Dr, Dee Dee Dynamo's Back with Important World-Wide Message! A Personal Favorite for 2016!

Did you know bees are dying in serious numbers? I did! When I first moved to my cabin, my brother-in-law was keeping bees on the property...and then they died out... I was so glad to see that Dr. Oneeka Williams has chosen to have Dee Dee Dynamo take a look at this world-wide problem!

And what a fantastic book she has created to spread this news! It is nonfiction, sharing specific information about bees; it is fiction as Dr. Dee Dee Dynamo starts thinking about how to solve the Beemore problem; plus it is educational not only in totally sharing about our little bee friends, but by including

www.buzzaboutbees.net

study/thinking questions, and a math challenge based upon the book! Plus she provides resource guides for those wanting to take up the challenge, perhaps to care for a bee hive right at your own home! 

You may recall that Dr. Dee Dee Dynamo taught us much about our planets in her earlier books...so you'll find my reviews of many of books here and on other sites... All of Williams' books are educationally sound but with lots of fun and character development that allows children and older readers like me to get to know each individual...In this book, we even meet the author! She's an important character along with others who are concerned about how the loss of bees would affect all humans!

Dr. DeeDee Dynamo's
Beemore Breakthru

By Oneeka Williams M.D.

Illustrated by Valerie Bouthyette

WAHOO, WAHOO, WAHOO

“The honey bees are dying, the honey bees are dying!” Gordon the Gullible Globe urgently alerts Dr. Dee Dee Dynamo, Girl SUPER SURGEON, who can fix any problem with her supernaturally powerful and gifted hands. Dr. Dee Dee’s Uncle Beemore wants to put beehives in every garden on the Island of Positivity to help the bee population. What can Dr. Dee Dee do to save the bees?

"The honey bees are dying!...

"I know, Gordon, "Dr Dee Dee says patiently.

"That is why Uncle Beemore has put beehives in our garden. Have you forgotten that today is the Bee Welcoming party?"

Dr. Dee descends to join the busy Dynamo clan--Mommy and Daddy Dynamo, Grandma B and Granddad Willie, Uncle Huebs and Aunty Vandra, and their children Lukas (who is Dr. Dee Dee's best friend) and Jakey.

Jakey asks, "Why is everyone so upset about the honey bees dying?"

"Because honey bees help plants produce a lot of the food we eat," explains Dr. Dee Dee

Welcome to BEEventures

~~~

First, I must comment on the beautiful hardback book that was provided to me. The illustrations from front to back are brightly colored with details that are truly outstanding. I would certainly recommend this for your child's personal home library! Not only for the story but for the detailed pages on "The Life of a Worker Bee," pollination, the different types of bees, and important little tidbits such as--did you know that worker bees makes 1/12 teaspoon of honey in their lifetime... Wow! Just imagine how many bees it would take for you to buy a jar of honey at your local store!

No wonder we should be worried that bees seem to be dying!

Did you know that a bee only lives 42 days?!!

So the Dynamo family was having a party to spread the word and sharing about now providing a home--a bee hive--for bees in their yard.

The children even got to decide what type of bee they wanted to be and got a hat to show their choice... Even Grandma B took a major part in the event, singing,

I am the heart and soul of the hive, Without me, the colony cannot survive. 
I'm twice as long, so don't get to close.
BEEWARE! I might just sting you on your nose!
                                 ~~~

You know, while she was singing, I thought I even heard the bees join in!

It was while everybody was learning so much about the bees, that Dr. Dee Dee Dynamo started to apply her brain to see how they might help save the bees! In the meantime, I was learning about the language of bees! And even learned about The Waggle Dance! Do you know how to do it...?

Walk straight, shake yuh belly,

Beat yuh wings and buzz,

In a figure eight.

Walk straight, shake yuh belly,

Beat yuh wings and buzz,

Find de nectar and don't be late!

~~~

Did you know bees have two stomachs?

One is used to digest food. The other is used

to store and process nectar...

!!!

Here's another version...

Now Dr. Dee Dee Dynamo got to working and she created something to help all the bees... The bees were so excited: I can DO more and BEE More! What a Breakthru! Then...the author, in the after pages, assigns Essay questions for readers, like, "The writer combines fantasy and real world science problems to create a compelling and informative narrative for her readers. Write an essay using evidence from the text to support this claim.

