Picture Book Review: Tea Party with Brielle

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Tea Party with Brielle by Brielle Vivienne

Tea Party with Brielle
by Brielle Vivienne, Jacqueline Regano, Yuliia Zolotova (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

Brielle is preparing a tea party for her guests. She chooses a theme, picks out a fancy dress, sets the table with a beautiful tablecloth, and prepares the food. She even has a special recipe for a delicious tea! When her guests arrive, everything is ready for a fantastic tea party!

This is such a cute book! Everything is floral and pink and pretty- perfect for those girly girls who love a fancy tea party! I love all the little details about the teapot and the plates, the flowers, and all the chic accessories.

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Picture Book Review: My Colorful World

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My Colorful World by Jill McKellan

My Colorful World: Making New Friends
by Jill McKellan

3 out of 5 stars

In this book, the Fairy Brigade pretend to be regular children to help Arya gain the confidence to make new friends. Arya is very nervous, but the Fairy Brigade help her to overcome her fears. Little by little, she opens up and learns how to make friends.

This is a cute story about overcoming social anxiety, and finding ways to connect with people. I liked the positive messages in this book! The story is very simple and the writing is a little stiff, but I enjoyed the way that Arya grows and becomes more courageous.

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Book Review: Explorer Academy The Dragon’s Blood

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Explorer Academy by Trudi Trueit

Explorer Academy: The Dragon’s Blood (Book 6)
by Trudi Trueit (Goodreads Author)

4 out of 5 stars

In this book, Cruz and his friends travel to China where they search for clues in an emperor’s tomb. With Nebula spies all around, Cruz wonders who is telling him the truth, but the truth is more complicated than he realizes.

There are a lot of plots twists and major revelations in this book! Around every corner something insane happens and it throws the whole plot into turmoil. The adventure is fantastic, and it’s really interesting to learn about all the historic sites that the characters visit.

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Book Review: Shadow of the Spider

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Shadow of the Spider by Marianne E. Burgess

Shadow of the Spider: A Quest to Save A Queen
by Marianne E. Burgess (Goodreads Author)

A set of triplets are separated as babies to protect them from a danger that lurks around their family. Two of them are sent to the modern world and they grow up leading normal lives. As teenagers, they are magically transported back to the land of their birth- a fantasy world where people have magical abilities, and satyrs, elves, and dwarves populate the land. A mysterious wizard launches them on a quest to save their mother.

The main plot of this book looks like it’s pretty good, but the writing got on my nerves so badly that I DNF’d the book at page 76. Multiple POVs is already one of my pet peeves, but this book took head-hopping to a whole different level of annoyance. Sometimes there are multiple POVs in the same paragraph!

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Manga Classic Review: Midsummer Night’s Dream

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Manga Classics by Crystal S. Chan

Manga Classics: Midsummer Night’s Dream (Modern English Edition)
by  Crystal S. Chan, William Shakespeare, Po Tse (Illustrator), Michael Barltrop (Editor)

5 out of 5 stars

This manga adaptation of Williams Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream is the perfect way to introduce Shakespeare to readers who might feel intimidated by the original play. The text is modernized, but still captures the original style of Shakespeare. The entire play is intact, and all the beauty of Shakespeare’s words comes through wonderfully in this modern adaptation.

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Book Review: James and the Giant Peach

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James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

James and the Giant Peach
by  Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

James lives his two horrible aunts, wishing that he could get away. A mysterious stranger gives him a bag of magic, but James accidentally drops the bag near an old peach tree, and the tree absorbs all the magic creating a giant fruit. The giant peach propels James into a new adventure that will take him farther than he ever dreamed and get rid of his awful aunts once and for all.

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Picture Book Reviews: The Magic House, and The Lonely Cloud

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The Magic House by Alan Matkovic

The Magic House: The Amazing Adventures of Alexander and Sophia
by  Alan Matkovic

3 out of 5 stars

Sophia and Alexander are two children looking for adventure. They discover a secret entrance to a magic house with mysterious rooms filled with every imaginable delight. As they explore the rooms, they find all their favorite things. But the mystery behind the last door will surprise them with magic they never imagined to be possible.

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Book Review: The Patron Thief of Bread

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The Patron Thief of Bread by Lindsay Eagar

The Patron Thief of Bread
by Lindsay Eagar (Goodreads Author)

3 out of 5 stars

Duck has always lived on the streets with a gang of urchins who call themselves the Crowns. They pick pockets and steal food to stay alive. Their leader, Gnat, comes up with the idea for one of them to masquerade as a baker’s apprentice to steal from the bakery, and Duck is chosen for the job. Duck uses forged apprenticeship papers to begin working at the bakery, and then passes stolen bread and coins to the rest of the street urchins. But the longer Duck works at the bakery, the more she begins to settle into her new life. The baker lady is kind to her, and they become a weird sort of family. Duck’s loyalties are divided. Will she choose the baker who loves her like a mother would, or her ragtag family of pickpockets?

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Board Book Review: I Can Be Creative like Leonardo da Vinci

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I Can Be Creative Like Leonardo da Vinci by Christopher Robbins

I Can Be Creative Like Leonardo da Vinci
by Christopher Robbins, Susanna Covelli (Illustrations)

5 out of 5 stars

This board book has a little finger puppet of Leonardo da Vinci sticking out of the book! It’s so cute and fun to play with! The story inspires little readers to be imaginative like da Vinci was. He invented new things, studied nature, and drew beautiful paintings and sketches.

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