Reviews

A Grand Slam Birthday by Chrysa Smith is a wonderful, super fun, and entertaining book for children to encourage them to try new things and experiences that will surprise them and bring them a lot of joy, much fun and satisfaction. Can a baseball-playing tomboy really have fun at a dance party? When Dory Oslo gets invited to her cousin Izzy’s girly party, she finds out that baseball players can do more than “slide” on the field!

At the insistence of her mom, Dory Oslo trades in her regular baseball gear for a dress to wear to her cousin Izzy’s birthday party. When she gets there and finds out that it is a dance party, she gets a clever idea to turn the gift she bought for Izzy into a game of baseball. Izzy and everyone have a lot of fun playing ball, but Izzy convinces Dory that dancing is fun, too!

Chrysa Smith’s A Grand Slam Birthday is a creative way to show children that trying new things can be fun. It is full of fun double-page illustrations and has a great balance of words and pictures. One of the book’s key messages is that even someone like Dory, who is passionate about baseball, can find joy in something different, like dancing. This theme can be inspiring for children who might feel hesitant about trying new things. A Grand Slam Birthday also highlights the importance of creativity and resourcefulness, as Dory’s quick thinking transforms a potentially awkward situation into a fun-filled game.

A Grand Slam Birthday by Chrysa Smith is an enjoyable award worthy read that offers valuable lessons for children. It encourages children of various ages to step outside their comfort zones and embrace new experiences with openness and creativity. Don’t miss out—you’ll want to have your own Grand Slam Birthday after reading this fun book! 

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Michaela for Kids Lit Book Café..

Well, you did it again; another fabulous book! The kids love it so far. We are about halfway through reading it.

-Dione Soboleski, West Berwick Elementary, PA

In A Grand Slam Birthday, Cousin Izzy’s birthday party demands that attendee Dory wear a proper dress rather than her favored baseball pants. Still, Dory looks forward to celebrating, and has a cool gift that will enhance the party atmosphere.
The surprise comes when she meets a fellow baseball player who also eschews the dance party Izzy’s arranged. In fact, nobody wants to dance.
Dory’s gift may provide the solution to the birthday party’s stalled enthusiasm, but it’s not a board game or puzzle. It offers an unusual activity none of the kids have seen, and it ultimately encourages all the participants to try their hands at something Dory has loved all her young life.
Chrysa Smith offers a different birthday celebration theme that revolves around translating one’s passion into achievable, enjoyable fun everyone can pursue. Her depiction of how two unfamiliar pursuits eventually engage the entire party in trying something new makes for an appealing story that goes beyond the usual birthday themes to encourage kids to problem-solve in more cooperative ways.
While A Grand Slam Birthday holds a baseball theme, its story is about much more than baseball. It will engage a wide range of picture book readers, whether they know or care about the sport or not.
The message about trying new things is really a lesson on positivity and creative pursuits. This approach will delight both picture book readers and their read-aloud parents with a taste of something different.
–Midwest Book Review

There is so much to like about this book. The illustrations are so captivating, I love the cover art a lot and think it would be great for kids to revisit and get lost in while the book is being read to them. I appreciated the creativity and originality of this book. There are a lot of stories about gardens and about personal growth, but I felt that this takes a fresh approach, and that the narrative is added to positively by the pictures. It would be a fun series to see these characters and illustrations again. The messaging of perspective, shifting your ideas and viewpoints is presented well without being didactic and I enjoyed the read.                                -Reader’s Digest Reviewer

“All in all, this imaginative, illustrated easy reader lends itself well to newly independent readers or kids ready to sit for a tale presented in a slightly different format to a picture book…would also make a great addition to a classroom collection for group reading time. This is a lovely springtime or baseball season read.”–The Children’s Book Review

A different kind of gardening story. The Upside-Down Gardener offers a standout from any other picture book about young gardeners. It is an exceptional read that links the effort to grow plants to a broader discussion of growing new ideas, objectives, and approaches to life. A top recommendation for elementary-level collections looking for a creative approach to problem-solving that uses gardening as a springboard for achievement and positive approaches to life itself.”  –D. Donovan Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“The Upside-Down Gardener is a fun and imaginative introduction into the world of gardening. It is engaging and keeps the reader’s interest…”  —Genya Hopf, Penn State Master Gardener, Bucks County, PA

