Children's Book: Mom Made Us Write This in the Summer by Ali Maier

I am very excited to share with you a children's book that was absolutely adorable!

Mom Made Us Write This in the Summer

by

Ali Maier

It is the first book in the new series, Max and Maggie. 
  Here's more about the book:

A sister and brother, forced to write in the summer, and share ONE journal? Ugh.

This is exactly what happens to 10-year-old twins Maggie and Max Pruitt. When Mom comes up with a plan for them to keep a summer journal, Maggie and Max can’t believe it. Worse yet, they have to share!

Through their writing, Maggie and Max find out they have very different (and hilarious) views about growing up, family and life – a conclusion they only discovered because, as Max and Maggie say, “Mom Made Us Write This.”

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My Thoughts:

How do kids want to spend their summer vacation? Not doing homework, that's for sure. This story was told through journal entries between a brother and sister, Max and Maggie. They were forced to write during the summer by their mother to make them get along. This book was absolutely cute and entertaining, and I found myself having a lot of fun with it.

What I loved best about this book was the creativity of the journals. Max and Maggie each had their own writing style. It made it easier to recognize whose journal entry was being read. All the journals had doodles that made it visually pleasing and fun to look at, which showed the different personalities of each child. It was very interesting to read how Max and Maggie had different perspectives to the same situations. It was hilarious and amusing to read their point of views. The creativity added to the entertainment of the book.

Max and Maggie were realistic. They each had fears and quirks as well as strengths. Though they were twins, their personalities were not the same. Max was the sporty boy who loved to shoot things and enjoyed anything that was gross. Maggie was the fashionable one who loved to go clothes shopping and loved cute animals, but hated babies. It was fun to read the kinds of topics that each sibling picked and it was enjoyable to read the comments that they made to each other. Max and Maggie sounded like two realistic siblings who bickered yet loved each other.

As a whole, this was an adorable children's book. I loved the idea that Max and Maggie had to write journals to each other so they could get along. They were creative and humorous. Though Max and Maggie somewhat understood the reasoning behind the journals towards the end, I was expecting a touching moment. It was still an entertaining book. I rate it:

*I received a copy in exchange for an honest review*

About the Author:

Ali Maier was born in Johnstown, PA. In high school she spent a lot of time with children, working as a summer camp counselor for many years, volunteering to teach Sunday school at church, working in the local day-care center, and working as a kindergarten aide.

She went to John Carroll University and earned a BA in Elementary Education. Throughout college, Ali worked at a local toy store then worked in product development at a company making art and craft kits for kids.

Eventually Ali left her job to work full time with her husband, Mark, at their marketing company. When her children were born, she worked from home.

Ali lives in a Cleveland suburb with her husband and two children. She loves to read, write and spend time with her family.

Ali chose to write the Mom Made Us Write This series to encourage young readers to do something she loves – to read! Ali wanted to write a book series that would allow readers to laugh and encourage them to write and share their own stories.

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