Archives for September 2016

This is a really delightful story for young children! It is a story of friendship and family that children will love! It made me laugh out loud ans smile! The illustrations are just adorable and the rhyming story theme is just simply fun! Children will love the two main characters Purrball and Burrball. I highly recommend for ages 4+.

Here are some Interview Q & A with Anne Zoet

Author of Purrball Meets Burrball in Brazil:

1. What inspired you to write this book?
   The story hit me on a day that I took out for myself away from my high tech work. I was having a massage, which is when I zone-out and don’t think about anything. Oddly, this time, I started creating the Purrball and Burrball storyline the more and more I unwound. I was so relaxed that the whole thing unfolded start to finish.
2. How would you describe the characters of Purrball and Burrball?
   Smart, kind, resourceful and they’re team players. Animals are invariably way more clever than we humans give them credit for. I’ve seen my cats use incredible logic to alter a situation they’re in. I once had a cat run away in a place she didn’t know (the worst weeks of my life searching every day) but she found her way back, though completely unfamiliar with the surroundings. I have another cat, my outdoor cat, who you can see trotting alongside opossums and raccoons in evenings. That scared me so much at first, but eventually we’ve come to see that he has a real relationship with them. He’s so smart and the more I see the wildlife interact with him, the more I see them as clever and accepting and even friendly. The Purrball and Burrball characters came to me before I moved to this area and could witness my cat and his outdoor adventures. But this experience really solidified how Purrball and Burrball should be portrayed as a team. I think that my cat’s experiences with wildlife show that animals are capable of very unexpected bonds with one another.
3. Why did you choose to write about a cat and a sloth?
   I’m crazy about both domestic and wild animals and it is a passion that just gets deeper all the time. I’ve done a lot of research on cats (on nutrition and behavior) as well as love to build cat structures and make toys for them. And, I do not know who could look at a sloth and not smile! They have the sweetest faces and they have so much more to them than the “sloth” slowness we think of. They’re rather industrious buggers and have some funny quirks, like the wildlife that grows in their fur. I firmly believe they should never be pets and should be kept wild. While the story is pure fantasy (as are stories where animals communicate with phones!), I really want to keep one a pet and the other wild and be true to my feelings about that and it would be so lovely to pass all that along to children!
4. How do Purrball and Burrball use technology in the book?
   Purrball, the cat, is unable to send a critical text message, so she asks Burrball, the sloth, if he could tap with his toes to write it. Maybe that’s my wish: I wish my cats would find a way to text me what they’re thinking, lol.
5. Why did you decide to set the story in Brazil?
   It had to be set in the natural habitat of a sloth. I’ve always wanted to see a Brazilian rainforest, so I just created my own. It is roughly in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil and their plane arrives in Sao Paulo. Earthquakes are incredibly rare in that region, so all the more surprising that one happens when they arrive. After setting my sights on this area, I’ve seen dozens of photos of both Sao Paulo and the Atlantic Forest that make me long to go there! It is on my bucket list.

About the Author:

Anne Zoet is a freelance creative director in Silicon Valley. She studied at the University of California, Los Angeles, the Universite de Bordeaux, and the University of California, Santa Cruz, and graduated with a BA in art history. Anne is passionate about animals, art, travel, and the environment. She also enjoys salsa dancing, building cat furniture and housing, cooking, and gardening. Learn more about Anne’s cat expertise at radlilcat.com. Anne lives in Santa Cruz and shares her home with three cats.

You can purchase on Amazon.com.

Self Disclosure: I received a free copy of the book to participate in this book blog Tour. No other compensation was received.

KIDS FIRST! Adult Reviewer Ruth A. comments, “Kids ages 3 to 6 will simply love ABC Monsters: Starring MNOP because the episodes are quick paced, entertaining and fun!  Meanwhile, their parents will embrace these video episodes as a tool for helping children increase their pre-reading skills such as letter recognition, letter formation, visual tracking, and vocabulary recall. Learning the letters of the alphabet and developing pre-reading skills is always easier when it feels more like play rather than effort! Watch along as friendly talking monsters in the shape of letters make learning fun by using repetition, word games, brightly colored animation and age appropriate songs.  Throughout these 4 stories, cartoon characters Alice, Brian and Cherry Berry work together to find missing letter monsters and return them to their home in Alphabet Gardens in the Capital Castle.  This DVD focuses on the letters M, N, O and P. Very enjoyable, but I would have like to seen a more racially diverse group of human characters represented.”  KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Morgan B. comments, “This animated cartoon adventure has the perfect blend of silliness, singing, puzzles, mysteries, exercise and games. I enjoyed the colorful animation and all the different activities that keep your mind entertained. The letters are all adorable.” See her full review below.

ABC Monsters: Starring M N O P
By Morgan B., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 11

What would the world be like without the letters M N O P? Chaos! We use these letters every day and, in this DVD, preschoolers and kindergarteners help solve a mystery to find a different missing letter in every episode. This is a fun filled show containing four episodes, each one about the relationships of letters and how important they all are. Each episode focuses on a specific letter and uses words from that letter throughout the show.

This animated cartoon adventure has the perfect blend of silliness, singing, puzzles, mysteries, exercise and games. I enjoyed the colorful animation and all the different activities that keep your mind entertained. The letters are all adorable. It teaches children how to spell, write, count, directions, phonics and the importance of letting peers know where you are.

My favorite episode to watch is Odd Jobs and Octopuses. I love this episode because it is silly. I like all the fun words that we learn and it is really cute. I love the way that it incorporates many different ways we use the letter O. The letter O is very quirky.  The way he solves the problems with all his odd jobs is original. All the letters get together to help O. This episode also teaches teamwork and that is a very important lesson for children to learn.

The voiceovers are quite believable and easy to listen to.  The voices vary enough to make it easy to see differentiate between the letters. All the character are adorable and make you want to play along with them, sing the catchy songs, exercise, dance and do the fun games.

My favorite character is Alice because she is so adorable, sweet and helpful. I love the ways she supports her friends Brian and Cherry Berry while they try to find the missing letters. Brian is very funny and just too cute for words. I love how he assists Alice and Cherry Berry by telling them what words mean. Cherry Berry is a magical fairy with a jester stick that is friends with Alice and Brian. She is very helpful and is willing to help Alice and Brian find the missing alphabet letters.

The graphics are bright, silly and colorful. The directors, Au Loong and Cheong Siew Wai have created a fast paced, entertaining show that captures your attention from beginning to end. You are sad to see it end.

I recommend this show for ages 3 to 7. Older kids will likely enjoy watching it too as it reminded me of being younger and reinforced that learning can be fun. Cute, singing Monsters always make people smile. This really is one cute, adorable, quirky and fun learning experience all rolled up into one DVD of four episodes. I give this DVD 4 ½ out of 5 ABC Stars.

Credit: KIDS FIRST!