Book Club: Book Review of Operation: Happy

I received a COMPLIMENTARY copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review or be compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page for more information. Thank you.

Finding good, clean books for children ages 8-12 has become a real struggle. We have some favorite authors, but I am always looking to add more books to our shelves because our children love to read. I was pleased to have the opportunity to read and review Operation: Happy by Jenni L. Walsh. 

Operation: Happy is a hardcover, 230-page book geared towards children ages 8-12 published by Zonderkiz. It is "a World War II story of courage, resilience, and an unbreakable bond" between a young girl and her dog, Happy. Over the course of 40 chapters, we see the main characters move from one difficult situation to another and persevere. 

About Operation: Happy 

The main characters of this historical fiction are Jody, her dog Happy (who is a fictional addition), her sister Peggy, her mom, and her dad (who all play prominent parts in the book). Jody is inspired by a real-life Pearl Harbor survivor named Joan Zuber Earle. Jody also has several friends in the different locations in which she lives. And while the work is fiction, Walsh borrowed from real people, places, and events. This helps bring the book to life.

We start the novel in 1938 at Christmas when Jody receives Happy as a gift. He is a retired sentry dog for a military base whose eyesight is going and is aging. Happy is quite content to be back on duty as he 'shares' in one of the chapters told partially from his perspective. He loves Jody and his new family and sets out to take care of her and – in turn – them.

The plot starts to take shape when Jody's father is sent a telegram to report to Ford Island at Pearl to assume command of the Marine Barracks. Her mother is not very happy. She does not want to go, but they are "Team Zuber" and always move together. Her mom's feeling of unease continues after the move and through the rest of the book in varying degrees. 

While on the island, Jody and her sister Peggy make friends, enjoy their new school, and push through their relationship as sisters. Air raid drills and blackouts on the island become another big part of their lives. Eventually, the drills stopped because December 7, 1941 occurred: Pearl Harbor and their small island were attacked. That leads to more changes in which Mom, Jody, and Peggy leave Ford Island and end up in San Francisco.

The events in San Francisco demonstrate the courage and resiliency of Jody in a different way. Jody's mom is very distraught and depressed about being away from her husband. So, while Jody does her best to lead Team Zuber at the request of her father, things start to fall apart. Jody's mom stays on the couch most days, sleeping. Jody and Peggy have to fend for themselves in regards to laundering their clothes, reheating meals that their mom cooks once or twice a week, and getting to and from school. 

In the end, everything works out, but there are some bumps on the road to happiness for Team Zuber. Jody must find a way to trick others into believing her mom is well and taking care of them. And Peggy suffers a trauma that changes her. Through it all, Happy remains a constant and loyal companion to the entire family. 

My Thoughts 

One of the things I enjoyed about Operation: Happy is the lists that Jody creates when they move to a new place. As a military family, they move often. So, in each new location, Jody makes a top ten list of the best things. For example, on Ford Island, she adds: 

4. It's still 80 degrees in January. 

5. The other kids here are nifty. 

I think this is a wonderful thing to encourage in children. Have them look for the positive things in life, especially during difficult times such as moving. 

Even in the midst of danger and tension, there are funny moments. One such event occurs when Jody, Peggy, and their friends have a mango war. And while the children have fun in this adventure, we see consequences happen for the main characters. A valuable lesson is learned in some respect (they continue to lie to their mom about what happened).

While I really enjoyed this book, I do have a few concerns before handing it off to our children. The trauma that changes Peggy is quite dramatic. She is cornered by a strange man in their first apartment building lobby in San Francisco. Happy knows something is up and gets Jody to bring him downstairs, where he rescues Peggy. As a mom, I do not think this exact situation was necessary to demonstrate Happy's courage and bond with the family or change Peggy. I would much rather have seen Peggy facing bullies or something that would fit into the normal scope of an 8- to 12-year-old rather than a potential assault of this type. 

And of course, parents would need to consider the fact that this book is providing a first-hand account of the events at Pearl Harbor. If your children enjoy learning about history, and in particular, World War II, this might not cause any problems for you. As long as you are there to talk about the events and your children's feelings, then it should be okay.

