1 jigger of love story 
+1 dollop of humor
= SuperGal vs. GOD 

SUPERGAL 
Prideful ~ Successful ~ Stressed Out 
She could do ANYTHING, but felt the pressure to do EVERYTHING! 

LOVE ~ JOY ~ TRAGEDY 
Finding new love begins to change her heart, but what happens when that joy is quickly followed by tragedy, and her SuperPowers fail?

THE BATTLE BEGINS 
Yes, SuperGal could handle anything life threw her way. Until she couldn't. Until she utterly failed. Until finally, God had her right where He wanted her. 

MESSENGERS ~ MIRACLES 
One woman's page-turning, epic battle from SuperGal to Surrender to Redemption

My thoughts:  

If you're looking for a fast inspirational read, you'll want to make sure you pick up a copy of this book!  Not only is this book entertaining and even humorous at times, but it also touches on the serious side of the subject and can even be considered heavy at times...needless to say, this book has a little bit of everything in it.  

This would be a great book to do as a book club, giving many different angles for discussion.  Not only is the topic an easy read, the author's style of writing flows nicely through out the book.

Do you consider yourself to be a SuperGal, able to complete and tackle everything and anything?  Is the only way to get something done right is to do it yourself?  After all, God helps those who help themselves.  WRONG!  Relying on God is not a sign of weakness, but instead, it is a sign of strength.  Learning to hand things over to Him takes more guts than the average person has. 

I loved reading the of the author's "super powers" and how they ultimately failed her in her time of need, requiring her to lean on the One true being that can help us through those tragic times.


I give this book 4 stars!

**I received this book free from the Book Crash reviewer program in exchange for an unbiased opinion in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission guidelines.**