Bonnie Ferrante's Blog, page 97

If you want to see how your blog is doing, or someone elses, go to http://www.alexa.com/ and enter the site’s url. It will tell you something like my stats below:

 Global Rank  748,987 (Not bad for a new blog.)

 Rank in Canada   7,546 (Or whatever country you blog is in.)

Search engines take your ranking into account when posting results of a search.

Bounce Rate 18.10% (You want to be below 50%) This means what percent of viewers take a quick look and leave. (My author page at BonnieFerrante.ca is Bounce Rate 35.80% which means I need to offer more, like my blog, to get viewers to look at more pages.)

 Daily Page views per Visitor 19.00 (You want to be above 1)

Daily Time on Site 27:50 (That means viewers are reading several pages.)

It may also show Audience Demographics.

Then it will give you a map with stats. Audience Geography.

Where are this site’s visitors located?

Visitors by Country

Country           Percent of Visitors      Rank in Country    Canada 100.0%            (Obviously, I need to interest more Americans.)

If your global rank is >100,00, it will show you Search Traffic.

What percentage of visits to this site come from a search engine  and Top Keywords from Search Engines.

Which search keywords send traffic to this site?

Then it shows What sites link to bferrante.wordpress.com?

 Total Sites Linking In 7 and lists them. (I need to build on this.)

This is also a valuable tool if someone wants to charge you to promote on their site. Are they worth the money? Not if their stats are lower than yours.

You can use it to find relevant sites that link into theirs.

Alexa.com doesn’t work for your facebook or twitter pages as they rate the whole site.

You can upgrade Alexa for a fee but they offer enough for free for most users. There is some question as to the accuracy of the statistics but I find it a useful way to track the success of my own blog.

Laugh it up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD8GKPg0uTk

Gigi and Her Girl is told from two points of view, a child who loves her dog and the dog Gigi. It switches back and forth and could be a little confusing for a child. Perhaps the author could have had two different colors or two different styles of fonts to make it clear whose internal dialogue we are reading. It might also have been easier if the girl was given a name, like the dog.

The girl is quite young and treats the dog as though she is a doll, dressing her in wings and a sparkly gown, wrapping her in a blanket, and burying her in stuffed toys. It is apparent that the little girl loves Gigi but doesn’t realize that a dog is not a toy.

She is an adventurous, imaginative child. When Gigi prefers to be with the older sister, the little girl realizes she must treat the dog differently. This would be a perfect gift for a small child who is learning how to play properly with a pet. It shows the reader how a dog feels when he is forced into uncomfortable situations.

The illustrations are professional, soft and beautiful and filled with charm. However, the text lettering swirls and curves across the page. In combination with a small font size and unusual style, this might make it difficult for some children to read. This is my one reservation with an otherwise lovely book.

This book is suited to be read to children ages 4 to 7. Well recommended.

I received a free copy of this ebook in return for an honest review.

 

My birthday is coming, but YOU get the presents.

Two paperback copies of Rayne Shines will be given away. Enter on Goodreads for a chance to win a copy.

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/93328-rayne-shines

The cover of this book is quite lovely, a white dove carrying an olive branch in his beak. The story, and injured dove is healed by a kind person and released back into the wild, had promise. However, I was greatly disappointed with this book.

The story is written in clumsy rhyme. Not only is the rhyming inconsistent but so is the beat. A straightforward telling would have worked so much better. Here’s the first page:

“In a small town of Alabama, lived a bird named Hoppy.

His mother was a dove, and build her perch high with the nest.

Every day, she would bring him food and teach him how to “tweet” like the rest.

The nest was built from hay that the mother had gathered,

To protect Hoppy from the storms in the South, which the dark clouds had weathered.”

Sadly, it gets worse.

Then there are the illustrations. Yikes! These appear to be cut and pasted from a variety of sources. On the first page is a picture of two brown birds and two golden-tan birds on a flowering tree that is worthy of an Audubon book. On the next page, is a cartoon brown bird with a head bandage, arm in a sling, and crutch. Then, we see ablue, bulbous bird without the bandage and sling and with the other foot bandaged. It goes on in much the same vein, birds of different sizes shapes and colors supposedly all representing Hoppy. It boggles the mind to think anyone would try to sell this as a picture book.

Appalling. Absolutely not recommended.

If your child liked the movie Monsters, Inc., she will love this book. The monsters are far more funny than they are scary. Stroe does a marvellous job on the illustrations. They are simple, cartoonish characters, yet distinct and expressive.

Even though the storyline is straightforward, Jack is a good monster who scares away the bad ones, I would not recommend this story for very small children. A major premise is that monsters are real and they hide in children’s rooms. For those children who are old enough to understand this is just an imaginative romp, the book will be a lot of fun.

This is a book with a message. Even though Jack is accused of something he didn’t do, and as a result gets a bad reputation, he overcomes the stigma and is true to himself. “Sometimes you have to do the right thing, even if no one knows you’re doing it.” In an age where children are taught to expect praise and ribbons and accolades for everything they do, this is a refreshing viewpoint. Being kind and not expecting anything in return is a precious value. Doing a good act because you care about others can be an empowering experience. Children have a strong sense of fairness and believe that the world should reward the good and punish the bad. Unfortunately life isn’t like that. There will be times in your child’s life where she must soldier on in spite of the unfairness of the situation. Jack the Boogey is My Real Name will stimulate an interesting discussion with your child.

I received a free advance copy of this book for review. It will be released in June 2014.

