Audiobook Review: The House on Sunrise Lagoon: Sam Makes a Splash by Nicole Melleby and narrator Taylor Meskimen

From an acclaimed author comes a cheerful, uplifting story of family and belonging, the first in a series perfect for fans of the Vanderbeekers and the Penderwicks.

If you want to get to know eleven-year-old Samantha Ali-O’Connor, you need to know three things:

One, she isn’t the only one of her siblings who is adopted, but she is the only one whose name isn't inspired by the ocean.

Two, she and Harbor always compete with each other to be the best Oldest Sibling—and just about everything else.

And three, she is determined to prove she's a real Ali-O'Connor by taking over the family business, repairing and chartering boats.

Except there's a Capital-P Problem: Her mothers have been Serious Whispering about selling the business before summer's end! Sam needs to come up with a plan, quick, before Harbor finds out. And before Sam loses her chance to inherit the business and be an Ali-O'Connor forever.

Review

In any other circumstance, the technical issues probably would’ve distracted my interest from listening to the book but the narrator had such an engaging voice presenting the book that I was able to enjoy it despite my obstacles. For full transparency, I’m not sure why but my copy of the audiobook kept stopping and repeating with some parts seeming to be cut off. In other moments, it’s as if it were frozen. I had to restart and fast forward but that didn’t change my opinion of the quality of the overall experience. I’d say with all the disruptions, I probably was able to get 80% off the book. I was thoroughly happy with what I was able to listen to.

The House on Sunrise Lagoon: Sam Makes a Splash by Nicole Melleby is the first book in the The House on Sunrise Lagoon series. Based on what I listened to, this sounds like a wonderful series featuring characters that are going through some things that other kids can relate to. With themes of trying to belong and fit it, friendships, being adopted and sibling relationships, the book presents characters that are very likable and you will want to follow along with.

I normally would never address this but I saw a post by someone online who commented about a certain aspect of the book that I would like to address. Everywhere is entitled to their opinion, however, I appreciate the development of a storyline that showed another version of a loving family. It didn’t register to me until I realized there were two mothers in this family. There are all types of families and this one is full of love, fun and support for each other. There’s no focus on that other than that they are their parents. The overwhelming love and support they show their children, especially helping them get through some challenging moments pulls at the heart.

There are some moments in the book that I thought could spark up some wonderful conversation about some of the things kids deal with. Samantha was a wonderful character to begin the series and the supporting storylines involving different aspects of her life kept me listening. The narrator made this book awesome to listen to. Her voice was engaging and fun to listen to. She did a great job with the different characters. Hopefully she will narrate the second book because she made this overall a great listening experience. Again, despite the technical difficulties I experienced with this audiobook, the overall book grabbed my interest to keep going with the second book.

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Review: Billy Balloon by Jack Payton

Inspired by the story written when he was a child, Billy Balloon is the debut in the self-titled series hoping to share adventures for the young reader and their parents. This book features the journey of Billy Balloon and his siblings and friends getting ready for the Great Balloon Race. Each year cards written by children in school are attached to them in the hopes that they will be discovered by another child and become a penpal. Whoever is determined to reach the farthest becomes the winner.

An interesting book to lead the series, with colorful illustrations that has a goal that would be such a fun idea to inspire a child’s imagination. Actually, I know at their age how great it was to be able to make a new friend with a pen pal, which by the way, we are still friends today. This would be such a fun idea for kids to learn about a new place and hopefully be the start of a wonderful friendship.

My only issue was the ending. When the goal of the book was reached for this character, it left me with a wonderful feeling. I thought it was a sweet story but then in the last couple of lines, the character did something that left me with a few questions. The author leaves an open ended question about whether the race is over or not but I just feel like that contradicts the goal of them in the book if he went back out there. He can’t participate. Once you reach a child, that’s it. Where did he go? What happened to everyone else? Do they all meet up again somewhere? Who won? I felt like it unwrapped the ending. Yes, presumably you can draw your own conclusions but if this is going to be a series, it would’ve been nice to be wrapped up in one book. That way we can experience the next adventure with Billy. Despite my questions, overall I enjoyed the book.