Even with my reservations, I would recommend this book. Every parent can make their own decisions about the book. If one has concerns, then read it aloud together. Then, you can edit what you feel is necessary until a time when your children are older.

I am looking forward to seeking more books by Jenni L. Walsh. I enjoyed her writing style. The characters really come to life through the actions and dialogue. Overall, Operation: Happy is a good book. 

Other Reviews of Zonderkidz and Zondervan Books 

• Book Club: Book Review of Sunny Days Ahead
• Book Club: Book Review of 'Twas the Season of Lent
• Book Club: Book Review of Kiki Finds Her Voice

Dice, Decks, and Boards: Dungeon Drop

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page for more information. Thank you.

Adventurers! Are you ready to explore an ever-changing dungeon? Then you'll love the game Dungeon Drop from designer Scott R. Smith and Artist Marília Nascimento. This game allows you to create the dungeon as you go using small cubes of varying sizes which serve as pillars to form rooms, the monsters guarding the rooms and treasure, as well as treasure of various value. 

What Is the Game Dungeon Drop? 

The game itself is self-contained in a small box, but the playing field will encompass your entire table as you drop the dungeon. One to four players will enjoy three rounds of dropping the dungeon and looting the dungeon over the course of about twenty minutes.

"Venture into an ever-shifting labyrinth teeming with untold treasure. Colorful cubes represent gold, gems, goblins, and more. Raid the rooms that best suit your hero's quest, but stay alert – the dungeon changes with every drop. Grab the most loot and become the Dungeon Drop Master!" (from the box) 

During Dungeon Drop, you assume the role of a brave hero who takes turns with the other players to explore the dungeon. You select your hero by choosing one random Race card and one random Class card. Race cards include humans, Boblins, high elves, dwarves, and others. Classes available include mage, cleric, bard, beastmaster, and more. These cards give you different choices of actions you can make, as well as your initiative score.

One player sets up the game by dropping all of the small cubes (plus the large dragon cube) on the table from about 6 to 12 inches in height. Be careful you don't lose any cubes! This is the dungeon where players will add additional cubes on their turn and then create rooms to loot.

What Do You Get? 

Dungeon Drop includes everything you need to play the game. The box contains the following: 

• Four player aids
• Four turn order markers 
• One score tracker
• Four Meeples
• Four solo tokens
• Four teamwork tokens
• 87 cubes
• Six custom dice 
• Fifteen Race cards
• Fifteen Class cards
• Ten quest cards

How Do You Play Dungeon Drop? 

After the dungeon is set up, initiative (that is, which player goes first) is first determined based on the initiative number on the Race card. In the next round, it will be determined based on the weight carried (how many cubes you have collected during the previous rounds).

During a player's turn, there are three things to do:

1. Explore: Draw cubes from the box without looking at them and drop them into the Dungeon.
2. Act: Use either their Race or Class ability. 
3. Loot: Form a room using the gray, shiny cubes as pillars and collect the cubes. 

The quest card selected helps players determine which cubes they want to try and collect. If they have a quest card where the clear cubes are worth more for scoring, they might want to focus on only collecting those particular cubes. Or perhaps they want to have the fewest number of cubes because they receive extra points for having the lightest weight. 

Players play three rounds and then everyone counts up their score based on their quest card and the scoring information in the ruler booklet. The player with the most points wins. 

What Do We Think? 

This is an easy game to set up (as long as you don't lose any cubes off the table) and clean up. As long as you have a large, flat surface, you can play this game almost anywhere. The box itself is rather small, which means it can fit in between your larger game boxes and tuck neatly in a bag to take with you. 

We haven't played the Heroic "Teamwork" Game Mode or Solo Spelunker versions yet, so I can only speak to the basic game. In general, I think this is an enjoyable game. There is competition, but it is not "in your face" and the points can fluctuate depending on which new cubes are adding to the dungeon or if any of the pillars are moved.

Our daughter who does not enjoy competitive games played this one rather readily without any tears. She and I played as a team (there were five of us at the table), and even though we went last, she was very patient. Each players' turn can take a while as they try to line up the pillars to create rooms in the form of triangles. Everyone definitely wants to see if they can collect the cubes most important to their quest. Sometimes, players get to flick cubes around the table in attempts to better their loot scoring!

