Monday, July 11, 2011

Book Review For Brush Barry Brush by Linda Valderrama





Brush Barry Brush by Linda Valderrama R.D. H
Illustrations by: Sudi Memarzadeh
Publisher: Shirley’s Girl Publications
ISBN Number: 978-0-578-06605-9
Publication Date: 1/2011
Pages: 32


Linda Valderrama R.D.H. has over 25 years experience as a dental hygienist. She has treated patients from ages two to one hundred years old and has successfully developed preventative oral hygiene programs tailored to individual needs. Linda is a strong believer that good oral hygiene leads to overall health and well being and that good daily habits must be acquired early in life. Her book helps parents to work with their children to achieve this goal. She is working towards developing programs for schools, assisted living facilities and healthcare institutions to enable them to offer more effective oral hygiene programs.
Linda is a member of the American Dental Hygienists Association, the California Dental Hygienists Association and the San Diego Dental Hygienists Society. Her book “Brush Barry Brush” is to help parents and young children work together to achieve the simple but very important goal that every time you eat, you should brush your teeth.

Brush Barry Brush


Review:

Brush Barry Brush is a good way to encourage children to consistently brush their teeth.

This story is simply told for those younger children who are 4-8 years of age. From the very beginning a child eats a piece of food and right afterwards, brushes their teeth. Each child eats food that interests them and matches their particualr tastes. Penelope eats pasta, Ben eats broccoli, so on and so forth. Each food starts with the same letter of the child's name. Some foods are healthy, some are not, which could lead to discussion about appropriate snacking and nutrition. After several children were discussed eating a piece of food, they brush their teeth. Each example has the same result--the children brush their teeth each time they eat either a meal or a snack. Then there was a boy named Barry who forgot to brush his teeth after eating blueberries. His teeth had become stained and turned blue. Will Barry brushing his teeth clean those stains away?

The message of this book is clear. Brush your teeth each time you eat! This is a great story that emphasizes to children the importance of brushing their teeth often and daily.

This reviewer can see, however, where some older children might lose interest in the story because of it's simplicity and constant repetitiveness. The illustrations show children eating and brushing their teeth, mostly at home, but in other places as well. The pages contain a constant relaying message, saying the same words repeatedly, which sinks the message in for the younger children, but will not stimulate older children. Older children will want to know more, but no other information is explained in the book, only the message of, "Brush your teeth each time you eat!" Having more thourough information in the back of the book would have tied everything together for the reader giving them more information, satisfying the desires and needs for varying age groups.

The author delivers a fantastic message. Parents need to emphasize to their children the importance of brushing their teeth. A great addition to this story would be for every parent to have their child talk with their dentist or dental hygienist about healthy teeth and having a healthy mouth overall. Parents should have their child brush for at least two minutes, this should have been emphasized, and if they should floss or not. This story is meant to scratch the surface on having good oral hygiene. It does not go in depth, which will make the message easier for younger children to understand. The illustrations are bright and expressive, driving the message of the story home.

The author adds a great chart in the back of the book for children to use when keeping track of how many times they brush their teeth. She provides a month full of stickers to use, which results in a child brushing their teeth about 4-5 times a day.  Overall, this story expresses a great message and is a good beginning to understanding and having good oral hygiene.


Book Giveaway Rules:

One entry for each comment left per author virtual blog tour stop. (Must leave a real comment about the author, tour or book. Saying “this is cool” or “I love your book” will not count.) Make sure to include your safe email so we can contact you if you are the winner. Example: vsgrenier AT storiesforchildrenpublishing DOT.com

Ask a question – get a bonus entry per author virtual blog tour stop.



Book Giveaway ends July 31, 2011


Please visit the author on her next stop today at


Roth’s Inspiring Books & Products - Interview http://rothsinspiringbooksandproducts.wordpress.com

Tomorrows stop:


July 12th


Maria’s Space – Book Spotlight & Giveaway


11 comments:

  1. Thank you for your review and for hosting me on the tour. Yes, the message is very simple and meant to target the younger children, when they are forming all of their habits.

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  2. You are welcome. I wish you much success on your book tour and your upcoming endeavors.
    Renee

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  3. Thanks for doing a great review for Linda.

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  4. Ann, appreciate you stopping by to take a look!

    Renee, thanks again for the chance to introduce my book in the company of such a group of talented authors.
    The sequel will follow the same group of kids and emphasize flossing.

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  5. Teaching children at such a young age to brush their teeth properly is so very important. Reading the 2nd book in this series about flossing will help children with further understanding its importance. I look forward to seeing its release.
    Renee

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  6. Informative review, Renee. It's a great idea to teach young children about oral hygiene - and repetitiveness works with that age group.

    Best wishes for a successful tour.

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  7. Absolutely! This story is really geared for younger children who are beginning to learn about dental care in that preschool area. The simpler the text the better for them. The repetitiveness helps sink the message in. My oldest is 8 so when he read it he wanted more information to educate him. He was looking for it because he loves educational books and wanted more of an indepth story. My youngest laughed at the brightly colored illustrations and got the message. Every child is different. Thanks for stopping by Karen.

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  8. Hi! I am a new follower from Mon Hop! Please stop by http://aboutamom.com

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  9. Karen, thank you for posting a comment.

    Renee, You are so right ! Each child is different and different things appeal and stimulate each child. The eight year old might be interested in a little visual experiment to show how plaque coats a tooth. You can take a hard boiled egg and immerse it in a cola. Leave it for 48 hours and watch the egg turn a brownish yellow color. The "yucky" color comes off with a toothbrush and toothpaste. This would show one of the reasons for brushing teeth.
    Although the book is geared for younger children , your eight year old might read it to the youngest and help with a project making place mats or charts showing funny and colorful pictures of themselves eating something and then brushing their teeth.
    Thanks to everyone for your comments.

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  10. What great suggestions. I'm going to try it. I think that for your next book adding suggestions like these in the back would be a great addition. They would be fun to do and would give kids a hands on visual experience. Thank you so much and good luck on the rest of your tour.
    Renee

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