Simply unbelievable! The author has packed a world of learning within her latest book! I just had to add it to my personal favorites for this year since I still remember losing all the bees that buzzed around my home years ago! Highly recommended for soooooo many reasons!

GABixlerReviews

Dr. Oneeka Williams developed her desire to become a doctor at an early age. When she first entered the operating room while attending Harvard Medical School, it was love at first sight. Dr. Dee Dee Dynamo encourages kids to live a life without limits. This is Dr. Williams’ latest book, after teaching children about the planets. She is a practicing surgeon and lives just outside Boston, Massachusetts, with her husband, Charles and son, Mark.

Been to Portugal? Me, Neither! Let's go with Carole P. Roman as Guide...

You might live with your family in the capital city, Lisbon. Not only is it one of the oldest cities in the world, it is the oldest in Western Europe. Six hundred years ago, in search of new trade routes for spices and other riches, the Portuguese sailed out and colonized many different parts of the world, so that today 240 million people speak the Portuguese language.


If You Were Me and Lived in...

Portugal

An Introduction to Learning About Other Cultures

By Carole P. Roman

I had one lone visitor from Portugal last month to Book Readers Heaven. So I thought we should learn about the country and extend a warm welcome to those now living in Portugal or were originally from this country...

Portugal is located right on the Atlantic Ocean. I grew up along the bank of the Monongahela River so I became immediately enthralled with the idea of living on the Atlantic coast!

Maybe I went too heavy on the pictures? Nah! LOL

If you are a boy and born in Portugal, your parents might have named you Tomas (Toe-mas), Afonso (A-fon-zho) or Martins (Mar-teens).

They could have named  yout didyrt Maria (Ma-ree-ya), Joana (Wa-nah), or Leonor (Lee-on-or).

I found this piece of jewelry, which is very beautiful, and certainly could be worn by your avo, don't you think? Note that it includes the colorful "Rooster of Barcelos, which is a colorful symbol of Portugal..."

