Do you want to teach your children table manners and have fun doing it? Just add dragons! I love this book so much! I mean, come on! There’s dragons!
The rhymes make reading aloud lots of fun and the gorgeous illustrations complement the text brilliantly. Whether they’re being read to or reading to themselves, kids are going to love this book. They will be able to clearly contrast the rude behaviour at the beginning of the book with the good table manners shown at the end.
The illustrations are incredible! I really loved seeing the diversity of people (and dragons) shown at the restaurant. The colours throughout the book were beautiful and vibrant, and the expressions on the faces of everyone at the restaurant were priceless.
This is one of those books where everything works well together. You could take away the illustrations and still have a great story. You could take away the text and still understand the story from the pictures alone.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and Capstone for the opportunity to read this book. This book needs to be in libraries and homes everywhere! This is a book I’d still enjoy reading the 100th time. Did I mention the dragons?!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
We know you shouldn’t take your dragon to the library, but what about taking him out to dinner? After all, dragons need to eat too! But with fiery breath, flapping wings, and pointy spikes, that might not be a good idea! Rhyming text and diverse characters bring the importance of dinner manners to a new level in this colorful picture book by Julie Gassman.
So, you think you’re having a bad hair day? Well, you haven’t seen anything until you see Aidan Allen’s hair! It’s got a mind of its own and no matter how much Aidan yells and screams at it, it just won’t behave. Can Aidan find a way to tame his mane?
Hair-Pocalypse is a fun picture book that teaches about hygiene in an entertaining way. I particularly loved the passage where needs are distinguished from wants. Although the focus is on hair in this instance, it is a great lesson that parents can apply to other circumstances relevant to their child.
The story is funny and engaging, and the illustrations are captivating. I loved the personalities that were captured on the childrens’ faces in the illustrations and the use of colours and detail to maintain your attention. Be certain to look closely at the pictures, as it seems the story may not be over for Aidan at the end of the book.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and Capstone for the opportunity to read this book. I want to this book to find its way into homes, schools and libraries. Parents are sure to see their kids in Aidan and kids are going to really like him.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Aidan Allen has angry hair. That’s right – angry hair. Hands down, he has the angriest hair anyone has ever seen. But why is his hair so angry? Why is his hair trying to ruin his life? Why is the sky blue? Two of these three questions will be answered in this comical tale of kid vs. hair. In his debut picture book, Geoff Herbach mixes his fresh writing style with over-the-top situations to help his character through a very hairy situation.
This book is so adorable! With a lovely story and gorgeous, detailed illustrations, it’s sure to be a hit with children and parents alike. While Tortoise just wants to go to sleep until spring, his friends want to include him in their fun winter activities. When Tortoise accidentally joins in he realises that maybe some tortoises do like winter after all.
I loved Tortoise’s teddy bear and I enjoyed seeing all of the different facial expressions of the animals in this story. This story would be fantastic to help teach children about friendship and could also be used to help them understand how people are feeling by their facial expressions.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and Capstone for the opportunity to read this book. I adore everything about this book and hope it finds its way into homes and libraries everywhere. I’ll be revisiting this book many times. It’s one of those books you read with a smile on your face.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Every year Tortoise sleeps through winter. He assumes he isn’t missing much. However, his friends are determined to prove otherwise! Will Tortoise sleep through another winter, or will his friends convince him to stay awake and experience the frosty fun of winter? Best-selling author Katy Hudson’s charming picture book, now in a board book format, will convince even the biggest winter grouche that winter can be magical if you have friends by your side.
If Parallel and Free to Fall were 5 out of 5 books for me, then All Things New has to be a 6. While Lauren Miller’s first two novels were exceptional, I found extra depth in All Things New. Anxiety, written well, by someone who understands it! Now, this is a combination you don’t see very often. Thank you so much for writing this book, Lauren!
Because Lauren gets it, Jessa’s internal voice is authentic. As someone who is all too familiar with this dragon and coincidentally has also experienced long term effects from a car accident, I went on this journey with Jessa. I empathised with Jessa recounting how it felt when her friends ditched her after her panic attacks started. I cheered internally when Jessa’s courage to let her walls down was rewarded instead of punished. I felt anxious for her when she was anxious for her friends.
I loved how real the supporting characters felt to me and cared about what happened to them. I admired Jessa’s father for how hard he worked to build a relationship with his daughter. I appreciated that Hannah wasn’t a cliché, that she got snippy when she was frustrated by something or herself. Mr I. … what can I say except I wanted to curl up on a comfy couch somewhere, probably next to a roaring fire, and listen to him explain philosophy to me all day. (By the way, I get so excited when a book I love includes references to other books. Oscar Wilde and Descartes are definitely getting added to my scarily high TBR pile.)
