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