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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Three Act Tragedy (Hercule Poirot, #11)
by Agatha Christie
5 out of 5 stars
A minister falls over dead at a cocktail party, apparently poisoned. However, there is no poison in his glass. The host is determined to discover what happened, but everyone dismisses the idea that a kind and innocent minister would be the victim of murder. Even Poirot finds it unlikely, and proclaims a verdict of natural causes. But a second act unfolds which changes everything.
Agatha Christie is such a genius! I had no clue about who the murderer was. I was completely surprised! And yet, it all fit together perfectly. In retrospect, it all made sense and every little detail of the plot came together for a satisfying ending.
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The Night Walk
by Marie Dorléans
5 out of 5 stars
Two children are awakened in the middle of night by their parents who lead them on an evening hike into the countryside. Through the village, past the fields of sleeping cows, and into the woodland, they walk slowly, enjoying the peace of the night and the light of the stars above them.
The graceful beauty of this simple book almost brought me to tears. I am in despair that I can never write a review that will capture the absolute glory I experienced while reading it. I wish I could give it 10 stars!
Each new landscape that we discover along the hike is like a magical new scene of wonder and beauty. The stars, the trees, the wildlife, the silence, the warm night air, and the chirping of crickets; all these things weave a spell of tranquil harmony around the reader.
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You Can Be a Farmer, Too!
by Becky Davies, Charlotte Bruijn (Illustrations)
5 out of 5 stars
Emily enjoys playing on the farm and helping to feed the animals. But Noah thinks the farmyard is too loud and scary. He’s afraid of the cows, and horses, and even some of the larger pigs. But Emily knows a way to make the farm fun and safe. She helps Noah to start small with some little chicks, and introduces each barnyard animal one at a time, until Noah feels safe and confident enough to make friends with a massive cow!
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