Reviews Galore
Great Kid-Level Drama
Young readers will like the subject matter and theme of the book. Belonging and being different are powerful ideas that young readers can relate to. The plot moves quickly, and kids will love the part when everything falls apart - great kid-level drama. The story has great fun elements for kids. (Lucky isn't lucky but becomes lucky; there are read-aloud fun phrases like Bow-Wow-Chow-Now, etc) The sketch-style art has a warm, fun feel...and the book is just the right length for a read-along picture book.
(Judge - Writer's Digest Self-Published e-Book Awards)
Delightful
A delightful book about differences for any child, especially a child who has, at some time, felt 'left' out.
Author Bill Meissner
(Spirits in the Grass, Hitting into the Wind, The Road to Cosmos )
Left-Handed and Proud
Lucky the Left Pawed Puppy is a children’s book written by Billie Kelpin and illustrated by Julie Parker. Lucky lives with Mrs. Poppyset and his two dog friends, Shortstuff and Rags. Lucky seems to be doing everything a little bit differently than the other two dogs. When they play fetch with Mrs. Poppyset, Shortstuff and Rags run to one side of the yard, while Lucky runs to the other. It happens at night too. When they all pile up on the bed, Mrs. Poppyset is snuggled up with Shortstuff and Rags, and Lucky’s on the other side of the bed by himself. One day, the dogs are seen by a talent agent who decides that they could be the next dog stars, but when they begin to perform a twirling act on the stage, Lucky twirls in the wrong direction. The director calls for the animal trainer who soon discovers the truth -- Lucky is Left-Pawed.
Billie Kelpin’s children’s book, Lucky the Left Pawed Puppy, is sure to make a lot of lefties quite happy. I know it did that for me from the moment I saw the title. Yes, I’m left-handed and quite proud of the fact, but it still meant crouching around to write on tiny desks designed for right-handed people and being expected to play sports and do just about everything as if I were right-handed. Kelpin’s book shows lefties and righties alike that while there are some pretty basic differences between us, it’s really all right. Her words in the beginning of the book remark on the left-handed person’s ability to adapt but stress that learning to use one’s dominant hand can transform being able into becoming excellent. Wise words indeed. Her lively and entertaining story is accompanied by Parker’s brightly colored and amusing water-color illustrations. How I wish there were books like this when I was a child, but then again, I’m still thrilled to have found this one now. Lucky the Left Pawed Puppy is most highly recommended.
Reviewed By Jack Magnus for Readers’ Favorite
Genuine and InspirationalReviewed in the United States on October 28, 2021
If you were deaf, a family member of a person who was deaf, or a teacher of the deaf, the 1960’s were challenging and tumultuous years, not just because of the unrest in our society due to the war in Vietnam, but also because there was a revolution going on in the consciousness of deaf people, in how they communicated and in how they were taught...In “Falling Idols,” Billie Kelpin has captured the essence of this revolution among the deaf community as experienced by a teacher of the deaf who must challenge the authority and tradition of the “idols” who run the deaf education department at her college and who have strong influence over the school in which she teaches after she graduates. At the same time, her heroine, Kate, is grappling with a war-veteran father who doesn’t understand the sentiments of young people who oppose their country’s war efforts... But most of all, this is a coming-of-age story about a young woman who comes of age a little late, but along with the rest of her college-age friends, who are trying to understand what is happening around them...It is told with wit, empathy, insight and literary skill. It is an inspiration to read.
Coming of Age in a Time of Turmoil
Falling Idols is the story of Kate Kensington, a young woman about to graduate from college and begin her career as a teacher of deaf children. Her program at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee was created and driven by Agnes Ashcroft, an idol in the field of deaf education. And the school where Kate begins her career adheres to the dogma Agnes has developed over her long career. Kate begins to question this dogma, to see its shortcomings, and to see an alternate path that can enrich the lives of deaf students.
All of this takes place in 1968, a year of earthshaking events in the history of our country and the world. Kate is coming of age in a time of war—at home, in Vietnam, and in the field of deaf education. As this moving story unfolds, she finds her voice, her strength, and her conviction for the future.
Compelling story; Beautifully Written
I know this story is supposed to be a reflection of the 1960's and the tumultuous times; a perspective on the struggles of the deaf community. I think that is just the background for the real story of strength, conviction, and the moral development one woman must filter through to grow and become strong and meaningful to herself and society at large...It's a coming of age for a young woman in a time when defining people, society, and structural norms were in chaos. It is a lovely story and beautifully written–a journey worth taking with this author.