book review

Graphic Novel Review: Thunderous

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Thunderous by M.L. Smoker

Thunderous
by M.L. Smoker, Natalie Peeterse, Dale DeForest (Artist)

3 out of 5 stars

Aiyana is tired of hearing Lakota stories and legends about her ancestors. She wishes her family would just focus on the modern world. When her class goes on a field trip to the mountains, she worries more about hanging out with the popular girls rather than with her cousin. She suffers a fall and is somehow transported to the world of the Lakota legends, where the trickster Raven tries to trick her into staying forever. To make her way back to the human world, Aiyana will have to complete several quests and befriend some talking animals along the way.

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Graphic Novel Review: Old Things

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Alte Zachen / Old Things by Ziggy Hanaor

Alte Zachen / Old Things
by Ziggy Hanaor, Benjamin Phillips (Illustrator)

3 out of 5 stars

Benji and his grandmother go on a grocery shopping trip around the city, but many of the old stores that Bubbe used to know are closed or moved, and she gets confused. She remembers the old days when she was young. She has trouble adjusting to the modern world, lost in her memories of the old ways.

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Graphic Novel Review: Gustav and Henri

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Gustav & Henri by Andy Matthews

Gustav & Henri (Vol. 1)
by Andy Matthews, Peader Thomas (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Gustav and Henri are playing when they lose their shuttlecock. It must have been thrown into outerspace! They construct a space ship and track their shuttlecock to the moon. But a greedy space crab has claimed the shuttlecock as a crown, calling himself King of the Moon. The two friends will have to complete four impossible tasks to reclaim the shuttlecock.

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Two Picture Books from Familius

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P Is for Purr by Carole Gerber

P Is for Purr
by Carole Gerber, Susanna Covelli (Illustrations)

5 out of 5 stars

Each letter of the alphabet tells us something about cats, the different breeds, their habits, and their abilities. A is for American shorthair. B is for Breed. C is for claws. It goes all the way to X is for Xanthus Av Jostedalsbreen, a Norwegian Forest breed. Y is for Yankee cat, a Maine coon. Z is for Zibeline, also called a Burmese cat.

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Picture Book Review: Christmas Fairies for Ouma

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Christmas Fairies for Ouma by Lindsey McDivitt

Christmas Fairies for Ouma
by Lindsey McDivitt (Goodreads Author), Katarzyna Bukiert (Illustrations)

4 out of 5 stars

A little girl draws fairies on a postcard and mails it to her grandmother in Cape Town, South Africa. But without an address, with no proper name, and with no stamps, how will the postcard ever reach her Ouma? The Christmas fairies that are sketched onto the postcard charm the postal workers and they send it on to the next postal station until it finally arrives in Cape Town. The wind blows the postcard down the street and right into the hands of Ouma!

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Non Fiction Review: I Begin With Spring

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I Begin with Spring by Julie Dunlap

I Begin with Spring: The Life and Seasons of Henry David Thoreau
by Julie Dunlap, Megan Elizabeth Baratta (Illustrations)

3 out of 5 stars

When Henry David Thoreau was a boy, he explored the forests and meadows and ponds surrounding his beloved home in Concord, Massachusetts. This book gives us a look into his writings, his life, and the nature that inspired him.

The illustrations are beautiful. Some of them are sketches and maps from Thoreau’s own notebooks. The sketches of birds, plants, and animals are all beautifully and delicately drawn.

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Non Fiction Review: Ringed Seal

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Animals Illustrated by William Flaherty

Animals Illustrated: Ringed Seals
by William Flaherty, Sara Otterstatter (Illustrator )

5 out of 5 stars

This book contains interesting information about ringed seals, their habitat, their hunting, and their young pups. There are two to three paragraphs of information in each section, giving tidbits of information like how the seals have a layer of blubber fat that keeps them warm. Seals are intelligent and good at swimming away from predators like polar bears. They have strong claws on their front flippers for digging their way out of the ice. There is even a section about how Inuit tribes will use seal meat for food and make sealskin boots.

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Book Review: Jasper and Scruff The Café Competition

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The Cafe Competition by Nicola Colton

The Cafe Competition
by Nicola Colton

5 out of 5 stars

Jasper the Cat and Scruff the Dog have their own restaurant with their special signature dish, a cheese sandwich. When a fancy restaurant opens across the street, the recipe for their signature dish is mysteriously stolen, and the fancy restaurant announces that they will be serving a special cheese sandwich! How can Jasper and Scruff compete with the fanciness? Jasper comes up with a whole new menu, hoping to impress the food critics. But their new menu is a disaster! Jasper and Scruff learn that they can count on their loyal costumers to keep their restaurant afloat.

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Book Review: Duck’s Backyard

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Duck's Backyard by Ulrich Hub

Duck’s Backyard
by Ulrich Hub, Jorg Muhle (Illustrations)

4 out of 5 stars

Duck lives all alone in her yard. She has a wonky leg and has to use a crutch, so she never ventures out into the world. When a blind Chicken wanders in, she invites Duck to join her on a journey to find the land of wishes. Duck and Chicken embark on a journey fraught with peril and danger and deep ravines and dark forests and high mountains. Duck narrates to Chicken about all the sights and dangers along the way, and Chicken helps Duck to make the weary journey with her wonky leg. They bicker and argue, but in the end they learn that the true wish of their heart is just to have a friend.

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Comic Review: Monkey and Robot

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Monkey & Robot by Peter Catalanotto

Monkey & Robot: Flights of Fancy
by Peter Catalanotto

2 out of 5 stars

Monkey has some wild ideas about becoming famous, studying turtles by dressing up like a turtle, and maybe becoming a superhero from a radioactive spider bite. Robot patiently helps Monkey to realize that his flights of fancy are not always smart, but there are other ways to realize his dreams in smaller more manageable ways.

This is a weird little comic. The art work is not very good, and looks like a child drew it. The storylines are extremely simple and kind of boring. I guess it has a sort of innocent charm that a child might enjoy, but it is not very polished or professional-looking.

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