Unique to this series, the author has extended an open ended invitation for families to submit future ideas for co-authoring books. I’m curious and look forward to seeing the creativity that will evolve from this series.

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Review: Rohan and Nyra and Big Sister's Bet by Anthony C. Delauney

About the Book

Rohan can't wait for his big sister Nyra to come home, but when she does, she has a surprise in store for him.

What starts off as a fun game of playing catch soon turns into a powerful, loving lesson on gambling and greed that Rohan will never forget. Discover what awaits in Big Sister's Bet!

Review

Rohan and Nyra and Big Sister's Bet by Anthony C. Delauney is the next book in the Owning the Dash Kids series. We are introduced to Rohan and Nyra and what I loved most about them was that they’re siblings who care greatly for each other. Just like the preceding books, there is such a great takeaway message being taught between them through a relatable experience that Rohan will never forget. I loved how with his sister, their dad shared this same experience, she decided to share her wisdom with him that made things so much more special. The bond they have is so wonderful and the admiration he has for his older sister is so sweet. 

One thing that is never mentioned but meant so much to me is that upon first glance on the cover, we all see that Nyra is in a wheelchair. What I loved is that it was never part of her narrative because it never defined her. She went out there and threw the football with her younger brother. When she came home, the anticipation he had to see her was just unconditional love. The lesson that she taught him, sunk deep within him because he had the utmost respect for her. To me that is such a powerful, inspirational lesson to the young reader that in spite of her chair, she can do fun things and is loved.

As always, another wonderful book in the series. If you haven’t stumbled upon this series, please check them out. The reading age for this book is 4-8. 

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Review: Travel Rangers: Mission to Australia by Erika Bud and illustrator Sonia Sengupta

What a fun way to travel to Australia! Before anything, make sure your download the QR interactive code for the book to enjoy this adventure with them. From it's beautiful cover, your young reader will enjoy a fun, interactive picture book with the Travel Rangers as they explore some of the highlights of beautiful Australia. What I love about this book is the foundation of them going around the world learning about other cultures. That is such a great message and lesson that will not only encourage getting to know people different from them but maybe find something they love that they normally wouldn't experience or be exposed to.

Experiencing some really exciting well known attractions in the continent such as swimming in the Great Barrier reef, exploring wild animals and climbing the Sydney Harbour bridge, they get the fun perk of technology seeing an interactive view off the page along with what it would look like in person. I found that holding your phone as a landscape view gives the best experience where it's raised off the page.

Overall, I love the concept of the book and look forward to upcoming adventures with these cute travel rangers.

The reading age for this book is 4-9.

You can find out more information about them at: www.teamtravelrangers.com

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Review: Sterling and Nugget the Dragon by Judd B Shaw and Marrieta Gal, Illustrator

Sterling and Nugget the Dragon, the first story in Judd B. Shaw’s Sterling the Knight series of medieval adventures, is the beginning of a wonderful series. With engaging and beautiful illustrations, we follow Sterling on his brave journey with big dreams to become a knight. Beyond the castle in an enchanted forest, there lives a dragon, Nugget, who the village fears. Upon the belief that if he fought the dragon, he arms himself with knowledge and ventures out to conquer Nugget. Upon his encounter with the dragon, nothing is what it seems. He is presented with a decision to leave or help. With that decision, he learns a great lesson how kindness and compassion can be a great reward. 

The theme of medieval adventure was fun and engaging along with the complemented message with the story. This was a great start to what I believe will be a nice series to get into.  I can’t wait to see what’s to come.

The reading age for this book is 3-6. It has 32 pages.

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Review: The Story of Christmas by by Patricia A. Pingry and Illustrated by Alice Buckingham

Beautifully illustrated, The Story of Christmas brings the story of the Nativity to the young reader. Wonderfully written, this board book captures the heart of the celebration and meaning of Christmas.

She does a beautiful job presenting everything on a level that they can understand and enjoy. This is perfect for those who want to introduce the story behind Christmas and have a conversation. I love the illustrations and how they capture and compliment the time of the story being told.

This would be a wonderful book to have for your collection. If you're not familiar with this author, please check out her other board books. She has some wonderful books that I know you will enjoy.

Pages: 22

Reading Level: 1-4

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