The Adventures of Honey & Leon by Alan Cumming

July 18, 2022 By Leave a Comment


The Adventures of Honey & Leon by Alan Cumming
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), LGBTQ, Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Honey and Leon are rescue mutts who love their dads very much. But their dads often have to go away on glamorous and important business, which worries the dogs. Honey and Leon are done staying home and fretting—they’re off on a dad-protecting adventure! Careful to remain incognito, the two pups shadow their dads on a trip across the sea, keeping them out of danger at every turn! How did they survive without Honey and Leon’s protection for this long?!

Alan Cumming and Grant Shaffer wrote this story as a tribute to their own dogs, based on their frequent conversations about what Honey and Leon get up to while they’re away.

Nobody likes being left home alone while their parents have an adventure.

Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that explored the relationships between the dogs and the dads. Their family was a close and loving one, and it showed. I smiled as the narrator explained why Honey and Leon were so concerned about keeping their humans safe and how they planned to make sure everything was okay on their dads’ latest business trip.

I would have liked to see a little more time spent on the world building. As much as I enjoyed the open-ended nature of certain topics that I will mention in a moment, there were other times when I couldn’t help but to wonder about what people in this universe expected from the dogs around them. Most of them seemed so relaxed and understanding of talking dogs taking a cab or flying in an airplane that it made me wonder if similar adventures were well known enough that this was somewhat ordinary in their world. If only there had been more information about this!

The thought of two dogs travelling alone tickled my imagination. I couldn’t help but to wonder how they would avoid drawing unwanted attention to themselves and whether they’d be successful in their mission. It was a great deal of fun to come up with my own theories about how this all would work. The author gave enough information about this for the plot to make sense, but he also left plenty of space for little readers to come up with their own creative interpretations as well.

The Adventures of Honey & Leon made me smile.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Death is a Many-Splendored Thing by David Neilsen

July 11, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Death is a Many-Splendored Thing by David Neilsen
Publisher: Neilsen Books
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The world would be a lot better off if all the dead people would stop pretending they weren’t dead.

My name is Zachariah Thornwood, but everyone, even my parents, calls me Zack. A few months ago I was a normal fourteen year old kid obsessed with movies and baseball and girls. Not necessarily in that order. And now?

Now I live life with the knowledge that there are a ton of dead people running around thumbing their noses at the whole idea of the Circle of Life. They could be anyone: the postman, the Mayor, the kid bagging your groceries, or the weather woman on TV. They seem perfectly normal, act perfectly normal, live perfectly normal lives, but are, in fact, perfectly dead…

Not everything in this world is what it immediately appears to be.

Zach was an interesting and memorable main character who genuinely felt like a moody teenage boy. I’m saying that affectionally as I liked him quite a bit even when he was a little grumpy with the adults in his life who dared to ask him questions or wished to know where he was going late at night. These moments are a normal part of growing up for many teens, though, and I’m glad they were included so naturally here. He was a brave kid who enjoyed taking risks. Both of these traits served him well during his adventure.

There were some pacing issues in the beginning and the middle of the storyline. I found myself wishing for more conflict or plot twists during them. As much fun as it was to see Zach try to navigate normal activities like going to school after he learned how many dead people there were out there who were pretending to still be alive, this didn’t quite give me enough substance to work with. I think there was room for more development here, and I would have gone with a higher rating if it had been included.

Mr. Neilsen did a good job with the world building. He explained exactly what he needed to about this world in order for it to make sense for me as a reader, and the framework he set up made me yearn for more. For example, I’d love to know how the dead handle things like doctor’s appointments or going through airport security due to the many physiological differences between them and the living that can quickly become apparent with a body scan, x-ray, blood draw, or any other close attention paid to the topic. As this appears to be the beginning of a new series, I was glad to see how much space he left himself for the future as well. It will be exciting to see where he goes next.