If you were me and lived in Portugal your favorite vacation would have to be a trip to the Azores. The Azores is a chain of nine volcanic islands and a natural paradise. They are a habitat for marine animals and seabirds. Whale and dolphins can be found there. You might like to scuba dive or hike on the many mountain trails.

~~~

I've concentrated mostly on the locations discovered in Roman's book, but there is still much to learn about food, sports and other important part of children's lives, especially The Portugal Carnevale! I found this video as an example of the extras, such as this concert, takes places during that huge event in February...

As in the entire series, a pronunciation glossary is included, as well as samples of the language--I included one of the words in the book in this review. See if you can find it! 

I'm almost caught up with this entire series and highly recommend it for your permanent home library to be explored and enjoyed by family and visitors alike! Enjoy!



GABixlerReviews

Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best of 2012 for her first book, award winning author Carole P. Roman started writing as a dare from one of her sons. Using an imaginary game she played with her grandson as a base, Captain No Beard was born."Captain No Beard- An Imaginary Tale of a Pirate's Life" has not only been named to Kirkus Best of 2012, it received the Star of Exceptional Merit, and won the Pinnacle Award for 2012. "Pepper Parrot's Problem with Patience" Book 2 in the series, received 5 Stars from The ForeWord Review The Clarion Review. Strangers on the High Seas has won second place in the Rebecca's Reads Choice Awards 2013. It has followed with six more books to the series.
Motivated by her love of yoga, Roman has written a book that not only teaches four poses, but shows how easy and accessible yoga can be. 
Her new non fiction series, "If You Were Me and Lived in..." combines her teaching past with her love of exploration and interest in the world around us. The debut book in the series, "If You Were Me and Lived in...Mexico" has won the Pinnacle Award for Best in Children's Non Fiction 2012. France, South Korea, and Norway. Rebecca's Reads has given If You Were Me and Lived in...Norway an honorable mention in the 2013 Choice Awards. If You Were Me and lived in ...France won second place. ForeWord Review has nominated If You Were Me and Lived in...France for best in children's non fiction literature 2013. They will be followed with Kenya, Turkey, India, and Australia. She plans to do Portugal, Greece, and Argentina next year.
Writing for children has opened up a whole second act for her. While she is still working in her family business, this has enabled her to share her sense of humor as well as love for history and culture with the audience she adores. Roman lives on Long Island with her husband and near her children.

Interested in Visiting More Countries in this Series

Just Search this Blog by the author's Name!

What's Happening at Book Readers Heaven--Also Featuring Adolfo's Latest Photography! Prelude to National Poetry Month...April!

I had never even heard of the Banyan Tree until I read The Reach of the Banyan Street by Mark Sasse (Of course, click over to read about that book before you leave!); so I was quite surprised and thrilled to receive this latest photo by Adolph Caso, a regular contributor to Book Readers Heaven...with his note...

Attached please find the Banyan tree, which was named by two friends of mine, the Adolfo Tree. It is truly magnificent; for me, it continues to be thought-provoking and the generator of many poems on aspects on the nature of humans and other forms of life, much as revealed in the poem, Hosta... (This poem has already received nearly 400 hits...check it out before you leave.)


Now what I did upon openingthis picture was immediately made it background to fill my computer screen... Each time I come to my computer, I see a larger version of the above and marvel at its magnificence...its strange wonderful beauty... Then I thought of why Adolfo's friends might have named the tree after him... and came up with...

Ode to Adolfo

Friends have named a special Banyan Tree

After Adolfo Caso, also my friend...

Immediately thoughts started flying into my mind...

How do I compare thee to a Banyan Tree?

Then I saw Roger Williams play his brilliant Autumn Leaves 

His hair now white, but his body still reflecting his strength...

And again Adolfo's tree came to mind...
Years only add more stability and support to its gift...

Adolfo, in age, has both become strong in mind and body

But the work he's done reflects the heart of love and kindness

All like the central, host tree that supports epiphyte that has found life

There against the magnificent body and spread of its limbs

to be umbrella-ed

Just as Adolfo's has done with family, friends, and writers...

Somehow he finds the interest, energy, support and love

to share both his own words, as well as hundreds of others in publishing

His love for both the United States and his homeland, Italy

magnifies the breadth and depth of his continuously extended reach...

And if you study the Bantam tree, immense and tall,

you will also see the light of the sun coming through in this place or another

Just like Adolfo always and eternally has shared 

God's light and love through his life...

May you, our Adolfo Tree, stand firm, powerful, passionate

continually to extend your trunk and limbs to allow each new epiphyte

each new member as your family expands...

each new reader as your words spread afar...

each new writer who has gained your support

each new friend who has received your brilliant flow of love into each life...

You are indeed the Banyan Tree to whom I'm endlessly connected...

--GABixler
~~~

Okay, in no way do I consider myself a poet, so don't critique my words! When I write poetic words, nearly always it is an emotional response I have...such as in my responsive poetry I've previously shared...

And, of course, the reason why I'm timing this article now is to remind you, that Book Readers Heaven will be focusing on poetry and photos (notice that photos has been added) during April, National Poetry Month...

The month will start with my review and spotlight of Idealism is an Attractive Flower: photopoems by Oneida Morningstar  Cramer. Also Bradford G. Wheler,'s Latest Love Sayings, will be covered sometime that month. Poems are already coming in from Adolfo, of course; Thomas Kemp, and others have notified me of participating...(Don't forget to send those in ASAP...) 

Note that I've added photos as part of the month-long emphasis...Many writers are now merging words and photos and I wanted to capture that option as well... Also, if you have placed yours words on video, then do consider submitting those as well.

Please note that I wish I could provide some type of compensation, but I do not wish to use my blog to make money so I have no funds to reimburse others... BUT I have a growing base which works out to average well over 20,000 readers a month, coming from both the U.S. and across the world...so your work will receive exposure... Also I will be using both of my blogs simultaneously this month, so feel free to submit your erotic poems and/or pictures--please not pornographic...

Just My Personal Opinion -  I wanted to talk about my second blog... Although it does include some erotic articles, this blog is used primarily for anything that is beyond a straight G-rated book review. The primary reason is that Book Readers Heaven has many children's book reviews and I want to ensure that this blog stays at a level where I can welcome children to read my articles.

