A Bully's Doom, the Whisperer's Tale Robert Hansen Baker Trittin P.O. Box 277, Winona Lake, IN  46590 ISBN 0978731611/ $10.95  www.bakertrittinpress.com Reviewed by Dylan James (age 11) for Reader Views (6/08) The bullies’ better watch out now! A substitute teacher enters the environment of the bully, Griffith, and puts him in his place. With magical powers in his storytelling, the substitute teacher makes the bully realize through story that he is not loved or respected; he’s hated! Traveling through the substitute teacher’s story, Griffith learns through a great adventure how he should change his ways and be someone who is really respected. With fire-breathing dragons and wise leaders, will the bully be convinced to stop the evil of his ways or will the dragon beat him viciously until he stops? This was an interesting book, at the least. Although many kids like action and stunts, this was the best adventure story I have read in a long time. Without much action, this type of book needs to have a great adventure. It is easy to guess what will happen at the end, but even when you know that, you just can’t put the book down. This book teaches how a bully is not loved, but hated, how a bully is not a good leader, but a dictator. This book makes you look at everything you’ve done in the past and realize that some things you’ve done weren’t nice or even joking; they were just plain mean. There is no material in this book to make it anything more than 7+. I think boys and girls will like this book equally, but because of the easy-to-see ending, the younger the readers are, the more they will like it. The writing was craftily done to see the story through the bully’s perspective. In this way, readers will be able to see how wrong the bully is, and how devastated he is when he realizes this. My compliments to the writer; “A Bully’s Doom: The Whisperer’s Tale” was a great book.

barthpenn@heaven.org Keven Scott Collier Baker Trittin Press, P.O. Box 277, Winona Lake, IN  46590 ISBN 0-9753880-2-4  / $10.95 www.bakertrittinpress.com Reviewed by Brianne Plach (age 10) for Reader Views   Do you like to get email? If you do and find it interesting to read emails, you will like Jordon Mink. He got an email from heaven. He must leave this earth immediately. The emails come from Barth Penn who lives in heaven. Barth is assisted by different angels who are trying to convince Jordan to come to heaven. It’s only Barth who talks to Jordan, but the angels give him advice.   Can you imagine his response when opening his email? He goes through four months of corresponding with Barth. There are blank pages in between some of the emails because Jordon does not reply to his email partner. Jordon was undergoing some medical treatment.   barthpenn@heaven.org is a very interesting book for young readers who like fantasy books. Their story is told by reading each email and seeing just how the story develops on and on. I read this book in two days, it was so exciting. It’s definitely book which you can’t put down until you are finished with it.

Dimensions Estee Wells (14 years old) 2007 Championship Series, second place winner Baker Trittin Press, P.O. Box 277, Winona Lake, IN  46590 ISBN: 978-0-98148-931-5 / $10.95, www.bakertrittinpress.com Reviewed by Michael Anderson for CBA Retailers+Resources   Poor Austin Omera. His folks have separated, his mom turned into a workaholic, and his high-school life in Wilmsburg, Indiana is dull. “Everything is just so dumb. What point is there to living?” he wonders. Even his best-friend Daniel can’t cheer him up.   Enter Samala, “a messenger from the Holy One”. She takes Austin and Daniel to another place in time to meet Edic, the keeper of the Book of Prophesy, who lives in a land terrorized by the evil Cramerites. Their leader is Lucifer whose goal is to destroy all believers in the kingdom. Then Austin discovers that he is “the Chosen One,” the one to help the lost prince of Halian regain his throne. Is their an allegory brewing here?   These teen time travelers move between dimensions discovering far way places, people, and challenges. Adventure abounds. Whenever the evil Gordock and his yellow-fanged beast Spiron appear, they destroy anyone affiliated with the Holy One. A small but powerful stone, the Orb of Light, is the only thing the beast is helpless against. When the Chosen One holds it against the beast… Could Austin save the day?   The underlying theme of Dimensions is faith doubted and faith renewed. It allows the reader to see their world in a different light.   Author Estee Wells is a 10th-grade homeschool student from Indiana, but the reader wouldn’t know it. Her writing style, depth, and descriptive detail demonstrate maturity. She layers themes that deal with youth seeking truth and God keeping His promises. Wells uses abundant dialog and contemporary phrases to connect with young readers and includes witty interludes to break the tension.    Targeted to youth ages 10-16, Dimensions won second place in the 2007 Tweener Time International Chapter Book Competition. It is part of the Championship Series written by teens for tweens and is reminiscent of the wanderings through Narnia. An enthusiastic recommendation by store staff to all fantasy fans is called for.    *     *     *

