Friday, March 9, 2012

Review: Speak Up - The Morgan Love Series by Stephanie Perry Moore

Let me start by saying that no one has asked me to review this book. I am reviewing it simply because of how my daughters and I have loved reading it together night after night. I was in a department store looking in the book section and came across this book entitled Speak Up. On the cover was a beautiful little girl about my child's age and she appeared to be bi-racial so naturally I was intrigued. I read the back cover and the little girl was writing in her diary (it reminded me of my love for Judy Blume books when I was in elementary school) and talking about some of the tough things that she was going through in second grade and whether or not she should do what her Daddy has always told her to do which was, speak up.

At that point the book was as good as bought because that was a subject that we'd discussed with Madison every since pre-k. Madison was very reserved then and very compassionate and understanding. She's still very compassionate but not so reserved. At any rate, my husband and I found ourselves telling her that she needed to speak up when she found herself in unfavorable circumstances. She had been bossed around by one of the little girls in her class in pre-k. She got better with time definitely but this year her kindergarten teacher made the same comment to us about her being more of an advocate for herself in negative situations.

You can imagine my elation to find a book on that very same subject matter by an author of young adult Christian fiction titles, that's not a picture book but an actual chapter book. This meant that we could read it over a series of weeks and dissect each section and pick it apart bit by bit. You may be wondering if that is even possible with a 6 and 3 year old. It is. We'd read chapter books before like the classic, Black Beauty, and a really cute book she'd brought home from the Library about kids playing on the playground, unfortunately I don't remember its title. So reading chapter books at night before bed have been some of the most enjoyable reading times for us because we get to pick up where we left off and kind of put the whole story together in our minds as we go and the girls really enjoy it as do I.

Now to the point, this book it is great! It is written in an easy to read format and the story flows very smoothly so that the kids can truly see in their minds what is happening in the story and maintain interested from section to section. Stephanie Perry Moore is a really great children's book author for this age group!
Madison Reading While Walking

Not only that, but she sincerely and with detail dives into the topic on an elementary level. The conversations that take place in the book by the main character flow really well and sound age appropriate, as if a second grader is really talking. I'm sure this is not easy when the author passed that stage of life some decades ago! Madison said to me just tonight after I finished the section that we're on, "I'm really interested in this book Mom!" A SIX year old! She even picked it up earlier today to read ahead and I joked with her about it and she said "I just want to know what happens!"  I even caught her reading while walking, it was funny and cute.
Reading Ahead


If you are looking for a book to help you talk entertainingly on the matter of your child speaking up for themselves, this is a great one. If you are looking for something that will reiterate what you have already discussed with your child(ren) in this area, this is a great book! If you are just looking for an entertaining read for your story time, this is a really, really great one. If you want to spark a love for reading in your little ones this book may surely help with that. It has both my kids hooked and looking forward to story time more and more every night. This book has everything in it for any family with elementary age children dealing with family changes, making friends, talking issues out with parents, prayer, etc.

I am eager to obtain more Stephanie Perry Moore titles! I hope you check it out if you are in this stage of life with your kids.  

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