Well recommended.

“What a beautiful story!!!. It makes us realize that sometimes we don’t see the forest because of the trees. It tells the reader to see the tiniest details and appreciate all that we have every day.”

“ This lovely little story educates and teaches children of the world how very important it is to take care of trees that provide for our environment and our well-being.”

“A lovely and wise story about the earth’s resources all around us, which give life to ALL the living. A tree is life-giving, and this beautiful story shows us that our ecosystem is vital and sustains us. A thoughtful book to be read to children by their parents, and then discussed so that children will begin to see the beauty and life that surrounds them.”

“What a beautiful story!!!. It makes us realize that sometimes we don’t see the forest because of the trees. It tells the reader to see the tiniest details and appreciate all that we have every day.
To breathe and just be. It empowers all of us to stop and see what is around in the world, including knowing we can all make a difference. Loved the illustrations too.”

“This is a beautifully written book with accompanying illustrations that portray the interdependence of man and nature. Both benefit by a mutual respect and balance of interests. I also think it important that the girl is a good role model for developing female interest in the sciences and higher education. Young children will enjoy the story at face value, while older children can ponder the many layers of meaning contained within the text.”

“This is a wonderful book with a great message. I love it and am enjoying sharing it with my daughter.”

On May 15, The Amida Tree earned 3/4 from the Canadian Review of Materials.

Quote from their site: “CM: CANADIAN REVIEW OF MATERIALS is published weekly from September through June and is an all-volunteer online publication which features reviews of books and other materials that are authored, illustrated and/or published by Canadians and that are produced for/of interest to children and adolescents. CM’s reviewers are teachers, teacher-librarians and public librarians and university professors who have an interest and expertise in materials for juveniles. CM’s contents are of great interest to those who are seeking evaluative comments to assist them in making personal or institutional purchases of Canadian books or other materials for juveniles. “

SPREAD THE WORD.

Amazon.com http://amzn.com/B00FFSNX2E

Amazon. ca http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00FFSNX2E

Amazon.uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00FFSNX2E

Have you downloaded your free copy of  The Amida Tree yet? Two days left.

“A lovely and wise story about the earth’s resources all around us, which give life to ALL the living. A tree is life-giving, and this beautiful story shows us that our ecosystem is vital and sustains us. A thoughtful book to be read to children by their parents, and then discussed so that children will begin to see the beauty and life that surrounds them.”

“This story is beautifully told and touches your soul. We all should learn a deeper respect for nature and what it provides for us. What better way than through the dreams and hopes of a child. i look forward to reading this with my two young daughters.”

” This is a must for your young children’s teaching in every sense,”

“This book carries an important message about taking care of the world around us- the big and the small. It shows how there is always another solution to a problem besides hurting the wildlife and plants around us. This book talks about how one hurtful action can effect so many. A story worth reading for any age.”

TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY.

Amazon.com http://amzn.com/B00FFSNX2E

Amazon. ca http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00FFSNX2E

Amazon.uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00FFSNX2E

May 15, 16, and 17, The Amida Tree is available for free download from Amazon It is my hope that you will enjoy the book enough to write a review and purchase another book or the print copy of The Amida Tree.

Gordon Korman on The Amida Tree “…This piece works so well… There’s beauty in the simplicity of its telling, and the communication between the woman and the tree is hauntingly believable.” 

The Amida Tree is this generation’s tree. It will appeal to parents interested in a sustainable environment, healthy emotional bonds, a balanced life, and ethical living. 

2013 Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll: Second Place Year’s Best Children’s Book 

Discussion questions are included for parents and teachers.

Amazon.com http://amzn.com/B00FFSNX2E

Amazon. ca http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00FFSNX2E

Amazon.uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00FFSNX2E

Flotsam is a picture book told entirely in illustrations. Some pictures are double-page spreads and some pages are a series of pictures similar to a graphic novel. The artwork is astonishing. The children and creatures in the story are detailed, expressive, and active. The under water scenes are especially vivid and fascinating.

The story, told through pictures is clever and intriguing. On the first page we see a large eye studying a tiny sea creature. On the next page, perspective pulls away and we see that it is a boy examining life at the seashore with a magnifying glass. The inquisitiveness of the child is portrayed by nearby objects, snorkel gear, a microscope, a bucket of found objects, a treasure box, shovels, a net, and binoculars. This is a boy who observes closely.

Soon after he discovers a crab on the beach and gently touches its shell. The waves roll in, knocking him over, and bringing in an antique underwater camera. Being an honest and conscientious boy, he first tries to find out who owns the camera, but no one claims it. He takes the film to be developed at a one hour photo. The images of him waiting restlessly outside are endearing.

The shocked look of the boy when he sees the first picture, which the artist presents on a bright two-page spread, pulls us into the story even further. It is a school of brilliantly colored red, pink, and orange fish, one a clockwork windup construction! As the boy examines the pictures, we are treated to a fantastical world where octopus use living room furniture, puffer fish are used as hot air balloons, turtles have seashell villages on their backs, giant starfish tower over sperm whales, and tiny aliens ride fish. The story continues, holding our interest to the very last page.

This book is a delightful exploration of imagination. What a wonderful tool for discussion and creative writing/drawing with children. It is easy to see why this book one the Best Illustrated Children’s Book Award from the New York Times. David Wiesner has received the Caldecott Metal twice and two Caldecott Honors. I would never hesitate to buy anything with his name on it.

Highly recommended.