Little Miss Valentine by Adam Hargreaves

February 15, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Little Miss Valentine by Adam Hargreaves
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Meet Little Miss Valentine, a new Little Miss character who’s sure to win over your heart in this 8×8 hardcover picture book!

It’s Little Miss Valentine’s favorite time of year–Valentine’s Day! But as she writes and delivers cards to her Mr. Men Little Miss friends, nothing goes as planned. Before long, she and her friends realize that all they need is their friendship and love for each other (though a little chocolate never hurts!).

Christmas presents aren’t the only things that get delivered through magical means!

I’ll leave it up to new readers to discover for themselves how Little Miss Valentine travelled so quickly from one house to the next to deliver Valentine’s Day cards on the evening of February 13. This was one of those magical solutions that is best discovered at the last possible moment. What I can say is that this journey was as creative as it was amusing. I couldn’t stop smiling as I read about this new tradition. It felt like something that should have been thought of many years ago!

One of the best scenes was the one that explained the main character’s process for picking out appropriate cards for everyone on her list. She truly went out of her way to personalize every single card so that it would be as meaningful as possible for that specific friend, including the ones who were pretty picky about what they liked. It was as adorable as it was thoughtful.

Mr. Hargreaves did an excellent job of introducing realistic conflict to the plot without making it too scary for little ones. Honestly, the unexpected problem Little Miss Valentine faced with delivering her cards made perfect sense once I’d learned about how she was planning to transport herself to everyone’s house before Valentine’s Day began. I couldn’t wait to find out how she’d react to it or what she might do to fix it.

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

Little Miss Valentine was a delightful take on Valentine’s Day that should be read by anyone who adores this holiday.

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

Escape by Emma Eggleston

February 12, 2021 By 1 Comment


Escape by Emma Eggleston
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Laila is Richardsville High’s quirky girl. She’s just biding her time until graduation when she has an unusual encounter with Matty, the all-American boy next door, everybody just can’t get enough of. When Matty and Laila start to talk, he shares a secret with her. He’s a part of a clinical study for a medication called effugium and it can really transport him to other places and times. Will Laila trust Matty enough to try the effugium?

Actions always have consequences.

Mental illness is a complicated topic. This can be even more true for young men, so it was nice to see how Matty dealt with his diagnoses and the setbacks he suffered as his doctor tried to find the right combination of medications for him. There were no easy answers here which I found refreshing. All I could do was hope Matty and his medical team would figure out how best to help him cope with his illnesses as he slowly became more and more dependent on effugium.

The abrupt ending confused me. While it did wrap up the drug abuse storyline fairly satisfactorily, it left so many unanswered questions about the rest of the plot. This was especially true when it came to showing how Matty’s drug abuse negatively affected his relationships with those closest to him. The last sentence sounded like it should lead to at least one final chapter, so I wasn’t sure how to react when the story suddenly stopped after that.

I was as fascinated by the concept of an escape as I was by how the characters described it. That is to say, an escape referred to the trips that Matty took to other times and places after using effugium. There were well-defined, logical rules that he soon learned about where he was allowed to go, what sorts of things could happen to him, and how he could get home. This made it easy for me to relax and enjoy his adventures.

Escape was a thought-provoking read that I’d recommend to any teens who are struggling with mental illness or substance abuse.

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

Abnormally Abbey by Allan Evans

February 9, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Abnormally Abbey by Allan Evans
Publisher: Immortal Works
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Paranormal, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Being a spook magnet is not as glamorous as it sounds.

There’s something seriously wrong with the summer camp 14-year old Abbey is sent to. It’s not just the troubled kids, or the clueless camp counselors or even all the ghosts–yeah, the ghosts have found her there too–but now there’s a mysterious symbol that keeps appearing at all the worst moments. Abbey is not a happy camper.

But she is a fighter and can go from princess to warrior when there’s a mystery to solve. As long as Abbey has her 80s music, there’s no one–alive or dead–that’s going to stop her. So, bring on the dead people, spooks and spirits. This girl ain’t afraid of no ghost.

Imagine showing up for church camp only to realize something has gone terribly wrong!

The paranormal elements of the storyline were handled nicely. I liked seeing how gradually the plot built up to them. There were brief moments of paranormal activity in the beginning, but the author saved the most exciting scenes for much later on. This gave me plenty of opportunities to anticipate what might happen next which is one of my favorite things to do with this genre.

I wasn’t such a big fan of the romantic subplot or of Abbey’s love interest himself. This book was already so filled with twists and turns that there wasn’t much space for the romance to develop. There were also certain aspects of the backstory of Abbey’s love interest with that concerned me as well. He didn’t truly seem to understand the serious nature of the things that lead to him being sent to this camp, and that made me wonder if he was actually a safe person for her to be around. These aspects of the plot should have been developed much more fully. It took me a long time to figure out if the narrator was writing them as a cautionary tale, a genuine romance about two romantically inexperienced teens, or something else entirely.

