In this cute but kind of preachy picture book, two young girl friends have an explosive falling-out over their very different lunches, but learn to appreciate their differences once they open their minds to new experience.
The illustrations by Tricia Tusa are soft with lots of white space, and executed in a loose, sketchy style. They're gorgeous, but the pastel colors and dainty drawings are rather ineffective in setting the dramatic tone for an escalating, full-school argument (although the food fight page is funny).
I know that in preschool, disagreements happen fast and are forgotten even faster. But I was surprised by the lighting-fast conclusion and set-pat resolution. Can you still be friends if you TRY your friend's sandwich and STILL think it's icky?
It's a great message, but ultimately I think it could have been done better. I'll give Queen Rania credit for trying, but it seems like this book proposal needed more work.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Binky Adventure series by Ashley Spires
If you've ever lived with and loved a feline, you'll appreciate Binky's cat-ness. Binky thinks he's a brave, adventurous, hero cat - which means in reality, he's a sleepy, crazy, and utterly normal kitty with a rich fantasy life. Much of his time is consumed by napping, eating, stretching, and chasing bugs - when he's not building rocketships, digging secret tunnels, and generally saving mankind. Holy fuzzybutt!
Each of these graphic-novel style books are only 64 pages long- but each page packs a wallop with anywhere from 3-10 panels in evolving and continually shifting configurations.
While they books are generally marketed to children, there's no way you adults won't find a few grins at Binky's expense. Great for reluctant readers of all ages!
Each of these graphic-novel style books are only 64 pages long- but each page packs a wallop with anywhere from 3-10 panels in evolving and continually shifting configurations.
While they books are generally marketed to children, there's no way you adults won't find a few grins at Binky's expense. Great for reluctant readers of all ages!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Almost Final Curtain by Tate Hallaway
In volume two of the Vampire Princess series, Ana is caught up in three projects: trying out for the school play, writing a history paper about slavery, and trying to keep all of vampiredom from being enslaved.
Her sometimes-boyfriend and rock god/vampire hunter/witch Nik is doing the music for the school play. Her other sometimes-boyfriend and warrior/vampire is looking for the lost talisman to AVOID vampire enslavement by witches. Her mother/witch queen is trying to get the lost talisman to ENSURE vampire enslavement by witches. And Ana's trying to figure out if she's more witch, more vampire, or if it's possible to balance the two.
I'm kind of liking this series. Even though it's slightly overdramatic at times, it's in a realistic teenage-hormones kind of overdramatic way. But I have to say that the next book better start with Ana getting a complete history lesson about vampires - her blundering is becoming contrived.
Her sometimes-boyfriend and rock god/vampire hunter/witch Nik is doing the music for the school play. Her other sometimes-boyfriend and warrior/vampire is looking for the lost talisman to AVOID vampire enslavement by witches. Her mother/witch queen is trying to get the lost talisman to ENSURE vampire enslavement by witches. And Ana's trying to figure out if she's more witch, more vampire, or if it's possible to balance the two.
I'm kind of liking this series. Even though it's slightly overdramatic at times, it's in a realistic teenage-hormones kind of overdramatic way. But I have to say that the next book better start with Ana getting a complete history lesson about vampires - her blundering is becoming contrived.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
That thing called love
by Susan Andersen
Anderson weaves a story of the prodigal son and a woman who has made it past her days of hard knocks. Said prodigal son just happens to have a child of his own, and that boy's guardian is none other than the tough girl who has made good. Andersen concocts vistas of the Northwest that make a reader feel the mist of the ocean. She also can write a steamy sex scene better than most. This woman knows her foreplay and she can drag it out for an entire chapter. It takes a while to get to that first hot scene, but then again, it takes a while to get through it, too. Really, the blush on my face as I write this is all due to the hot coffee at my side.
The actual plot:
Jake left town shortly after his young wife died and her parents assumed responsibility for the baby that scared him to his toes. The elder generation has also passed on though, and now he realizes that it is time to man up and become a father. First he has to get past Jenny. She's tough, and everyone knows it. She also can't understand how the whole town can possibly regard her as sweet. Worst of all is that Jake breaks through the defenses quickly in his attempts to soften both her and his son to the idea of taking the boy away from everything he has ever known.
Anderson weaves a story of the prodigal son and a woman who has made it past her days of hard knocks. Said prodigal son just happens to have a child of his own, and that boy's guardian is none other than the tough girl who has made good. Andersen concocts vistas of the Northwest that make a reader feel the mist of the ocean. She also can write a steamy sex scene better than most. This woman knows her foreplay and she can drag it out for an entire chapter. It takes a while to get to that first hot scene, but then again, it takes a while to get through it, too. Really, the blush on my face as I write this is all due to the hot coffee at my side.
