Ruby’s Christmas Gifts by Nancy Oswald


Ruby’s Christmas Gifts by Nancy Oswald
Publisher: Filter Press
Genre: Action/Adventure, Historical, Holiday, Childrens
Length: Short story (30 pages)
Age Recommendation: 10+
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Aloe

It’s Christmas time in 1896 Cripple Creek, Colorado, and Ruby May Oliver and her donkey, Maude, roam the streets in search of Maude’s missing foal. Along the way, Ruby comes upon four people in need of gifts—gifts she discovers she can give. This gentle tale, enhanced by the evocative illustrations of Nathaniel Jensen, is a great read-aloud or independent read for grades 2 thru 4. Readers who have enjoyed the antics and adventures of Ruby May Oliver and her donkey, Maude, through the award-winning Ruby and Maude Adventure series, are in for a treat with this heartwarming story as Ruby enters more and more deeply into the true spirit of Christmas.

Ruby is getting ready for Christmas. Her father has gone to town to get a surprise so she bundles up and goes out to look at the stars in the sky. She’s having fun naming the star constellations and then their mule gets upset and interrupts her. When she checks Maude out, she finds Willie is missing. She takes Maude and her cat on the hunt for the baby mule.
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Nathaniel Jensen is the illustrator for this picture book and he does a beautiful job. The historical settings remind me of when I was a girl. The story and the graphics meld together faultlessly.

She finds Willie has headed into town. She leaves her father a note and heads out. When they reach the town, she and Maude help an old lady take her luggage to the hotel. The woman gives her a pin shaped like a Christmas star. She meets a young girl who is sad because they have no money for presents. Ruby makes a present of her hat.

A young boy is picking up trash but his hands are cold. She gives him a present of her gloves. And a disabled miner gets her silver dollar.

You’ll never guess where she finds Willie and her cat. She’s even more pleased about her surprise.

This is a well told tale with a common theme of kindness. Just what we all need at Christmas as well as all year long. Ruby would make a good friend.

The Wish Tree by Kyo Maclear


The Wish Tree by Kyo Maclear
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Action/Adventure, Historical
Length: Short Story (40 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Charles wants to find a wish tree. His brother and sister don’t believe there is such a thing, but his trusty companion Boggan is ready to join Charles on a journey to find out. And along the way, they discover that wishes can come true in the most unexpected ways.

It also boosts endurance to last longer in bed and mesmerize professional viagra her with enhanced sexual stamina. Also, cheapest cialis india Kamagra should never be taken alongside alcohol or grapefruit. While eating right is the first step to subconscious pain cialis in relief is actually building up awareness and communication with the subconsciousness itself. The Acai Checklist walks you through the process of finding the best Acai products and Where free sample levitra to Buy Acai. The poetic text and heartwarming illustrations evoke the true essence of the holiday season and will inspire wishers everywhere. This gem of a book deserves center stage year round.

There’s something about all winter holidays that sprinkles a little magic into the air.

Charles was such a kind boy. He wandered into the woods with his toboggan in order to find a wish tree. When none of the trees matched that description, he put his energy into doing nice things for the animals who lived in the forest instead. I thought it was wonderful to read about him spending his time helping others with no expectation of getting anything back in return. It really captured the meaning of the holiday season nicely.

I would have liked to see just a little more world building when it came to the wish tree and how Charles knew about it if everyone around him was convinced it didn’t exist. This is a very minor criticism of something I loved reading, but I did find it a little unusual for a kid his age to come up with such an idea without anyone mentioning how he’d heard of it or why he was convinced it really existed.

One of my favorite things about this book was that it never specified which holiday Charles was celebrating. There are any number of winter celebrations his family might have called their own. The specific festive occasion wasn’t important to the plot. What mattered was that the main character was having the time of his life and wanted to make sure he shared those happy feelings with everyone he met. Leaving things open like this was the perfect way to include every reader in his good will towards all living things.

Anyone who looks forward to this time of the year should give The Wish Tree a try.

Nilay’s Wish by Riya Aarini


Nilay’s Wish by Riya Aarini
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Short Story (104 pages)
Age Recommendation: 8+
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Eleven-year-old Nilay unexpectedly releases a novice genie named Jai on the beaches of Lake Ontario, Canada. Nilay makes his wish for the perfect red silk saree to present to his mom on her birthday; but as a newbie genie, Jai has his own spin on wish granting.

