For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to read. I’ve always hoped that my kids would follow in my footsteps and have the same love of books that I do. I started reading to them at birth and as my kids have gotten older, we’ve progressed to reading chapter books together. With three kids it’s not always easy to carve out some one-on-one time but when I heard about the new book Jacky Ha-Ha by James Patterson New York Times bestselling author and Children’s Choice Book Award Author of the Year, I knew it would be perfect for reading together with my oldest daughter, McKinley who’s 7. She’s just starting to get the hang of reading but it’s still difficult for her. I know once she gets more fluent, her love of reading will blossom.
We’ve really enjoyed our time together reading this book. McKinley has even become more willing to try reading to me on her own and I’ve seen her reading improve with practice. It really helps having a book to read that we both enjoy. Jacky Ha-Ha is about a 12 year old girl that loves to make people laugh. She wants people to laugh with her so they can’t laugh at her. She tends to make jokes in all situations, even when she probably shouldn’t.
Jacky Ha-Ha grew up on the Jersey Shore in the 1990’s so there is definitely a lot of funny stuff that I can relate to as a mom that grew up in the same era.
It’s kind of funny explaining things like what a mullet is to my daughter — we certainly get a laugh out of it and we love the drawings throughout the book.
There are a lot of things that kids can relate to in this book too. Jacky’s mom is serving in the Dessert Storm War and her dad is hardly ever home. She stutters when she’s nervous but uses humor as a distraction and to take her mind off of the not-so-funny things in her life.
To celebrate the introduction of this highly anticipated new release which debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List, we’re encouraging moms and daughters everywhere to start mom-daughter book clubs. You can find other moms and daughters reading the book by following #hahabookclub on social media. Pick up your own copy at your local bookstore, Target or online at amazon.com.
Mommies with Cents received compensation for this post as part of a promotional program with MomSelect.