Children’s Books from Phenix & Phenix Publishing

“Feeding Penny Pig” – In Jeannine Fox’s “Feeding Penny Pig” (Mimi’s Funhouse LLC, November 2009), Laney’s grandmother Mimi gives her a very special piggy bank named Penny Pig for her birthday. Every day, Laney must do chores for her parents to earn money to feed the very hungry Penny. Because Laney loves Penny so much, she begins to love working around the house to keep her happy and full. The friendship between them teaches Laney responsibility and the value of earning and saving money (List Price: $14.95; Reading level: Ages 9-12; Hardcover: 32 pages; Publisher: Mimi’s Funhouse LLC (November 22, 2009); Language: English)

“How Lil’ Eddie Learns to Read” – In her new children’s book, “How Lil’ Eddie Learns to Read” (Synergy Books, February 2010), Rima H. Corral introduces readers to a little boy named Eddie who receives a book on his third birthday. Inspired by this gift, Eddie decides he wants to learn to read. The book follows Lil’ Eddie and his family as they help him learn to read through books, games and a neighborhood reading club. Corral also includes “Help for Parents” sections scattered throughout the pages. She hopes this book will encourage parents to help their kids learn reading skills before entering kindergarten (List Price: $18.95; Reading level: Ages 9-12; Hardcover: 48 pages; Publisher: Synergy Books (February 2, 2010); Language: English)

“I’m Up in a Tree” – Told in a lyrical rhyming style, Mark Alden Johnson’s “I’m Up in a Tree” (Bridgeway Books, January 2010) follows a little boy who climbs a tree for fun, only to realize he is scared to get down. As he sits high in the branches, various creatures that live in the tree approach him and advise him on how to get his feet back on the ground. Birds tell him to fly out of the tree, bees suggest he jump from the branch and a cat proposes he climb down. It is up to the little boy to decide if he should heed their advice, or trust his instincts and wait for his dad to help him. “I’m Up in a Tree” is a fun way to teach kids early to resist peer pressure and make their own choices. (List Price: $14.95; Reading level: Ages 4-8; Hardcover: 32 pages; Publisher: Bridgeway Books (January 19, 2010); Language: English)

My take: We love to read in our house – my husband and I read at least two books a day to our 5 and 7 year old and now that our 7 year old son is reading himself, he loves to read to us too. So I’m always on the look out for new children’s books to share with them (I must confess, we’ve never taken them to the library because we own so many books at home – they each have overflowing bookshelves in their rooms and we have another one downstairs just for their books – you can never have too many books!). Our favorite of the three books above is “I’m Up in a Tree” because of the rhyming style of the book. As a mom, I liked the subtle message of being true to oneself and resisting “peer pressure” (even if those “peers” are animals in this case) and my kids just liked the story of a boy stuck in a tree and the animals all talking to him! Receiving the next book (“Feeding Penny Pig”) when we did, turned out to be very timely. We just starting giving the kids an allowance a few weeks ago and they both have their own banks (our daughter actually has a pig bank too). I love how this book reinforces the lessons of saving and earning money that we are teaching at home while the kiddos liked the idea of a talking piggy bank! The last book,“How Lil’ Eddie Learns to Read,” was not very enthusiatically received by my kiddos – and I don’t blame them a bit. As a story book, it fails quite a bit. The story line is weak as it’s main emphasis is on passing out hints and suggestions for teaching your child to read. So as a resource for parents, I found this to be quite helpful, just don’t pick it up as a storybook for your children.

About the authors:

JEANNINE FOX, or “Mimi” as her granddaughters call her, is a Certified Financial Planner® and Certified Public Accountant. She has been practicing financial planning in the Houston area since 1981. Fox is the branch manager of The Planning Team in Houston and a branch manager and investment advisor representative of NEXT Financial Group, Inc. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in business from the University of Alabama and an MBA with concentrations in finance and accounting from the University of Houston. Fox has also been a featured guest on a variety of radio and television shows, and a contributor for The Money Paper, Southwest Airline’s Spirit magazine, Financial Planner magazine, Senior Spirit and USA Today. She currently lives in Magnolia, Texas, where she enjoys spending time with her family.

RIMA H. CORRAL is a beloved entertainer, as well as creator and producer of the Houston PBS children’s television program, Rima, Fuego and the Children, which airs nationwide. With degrees in music and general education, Rima has more than twenty-five years of experience as an early childhood educator. This is her first children’s book.

MARK ALDEN JOHNSON has been a writer at heart since a very young age. Even as a kid, he would invent imaginative stories and proudly present them to his parents – and anyone else he could find. Johnson started writing children’s stories just for his kids and their friends when they were young, but after he published his first book, Little Fish Lou (Outskirts Press), he knew writing was a passion he wanted to pursue. A native of northern Nevada, Johnson attended West Nevada College, where he took a wide variety of courses. Currently, he works for a local utility company in Dayton, Nev., where he lives with his wife and three kids.

This post was written for Phenix & Phenix Publishing who provided the three books for review. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary books.