Fantasy, Fiction, Indie, Kidlit

[Middle Grade] Get Ready For Some Imaginary Adventures! 4 Reasons To Read Sarah & Katy and the Book of Blank by Julie Stroebel Barichello

This was a really fun kids book! Recommended to me by Lilyn @ Scifi and Scary, it delivered the promise. Definitely recommended to read with your child, or to give as a present. Let’s get on with the reasons why I recommend it!

4 Reasons To Read Sarah & Katy and the Book of Blank

Sarah and Katy are boooooored. They’re really bored, and their friends should be arriving any minute now, but time just seems to stand still. Which is when they remember that they have two books given to them as presents! Finally, something to pass the time. The funny thing about the books, though, is that they seem to be blank. And they have a warning not to open them unless you can finish them. Who ever heard of that? Naturally, Sarah & Katy jump into the book.

Except they jump into it literally. And they can’t get out, until they get to the end of the story! Brace yourselves for a bunch of imaginary, and quite perilous adventures.

It’s Fun Like A Proper Kids Book!

I often wonder what I like so much about kids books and why I still keep reading them deep into my adulthood – when I don’t even have kids myself. It must be the child in me, right? But did you ever notice that we adults don’t really get to read many FUN books? Like, can you even think of one? The best we get is some fun comedy shows. Books are for thinking. (If you came up with a few fun books for adults, please just comment and let me know. I have to read them.)

But so back to my point. Being a child was way more fun than being an adult partly because we didn’t have the sucky responsibilities like bills, working hours and cleaning the kitchen. But it was also more fun, simply because… we knew better how to have fun. And kids stories are part of that. Even when the characters are struggling with something, the dynamics are there and you also know that it will not end badly. That makes a fun story. And this is exactly what this book has! It keeps a steady pace, never lingering, and it delivers a fun story. This is perfect to read with your kids, if you have some. It’s also perfect to read to your inner child, if you feel like you’ve been neglecting yours.

…The Boomslang

You know how kids will sometimes get a hold of a single word and use it as an answer or even an interjection in ANY kind of situation? To the point where it gets annoying for you, but the child thinks it’s all the rage? And most of the time it’s a word that the kid thought interesting or funny and new? Well, that’s the boomslang. I swear, if I was a child, I would be going around, saying boomslang this and boomslang that. It would be boomslang that turns the little light on in the fridge. It would be the boomslang that left the toothpaste open. It would SO be the boomslang that is making those sounds outside during the storm. Isn’t is just the most majestic word..?

(In fact, I am slowly considering doing it despite being an adult. I am currently calculating the effect it would have on my boyfriend.)

But it’s just such a great word though, isn’t it??

If you’re wondering what or who the boomslang is, it’s a big talking snake that the kids have to dodge during their adventures. The boomslang itself isn’t a super amazing character, it’s just a mean old snake, but I should say, it’s got an amazing name. And, actually, boomslangs exist as snakes in our world too, except I hope not this big! I am pretty surprised I only found out they’re a thing through this book. A majestic word like that should not go unknown.

Tell me. Have you heard of boomslangs before???

But I’m getting carried away.

Deep Among The Adventures, There’s A Love Of Books

And you know, I’ve always been in favor of children being taught the love for books as much as they can be. It’s not really a spoiler, so let me loosely quote of the last lines in the book:

“But we just spent all day trying to get out of the Book of Blank. Why do you want to go right back in?”
“That’s the point of books. You want to get to the end of the so you can start the next one.”

I don’t know if anyone has ever captured the essence of what being a bookworm is better than the author of Sarah & Katy and the Book of Blank.

The Illustrations!

This book has really lovely illustrations, I definitely enjoyed them. And I know for kids who read, illustrations are also a huge part of a book. Sarah & Katy and the Book of Blank has definitely delivered in this one! I could find some illustrations from this book online, and I’m sharing them. The artist shares her portfolio here, so you can see more.

I thank the author for giving me a free copy of the book in exchange to my honest opinion. Receiving the book for free does not affect my opinion. You can buy the book here at Book Depository and buying using this link supports the blog.

Have you read Sarah & Katy and the Book of Blank? Do you read many kids books as an adult, like me? And MOST IMPORTANTLY!! Have you heard of the boomslang???!!!