Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is an informative children’s book. The characters deal with sibling rivalry. They must learn to work together during a natural disaster. The illustrations are spectacular. The introduction of a neighbor near the end of the story brings some comedic relief to a serious situation.
Super Enemies by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Well first of all, Carl has way more patience than I do. It wouldn’t have a rebuild with my stuff with my siblings and I, it would have been fists and yelling. However, my own kids are kind of like Mira and Carl. They’ll fight and harass each other but at the end of the day, they really do like the others. This story was well written and sort of accurate…
Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the second book following Caspian and his unbirthday birthday from his grandpa, an invisible magic wand that can speed up and slow down time. I loved following Caspian and his family again as they experience an earthquake.
Super Enemies by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Mira and Carl are enemies but also brother and sister. This short children’s picture book will appeal to adults and children with siblings alike. I did love how the author wrote this book in a way a parent could use it to talk to children about ways they could handle conflict.
Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The illustrations are wonderful in all of the books by Lois Wickstrom. The stories really draw you in and are just long enough to entertain and short enough to capture the attention of a young child.
This story about invisible magic wands and how not to abuse their power is so charming and educational.
Things truly get shaking in this book.
Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Cute story. I really like the art in this book, and I could see this as a kids show, seeing what Caspian and his Grandpa get up to with their magic wands. It is very creative and fun to read. The vibrant colors and the storyline will draw any kids attention.
Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is a very cute story for the kids. I read this to my three year old niece and she loves it. Her favorite part was the pictures . They were so colorful and bright.
Caspian’s cousin Belinda comes for a visit. He shows her his new invisible wand and then she wants one. Caspian’s grandpa gives Belinda her very own wand as well. Then all of a sudden an earthquake happens and the adventure begins. Did their wands start the earthquake or was it something else?
Review @heatherbass
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Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Super cute book as always by this author. I have read quite a few, including others with these characters. My 6yo and I love them. Very imaginative with great characters. A fun read for any child!
Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Let’s talk about earthquakes. That is the storyline for this book. Caspian and cousin Belinda are at the table eating breakfast. When Belinda asks her grandfather for her own magic wand. That’s about where everything changes for Caspian and his family. Will the magic wand help in an earthquake? Does Belinda get a magic wand? Reading this story is the only way to find out. I have grown to love this author. Her children’s stories are not only fun to read but they are interactive as well. The characters are full of adventure and that opens the door for our children to ask questions. What a fun story to read. I hope you enjoy this story as much as my kid did.
Review@cinful
Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A little boy who has an invisible magic wand. He can make thing speed up or slow down. His cousin Belinda also wants one. As soon as she gets hers an earthquake happens and they have to use their wands to speed up time to help them get out. It is a cute kids book, my little one loved it.
Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was so adorable! I read it to my 1 year old daughter. She really enjoyed the colorful pictures!
The storyline was a bit odd. I thought I was reading about 2 invisible magic wands but I think I was really reading about an earthquake? I was confused.
Regardless the book was entertaining.
Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Caspian’s Grandfather gives him a magic wand. His cousin Belinda wants a wand as well. With both Caspian and Belinda playing with their wands, the house starts shaking but is it the wands or is it something else?
Cute story, I thought the problem solving skills on what to do once they figured out were entertaining.
Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
3 Stars
Things Are Shaking is the second book in the Invisible Magic Wand series by Lois Wickstrom. It is a fun children’s story that has a cute storyline, colourful illustrations, fun, adventure, educational elements/lessons, and a touch of magical whimsey in the form of an Invisible Magic Wand.
Caspian’s cousin Belinda has come for a visit and Caspian shows her his invisible magic wand that his grandpa gave him for his birthday. She wants one too, and Grandpa just happens to have one spare. But what happens when an earthquake hits? Follow along on this cute little adventure with Caspian, Belinda, and Grandpa.
With interesting characters, this quirky story was engaging and fun, feeding both the imagination, as well as teaching a few lessons such as problem solving.
Happy reading!
