Children's Book Review: Seamus the Sheltie to the Rescue! by James Beverly

Seamus the Sheltie to the Rescue!

Author James Beverly

Illustrated by Anita Miles

Publisher:  Nightengale Press

Copyright:  2011

ISBN 978-1-933449-88-3

Pages:  155

Includes: A Brief Introduction to Seamus the Sheltie to the Rescue!, Appendix I: Talking With Your Child About Seamus, Appendix II:  'Seamus Speak' Glossary, The Real Seamus Photos, Author Biography, Endorsements and Epilogue

Source:  a copy was provided by the author and Bostick Communications in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

From the Press Release:   Seamus is Back!

"Seamus the Sheltie" is Back with More New and Exciting Adventures

Corinth, MS - Apr 5, 2011 - Now your child can "Laugh and Learn" again with Seamus as the gentle sheepdog guides them through more of the many challenges of growing up. The new Seamus the Sheltie to the Rescue is the third book in the National award-winning "Seamus the Sheltie" series.

If you sometimes have trouble finding the right words to comfort your children when they encounter difficult or frightening issues, or feel unsure of how to share with your children your family's values, or feel ill prepared to explain difficult or moral situations - then the Seamus the Sheltie children's books were written for you.

It's not easy being a kid. There are lots of things to know and learn, and some of them are scary. It's not easy being a parent, either. Sometimes it's hard to find the right words to explain a situation, share our values, or comfort our kids. This new book in the "Seamus the Sheltie" series helps both parents and children to talk about important subjects with the assistance of an unusual guide - a Shetland sheepdog named Seamus.

In Seamus the Sheltie to the Rescue, the lovable sheepdog both learns and teaches valuable lessons about trust, compassion, being born different and kindness. But wisely, the book doesn't preach. Kids can identify with Seamus' feelings - his exhilaration at playing in the snow, his compassion when confronted by a lost or injured animal, or the fear of going to (shudder) the vet. This author does not flinch when it comes to dealing with difficult issues. In Seamus the Sheltie to the Rescue, difficult subjects such as animal cruelty, being born different, adoption, loss of family members, bullies, fear of doctors, the true meaning of Christmas giving, animal rescue shelters, and the joy of experiencing the simple things in life like watching the clouds and playing in the snow are presented.

Rescuing Angus
from the author's site

Review:  James Beverly captures the hearts of his readers with stories of adventures and good life lessons in Seamus the Sheltie to the Rescue!  Broken into chapters with new characters and themes, this children's book is ideal for bedtime reading and for use in those circumstances where answers to situations may sometimes be difficult to verbalize. 

Illustrations by Anita Miles compliment the text, bringing to life the stories of Seamus.  A fun touch that the author, James Beverly, includes in each story is a special "Seamus Speak" language as he imagines how Seamus would speak if given the opportunity to verbalize in English.  Seamus' language will make it fun for parents to read aloud to their children. This is definitely one that you will want to add to your children's library.

Seamus the Sheltie to the Rescue is a keeper!

Rated 4/5

James Beverly and his dog Seamus

About the author:  James Beverly was born in Seco, a small historical coal mining town in eastern Kentucky. He is an only child. His family moved from Kentucky to Detroit when he was five years old. He grew up in Detroit.

Mr. Beverly has worked in the field of mental health as a therapist and administrator in nine states for over forty five years and has presented at a number of national and state conferences. He has been nominated for a variety of state and regional awards for innovative clinical programming and was among the first to develop and implement a multi-disciplinary battered women's facility that was operated by a community mental health center. His innovative domestic intervention police training program that was designed to serve community based law enforcement agencies was presented by request to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Mr. Beverly retired in June of 2010.  During his many years of service, Mr. Beverly worked directly with a wide variety of distressed children and their families in a variety of institutional and community settings. During this time, he became acutely aware of the poor communication that existed in many of the families, which led to a lack of meaningful family values being instilled in the children. Most of these families were motivated to teach their children- but lacked the necessary basic materials, knowledge and skills to be successful. It was apparent to him that there were very little written or easily accessible materials available for parents and children to assist in these tasks. These experiences laid the foundation for a series of books for children and their parents that was designed specifically to fill these values and communication gaps in a pleasant, fun, and non-threatening manner.