About the Book: Oliver is an elegant tuxedo cat, who is full of himself. As a matter of fact he says: “I love myself!”, quite often. Naughty, isn’t he? But his best friend Jumpy, a kangaroo lady, is aware that he has a soft heart and will always want to help others. The great thing is Jumpy’s pouch, which Oliver loves to ride in! He calls her his kangaroo taxi! These little bedtime stories with their lovely illustrations are great for small kids. A parent can read the text and tell the child in his own words.
These animal stories have sufficient text to keep early readers happy and provide some educational value. Love you all! Meow!
Story 40: Elephant Heaven
Story 41: Waking the Princess
Story 42: Space Ball
About the Author: Born in Vienna, Austria, Werner is now living in the paradise of Perth, Australia with his wife, two married children and three grandchildren. He worked many years in the printing industry and later for the United Nations in Vienna. His wife had been a pen-friend, whom Werner visited in Hong Kong and finally got married to. After an eventful life, now retired, he began to write children's stories, had them illustrated through Odesk, narrated them himself for YouTube and finally published the ebooks on most platforms. Werner's dream is to see "Oliver and Jumpy" animated as a TV series.
There are lots of fairy tales and bedtime stories around and many of them quite violent. This made Werner decide to write something different. On a flight from Europe to Australia he watched the movie Magic on Belle Island with Morgan Freeman, where Freeman teaches a little girl to have imagination and write her first story. This inspired Werner as well and the first stories with his two characters Oliver, the elegant tomcat, and Jumpy, his kangaroo lady friend, made their appearance. Some very capable illustrators have helped to create this picture book series.
Author Peter Frederick sums it all up!
Here are books created by Werner Stejskal, an author who has a wonderful sense of adaptability into the world of a child. Movements, sentiments, expressions and ideas are being visualised, that enthral and win over the little reader. Plus, his terminology is perfectly matched to the mood of each self-contained story. The author also displays amazing sensitivity and is able to transport even adults back into long-past childhood. All good virtues are being emphasized, like friendship, loyalty, determination and civility, giving the fascinated reader the right signals for spiritual development. The main characters, Oliver and Jumpy, are the masters of a variety of situations that draw the reader into the stories. But one of the main reasons for the success of these children's books is the artwork! The graphics, outstandingly created by the artist, have their hues and shapes completely adapted to the respective situation and so contribute to the emotional absorption of each picture. Text and message. sombre feelings and cheery situations are being created and masterly entertain the little readers. One can only recommend this series of children's books to all adults who wish to keep their little ones occupied in a positive, entertaining and learning environment!
My Review: This book is part of a series called Oliver and Jumpy. This particular volume has stories 40 - Elephant Heaven, 41 - Waking the Princess, and 42 - Space Ball. It is an excellent gift for parents with children under 8 as suggested by the author. The book is beautifully illustrated by Mario Tereso (stories 40 and 42) and Maycee Ann Reyes (story 41) and that is a very important plus, as its main audience will rely on the images to follow the stories, as many will not have reached the age to start reading by themselves. In "Elephant Heaven", Oliver went to Ghost Castle and finds a large elephant in the middle of a dry land, that thinks Oliver will lead him and his family to a fertile land. In their way they have to scape from wild fires and many other adventures. In the "Waking the Princess", Oliver goes on the rescue of a princess that cursed by a witch, but he has to face three challenges . Finally in "Space Ball", Oliver and Jumpy are sitting in a veranda having a cold drink when they see a fireball in the sky coming in their direction! Their visitor goes with them in a Hallowing trick-or-treating. All stories are very sweet and even touching and the characters are always showing good behavior. No violence, nothing too scary or too exciting, it will keep your toddler entertained (but not excited) during that critical bedtime period. They will love the stories and soon enough Oliver and Jumpy will be in their hearts forever.
In my kindle fire the story was presented in landscape orientation. No option to have it in portrait orientation, but this is far away from being a problem. I just thought it was worth mentioning.
If you read this review, feel free to leave a comment.
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