And frustratingly optimistic Marshall. I adored him despite myself and would like to put an order in for a Marshall please (albeit an age appropriate one for me). Maybe he’s got an older cousin? The banter between Jessa and Marshall was so much fun! Because I read a snippet of a review that compared this book to John Green’s The Fault in our Stars, I spent most of this book anxiously muttering, ‘Please don’t let Marshall die! Please don’t let Marshall die!’
I was fascinated by the concept of the internal world that we often hide from others, sometimes more so from those closest to us, being made visible to Jessa. I loved Jessa’s interactions with the other characters and watching some relationships growing stronger as others faded into the background. While life isn’t a fairytale in the end, Jessa has, through her experience, learned to see and be compassionate to the internal struggles of others and her own.
We spend so much time hiding our true selves from the people around us that sometimes I wonder how much we ever really know anyone. There are entire worlds playing out inside our heads and if only we shared those with each other I’m positive we’d find out how alike we all are. Sure, everyone has their own pain and their own struggles but when it comes down to it, pain is pain. We get so afraid of rejection that we hide behind our walls, thinking we’re protecting ourselves when really we’re preventing ourselves from bring able to give and receive the support and validation that comes with knowing you’re not alone in your experience.
I found a Hallmark card about a decade ago and bought every one I could find at the time, dispensing them in the years since to those I felt would benefit from or appreciate its message like I did. This book reminded me of the writing on that card – “Daylight will peek through a very small hole. That’s how hope gets through, too.” No matter what we’re going through, there is hope, even if the hope is that things won’t always be this way. OK, stepping off my soapbox now!
This was one of those books that made me sad that you only get to read it for the first time once. However, I’m sure there’ll be a second time coming fairly soon. If I did have the chance to read it for the first time again I think I’d highlight the passages that don’t resonate with me instead of the ones that do. As it stands, because I did the opposite, my highlighter would have run dry before I got to the halfway mark if I’d been reading a paperback. Instead I wore out my index finger constantly highlighting passages on my Kindle.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Three Saints Press for the opportunity to read this book. I’d recommend this to young adults and adults alike, to anyone who has experienced anxiety or anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of those who do, or to those who simply want to read a great book. I don’t care what you write about in the future, Lauren, but please keep writing. I’ll be reading anything you publish!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Jessa has always felt broken inside, but she’s gotten very good at hiding it. No one at school knows about the panic attacks, the therapy that didn’t help, the meds that haven’t worked. But when a severe accident leaves her with a brain injury and visible scars, Jessa’s efforts to convince the world that she’s okay finally crumble — now she looks as shattered as she feels.
Fleeing from her old life in Los Angeles, Jessa moves to Colorado to live with her dad, where she meets Marshall, a boy whose kindness and generous heart slowly draw Jessa out of her walled-off shell and into the broken, beautiful, real world — a place where souls get hurt just as badly as bodies, and we all need each other to heal.
All Things New is a love story about perception and truth, physical and emotional pain, and the messy, complicated people we are behind the masks we put on for the world, perfect for fans of All the Bright Places and The Fault in Our Stars.
I adore this book! Written in a conversational tone, this book would be perfect for parents to read to their younger children and for older children to read to themselves. With enough information to capture your interest but without the information overload that leaves you bored, A Bear’s Life would be a fantastic resource to assist children writing school reports and will be sure to teach their parents new information as well.
Following a year in the life of British Columbia’s black bears, grizzly bears and spirit bears, the words are complemented by spectacular photography. You almost feel as though you could reach out and touch the bears in some of the images. The changes in layout and the scatterings of bear paw prints throughout the book work together, unlike some children’s nonfiction books where the layout on each page remains the same and becomes stale by the end. There’s a great balance between words and images, and there aren’t any pages that look cluttered.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and Orca Book Publishers for the opportunity to read this book. I’d recommend this book to children and parents alike, and imagine it being used in classrooms, as well as public and school libraries. I’ll be looking out for more books in this series.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Black bears, grizzly bears, and spirit bears all make their home in the Great Bear Rainforest. A Bear’s Life uses Ian McAllister’s stunning photographs to follow these beautiful animals through a year in the British Columbia wilderness–catching fish, eating berries, climbing trees and taking long naps.
A Bear’s Life is the second in the My Great Bear Rainforest series.
I loved the cover and wanted to adore this book based on its fantastic blurb but unfortunately I didn’t connect with it like I do with most children’s books. It felt somewhat disjointed and I wanted to hear what Betty had to say about bullying and being yourself. The pictures were sweet. I wondered about some of the choice of words as I’m not sure a young child would know or care who Liszt is or what opus means.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and LuJu Books for the opportunity to read this book. I’m sure a lot of children and parents alike will love this book but I’m afraid this one wasn’t for me.