It was nice to meet characters gradually. The camp Abbey’s father picked out for her had a lot of different teens and adults staying there, so it was nice to be introduced to people as they became important to the plot instead of all at once. This made it easy for me to keep track of everyone and get to know them before the storyline sped up and Abbey gathered more evidence about what was really happening at this strange summer camp.

Anyone who loves ghost stories with a spiritual bent should give Abnormally Abbey a try.

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

The Dragon’s Song by Binh Pham and R.M. Clark

February 3, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Dragon’s Song by Binh Pham and R.M. Clark
Publisher: Intense Publications
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Action/Adventure, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Eleven-year-old Bao Dang remembers watching in horror four years earlier as Communist soldiers dragged his parents from their home. Now an orphan, he begins a journey to escape the oppressive government of South Vietnam. The owner of a small boat, paid in gold, smuggles Bao and his cousin, Binh Pham, down the Saigon River at night to the South China Sea, where he and over one hundred other “boat people” pack into a trawler designed to hold fewer than thirty. For six days, they face danger from the police, weather, and pirates, not to mention the constant threat of capsizing as they take on water while living only on dry, rationed rice.

Bao, Binh and the others hope a refugee camp in Indonesia accepts them, but there’s no guarantee. Word has it they may be turned away and even towed back out to sea to starve. Eventually finding a safe haven, Bao harnesses the power of music to heal and help endure months of harsh and dangerous living while he and Binh await word from relatives in the United States, hoping they’ll obtain the ultimate gift: freedom.

Nothing is more important than hope.

I loved the fact that this gripping adventure was inspired by the real experiences of Mr. Pham in the early 1980s. He suffered many physical and emotional hardships during his escape from South Vietnam and the many different refugee camps and other places he stayed during his long immigration process. There were moments when I wondered whether specific scenes were fictionalized or based on true events. So much emotion was packed into all of them that I couldn’t always guess where the line was between fact and fiction. I credit the authors for seamlessly moving between what really happened versus what could have happened. They did an excellent job of portraying what the fictional Binh and Bao went through as they risked it all for a safer and happier life.

The characters met all sorts of different people in this tale, from those who were violent and cruel to others who would do anything to help a stranger. It was fascinating to me to try to guess where any one particular character might fall on this scale. Since this was written for middle grade readers, I was glad that such a strong emphasis was placed on the many kind and helpful folks in the world while still acknowledging that not everyone fits that bill.

This book included several moments of joy and humor that were as unexpected as they were delightful. Some of them happened when Bao and Binh were in circumstances that were otherwise quite difficult. It was nice to see them smile and even laugh after all they’d been through. The trauma they endured was real, but those scenes gave me so much hope for their futures while I waited to find out if the United States would accept their applications to immigrate there.

I’d wholeheartedly recommend The Dragon’s Song to anyone who has ever been an immigrant or would like to read a detailed, empathetic account of what that experience can be like.

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

Pickerton’s Jiggle by Riya Aarini

February 1, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Pickerton’s Jiggle by Riya Aarini
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Pickerton Wickerton is a particular pig who loves to stay clean. But when he accidentally lands in the mud, he becomes upset! Will Pickerton learn that all it takes is a jiggle to shake off the dirt? The delightful rhymes and charming illustrations in this picture book are sure to entertain!

“Good morning again,
to bubbly, kind me!
It’s you I wake up
each fine day to see.

“Hello, floppy ears
and four wiggly toes.
Welcome curly tail
and cool, freckled nose.

Pickerton’s Jiggle is a story of how one happy-go-lucky pig overcomes life’s setbacks. Difficulties can be resiliently shaken off-and, as Pickerton shows, all it takes is a jiggle!

Unpleasant things happen to everyone sometimes. They can’t always be stopped, but maybe there’s another way to make them less bothersome.

The rhyming scheme in this picture book was perfect. Not only did it clearly share Pickerton’s adventures as he went through what appeared to be a pretty ordinary day for him, the rhythm of the words made me want to sing them as I was reading. They were all placed exactly where they needed to be, and the images they created in my imagination made me smile.

I adored Pickerton’s attitude. He was such a tidy pig that I wasn’t sure how he’d react when he accidentally fell into a big mud puddle. That would certainly be enough to annoy many humans and pigs alike! While I’ll leave it up to other readers to discover his reaction to that unfortunate accident for themselves, I will say that he was an excellent role model for any kid who is suddenly dismayed by something small but irritating.