Reviewed by @angelahayes
Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Last year, Caspian received a very unconventional gift on his un-birthday from his grandfather. It was an invisible magic wand. Today, Caspian decides he’s going to use it during breakfast time to change the speed of what’s happening in the world. Caspian’s cousin Belinda becomes very upset and decides she must have an invisible magic wand from grandfather as well. As soon as grandfather hands her a wand, everything starts shaking and the trio is trying to figure out how to stop it using their wands.
This is a super cute book and I love the illustrations. They are very colorful and vibrant. Lois Wickstrom writes engaging stories that often times have a scientific lesson in them. I would recommend this book, as well as others by this author, to have in your personal/school/daycare library. These make great books for learning!
Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is a follow up to Caspian’s story of his Unbirthday Present of a magic wand that can manipulate time. With this installment, Caspian’s cousin Belinda gets her own wand, and there are definitely some unexpected consequences. This was a quick read for my 8 year old, and she read it as a bedtime story, to me in just a few minutes. My kiddo was also able to find some issues in the kids behavior and comment on it, making it a learning experience as well as a bedtime story, which I love. I would definitely recommend this to young readers.
Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a winner in my house. Belinda and Caspian working their wands for the syrup and then the earthquake had my grandson giggling. The author has a way of making learning fun and entertaining. Caspian has become a favorite story at bedtime here. We used this one to talk about speed and movement and what to do in an earthquake. A favorite for sure.
Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
4 Stars
I enjoyed this story as much as my great nieces and great nephew did. The illustrations were captivating and engaging.
We continue with the story of Caspian and his magic wand along with this grandfather, whom gifted this wand to Caspian.
Caspian’s cousin, Belinda, wanted a magic wand of her own just like Caspian has. When Belinda finally gets her own wand, things are a moving and a shaking for sure. Belinda uses her magic wand to help Caspian and Grandfather…but in doing so there is truly a valuable lesson to be learned.
I do not want to give the entire book away, but this a very good story and it tugged at my heart.
Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Caspian is back but not for an Unbirthday. This time he is joined by his cousin and Grandpa as their world is rocked quite literally. Luckily they have their trusty magic wands to help them out of any sticky situation.
The bright and colourful illustrations help bring the story to life which children will delight in. It is appropriately aged for kids between the ages of 4 to 8 years old.
Lois once again brings fun to your doorstep for all to enjoy.
Reviewed by @jennadb
Things are Shaking by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Love is this author! This book is great, love the way it’s well written and great illustrations! Reading these to my 4month old niece to reading them with my 12-year son are both so much fun to see their reactions. I would recommend for preschoolers and care givers. Becoming one of my favorite children’s authors.
.•°*°•. BOOK SPOTLIGHT SHOWCASE .•°*°•.
Click here to view the Book Trailer for Things are Shaking (Invisible Magic Wand Series) by Lois Wickstrom
Lois is a former high school chemistry teacher and former head science teacher at Science in the City Summer Camp in Philadelphia. She has also been an adjunct science teacher at University of South Florida. Since retiring, she continues to take science classes. Her class in Forensic Biology led to Little Red, The Detective, in which Red is studying fingerprint identification, so she can tell that “Grandma” isn’t who she says she is.
Lois has taken so many science classes that she believes science is the solution to almost every problem, including the dilemmas in fairy tales. She has invented what she calls Science Folktales. In each science-based tale, the protagonist achieves a better ending than the original because of learning scientific principles. She has turned some of these tales into plays.
She has also created a series of Mermaid Science stories, which make use of water science.
Lois is married to the love of her life. She has two children, four grandchildren and a dog.
Super Enemies by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This story is about brother and sister rivalry. There is a good flow and the characters are likable. There is a strong moral to the story and the illustrations are wonderful. I would definitely recommend reading this story to children.
Ladybugs for Loretta by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Such a cute book. As a ladybug lover, I appreciate the need to teach littles about them, and how to care for them. The illustrations are great! I have added this to my list of books to gift little friends.
