Mel’s Thoughts:
The boys and I had the opportunity to review the Little Skiff Books, written by Dany Pierard-Deviche, published by Five Star Publications.  Written in part from the author’s life experiences, as well as from her dog, Skiff’s, real-life experiences, these books are a great addition to any children’s bookshelf.

Skiff is a Shelty dog, and the stories are written from his perspective; in other words, he narrates all of the story, with human conversation thrown in here and there.  The books are fictional, but they have nonfictional tendencies, as the author aims to teach the reader something new, spark interest in something the reader might not have thought of otherwise.  Even as an adult, I found myself learning facts I didn’t know as I read the books.  Not only do the books teach about Skiff, who is a Sheltie, but they make geographical references, and the subject matter has nonfictional lessons for the reader to take away.  At first, I wasn’t so sure about the illustrations; they seemed childish, maybe not as professional, but the more I read, the more the illustrations came to life.  Honestly, the illustrations are very cute and really stand out with the stories.

The first book in the series is Little Skiff’s Moving Adventures.  This book starts out with a very cold setting in Alaska, teaching the reader some of the goings on of a Sheltie dog in the winter wonderland of Alaska.  Skiff soon comes to realize, though, that he is going to have to leave his friends, Kerry and Denali, behind.  He soon grows accustomed to the idea of leaving, though, and a new adventure begins for Skiff and his family in the hot, dry land of Arizona.  When Skiff arrives in Arizona, there are many new things for him to explore, and children learn about different geographical aspects.  It’s a cute story, written from a dog’s perspective, in a child’s language.  I will say that my older son, Jacob, was more interested than my younger, Jaden, even though the illustrations of the “Ruff, ruff” (translation: dog) fascinated Jaden.

The second book in the series, Little Skiff Copes with Valley Fever, was set again in Arizona.  I found myself laughing through the beginning of this story, as Skiff’s adventurous, boisterous spirit reminded me of the dog we used to have.  It was just fun to read…there’s no other way of putting it, especially as a dog lover.  Again, the reader will learn about Arizona more, in that Skiff experiences his first dust storm.  Soon after, Skiff comes down with Valley Fever and becomes very sick.  This was something I had never heard of before.  Apparently, it’s a fungus that’s spores can be scrounged up in dust storms, or even from people or animals digging in the dirt in that part of the country.  The author even provides the real Skiff’s x-rays in the back of the book, so that the reader can explore a little more.  Overall, this was my favorite story out of the two.

You can purchase the Little Skiff Books for $15.95 apiece on Little Skiff Books.  Right now, Five Star is offering a 24% discount, as well.  I definitely recommend these stories, especially for homeschooling families, as they’d make a great addition to any science/geography lesson or even just as good reading material.

Melissa J’s Thoughts

Little Skiff’s Moving Adventures

I ever expected to learn a new vocabulary word form a children’s book, but I did. Archipelago.

Archipelago: A cluster of islands

While Little Skiff’s Moving Adventures is not a book that grabs me either visually or reading wise, I consider it a good investment because:

1. I think kids will be very attracted to a book that is written from a dog’s perspective

and

2. It is education while in story form. Little Skiff is a likeable Sheltie, that is going to cause most kids to fall in love–and I would venture to guess–want a dog. In Little Skiff’s Moving Adventures he tells of moving from Alaska to Arizona with a dog’s perspective that children will giggle over and enter into with their bright imaginations.

Little Skiff Copes with Valley Fever

In Little Skiff Copes with Valley Fever, I once again learned something. I had absolutely no idea that something like Valley Fever even existed, much less could affect humans and animals. I not only found this second book more enjoyable to read, I found it to be a science/medical lesson that could be implemented into any homeschool curriculum, again, via story form. As a teach at home mom, I thoroughly appreciate educational children stories and am glad to have added this book to my library for my daughter.

Although the Little Skiff books are not as visually attractive as other books I have seen, and my daughter is a bit too young for them, I would tell parents that overall, they are worth the investment because of the lessons they teach in an imaginative and fun way.

(Disclosure: We were provided copies of these books, free of charge, by Five Star Publications, for the purposes of this review.)