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Dr. Julia E. Antoine began writing professionally at the age of 19. At that time, she wrote short stories for the local radio station in her home town. She gave up writing when she moved to the United States to attend college. She has since earned several degrees, including two Masters and a Doctorate in Higher Education Administration from Northeastern University in Boston. During the course of her schooling, she wrote and published a working curriculum for a career school, a business manual and its answer key, as well as other literary work. In 2010, she revisited her first love, writing for fun and enjoyment. Dr. Antoine writes children's books under her given name and romance novels under her pen name, Ju Ephraime.
Visit her at: http://www.too-clever.com or on her blog at http://www.too-clever.blogspot.com
Reviewed by Fiona Ingram for Readers' Favorite
Too Clever by Dr. Julia E. Antoine is a collection of short stories designed to appeal to young readers. These stories feature inquisitive, bright kids with inquiring minds, who have their own ideas, sometimes getting fixated on a plan, and most often coming up with solutions to problems. They will try all sorts of things to prove a point, or come up with their own solution, or have to accept that there are things they just can’t change.
Young readers will enjoy the themes of these stories, from little Johnny who uses his favourite dish – fried dumplings – to help him in math, to Timothy asking about the man in the moon, to Darell wanting to have a soft, shiny coat like his dog, to Cleo who just loved tomato sandwiches, to Jason who wanted to fly like an eagle, among other tales. Parents will also be enlightened, I think, because sometimes adults can’t understand why a child fixates upon an idea, and will go to extraordinary lengths to achieve the result they desire. Social issues are also tackled and youngsters might be surprised to read about a child in a story who has no new things of her own, but has to wait until her older sibling grows out of clothes and shoes to hand them down.
The author includes interesting situations, foods, problems, solutions, and settings that young readers will enjoy. Children love to learn; they love to find the answer or the solution, and the stories in this little book could very well stimulate a young reader’s interest in finding out why shadows lengthen as the sun moves across the sky, how birds fly, how to grow their favourite vegetables, and how to solve many of life’s little complexities. Children will also learn that sometimes the answer to their problem is quite different from what they expected, but is just as good. They will also learn that sometimes there is no answer to a question, at least not yet. Simple bright illustrations help to carry the stories along and kids will enjoy finding the details in the pictures. This is a lovely book for parents and teachers to read with youngsters, and pick up the discussion points that abound, perhaps asking the child what they would do in a situation, or what they think of the character’s solution to an issue. A good book for discussion and engagement with young readers.
