The Jazzy series is about a little girl named Jazzy and the adventures she gets into. These picture books are meant for young children, perhaps those learning to read, and have bright illustrations which help move the story forward.

In Jazzy and Puppy we learn that Jazzy is a little quirky because she has a cat named Puppy. And Puppy follows Jazzy everywhere, until one day Jazzy can’t find Puppy, which makes her sad. Jazzy is much happier when she finds Puppy and learns that Puppy has had kittens!

In Jazzy Gets a Dog we find that not only does Jazzy have a cat named Puppy, but that she had two birds, Kit and Kat, and a goldfish named Goldie. But Jazzy wants a puppy to add to her menagerie. So she asks her mom and dad and they finally agree, so Jazzy gets a little white puppy who tugged on her dress and licked her face. The puppy is named Snowflake.

In Jazzy’s Lovely Christmas Jazzy is excited about Christmas and when she hears her mother talk about buying gifts for the people she loves, Jazzy wants to buy gifts for her loved ones, her pets. Jazzy has saved up five dollars, and she and her mother go to the pet store. Then Jazzy is sad because everything she wanted to buy is too expensive. Then her mother asks if she wants to help take care of her pets, so she cleans the birdcage and feeds her pets and gives them fresh water. Her mother then explains she is giving them the best gift of all, the gift of love.

Through the series, Ms. Ishani’s illustrations increase in vibrancy. I like bright colorful books for kids and find them appealing. Jazzy and Puppy starts the series and the colors are muted, but depict the action well. With each successive book the illustrations become stronger and more confident. While I love the illustrations Jazzy’s Lovely Christmas there are more words on the page and the words are bigger, so if you are looking for a book for beginning readers, this book requires more advanced reading skills. To check out these books and see whether they are the right gift for the children in your life:

Preview the books on Amazon.com

Originally reviewed for the LL Book Review

With writing for children the specific target audience within the children’s arena must be defined in advance. Is the book meant to be a beginning reader book, is it for children who don’t read yet, or is the book targeted for the early middle reader or advanced middle reader? Each one of those categories within children’s books is very specific as to the requirements. The age range for the target can be as limited as one year. For example, a book can be written for the second grade reader. The target audience determines the range of unique words which should be used, the number of syllables of those words on average, as well as the total word count range.

With books aimed at adults, there is a little more lattitude as to target audience. Genres can be combined or crossed and there is more flexibility for experimentation with plot development, point of view, and tense. Since books for children are necessarily written for developing readers, the rules must be closely adhered to in order not to lose or overwhelm your readers.

So how do you know what the rules are? The internet is a vast repository of information and a few searches will provide an overwhelming amount of detail to read through and digest. One good resource which I have found is Suite101.com under the writing and publishing section. You will find articles for all types of writing which can be used by the novice and experienced writer alike. In particular, there is a series of articles written by Jennifer Jensen which cover the basic rules for the different levels of writing for children and have links to more specific information about those categories, so this is a very good place to start.

Once you have digested the rules for the target audience you are writing for, the next step is to study other books in the target group. By analyzing what works and what doesn’t in the books which have been written for your target audience, you will gain a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t in your own work. This actually applies to writing in general and not just writing for children. Find a hundred books (or more) written for your target audience and read them. Use of the public library helps offset out of pocket expense for this phase. Then choose the top ten out of those you have read to conduct an in depth analysis of the contents.

In order to thoroughly analyze the books you have selected as being the best in the category, you will need your own copy of these books, either in hard copy or digital format. My own personal preference is to have something in digital format so I can more readily conduct word count or phrase count analysis without having to resort to a manual bean counting method. I also don’t like to mark up hard copy books, but have no such qualms about highlighting, bolding, or adding notes to a digital copy. Determine in advance what writing techniques you will be looking for, so the same criteria applies for all books you are studying. Some of the things to keep in mind are:

• Good opening lines
• Good usage of telling and not showing
• Usage of metaphors and similies – which worked and which didn’t
• Realistic dialogue
• Verb usage – active vs. passive
• What senses are used in the book?
• How is the plot constructed?
• How do the characters develop throughout the book?

When you run across a passage which you feel is awkward or could be written better, take a few moments and rewrite it. This will help to solidfy in your own mind what didn’t work and why. In addition to this, for picture books, retype the words for the picture books and read through story without the pictures. Does the story flow? Is it easily understood? These are but a few ideas to help focus your thoughts and ultimately improve your own work. Writing for children can be very rewarding as you watch the delight in the face of your readers as they turn the pages, but it also can be very hard to get just right.

Written for the LL Book Review

By Celina Star

Copyright: © 2009

$ 16.60 full color paperback

42 pages

Reviewed by Phoenix, the miniature long-haired dachshund princess of LK Gardner-Griffie, author of YA novel, Misfit McCabe.

I am so excited because this is the first book review that I get to write. Finally a chance to put my paw to something worthwhile. This opportunity came about because a German Shepherd, Celina Star published a book called, How To Become a Mail Carrier Puppy and Mama said that I would have the opportunity to do the review, since both the author and I are German canines. I have been taking careful notes along the way as I watch my Mama read and review other books, and I know that I’m ready for this challenge.

How To Become a Mail Carrier Puppy is the second book by Celina Star, the first being a little longer piece called Paw Prints on the Road which is full of travels around the world. In the prologue to Paw Prints on the Road there is an explanation given regarding the editing of the work, or to be more accurate, lack of editing.

The Reader might like to know why this book was never edited. I do believe that my true inner feelings; my thoughts which come into my mind and all my emotions at the time of writing should be represented and voiced in this little book. No one can take your words of your heart and make them better.
No correct English, grammar, pronunciation can equal what a heart is telling you to write down on a little white piece of paper and transform it into a book of thoughts and joy.

Phoenix Reading

How To Become a Mail Carrier Puppy is a book that made me smile as I read it. The pictures are cheerful and illustrate the action in the story quite well. The writing was very tongue in cheek and made me chuckle behind my paw at times. For example, when filling out the application to become a mail carrier puppy, Celina had the following to say:

When the question came about “RACE”, I wrote down: “FAST”. I was a little confused about the question of being a Caucasian, African American, or Asian. Being of tan, brown and black color, and having a white star on my chest, and…. I can narrow my eyes to make them slanted, I wrote down : “a little bit of everything”.

I especially like how this pokes fun at the human propensity to define people. Like it matters what ethnicity people are. We judge others by where they’ve been and who they’ve been associating with, and, yes, that is the reason we sniff each other. Of course, I shouldn’t be quite so harsh, people are not dogs and just don’t know any better.

Actually, the puppy in the book reminded me very much of my own puppy, Elsa. Especially when she helped the elderly lady with the walker slowly slide down to the ground so she could read her letter. I would send Elsa off to become a mail carrier puppy, but I don’t think she’s tall enough to reach to post boxes. It sure would enhance my nap time if she were to go off to work every day to deliver mail, and come home all tired out. Maybe she wouldn’t try to wrestle with me so much.

I was happy to see Celina include some photos, especially the one with her stuffed canine double. I also have a stuffed dachshund double, but it is fatter than I am (I am really quite petite). Celina’s smile is very nice, don’t you think.

Originally reviewed for the LL Book Review.

All for now. Until next time. Paws Up!

Copyright 2009 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon and a distracting paw from Elsa

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix
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Here’s information about my Mama’s stuff:
Visit us at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
To track Misfit McCabe across the country, visit:
Where in the World is Misfit McCabe?
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.
For other ebook formats, visit Smashwords.com
To read book reviews by LK Gardner-Griffie, visit: The LL Book Review