Moonbeam Dreams by Gina Browning

Product Description

Moonbeam Dreams is an intricately rhyming bed-time story written and illustrated by Gina C. Browning. It takes the reader and listeners on a magical, Dr. Seuss-like romp to the Land of Beddie-byes, where they meet all sorts of wonderful and interesting creatures. There are butterflies with gems dripping from their wings, dragons riding in red wagons, Lycra-wearing newts skating on moonbeams, unicorns, a frog climbing a kite-string, extra large snails and cats with fish-tails, and many, many more fun creatures to meet. It’s a positive, up-lifting and fun story that encourages children that almost anything is possible if you can dream it and believe in it strongly enough. It also encourages children to not be afraid of the dark, and that they have the ability to take control of their dreams. It also encourages children to welcome the weird and wonderful things that they might see in their dreams.

It is a story with a vocabulary that a child can learn from and grow into. It is also entertaining and interesting for adults to read as well.

It contains some interesting rhyming mechanics, alliteration and 22 bright and colorful, entertaining illustrations.

About Gina Browning

Writer and illustrator, Gina C. Browning, says some of the verses in her poetry book first came to her in her dreams as she was recovering from surgery years ago.

The poems and illustrations in Moonbeam Dreams gradually evolved into “a keenly rhymed, fantastical romp through a fantasy land, with weird and wonderful characters for readers of any age to enjoy.” Her poetry truly is for the young at heart.

Browning thinks her dreams are fun and adventurous, as she always looks for the positive side to everything. Her book encourages children not to be afraid of the dark, and to believe in themselves and their abilities so that almost anything is possible. Browning says dreams can come true “either in daylight or night” if you believe in them strongly enough.

You can visit Gina online @ http://www.eloquentbooks.com/MoonbeamDreams.html

MY REVIEW

I was excited to review Moonbeams Dreams when I took it out of the package the day it arrived in the mail. I immediately grabbed the first child that ran past me in the hall, it happened to be my 7-yr-old, Ri.

She read it beginning to end by herself and then we cuddled on the couch with Moonbeam Dreams, I read and my daughter pointed to all the bright and wonderful pictures. Lizards wearing roller blades, unicorns, a beautiful butterfly with jewels all over it.

The art work is amazing. Bright, fun and colorful.

The words are so positive and remind the child (and the parent!) to keep dreaming, anything is possible when you dream. We did have a hard time getting through some pages because of the rhyming and a few stanzas being a little off beat, but for the most part we soared through the book and then re-read it just for the fun of it!

Great book. Positive message, just watch out for a few tricky lines and you'll be just fine!

(Hey, that rhymed! I'm a poet and I didn't even know it! WOW! I'm on a roll, but now I gotta go!)

Review by Ri (My seven year daughter)

I asked her questions for this review, here are here responses.

If you had borrowed this book from the library, would you have wanted to go to the book store and buy it?

RI: Yeah, probably.

When you read it by yourself, did you understand it? Was it hard or easy to read by yourself?

RI: No, I didn't understand it. Hard to read.

When Mom read it to you, did you understand it?

RI: Yes. When you told me about it and we talked about it.

What was your favorite part?

RI: The butterfly picture. It was so pretty.

So, from Ri's answers and having read Moonbeam Dreams alone and to her, I would say that for the younger crowd (under 10) might be better to read to them, but the 10+ should be able to read and understand it on their own.

*This book was provided by the author free of charge in exchange for my honest review. This did not sway my review and opinion of this book in anyway.