Blucy and Mary Had A Sleepy Sheep book reviews and Giveaway!

I got the wonderful opportunity to review two books written by Julia Dweck. My daughter and I emailed back and forth with Julia during the last few days talking about the books she sent us to read. We think she is a very sweet person and really enjoyed the chance to talk with her a bit. 

Here is a quick bio on Julia:

Julia's background in elementary education affords her the opportunity to be in touch with what children want to read and what makes them giggle. She's collaborated with leading artists in the world of children's literature to produce over 20 Amazon eBooks. Her titles have garnered placement on Amazon's bestsellers in children's color picture books multiple times. PIE-RITS: A PIRATE ADVENTURE was selected by Amazon Editors for the prestigious "Kindle Daily Deal." Many of Julia's titles have earned placement on Amazon's top ranked lists based on customer review. In her spare time, Julia is a designer of educational adjuncts for children's literature, and has worked with such notable publishing houses as Penguin Young Readers. She presented at the 2011 National Center for Family Literacy for her creative use of technology in the classroom. 


Now for the reviews :)

 Blucy: The Blue Cat was the first book by author Julia Dweck that my daughter and I had ever read together. What a wonderfully delightful book. I found this book to be quite entertaining. I, for one, really enjoy rhymes. I love the way your mind automatically starts reading in that rhythm and you don't even know it at first. Hearing my daughter read it out loud was a treat for me. She does the cute sing song thing when she reads anything that rhymes. I couldn't help but smile when she first opened up the book on the Kindle app on my phone and said "Mom, it rhymes!" I believe she enjoys rhymes as much as I do.

Anyway enough about us, here is a little something about the book. Blucy, as you can tell from the title, is not a typical cat. I doubt I'm giving anything away by saying that Blucy is a blue cat. Her color changes depending on her mood. Have you ever seen a blue cat? Me either! I would love to have seen this one though. Oh, it is so hard not to just tell you the whole story. I really enjoyed it, as did my daughter. We read it twice, once each out loud. She still loves to have me read to her even though she will be ten next month.  Both times we read it we smiled over Blucy's antics in the book. She's like any cat in the way she treats her owner. Poor Mandy, Blucy's owner, is beside herself a few times in this book because of the blue cat's antics. You never know where she's going to turn up or what she's going to get into.

In my opinion, anyone can enjoy this children's book. Toddlers and very young children will get a kick out of the lovely illustrations and the rhyming story. Children old enough to read it will enjoy it's fun cadence and the antics of the cat. Parents will enjoy reading this and sharing it with their children. Really, anyone that enjoys a cute story will enjoy this one.

Now for the second book I received to review. It is Mary had A Sleepy Sheep and I think this is one of the funnest children's books I have had the pleasure to read in quite some time. Maybe it was partly the fact that my daughter and I had such fun reading it together. I don't know that 'reading' is the best word for what we did. We really kind of sang it. We couldn't help ourselves. I dare any one of you to read this book and not get a tune stuck in your head. My daughter said "I just can't get it out of my head. I have to sing it, Mommy!" when I asked her to stop after the sixth or seventh time she sang it. Not that I really minded, but she needed to sit down and eat dinner. It is hard to eat while singing!

This book, which is a very amusing parody of the famous rhyme, has adorable illustrations, a great tempo, and a fun story line. Poor Mary just can't keep her pal Sheppard Sheep awake, no matter what she tries. If I had to pick my favorite part of the story I would pick the dancing part. You will understand what I mean when you read it! I don't want to give anything away. Just be assured that there  were many different things Mary tried to keep Sheppard awake and they are all hilarious. We chuckled at her attempts and at Sheppard's complete refusal to stay awake.

As with Blucy, I think that this book will appeal to a lot of people and children. It's definitely going to be one of my favorites for a long time to come. I hope to one day be able to read it with my grandchildren and get just as much enjoyment out of it then as I did today while reading it with my daughter.


Both books have extra fun in them. One has something hidden on each page for you and your child to find. One book has a hidden picture game. One has a spot the difference game. I won't tell you wchich because finding out is part of the fun! I will tell you that Blucy has interesting cat facts. Mary Had a Sleepy Sheep includes the True Story of Mary and Her Lamb! How fun is that!

Now for the best part! The Giveaway!




a Rafflecopter giveaway




Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.