Chickadees, Bumbelbeez,
Pussy-Willow Trees and Two-And-A-Half, by Jeffrey Politsky, is a children’s book of
adventure. It is recommended for ages 4-9.
“Kids who still have their parents read to them
really like the book, as do kids who are independent readers,” says Dr. Politsky. “The reviews of parents and children who
have read the book are very favorable: adults really like the message and the
children just love the story. I hope many more children will get to read it.”
Synopsis:
Children love to
explore; it’s intuitive. And they tend to struggle when asked to confine their
activities and behaviors to our adult-imposed rules and paths. Chickadees, Bumbelbeez,
Pussy-Willow Trees and Two-And-A-Half is a
vibrantly and exceptionally well-illustrated adventure book meant to inspire
children to follow their urges to explore and to appreciate diversity. The book
starts off when “One day a little brown monkey with dazzling olive green eyes,
a friendly smile, and a long curly tail asked his father if there was more to
the life than just hanging around with other monkeys and eating bananas.”
Before long he meets a lovely grey cat and a majestic blue pelican each on
their own quests. Together, they explore a foreign island and when their
journey takes them into a private swath of land, they befriend a local dog who
takes them further than they ever imagined.
Chickadees, Bumbelbeez,
Pussy-Willow Trees and Two-And-A-Half emphasizes several significant values, which
help us subsist and ultimately thrive: learning through independent
exploration, the need for friendship, the importance of respect and tolerance
for other cultures, languages, and lifestyle diversity, along with a healthy
understanding of the powers of mother nature.
About the
Author:
Dr.
Jeffrey Politsky grew up in Toronto, Canada. He obtained undergraduate and
graduate degrees at the University of Toronto and his medical degree at the
University of Western Ontario before moving to Vancouver for his residency
training in Neurology. He moved to Boston in the late 1990’s to complete his
epilepsy fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and has lived in the
United States ever since. Today, Dr. and Mrs. Politsky live in New Jersey with
their two children and two giant schnauzers. While he has written numerous
articles and chapters related to the neurologic sciences, Chickadees, Bumbelbeez,
Pussy-Willow Trees and Two-And-A-Half is Dr. Politsky’s first serious
non-academic venture.
Dr.
Politsky began writing Chickadees, Bumbelbeez, Pussy-Willow Trees and Two-And-A-Half on Formantera,
one of the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean Sea off of the
east coast of Spain.
“As
I began pondering what makes free-form travel so interesting, I decided to try
and create a story that would be appealing to youngsters. All of my
back-packing adventures, like so many other travelers, had common themes:
selecting a location, landing in a foreign place and feeling
very foreign, attempting to understand the culture and fit in,
survival, discovery, problem solving, raw happiness. I incorporated
several of my own experiences in the text,” says Dr. Politsky. “I decided to
weave into the story the linguistic nuances that my grandfather used
when he would joke with my brother and me when we were youngsters - in
essence we would ask him a question and he would answer using neologisms and in
a manner that made absolutely no sense at all and then start laughing in a
jolly fashion, quite amused with himself. I cherish my memory of my
grandfather. His good nature and terminology stuck, much of it is incorporated
in the book. In fact, some of his favorite expressions make up the book’s title.”
Dr.
Politsky’s grandfather died in 1989 of complications related to multi-infarct
dementia.
Tony
Santiago illustrated the book with Dr. Politsky’s children and grandfather
individually represented in the characters.
In
2011, Dr. Politsky’s wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is fine now;
but the process was quite an ordeal. Anyone who has been through this or a
similar experience understands this. Dr. Politsky sees and treats patients
every day with epilepsy and related neurologic & medical conditions - in
many cases illnesses appear like an unexpected storm and can turn people's
lives upside down and inside out like a tornado. By the end of 2012, Kim had
been diagnosed, treated, and had achieved full physical recovery.
Fifty
percent of the proceeds of the sale of each book will be donated equally
to research programs dedicated to the study of dementia and memory
dysfunction, and to the study of breast cancer.
My Thoughts:
First let me say that I have a 7 and 11 year old, both girls. My 7 year old is in the process of learning to read for herself and finds some of the words very challenging in the book, but enjoys reading it for herself and being read to her. Hailey, my 11 year old, likes to play school and of course she is ALWAYS the school teacher, and she reads this book to Riley. Because it is a Chapter book it is more than we can do it one night but we have been reading a chapter a day. It gives the girls something to look forward to tomorrow night.
There are 14 chapter in the book, with titles such as:Monkey Business, Nature's Bounty:Jungle Snacks, The Final Act:Believing in Magic. This story takes you on adventures to different languages, places, and gives you an aspect of really being there with the characters. One of my favorite parts is in the end when they find the treasure and what they gain from the treasure. Now, I can't tell you the ending because you will have to read it for yourself, You may just find a little hidden secret in there for you. Even though this book was designed for 6 to 9 year olds, I must admit that at 39 I have enjoyed reading it as much as the girls have.
If you would like to win a copy of the book, just leave me a comment telling me what kind of bedtime routines do you have with your Children. We have to do a story a night for school and bedtime so we get a lot of reading in everyday!
