Twelve Weeks to Midnight Blue by Steve Searfoss

April 9, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Twelve Weeks to Midnight Blue by Steve Searfoss
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Contemporary, Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Economics, Business
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Teach your kids about business and economics in a fun, meaningful way and inspire them to be entrepreneurs. Millions of Americans are small business owners or work at companies, yet there are not many books that explain to kids what business is about, the way there are books for kids about being a firefighter, farmer or astronaut. Beyond basic business concepts, KidVenture shows that character matters in business. The ability to persevere when there are setbacks and being someone who is trustworthy are key ingredients of success.

In Twelve Weeks To Midnight Blue,Chance Sterling launches a pool cleaning business over the summer. Join Chance as he looks for new customers, discovers how much to charge them, takes on a business partner, recruits an employee, deals with difficult clients, and figures out how to make a profit. He has twelve weeks to reach his goal. Will he make it? Only if he takes some chances.

KidVenture stories are business adventures where kids figure out how to market their company, understand risk, and negotiate. Each chapter ends with a challenge, including business decisions, ethical dilemmas and interpersonal conflict for young readers to wrestle with. As the story progresses, the characters track revenue, costs, profit margin, and other key metrics which are explained in simple, fun ways that tie into the story.

The synopsis of this book tells you much of what this book might be about. However, I think I can tell you what this book seemed like to a “grown-up”. One like me I suppose. I think this is reading for a 10- to 14-year-old depending on their reading skills. Although there is a theme of learning to manage and understand money, there is also a story here. Making it flow. Making it read like a story about a boy and his family and friends. This is not a textbook. It might accomplish more than a textbook, but it doesn’t have that somewhat dry academic type of flow. The POV is always from Chance, the kid who wants a new bike and wants to find a way to buy it. I think this kid’s perspective is what it needs to hold the attention of middle grade or young YA readers.

While this is well-written and easy to read, there is something it accomplishes much more than merely learning about money, or math, or business. It provides numerous opportunities for conversation between parents and children. Short sentences like “What would you do?” “What would be the benefits?” leave open doors for discussion. What is a short 128 page book, can be shaped in many ways.

No wonder Steve Searfoss is such a successful entrepreneur. It takes the ability to communicate on many subjects to many ages, and he seems to be able to do so. I hope more KidVenture books are forthcoming.

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

Where Are You, Agnes? by Tessa McWatt

April 9, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Where Are You, Agnes? by Tessa McWatt
Publisher: Groundwood Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Non-Fiction, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Agnes Martin was born on the Canadian prairies in the early twentieth century. In this imagining of her childhood from acclaimed author Tessa McWatt, Agnes spends her days surrounded by wheat fields, where her grandfather encourages her to draw what she sees and feels around her: the straight horizon, the feeling of the sun, the movement of birds’ wings and the shapes she sees in the wheat.

One day, Agnes’s family moves to a house in a big city. The straight horizon and wheat fields are gone, but Agnes continues to draw what she sees and feels around her. No one except her grandfather understands what she is trying to capture ― not her mother, who asks, “Where are you, Agnes?” when she sees her daughter engrossed in her drawing; nor her siblings, who think her art is ugly. Still, Agnes keeps trying to capture what she sees inside her mind.

Agnes Martin grew up to become a famous abstract expressionist artist. Tessa McWatt has written a beautiful story of Agnes’s childhood and how it might have shaped her adult work. Zuzanna Celej’s watercolors adeptly capture Agnes’s world, including hints of the grid paintings that she was later known for, against the backdrop of prairie and city landscapes.

Where do artists find inspiration for their work? Sometimes it begins in childhood.

It’s rare to find a picture book that works just as well for older kids as it does for the little ones! The multiple layers of the plot were what made it possible for it to be understood one way by a preschooler and an entirely different way for a preteen. I was impressed with how the author pulled this off. It certainly wasn’t an easy task to accomplish.

This tale skipped over several of the most important details of Agnes Martin’s life. I ended up needing to google her in order to jog my memory and put all of the pieces together. It wasn’t clear to me if the author assumed everyone already knew those facts or if she didn’t think they were important to include for the age groups she was writing for. Either way, it was confusing at times even though I’m already familiar with the twentieth century Canadian art scene and was very interested in the subject matter in general. This was something that would work best for readers who are already fans of this painter’s work or who are willing to do a little homework ahead of time.

