Picture Book Review: Delightfully Different Fairy Tales
David Roberts’ Delightfully Different Fairy Tales
by David Roberts (Illustrations), Lynn Roberts-Maloney (Illustrations)
5 out of 5 stars
This book includes the newly-reimagined fairy tales of Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Sleeping Beauty. They are set in different times periods and the stories are retold in a fresh way. Cinderella is the belle of the ball in the 1920s. Rapunzel grows up in a tower block apartment building in the 1970s. Sleeping Beauty lives in the 1950s and is cursed to fall asleep for a thousand years.
Each of these stories is funny and clever! Some elements of the stories stay true to the familiar story we already know, and some details are changed. Sleeping Beauty pricks her finger on a record player needle. Cinderella is driven to the ball by a chauffer with a white town car. Rapunzel falls in love with a boy from a rock band.
The best thing about this book is the beautiful illustrations!
Continue readingPicture Book Review: The Three Wishes
The Three Wishes
by Alan Snow
5 out of 5 stars
A young man living in the far North stumbles into a hidden land of summer where time stands still. He is only allowed to return to visit his family in the dead of winter each year, and he leaves gifts for them so that they know he is alive and well. He is given a magic feather that allows his deer to fly.
I loved this myth of the origins of Santa Claus told in an old-fashioned style. The story is so imaginative and charming! The plot is sort of strange, until you start to realize that all the components of the plot are adding up to the red suit and the flying reindeer and the gifts. Then it all begins to make sense, and it’s like a wonderful discovery.
Continue readingGame Review: Build a Skyscraper
Archicards: Build a Skyscraper
by Paul Farrell
5 out of 5 stars
This game has 64 cards that are designed with the towers, windows, roofs, and decorative doorways of a city skyscraper. Each card has cut-out slots so that you can connect them with each other to build a 3D puzzle of a skyscraper in any shape you want! The cards are sturdy cardboard, and printed with bright colors and a simple design.
I can’t stop playing this game! Every day for the last several days, I sit down and construct something new.
Continue readingBook Unhaul 2020
Non Fiction Review: Weird But True: Halloween
Weird But True: Halloween 300 Spooky Facts to Scare You Silly
by Julie Beer
5 out of 5 stars
This Halloween book combines colorful illustrations and photos with tid-bits of weird information about spiders, vampires, pumpkins, candy, ghosts, and a million other subjects!
I read through the entire book in just a half hour, fascinated with every wacky statement and attracted to each page by the stunning photos. I learned so many freaky things, like the loudest scream ever recorded, the largest jack-o’-lantern, and the craziest costumes!
Did you know that Abraham Lincoln is the most commonly sighted ghost in the White House? Or that you can make edible pumpkin play-dough? haha! There is even an asteroid that is shaped like a skull. Weird and random and hilarious!
Continue readingBooks by Season: Spring
Books by Season: Creepy Autumn, and Winter
Books by Season: Summer and Autumn
Book Review: Ogre Enchanted
Ogre Enchanted (Ella Enchanted, #0.5)
by Gail Carson Levine (Goodreads Author)
3 out of 5 stars
Evie is a teenage healer, always concocting potions for her best friend, Wormy. When he proposes, she says no, and the fairy Lucinda curses her to be an ogre until she accepts a marriage proposal. Any marriage proposal from anyone. Evie travels to the Fens, hoping to learn the art of persuasion from the ogres who live there. Life as an ogre is more difficult than she imagined, but Evie becomes known as the healer ogre. She searches for someone who will awaken her ability to love, and hopes that someone will propose to her. But she isn’t even sure what love is supposed to feel like.
I was disappointed in this book.
The story was oddly disjointed, and there were several things that seemed exceedingly far-fetched, even for a fairytale world. The ending was rushed, and the relationships felt forced. The characters are okay, but I wasn’t amazed with their personalities or the bland character development.
Luminous Libro 