February Reading Wrap Up

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This video is NOT sponsored, but does contain affiliate links. Familius Affiliate Link: http://www.familius.com/happy-families-read-together/?utm_source=booksformks&utm_medium=Influencer If you make a purchase using an affiliate link, I may receive a small affiliate commission before taxes and at no additional cost to you. There are also Amazon affiliate links below. I only recommend books and products that I actually enjoy myself, and all the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts. Thank you for your support!

Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery https://amzn.to/3bjYZyP

Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie https://amzn.to/38blio8

Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby https://amzn.to/30d8AB0

Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses https://amzn.to/3sMwm30

Friendshipping: The Art of Finding Friendship https://amzn.to/2MSEBLK

Zeus the Mighty: The Maze of the Menacing Minotaur https://amzn.to/3ebSqQA

Flash Facts by Mayim Bialik https://amzn.to/38cTVKB

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost https://amzn.to/3ebxHwa

The Night Walk https://amzn.to/3v0pocP

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Picture Book Review: Yawn

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Yawn by Patricia Hegarty

Yawn
by Patricia Hegarty, Teresa Bellon (Illustrations)
5 out of 5 stars

I can personally verify that this book will make you yawn. I yawned four times while reading it, and twice more while writing this review.

One little boy yawns, and his yawn is contagious! It sweeps through the town and out to the countryside. All around the world, people start yawning in Egypt, India, and even the North Pole. Farm animals and polar bears and elephants; no one is immune to this persistent yawn. The yawn reaches outer space where aliens begin to yawn. Then the yawn reaches the reader, and the little boy who started it all is tucked into bed fast asleep.

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Book Review: The Saddest Kitten

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The Saddest Kitten by Holly Webb

The Saddest Kitten
by Holly Webb, Sophy Williams (Illustrations)
4 out of 5 stars

Hailey’s family has just adopted a new kitten, but their older cat, Pickle, doesn’t like having a new cat in the house. Pickle fights with the new kitten, and tries to run her out of the house. Hailey’s best friend, Ilsa, has always wanted a cat, and she is jealous that Hailey has two. Ilsa offers to cat-sit for Hailey’s family when they are gone, and she discovers Pickle terrorizing the helpless kitten. Ilsa and Hailey will have to work together to find a solution so that both cats can be happy again.

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Book Review: El Increible Barco del Capitan Marco

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El increíble barco del capitán Marco by Alicia Acosta

El increíble barco del capitán Marco
by Alicia Acosta, Cecilia Moreno (Illustrator)
5 out of 5 stars

El capitán Marco emprende un viaje a través de los mares con su fiel tripulación de compañeros. Se encuentran con grandes tormentas, monstruos marinos y enormes olas que azotan su pequeño barco. ¡Pero nada impedirá que el capitán Marco y su tripulación sigan navegando!

Keep reading for the review in English!

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Picture Book Review: Tormenta de Pimienta

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Tormenta de Pimienta by Rafael Ordóñez

Tormenta de Pimienta
by Rafael Ordóñez, Marisa Morea (Illustrator)
5 out of 5 stars

Los ratones están cansados de que los elefantes caminen por la jungla sin mirar hacia dónde van. Les preocupa que los pisen, pero a los elefantes no les importa. Así que los ratones idean un plan para obligar a los elefantes a prestar atención y vigilar sus pasos.

The mice are tired of the elephants walking around the jungle and not looking where they are going. They are worried that they will get stepped on, but the elephants don’t care. So the mice devise a plan to force the elephants to pay attention and watch their step.

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Classic Manga Review: Frankenstein

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Manga Classics by M. Chandler

Manga Classics: Frankenstein
by M. Chandler (Story Adaptation), Linus Liu (Art by), Daria Rhodes (Lettering), Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (From the original novel by)
4 out of 5 stars

Dr. Frankenstein becomes obsessed with the idea of infusing life into a created being, but when he succeeds, he is horrified at what he has done and runs from his creation, leaving it to fend for itself. Frankenstein’s monster roams the country, searching for his creator and finding only hatred and fear in everyone he meets. He vows to get revenge on the man who made him, and goes on a killing spree.

I thought the artwork did a wonderful job of showing the gothic melodrama and darkness of the story. There are many scenes that use shadows to show the tension in the characters. The art makes their intense emotions explode onto the page.

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Picture Book Review: Looking for Sleep

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Looking for Sleep by Georgiana Deutsch

Looking for Sleep
by Georgiana Deutsch, Megan Tadden (Illustrations)
5 out of 5 stars

Wolf can’t get to sleep, and thinks that sleep must be hiding from him. He goes searching for sleep in the forest, and recruits some other woodland creatures to help him. They look in a yawn, they look in a lullaby, and they even look in Badger’s dreams. But only when they are quiet and still will sleep finally find them.

I loved this adorable story and the sweet idea of searching for sleep like a thing to be found!

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Picture Book Review: Nothing Scares Spider!

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Nothing Scares Spider! by S. Marendaz

Nothing Scares Spider!
by S. Marendaz, Carly Gledhill (Illustrator)
5 out of 5 stars

Little Spider wants to have an adventure, but her other insect friends are afraid to be left alone. She leaves a long string of web behind her so that they can tug on it to call her back in case of an emergency. But they keep interrupting her adventure just when things get dangerous.

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Book Review: The Maze of the Menacing Minotaur

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Zeus the Mighty by Crispin Boyer

Zeus the Mighty: The Maze of the Menacing Minotaur (Book 2)
by Crispin Boyer
4 out of 5 stars
Zeus is a hamster who rules over the Olympian gods, who are pets in an animal shop. Demeter, a little cricket, assists Zeus as he investigates the maze below the Olympian shop. Athena, the cat, and Ares, the dog, prowl around to find clues about how to defeat the blazing minotaur whose heat is making the entirety of Olympus swelter and sweat. But it is Poseidon, the ruler of the underwater kingdoms of fish tanks, who takes charge just when the Olympians are ready to give up.

I loved this second book in the series! It’s such a funny and imaginative story. I loved the parallels to old Greek myths and adventures. This time Zeus goes on a quest to find a spear that will help him defeat the Minotaur just as Theseus did in Ancient Greece.

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Book Review: The Boatman’s Daughter

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The Illustrated Boatman's Daughter by Tom Durwood

The Illustrated Boatman’s Daughter
by Tom Durwood (Goodreads Author)
2 out of 5 stars
In 1860s Egypt, Salima helps her father with his ferryboat business, but she longs for more education and wants to travel and see the world. Hoping to make some money to pay for school, she applies for a clerk position with a company overseeing the construction of the Suez Canal. She becomes entangled with the corruption and danger surrounding the various European and Egyptian powers struggling for control of the new canal.

The writing style is really excellent, and made me care deeply about the characters. However, it could use a copy editor for little things like punctuation.

The plot was exciting, and the adventure was interesting. However, there were times when I couldn’t understand why the plot took the direction it did in some scenes. It wasn’t clear why the characters chose to do what they did, or how they got to a certain point, or how they gained particular knowledge. It was just some little things that didn’t quite add up, but it didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the overall story.

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