Review of 'Baby Jaimie Has a Crush'

Book Blurb:

From the minute she met him everyone thought Baby Jaimie's first crush was Derek. Derek even thought so. That's why he asked her first grade teacher, Mrs. Smith if he could come in to visit her.

The day of the visit didn't go as planned. While Derek was introducing himself a new student, Jack, entered the room and stole everyone's attention. Especially Baby Jaimie's. For that reason Derek took an instant disliking to the new kid.

Baby Jaimie is forced to choose between Derek and Jack, and she doesn't know what to do. Is there a way to combine old friends with new friends? Can't they all just get along? Find out in The Adventures of Baby Jaimie: Baby Jaimie Has a Crush.



My thoughts:

The Baby Jaimie series is very sweet. All of them are based on author Jaimie Hope's real life. Her situation in this book is a familiar one to parents and teachers of six year-olds. Baby Jaimie really enjoys spending time with her friend Derek, who also has a wheelchair. A new boy named Jack shows up, who has braces on his legs. The other children don't seem to like him, so Baby Jaimie takes him under her wing. Derek is jealous of her attentions to Jack. Her family, particularly her sister, gently teases her about having a new boyfriend. Baby Jaimie makes it her mission to make Derek and Jack understand that she can be friends with them both.

I have students with the same big heart as Baby Jaimie in my classroom. They want to be friends with everyone and are determined to be the peacemakers in the classroom. That quality in the character will resonate with young readers. The fact that the children all have some kind of physical disability can help demonstrate that just because a person looks different, doesn't mean that they are mentally or emotionally different. This book is a gentle way to incorporate that lesson. Most importantly, the book focuses on the lesson of friendship. I think it could be a great springboard into either classroom discussions or one-on-one talks with your child about being a friend at school and how to handle difficult situations.

Children are also going to relate to the illustrations in the book. They are all hand-drawn and have a youthful quality about them. I recommend checking out this series.

Buy links: Kindle | Paperback

About the author:




I was born November 3, 1976 in New York. Growing up one of my favorite time of the day was story time.

Even at an early age, I became wrapped up in whatever story was being read. At the time, I just wanted to be part of the story. It wasn't until high school that I decided I wanted to be a writer. This is when my ideas for the Adventures of Baby Jaimie started forming.

I was on the newspaper staff for two years in high school and really enjoyed it. We didn't have assigned stories, but we were able to do investigative reporting if we chose to. I was usually more into the freelance style of writing about whatever happened to be on my mind at the time.

In my senior year, I took a creative writing course where I got to explore the depths of my creativity. After graduation in 1995, I put writing aside for a while. I went to college and did what most people try to do, "try to find myself". I got my Associates degree in 1999.

In 2002, I moved to Florida. I did quite a lot while I was there. I was an active volunteer in the local historical society. I also did volunteer work at the local library.

During this time, I also sang on a few demos at the local studio, tried my hand at songwriting and ran a book club.

It wasn't until 2005, when I picked up The Adventures of Baby Jaimie and started working in earnest to get it done. I finished the text of my manuscript within a month. I submitted it to a handful of publishers, only to be rejected.

Again, I shelved The Adventures of Baby Jaimie, temporarily, when I moved back to New York in the spring 2006 that I even thought about picking it up again. I had lunch with a friend one day in the summer of 2006 who told me about a friend of hers who was also an author. She put me in contact with him, and he gave me advice on how to go about making my dreams of becoming a published author come true.

In November of 2006, AuthorHouse released The Adventures of Baby Jaimie.

After the release, I got busy trying to promote it, and as they say, life happened. I began to try my hand at writing a novel. This proved to be a slow process as well, but not as slow as my first book.

In July of 2008, PublishAmerica released my first short novel, Who Says You Can't Go Home.

You may be asking yourself what's next. Only time will tell.

Visit her website at www.jaimiehope.com.

Follow her on Twitter @jaimiehope.

Visit her on Facebook.