That does NOT mean that books that I don't consider suitable reading for children, are not worthy of your attention. I notice that the hits for books on there are generally lower... That's a shame, because adults are missing many great books, that just happened to be only for older teens, young and older adults... I will be making sure on my announcement page that I place tags at the bottom. I use erotic to refer to books emphasizing sex, which are few in number... Give that blog a chance, please! 

JMPO is also for my own personal blog writing, so the variety of content is wide. I've also included product reviews there and will probably be increasing those in the future...

In the meantime, watch for Frankie Y. Bailey's latest, What the Fly Saw, on Sunday as part of her blog tour...

By the Way, you may wonder why I'm spotlighting poetry next month, when I'm not at this moment accepting many new booka for review... Well, I hate to admit it, but I'm getting old... just had another birthday and have had a bad month physically--fell twice and burnt my hands twice--so I'm having to adjust to those bodily issues that won't go away...LOL... Besides the enjoyment of reading poetry, the emphasis will give me a chance to read and post reviews as finished, while at the time, also sharing poetry from those who may not have yet been published.

As I've been mentioning, most of the books coming in are all long, and take longer to read. I'm selecting based upon length of book and filling in with children's books, etc., as I need to. The poetry will help me with keeping my blog articles moving ahead. Hope this answers any questions about my response time on requests...

Reminder: send poetry, photopoems, speaking word videos to GABixlerReviews@aol.com!

Bad Things Happen...by Harry Dolan. Just What's Needed to Spend a Great Weekend Reading.....

I've been waiting for you to come by," said the man in the blue suit. "That was clever, leaving your name off. It sparked my interest." He tossed his hat onto his hat onto a filing cabinet. Loogan said nothing.
"Is this the same one again, or a new one?"
Looking down at the envelope in his lap, Loogan saide, "It's the same one. I've made some improvements."
"You ougjt to be careful. If it gets much better. I won't be able to publish it." The mjan took a seat at the desk. "The reason I've been waiting for you--I wanted to make you an offer. I want you to work for me."
This was unexpected. Loogan frowned. "I'm not really a writer."
"I don't need another writer. I've got writers scrabbling between the walls here, gnawing on the wiring. What I need if an editor."
Loogan shifted in his chair. "I don't think I'm qualified. I don't have the training."
"Nobody does," the man said. 
"It's not like people go to school for it. No one sets out to be an editor. It's somethat that happens to you, like jaundice or falling down a well." He pointed at Loogan's emvelopes. "I like what you've done here," he said. "There's a clear improvement from one draft to the next. The question is, could you do the same thing with someone else's story?"
Loogan looked to the window, where the twilight was deepening. This isn't a problem, he thought, you can always refuse.
"I suppose I could," he heard hijself saying, "But I'm not looking for a job. I don't know how I feel about coming into an office every morning."
The man in the blue suit leaned back. "You won't have to come in. You can work from home. You won't have to follow a schedule. You'll only have to do one thing...

~~~

Bad Things Happen

By Harry Dolan

When I read The Last Dead Girl last year, I knew immediately I wanted to read more so I ordered the first two books in this series. Last weekend I wanted to sink into what I thought would be a great book and I was right! I've always enjoyed books that are set in the publishing area, so I was pleased to immediately read that our main character, David Loogan, had just been hired as an editor for a mystery magazine...

Of course, he never would have realized that he would soon become part of the greatest mystery he might ever have to wade through! He had never been taught to be an editor--he also had never been taught to solve a murder. Especially the murder of the man who had just hired him!

The shovel had to meet certain requirements.
A pointed blade. A short handle, to make it
maneuverable in a confined space. He finds
what he needs in the gardening section of
a vast department store.
He stows the shovel in his cart and moves
unhurriedly through the wide aisles, gathering
a few more items: D-cell batteries, a bag of
potting soil, a can of week-killer. Leather work
gloves, two pairs. In the grocery section he
picks up four deli sandwiches wrapped in
plastic and a case of bottled water.
~~~

David Loogan was not always David Loogan. He had legally changed his name after a violent incident from his past. When you meet him, however, you will wonder how that could be. He's calm, cool, collected and stays that way through most conversations.  I enjoyed the dialogue whenever he was involved!

