Another Great Review for My Brother the Frog

Oh, my poor neglected blog. I think it’s time to make amends.

I’ve been busy with writing-related tech stuff that involved learning some new technology. I don’t have a finished product to show off yet, so I’m afraid the news will have to wait for another time. Sorry to be dropping vague hints, but I like to have something concrete to show off before I make any kind of announcement.

I’ve been neglecting plenty of stuff including writing new material, my critique groups and my website. I still had Halloween references there, yeesh!

Catching up has been a little like playing Whack-A-Mole. All these little things kept popping up, but I’m almost there.

Anyway, I would like to take this opportunity to share another nice review by children’s author, Lori Calabrese, for my latest picture book, My Brother the Frog. Ms. Calabrese has this to say.

MY BROTHER THE FROG is a humorous read that dives into a little sibling rivalry. As I said before, we've all probably imagined turning our brother or sister into a frog, but MY BROTHER THE FROG takes it one step further and really examines what would happen if it actually came to fruition. Kids will get a kick out of the illustrations and parents will enjoy the hidden message that a sibling can actually be your best friend.


To see the full review and other book info, please click on link below.
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2IPXLPVCJT00I

Pretty cool feedback if I do say so myself. :-)

Great Review from Stories for Children

Hi All

I received a great review for My Brother the Frog that I wanted to share. Being that writing can be such a solitary pursuit sometimes, getting recognition from other independent people in this field helps makes the effort all the more worthwhile.

This review is from Stories for Children, which says: Overall thoughts: There are many great lessons to learn from this book for kids. For one thing, it can open up some much needed discussion about the problems that siblings have with each other ... Secondly, it can teach kids that there is no point in trying to change their brothers or sisters. All they have to do is accept them for what they are and love them unconditionally. What a great message for kids.

How nice is that? :-)

Please see the link below for the entire review.
http://familiesmatter2us.blogspot.com/2011/10/book-review-my-brother-frog.html

Nice Review for My Brother the Frog

Hi All

I'm just coming back from vacation all refreshed and rejuvenated (at least for the rest of the day).  I went to Disney for the first time and really enjoyed myself, almost more than my daughter did.  But I can see that I have been neglecting my blog a little.  Well, to make amends, I'd like to share a nice review I received for My Brother the Frog.  This is from the Children's and Teens' Book Connection where they say:

"I’ve enjoyed every one of McNamee’s books that I’ve read, and My Brother the Frog is no exception. He knows how to reach kids right where they are with fabulous books and unique storylines they’ll enjoy"

How nice is that? (Big Grin)  To see the full review, please click on the link below:
http://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com/2011/07/30/my-brother-the-frog-by-kevin-mcnamee/

A Great Review at Children’s and Teens’ Book Connection

More reviews are coming in for What Is That Thing? I received a great review from Children’s and Teens’ Book Connection where they say:

In this delightful new story from talented poet and writer, Kevin McNamee, we see him doing what he does best–create a story that youngsters will love.

How sweet I that? They also go on to say:

The artwork by K.C. Snider is absolutely wonderful. From mom the space alien with kitchen utensils sticking out of her head to Jungle Jenna swinging on the vines, her illustrations will capture the hearts of young readers who really want to now how Jenna feels.

To read the full review, please click on the following link.

http://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/what-is-that-thing-by-kevin-mcnamee/#comment-1833

 To me, one of the finest moments in the life of a writer other than getting an acceptance, is getting a great review. After all the hours spent bringing what was once a vague idea to an actual physical book, someone else looks at it and says, “This is good stuff.” It never fails to bring a smile to my face.

Nice Review at Stories for Children Magazine

Reviews are starting to come in for What Is That Thing? And I received a very nice one at Stories for Children Magazine. Ms. Irene Roth reviewed the book and had this to say:


Overall Thoughts:This is a heart-warming story of how a young child can accept a new member of the family. The illustrations are hilarious and witty. It will keep a child spellbound and captive.

I recommend the book to any child who has younger siblings or is about to accept the arrival of a new sibling. They will be able to laugh and also accept the little being into their lives, and even be very happy and enriched by the new little baby sister or brother.

One of the hard parts about being a writer is that many times, you work in a vacuum. You never really know how your work will be received. How great it is when someone else sees the value in it.

To see the full review, please click on the link below.

http://storiesforchildrenmagazine.org/WhatIsThatThing.aspx

Great Review for What Is That Thing?

I received a really nice review for What Is That Thing? from Nicole Weaver at blogcritics.org. Ms. Weaver highly recommends my book and has this to say:


“This cute and heartwarming story should be read to all children who already have or are about to have a new addition to their family.

Further value is added by the award-winning artist K.C. Snider, who elevates the story with her top-notch illustrations.”

K.C. really did do a great job with the illustrations and I’m very fond of the text, myself. ;-) So I’m so glad this book is getting a good reception.

To read the entire review, please follow this link: http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-what-is-that-thing1/#ixzz1I0ZtWvyA

First Review for What Is That Thing?

I received my first review for What Is That Thing? from author Janet Ann Collins on her On Words blog. An excerpt of which is below:


“McNamee has done a great job of capturing what the experience of having a new sibling can be like.

Illustrator K.C. Snider provided colorful pictures that show both Jenna's imaginary adventures and the real world in a cute way.”