The actual plot:
Jake left town shortly after his young wife died and her parents assumed responsibility for the baby that scared him to his toes. The elder generation has also passed on though, and now he realizes that it is time to man up and become a father. First he has to get past Jenny. She's tough, and everyone knows it. She also can't understand how the whole town can possibly regard her as sweet. Worst of all is that Jake breaks through the defenses quickly in his attempts to soften both her and his son to the idea of taking the boy away from everything he has ever known.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Echo and the Bat Pack series by Roberto Pavanello
These illustrated chapter books are much like Scooby-Doo mysteries: without adult cooperation, three kids and their animal (bat) friend blunder and quake through scary (but not really) mysteries until they eventually unmask the bad guy. Zoinks!
I had a devil of a time figuring out in which order to read this series - I eventually gave up and assumed it didn't matter. Each book makes references to the fact that Echo used to live in the graveyard, a cousin who's an acrobatic flier, and his Mom bat. "Treasure in the Graveyard" is the book that best explains how the bat came to live with the family, but even when I got to that story I mostly I felt like I was missing too much information.
They're breezy, transparent stories full of sorta lame jokes. Perhaps kids will think they're lovely, but I found it a bit tedious. They're targeted at third-graders, essentially, but there's an advanced vocabulary that seems a bit of a stretch.
I'm not planning to add them to our library collection - I think there's better for this reading level.
I had a devil of a time figuring out in which order to read this series - I eventually gave up and assumed it didn't matter. Each book makes references to the fact that Echo used to live in the graveyard, a cousin who's an acrobatic flier, and his Mom bat. "Treasure in the Graveyard" is the book that best explains how the bat came to live with the family, but even when I got to that story I mostly I felt like I was missing too much information.
They're breezy, transparent stories full of sorta lame jokes. Perhaps kids will think they're lovely, but I found it a bit tedious. They're targeted at third-graders, essentially, but there's an advanced vocabulary that seems a bit of a stretch.
I'm not planning to add them to our library collection - I think there's better for this reading level.
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
At seven, Libby Day survived an attack that left her two older sisters and her mother dead and put her brother away for life in prison. Twenty five years later, she never recovered: Libby can't hold a job, can't maintain a relationship - she can't even manage the where-with-all to keep the power on in her rental house. She's eeked out a life on her savings (thanks, murder-survivor donations!), but now the money's gone.
When a true crime fan club contracts her to for a speaking engagement, Libby find there's an underground network of theorists who believe her brother is innocent. And they'll pay her for access to people who may know the truth. Is visiting the "Darkplace" worth the cash? Does she even have a choice?
Like "Gone Girl," nearly every page-turn had me reassessing what I thought happened. I don't know how many books Flynn will be able to write in this dramatic style, but I'm aboard as long as it lasts: she's a master at manipulating the storyline and the reader.
Highly recommended. I consumed this book in just a couple days.
When a true crime fan club contracts her to for a speaking engagement, Libby find there's an underground network of theorists who believe her brother is innocent. And they'll pay her for access to people who may know the truth. Is visiting the "Darkplace" worth the cash? Does she even have a choice?
Like "Gone Girl," nearly every page-turn had me reassessing what I thought happened. I don't know how many books Flynn will be able to write in this dramatic style, but I'm aboard as long as it lasts: she's a master at manipulating the storyline and the reader.
Highly recommended. I consumed this book in just a couple days.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Bite Me: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
Have you read the other 2 books in Moore's vampire series? If so, skip the whole first disc of the audio - it's just review. I was a little annoyed by the length of "previously, in Bloodsucking Fiends & You Suck" summary that started this book. Sheesh. If you want to know all that, just go read the other books!
Past that, this is pure Christopher Moore genius: a new challenge for San Francisco's vampires, a couple wacky new characters, and the truly incomparable narration of Abby Normal - backup assistant mistress of the Bay Area darkness.
Narrator Susan Bennett does a notable job with the enormous range of voices and characters in this story: ancient multi-cultural vampires, angsty American goth teens, cops, kooks, several dogs, and even a huge vampire cats. And Moore's rapid-fire dialog can't be easy to record - sometimes I have to rewind and listen a couple times to catch it all.
Past that, this is pure Christopher Moore genius: a new challenge for San Francisco's vampires, a couple wacky new characters, and the truly incomparable narration of Abby Normal - backup assistant mistress of the Bay Area darkness.
Narrator Susan Bennett does a notable job with the enormous range of voices and characters in this story: ancient multi-cultural vampires, angsty American goth teens, cops, kooks, several dogs, and even a huge vampire cats. And Moore's rapid-fire dialog can't be easy to record - sometimes I have to rewind and listen a couple times to catch it all.
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