Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers’ Favorite

The Big Cheese Festival is a children’s educational picture book written and designed by S. Jackson with A. Raymond. Stubby Mouse was happy and excited when he woke up on the morning of the Big Cheese Festival. All the mice in his neighborhood looked forward to this big event. There would be dancing and lots of cheese, and they would elect a King and Queen of the Festival. This would be Stubby’s first Big Cheese Festival, but something happened to spoil his happiness and sense of anticipation. When Cutter Mouse came to pick up Stubby’s brother, Zippy, he made fun of Stubby’s short tail. Cutter laughed and said that no girls would want to dance with him. Zippy got angry with his friend for picking on his little brother, but the damage was done. After Zippy and Cutter left, Stubby began to cry. Cindy heard him crying inside the house, and she wanted to know what was wrong. She liked Stubby just as he was, and thought Cutter was an awful bully. They would go to the festival together, and she’d love to dance with Stubby.

S. Jackson and A. Raymond’s educational picture book for children, The Big Cheese Festival, addresses the problem of bullying and the pain children can experience when they’re victimized by bullies. This story shows how being different is not a bad thing or something to feel ashamed about. Stubby may only have half a tail, but he ends up with an amazing thing happening to him. He also gets to dance with the bully’s girlfriend. The Big Cheese Festival has gorgeous graphics that bring the woodland setting and its characters to life. Jackson and Raymond address an important issue, and they do so in an enchanting tale that’s a perfect choice for story time. Adults should consider using this tale as a
springboard for discussions about bullying in school and in the playground. It’s also a good starter primer for new readers as it has large print and an easy-to-follow story. The Big Cheese Festival is highly recommended.

When you love someone, always make it a point to not only say it, but to show it and to prove it to them, literally! Yes, that sentence did need an exclamation point. Be it your spouse, child, family, or friend, do this. Actions speak loud. Don’t miss a chance to let a loved one know just how much you love them. Since we don’t know when our “number” is up, never miss a chance to say and show just how much you love your spouse, child, etc, every opportunity you have, for we don’t know!

Take a moment and think about this. Intense love keeps on giving without measure, and it doesn’t cost you anything. My husband and me, have an intense love beyond all measure. I pray that everyone finds their soulmate like we have done. Truly one can’t measure this kind of love. Mother Teresa understood this perfectly! She loved everyone she helped, and those she was unable to help. Smile today, brighten someone’s life today!

The Juggling Act by Carol Maloney Scott is a nice contemporary romance.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review on Amazon. I love romance novels (this one is contemporary versus the historical I usually read) so this was a good fit for me in general. This is book three in this series.  Claire married early, without consideration in what a marriage truly is, and then, boom, they adopt a baby setting the stage for marital woes.

Claire and her husband, Brandon, made bad decisions and they weren’t able to communicate setting the stage for complete marriage breakdown. Scott was able to add humor to this story, yet in my mind, Brandon was pretty much scum.  I was able to see the comedy in this story despite my dislike for the character of Brandon, but I fail to see how Claire would ever marry a person who lacked maturity, and who wasn’t ready for marriage at all! I don’t see the love and romance that should have been there and wasn’t. I loved Claire’s character! Disliked Brandon!

Scott stated that this could be read as a standalone story, and I wonder if maybe Claire and Brandon showed love for each other in one of the first two books. I don’t know.

I noticed some repetition, yet this story is a light read, and a nice read at that. Action was steady and the characters were interesting, despite my dislike for Brandon.

Quite frankly, this isn’t my normal genre that I read, but, My GRL by John W. Howell is a true thriller. The story line moves at a frenetic pace for the most part, and the action is hair-raising! The protagonist character, John Cannon, is a normal guy and he goes with the flow of the suspense quite well. The plot is deep and well laid out for the reader, maybe too deep, yet with the turn of each page, more suspense builds onto more suspense. I do think that if the areas of ‘too much information’ was tightened up, then this would be a five star read. This book is riveting in nature, yet humor is found within the confines of its pages. However, it was hard for me to grasp the entire consciousness. Thank you John.

Check out this beautiful new book trailer for When Angels Fly

Back in the top 100 again!! When Angels Fly is beautiful. http://tinyurl.com/nzncr7b #memoir #RRBC #PDF1

Cover Reveal!!! “The Big Cheese Festival” #bookplugs #kidsbook #RRBC #PDF1 #SCBWI #ANTIBULLYING #bullyingawareness