Saturday, May 10, 2014

The Adventures of the Salamander Book Review and Giveaway

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for details.


Michael Schmidt is an award winning artist and illustrator. In 2013 he published his first children's book series. But, the idea for these books started many, many years before. When Michael was just 5 years old, he wrote and illustrated the first version of The Adventures of the Salamander with the help of his mom. The first version only filled one sheet of paper, NOT 3 books! As Michael grew he kept imagining details to his story. Then as an adult he found his story in his Mother's attic and decided it was time to turn it into an epic tale.

A moms review:
There are 3 books in the unique The Adventures of the Salamander series which contain a total of 10 volumes. They took Michael about 2 years to write and illustrate. He added new details, but maintained most of the original content and structure. 

So what makes these books so unique? Well they are unlike any other children's book I have come across because Michael uses a 4 tiered approach.

4 tiered approach:

1) Illustrations - younger children will appreciate the fun, colorful illustrations on each page.
2) Easy to Read Captions - intermediate readers will enjoy the condensed version of the story by reading the books captions located under each illustration.
3) Main Text - advanced readers will enjoy the full, complete story with all the details. Each volume contains about 6-8 chapters.
4) Footnotes, Maps and Appendices - if your child likes to research and wants to learn more about the characters and settings they can explore these sections of the book. 

Both of my children ages 6 and 8 loved the book. I would read a little bit to them each night at bedtime though they would always beg for me to read more. I opted for the easy read caption version the first time through, but after we finished the book the children wanted me to read the main text version.

The stories are lots of fun and are written with children in mind...probably because they were originally written by a 5 year old! The books are not overly complicated so they are perfect for children of all ages. They are very entertaining, educational and teach important lessons too!

The books are about Slippy the Salamander and his many adventures as he tries to rescue his village from the evil lizards. Slippy knows he must do something to help his fellow salamanders who are forced to bake for the lizards all day long. But first he must escape the lizard jail and then find help. Along the way Slippy meets some funny characters and amazing friends like Squeeks, Sheldon, Captain Bigsby and more. These books will make you laugh and cry. 

The Adventures of the Salamander are fabulous and will grow with your growing reader. My 8 year old can easily read the captioned version by herself now and hopefully will be reading the main text version very soon. These fabulous books even inspired my children to start creating their own tales. I cannot wait to see what other fabulous books Michael comes up with in the future. 

Commercial:

Freebies:
Check out The Adventures of the Salamander game.

Links to follow:
-The Adventures of the Salamander Website
-The Adventures of the Salamander Facebook page

Gwyns review (8 yrs old):
I really liked the books. I always begged mommy to read more every night because they are so good. Slippy is a funny character. I like that the book has lots of animal characters.

Where to buy:

The Adventures of the Salamander paperback set can be purchased on Amazon for $39.99. The Kindle eBooks are $2.99 each.

Now time for the giveaway: 
Michael has graciously offered to giveaway a set of The Adventures of the Salamander series to one lucky reader. Only the first entry is mandatory. Other entries are optional and give you extra chances. This giveaway is not affiliated with Facebook in any way. The winner will be posted on the blog and will be emailed. Winner must reply within 48 hrs with their contact information or another winner will be chosen. Prize will be mailed via the author.

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2 comments:

Shecki Grtlyblesd said...

Right now we're reading Adventures of Gannon and Wyatt - Great Bear Rainforest.

Simone said...

My eight year old is living The Magician's Nephew right now.

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