Review: Daphne’s Diary of Daily Disasters:Guest Post by Mariana Ashley

Remember when you were in fourth grade, and the world seemed a big, sometimes terrifying place, filled every day with events so dramatic and life-altering? Children’s book author Marissa Moss captures this time in a child’s life perfectly with artistic creativity and style. In the 90s, Moss brought older child readers the adventures of Amelia in Amelia’s Notebook. Now, Moss is back with this delightful series Daphne’s Diary of Daily Disasters, designed for the reader who is just getting used to reading on her own. 

What makes Daphne’s Diary so delightful is two-fold—both the story and the presentation of the story are engaging. The book itself is shaped like a child’s composition book, and it unfolds as would any child’s diary, filled with sketches, speech bubbles, scribbles and more. 

The series centers on the daily mishaps of Daphne, a well-meaning girl who finds that her constant faux pas as an entering fourth grader metastasize into “total disasters.” The first book of the series, “The Name Game”, recounts Daphne’s first day of school. Like many young children, Daphne finds that she dislikes her name, but has more or less come to terms with it. When the teacher calls out Daphne’s name for roll call and then cannot seem to remember it afterwards, always mangling it into something else like Daffy, other children begin to tease Daphne. The rest of the story describes Daphne’s experiences trying to remedy the situation with some advice from Dad, which causes yet another disaster.

In the second book of the series, “The Vampire Dare,” Daphne ponders the popularity of the vampire. At school, Daphne’s teacher announces a costume contest, which inspires Daphne to create the perfect Vampire costume. The rest of the book recounts the various challenges she must face as she navigates, yet again, a series of disasters.

What young readers (Amazon.com lists the book as being appropriate for children aged 4 to 8) will find most appealing about Daphne’s Diary of Daily Disasters is that it very accurately chronicles the trials and tribulations of being a small child in a big world. Daphne isn’t the perfect protagonist, and this character complexity plays well with children who often feel as though they are constantly “messing up.” In the final analysis the Daphne series is something that most children can relate to closely, and this ability to relate will make young readers especially enthusiastic about reading. Don’t miss this entertaining series that will surely become more engaging with each new book.

For more information, check out this recent New York Times review.

By-line:

Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031 @gmail.com.

Thank you Mariana for another excellent guest post.

Boots by Lisa Roman

This book is the story of a little girl who has nothing and who only thinks of others.

I don’t know that I have ever used the word “dear” in a review before but this story is dear. Melisa is adorable and you can’t help but feel for her. She provides a moral lesson that is important for kids to learn. Perhaps more importantly the adults reading it should think about the message. The illustrations will be very appealing to the little ones. It may say something about me, but I thought the illustrations were dear as well.

This book gave me a warm feeling, the style, the illustrations and the message.

I highly recommend it, I will be reading it to my 5 and 3 year old grandchildren.

Body of work of Lisa Roman

Saving Christmas by Charles Noland

This is a Drew and Ellie story. There are three books that precede this book but that did not negatively impact the story. Drew and Ellie are brother and sister. They demonstrate creativity, compassion and selfness is this delightful tale of a Christmas miracle.

I really enjoyed this little book. Drew and Ellie are portrayed quite well as normal children. They display laudable concern for others in their reaction to newly adopted Maya. The story demonstrated normal age appropriate excitement over Christmas with a caring Mother helping the kids to see the true meaning of the holiday. When disaster strikes Drew and Ellie respond with caring, concern and creativity to truly make the first Christmas of Maya memorable. An added bonus is Ellie conquering a long held fear.

I like stories that demonstrate positive moral values without preaching or heavy handed moralizing. Noland portrayed some beautiful behavior in a sensitive yet entertaining manner.

I highly recommend the book. I plan on reading it to my grandchildren.

Body of work of Charles Noland

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Jacob's Monkey- The Trouble with Lying by Kristi Sayles

Jacob tells his class he has a pet monkey. Jacob is fibbing and this story details the consequence of his lying and clearly demonstrates why it is wrong to lie.

I enjoyed the use of photos of real children for the illustrations in the story. I think it will enable the reader to better identify with Jacob and his dilemma.
Jacob discovers that one lie tends to lead to another and suddenly you are in a bit of a pickle. Jacob discovers that honesty is the best policy and reconciles with all those to whom he lied. It is a delightful story of right and wrong that clearly demonstrates the need for honesty.

I recommend the book.

Body of work of Kristi Sayles

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A Surprise for Grandmother Rabbit by Barbara J. Smith

Skipper is a bunny with a fondness for cherry pie. He must see a cherry pie get safely to his grandmother’s house. His experiences along the way comprise the story.

I read this story to my 5 and 3 year old grandchildren. They enjoyed the colorful illustrations. They were concerned about Skipper successfully getting the cherry pie to his grandmother. They were not convinced that he was going to get the job done. Smith successfully captured their attention and their concern regarding Skipper’s task. Skipper exhibited sharing and responsibility, always good lessons for this age child. The relationship Skipper has with his grandmother and his mother is well illustrated. This is a cute book and when I asked the 5 year old how she liked it she said, “I liked it, Skipper was cool.” I found the illustrations adorable; the three year old liked the bunny.

I recommend the book.

Body of work of Barbara J. Smith

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