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
In a world that seems to encourage us all to look, talk, think, and act the same and is in a constant state of comparison, how can we teach children from a young age that their differences are actually their strengths, not their weaknesses?
It all begins with what we show them and tell them, and a wonderful starting point for this important conversation is the engaging, beautifully illustrated new book Batty Betty by children’s author Kathryn Hast (LuJu Books). What sets this book apart from others in the stack is its storyline – which is purposefully, delightfully whimsical even as it tackles tough subjects – as well as its lyrical style. Hast wanted to be sure it was just as fun for both parents and children to read while also illuminating ways to approach and take on real and often difficult scenarios.
Enter: Abel, the tuba; Eve, the sad banana; and Betty, a giant who dances unapologetically to her own drum. When Abel goes out marching by himself, he finds a sad banana named Eve who has been bullied by local beavers. As it turns out, she’s not alone. The beavers are also out for Betty, who stands out with her towering height and “batty” behavior. Abel sets out to defeat these beavers, but soon discovers it’s not about winning – it’s about finding your own music amidst the ruckus and noise.
This book is perfect for anyone who’s ever dreamed of being a superhero and for anyone who’s ever felt, or been made to feel, not good enough. So, basically everyone.
I really enjoyed the storyline and the positive messages that shine through between the non-stop action and laughs. There was something to love about every character, even the villain. Max Brunner (author) and Dustin Mackay (illustrator) complemented each other so well to bring the story and graphics together it would be easy to believe that one person was responsible for both the words and pictures. Their collaboration on this book was seamless and I hope they team up again for future projects. The choice of fonts was in keeping with the style of book and the illustrations were brilliant. I loved the mix of black and white with selected areas of colour to make details pop.
This would be a fantastic gateway book for kids who aren’t usually a fan of reading as they’ll experience firsthand how much fun reading can be. If you buy this book for your child make sure you steal it from them to read it yourself as well. The laughs aren’t just for kids. As I was reading I could easily imagine this book being made into a movie.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and Running Press Kids for the opportunity to read this graphic novel. I’d recommend this book both to the young and the young on the inside, and I’ll be rereading it again very soon. I really hope there’ll be a sequel. There’s no way the Defectives only have one story to tell!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Laser vision isn’t so hot when you’re cross-eyed, and supersonic flight’s a real downer when motion sickness keeps you grounded.
Twelve-year-old Marshall Preston is a Defective – a person with superhuman abilities that are restricted by some very human setbacks. While other kids are recruited to superhero teams, Marshall’s stuck in seventh grade with a kid who can run at super speed but can’t turn a corner, another with a radioactive peanut allergy that turns him into a swollen Hulk, and a telepath who reads everyone’s thoughts out loud.
Defectives like Marshall aren’t exactly superhero material, but when he uncovers a plot to destroy one of the greatest superhero teams of all time, Marshall and his less-than-super friends set out to prove that just because you’re defective doesn’t mean you can’t save the day.
This graphic novel is a great introduction to a vitally important topic. I wish something similar had been available when I was growing up. I’d love to see it provided to students during sex ed classes in schools. The graphic novel format is much more inviting than the photocopied notes that were painfully plentiful last century when I was at school.
The discussion questions and resources at the end would be useful as a jumping off point to aid teachers in facilitating classroom discussions. I could see this book being used by parents to help them bring up this topic with their children and also to inform parents about the issues that affect kids today that they may not have had to deal with when they were growing up due to changes in technology. Even school leavers may find this book useful as issues surrounding consent don’t magically disappear once you reach adulthood.
This book dispels many myths surrounding what is and isn’t consent in a clear, conversational way. There are some parts that read more like adults talking than teenagers but I’m not sure this can be completely avoided. By touching on various scenarios relevant to consent, including perspectives of males and females, and making the point that the need for consent is the same regardless of a person’s sexuality, this book gives the reader enough of an overview to be able to apply what they’ve read to scenarios they may face in their own lives (or bring clarity to what they may have already experienced).
One of the resources listed at the end of the book is a YouTube video that explains consent so well that I think it complements this book perfectly.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
“Consent is not the absence of ‘NO’, it is an enthusiastic YES!!”
While seemingly straightforward, Tia and Bryony hadn’t considered this subject too seriously until it comes up in conversation with their friends and they realise just how important it is.
Following the sexual assault of a classmate, a group of teenage girls find themselves discussing the term consent, what it actually means for them in their current relationships, and how they act and make decisions with peer influence. Joined by their male friends who offer another perspective, this rich graphic novel uncovers the need for more informed conversations with young people around consent and healthy relationships.