To read the full review, please follow this link http://onwordsblog.blogspot.com/

One criticism she had was that newborns don’t smile. But I respectfully disagreed with her and mentioned it in a comment on her blog.

My daughter smiled when she was a newborn, and there are plenty of others who will tell you that their babies started smiling right away. I’ll always remember that little toothless grin on her face when she was an infant. Even if it was gas, I’ll still take it. :-)

I even sent Ms. Collins a link to a parenting site to back me up. Because the last thing I want to happen is to give inaccurate information in my books. You can read more about this at the website below.

http://www.parentsconnect.com/questions/newborn_actual_smile.jhtml

Nice Review for Lightning Strikes

I received a very nice review from the Children’s and Teens’ Book Connection and an even nicer review of my work in general. In this review they say:


Now McNamee has written a book that combines Science and Math in a fun way. Lightning Strikes teaches kids to count backwards while it also explains how you can use counting to judge how far away thunder is. In his typical style, McNamee uses humor and rhyme to tackle a less than funny subject…In addition to the fact that McNamee’s books are always fun, he comes up with some of the most unique story ideas. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next!

The full review can be found at the link below.
http://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/lightning-strikes-by-kevin%c2%a0mcnamee/

I have four more picture books currently under contract and I know that two of them are being worked on by the illustrators. I don’t have any release dates for these ones though. I think I might need to email my publisher about that after this blog post. You see, I’m kind of curious to see what I’m coming up with next as well. ;-)

Compared to a Classic

I’ve been very busy the past few weeks. I’ve been working on some bug related poems for a new project and I’ve been working the bugs out of some press kits I’ve been developing. The program I’m using shrinks the font every time I try to convert the file into a pdf, so I’ve been very buggy too (bad pun-insert groan here). But I digress (I’m good at that).

I really wanted to talk about a new review for The Soggy Town of Hilltop. I’m starting to get some reviews on The Soggy Town of Hilltop and there’s one in particular that I find very intriguing. In the review by The Home School Book Review, my book is reminiscent of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Emperor’s New Clothes. You can read the full review by clicking on the link below.

http://homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolbookreview/783549/

One thing I love about getting reviews is seeing my work from a fresh point of view. All through the writing and publication phases, I never once thought about either Hans Christian Anderson or The Emperors New Clothes. But I do like the fact that my book can be compared to a classic such as that, and can still stand on it’s own as an original work. Also, I loved Hans Christian Anderson’s books when I was a kid. I never expected my name to be same paragraph as his, so I guess I must be doing something right. Hey, who knows? Maybe one day another author will be told that his/her book is reminiscent of Kevin McNamee’s The Soggy Town of Hilltop … a guy can dream, can’t he?

Nice Review for The Soggy Town of Hilltop

I received my first review for The Soggy Town of Hilltop from The Children’s and Teens’ Book Connection and it’s a really nice one. I was excited to see what kind of reception this book would get, and I have to say, it’s a great start. An excerpt of the review is below.

The Soggy Town of Hilltop is a funny, rhyming story by Kevin McNamee. Having read McNamee’s The Sister Exchange and If I Could Be Anything, I was eager to read his latest book. The author has a great knack for turning something seemingly ridiculous into an engaging story for youngsters. In The Sister Exchange it was a young girl who wanted to trade her sister in at The Sister Exchange. In this latest book, the rulers of Hilltop are bored and decide to make up a silly new rule for the people to follow.

To see the full review, please click the link below.

http://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/the-soggy-town-of-hilltop-by-kevin%c2%a0mcnamee/

Not bad, huh?

Sweet Reviews

I just received two new reviews of my books at the Children and Teen’s Book Connection. After all the work that went into these books, it’s really great to hear some positive remarks from others.

To read the full review of The Sister Exchange, please click the link below.

http://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com/2010/01/23/the-sister-exchange-by-kevin-mcnamee/

To read the review of If I Could Be Anything, please click on this link.

http://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com/2010/01/23/if-i-could-be-anything-by-kevin-mcnamee/

While it’s great to get a professional review, my favorite reviews to date come from kids. My wife is a teacher and read The Sister Exchange to one of her classes. They all wrote letters to me about the book.

They all had the same favorite character, Toecheez, and quite a few of them were upset that I didn’t dedicate the book to my wife. This particular book is dedicated to my nieces who gave me the idea for this story.

I took my constructive criticism in stride and have made a mental note to myself to include more “wife related” dedications in my future books. I also received some rave reviews that this was the BEST BOOK EVER!

I’ll take their word for it. After all, who am I to argue with them? ;-)

Great Reviews and a Great Start to the New Year

I received a great review of my two books from Dixie Philips at Writing4littleones that I want to share here. In her review Ms. Philip’s says:

“I am fast becoming an avid fan of children's author Kevin McNamee. I was trying to think exactly what it is about his two new children's books The Sister Exchange and If I Could Be Anything that won my heart. I believe I know the answer - His writing keeps the reader grounded as to what is of utmost importance in life. Before you read the last sentence of his books, you realize, more than you ever did before, just how precious and important family and loved ones are.”

I think that’s the nicest thing I’ve heard about my writing in all the years I’ve been doing this. To read the full review of If I Could Be Anything and The Sister Exchange, please go to:

http://writing4littleones.blogspot.com/2010/01/if-i-could-be-anything-by-kevin-mcnamee.html

What a great start to the New Year!