The Travel Adventures of PJ Mouse series by Gwyneth Jane Page

Please do not let my blog's formatting issues keep you from learning about and appreciating these WONDERFUL books you will enjoy sharing with your children.



The Travel Adventures of PJ Mouse




Category:  Children's fiction, 72 pages
Genre:  Adventure / travel
Publisher:  Self-published
Release date:  Feb 13, 2014
Available for review in:  Print, ebook (PDF)
Will send print books:  Internationally
Tour dates:  Nov 30 - Dec 18, 2015
Content Rating:  G



Book Description for The Travel Adventures of PJ Mouse in Canada (BOOK ONE):


PJ Mouse, an adorable little stuffed animal, was lost and alone until young Emily heard his cries for help. Now, along with his new family, PJ gets to travel the world-discovering exciting new places and people along the way!

Come join PJ on his first adventure across Canada as he hikes on a glacier in the Rockies, finds a salt lake in the prairies, and walks on the ocean floor in Nova Scotia.


Buy the book:

In which we learn how PJ, a very small mouse, comes to live and travel with Emily and her family. Despite being a stuffed toy, PJ becomes a valued part of the family and asks wonderful questions. Adults as well as children will learn and have fun sharing this book.

In each wonderfully illustrated chapter, PJ has an adventure as his new family travels across Canada. Each time he is afraid or gets into trouble, Emily comes to his rescue.
Her brother also helps and is very nice to his little sister and PJ.

I received this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
I truly enjoyed it and look forward to more of PJ's adventures.
 






Book Description for The Travel Adventures of PJ Mouse in Queensland (BOOK TWO):

PJ Mouse, an adorable little stuffed animal, was lost and alone until young Emily heard his cries for help. Now, along with his new family, PJ gets to travel the world - discovering exciting new places, people, and animals along the way!


​Come join PJ on this, his second adventure, along the coast of Queensland, as he snorkels at the Great Barrier Reef, chats with a Loggerhead turtle in the midst of a great undertaking, and explores the tropical rainforest- until he has to be rescued by one of the local friendly wildlife.



This is by far my favorite book in this adventure series.
I loved the thrills and scary adventures.
I loved learning along with PJ and Emily.
I am looking forward to getting to know Star Bear and the cat better.
The illustrations are enchanting and add greatly to the enjoyment of this delightful chapter adventure book.
Reading it along with your children will lead to pleasant discussion.

I was gifted a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The enjoyment of reading (and discussing) was 100% my own.




Why Read My Books? by Gwyneth Jane Page
Generally speaking, reading is important. There are quite a number of studies now about how reading helps develop the brain and that reading to children from an early age is very important. I think it is harder to get kids to read now because there are so many other forms of entertainment: TV, sports, dance, music, video games, Skype, Facebook, etc. To get kids to read I think you need to offer them more than just a book. You need to offer them a character they love, one they engage with, and want to follow and you need to make the book come alive in some way and be interactive. 
Most forms of entertainment these days are interactive. Kids are used to this. So a book also needs to be interactive in some way. I thought kids would want to read more if they could have their own PJ Mouse. The books then become about their mouse. Each book also has a set of stickers and a sticker book (done up as PJ's passport) that kids can track the trips with. So at the end of each chapter (each chapter is a different place), after they have learned about the place, they get a 'stamp' in their passport. This teaches them a bit about how passports are used when traveling and gives them a reward after they have finished a chapter. You could say that I am building a brand rather than just writing a book. I think it helps capture kids' imaginations more fully and gives them more of a desire to read.
Generally kids are taught to read with books that have lots of pictures and very few, easy words. Then, once they have mastered reading, they are launched into books that have no, or very few pictures, and lots of words. I think kids need a middle ground. Most of us love art and having our imaginations fired by seeing a scene whether in a book or in a movie. So, while my books have lots of text, and I have left the big words in, they also have lots of pictures and a fun character to engage with. By providing this middle ground for kids I have ended up with an age range of 2 to 12 years old for my books. It is quite amazing really to have such a large cross-section of ages that enjoy the same book. Parents will read the books to little kids because they love the pictures and (if they have their own PJ Mouse stuffy) the books are about their very own mouse. Older kids love his character and discovering the different places and having the stickers.

You never know when you start something like this if you will be successful. You just have to try and hope for the best. It has been so rewarding to get feedback, and have confirmation that my beliefs about what would inspire kids to want to read is correct.

Brand Products: PJ Mouse Stuffed Toy, Customized Stickers, Passport Picture


Gwyneth Jane Page (Jane), who holds an MBA from Simon Fraser University, has called many countries home. She grew up in such places as England, Peru, the USA, and the Caribbean, and has also lived in Australia and Canada. She now resides in Victoria, BC with her husband and four children. The PJ Mouse books are based on Jane's family trips with the real stuffed animal, PJ, who was found by Emily, Jane's youngest daughter.

Megan Elizabeth, Jane's second oldest daughter, has lived in Canada and Australia and travelled extensively with her family-and PJ. Having been artistic since she was a little girl, illustrating the PJ Mouse books has enabled her to combine her love of travel with her love of art. Megan completed her studies at VanArts and is now building her career as a professional photographer as well as an illustrator. She currently resides in Victoria, BC with her family.

Connect with the author:  Website   Twitter   Facebook


Comments

  1. Thank you for your review. Glad you enjoyed the books. I too like number 2 better but I think my favourite is number 3 on England....my daughter put a lot of fun into the illustrations. Again, thank you so much. Sincerely, Gwyneth

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