children’s book

Book Review: The Rescuers

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The Rescuers by Margery Sharp
The Rescuers 
by Margery Sharp, Garth Williams

5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


I love this book more and more every time I read it! It’s nothing like the movies, of course. Nils, and Bernard, and Miss Bianca are such charming and stalwart characters. The plot is so interesting and funny, and the writing is just brilliant!

Bernard must persuade Miss Bianca to help the Prisoner’s Aid Society in finding a Norwegian mouse who will bravely rescue a Norwegian poet from the cold dungeons of the Black Castle. Once she finds the courageous Nils, a seafaring Norwegian mouse, Miss Bianca is swept along in the adventure, and the three unlikely companions are tested to the limit of their abilities in the Black Castle. No mouse has ever freed a prisoner before, but these clever mice are determined to save the poet!

Book Review: Journey to the River Sea

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Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
Journey to the River Sea 
by Eva Ibbotson

5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

Orphan Maia is sent to meet her distant relatives on the Amazon River. Along with Miss Minton, the strict-but-fair governess, Maia explores the enchanting world of the rainforest and river, delighted with the exotic plants and animals. But her relatives are only interested in Maia’s fortune, and they make her miserable until she finds friends among the native people. A mysterious boy hides in the forest, an out-of-work actor begs for Maia’s help, and Miss Minton is keeping dangerous secrets of her own.

Wonderfully imaginative and descriptive! Made me feel like I was right there in the rain forest. I was laughing and gasping and crying and laughing again all through it! Marvelous book! The complex plot is a wonderful mixture of adventure, travel, mystery, and intrigue.
Maia’s character is delightful. She’s spunky and courageous, kind and sweet, everything a heroine should be.
I adore Finn’s character! He’s mysterious and thoroughly interesting.
Miss Minton makes me laugh; she’s such a complicated lady, and so very deliberate in everything. Nothing could be better!

Comic Review: Little Pierrot Vol. 1

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Little Pierrot Vol 1 by Alberto Varanda
Little Pierrot Vol 1: Get the Moon 
by Alberto Varanda

3 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

 

This collection of comics doesn’t have a continuous storyline, but little snippets of a boy and his friend the Snail, who dream of going to the moon. They watch the stars together, read books, dress up in costumes, and avoid schoolwork.

Most of the individual comics don’t actually have a funny punchline. It’s just sort of whimsical and random with no real point. It reminds me a little of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s “The Little Prince” with the moon and stars and a dreamy child drifting along through an aimless plot. Continue reading →

Comic Review: Wallace the Brave

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Wallace the Brave by Will Henry
Wallace the Brave 
by Will Henry

5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

 

Oh my goodness, I adore this comic!! So much cuteness and hilarity!
Wallace and his best friend, Spud, meet the new girl at school, Amelia, and are very impressed with her courage and baseball-throwing style. Each page has its own funny little punchline as we follow Wallace’s strange interactions with friends and family at school, at home, on the ocean, on the field, through the summer and winter and all the in-between times.Wallace’s fisherman father, his creative mother, and weird baby brother make a delightful home setting for the antics and whimsical conversations of a little boy curious about the world and determined to dream big.
One of the best things about this comic is Wallace’s close relationship with his parents.

Continue reading →

Book Review: Pigeon Post

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Pigeon Post by Arthur Ransome
Pigeon Post (Swallows and Amazons, #6) 
by Arthur Ransome

5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


Swallows, Amazons, and “the D’s” (Dick and Dorothea) are determined to find gold in the hills above their lake before Captain Flint returns from South America. The young mining company begin camping up in the fells and searching old caves for gold, while a severe drought has the locals worried about potential fires. The children have three homing pigeons that are trained to take messages from their camp back to Mrs. Blackett, letting her know the progress of the fledgling mining company. The Swallows are dismayed to discover that a rival miner, dubbed “Squashy Hat”, is creeping about the fells, spying on their expedition and generally being a nuisance. It becomes a race to find the gold and stake their claim before Squashy Hat can ruin all their plans! But in the end, it will be the pigeons that make all the difference. Continue reading →

Picture Book Review: Is a Worry Worrying You?

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Is a Worry Worrying You? by Ferida Wolff
Is a Worry Worrying You? 
by Ferida Wolff, Harriet May Savitz, Marie Letourneau (Goodreads Author)(Illustrations)

5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

This is such a fun and hilarious book about dealing with anxiety and learning not to worry. I love how the more serious advice is interspersed with funny examples. The advice includes simple things like activities to take your mind off your worries, and encouragement to face your worry and see if it really makes sense.
The silly examples include things like, If you are worried about a hundred elephants coming over for tea, but you don’t have any teabags, then offer them lemonade instead!

