Local Writer: Oval Man by Mary Davis Gage

I have to tell you about a book I just got, Oval Man.

It is by a local writer and illustrated by her daughter.

Oval Man has so much I love. This is an ideal book to read to children and the illustrations are beautiful.

The book is good to read aloud dramatically. And it has phrases like “Three-cornered drops of drool dripped to the floor” and “our food tastes like garbage grease,” that kids will love.

The vocabulary isn’t too basic, but once kids have heard it a few times, I bet they can read it all by themselves, too.

There is a pronunciation guide for unfamiliar words.

And at the end of the book, there is a simple drawing lesson. With these easy instructions, kids can recreate the drawings in the book or draw a new adventure for Oval Man.

The little dog, Ovaltina, is adorable. And the drawing lesson makes her easy to draw, too.

The main character is a superhero, Oval Man. His wife, Ovalah is the president.

My kids loved identifying shapes. This book goes a little farther and includes not just triangles by types of triangles.

The book teaches important things without banging kids over the head with it.

• The president is a woman.
• Nutritious food is delicious.

• The Solar System includes the Kuiper belt.
• The superhero apologizes to the bad guy when he accidentally hurts him.
• If you don’t know something, look it up.

You can buy the book right now. It is on Amazon.