Overall, I think this is a very fun game and I would recommend it. Is it educational? Well, any game helps you work on compassion, teamwork, and good sportsmanship. This one definitely helps you think about triangles as that is how you form rooms with the pillars. There is also some arithmetic involved on a few of the quest cards due to varying gem cube bonuses and values. Beyond that...I think it is just a fun game to bring families and friends together.

Interested in More Game Reviews? 

We play a lot of games in our family. Some are ones that I have reviewed in the past for Timberdoodle such as Penguins Huddle Up™ or for HomeschoolingFinds.com such as Math Sprint while others are ones we have picked up over the years. Here are a few favorites:

• Dice, Decks, and Boards: Mermaid Island
• Dice, Decks, and Boards: The Oregon Trail ®
• Dice, Decks, and Boards: Raccoon Rumpus
• Dice, Decks, and Boards: Tenzi Game and Tenzi Card Deck

Dice, Decks, and Boards: SmartGames IQ Waves

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Amazon Vine Program. I was not required to write a review on A Mom's Quest to Teach. This post contains affiliate links. 

IQ Waves from SmartGames is a fun, one-player logic game for ages 6 to adult. It is compact and easy to learn. SmartGames offer a variety of fun and educational games that help stimulate cognitive skills, such as: 

• Problem solving 
• Spatial insight
• Flexible thinking
• Memory
• And more! 

About IQ Waves 

This one-player game contains 120 challenges with five levels: 

• Starter
• Junior
• Expert
• Master
• Wizard 

The first starter challenges are the easiest, where the challenge position has the majority of the puzzle pieces laid out for you. As you move through the 120 challenges, you will be adding fewer and fewer pieces, per the booklet. By the time you reach the wizard level, you are only putting in one piece before you attempt the challenge. 

Playing the game is simple. You place the pieces as shown in the challenge booklet. Then, you place the remaining pieces on the board. There is only one solution for each challenge. If you struggle, you can find the answers in the back of the booklet. 

What Do You Get? 

There is one game board fitted into a self-closing container. One booklet with 120 challenges and solutions is provided, as well as the 8 puzzle pieces. The puzzle pieces are in different colors and shapes. 

Our Thoughts 

As we have played other logic games from SmartGames, we knew we were in for a treat. This is a great puzzle for travel and the home. Because everything fits together, you can stow it in a bag to take to a restaurant or office for those times when you and your children must wait. 

IQ Waves is great whether you homeschool or not! But it is especially great for a homeschooling family. While one child finishes an assignment with you, your other child could complete a challenge or two.

If you purchase more than one set, you could set up logic contests. Who can solve the most puzzles in five minutes? Or who can solve the first ten challenges first? There are a lot of fun ways to use IQ Waves in your homeschool. 

Other SmartGames Reviews 

Dice, Decks, and Boards: Challenge Your Mind With Horse Academy

Dice, Decks, and Boards: Navigate the High Seas through Critical Thinking

Dice, Decks, and Boards: Zig Zag Puzzler Review

Dice, Decks, and Boards: Penguins Huddle Up™ Game

Book Club: Book Review of These Tangled Threads

 

I received a COMPLIMENTARY copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I was neither required to write a positive review nor compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page for more information. Thank you.

The Biltmore Estate (and its surrounding countryside) is the backdrop for These Tangled Threads by Sarah Loudin Thomas. Woven throughout a prologue, 48 chapters, and an epilogue, readers are introduced to a selection of characters from 1897 to 1924. Three main characters share their lives with us as we learn about weaving, woodworking, family, and truth. 

About the Book 

Sarah Loudin Thomas shares her knowledge of the Biltmore Estate, where she worked for six years, with her audience. The story starts with young Arthur meeting Mr. Vanderbilt and takes us through events in the first and second decades of the 1900s. 

