Thursday, May 7, 2015

Throwback Thursday - Big Shot Chocolate Syrup

You know what I love about the Internet, Pinterest, and vintage treasure hunting?  There are always surprising things out there that bring back a flood of memories ... like Big Shot chocolate flavored syrup for milk.  This syrup was made by Pet Milk in the 1960's and came in a metal can.  It had an aerosol type spray mechanism, like Reddi-Whip.  Like many 1950's - 1960's packages, it had a cute anthropomorphic design.  I recall actually preferring the taste of chocolate milk from the dairy case ... but it was more fun to make chocolate milk with Big Shot as a little kid.  Do you remember this syrup?

Daily Vintage - Wonders of Nature by Eloise Wilkin

Without question, Eloise Wilkin is my favorite children's illustrator.  Her illustrations of children, Mid-Century family life, cats, and dogs are so sweet and have such lovely detail and nuance.  Today's Daily Vintage is a big, beautiful Eloise Wilkin book called Wonders of Nature.  It is a Big Golden Book, and has lovely illustrations of children exploring nature.  You'll find this book on the Eloise Wilkin shelf at Birdhouse Books.

Book Review: Aoleon, The Martian Girl - Part Five by Brent LeVasseur

Book Description:
Aoléon, Gilbert, Bizwat, Helios, and Zoot make it to their final destination - Cydonia where Aoléon’s parents are being held captive. They infiltrate a secret underground base and are confronted by a small army of sentrybots.

Bizwat lends Aoléon and Gilbert some of his advanced combat skills via a psionic brain dump. However, this may not be enough to save them from overwhelming hostile forces that will do anything to stop them.

They finally meet Pax - the Martian who originally set them out on the mission to discover the truth about the Luminon and his plans to invade Earth. However Pax is not who he seems to be, and through a turn of events, they uncover the true power behind all that has been happening on Mars.

Will they be able to rescue Aoléon’s parents and save Earth from invasion?   
Read part 5 to find out!

My Review:

I looked forward to another visit with Aoleon and Gilbert in Aoleon, The Martian Girl - Part Five.  I have enjoyed reading this entire series (thanks, iRead Book Tours and Brent LeVasseur!).  This is the first science fiction series I have enjoyed. These books are so much fun.

Part Five concludes the Aoleon series.   Aoleon and Gilbert have grown in strategy and courage, and they face their biggest challenge yet, as they work with their friends to save Aoleon's parents and also stop an invasion of earth.

The descriptions and details in this book are vivid and interesting.  Crystal formations are compared to rock candy.  Tiny lizards appear out of nowhere.  The underground base has tunnels and chutes and many surprises.  Gilbert is fascinated by the holographic shapes that Aoleon creates with psionic energy:  "Through the darkness of the voice, an orb of pulsating white light formed and hovered in midair before them, illuminating the entire room.  A steady humming tone resonated from within.  Forces of light manifested themselves in various three-dimensional geometric shapes, each with its own corresponding musical tone."

The illustrations are colorful and vivid.  They add a lot to the story, and are best seen in color.  I like the spectacular scenes on Mars, but I also like the detail of faces and expressions.

I have really enjoyed seeing the storylines and characters develop over the series of five books.  As the characters matured, the challenges they faced became more intense and required more courage.  The books are well written, with a nice mix of dialogue and description, and they move quickly.  I think all the Aoleon books, including this last book in the series, will appeal to young readers.
Book Trailer:
Buy the Book:
Buy The Martian Girl Song!
Another World - Single
Featuring Élan Noelle

Download on iTunes
Meet the Author:
Mr. LeVasseur enjoys crafting good stories based on lovable characters designed to translate well to multiple media formats such as books, games, movies, and toys. He lives in New York when he is not commuting between Southern California and Olympus Mons, Mars. His hobbies include writing, 3D animation, musical composition, and intergalactic space travel. He also enjoys various sports such as skiing, running, and exospheric skydiving.

Connect with Brent: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Aoléon: The Martian Girl

I received a copy of this book from iRead Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.