While they weren’t described in as much detail, I also appreciated the references to other setbacks Pickerton had experienced and how he dealt with them. They showed a positive pattern of behavior for this cheerful little pig that made me wish for a sequel. He seemed to have so much more to say to his audience. I don’t know if the author is planning to write one or not, but there is certainly plenty of room for one here if she decides to do it!

Pickerton’s Jiggle was filled with joy. I’d eagerly recommend it to readers of all ages.

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

The X Files – Earth Children Are Weird by Jason Rekulak and Kim Smith

January 29, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The X Files – Earth Children Are Weird by Jason Rekulak and Kim Smith
Publisher: Quirk Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

One the most beloved TV shows of all time is now a sweet, silly, sci-fi bedtime story perfect for kids and their parents!

Best pals Dana (Scully) and Fox (Mulder) have pitched a tent in the backyard for a sleepover. But the night is full of strange sounds, lights, and shadows. Surely there’s a rational, scientific explanation for everything . . . or is there? With beautiful illustrations of pint-sized Dana and Fox, this humorous and not-scary-at-all story will introduce the cult TV show to an entire new generation of fans.

Even an ordinary backyard can feel eerie after dark, especially for two kids who are camping alone back there!

Dana and Fox’s personalities were written perfectly. I enjoyed seeing the way they talked their way through the odd things they began to experience during their backyard camping adventure. She was just as logical as she should have been, and his alternate explanations for what was happening when they heard a weird rustle or saw a strange shadow often made me giggle. It was fun to see what these characters might have been like as kids.

It would have been nice to have more foreshadowing. The first half of it was so different from the second half that they felt like separate books at times. There were so many missed opportunities to tie them together either with references to the show or by leaving small clues in the first few pages that adult readers will understand but kids might need some time to puzzle out.

With that being said, the ending was well done. I smiled and nodded as I followed every twist and turn. This was where it really started to feel like it was part of the X-Files universe, but it was written in a way that could be understood perfectly well by someone who had no prior experiences with this type of storytelling.

The X-Files – Earth Children Are Weird should be read by anyone who likes thinking critically and talking about what they’ve just seen, especially if they’re a fan of the original X-Files or want to share this story in a kid-friendly way with the next generation.

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

Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Kim Smith

January 27, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Kim Smith
Publisher: Quirk Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Contemporary
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The cult classic TV show is now a charming picture book for the youngest fans in the Buffyverse!

In this new picture-book story brought to life with cute and colorful illustrations, young readers see what the world’s strongest vampire slayer was like back when she was a kid! Join not-so-brave little Buffy, Willow, and Xander as they investigate strange sounds coming from the closet, seek advice from their school librarian Giles, and encounter everyone’s favorite Buffyverse monsters. Charmingly illustrated by Pop Classics artist Kim Smith, this sweet, silly, and not-so-scary book borrows Joss Whedon’s beloved characters to tell an endearing bedtime story.

Vampires, take note! The slayer is growing up.

This tale included the perfect amount of scariness for young readers. A little dab of it is honestly all that is needed for this age group, so I was glad that the author kept things so lighthearted and fun even when Buffy was fighting the bad guys. It fit both the source material and the intended audience well.

I would have liked to see more plot development included. So many pages were taken up by introducing the characters that there wasn’t quite as much room for the main storyline as it needed. Given the short attention spans of young children, I did wonder if they’d have some trouble paying attention during the first few scenes because of it even though things became much more interesting after that point.

One of the best things about this picture book had to do with how many different ways it could be read. A preschooler could understand it as an urban fantasy take on the important of facing one’s fears even when they involve frightening things like figuring out what that scary thumping noise is in the closet. Adult readers who are already fans of this franchise can find many hidden references to storylines and characters that will only make sense if one understands those fleeting moments on a deeper level. It was cool to see how these layers were woven together while still being able to be understood on their own.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer should be read by anyone who loved the 90s TV show by the same name and to any little ones who like scary stories.

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

Pivot Move by Chris Boucher

January 26, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Pivot Move by Chris Boucher
Publisher: Wings ePress
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

At 14, Boyd’s life goes the way of his hair–down the drain. His dad leaves and his curly brown mop follows. Now he longs to be free, too.

Things seem to improve when he starts ballin’ with the Blazers. He works hard to win over his new coach and teammates–too hard–and his misguided attempts alienate more than they impress.

Maybe he’d be better off running away like his dad–or can he find another way to pivot?

As Freidrich Nietzsche says, “no one can construct for you the bridge upon which precisely you must cross the stream of life, no one but you yourself alone.” Remember these words as you read this review and book.

Boyd genuinely felt like a young teenager to me. His mind and body were changing rapidly in ways he couldn’t always predict, much less understand. This was especially true when it came to his reaction to the alopecia he’d developed fairly recently. Sometimes I shook my head at the impulsive decisions he made, but they were all common things not only for his age group but for his personality in general as it had been explained to me.

