I must admit I volunteered at the local school to read this to a group of children.

Let me put it this way.  It took me about 2 weeks – their story hour was really only 15 minutes long each time – but they really enjoyed this.  That makes it a winner in my book.  Kids are choosy.  Even more than I am (yes that’s possible).

In terms of an adult reading this book to children, it was enjoyable.  I looked forward to it as much as they were.  And after reading books to kids every night, us parents have to enjoy the books as well. The book was written for children, but it gave parents places they could stop to bring up certain topics with their children. (bullying, friendships ect.)  So this book isn’t just a “good book” that you read once, but a good book that can help open discussions with your children.

Well done again Melissa.

Let me start this review by telling you what my son said:

No no mommy.  This book stays here with me.  Leave it here because I like it.

For those of us with kids, you know how difficult it is to get them focused on one thing and having them like it enough to want to hold on to it.  Especially a book. So because of this I give the book high ratings.

As a parent, I liked this book because every child goes through the same things Iggy went through (being the new one in school and dealing with bullies and a crush.) If there is a way to make talking to your children about this fun, I am all for it.  No child likes to sit and listen to a parent tell them “Everything will be all right”.  An iguana saying it?  Oh yeah, they will listen.  I think Melissa Williams did a really nice job with this book.

Something else I liked about the book, which many people take for granted is the font.  It was big.  The perfect size for kids.  It seems like lately, unless it’s a baby book, the font has been getting smaller and smaller to fit more into the book.  Melissa decided to go the other route.  Instead of quantity she went for quality.  Very well done.

This book is getting added to my “kid party” gift bag list.

Product Description

Iggy the Iguana, inspired by the author’s love of a childhood pet, will touch the hearts of all readers. Kids relate well to the animal characters in this book, as Iggy and his new friends go through their school year together and experience many of the same things kids experience in fourth grade, today. Iggy learns how to adapt to the changes in his life and opens his eyes to realize that change can be pretty good. Each character in this story has a unique and even humorous personality of their own, making, Melissa M. Williams’, Iggy the Iguana, a fun book for all types of kids to read.

The way the characters were written, specifically Mike, was superb.  It was truly like entering a 14 year old mind.  Reminded me of my own thoughts in that age and how free and careless we are when an adventure arises.

I think kids will love this book, not only because they can relate to the main character, but because there is action, jealousy, love, and fear.

I couldn’t find anything wrong with this book.  Because of this, this will become one of those rare books I will place on the high shelf, to be given to my son in a couple of years to enjoy.

Very well done.

Product Description

The year is 1862. The Skink, a Confederate ship, is attacked by Union forces and sinks off the Alabama coast in the Gulf of Mexico. Although the ship was rumored to be carrying newly minted gold coins, no trace of the wreck and not even a single piece of Confederate gold is ever found.Fast forward to 1973. Mike is prepared for another routine summer in Pensacola with his marine biologist father. But plans suddenly change and Mike finds himself on Shipwreck Island near the site where the Skink went down and right in the middle of a century-old mystery!

Wow!  I love the way this book is written.  It’s not pretentious and while sport fans will flock to it, this is great for sport historians, people wanting to get into sports and of course…kids!

The pictures chosen were perfect, the stories were just told as stories, and not in an elitist “you should know this to call yourself a sport fan” way.  While there were a lot of stats given, for sports newbies, they were presented in an easy to understand manner.  For those that like to collect stats, all the info is neatly presented.

My son loved/s this book.  It’s fun, colorful, and full of imagery.  Most importantly, this book isn’t written for boys.  It’s written for kids (although to be honest, I enjoyed it just as much).  There are so many sports covered in the book, that your child is sure to find one that he will become obsessed with and make you read to them over and over.

The CD that is included with this book is also great.  After you read the stories, you can pop in the CD and listen to the first hand accounts of what you just read.  That alone is worth it.  Having a sports themed party?  This is the perfect goody-bag book!

I have been using this book since it was first mailed to me about a month ago. While I am not big on parenting books, I followed along with this one to see if the suggestions really worked. They did!

This book revolves on strengthening the parent/child relationship in a no to low stress manner. I found this to be a good approach, especially, as a society, we are very go go go. Anyone with children knows this doesn’t go over well with them.

It was nice to be reminded how to really make things fun for kids so they don’t know they are learning a lesson, but still absorb the point you are trying to teach them.

Very well done.