Thursday, April 2, 2015

Book Review: Mom Made Us Write This in the Summer by Ali Maier


Mom Made Us Write This in the Summer, by Ali Maier
2013, 208p, Elementary Fiction
My Rating=4 Stars
Source: Received a copy for an honest review



A sister and brother, forced to write in the summer, and share ONE journal? Ugh.

This is exactly what happens to 10-year-old twins Maggie and Max Pruitt. When Mom comes up with a plan for them to keep a summer journal, Maggie and Max can’t believe it. Worse yet, they have to share!

Through their writing, Maggie and Max find out they have very different (and hilarious) views about growing up, family and life - a conclusion they only discovered because, as Max and Maggie say, “Mom Made Us Write This.”

Mom Made Us Write This In The Summer is a journal-style book that inspires kids to read and write, and captures the essence of sibling relationships. Anyone with a brother or sister will identify with the fun and struggles that Max and Maggie experience this summer! From a trip to the zoo to the annual check-up at the docs – read all about the life adventures of Maggie & Max.

Mom Made Us Write This In The Summer is recommended for 2nd – 6th grade students.

Parents, kids, and teachers will love this book. Parents will welcome the emphasis on strong family relationships. Teachers will appreciate the classroom extension opportunities. Kids will enjoy the laughs, lessons and the “me too!” connection.

“Positive, creative and fun for classrooms and families!”
-Mrs. Jane Jagielo, 4th Grade Teacher

Maggie and Max are twins and their mother has given them a journal to write in over the summer. She gives them some basic rules and some ideas about what to write on. They each get to choose topics and both of them have to write something about each one. They can comment on the other person's entries, but must be polite.

There are twelve different topics and it was fun to read what they wrote. My daughter read this the first day it came and loved it! It took me a while to get to it and when I did, we read it together, with her reading Maggie's entries and comments while I read Max's entries and comments.

This book was entertaining from beginning to end. Some of their topics were the zoo, icky babies, baseball, Ice Cream Day (my daughter seriously loved this idea!), hotels and back to school. They teased each other but also showed that they cared about each other. The author does offer a shared journal which I'm planning to get--my daughter will love it and my son will hate it, haha. This is such a creative book which can help children gain the desire to keep a journal of their own. If you're looking something for your kids to do this summer, this is a fantastic idea!




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About the Author:

Ali Maier was born in Johnstown, PA. In high school she spent a lot of time with children, working as a summer camp counselor for many years, volunteering to teach Sunday school at church, working in the local day-care center, and working as a kindergarten aide.

She went to John Carroll University and earned a BA in Elementary Education. Throughout college, Ali worked at a local toy store then worked in product development at a company making art and craft kits for kids.

Eventually Ali left her job to work full time with her husband, Mark, at their marketing company. When her children were born, she worked from home.

Ali lives in a Cleveland suburb with her husband and two children. She loves to read, write and spend time with her family.

Ali chose to write the Mom Made Us Write This series to encourage young readers to do something she loves – to read! Ali wanted to write a book series that would allow readers to laugh and encourage them to write and share their own stories.


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