This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Brandon Brand is a writer, illustrator, and an award winning political cartoonist living in Maryville, Missouri, with his lovely wife, Natasha and their three daughters, Ashton, Lana and Victoria. Brandon grew up in the farming community of Ravenwood, Missouri where he attended Northeast Nodaway High School. It was there that he was introduced to the Hardy Boys, (which he read the complete series), Louis L'amour (which he still enjoys reading), and many other adventure writers. Brandon graduated from Northwest Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in geography.
Reviewed by Jessyca Garcia for Readers' Favorite
Lily Is... Wide Awake by Brandon Brand is a rhyming story for children. In the book, Lily cannot fall asleep because she keeps hearing and seeing things in the dark. Lily and her parents blame her overactive imagination and fear of the dark on reading too many comic books.
I thought Lily Is... Wide Awake was a cute story. Everyone can relate to Lily because everyone has had trouble falling asleep at least once in their lives due to a brain that will not turn off. I admit I still see things in the dark as an adult that scare me. I read this story with my 4-year-old and she had mixed reactions to it. On one hand she loved how there were so many words that rhymed in the story. The story had a really nice flow to it. Brand definitely has a way with words. On the other hand, it gave her new things to fear at night. I like that the illustrations are very colorful. This makes the monsters in the book a little less scary looking.
The wording in the story may be difficult for some children to read on their own, so I recommend this book for children aged six and up. If you do choose to read this story at bedtime to young children, make sure they are not going to be scared by it. This book is a good reminder to parents what it was like to be a child in a dark room at bedtime.
