book review

Book Review: The Unknown Spy

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The Unknown Spy by Eoin McNamee

The Unknown Spy (Ring of Five)
by Eoin McNamee

3 out of 5 stars

Danny attends Wilsons Academy, a school for spies in another Lower World. They work to stop an army of Cherbs from invading the Upper World of humans. Danny makes friends among the spy cadets of the academy. Les is a thief with wings. Dixie can teleport anywhere she can see her way through. And Vandra has special healing powers. Together they learn all the skills they need to spy on the evil Ring of Five who control the Cherb army, but the most essential skill for any spy is the art of betrayal.

In this second book of the series, Danny is entrusted with a special mission in the Upper World to find the Treaty Stone that stops the Cherb armies from invading the world of humans. He must protect the Treaty Stone at all costs against the Cherb spies who would try to destroy it. Along the way, he is tempted to betray his friends, and he learns that he may have a special power that is entirely unique.

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Book Review: Unicornia: The Dance Show

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Unicornia by Ana Punset

Unicornia: The Dance Show
by Ana Punset, Diana Vicedo (Illustrator)

Claudia and her friends want to enter the school dance show, but they can’t come up with a dance routine. They stumble around and bump into each other and clap on the wrong beat. Claudia says they just need more practice, but she worries that they will make fools of themselves in front of everyone at the dance show. Should they look for a magical short-cut, or just put in the work and practice more?

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Book Review: Unicornia- A Magical Birthday

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Unicornia by Ana Punset

Unicornia: A Magical Birthday: (A Magical Chapter Book for Kids Ages 5-7 about Friendship, Surprises, and Enchanted Birthday Fun)
by Ana Punset, Diana Vicedo (illustrator)

On her birthday, Pippa’s parents are stranded, and can’t get a flight home because of the weather. Claudia and Sara are determined to give Pippa the best birthday ever, even if her parents can’t make it to the birthday party. They go to a magical amusement park in Unicornia, and get stuck on the ferris wheel and are rescued by emergency unicorns! They try out every ride and attraction, including a balloon ride in the clouds, and a boat ride on a magical lake. They are surprised with a special birthday picnic, complete with magical birthday cake!

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Book Review: Unicornia- Learning to Fly

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Unicornia: Learning to Fly: (A Magical Chapter Book for Kids Ages 5-7 about Friendship, Courage, and Learning Something New)
by Ana Punset, Diana Vicedo (illustrator)

Claudia moves to Unicornia and discovers that unicorns are real! She has to attend a new school where she learns potions and magical history and how to ride a unicorn. Her Unicorn Flying class is too difficult though, and Claudia worries that she will never learn to ride properly. What if she falls off the unicorn and fails the class? Her new friends Pippa and Sara encourage her to try new things and be confident.

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Book Review: America As It Happened

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America As It Happened by What on Earth!

America As It Happened: A moment-by-moment journey through time, from prehistory to the present day
by What on Earth!, The Washington Post

1 out of 5 stars

This book can only loosely be described as “history” since it is filled with some of the worst propaganda that I have ever read. I don’t know how they think they can get away with outright lies about well-known historic events when any child could just look up the facts for themselves and know that this book is full of untruths. But most people probably won’t bother to look up the facts, and so the writers seem to get away with it.

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Book Review: The Cloud Kingdom

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The Cloud Kingdom by Máire Zepf

The Cloud Kingdom
by Máire Zepf (Goodreads Author)

5 out of 5 stars

This circular collection of fairy stories is set in the framework of a girl who makes a deal with the fairies after they kidnap her cat. If they return her cat, she agrees to read them a story every week. Each story leads into the next, as the characters in the current story begin to tell another story which leads us into the next chapter, similar to the story structure of The Thousand and One Nights.

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Picture Book: Peg’s Egg

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Peg's Egg by Jo Renfro

Peg’s Egg (Peg’s Adventures, 3)
by Jo Renfro

5 out of 5 stars

Peg finds an egg in the field and decides to help it to hatch. She warns off a dog. She keeps the egg warm and dry. She waits and waits for the egg to hatch. Becoming impatient, she gives the edge a little nudge and discovers that the egg is not all that it seems. She has made a very silly mistake!

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Book Review: Charlie Bone and the Time Twister

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Charlie Bone and the Time Twister by Jenny Nimmo

Charlie Bone and the Time Twister (The Children of the Red King, #2)
by Jenny Nimmo

5 out of 5 stars

Henry has been magically thrown forward in time from 1916, and the evil Bloor family want their revenge on him. Charlie Bone and his friends have to find a way to return Henry to his own time, or at least get Henry away from the Bloors.

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Picture Book Review: The Most Wonderful Gift in the World

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The Most Wonderful Gift in the World by Mireia Olilvé Obradors

The Most Wonderful Gift in the World
by Mireia Olilvé Obradors, Angus Yuen-Killick (translator), Anastasia Wessex (illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

A little mouse tries to find the perfect gift for their mother. They roll a pine cone to their home, but all the pine nuts fall out. They pick a beautiful flower, but the petals fall off. They bring a lovely bird’s feather, but the wind blows it away. Finally, the little mouse thinks they have found the perfect gift, but their mother reminds them that the best gift of all is the family love that they share.

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Book Review: Time for Haiku

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Time for Haiku by Josep Santaeulàlia

Time for Haiku: Four Seasons of Poems
by Josep Santaeulàlia, Lawrence Schimel (Translator), Luciano Lozano (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

This beautiful book of poetry features one or two haiku poems on each page, organized by the seasons of nature starting with the Autumn. Each page is illustrated with minimalistic but powerful artwork that deepens the meaning of each poem.

In the section for Autumn, we reflect on the falling leaves and a slow snail that leaves a trail behind. The colder weather means we will open up the forgotten sock drawer and find our warmest thick socks to wear.

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