“Once upon a Poodle will lend particularly well to parental read-aloud. Colorful illustrations capture the fun personalities and events as Woody experiences a wide range of potential brother candidates, and kids will relish the lively, positive story of a little dog who holds on to hope and never gives up.”  —D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

This fun and sometimes very silly book will engage young readers with pet-friendly stories that are a delight to read. Audiences will enjoy the light-hearted humor as they learn about caring and sharing. Readers will also have fun at the end of the book where they are encouraged to talk about the stories, characters and what makes them laugh the most. For a wonderful book that will encourage young readers to develop a love for pets and their silly antics, The Adventures of the Poodle Posse is a great read.’––Reviewer’s Bookwatch, –The Book Review”

‘….This fun, rambunctious Halloween adventure with Daisy and her mischievous brothers, will thrill the young reader. Of course almost every youngster I know enjoys a good dog story, but add a bit of humor and stir in a bit of horror and you have the recipe for great adventure. I’d never read anything in this series before and was pleasantly surprised at how much fun the tale was. It was well written and is sure to hold the interest of the young reader. I loved dainty Daisy and her two brothers who enjoyed annoying the little princess. IN the back of the book are several activities that the young trick-or-treater will certainly enjoy. Best of all there are two dog-approved recipes for Pumpkin Treats and Jake’s Favorite Peanut Butter Bones. This is a series that is certainly going to be a bow-WOW hit with the young dog lover!––Deb Fowler (aka Dragonfly),Vermont;  An Amazon ‘Top 100 Reviewer’

‘Most of us who have dogs make them a part of the family. There is a fine line between the way we treat our canine members and the way we treat each other. As a matter of fact, I have noted throughout the years that those families, who do treat their pets as members of the family; kind, loving, understanding and interactive, seem to be much better adjusted that those who don’t.

The third in a series about a lovable trio of poodles and their human ‘mom’ brings home this point quite well. The author, Chrysa Smith has given each of the three dog’s distinct personalities and the kindness and love between all is quite on the mark…….

The author has put together a rather remarkable little book with this one. Not only do we have a delightful story, but Smith has added several pages of activities for children which include a nicely done maze, a dog quiz, excellent recipes for home-made dog treats (all healthy), a riddle game, doggie costume suggestions and a writing work outline to allow the child to write their own creepy tale.

The text is quite well done and is easy for the children to follow and is silly enough in just the right places to bring on plenty of giggles. The book has been very well illustrated by Pa Achilles with plenty of black and white drawings. While the story is of course, fantasy (you enter the world of these three dogs), it is filled with little truths about dogs and their personalities. Any child who has a pet dog or has ever had a pet dog will be able to instantly relate to this work.

Now those that read my reviews will know that I am a dog person. Our own ‘posse’ is not made up of Poodles, but rather Boston Terriers. I was able to relate to the antics of the dogs in the story quite well, especially when it came to the different personality traits of each of the dogs.

Chrysa Smith is a fine story teller and an excellent writer. I do hope that there will be more additions to the series coming down the road.

I did have a friend of mine, a second grade teacher, read this to her class. The kids in the class, jaded little literary critics all, gave this work two thumbs up!—–Don Blankenship, The Ozarks;    An Amazon ‘Top 100 Reviewer’

This story is a great read for both children and parents. It’s cute and interesting enough to hold parental interest while very enjoyable for the children. It’s an excellent book for practicing reading aloud with elementary school aged children.
My son wants to read more of the series. It also shipped and arrived much more quickly than expected.

–Lisa Forbeson

I love your new book. Thank you for using the amazing gifts God gave you to create all your books. They truly are wonderful.–Mary Smith, Holy Family School, Florham Park, NJ

My son wants to read more of the series. It also shipped and arrived much more quickly than expected.

–Lisa Forbeson

I love it! 

-Jacquelyn Werts, St. Leo the Great, Lancaster, PA