The cute illustrations make the book so fun to read, and really enhance the advice given.
Above all, this book encourages children to talk about their anxiety with a friend, and share their worries with parents, so that those fears lose their power over you. Continue reading →

Book Review: Winter Holiday

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Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome
Winter Holiday (Swallows and Amazons, #4) 
by Arthur Ransome


5 out of 5 stars on GoodReads
The Swallows and Amazons are planning a Polar Expedition to the north end of the lake, along with their new friends, Dick and Dorothea. While waiting for the lake to freeze over so they can skate, the explorers spend their time building an “igloo”, climbing the fells to “Greenland”, and sailing the “Fram” through the polar ice. But when it comes time for the great Polar Expedition, a snowstorm threatens to ruin all their plans, and only the intrepid Swallows and Amazons can make it through to the North Pole!

I loved reading this for the second time just as much as the first! I am so in love with the delightful Dick and Dorothea, especially because they are not at all nautical like the Swallows. The D’s have to learn how to tie knots and build campfires, but they have their own strengths too, and their own useful knowledge that makes the Swallows and Amazons appreciate them as friends.

I love the Dorothea is constantly writing stories in her head, and I love that Dick gets so focused on whatever sciencey thing he is analyzing that he forgets all about everything else. Best of all, they fit in well with the rest of the crew, while still retaining their own original personalities.

Brilliant writing, wonderful setting, and lovable characters!

Book Review: Peter Duck

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Peter Duck by Arthur Ransome
Peter Duck: A Treasure Hunt in the Caribbees (Swallows and Amazons, #3) 
by Arthur Ransome
5 out of 5 stars


The Swallows and Amazons are preparing for a peaceful sail down the Channel, with Captain Flint and their new Able-Seaman Peter Duck, when they are followed and attacked by real life pirates! The pirate captain, Black Jake, is determined to kidnap Peter Duck, who knows the location of a long-lost treasure, buried on Crab Island in the Caribbean Sea. Only the brave Swallows and Amazons, with all their sailing know-how, can bring their ship safely across the Atlantic to search for buried treasure with the evil pirates at their heels.

Just as wonderful reading it the second or third time! There is so much action and adventure, I couldn’t put it down! I love how the story guides you gradually from the everyday business of the ship into the fantastical plot twists, so that you barely notice that the story has taken a wild turn at the end. It all seems so perfectly plausible by the time you get there. Truly brilliant story-telling!

As always, I am completely in love with each and every character! The Walker family are so close to my heart, and the Amazon girls are deliciously full of moxie.
Continue reading →

Book Review: Aunt Jane’s Nieces at Work

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Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work by Edith Van Dyne
Aunt Jane’s Nieces at Work (Aunt Jane’s Nieces, #4) 
by Edith Van Dyne (Pseudonym), L. Frank Baum


3 out of 5 stars on GoodReads
In this fourth book in the series, Kenneth is getting involved in politics and is sadly losing the election to become a State Representative. The three nieces decide to help him in his campaign, and they fight against dirty politicians, ignorant country voters, and shady political dealings that threaten to overwhelm the campaign. Along the way, they befriend the country people, and help a farmer to find his missing daughter.

I get bored with politics, so I didn’t especially enjoy the plot, but I liked how the mysteries were surprising and interesting. I loved how the girls help Kenneth to set up a rally that throws their opponent’s arguments out the door, how they discover the underhanded political deals, and they aid in solving the mystery of the missing farmer’s daughter. Continue reading →

Book Review: The Tea Dragon Society

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The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill
The Tea Dragon Society 
by Katie O’Neill


3 out of 5 stars on GoodReads
In this graphic novel, Greta’s mother is teaching her to be a blacksmith, but Greta is distracted when she befriends a tea-shop owner with a pet tea dragon. As Greta learns to care for the tea dragons, she befriends a whole new group of people in the society dedicated to protecting their tea dragons, and brewing the delicious tea leaves harvested from their horns. But will Greta ever return to her blacksmithing lessons, or have a tea dragon of her own?

I love the whimsical artwork! The colors and lines are soft and sweet. I thought the plot was adorable and lovely. The little tea dragon creatures are the cutest thing ever created! But there were some confusing things about this book that make it difficult to review.

My main problem is that there is a homosexual couple in this book. One of them is a human and the other is some kind of furry llama-looking guy with a long tail. I did not appreciate this kind of political/philosophical posturing in an otherwise lovely children’s book about dragons.
Continue reading →