I’d recommend Death is a Many-Splendored Thing to anyone who is in the mood for adventurous young adult fiction.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Stella Brings the Family by Miriam B. Schiffer

July 5, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Stella Brings the Family by Miriam B. Schiffer
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), LGBTQ, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Stella’s class is having a Mother’s Day celebration, but what’s a girl with two daddies to do? It’s not that she doesn’t have someone who helps her with her homework, or tucks her in at night. Stella has her Papa and Daddy who take care of her, and a whole gaggle of other loved ones who make her feel special and supported every day. She just doesn’t have a mom to invite to the party. Fortunately, Stella finds a unique solution to her party problem in this sweet story about love, acceptance, and the true meaning of family.

Not everyone has a mother.

Stella was a wonderful girl. Her anxiety over how to celebrate Mother’s Day during her class party when she had two fathers made me want to give her a hug. She loved her family, but she also didn’t know how to include them in a holiday that wasn’t made for them. I liked reading the conversation she had with her dads as they tried to figure out a solution that would make sense for them.

In my experience, many kids this age talk about their family structures openly to each other and to any grownups nearby who might be listening. While I totally understand that some children and families prefer to be more private about these topics, I did find myself wondering why there were so many of them in Stella’s class and why she didn’t know more about the home lives of at least some of her classmates. If this had been explained better, I would have happily gone for a full five-star rating as I enjoyed everything else about it.

My favorite portion of the storyline happened after the Mother’s Day party began and Stella began talking to her classmates about what sorts of families they had. I can’t go into a lot of detail about this without giving away spoilers, but it was nice to see such a kind and inclusive take on the topic. In addition to the LGBT+ families this was specifically written for, this could also be meaningful for children who are being raised by grandparents or other relatives, foster parents, adoptive parents, step-parents, and so many other different types of homes. There is definitely something to be said for finding common ground and looking for the best in other people.

Stella Brings the Family was a heartwarming read.

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Henry at Home by Megan Maynor

July 4, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Henry at Home by Megan Maynor
Publisher: Clarion Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The love between a brother and sister shines through in this reassuring picture book about a common childhood transition—an older sibling starting school and leaving the younger one behind.

Liza is Henry’s big sister, and Henry is Liza’s little brother. As long as there has been a Henry and Liza, they have always done everything together. Haircuts, birthday parties, tree climbing, even flu shots. Liza and Henry. Henry and Liza. But that all changes when Liza starts school for the first time, heading off to kindergarten and leaving her little brother behind. Henry is incredulous. How can Liza do this to him?

This true-to-life picture book, gorgeously illustrated, explores a sweet sibling relationship and carries an important and reassuring message about family and growing up.

Change is hard for everyone sometimes.

I adored the warm and loving relationship between Henry and Liza. As well as being siblings, they were best friends who loved spending time together exploring the outdoors and making up imaginative games. They had a strong emotional bond, and it showed. Siblings having a wonderful time together is something I always love to find in picture books as it doesn’t seem to be as common as addressing sibling rivalry and other normal developmental stages of childhood that can bring conflict.

With that being said, there is something to be said for learning to enjoy time apart, too. I appreciated how gently the narrator approached the idea that Henry and Liza would both benefit from developing a few separate interests and friend groups. It was such a friendly way to encourage these characters to step out of their comfort zones while also acknowledging how lucky they were to get along so well.

The ending made me smile. Henry definitely didn’t appreciate being left at home while his sister started kindergarten, so it was interesting to see how his frustration and disappointment encouraged him to fill his time with new activities until she came back home again in the afternoon. Every emotion is valuable, even the difficult ones! Gentle stories are a great place to explore feelings that a kid might be reluctant to talk about, and there were plenty of opportunities here to do just that. While I can’t say much more about the ending without giving away spoilers, it was everything I was hoping it would be.

Henry at Home was perfect.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

My Dawg Koa by Kelly Brakenhoff

July 1, 2022 By Leave a Comment


My Dawg Koa by Kelly Brakenhoff
Duke the Deaf Dog ASL Series, #3
Publisher: Emerald Prairie Press
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Deaf friends Duke and Koa are the same, but they are also different.

Duke the Deaf Dog learns about similarities and differences between friends and families. A fun, engaging way to teach children that best friends share common interests. Their houses may look different, and their parents may have different rules and expectations, but Duke finds one thing families share no matter what: LOVE.

Kindness is the key to everything.

