I’m sure most of you are at least familiar with Pollyanna, if only from the 1960 Disney Movie staring Hayley Mills. Or if not from the movie then from the cultural icon that Pollyanna has become as the ever cheerful optimist. This is my second time through the novel, and while it isn’t a great novel it is comforting and a bit more complex then the archetype Pollyanna has become. Pollyanna is an orphan (and really what is it with early 20th century novels and […]
Ax brings the alien POV.
AX! This book was a lot more complicated than I remembered it being. Ax is so frequently the source of comic relief when the other Animorphs are the POV characters. (He was my FAVORITE when I was in middle school.) But here, in his own book for the first time, one of the first things that strikes you is how serious he is in his own mind. I wouldn’t say he’s *humorless*, but he’s very close. It’s the only thing that saves his ridiculous behavior […]
Crime doesn’t pay.
I’m counting these two books as only one review because, while not in fact a series, the hat motif is a theme that the author/ illustrator seems to be exploring. My review will likely contain more words than the 2 books combined. A third Hat book called We Found A Hat was released in October 2016. It will be my Xmas gift to myself! When I worked at the bookstore, I chose This Is Not My Hat book as my staff pick and sold it […]
What the world needs now is the Super Happy Magic Forest.
After a crazy week, there’s nothing like an amazingly clever and funny children’s book to put a smile on your face. My seven year old brought this one home from the library yesterday, and its a new favorite. Here’s what she has to say about it: “Everyone lives in the Super Happy Magic Forest where everything is great. There are some warriors who were sent to find the missing Magic Crystals of Life that were stolen. They went on a big quest through DANGER. First, […]
A Palate Cleanser
I read Charlotte’s Web a few weeks ago, just for fun. I wasn’t going to review it, but this week I felt like writing a review of something. . . just nice. Charlotte’s Web is just about the nicest book in the world. If you’ve never read it, it’s the story of a pig, Wilbur, the runt of the litter. He’s saved by the farmer’s daughter, Fern, and eventually goes to live on the farm of her uncle, Homer Zuckerman. There, he meets the spider […]
Once Upon A Midnight Dreary…
In honour of Halloween, a spoooooky children’s book. Edgar is a little raven with a tough life. His mom is always telling him to finish his vegetables, stop bothering his sister, clean his room, take a bath… to all of which Edgar responds: NEVERMORE! Until his mom reads him a bedtime story (you guessed it, The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe) and promises she will love him EVERMORE. This book is very simply written and illustrated. The illustrations are black and white with pops of […]