I would have liked to see more attention paid to the character development in this novel. As interesting as the characters were, it would have been nice to get to know them better and see them evolve as a result of the things that happened to them. This was especially true when it came to Boyd’s mother who was a pretty critical and discouraging parent. She put down her son’s interests so often that I wished the narrator had dug into this part of her personality much more thoroughly. There was a lot of space here to explore why she behaved this way and how she thought it was going to improve an already tough situation.

The basketball scenes were explained well. This wasn’t a sport I know much about, so it was helpful to go into as much detail about the various drills and moves the players were expected to learn as it did. I also appreciated the passages that described how and why the relationships between team mates can change in an instant depending on what happens during practice or games.

Basketball fans and anyone who has or is curious about alopecia, take note of Pivot Move. It has interesting things to say about both of these topics.

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

Ruby Finds a Worry by Tom Percival

January 21, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Ruby Finds a Worry by Tom Percival
Bright Big Feelings
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Meet Ruby–a happy, curious, imaginative girl. But one day, she finds something unexpected: a Worry.

It’s not such a big Worry, at first. But every day, it grows a little bigger . . . And a little bigger . . . Until eventually, the Worry is ENORMOUS and is all she can think about.

But when Ruby befriends a young boy, she discovers that everyone has worries, and not only that, there’s a great way to get rid of them too . . .

This perceptive and poignant story is the perfect springboard for talking to children about emotional intelligence and sharing hidden anxieties.

It’s never too early to start talking about uncomfortable emotions.

One of the things I adored the most about Ruby’s Worry was how open-ended it was. Rather than explaining precisely what was bothering her, the narrator left plenty of space for us readers to come up with our own theories about exactly what was bothering her. This meant that it was easy for me to put myself in her shoes and imagine various things that I worried about when I was her age! Honestly, the precise thing she was worried about was much less important than how it felt for her to carry it around and slowly watch it grow bigger.

Even very young children should learn about healthy coping mechanisms for their scary thoughts. I enjoyed seeing Ruby try various things to cope with her worry, especially as it grew bigger and harder to manage. These scenes were written with so much compassion and kindness that i wouldn’t hesitate to read them to any little one who might be interested.

The best part of this picture book had to do with who helped Ruby with her problem. No, I can’t go into detail about this without sharing a plot twist, but I can say that the author’s decision to move the storyline into this direction was an excellent one. This isn’t something I’ve seen done very often in this genre. It was refreshing to find it here.

This is part of the Big Bright Feelings series, but it works perfectly well as a standalone read.

I wholeheartedly recommend Ruby Finds a Worry to readers of all ages who have ever quietly worried about something.

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

The Wild World of Wiley and Juju: Wiley and Juju Go to the Library by Greg Walter

January 8, 2021 By 1 Comment


The Wild World of Wiley and Juju: Wiley and Juju Go to the Library by Greg Walter
Publisher: Self-Published/Halo Publishing International
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Every child likes to have adventures, but what happens when things get out of control? In “The Wild World of Wiley and JuJu: Wiley and JuJu Go to the Library”, older sister JuJu is left to clean up the destruction caused by her frightened younger brother, Wiley. While books are falling off shelves and scattering everywhere, JuJu scrambles to catch Wiley and convince him to rejoin storytime. Storytime is fun, especially when it’s about your favorite animal!

No matter what you’ve done at a library, it probably can’t top this adventure.

Mrs. Longerhans had some nice character development. As the librarian in charge of story time, she had a lot of work cut out for her when it came to keeping all of the kids interested in what she was saying. I was as amused by Juju and Wiley’s first impression of her as I was by how she gradually revealed other sides of her personality throughout this event. She seemed like someone who knew her job well, and it showed.

It would have been helpful to have more descriptions in this tale. Wiley ended up getting into some mischief during this visit to the library, so there was plenty of space here for the narrator to show exactly what this little boy was doing instead of sitting quietly and listening to stories. My imagination and the illustrations filled in many of the details, but I would have liked it if the plot could have thrown in a few more of them as well.

Speaking of adventures, Wiley certainly had a lot of them this day! I kept giggling and shaking my head as I saw all of the creative but honestly a bit naughty ways he came up with to entertain himself. He was the sort of kid who had trouble sitting still even for activities that were supposed to be tailored for his age group. I haven’t seen many picture books out there about children like him, so it was neat to have this explanation for why he kept doing things that his much calmer older sister had to make right again. They made his adventures even more interesting than they already were.

Anyone who has ever had trouble staying still or loves someone who struggles with that should check out The Wild World of Wily and Juju: Wiley and Juju Go to the Library.

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