The new friends travel back in time to ancient India so that Jai may fulfill the boy’s wish in an authentic manner. Nilay and Jai experience countless adventures in India from 300 CE through 1565 CE as they follow the trail of India’s Saurashtrian silk weavers.
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Lighthearted, comical and chock full of excitement and magic, Nilay’s Wish will grip the hearts and minds of young readers. The story is thoroughly entertaining, while giving children a glimpse into historic India, especially Indian silk weaving. A handful of incredible and engaging illustrations offer a peek into the life and times of ancient India.

Creating the perfect silk saree isn’t as easy as it may seem.

Nilay was such a cheerful and enthusiastic main character. He found the good in everything he experienced while he was on this adventure. That’s not always easy to do, especially for a kid who has just been thrown into a world that is so unlike modern Canada. I got a kick out of seeing his responses to situations that honestly would have made me a little nervous at times. His positive attitude was truly delightful.

One of the questions I had when I first started reading this book had to do with why Jai decided to show Nilay so many different parts of Indian history before fulfilling his wish. Going back in time made sense, but it seemed to me like it would have been simpler to pick one historical era to visit before giving Nilay what he wanted. The explanation for why this didn’t happen felt a little weak to me. As interesting as it was to see how the main character reacted to all of the places and people he saw, I would have preferred for those scenes to happen after the purpose for them was explained better.

There was a lot of adventure packed into this tale. I enjoyed seeing how the characters reacted to all of the things that happened to them. They were surprised by so many twists and turns on their journey. Some of their experiences were funny while others were a little hair-raising at times. All of them were worth reading about, however.

I’d recommend Nilay’s Wish to readers who enjoy history, adventures, or, better yet, both!

The Booger Hunter’s Apprentice by Benoit Chartier


The Booger Hunter’s Apprentice by Benoit Chartier
Publisher: Trode Publications
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Short Story (37 pages)
Age Recommendation: 3+
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Flintebetty Flonagan finds an odd wanted ad in her town, requesting a booger hunter’s apprentice. What could that be? The answer to that question will lead her through an amazing adventure that will change her life forever!

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This was one of the most creative children’s stories I’ve read in a long time. The thought of that there could be a special type of hero that fights boogers never occurred to me. I was as amused by this idea as I was by how Flin Flon reacted to the idea of becoming a brave booger hunter herself. While I can’t go into detail about that part of the plot without stepping into spoiler territory, it was filled with twists and turns that made me smile.

There was only one small thing I would have liked to see changed about the storyline, and it had to do with what booger hunters do with their catch after they’ve gathered everything they could for the night. Everything else in the story was described in such great detail that I was a little surprised to see this part overlooked. It would have been nice to have at least one line describing what happened there.

One of my favorite things about this book was that none of the monsters in it were at all scary. Their relationships with Mrs. Bird were surprisingly warm and friendly. This was a major reason why I set the age recommendation so low. Flin Flon and Mrs. Bird covered a lot of ground on the first night of her apprenticeship, but all of it was rather wholesome stuff that I thought preschoolers would appreciate just as much as older kids would.

The Booger Hunter’s Apprentice was a delightful adventure that I’d recommend to anyone who has ever had their nose wiped or needed to wipe a little nose clean.

How to Catch a Turkey by Adam Wallace


How to Catch a Turkey by Adam Wallace
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Genre: Childrens, Action/Adventure, Holiday, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (40 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A turkey is running loose in a school right before a Thanksgiving play. Can YOU help catch it? Follow along as students turn their school upside down trying to catch the turkey, ending with a twist that ensures no turkeys are harmed (or eaten!).

Thanksgiving time is here again,
but there’s a turkey on the run!
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before the school play has begun?

Who would have guessed that a turkey would be so good at running away?

The turkey in this tale had one major problem: stage fright! He was so frightened at the thought of being taken onstage that he had to figure out a way to avoid that fate. As someone who shares that fear, I totally understood why he wanted to avoid the spotlight. The fact that he worked so hard to avoid being brought onstage only made me like him even more.

I would have liked to see more attention paid to the ending. The beginning and middle really didn’t give any hints about why the turkey was going to be paraded in front of the entire school. My theory about what was happening there turned out not to be correct at all. While the author’s version did make sense, it would have been more meaningful if the audience had some idea of what to expect from the beginning. The final scene as it was written sort of came out of nowhere, and it made me enjoy the plot less than I had been before I reached that portion.

