Review: Just Line Around

Book Review
Avatar of Fran LewisBy Fran Lewis
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The Wonders of A Line Named Stew – Kinsy McVay

Did you ever consider how it feels to be a line? Did you ever think about the life or plight of a line? There are long lines, short lines, medium lines, curved, lines and so many things that you can do with a pencil, pen or even a crayon to make a line. Meet Stew: He is a very special line. He’s going to tell you about himself and the amazing experience he had when all of a sudden he realized that there is a whole other world out there for him.

Being a horizontal line, lying straight on his back he really never gets to see the world from many different perspectives. Stew never realized that lines have many different opportunities to and limitless possibilities when trying to become unique, different and explore new avenues to make their lives more exciting and interesting. Who would think that a mere hiccup would be the start of something creative, innovative and meaningful and change the course of the life or direction of this wonderful horizontal line.

A line can be as long or as short as you want it to be. After all you are the one creating it. Stew has no end points. He can do more than just lie there in a horizontal position. So, how does his life change as a result of a simple hiccup? Wait and see! Well! For one thing he is no longer completely straight. Part of him looks like a small hill turned upside down and right side up. He thought this was great. So, he tried hiccupping even more and now he looks that a whole bunch of waves or ripples in the ocean. How cool is that!

But, Stew was not satisfied with just being flat or wave. Like all kids that learn a new game or play with a new toy, he tried doing other things. First, he skipped and turned himself into zigzag lines or a bunch of large and small tents. Happy with his progress and creativity he jumped up and down with joy and would you believe this horizontal line is now a vertical line standing straight and tall. But, author Kinsy Mcvay decided that kids need to know that Stew’s imagination as well as there is limitless. Imagine the endless possibilities of a simple line.

You can make swirls, mountains, loops, zigzags, thick and thin lines and so much more. Using black marker drawings he created these thick and thin lines on page 30 and then turned our Stew into a tree, a balloon and the rest you will have to read for yourself because I am so excited about all of the things that Stew turned into I do not want to spoil it for the reader who needs to learn about the other fun things Stew becomes.

Will Stew keep on hopping, skipping, running and hiccupping in order to try new things, become different things and explore the world more on his own? Will he decide to go back to being just a horizontal line or is that no longer enough for him? I cannot reveal that because I will never tell because there is no end to any line and I have not come to the end of Stew’s line because he has so much more to go and many more shapes, forms and sizes to explore.

What kind of line am I? I am definitely not a straight line. I am line filled with waves, curves, loops, zigs and zags changing as my mood changes. Sometimes I stand up straight and when I am tired I am lie down flat and take a break and rest.

This is a great book to teach children the properties of a line and how to use this simple form to create so many different things. The vocabulary is simple and the idea so creative that kids can write their own stories and adventures for Stew. They can even create their own straight line, name it and write their own version of this create book: Just Line Around. Doodling is fun. Scribbling can be creative. Just think about the fact that without lines we would not have letters, numbers and words. Without this Kinsy Mcvay we would not have this innovative, brilliantly written book.

Fran Lewis: reviewer

I never give stars to books except on Amazon: this book gets Five Horizontal Lines named Stew to hopefully enjoy some more adventures.

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Avatar of Fran Lewis
Fran Lewis

Born in the South Bronx, I grew up with people from many ethnic backgrounds. I learned to play and work with children in my school that came from other countries and different places.
I was always over weight as a child and got picked on a lot by the other children in my class and even my teachers. I found it hard to do many of the sporting activities that my sister and cousins could do. I learned at an early age that kids can be mean and I promised myself that I would never retaliate or do mean things to other kids in return.

When I decided to write my short stories I realized that I had a lot to say about my youth and in both of my books I tell about a ten year old girl named Bertha who learns to deal with real life issues kids face today at home and in school.

As an educator I the New York City Public Schools for over 36 years, I realized just how unique and precious our children are. I was the reading and writing staff developer in my school and the dean. I loved the children and had the respect of my fellow teachers and parents. Teaching children to read was really very rewarding and introducing them to writing and creating their own stories was exciting for the students. I love reading different kinds of books in many different genres. I have started reviewing books of new authors and those that are more established. I love giving them great reviews and saying wonderful things about their writing. I have three Masters Degrees and PD in Supervision and Administration. Currently I am a member of Who’s Who is America’s Teachers and Who’s Who of America’s Executives from Cambridge. In addition, she is the author of three children’s books and a fourth that has just been published on Alzheimer's Disease in order to honor her mom and help create more awareness for a Cure. The title of my new Alzheimer’s book is Memories are Precious: Alzheimer’s Journey; Ruth’s story. My second Alzheimer’s Book is called Sharp As A Tack or Scrambled Eggs Which Describes Your Brain. This book should be out in June 2010. I was the musical director for shows in her school and ran the School’s newspaper. I write reviews for authors upon request and for several other sites. You can read some of my reviews on Ezine.com and on ijustfinished.com under the name Gabina.

Other accomplishments:
Book reviewer
Radio show talk host: book discussion with Fran Lewis and authors all over the US and the world- how cool is that I get authors that even request a review.
Would love to become an interviewer.
Caregiver and expert on Medicaid and medicare Author of five books and writing number six
The sixth book is based on a true story but will be written as a fictional memoir.
Worked in the same school for 36 years as the reading and writing staff developer I was the dean of discipline and assisted the Principal and AP when needed I was the test coordinator for the school and instructed teachers in testing procedures –administrated the tests and oversaw the reading, math and other tests to make sure that everything ran smoothly.

I am an expert in the ELA or any test prep for reading and writing
I can take an author’s book and even if it is not five stars write a five star review for them by looking for the soul of the book and for something positive. I am a member of Who’s Who of America’s executives, teachers and professionals and belong the Cambridge’s Connect and Pen with Sword
I would like to take my three children’s book plus the fourth one and put them together in one book. I played the piano as a kid and the violin.
I was in the Bronx Borough Orchestra. I played the piano in Carnegie Hall –that was scary. I do consulting for some of the teachers in my school when they need help with lesson plans. I love writing for Robins Falls Magazine.

I love writing reviews in my own style. I even find time to help my nieces and nephews with their homework over the phone.
Email: riffyone@optonline.net

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