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Book Review: Goodbye, Things

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Goodbye, Things by Fumio Sasaki
Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism 
by Fumio Sasaki, Eriko Sugita (Translator)

2 out of 5 stars


I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. The author tells about his personal journey becoming a minimalist, and how terrible his life was before, and how he turned his life around through tossing out most of his possessions, and that made him a happier person. Then he gives a lot of philosophy about minimalism, and tips and advice about the mental and emotional experience of becoming a minimalist.
He doesn’t give very many practical tips; It’s mostly about having a minimalist attitude.
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Picture Book Review: Rabbit and Bear

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Rabbit's Bad Habits by Julian Gough
Rabbit’s Bad Habits 
by Julian Gough (Author), Jim Field (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


Bear is peacefully sleeping through the winter when she is awakened by a thief stealing her stockpile of food. She stumbles out of her cave into the snow, and decides that as long as she’s awake, she might as well build a snowman. The cranky Rabbit is determined to build a bigger, better snowman on the neighboring hill, but when the ravenous Wolf shows up, Rabbit’s plans take a dangerous turn when he can’t get back to his safe burrow.
Who stole all of Bear’s food? How will Rabbit get to safety? Who will win the snowman-building competition? And the most important question of all, can a Bear and Rabbit really become friends? Continue reading →

Book Review: Make This!

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Make This! by Ella Schwartz
Make This!: Building Thinking, and Tinkering Projects for the Amazing Maker in You 
by Ella Schwartz

5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

This book is perfect for any curious child who loves to take apart their toys, build a bridge out of books, or create their own system of pulleys and levers to open the bedroom door.

With special sections for materials, energy, optics, connecting systems, acoustics, and forces in motion, this book provides all the steps to create a rocket ship powered by your breath, make an entire rainforest ecosystem in a jar, and make a periscope out of cardboard, along with dozens of other projects. Each chapter also has questions to be solved and scenarios that require an imaginative solution.
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Book Review: The Case of the Sliding Spaceship

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Art Smart, Science Detective by Melinda Long
Art Smart, Science Detective: The Case of the Sliding Spaceship 
by Melinda Long ,  Monica Wyrick (Illustrations)

3 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


Art and his friends are on the watch for alien activity in their neighborhood, but they never expected a REAL alien spaceship to appear in Art’s telescope viewer. The aliens appear to be in a purple spaceship right next to the moon, and Art and his friends prepare for an invasion. Art prides himself on being a logical scientist, so he uses his knowledge to hatch a plan to protect his friends from anything the aliens might use to attack.
Are there really aliens attacking Earth, or are Art and his friends overreacting?  Continue reading →

Book Review: Fire and Forgiveness

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Fire and Forgiveness by Martha Dunsky
Fire and Forgiveness: A Nun’s Truce with General Sherman 
by Martha Dunsky

3 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


In the midst of the American Civil War, two schoolgirls at the Ursuline Convent School for Girls are at war. Jane and Clara play pranks on each other and call one another names. Mother Superior Baptista Lynch urges the girls to reconcile, reminding them that everyone has good in them, but the girls find it difficult to forgive each other.
General Sherman’s army is marching into Columbia, South Carolina, and Mother Baptista writes to him to beg for protection for her school and convent. The cannons are firing on the city, and the Confederate Army retreats, leaving the city defenseless.
In the middle of so much violence, how can Jane and Clara learn to make the peace, when the adults are constantly at war?
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Book Review: Emily’s Fortune

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Emily's Fortune by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Emily’s Fortune
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

3 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

When Emily’s mother dies, Emily plans to travel West to live with her aunt, but the state orphanage has other plans, and Emily is forced to run away from the Orphanage Child Catchers. With the help of another orphan boy and her trusty turtle, Rufus, Emily will travel by train and stagecoach through the Wild West to reach the safety of her aunts home. 

This is a funny and cute little story with plenty of adventure and hilarity! It would be a wonderful book to read aloud to children, because there are so many opportunities for funny voices and dramatic voices. 
I enjoyed the story, but it’s not particularly amazing or special. The plot is simple, the characters are static, but it’s the writing style that really keeps the reader interested. The writing is witty, the dialogue is snappy, and the scenes flow smoothly into a cohesive story. And young readers aren’t looking for complex plots or deep characters, so it’s a perfect book for children!