The human characters came up with so many creative attempts to get the turkey to slow down and hopefully return to his cage. Some of their methods made me laugh out loud. I enjoyed seeing how they tried to capture him and what happened when even their most clever traps and tricks didn’t seem to be working at all. I wasn’t expecting to laugh when I first started reading it, but I sure had a lot of opportunities to do just that.

This is part of a series, but it works perfectly well as a standalone story.

How to Catch a Turkey is the funniest Thanksgiving picture book I’ve read in years. This is something I’d recommend to anyone who is in the mood for something lighthearted.

The Little Kids’ Table by Mary Ann McCabe Riehle


The Little Kids’ Table by Mary Ann McCabe Riehle
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Genre: Childrens, Holiday, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Everyone knows that the little kids table is the place to be for any holiday or family gathering. They just know how to have fun! This silly, rhyming story follows a group of rambunctious cousins from table setting to dessert. A universal theme, The Little Kids Table will have kids–and parents!–howling with laughter.

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The rhymes in this picture book were so much fun to read. Not only did they make me chuckle, they captured the feeling of sitting at the kids’ table perfectly. While the characters enjoyed having their own separate table from the grownups, I think their descriptions of what it was like to eat a holiday meal with their siblings and cousins just out of earshot of the grown-ups can be appreciated by people who didn’t like that experience so much. Their enthusiasm was contagious, but they were also honest about the drawbacks of separating kids from adults as well.

There was only one scene I wished had been written differently, and it had to do with the young characters purposefully messing around with the food on the plates of other children who left their table. Due to how many kids have food allergies or are on strict diets for other medical reasons these days, I’m not personally comfortable spreading the message that it’s acceptable to pull this kind of prank. While I definitely do see the humor in that from a storytellers point of view, I’d want to make it clear to the children I love that actually adding spoonfuls of other dishes to someone else’s plate can make some people very sick.

The ending of this tale was heartwarming. All of the characters came from a huge, boisterous family, so getting everyone to sit down and eat together was no easy task. After being reminded over and over again to mind their manners and at least try some of the stinky vegetables on the menu, it was nice to see how the adults reacted once the meal was more or less finished and everyone gathered together again.

The Little Kids’ Table is the perfect thing to read right before heading off for a big holiday meal no matter which table you might end up sitting at.

Fangsiving by Ethan Long


Fangsiving by Ethan Long
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Horror, Paranormal
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

It’s the fourth Thursday of November, and the members of Fright Club are cooking up something spooky . . . a Thanksgiving feast!

But when Vlad’s family arrives unexpectedly, they put their own spin on each of the dishes. Now, the rolls are as hard as headstones and the turkey has been cooked to death. Vlad loves his family, but they’ve made a mess of their meal!
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Can this monster-filled family come together to save their feast and celebrate what the holiday is truly about?

There’s always room for one more at this spooky dinner table.

A monster’s idea of how to make great mashed potatoes or pie obviously might not be exactly the same as how a person would make it. Some of the best scenes in this tale were the ones that showed how mummies, vampires, and other creatures of the night whip up a traditional – or not so traditional, as the case may be – Thanksgiving dinner. They were every bit as unusual and sometimes icky as I’d hoped they would be.

One of the things I didn’t like about this book was the message it sent about how people should react when their boundaries are disrespected. Vlad’s family purposefully messed up his recipes for various dishes for this feast. He had every reason to be angry with them for that. I wish the plot had made this clear and acknowledged the fact that he was not at all to blame for the conflict and hurt feelings there.

With that being said, I do see the value of encouraging young readers to do their best to fix things that go wrong. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. While I wish this had been explored in greater detail as mentioned earlier, there is something to be said for forgiving people and trying to resolve conflicts no matter who is responsible for them. This is a good lesson for this age group, especially if the original problem is discussed with the audience afterwards and kids are made aware of the importance of being respectful guests in general.

Anyone who loves horror and homemade turkey dinners may want to give Fangsiving a try.

The Royal Pup Pack: Party at the Palace by David Seow


The Royal Pup Pack: Party at the Palace by David Seow
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Childrens, Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (41 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

There’s a joint party at the palace for Prince Louis’ first birthday and to welcome Baby Sussex into the fold. And the Royal Pup Pack: Lupo, Guy, Oz and Jack are in a regal tizzy. What do they get for the tots? Bones? Flea collars? Fur brushes? A chance encounter with a stray dog spurs the pups into inviting a host of hungry, homeless hounds to the celebrations. Will that be the perfect present or the recipe for a royal pawtastrophe?

