book review

Book Review: America As It Happened

Posted by

0

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.

Continue reading →

Book Review: The Cloud Kingdom

Posted by

0

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.

Continue reading →

Picture Book: Peg’s Egg

Posted by

0

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!

Continue reading →

Book Review: Charlie Bone and the Time Twister

Posted by

0

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.

Continue reading →

Picture Book Review: The Most Wonderful Gift in the World

Posted by

0

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.

Continue reading →

Book Review: Time for Haiku

Posted by

0

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.

Continue reading →

Coloring Book: Inklings

Posted by

0

Inklings by Johanna Basford

Inklings: A Pocket-Sized Inky Coloring Book
by Johanna Basford

5 out of 5 stars

This coloring book is really cute! It has whimsical designs to color and much thicker paper than regular coloring books, so that you could use ink or marker. However, despite the thicker paper, the book warns that the ink might bleed through the paper, so there is a blank test page at the end specifically for testing your ink or marker to see if it bleeds through.
Despite the name of the book, the author has a little page of coloring tips at the beginning, saying that she prefers to use colored pencils.

Continue reading →

Book Review: The Ring of Five

Posted by

0

The Ring of Five by Eoin McNamee

The Ring of Five
by Eoin McNamee

3 out of 5 stars

Danny ends up at 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.

Continue reading →

Book Review: The Talisman

Posted by

0

The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott Bart

The Talisman
by Sir Walter Scott

5 out of 5 stars

King Richard the Lionheart is on a Crusade to the Holy Land when he falls ill with a fever. A month-long truce is called between the armies, and Richard’s European allies use the time to plot against him. A poor Scottish knight, Sir Kenneth, goes on a short pilgrimage to visit the holy hermit of a nearby mountain range with secret messages from the European council to Saladin, the leader of the Muslim army. On the way Sir Kenneth meets a lone Arabian warrior, and after a brief skirmish, they agree to travel together as worthy opponents. Sir Kenneth arrives at the hermitage and sees a strange and holy sight that changes the destiny of his life.

Continue reading →

Book Review: The School for Good and Evil

Posted by

0

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil, #1)
by Soman Chainani (Goodreads Author),Iacopo Bruno (Illustrator)

3 out of 5 stars

Sophie and Agatha are kidnapped and taken to the School for Good and Evil where villains and princesses are trained to follow their own fairy tales. Beautiful Sophie is put in the school for evil to train as a witch, and brooding Agatha is placed in the school for good to become a princess. At first, the girls think they must have been mistakenly placed in the wrong schools, but they gradually realize that the magic can see into their innermost hearts. The girls refuse to conform to the school’s training, insisting that good and evil can be friends, but are they right? Can Sophie and Agatha continue to be friends when everything in the fairy tale world is pushing them apart?

Continue reading →