With that being said, I did appreciate the subplot involving grief. It was sensitively written and had some thought-provoking things to say about what happens to the emotion of love after someone dies and why it’s so important to seek out the beauty in life wherever you may find it. Those scenes could be the starting point of so many conversations about death, grief, and how to move on afterwards.

I’d recommend Where Are You, Agnes? to art lovers of all ages.

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

The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

April 8, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Genre: Historical, Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Poinsettia

In this Newbery Honor book, a thirteen-year-old boy struggles to survive on his own in the wilderness of eighteenth-century Maine.

When Matt’s father leaves him on his own to guard their new cabin in the wilderness, Matt is scared but determined to be brave and prove that he can take care of himself. And things are going fine until a white stranger steals his gun, leaving Matt defenseless and unable to hunt for his food. Then Matt meets Attean, a Native boy from the Beaver tribe, and soon learns that people called the land around him home long before the white settlers ever arrived. As Attean teaches him more about his own culture, Matt must come to terms with what the changing frontier really means. Now with an introduction by critically acclaimed writer Joseph Bruchac about the historical context and the relationships between Native peoples and white settlers in the eighteenth century.

Matt knew life alone in the wilderness of Maine wouldn’t be easy, but he had no idea just how many challenges he would face.

Matt is in a tough situation. He and his father have worked hard to build a new cabin for their family. However, his father needs to go back to Massachusetts and retrieve the rest of the family. Matt will have to take care of the cabin and garden for months while his father is gone. The garden is especially important as the family will depend on a good harvest to survive the winter. It is a heavy weight for a young boy to bear.

At first, things go smoothly enough. Matt follows his father’s instructions and settles into a comfortable routine. I admire his bravery and sense of duty. However, when Matt’s gun is stolen, he finds himself with limited options for obtaining food and no way to defend himself. As if that weren’t bad enough, a disastrous encounter with bees leaves Matt injured and sick. Matt’s story could have ended there, but he is found by Saknis and his grandson, Attean, members of the Beaver tribe.

Matt and Attean have an interesting relationship. At first, Attean clearly wants nothing to do with Matt. Attean only visits Matt because Saknis wants Attean to learn to read English. Matt isn’t exactly fond of Attean either, but he is grateful to Saknis for his help after the incident with the bees and wants to show his appreciation, so he agrees to teach Attean. The lessons do not go well. At first, both boys are stubborn and unwilling to look past their differences. However, the walls between the two gradually begin to break down. Attean enjoys the stories that Matt reads, and Matt learns to make snares and a bow and arrows. Matt finds himself looking forward to his treks through the forest with Attean. The tension between the two eases as they take the time to learn from each other and eventually become friends. When Matt’s father isn’t back at the appointed time, Matt is faced with a difficult choice. Will he risk facing winter alone in the cabin, or leave with Attean and his family?

I read The Sign of the Beaver when I was young, and I found the plot to be just as captivating as an adult. I especially enjoyed reading this book with my children and watching them experience it for the first time. We were all on the edge of our seats as Matt and Attean faced bees, a bear, metal traps, and the arrival of winter. I will say that the portrayal of the Native Americans is somewhat problematic. I highly recommend reading the introduction before reading the novel as it addresses some of these issues. Despite these issues, I believe at its heart The Sign of the Beaver is a story of friendship and definitely worth reading.

I truly enjoyed rediscovering The Sign of the Beaver. It is a tale of friendship and adventure sure to capture the imaginations of readers young and old alike.

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

Amy McDougall, Master Matchmaker by Gary Pedler

March 29, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Amy McDougall, Master Matchmaker by Gary Pedler
Publisher: Regal House/Fitzroy Books
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Contemporary, LGBTQ
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Thirteen-year-old Amy McDougall is worried about Travis, the single gay guy who adopted her when she was a kid. He wants a boyfriend, yet isn’t having any luck finding one himself. Amy decides the solution is for someone else to do the finding. Someone like her! Amy’s first attempts at matchmaking are embarrassing flops, despite advice from her hyper-smart best friend Grace. Soon Amy makes not only a match for Dad, but for other people she knows. Now no one can deny that she’s Amy McDougall, Master Matchmaker. Still, she finds there’s a price to pay for her meddling when all three matches cause problems she hadn’t foreseen. Amy McDougall, Master Matchmaker is a fun and engaging tale that takes a fresh look at important subjects like love and friendship.

How complicated can finding a boyfriend for one’s single gay dad possibly be?