Accompanying the graphics are sexual health resources for students and teachers, which make this a perfect tool for broaching the subject with teens.
Unfortunately, while I was very interested in this book based on its blurb, it wasn’t for me. While Brandon and Jenny’s early friendship was sweet and lovely to read about, I found their character development didn’t sit right with me. Maybe I’ve read too much about mental illness but I picked up on Brandon’s Dissociative Identity Disorder in the prologue and found the turn of events too predictable, except for the final twist which just seemed implausible.
Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Brandon and Jenny have been best friends since they were 5. When Brandon’s mum dies in a horrific accident, his dad’s behaviour darkens and Brandon turns to Jenny and her mum for everything. But dealing with such intense issues so young aren’t what our minds are meant to do. The mind needs help to cope.
Jenny loves Brandon, but as a brother. She notices how quickly Brandon falls into himself while she’s away for college. And even more so when she brings her boyfriend home to Las Vegas.
One fateful night, Brandon breaks down and confesses his love to Jenny, sending their relationship into a whirlwind of chaos and destruction.
Um, is it politically incorrect to say you enjoyed a book about depressed teens who have attempted suicide? Oh, well, here goes … I really enjoyed reading Sunshine is Forever.
Growing up reading The Baby-Sitters Club books I was determined to go to camp in America and have fun with a bunch of new friends from camp like Kristy and co. Even after watching all of the Friday the 13th movies I still wanted to be a camp counsellor. Much to my dismay I never went to camp as a kid or counsellor, but find me a book about teenagers going to camp, any camp, and I want to read it.
So, here we are at Camp Sunshine which incidentally leaned closer to Friday the 13th (minus the sex) than BSC. In fact, had Jason shown up to deal with Asshole Jim around the time of his introduction I probably would have happily provided him with directions and a mug shot.
I would hope that Camp Sunshine would never get accreditation to open in the first place because other than half an hour of token therapy a day, the workers may as well have been singing Kumbaya with the kids for all the good they were doing. A padded cell used as punishment? Really??? I kept thinking as I was reading this book, ‘please don’t let this resemble the way mental health is dealt with in America’, but having seen some documentaries about American LGBTQ conversion therapy I wondered how far from the truth it actually was.
My time reading this book was divided between smiling at Hunter’s observations and monikers he chose for his family, friends and prison guards (oops, sorry, therapy staff) and sadness at the situation all of these teenagers were in. With themes including guilt, forgiving ourselves and others, and taking responsibility for our actions there were obviously going to be portions of the book that were very difficult to read but like witnessing an imminent train crash I couldn’t look away. I had to know if the crash was going to happen or if there’d be a near miss.
Hunter’s conviction that it was only through Corin’s love and acceptance of him that he could be happy was both sad and believable. It’s much easier to assign roles for other people to attempt to make them responsible for the outcome of our lives than to look inside and take responsibility for ourselves.
I spent most of the book waiting as patiently as possible to find out what secrets were hidden in Corin’s thick green file and wasn’t surprised at their theme when all was revealed. However hard it was to read I did like the symmetry it set up between Corin and Hunter. While the noose around Hunter’s stomach was guilt, Corin’s noose was shame.
I loved the point made that you get out of therapy what you’re willing to put in to it. I would’ve really liked to have read that miscalculations had been renamed at the end in conjunction with Hunter taking responsibility for his actions, but that’s essentially nitpicking.
I liked that some things were left undone at the end. It wouldn’t have worked as well if everything was wrapped up with a pretty bow. Life’s messy and while we’d love to believe in them, Insta-Fixes aren’t as plentiful as we’d like to think.
I felt this one sentence summed up depression better than the DSM-5 could ever hope to:
“If you knew me, you probably wouldn’t like me, either.”
Thank you very much to NetGalley and Inkshares for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
After a life-changing decision, Hunter decides that he can’t go on …
… which lands him in Camp Sunshine, a rehab center for depressed teens. Hunter is determined to keep everyone there out of his head, especially his therapist. But when he meets Corin, a beautiful, mysterious, and confident fellow camper, all Hunter wants to do is open up to her, despite the fact that he’s been warned Corin is bad news.
When Corin devises a plan for them to break out of the camp, Hunter is faced with the ultimate choice — will he run from the traumatic incident he’s tried so hard to escape, or will he learn that his mistakes have landed him right where he’s meant to be?
Sunshine is Forever captures the heartbreaking spirit of The Fault in Our Stars, the humor of Orange is the New Black, and the angst of Catcher in the Rye.
Schizanthus Nerd 