Arthur is joined by Lorna, who works for Biltmore Industries and is tasked with designing and weaving fabric for the engagement of Cornelia Vanderbilt. The next main character is introduced as we see her joining the Biltmore Village. Gentry is a young girl who will be training in the weaving room under the tutelage of Lorna. As a 16-year-old, she is not eager to focus and lacks patience in completing her tasks. Conflict arises as the three characters interact in the 348-page paperback book from Bethany House.

At the heart of the novel, Thomas tells the story of the relationships between Arthur, Lorna, and Gentry. The three each have their own troubles. Arthur was sent away by his alcoholic parents and has a clubfoot. Lorna is a skilled weaver but lacks the creativity needed to design her own patterns. And poor Gentry was sent away by her unloving grandfather after her mother died. In between these details are tangled threads that bring them together again and again. 

Appalachian Author Highlights Historic Vanderbilt Wedding as Centennial Approaches

My Thoughts 

As someone who enjoys historical fiction, I was intrigued by the description of These Tangled Threads. I had a general knowledge of the Vanderbilts – in fact, I think I read another work of historical fiction featuring Cornelia – but I knew little else specific to this industry or locale. 

May I admit that I had trouble following the story when I first picked up the book? It arrived when I didn't have a lot of time to devote to more than one chapter during each reading. This made it difficult to follow the jumps between character perspectives and years in the different chapters. After a few personal and family events passed, I sat down and devoted time to reading These Tangled Threads. With the extra time to read uninterrupted, I followed the story much better.

I really enjoyed the story of Arthur. His attempt to help a family member was touching and well-written. I loved seeing his losses and successes detailed. And I was so happy with the end of his story. 

I didn't connect as closely to Lorna or Gentry, but without these two young ladies, the story would not advance. In the end, I appreciated the honesty that emerged and the growth of the characters. 

I would recommend These Tangled Threads to those who enjoy historical fiction and Christian novels. Through all the troubles, the book is encouraging and uplifting.

Book Club: Book Review of Kiki Finds Her Voice

 

I received a COMPLIMENTARY copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page for more information. Thank you.

Finding inspirational books for children can be daunting. There may be a lot of children's books available, but do they all align with your worldview? It's not easy to find ones that align with our Christian worldview, so I am always happy to see children's books published by Zonderkidz™. We were lucky enough to receive Kiki Finds Her Voice: Be True to You and Embrace Your God-Given Gifts to read and review. 

I am not too familiar with music after the late 1990s. The little that I do know tends to be what is in pop culture on social media, as I don't listen to the radio or watch a lot of television anymore. So, I will admit to not knowing Kierra Sheard-Kelly before taking a look at Kiki Finds Her Voice. 

About the Book 

This hardcover book is geared towards ages 4-8. In the story, we meet Kiki and her "kinda-sorta" friend, Brittany, and her friends, Sophia and Ashley. The four girls are preparing to audition for the Bates Elementary Talent Show. 

When the girls audition, everyone is very happy except for Kiki's mom. Her mom feels that she is not old enough to be singing a song with those lyrics. Kiki shares that the song is everywhere, but her mom reminds her that they follow Jesus and not everyone else. Her parents remind her that she needs to do her own thing and not worry about fitting in. 

The book continues with the rest of Kiki's story and closes with an author's note. The story is based on a real-life event of the author. She wanted to share her story "because I want you to always remember God gave you your passions and your purpose for a reason. You were not made to be everyone else." 

Our Thoughts 

From the cover of the book to the colorful illustrations inside, Kiki Finds Her Voice is a warm and inviting book. And even though the book is written for ages 4-8, I think any child who is familiar with the Grammy Award-nominated gospel singer would enjoy the story. 

I love that the book allows Kiki to be upset, but her parents help her understand why she doesn't need to fit in with the rest of the world. It is her chance to lead – even if the other girls aren't happy with the song change. It is very encouraging and refreshing to read a book where a character is different because they are following God.

Our daughter really enjoyed Kiki Finds Her Voice. I think it is a great addition to our bookshelves! 

Interested in more from Zonderkidz™? 

Book Club: Book Review of The Berenstain Bears Storybook Bible Search and Find

Book Club: Book Review of Tiny Truths Little Lights Devotional

Book Club: Book Review of Fiona and the Easter Egg Hunt