Amy was a likeable girl whose character development felt realistic to me. I enjoyed getting to know every side of her personality from her unbridled creativity to her tendency to meddle in other people’s lives over and over again. This particular flaw of hers played an important role in how the plot unfolded, especially in the beginning when she wasn’t aware of all of the issues that can be caused by someone trying to control what other folks do. It was amusing to see how she reacted to her loved ones not always responding the way she wanted them to when she quietly interfered with their love lives.

I would have liked to see a tad more attention paid to the downside of Amy’s attempts to play matchmaker. The humorous parts of her experiment popped up everywhere, and I giggled my way through them. With that being said, I did think the negative consequences of her trying to set people up together weren’t explored quite as fully as they could have been. This was especially true when it came to the dates she picked out for her dad. I adored this tale in general, and I would have given it a perfect five-star rating if she’d faced a few more logical consequences for her actions.

Travis and Amy became a family thanks to an transracial older child adoption. He was a single, white, gay man, and she was a school-aged biracial foster child. I’ll leave the specific details of how they became a family for other readers to discover for themselves, but I appreciated the fact that this book acknowledged the difficult parts of her past while still having such a hopeful and upbeat approach to the beautiful life they’d built together. There was so much love in the McDougall household that I can’t help but to hope for a sequel about them someday.

Anyone who has ever wished they could set their friends and family up with perfect love interests might really like Amy McDougall, Master Matchmaker.

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

The Homesick Club by Libby Martinez

March 23, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Homesick Club by Libby Martinez
Publisher: Groundwood Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Mónica and Hannah are school kids in the big city. Together, they have formed the Homesick Club, since they are both from far away. Mónica misses the family of hummingbirds that she and her grandmother would feed in her backyard in Bolivia every day. Hannah misses the sunshine and the tiny tortoise that lived near her house in Israel.

When a new teacher, Miss Shelby, arrives from Texas, the girls discover that she misses her home, too, especially the huge sky full of stars and a Southern treat known as Hummingbird Cake. The girls ask Miss Shelby to join their club, then Mónica decides she will bring a surprise for show and tell ― a surprise that brings Miss Shelby close to tears.

Author Libby Martinez addresses a theme that many children can relate to ― feeling homesick ― especially when home is far away. Rebecca Gibbon’s charming illustrations bring an imaginative, light touch to the story.

It’s lonely to be far away from the familiar sights, scents, tastes, and sounds of home.

Mónica and Hannah were such kind and empathetic kids. I especially appreciated how these parts of their personalities were expressed through their actions over and over again. They both gave so many examples of what it truly meant to care about and help others without any expectation of reward.

There were times when I found the text too wordy for the age group it seemed to be written for. The narrator sometimes went into much more detail about what the characters were thinking about than is typical for picture books. On the positive side, this meant I got to know the characters well and could see how the upper age range could be stretched a few years for older kids who are interested in it.

Being an immigrant can be a lonely experience. Some of the loveliest scenes were the ones that explored this emotion and gave the audience multiple coping strategies for it whether they’re the person feeling that way or a compassionate friend who wants to help the immigrants and homesick people in their lives feel truly welcomed. What made it even better was that so many of these ideas could be used by both groups!

The Homesick Club was a heartwarming read that I was grateful to have picked up and would warmly recommend.

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

Mall Girl Meets the Shadow Vandal by Kimberly Baer

March 19, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Mall Girl Meets the Shadow Vandal by Kimberly Baer
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Suspense/Mystery/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Chloe Lamont doesn’t live in a neighborhood, like most kids. Her house is in the middle of the mall. And now someone is stealing items from her house and using them to vandalize stores. Who is trying to frame her? And how are they getting into the house?

Desperate to catch the real vandal and clear her name, Chloe seeks help from the kids in her Mystery Reading Group at school. While searching for clues, the Mystery Groupers make an astounding discovery. And then things get really crazy…
Who would frame a kid for petty crimes?

The main mystery storyline was exciting and well written. It was fun to look back and take notice of the small clues that were included in the first few chapters once I had a better idea of what might be going on with the random acts of late-night vandalism at the mall. The author included the perfect number of them for this age group.

I would have liked to see more time spent developing the subplot about why Chloe’s mom, Ursula, had refused to have any contact with Chloe’s grandparents for so many years. Most people will only cut off relatives for pretty serious offenses, so I was expecting her to tell Chloe about something dangerous or illegal that had happened in the family. The actual reason given for this decision never quite made sense to me. It would have been helpful for me as a reader to dive much more deeply into what Ursula was thinking there.

