Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance – Page 14

In a few months you too can love Poppy

A Way with Wild Things by Larissa Theule

January 31, 2020 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Because of the cover of A Way with Wild Things I was not sure about that little girl. Was she going to be funny? Smart? Something else? It looked like it could be fun, but how was the “wild” going to be presented? I quickly learned that this was a story about having a knack with nature, a story about a young girl who is a little anxious in the “real world” and finally how she might have been a wallflower once, but now she […]

I do not like it when I do not like a book and then have to review it

I Do Not Like That Name by Erin McGill

January 20, 2020 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I Do Not Like That Name started out fun, but the ending was rushed and flat. Erin McGill’s characters want an elephant and they can send in cereal box tops to get one. When the elephant finally arrives, it has no name. A quick rundown on how Sophia (a girl) and Herb (a rabbit) got them name happens. An even quick pick of the elephant’s name follows. Then end. Um. Okay. Next? McGill does have some cute illustrations that are fun to browse. Herb has […]

One Odd Dog to Go

Odd Dog Out by Rob Biddulph

January 20, 2020 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

This weekend was a weekend filled with picture book reading, three graphic novels, a trip to drop the nephew off at his father’s and rewatching of the movie Coco (if you have not seen it, LOTS OF TISSUES required). In other words, a normal weekend that had a little bit of everything to fit the “at the moment” mood. And one of those moods was Odd. I have been putting off the picture book Odd Dog Out since I first found the reader copy. I […]

Gone to the dogs

Antoinette by Kelly DiPucchio

December 2, 2019 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Antoinette is probably more a 2.5 than a three. There is something missing for me. Plus, the illustrations and I just are not meshing as I would have liked. Kelly DiPucchio is the author of the companion book Gaston as well as this one. If you do not know who Gaston is, that is fine. His story is told as needed to fit Antoinette’s story. However, you do not necessarily need to know who he was. But, of course, it does not hurt to have […]

A celebration of everyday accomplishments as well as life’s milestones

I Knew You Could Do It! by Nancy Tillman

November 20, 2019 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I Knew You Could Do It! is classic Nancy Tillman. If you know the style of Tillman, you know this book. This gives it the comfort level of knowing there will be no surprise and you know if you will like or not. However, even if you are not a fan of Tillman’s illustrations and style of writing, there are some interesting interpretations of folktales in the art. You see Cinderella, Lion and the Mouse, Jack and the Beanstalk, Sleeping Beauty and more. Not every […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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