Review: A delightful collection of children's stories by a talented writer
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 28, 2012
This is such a cute collection of stories.  Being a fan of Stacy Juba's adult books, I had already read the first two children's books she wroteThe Flag KeeperandVictoria Rose and the Big Bad NoiseBoth are charming and educational.  They are included in this bundle of 3 books.  Here are the reviews I wrote for them:The Flag Keeper:This book is absolutely adorable.Elizabeth, a little brown bear, loves helping her father raising and lowering their flag every day -- she is his 'Flag Keeper'. When he is due to go on a trip for 3 days, Elizabeth asks is she can raise and lower the flag herself in his absence. He says she should wait for him to return. Wanting to prove to her father that she is capable of raising the flag on her own, Elizabeth attempts to do so, and things go slightly wrong. After a couple of attempts, she is overjoyed when she manages to raise the flag correctly on her own.This book is fun to read, and the illustrations are delightful. I'm sure children will love the characters. The book is also educational as it teaches how and when a flag should be raised and lowered, as well as many other aspects of flag etiquette. This would make a great gift for a young child, and it's a great educational tool for older children, teaching them all about the American flag.There's an interesting list at the end of the book of dos and don'ts with regard to the flag. The author has also added discussion questions at the end of the book, and activity suggestions.Victoria Rose and The Big Bad Noise:This lovely little story would make a great gift for children. Victoria Rose is scared of the noise the blender, the vacuum cleaner and the lawnmower make, but soon realises that her imagination has been running away with her. This book is perfect for teaching young children that loud noises around the home are not as scary as they seem. The pictures are very sweet and illustrate the story perfectly.Here's my review of the last story in the bundle, Sticker Shoes:In this story, the main character, Jenny, finds that decorating her shoes with stickers is a fun thing to do.  It's just such a typical thing that a child would decide to do, and I'm sure that there will be lots of children decorating their feet and shoes with stickers after reading this story! As with the other two stories in the collection, the beautiful, simple, illustrations present the story almost through the eyes of a child.  I think children will love and be inspired by the drawings as well as the words.I would highly recommend this collection as fun and educational for young children.