The Washington Post called this book the best first novel of the year (2013) so just assume I've written some gracious witty words to describe the book--LOL! Better I tell you more about it, right?!

Grub Street sitting in for
"Gray Streets Magazine..."

So David is soon working with Tom, who is quite satisfied with his work as well as David. In fact, when he needed help, that was completely out of the business environment, Tom called David...

He needed him to help bury a body...

David was sent to get shovels and others things they would need.  Even that didn't go well, since the cashier decided she had seen him before and started a conversation. Fortunately he realized she was flirting...but not before he "sees himself stabbing the blade into the base of the cashier's neck..."

When David reached Tom's home, he had told him what had happened. At least the story he wanted him to believe. But when David caught him saying one thing, he questioned Tom and got a different story. It was only later that David found out that even that was a lie and so was the name of the individual they'd buried!

Interestingly, David had been having an affair with Tom's wife but had stopped contact when he had started working for him...Now, he was confronting her:

"Come sit with me David," she said. "I didn't come here to talk about editing...I think we should put these cushions on the floor, David..."

He said nothing. Her hand drew back. It went to the front of her blouse... David's face held no expression...Finally he said, "The thing is, I like him."

"Yes, it would have to be that," she said in a small voice. "I knew you liked him. If you didn't, it wouldn't have worked. If you hated him, I wouldn't have had anything to do with you. But he's your friend. And I should have known--David Loogan is an honorable man.

She sighed. "You and Tom, You're like that fable..."Androcles," she said. "Androcles and the lion...

"Am I Androcles in this scenario?"

"You're the lion and the lion is grateful. He's not going to attack Androcles, He's not going to let any harm come to Androcles...He's certainly not going to sleep with Androcles' wife..."

~~~

As the police would say, she was a person of interest. And David knew that he would do anything in his power to find out who had killed Tom...That meant talking to his former lover as well as all other employees at Gray Streets...

Including Tom's wife, there were four older employees who were now looking to keep the magazine going. They asked to meet with David and asked if he would step into the editor's position until they could determine what to do. Without thinking, David said he had thought they were going to ask him to investigate his death... But he then agreed to take the job for a time...

About that time, the police become very active in the investigation, so much so that the lead officer is constantly in conflict with David about staying out of it! Of course he doesn't, and they become attracted and fight off those feelings... At the end there is a date set up and I'm hoping that this police team reappear in the future...I enjoyed their interaction so much! I also enjoyed the three writers who were watching over the business now...not for liking them but for seeing them as being so appropriately created and seeing the potential of whether or not and which one, if any of them, could have done it...but, even though this sounds like a simple one central plot, it is not.  So plan on working to keep things straight in your mind...who is writing what, are they really writing what is published...or...

As David gets further and further into what could have caused Tom's murder, the mention of a manuscript suddenly starts flavoring his thinking,,, And then more are murdered, all of which are related in some way--but how!?? And how about a little blackmail to mix up the pot of confusion?!! And then there's the tag game for "who's got the correct USB drive--and which is more important--the original or the edited book?!
Tom had a plan..."He worked on it for a long time and he wanted it published. The plan didn't go the way he expected, but that wasn't his fault. A bad thing happened but when it was done, it was done. There was no reversing it...Whether Tom told the police or not, it couldn't made any difference...

She brought her palms up to rub the weariness from her eyes..."Bad things happen. Tom died, and then it was up to me to decide what to do. Maybe I should have told the police...maybe I should tell  them now. But none of that can make a bit of difference to Tom."

This is such an exciting book--a page turner that hooks you from the first page when Tom starts buying the shovel and other items to bury the body of a man...on through the interviews, discussions and possibilities of solving one murder, then another, and then another... A thriller, yes! But, you know, I wonder how many writers out there are "dying" to get published... A great weekend Read!


GABixlerReviews

Harry Dolan is the author of BAD THINGS HAPPEN (Putnam/Amy Einhorn Books, July 23, 2009). He graduated from Colgate University, where he majored in philosophy and studied fiction-writing with the novelist Frederick Busch. He grew up in Rome, New York, and now lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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