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All of the members of the Royal Pup Pack were full of mischief. My favorite scenes were the ones that showed all of the naughty things these dogs got up to when their humans weren’t paying attention. There were some pretty funny and realistic takes on how many dogs behave when they have a few friends to play with and something unusual or interesting to explore as a group.

It would have been helpful to have a stronger plot for these characters to work with. They managed to get into plenty of trouble along the way, but the narrator didn’t do as thorough of a job of describing why these things happened or what the characters might have learned from those experiences as I had hoped to read. There were times when this almost seemed more like a string of anecdotes than something that was supposed to be read in a specific order. While I do enjoy freeform stuff like this on occasion, I thought this tale would have benefitted from a more structured writing style in general so that it could get its point across clearly.

This was the first fictional story I’ve ever read about the younger members of the British royal family. It gave the plot a creative twist. I liked the way the author imagined how this family to respond to having boisterous pets who don’t always follow the rules. He clearly put a lot of thought into this part of the storyline, and all of his hard work made for an interesting and unique experience for this reader.

The Royal Pup Pack: Party at the Palace should be read by anyone who loves dogs, the British royal family, or both of these topics.

Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares for Winter by Eugenie Doyle


Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares for Winter by Eugenie Doyle
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Genre: Childrens, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (36 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A captivating exploration of how a family gets a farm ready for the snow of winter, Sleep Tight Farm lyrically connects each growing season to the preparations at the very end of the farm year. This beautiful and informative book paints a fascinating picture of what winter means to the farm year and to the family that shares its seasons, from spring’s new growth, summer’s heat, and fall’s bounty to winter’s well-earned rest. All year long the farm has worked to shelter us, feed us, keep us warm, and now it’s time to sleep.

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I’d never thought about some of the preparations that a farm must go through after the growing season ends. For example, I had no idea that raspberry bushes need to be cut back at the end of autumn to protect these plants from winter storms and ice. It was interesting to read about all of the work that goes into keeping livestock and crops safe between now and the beginning of spring.

None of the human characters in this tale were named, but I still got to know them well by seeing how carefully they took care of all of the living things that relied on them. The family who lived on and managed this farm clearly loved their work. They did everything they could to keep their animals happy and their fields well maintained. I couldn’t have imagined better people for this job. They only made the already-wholesome plot even better.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about this picture book was how it bid good night to so many different parts of a working farm. From the fields to the cord wood that will keep the farmhouse warm and cozy for the next several months, everything on this property was acknowledged for its contributions and gently nudged into resting happily until spring. There was something so sweet and gracious about that repetition.

Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares for Winter was a calm, cheerful look at everything farmers have to do to prepare for winter. I’d highly recommend it to any kid or curious adult who enjoys learning about where their food comes from.

The Dreamer by Il Sung Na


The Dreamer by Il Sung Na
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (52 pages)
Age Recommendation: 3+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Even pigs can learn to fly: Once, there was a pig who admired birds. But he could never join them. Or could he? Thus begins the journey of a pig with big dreams, and the perseverance to make them come true. He develops flight plans, builds experimental contraptions, and has far-flung adventures, but at the end of the day, his favorite thing to do is sit and watch for those he loves best: birds. Il Sung Na creates a world at once whimsical and aspirational, where anything is possible and, yes, even pigs can learn to fly.

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There was so much room for letting the reader’s imagination run wild in this tale. While the narrator supplied the basic details of why the pig wanted to fly and what steps he took to make that dream a reality, the audience was also given plenty of leeway to figure out how every decision he made was linked to the ones before and after it. I appreciated that.

The ending didn’t make a great deal of sense to me. In one scene, the plot was chugging along nicely. In the next, it abruptly stopped. That was a disappointing page to turn to after having such a nice buildup of expectation and emotion earlier on in the plot. As much as I enjoyed the freedom this story gave it’s audience to fill in all of the little details ourselves, the final scene really need need a more thorough explanation.

Failure is a normal part of trying to solve just about any sort of problem. The fact that so many of pig’s designs didn’t work was refreshing, and the only thing better than that was seeing how he reacted every time he had to go back to the drawing board and try something new. His perseverance was something to be admired. He never gave up trying no matter what happened to him or how many of his ideas turned out not to work that well after all.

The Dreamer should be read by and to people who have vivid imaginations.