Jeff Kinney

Monster Reviews
The Kingdom of the Sun and Moon
by Joshua G. Bloomfield, age 12
This is a very positive story by Lowell H. Press about the bond between two mice brothers
named Sommer and Nesbit. It is set in the past in Austria, taking an alternate history
approach where not only humans but also mice have formed countries, complete with
“cities” of sorts and a leader. It includes great morals as the two main heroes are brave
and kind, and aren’t afraid to show their true feelings. However, the author isn’t afraid to
put major violence and have characters die, often venturing into mature and dark topics,
especially with the fact that death seems to be common in the area. Both heroes get close to
dying multiple times. The plot is that the tyrant in charge of the mouse-country where the
heroes live forces Sommer to join the mouse equivalent of the army, and Nesbit gets sent to a deadly forest with
a high change of death for insulting the leader for taking away Sommer. They face a deadly journey each, with two
intertwining plotlines ending with one grand ending—read to find out how it ends!
Rating: Five stars, age range: 12+ for whole book, 8+ if some parts are skipped by parents.
Seefus the Slug series
by Darleen Wohlfeil
Author and illustrator Laurel MacQuarrie brings us a series of delightfully humorous tales
of Seefus, a little bug of a slug. Each story has a pleasant rhythm and rhyme that children
will easily follow, as well as additional activities to help with alertness and reinforcement.
Seefus is a lovable little slug which will keep children eager for his next adventure! In Seefus
Learns to Obey, rules are everywhere! Seefus is faced with them morning, noon and night.
It’s not that he is opposed to rules. Some of them make good sense and he knows they are meant for his safety,
like never, ever, touch salt! But some rules just make no sense, and their reason to follow them is quite unclear. He
could see no danger, and his desire for something new leads him into quite a pickle. What will become of our little
bug slug? Will he learn his lesson? Life is full of choices, and many who made those choices before us wrote down
their outcomes. We have come to know them as rules. Seefus Finds A Friend is a delightful tale of friendship. Seefus
finds himself bored counting his rocks all alone. Mum is too busy with tasks at hand to join him in finding fun and
encourages him to set out in search of a friend. In his search, Seefus discovers that friendship can be a tricky thing.
It’s not all about him, as he delightfully supposes. No, finding and having a friend is much more. It’s also about
learning to be a good friend as well. Seefus Goes to Sleep carries the same rhythmic form that delights in each tale,
bringing us up close to a head-to-head struggle that frequents most homes at one time or another. Mum keeps
her cool and outsmarts our little slug. In cleverly presenting him with his option, he willingly accepts it is best he
remain in his own bed, and finds sleeping alone a very good choice.
34 StoryMonstersInk.com | NOVEMBER 2015 | Story Monsters Ink