Duke and Koa’s friendship made me smile. Both of them were used to how their parents ran things and were occasionally surprised by the different types of rules that exist in other households. It made me smile to see how they adjusted to these moments and how their habits rubbed off on each other. They were both wonderful friends to each other, too. What could be better than that?

I did find myself wishing the narrator had spent a little more time developing the plot. Yes, it was important to explain how someone who is deaf knows when someone is knocking at the door or wakes up at a specific time in the morning, but I thought it was just as important to give a few more examples of how Duke and Koa evolved as a result of their friendship. Had this happened, I would have happily gone for a full five-star rating.

Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that showed how Duke and Koa’s families had adjusted their homes to be more accommodating of the deaf folks – or dogs! – who lived there. I live with someone who is hard of hearing, and we’ve used some of these accommodations in our home! Different solutions are sometimes necessary for people who are completely deaf versus those who can hear certain sounds but not other ones, so it was nice to see such a wide range of options here. I’d happily recommend it to everyone I know who has hearing loss or who loves someone who does.

This is part of a series, but it can be read as a standalone work.

My Dawg Koa was a heartwarming slice of life.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

We Just Had a Baby by Stephen Krensky

June 24, 2022 By Leave a Comment


We Just Had a Baby by Stephen Krensky
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

It’s not easy getting used to a new baby in the house. Everyone in the world thinks whatever the baby does is amazing! And if you aren’t the baby, everyone acts like you’re invisible. This clever, funny picture book is told from a slightly older sibling’s point of view. The observations about living with a new sister or brother are poignant, spot-on, and will make even the youngest reader chuckle.

Change isn’t always easy, especially for children who had no say in the matter.

One of the things I liked the most about this picture book was how honest it was about the positive and negative aspects of becoming an older sibling. The main character loved his sister, but he also had some perfectly reasonable reasons to be occasionally irritated with how she had affected his life. For example, some adults favor babies over older children, and all babies cry. Acknowledging the difficult portions of this experience can make it easier to also notice the benefits of it.

I found myself wishing that the narrator’s parents would have been a little more involved in the storyline. Yes, this was about the creation of a brand new sibling relationship, but parents influence how these things develop in both helpful and unhelpful ways. It would have been nice to see the mom and dad encourage their children to become close as the baby grew up.

The ending made me smile. I enjoyed seeing how the main character had matured as a result of his experiences. He was a kind kid who ultimately needed some time to adjust to his family’s new routines. This was such a realistic take on the subject matter. It made me wish for a sequel about these siblings as they grow older, but I was also satisfied with how the reader left them in the final scene.

We Just Had a Baby was a well-balanced look at how a family changes after they have another child.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

Papa the Shoemaker by Kyra Kalweit and Dayán Mantecón Roldán

June 23, 2022 By 1 Comment


Papa the Shoemaker by Kyra Kalweit and Dayán Mantecón Roldán
Publisher: Tellwell Talent
Genre: Children’s
Rated: 4
Review by Rose

Hi there, my name is William and I have a question for you!

Would you like to know how your shoes are made?

I invite you to come inside my papa’s workshop and learn all the secrets of the ancient art of shoemaking and more.

Let’s embark on a creative adventure of fun challenges and life lessons along the way.

This is a very interesting look at how custom shoes are made along with a life lesson. Papa is very good at explaining things to his son in a clear and concise way. I do wish it had been a little clearer about what the shoe lasts were — I had to look that up, and I think it would have been interesting to know about that aspect of the process too…just where the last comes from. But, that did not take away my enjoyment from the book. The lesson was not as subtle as in the previous book I read from this couple, but still a book I would choose for my classroom or for my grandchildren.

A good book for the early reader.

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I Am One with the Universe by Kyra Kalweit and Dayán Mantecón Roldán

June 20, 2022 By 4 Comments


I Am One with the Universe by Kyra Kalweit and Dayán Mantecón Roldán
Publisher: Tellwell Talent
Genre: Children’s
Rated: 5 stars
Review by Rose

This children’s book teaches young readers to reflect on a simple yet profound message: We are all connected to everything we see and experience in this world. The essence of God is within each one of us and in everything we see, touch, feel, taste and dream about.
With rhyme and playful illustrations, I Am One with the Universe will help children realize their unity with all things and that they are not separate from God or anyone else.