Ladybugs for Loretta by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This story is an informative, yet entertaining story about a girl named Loretta. One day in the winter she finds some ladybugs and decides to bring them home. She becomes obsessed with finding all of the ladybugs. Eventually she has enough to share with neighbors. There were some informative details that I learned from this book. I think some younger children would be entertained by this story, but might struggle to read it independently. Ms.Wickstrom has once again done an excellent job at making science enjoyable to read about!
Super Enemies by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
My 8 year old liked this book. Great story about sibling rivalry and typical sibling competition
Super Enemies by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is super cute. It’s about brother and sister relations and it reminds you at the end of the day you love your siblings no matter what. It’s short and sweet.
Super Enemies by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Carl and Mira are siblings and also enemies. When one wants to go swimming, the other wants to climb trees. When one wants to play Wildcraft, the other wants to play Labyrinth. One wants to be a superhero while the other wants to be a super villain.
They go to the beach and Mira continuously smashes the sandcastles that Carl makes. Each time he tries to improve them so that his sister will not be able to destroy them easily.
By the end, the two siblings agree to come back to the beach the next day.
This was a bit accurate when it comes to siblings. And the artwork is really nice. I feel like it ends abruptly but I think it is because the two finally agree on something.
Super Enemies by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a story detailing your typical brother/sister relationship at an early age. I loved it and I laughed the entire time. This reminded me of myself honestly. As the oldest child I was always the one that sabotaged anything my siblings did. And no matter how mad they were at me at the time we always laughed about it. And when we reminisce on those times now it still brings us immense joy and laughter. This story was no different from the trips to the beach we took. We would all spend our time making the most elaborate sandcastles just for our siblings to do anything they could to tear it down. It made beach days a blast. I love how the author was able to resonate on so many levels with me. I think this story will be an enjoyable book for parents to read to their children. It will not only bring laughs but also give parents a chance to teach their kids that no matter what siblings say, and do we are still family, and it is important to laugh off any anger. Another delightful story from a wonderful author I highly recommend.
Super Enemies by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Carl and Mira are not just brother and sister, but they are also enemies. They squabble over everything, cannot agree on anything, and are constantly bickering. When their dad takes them both to the beach one day, Carl builds a sandcastle that Mira quickly destroys. Carl keeps rebuilding the sandcastle, making it better and stronger, but Mira keeps finding ways to destroy it.
This book was clearly written with the intention of showing that siblings can disagree, bicker, have different likes and dislikes and still love one another. However, the entire book was based around Mira and Carl arguing without there being any resolution and without there being any displays of affection between the two of them. I have absolutely loved other books by this author but found this one missed the mark and needed to have the story built up on a bit more.
As I was reading through, I could not help but wonder why the parents never said or did anything to discipline the children or get them to engage with one another in a more positive manner. While at the beach, Mira just comes across as a huge bully to poor Carl who only wanted to build a sandcastle. Mira did everything she could to destroy all the hard work Carl had put in to building his sandcastles. I felt terrible for poor Carl who had to rebuild time and time again because his sister was so cruel. And why did the dad not step in and stop Mira? He never tried to intervene or stop Mira from being so cruel. The dad never explained that what Mira was doing was bullying and that bullying was wrong.
The premise for the story was a good one because all siblings have arguments and will disagree. In the end the love they share for one another usually will come to the forefront. As an adult reading this I questioned why that aspect was not written into the story. I feel that the author could have added a bit more to the story and built on it just a bit more. It seemed to be missing important things that as an adult I can see and would know are wrong. As a child reading this though, it might come across differently and bullying may be perceived as being okay. Maybe I am being too critical and that certainly is not my intention. As I said earlier, I think this author is amazing and have loved other books she has written.
Super Enemies by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
My sister and I bickered back and forth quite a bit when we were young, so this book brought back those memories. It is a silly book, kind of funny for an adult, and possibly helpful to a child. Possibly. Great illustrations.
Super Enemies by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was soo much fun! Great illustrations, relatable lessons, and all around read. Having 3 girls who fight like everyday is a dual to the death and every moment is a competition it was fun to read it to them. The best way to help kids understand is a story like this. A fun side to sibling rivalry and what it’d really like being siblings.