Reviews

Mom’s Big Catch for Payton

I bought Mom’s Big Catch for my little cousin Payton (9) for Christmas. Payton loves the Brewers and I thought this would be a good book for him. We celebrated Christmas today and Payton loves his book and his parents thought it was great that you took the time to sign his book. I also included the card that was with the book explaining about the Linda Blair Foudation. Thank you so much and Merry Christmas Marla.PS – Shhhhh, don’t tell, but before I gave Payton his book I had to read it first.

Great Story!!

As a HUGE baseball fan myself, I love this book and love to share it with the “future fans” in my life! It’s such a great story written by a wonderful person! My nieces absolutely love this book!! It’s great for kids of all ages and has a really fun ending! Get this book for the special little ones in your life. They’ll really enjoy it! Thanks Marla for sharing your story with us!! 🙂

Never too Young for this Story!

My granddaughters are 2 and 3 years old and they absolutely love this book! They both watch baseball with their mom and dad so when I heard about this book I knew I had to get it for them. They each have a signed copy and I have one for when they visit grandmas house. We have to read it everytime they are here! One day when the 3 year old was here, Mrs. McKenna was on the tv show I was watching and my granddaughter screamed “my book”! She ran and got it off her book shelf and of course we had to read it again! The illustations are adorable. It is so well written, a child of any age will love it! It is one book that I don’t mind reading over and over to them!

A Wonderful Story

A great story to read at home or with a class. I am a teacher and have shared this story with my students. The students feel a connection with the girls in the book and want to find out what is going to happen next. At home I’ve shared this story with my daughter who also felt a connection. I’ve given this book as birthday presents and get lots of “what a great story”. I highly recommend this book.

Two Thumbs Up !

My 7 year old daughter woke up this morning and asked if before she ate breakfast she could read Mom’s Big Catch 2 times ! I guess that is a rave review ! It is a great book !!

I Hope you Make More Books!

You came to my school the other day, and I liked your book! It was very funny, and I hope you make many more books!!

Great Author Visit

I had a great author visit from Marla McKenna. Anyone looking for an affordable, flexible, and easy to work with author for grades K-5 would certainly enjoy having Marla visit your school! The kids really connect with her material, and she has a very positive, easy to understand message.

Teaching Students to Not Give Up!

Marla McKenna’s author visit was a great experience for Rib Mountain School students! Having an author with a vested interest in not only Wausau, but our very own school as an alumni created a very connected audience experience! The students enjoyed the book and the question/answer session that Marla conducted was helpful in teaching students the lesson of staying with something
and not giving up! Thanks, Marla!

Students Energized!

Mom’s Big Catch is an inspiring story for children of all ages and even baseball loving adults! Marla McKenna shared her joy of writing during her visit to first graders at Donges Bay Elementary School. Students were left energized for the Milwaukee Brewers home opener. Mom’s Big Catch is a home run with children of all ages! McKenna brings to life the sights and smells of a day at the
ballpark. We are hoping for a sequel and that McKenna continues to enchant us with her books!

Kids Can Aspire to be Writers!

Marla McKenna visited our school with her new book, Mom’s Big Catch. Our students were excited to read the book, and with the Milwaukee Brewers right in our state, they could strongly identify with her story. Marla’s presentation emphasized that our kids were writers, too, and that we all have experiences that are book-worthy. It was a nice opportunity for our children to meet an author and see that being a writer is something they could aspire to.

Great Book!

My daughter Meghan purchased Mom’s Big Catch when Marla visited her class in WI Dells. Our family very much enjoyed the book as Meghan is 8 and Max is 5. Great book! The day Meghan brought this home we were all heading to Miller Park and could not wait to read it!

Wonderful Book for the Classroom

This book is a must have book for all elementary school classrooms.
The book is filled with adjectives, vivid pictures and a great storyline to keep the kids attention.
This would be a book that the kids would pick up and read after the teacher has read it.
Great job Marla!

All of My Kids LOVE this Book!

Being a licensed family home daycare provider, I am always looking for books that are going to keep the attention of the multiple ages of children in my program, that are easy enough for my beginning readers so they won’t get frustrated & that my older children enjoy reading them too. Mom’s Big Catch is a BIG hit with us! And thank you Marla for signing your book to my daughter, that’s her favorite part 🙂

Kept Him Guessing!