Chloe was an instantly likeable girl. Figuring out why she was so reluctant to let people get close to her was nearly as interesting as sorting out the main mystery. She was such a creative and sweet kid that I couldn’t stop hoping she’d meet some new friends who appreciated her for exactly who she was.

Mall Girl Meets the Shadow Vandal should be read by anyone who has ever wished they could see what a mall is like after everyone goes home.

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

Kingston and the Magician’s Lost and Found by Rucker Moses and Theo Gangi

March 9, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Kingston and the Magician’s Lost and Found by Rucker Moses and Theo Gangi
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Middle Grade
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Magic has all but disappeared in Brooklyn, but one tenacious young magician is determined to bring it back in this exciting middle grade mystery.

Twelve-year-old Kingston has just moved from the suburbs back to Echo City, Brooklyn—the last place his father was seen alive. Kingston’s father was King Preston, one of the world’s greatest magicians. Until one trick went wrong and he disappeared. Now that Kingston is back in Echo City, he’s determined to find his father.

Somehow, though, when his father disappeared, he took all of Echo City’s magic with him. Now Echo City—a ghost of its past—is living up to its name. With no magic left, the magicians have packed up and left town and those who’ve stayed behind don’t look too kindly on any who reminds them of what they once had.

When Kingston finds a magic box his father left behind as a clue, Kingston knows there’s more to his father’s disappearance than meets the eye. He’ll have to keep it a secret—that is, until he can restore magic to Echo City. With his cousin Veronica and childhood friend Too Tall Eddie, Kingston works to solve the clues, but one wrong move and his father might not be the only one who goes missing.

While fantasy and themes of magic are not my first choice in genres, I had no problem reading this book. I flew through it, in fact. I think the reason it was so readable is not just because it is easy to read but because it is really and truly a good story. The kind that draws you in and makes you forget the things around you.

This is the story of a young boy determined to find his father, who is a magician. He and his friends work through the mystery to find him, all the while trying not to endanger their own lives. It’s full of tricks and codes and everything I loved as a 5th to 6th grade reader and well, ok…I loved it now as an old adult reader too. Just a fun run-away and get lost in a book kind of read. Recommended!

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

The Seeing Scroll by J.T. Grobler

March 5, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Seeing Scroll by J.T. Grobler
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Suspense/Mystery/Thriller, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A children’s mystery adventure with a little bit of magic.

When police exhume the body in her grandfather’s coffin, 12-year-old Gia Lance already knows that it isn’t him. And given that her dad won’t believe her, what choice does she have but to enlist the help of her drama-king best friend? Their search for her grandfather leads to the discovery of a secret riddle, a hidden plateau and an enchanted scroll steeped in mystery. It lures them by exposing visions – fragments of well-kept secrets.

Gia soon grapples with an eerie tale of a dungeon, an ill-fated ship, a missing child, and the legendary curse of the Seeing Scroll. But whose secrets are they? How does the scroll decide what she sees? Who can she trust? More importantly, what does it any of it have to do with her grandfather?

Time is running out. For Gia to connect the dots, she must confront the idea of her grandfather not being who she thought he was and acknowledge the possibility of him being cursed. But there are people after the scroll. Dangerous people! Clearly, they’ll do anything to ensure their secrets remain buried. Maybe even their crimes. Can Gia evade them on her quest to solve the riddle and figure out how to save her grandfather without being duped by the scroll’s delicious secrets, or will he be forever lost?

The truth will always come out in the end.

I adored Gia’s friendship with Vuyo. Both of these characters genuinely liked and respected each other. They disagreed at times like any two people are bound to do, but they both did an excellent job of listening to each other and taking their friend’s point of view into perspective when deciding what steps they wanted to take next to solve the mystery of what actually happened to Gia’s grandfather. I only grew to like these characters more as I got to know them better.

There were some pacing issues. The plot was slower in some scenes and faster in others. Either pacing style would have worked for these characters and storyline just fine, but I didn’t enjoy jumping around between them so often without any clear indication of why things had suddenly slowed down or sped up again. If not for this issue, I would have chosen a much higher rating as the mystery itself was well written.

The fantasy elements of the storyline were given exactly the right amount of space to develop. I was intrigued by the idea of a magical object that looked deceptively innocent but was actually quite dangerous to use. It fit the tone of the storyline well. These details also made me curious to learn more about where that item came from and why anyone would dare to use it once they’d realized what would happen to them if they broke the rules about how and when it should be used.

