This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Charles Ashbacher for Readers' Favorite
Every person at some point wants to be someone or something else and that desire starts at a very early age. Wanting to be bigger, stronger, smarter, braver or faster afoot are the motivations behind a great deal of human behavior. Author Valerie Harmon expresses that desire in the form of a small animal that wants to be a bigger, stronger animal. In this case, a fearful tiny chipmunk wants to be a powerful, fearless bear in The Chipmunk Who Wanted To Be A Bear. The chipmunk lives high in a tree and experiences fear at the very thought of leaving the safety of its nest. One day when a mighty bear walks underneath the tree, the chipmunk drops an acorn on its head in order to get its attention. This begins a dialog between the chipmunk and the bear where the bear advises the chipmunk on what it is like to be a bear. After many failed trials and a lot of wishing, the chipmunk is magically transformed into Chizzly, a bear-sized chipmunk that can now roar at the world and has no reason to be afraid. Chizzly can also be a friend of equal status with the bear.
The illustrations are drawn using a subdued color scheme, nothing is very bright, so the images will not overwhelm the young eye. The level of the text is roughly that of a second grader. This is an expression of the classic story of transformation, where a creature unhappy with their current situation is magically transformed into the animal of their dreams. It will stimulate the imagination of a child to develop their own dreams, goals and aspirations. This is a positive thing, so I recommend this book to parents.
