Pia in the Forest
by David Bruggink
1 out of 5 stars
Pia has trouble listening and obeying what she is told. She gets distracted and does whatever she wants. When her father tells her “no candy”, Pia goes in the kitchen and sneakily eats some sprinkles. When her father finds her with sprinkles on her face, there are no consequences and no reprimand. The father just ignores her disobedience.
Continue reading
One Mad Cat and the Missing Book
by Vicky Fang (Goodreads Author)
5 out of 5 stars
Cat is always irritated and angry! But she does love her friends. When her friend Hedgehog is upset over a missing book, Cat decides to investigate. She searches high and low, following the clues, and eventually finds the missing book in an unexpected place.
This little picture book is so cute! I love how Cat is so grumpy all the time, but she has a good heart. The illustrations are simple, but I really liked the minimalist designs. Each page is so colorful, and I think the artwork does a good job of bringing the reader into the emotions of the story.
Continue reading
Kenny & the Dragon
by Tony DiTerlizzi
5 out of 5 stars
Kenny is dismayed to discover that there is a fire-breathing dragon in the back field of their sheep farm. But when he confronts the dragon, he finds that the dragon is kind and gentle. They become friends through talking about books and history and art. But the townsfolk have called for the king to send his best knight to kill the dragon! Can Kenny save his new friend when no one seems willing to listen?
I loved this book so much! The whole story is so charming and whimsical! I loved the adorable characters, and the writing is utterly enchanting in every chapter.
Continue reading
5 out of 5 stars
The Boggart loves to play tricks on people in his ancient castle in Scotland. When their father inherits the castle, siblings Emily and Jessup are delighted with everything in Scotland. But after their visit, the Boggart accidentally hitches a ride back home with them to Canada inside a roll-top desk. He finds it difficult to adjust to modern life, and the children have to figure out why a mischievous ancient spirit is making trouble in their home.
Continue reading
The Odyssey: A Graphic Novel: Deluxe Edition
by Gareth Hinds
1 out of 5 stars
This graphic novel faithfully follows the narrative structure of the Odyssey, as Odysseus struggles to find his way home where his wife Penelope is beset by suitors. The writing is quite a good modern adaptation of the story, but I felt like it lacked a little polish. The writing could have used more rich language that I have seen in other adaptations and translations. Some of the sentence structure was a bit awkward, and the dialogue could have flowed a little more naturally. It felt stiff sometimes. If it were just some random fun story, I wouldn’t be so critical, but with a classic like the Odyssey, there are a lot of other adaptations to compare it to.
Continue reading
Winds of Fate (Mage Winds, #1)
by Mercedes Lackey
DNF at page 236
1 out of 5 stars
Elspeth is the heir to the throne, so she takes it upon herself to travel to far off lands in search of a mage who can train her magic abilities so she can protect her nation. Darkwind is worried that his tribe is in trouble when their magical Hearthstone is broken, and he struggles to protect their borders without violating his oath to never use magic.
1 out of 5 stars
Katie discovers a mushroom that will erase her mistakes if she writes down her mistake and eats a mushroom before bed. She wakes up the next day and gets a second chance. Soon she is making mistakes and bad choices all over the place, and just erases them the next day. Her career as a chef is in shambles as she struggles to open her new restaurant, and her personal life is in total chaos since she is sleeping with two different men. A mysterious house spirit appears and tells her that it’s against the rules to use more than one mushroom, but Katie doesn’t care. She keeps erasing all her foolish mistakes and getting further and further from a normal life.
Continue reading
The Curse of Ravenscourt: A Samantha Mystery (American Girl Mysteries)
by Sarah Masters Buckey,\ Jean Paul Tibbles (Illustrator)
4 out of 5 stars
Samantha and her adopted sister Nelly go with Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia to live in an apartment in New York for a few weeks. The Ravenscourt Apartments are the height of luxury in the big city, but everything keeps going wrong in the building. The furnace breaks down, rats get into the walls, and a service elevator breaks and falls down the shaft. Some people think that the owner, Mr. Raven, must be cursed because he is such a harsh landlord to poor tenants in other buildings that he owns. Samantha and Nelly begin to investigate the strange occurrences around the building, determined to prove that the curse it not real, and someone must be targeting Mr. Raven.
Clue in the Castle Tower (American Girl Samantha Mysteries #4)
by Sarah Masters Buckey (Illustrator)
Samantha and Nelly are touring through England with Grandmary and the Admiral. They visit an old friend of the Admiral’s who lives in a grand manor house with a ruined castle on the grounds. There are rumors of a ghost in the manor, but Samantha and Nelly don’t believe in ghosts. However, when it’s discovered that some rare books have been stolen, they begin to wonder if someone has been using the ghost as a smokescreen for crime. The girls befriend two mischievous boys who live in the manor, and together they start to investigate the thefts.
Continue reading
The Steps Up the Chimney
by William Corlett
3 out of 5 stars
William, Mary, and Alice visit their uncle Jack at Christmas in the ancient Golden House in Wales. Uncle Jack lives with his girlfriend Phoebe, and they are having a baby together, but they think it is “old-fashioned and hypocritical” to get married. The children notice some odd behavior from animals in the forest surrounding the Golden House, and they meet a Magician who says they must be tested before they will be ready to help him. William notices that there are footholds to climb up inside the massive chimney in the oldest part of the house, and their adventures lead them into magic and danger.
Continue reading
The Postman from Space
by Guillaume Perreault (Goodreads Author), Françoise Bui (Translator)
4 out of 5 stars
Bob is just an ordinary postman delivering mail in space. He likes his boring routine. But one day his boss orders him to take a new mail route and he runs into trouble at every stop! Gone are his predictable days and safe routines, and Bob is thrown into every kind of wild situation and difficult delivery imaginable! He delivers a package to a planet inhabited by dogs and they chase him and take his lunch. One difficult customer refuses to sign for their package until Bob draws them a picture of a sheep. One little old lady has such a messy and chaotic planet that Bob is hit with flying debris caught in the gravitational field. Bob hates his new route, until he realizes that maybe he has just made some new friends.
The Postman from Space: Biker Bandits
by Guillaume Perreault (Goodreads Author), François Bui (Translator)
4 out of 5 stars
Bob is just an ordinary postman delivering mail in space. He likes his familiar routine. But one day his boss orders him to take on a new trainee, and they only have one letter to deliver… to a king! When they take a detour on their delivery route, the Biker Bandits get wind that the king is receiving an important letter and they track down Bob to steal the letter! Along the way, Bob and his trainee, Marcelle, pick up a hitchhiker who was stranded on an asteroid, but Bob doesn’t trust the hitchhiker. Could they be in even more trouble if the Biker Bandits catch up to them?!
Continue reading
Luminous Libro 