Anyone who loves magical middle grade mysteries should give The Seeing Scroll a try.

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

St. Louis Sam and the Desperados by Pinkie Paranya

February 17, 2021 By Leave a Comment


St. Louis Sam and the Desperados by Pinkie Paranya
Publisher: Five Star Publishing
Genre: Historical, Romance, Suspense/Mystery/Thriller
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Aloe

Going from St Louis, Missouri, in 1874 to the Arizona Territory is a frightening step for brother and sister, Garth and Samantha. They need to prove their uncle Millard Tremayne’s treachery in their father’s financial ruin and subsequent suicide. So far their uncle holds all the cards, their guardianship and inheritance. Since the uncle is secretly setting up a dynasty out west, eventually to rid himself of his family and waspish wife, Grace, Sam and Garth follow his trail to a town called Powder Keg in Arizona. The brother and sister collect a band of misfits to help them sabotage Uncle Millard. Mayhem, treachery, intrigue, humor, and romance follow.

Their mother died in the birth of her brother. Her Uncle stole money from the business and left their father broke. He committed suicide. The children’s money is gone. They are in their twenties now and decide to go west and steal back from him. He’s been investing there and intends to move there, leave his wife behind, and marry the gal that runs the saloon for him. They plan on stopping him.

They buy a boarding house and ask their aunt on the other side of the family to join them. Samantha can’t cook. The aunt comes and then Sam and Garth get started trying to develop a gang to help them stop the stage coaches. They find a big Indian, a small Mexican, a dandy and a man not long out of jail.

In the meantime, Garth has been visiting the various businesses the Uncle owns and gathering paperwork that will show his crooked dealings. All is going their way until they hear their Uncle is coming to town to find out who is robbing him.

This is a well written western with remarkable characters. The desperadoes care about what happens to Sam and Garth. Sam is saved by one of them and finds herself falling in love. Garth is also finding love. Neither one was looking for it. It has a nice pace, keeps your attention, and makes you read faster at the end. The only unhappy one is the Uncle but he deserves it.

This is an enjoyable read that will stick with you awhile.

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

Terry Fox and Me by Mary Beth Leatherdale

February 17, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Terry Fox and Me by Mary Beth Leatherdale
Publisher: Tundra Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Non-Fiction, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope, this picture book biography tells the story of a friendship defined by strength and love.

Before Terry Fox become a national hero and icon, he was just a regular kid. But even then, his characteristic strength, determination and loyalty were apparent and were the foundation for his friendship with Doug. The two first met at basketball tryouts in grammar school. Terry was the smallest – and worst – basketball player on the court. But that didn’t stop him. With Doug’s help, Terry practiced and practiced until he earned a spot on the team. As they grew up, the best friends supported each other, challenged each other, helped each other become better athletes and better people. Doug was by Terry’s side every step of the way: when Terry received a diagnosis of cancer in his leg, when he was learning to walk – then run – with a prosthetic leg and while he was training for the race of his life, his Marathon of Hope.

Written from Doug’s perspective, this story shows that Terry Fox’s legacy goes beyond the physical and individual accomplishments of a disabled athlete and honors the true value of friendship.

What does it mean to be a hero?

The best scenes in my opinion were the ones that explored the friendship between Doug and Terry, especially after Terry had to learn how to walk again after losing his leg to cancer. They provided an excellent example of what it means to be someone’s friend when they’re going through a scary and difficult experience. Not only was Doug kind and supportive, he did everything he could to help his best friend achieve something that would be pretty difficult for any athlete to accomplish.

I do wish this picture book had covered what happened to these characters while Terry was running his Marathon of Hope from one coast of Canada to the other. It stopped right before this part of his life started up. While many Canadian adults already know of what happened during that long marathon, most young kids will probably not be. This will be even more true for anyone who isn’t already aware of this part of Canadian history.

There were some wonderful anecdotes from Terry’s early life included in the first few scenes. He learned how to keep trying no matter how low his chances of succeeding were long before he was diagnosed with cancer. I liked the fact that the author gave so many examples of how Terry persevered in life. Most people will never have bone cancer, but everyone should learn from an early age how to remain determined and hopeful no matter what obstacles they may face in life.

Terry Fox and Me was a heartwarming true story about a true hero.

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