What a beautifully written story that’s perfect for early readers or for parents to read with the children. The illustrations are eye-catching; the rhythm and rhyming of the text make this a fun book to read aloud.

A wonderful way of showing children (and parents) how closely everything in the world is connected.

Definitely recommended for all families with young children.

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Not Yeti by Kelly DiPucchio

June 3, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Not Yeti by Kelly DiPucchio
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Monsters are loud. And rude. They like to smash things and they always need to be right. But not Yeti. Yeti bakes banana bread and sings to whales and always has a nice word to say. But sometimes you find yourself alone when you’re different. And Yeti doesn’t know there’s a special surprise in store for him.

Anyone can change if they really want to.

It was refreshing to read about a monster who was gentle and loving instead of scary. Yeti spent his days making the world a better place for others, from crocheting sweaters for penguins to protecting baby turtles right after they hatched. I adored this character as soon as I met him and looked forward to seeing if his dreams would come true for him.

The ending felt abrupt and confusing to me, especially since this tale was written for such a young audience. While I soon understood the point the author was attempting to make, it was vague enough that I would have felt compelled to explain it if I’d been reading this to a small child. I found myself wishing that the narrator had been more forthright about the benefits of being different and choosing to be kind even if others don’t make the same choice.

Yeti’s character development was handled beautifully. The reader soon learned that he hadn’t always been a nice monster, and the explanation for how and why he’d changed was well worth reading. What made this even more interesting to me were the unpleasant interactions he had with a couple of other monsters. He could have so easily slipped back into old habits, and yet he stuck to his principles no matter how others tried to provoke him. What a great role model he was for anyone who is trying to fix a bad habit or personality flaw.

Not Yeti was a thought-provoking read.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

The New Enchantress by Sunayna Prasad

June 2, 2022 By 2 Comments


The New Enchantress by Sunayna Prasad
Publisher: Self Published
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Rated: 4 stars
Review by Poppy

Cursed by a sorcerer’s hex, Alyssa McCarthy finds herself in a fight she can’t afford to lose, or everything she knows will be lost!
After she finishes her final year of junior high, fourteen-year-old Alyssa faces an uncertain future in more ways than one when a sorcerer casts a hex that leaves her with involuntary magical powers that are too dangerous to remove.

Unable to control her newly gained abilities Alyssa’s end-of-middle-school sleepover ends in disaster when she knocks her friends unconscious when her powers go out of control. If Alyssa can’t learn to master her magic soon, she will be cursed to forget her loved ones and serve as the warlock’s slave for all of eternity.

Her only hope is to focus on controlling her emotions if she is to break the curse. However, the difficulties of adolescence, along with the perils and growing disasters she faces, make Alyssa struggle even more. From putting her friends’ lives at risk to losing their trust, she continues to fear what will become of her if she fails.

Will Alyssa be able to break the hex and become the enchantress that she was meant to be, or will she become enslaved to the sorcerer forever?

A cute middle grade fantasy of sorts that I enjoyed. I say “of sorts” because it takes place in our world, but … there’s magic. Didn’t we all dream of having magic powers as a kid? I know I did. This book shows what might occur if that actually happened.

Alyssa is a typical tween, worried about her grades, hanging out with friends, except right at the starts of the book while she’s trying to raise her grades with a special project, magic inserts itself into the story. And so the crazy ride begins.

Alyssa is believable as a character. She isn’t perfect, she has flaws that you’d expect from a girl her age. There are squabbles with friends, doubts and worries. I liked her. The world-building is good, too, and I can see how this would appeal to the target middle grade audience.

I only had a few quibbles. First, I’m not the target audience, and so there were things that happened that were meant to be a surprise that I could see coming. And, sometimes the mom in me wanted to take hold of the kids and give them a good shake. Also, this book is the third in a series and there were times I felt a little lost. I imagine the whole experience would be richer if you started with book one.

Still, this was a good read. It had a solid plot, believable characters, decent world-building and you understood Alyssa’s motivation throughout. As a reader and reviewer, I certainly can’t complain about that!

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,
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