Official Review: Acrobatic Amy by Paige Turner

[Tomah]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Acrobatic Amy" by Paige Turner.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Paige Turner's Acrobatic Amy is a picture book featuring twenty-six poems about different characters. It starts with Acrobatic Amy and goes on in alphabetical order until Zany Zoe, teaching children new words and important life lessons along the way. The book is aimed at students in the primary grades from Kindergarten to Grade 3.

The author is an experienced educator with a career that spanned thirty-two years as she taught a variety of subjects. Her knowledge and insights definitely show in this book, structured to help children learn the alphabet and vowel and consonant sounds. The combination of rhymes, humor, and alliteration makes for an engaging and fun experience and also provides further learning opportunities: students might be prompted to explore rhythm, patterns, and maybe even create poems themselves.

Teachers and parents have access to several proposed activities in the "Teaching Points" section at the end of the book. There are suggestions for every character and poem except for one (Quiet Quin); I don't know whether or not the omission was intentional. The activities range from developing linguistic skills to building positive character traits and moral foundations. They also include simple questions that get students to explore and share their interests.

Though this isn't necessarily a flaw, I have some reservations regarding the poem about Tattletale Tony. A clear distinction should be made between necessary reporting and idle tattling since many children need to learn the opposite lesson: reporting bullying behavior and problematic situations doesn't make one a "tattletale" and should, in fact, be encouraged. Obviously, it's possible to become overzealous, but the poem doesn't make that distinction. Since the book is designed for guided reading, educators can discuss the subject further and clarify it, but it would be nice if the "Teaching Points" section brought this up.

Acrobatic Amy is an excellent teaching resource that manages to educate and entertain. It's also exceptionally edited, as I found no errors, and the illustrations feature a simple but endearing art style. I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to anyone tutoring young children. As mentioned before, the book is designed for guided reading; children reading on their own might have trouble with words such as "vim" and "xylophone" and might be unable to get the most out of the book.

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Acrobatic Amy
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Valkyrie9]

Wow! This sounds like an invaluable resource for both teachers and parents of young children. I am interested to see what name and adjective the author used for 'X'. Thanks for the fabulous review!

[Koltrast]

I remember I always loved the rhyming books as a child. I don't necessarily agree with you on the presence of difficult words. I was one of those children who longed for the unknown and hard-to-pronounce words, though admittedly that group may be small. Great review!

[Ms_Rita30]

Thanks for this thorough review. I agree with your point that this book would serve as a handy tool for parents and teachers. I also agree that children should be taught the difference between "necessary reporting and idle tattling". Without knowing the difference, children tend to keep harmful incidents to themselves which would eventually be detrimental to their growth. Great job!

[Ngozi Onyibor]

I appreciate your detailed review. I like the idea of using poetry to educate and entertain children. Seeing as the book is for assisted readers, I suppose the flaws you pointed out will make for interesting conversations with kids on the subject. It would be nice to know what they consider idle tattling.

[Vnicoloff]

New to site , looking forward to reviewing. It sure helps to read veterans reviews. Thank you

[Dayodiola]

A detailed review, thanks

[Priyanka2304]

This looks like one of those rhyming books I read when I was a kid. Thanks for the review.

[Tomah]

I remember I always loved the rhyming books as a child. I don't necessarily agree with you on the presence of difficult words. I was one of those children who longed for the unknown and hard-to-pronounce words, though admittedly that group may be small. Great review!

Thanks for this thorough review. I agree with your point that this book would serve as a handy tool for parents and teachers. I also agree that children should be taught the difference between "necessary reporting and idle tattling". Without knowing the difference, children tend to keep harmful incidents to themselves which would eventually be detrimental to their growth. Great job!

I appreciate your detailed review. I like the idea of using poetry to educate and entertain children. Seeing as the book is for assisted readers, I suppose the flaws you pointed out will make for interesting conversations with kids on the subject. It would be nice to know what they consider idle tattling.

New to site , looking forward to reviewing. It sure helps to read veterans reviews. Thank you

A detailed review, thanks

This looks like one of those rhyming books I read when I was a kid. Thanks for the review.

Wow! This sounds like an invaluable resource for both teachers and parents of young children. I am interested to see what name and adjective the author used for 'X'. Thanks for the fabulous review!

Thanks for the comments!

[Rachel_Emmanuel]

It sure sounds like a fun book. Rhyming words has always been my favorite.

[Chinelookeke]

I love to see books that aid children with learning. Nice job. Thanks for the review.

[Tomah]

I love to see books that aid children with learning. Nice job. Thanks for the review.

It sure sounds like a fun book. Rhyming words has always been my favorite.

Thanks for the comments!

[Fernando222]

I’m that this book comes from the stables of an experienced tutor and governess. She sure seems to know her way around kids. Thanks for the review.

[Kanda_theGreat]

Poetry as a pedagogic tool sounds like a brilliant idea.
Nice review!

[Tomah]

Poetry as a pedagogic tool sounds like a brilliant idea.
Nice review!

I’m that this book comes from the stables of an experienced tutor and governess. She sure seems to know her way around kids. Thanks for the review.

Thanks for the comments!