Channing O'Banning and the Rainforest Rescue

This new series will be a hit with those readers starting to read chapter books. Channing O'Banning is a fourth grade students with two friends she has had since pre-school, Maddy, her BFF and Cooper, the brain. Channing does not like school very much, especially Science with boring Mr. Doring, but she loves art. She always has her sketchbook handy and a pencil in her ponytail. When Marco, the new kid from Costa Rico shows up, Maddy has a crush on him and it looks like her BFF is abandoning her. She does not like Marco and he thinks she is a know-it-all. When Channing finds out that her family is going on vacation to Costa Rico, but will be staying with Marco and his family for their summer vacation, she is not impressed. As she travels in Costa Rico and Marco shows her his country, she realizes that he is a nice guy after all. There is a lot to learn in this book and at the end there are suggestions of what you can do to find out more about the rainforest as well as to help save the rainforests. A great book for a school or class library as well as to use when studying the rainforest with younger students.

Angela Spady has written a wonderful book for young readers. Channing O’Banning and the Rainforest Rescue is clean and has a positive moral. I know that my 9-year-old will enjoy reading it and I am happy for him to do so.

Fourth-grader Channing is one fast, run-on sentence. I love it. She is a little whirling dervish; quirky, zany, but a wee bit jealous and she has a bit of an issue with misplaced blame as most fourth graders tend to do. There are parts of this book that I found hilarious, such as connect the dots on your freckles and others endearing, such as Channing’s love of colored pencils and the fun names that she gives them. The story is filled with cute characters, my favorite of which is Teeny whom I believe i to be the best behaved pig on the planet.

Tammie Lyon is a talented illustrator. The drawings are funk and fun; the pages are brightly colored and engaging. I looked at her website and she is, in my opinion, gifted with an incredible talent for illustration geared towards children.

The moral of the story… Your child will learn that being a little know it all can often hurt you; you may miss out on the wonderful things that people who have different experiences and perspectives can show you. Channing also discovers that If you work together you might even be able to teach others something in return.

"I guess I needed to stop and really think before making judgments about people—especially when I didn’t know the whole story."

As you can likely discern from the title of the story Spady also encourages a green lifestyle. She advocates being thoughtful of your environment and taking small steps towards caring for it. There is a section at the end of the book which gives kids, and their parents, some practical ways to save the Rainforests.

I have no reservations allowing my child to read and enjoy Channing O’Banning and the Rainforest Rescue.

I received a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. My thanks to the author and publisher.

This sweet little series is now a favorite around our house! Channing O'Banning is a precocious 4th grader who loves art more than anything else in life. She travels with art supplies and journals through art everywhere she goes. My 5th grader has absolutely fallen in love with these books as she too is a budding artist who travels life with a sketch book.

The Rainforest Rescue is the second book in the series. Written in a funny and quips way, I think this is a great series for kids who also enjoy books like Judy Moody or Junie B. Jones. The wonderful difference about these novels is while they still have the same engaging style, they also point kids back to faith in God.

This is what Rose had to say...

"I really liked Channing O'Banning and the Rain Forest Rescue because it was funny and taught you a lot. I never knew that there was such a thing as Blue Jeans frog until I read this book. I like that they talk about God. I really liked this book."

It was fun to look some of the interesting animals, like the Blue Jeans frog, up with Rose as she was reading. She also genuinely means she appreciates that the books talk about a relationship with God. While we read secular books Rose in particular really likes when the literature reflects the faith she has in Jesus Christ.

We are both very excited to see how this series progresses!

This is a fun story about the importance of friendship and has some truly lovely moments.

My 11-year old daughter read this one. While she enjoyed it, she feels this series is best suited for ages 7-9. She likes that this series is written from a Christian worldview and references Bible verses when appropriate. She also appreciated this book's lessons about learning to get along with people, not jumping to conclusions, and trying new things.

This was a cute book that ny children loved. Look forward to getting more books by this author

A story with adventure, funny parts that have you laughing out loud, very loveable, has some friendship quarrels, and learning that people are not as you often first think they are. There was encouragement to extend grace, forgiveness and love. This was a great read! One of the BEST parts, they have an adorable pet PIG 
We received a copy of this book in exchange for our honest review.

Bio:

BFF troubles and an exotic trip filled with animals—young readers 6–10 will love stepping into the world of spunky 4th grade artist Channing O’Banning!

Fourth-grader Channing O’Banning always has a colored pencil stuck in her hair. A girl who prefers her sketch book to her math book—or any book, for that matter—budding artist Channing is the star of this new chapter book series. With parents who think she’s from Mars, an annoying older sister who acts like Queen of the World, and a surprisingly cool Nana, Channing navigates the fourth grade in hilarious stories every kid can relate to. For fans of Judy Moody or Junie B. Jones, Channing O’Banning’s antics will be familiar and welcome—and parents will love that Channing always learns a biblically based lesson.

Channing and best friend Maddy have always been inseparable—until now. Maddy is smitten with Marco, the new boy from Costa Rica—and Chan doesn’t like it one bit. But Chan’s ears perk up when Marco tells the class about the quetzal, a beautiful bird that lives in South American rainforests. Chan is determined that she will someday capture the bird in her sketchbook.

By a weird twist of fate, Channing’s family takes a trip to Costa Rica with Marco’s family. Determined to not let Marco ruin her trip, Chan sets off to find the quetzal, but she discovers more than she bargained for: first impressions aren’t always correct, and it’s so important not to judge others.

This is the first book in a series of cute children's chapter books. It's great for early readers who are just starting on chapter books.

Book one sets up the series, introducing the characters. There's Channing, the cute quirky fourth grader who loves to sketch in her sketchbook. There's Maddy, who is Channing's best friend and also currently a girlzombie who is gaga over a new guy at school. There's Conner, Channing's other best friend who is a brainiac who knows everything and takes every opportunity to let you know it.

There's Nana, who owns a pig as a pet, and loves to teach sweet little lessons to Channing about life. And there's Marco, the new kid at school who Maddy is currently crushing on.

This story follows Channing as she tries to get her best friend back from Marco who she thinks "stole her." Throw in a trip to Costa Rica with her family and the adventures never end.

There's a lot of educational material in this story, as well as a cute life lesson that's perfect for children aged 6-11.

Five stars for cuteness and educational properties.

*I received this book free from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I never laughed so much! The cutest book ever and I read it to my niece and she is 6 and loved every second of it! Can't wait to get some more of these books so that I can read the rest of them to her!

Perfect for early/junior chapter book readers. Plenty of adventure and learning about the rain forest! Looking forward to adding Channing O'Banning series to my collection.