Esther's Channel Kevin Scott Collier Baker Trittin Press, P.O. Box 277, Winona Lake, IN  46590 ISBN 0975288067 / $10.95  www.bakertrittinpress.com Reviewed by Sean and Kim Peterson for Reader Views Esther’s Channel stretches from Silver Lake to Lake Michigan. Many different creatures live in the narrow strip of water. Esther, a young painted turtle, feels that many of the residents don’t like her. Sir Elgin, the blue racer snake, Bosco, the bullfrog, Mr. Berig, the great blue heron and Boris, the otter especially bother Esther. Sir Elgin always watches and follows her. Bosco likes to hurl insults. Boris swims past and ignores her. She hates Mr. Berig for not saving her mother’s life. Others in the channel make more effort to talk with Esther. Dee Dee the caterpillar is her best friend. Gack, the red-winged blackbird, saved her life the day her mother died. Since then, the bird acts as her guardian. Esther’s attitude toward him resembles a human teenager’s toward her parents. The discontented turtle still wrestles with what really happened the day of her mother’s death. Then she meets Hector, the dragonfly, who encourages her to explore the world beyond the channel. Esther decides to make this journey hoping she will find herself, but Silver Lake turns out to be quite different than what Hector implied. The first creature she meets, Bull Beckett, the bullhead, has been hooked by a fisherman, and Esther offers to pull it out. When she finishes, Bull Beckett rudely warns her to go back to where she came from. Esther disregards the grumpy fish and continues her journey. She meets Madame Sweeney, an elderly Blanding’s turtle. She feels comfort in Madame Sweeney’s presence, especially since she knew Esther’s mother. She learns that the animals in the channel that she has problems with were all friends with her mother. Madame Sweeney encourages Esther to return to the channel to find out from them what really happened to her mother. When Esther finally returns to the channel, Gack informs her that the channel is drying up, and she will have to find somewhere else to live. She decides to go to the dam, the same place her mother’s life ended so long ago. When she arrives, Gack, Boris, Bosco, Sir Elgin and Mr. Berig are all waiting for her. Gack explains what happened when her mother died and the part everyone present played in that day. Collier’s cast of characters introduces young readers to the animals that live in a channel ecosystem. Their conflicts and misunderstandings reflect those that children witness in a human community. Children will benefit from this fable about loss when Esther learns a powerful lesson about forgiving others and forgiving herself.

Heir of the Forgotten Realm Michael J. Svigel Baker Trittin Press, P.O. Box 277, Winona Lake, IN  46590 ISBN:  0-978-7316-3-8 / $10.95  www.bakertrittinpress.com  Reviewed for The Reading Tub Summary: Lukas is afraid of fire. A fire-eating dragon destroyed the Kingdom of Stanton and hilled his parents, the King and Queen. Orphaned, he took residence in Trallia, a neighboring kingdom, where he met princess Lilia to whom he is engaged. However, tragedy struck again. The dragon, Haarlok, attacked Trallia and kidnapped Lilia. Lukas was overcome with fear and couldn’t react. Somehow he has to get the princess back. Lukas learns that to recover Lilia and destroy the dragon for good, he must face four life-threatening challenges. Can he overcome his fears and save Lilia? The king, Lilia’s father, is not optimistic. This is a fantasy adventure with opportunities to discover one's own human character. Big Kid Reaction: This story is valuable from several perspectives. First, it will engage readers because of the fantasy and adventure. Yet it goes beyond that by offering substance and opportunities for the readers to think about what is happening and what THEY would do. Pros: The story grabs the reader right away. This is a work of fantasy and readers will get excited about the adventures and characters. It is also an allegory and provides the reader/listener with very real moral and ethical issues to ponder. Educational Themes: There are at least two levels from which this book can be read and appreciated. The first and most obvious is that of a fast-moving and exciting fantasy tale, Lukas taking on the four life-threatening challenges to save Lilia. In the second level, the author deals with everyday moral and ethical quandaries that children experience as they grow up. The savvy teacher, parent, counselor, or coach will find lots of valuable things to share with their charges. Literary Categories: fiction - fantasy, adventure, life lessons

Journey to the Homeland Hannah Stahlhut (16 years old) 2007 Championship Series first place winner Baker Trittin Press, P.O. Box 277, Winona Lake, IN  46590 ISBN: 9780981489308 /$10.95  www.bakertrittinpress.com   Reviewed by Terry Doherty, President, The Reading Tub, Inc.   Journey to the Homeland offers families everything they want in a great book: fantasy based in the real world. Parents will love the themes of friendship and responsibility; kids will love the adventure and suspense. Bravo! Hannah Stahlhut has crafted characters that you will love. She quickly brings you along on Keegan's and Nora's journey of friendship and personal discovery. Ms. Stahlhut has masterfully created characters and situations that Tweeners will relate to! This is a book that begs to be read aloud and shared together as a family.   I love Hannah's book. I'm not a big fantasy fan, but I found this to be quite a page turner. I was taking this everywhere I went where I knew I'd be "just sitting." Is she planning a sequel?