Eutopia: The Discovery by Kathy Motlagh

Genre: Children, Fantasy, Fiction

Synopsis: A mythical world is ruined and all the virtue guardians fall asleep from a poison that is released. The creatures and plants are killed and the world is destroyed. The task is then given to three Earth children to awaken all the virtue guardians and find the virtue stones by living the virtues and using the gifts given to them by Hermes, the leader of the guardians.

My Thoughts: This was an interesting story. The writing isn't my favorite -- I have a lot of questions after reading it that were not answered. The book also ends with the foreboding words of "To Be Continued". It has a good message though and one that should be taught to children today.

 Author: (info from insert author sent) Kathy Motlagh is the writer and creative force behind the Eutopia book series and products, and managing director of Think Virtues. Motlagh, a graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago, has taught art at the Montessori School of North Hoffman for the past twelve years and been an active board member of the school since its inception twenty years ago. Motlagh's business experience includes eighteen years in the mortgage banking industry, where she has been featured in business publications as one of the top female financiers in the country. Motlagh resides in Chicago and involves her family, including her sic and seven year old sons, in community service and fund raising activities for many non-profit organizations and causes. Check out her facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/kathymotlagh

Virtues: What virtues are included in this book?  Hope, peace, enthusiasm, cleanliness, honesty, forgiveness, love, grace, courtesy, helpfulness, empathy, and humility.

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Kids Korner: A Dog's Life: Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (January 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439717000
• ISBN-13: 978-0439717007

Genre: Children, Realistic Fiction

Synopsis: This story is written from the view point of the dog, years later looking back on her life. The reader starts following her as a puppy and it's all given from the view point of the dog and she loses family members, tackles starvation, packs of vicious dogs, cars, and the ultimate enemy --- human beings.

Our thoughts: My children decided this was a riveting journey as they followed the life of this poor dog. Parts of it made the kids very sad and other parts made them to be very happy. They loved this book and moaned any time we had to stop and do other things in our life. Her name changes several times throughout her life depending on who she lives with. She started off as Squirrel though. It's the name her mother gave her. It is an emotional journey for children though... be warned.

Author:  (info from Goodreads) Ann Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.

Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.

Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.

Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.

After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children. 


For more info on Ann Martin visit her websites http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmmartin and http://www.scholastic.com/annmartin/


Rating: According to my 6 and 4 year old -- ***** Five Stars

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 A Dog's Life: Autobiography of a Stray

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