As a mother I am always captivated by the books that hold my child’s attention. Mom’s big catch is a vibrant story meant to capture the heart and the attention of children. Bright colors and words that are easily understood, as well as subject matter that is of interest to children everywhere, are what make this story so wonderful. McKenna did a wonderful job of keeping young readers guessing as the story progresses. Great job Ms. McKenna!

Family Fun and Educational Too!

Mom’s Big Catch by Marla McKenna
It is said that good readers can visualize what they are reading. I am a teacher, and Marla McKenna’s story Mom’s Big Catch certainly caught my attention with its lively characters and descriptive scenes. (The illustrations are terrific too!) McKenna wrote an exciting story about a family at a baseball game, and I felt as if I were there sharing in their enthusiasm. It brought an extra smile to my face, because I was reminded of my first experience at a major league baseball game! This is a great story for children to read on their own or to be used as a read-aloud. What a fun book for families and a great way for children to learn to visualize what they read or hear. Very enjoyable!

So Much Fun!

What a wonderful story to share with your children! My daughters especially love this book because it has girls in the story! The illustrations are wonderful, and bonus… proceeds benefit a great cause! This is our “go to” bedtime story book. I plan on using this book in my classroom this fall! Kids of every age will love this book!

Great Family Story

Even though I do not have kids or kids to share this story with, I enjoyed reading this funny and cute story about a family outing to a baseball game.
The reason I enjoyed this story is there are not a lot of books out there that tell a story about a baseball outing with girls, because girls love baseball too!

Great Idea!!

A great book to share with your children. Vivid descriptions that help kids visualize and make connections to their own life and experiences. Fun and cute illustrations as well. We love it! Marla did an outstanding job capturing the sense of awe and enjoyment that going to a ballgame can bring. We read it as a family and enjoyed it. Beautifully written and illustrated! We love that it helps animals, too. Bravo!

 A Home Run!

This is a heartwarming story kids of all ages will love. The illustrations are simply beautiful. I also love the fact that proceeds from the book will go to help homeless animals. Everybody wins 🙂

Family Time!

My girls and I are not huge sports fans but I really liked the message this fun children’s book told. Family time is so important and this book showed how fun and memorable it can be.

Adorable

This is an amazing story with adorable illustrations. That some of the proceeds go to benefit an organization that makes a difference just makes it even better!

Kindergarteners Loved This!

Marla did an amazing job reading and discussing Mom’s Big Catch with our kindergarten classes.
Marla has a gentle manner that was great for the little ones. Marla knew how to handle this age group’s questions and how to lead them to make connections with their lives and the book. Many of our students go to the Milwaukee Brewer’s games, and they were very excited to make this connection. Marla used story element terms that we’ve been learning in the classroom, which also made another connection with the students.
Marla was able to use our SMARTBOARD, to access her website and share her local interviews with television stations.This was an extra special guest for our classes, as Marla is a parent in our school, so the children were also able to make that connection. I overheard “she is an author, she is a REAL person that I know!”Marla also shared an important message that we should never give up on our dreams. It may take a long time to get there, but it is always worth it! Thank you Marla for visiting our classroom.

 I Love Writing!

This book is totally engaging for all kids, and the Author Visit at our school was such a success. Thanks so much for taking the time to read the book, talk about writing, answer questions, and work with young writers at our school. It was such a treat to meet you and the kids cannot wait to see what great book comes next!

Thank You Marla!

A big thank you to Marla McKenna for visiting Audubon Elementary School in Dubuque, Iowa. The students at Audubon loved your book. Thanks for sharing your book with us and the story of how your book came to be. We look forward to inviting you back when your next book comes out. Cant wait!
Thanks!

Girls Love Baseball Too!

What a pleasure to have Marla visit our school today! She read Mom’s Big Catch and shared her journey of taking a “small moment ” story and turning it into a dream come true. Our students loved listening to the story and enthusiastically asked lots of questions! Marla’s patient and gentle personality shone through as she answered them all. The book is a truly heartwarming story of sharing, family, and baseball. With descriptive prose Marla conveys Ashley’s desire to catch a baseball in a special way. I love that the main character is a girl because after all, girls love baseball, too! The reader is certainly treated to a surprise at the end. . .Thanks, Marla!