Month: April 2018

Unicorn Food: Natural Recipes for Edible Rainbows – Sandra Mahut

🦄 Happy Unicorn Day! 🦄

Despite its promising title, Unicorn Food is not a book of recipes to help you feed your unicorn a nutritionally balanced diet, nor does it contain recipes that include unicorns as an ingredient. It’s okay! You don’t need to retrieve your pitchfork! There’s not a single unicorn listed in the ingredients of this book! 😜

Crogue-Unicorn

Instead you will get to marvel at some of the most beautiful food you’ve ever seen. Using natural food colourings like juices, spices or natural powdered food colourings that you can purchase from specialty cake decorating stores or our good friend, the Internet, you won’t find preservatives in any of the sweet or savoury delights in this book.

Blueberry Galaxy Cupcakes

You’ll find such yummies as unicorn poop (pretty little rainbow meringues), unicorn maki rolls, unicorn noodle bowls with the most extraordinary purple and blue noodles, crogue-unicorn (toasted cheese sandwiches with 4 colours in the cheese), and blueberry galaxy cupcakes.

I already thought donuts were out of this world but there’s even a recipe for cosmic donuts, which include edible silver glitter and bright blue icing!

I’m fairly certain that I’ll be indulging in swirly pastel unicorn cheesecake in the near future. I can also guarantee that I will never attempt the unicorn cake with a starring role on the cover of this book. I can only imagine the epic fail that would be the result of me attempting to replicate this one. However if someone would like to volunteer to make one for me I won’t object.

Unicorn Maki Rolls

The photography in this book is sufficiently droolworthy and if you’re my kind of chef it will show you the hilarious difference between what the food was supposed to look like and what your talent for disaster has actually whipped up. I expect the recipes in this book will wind up featuring at many parties in the near future.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry for the opportunity to be one of the first to drool over this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

This is not a book on how to feed your pet unicorn a healthy diet. But unicorns have magically inspired each of the 32 all-natural recipes in this book, from the show-stopping Unicorn Cake and Cosmic Donuts to Rainbow Veggie Sandwiches and Celestial Swirl Soup.

Add technicolor sparkle to your sushi and fairytale magic to your mocktails. It’s all deliciously natural – no nasty additives or preservatives – just beautiful food colorings made from berry juices and vegetables. All ingredients are straightforward and easily sourced! Astound and delight your family, friends, followers, and kids with these and more spectacular dishes:

  • Croque-Unicorn, a grilled sandwich of rainbow cheese
  • Veggie Noodle Bowl of colored noodles and a rainbow of star-shaped vegetables
  • Rainbow Pancakes topped with melted white chocolate and sprinkles
  • Unicorn Macarons sporting fondant horns
  • Unicorn Milkshakes with twisted marshmallow arches.

Brightly colored, not too serious, and equal parts whimsical and practical, Unicorn Food is shared experience. Create the most unbelievably Instagrammable dishes ever seen. Cook, post, and enjoy – the treats and the likes. Everyone will be drooling over your pastel masterpieces. 

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Today I’ll Be a Unicorn – Dana Simpson

🦄 Happy Unicorn Day! 🦄

The illustrations are everything in Today I’ll Be a Unicorn. This gorgeous board book features Phoebe and Marigold Heavenly Nostrils from Dana Simpson’s Phoebe and Her Unicorn graphic novels.

Phoebe dresses and acts like a unicorn throughout the board book accompanied by her unicorn, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils.

Phoebe is excited about dressing up with unicorn ears and a horn, which are both attached to a headband decorated with beautiful flowers. She loves trotting through meadows with her unicorn tail flowing behind her.

She enjoys all aspects of being a unicorn. Then she discovers that maybe being a young girl is sometimes better than being a unicorn. I’m inclined to agree with her reasoning!

Today I’ll Be a Unicorn is light on words but shines with personality. Phoebe’s expressions are captured so well, from excited to blissful, from dumbfounded to happy and content. I loved the choice of colours used, ranging from soft yet bright pastels to a vibrant rainbow.

I can imagine this becoming a favourite bedtime story. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Who wouldn’t want to be a unicorn?

In this charming, super-sparkly board book, the stars of Phoebe and Her Unicorn celebrate the magical and enchanting world of being a unicorn, along with reminding young readers that being yourself is pretty great, too.

Who wouldn’t want to be a unicorn? You get to trot majestically through meadows, perch high up on rainbows, and wear tiaras made of starlight. Phoebe lists all the wonderful things she’ll get to do and can hardly contain her excitement about having a tail and magic horn. That is, until she learns that unicorns like to eat hay instead of pizza. Maybe she’ll be a unicorn tomorrow instead!

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Milk and Honey – Rupi Kaur

By now it seems as though this collection of poems are so popular that I don’t need to introduce them. You’ve likely either read them yourself, read multiple reviews already or at least have enough of an idea of its content. I kept hearing about this book and figured I’d catch up to the bandwagon and see what all of the fuss was about.

I appreciate the openness of this poet and the rawness of her work. A lot of the poems in the first of the four sections resonated with me and I liked some of the positivity of the final section, although some of the final section read like pop psychology to me. The middle sections didn’t speak to me at all but I expect that’s partly because I don’t do relationships and don’t particularly want to spend my time hearing about the drama of them or about people having sex. A lot of people love stuff like that but I’m just not one of them.

I really didn’t like most of the illustrations, probably because I didn’t like that one of the early ones featured a poem between a naked woman’s spread legs and wondered whether the poet considered this necessary to make their point. I also really, really don’t like it when people don’t use capital letters, especially for I and I’m. The lack of capitalisation bugged the hell out of me.

The ratings for this book clearly show that I’m in the minority here and that’s okay with me. I love that people experience the same book differently and I love reading reviews that show perspectives that I don’t share or wouldn’t have thought of myself. While I really connected to the poems that spoke to me of my own experiences there weren’t enough of them to make this book one I’d want to reread. I hope you get more out of it than I did.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Milk and Honey is a collection of poetry and prose about survival. About the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity. It is split into four chapters, and each chapter serves a different purpose. Deals with a different pain. Heals a different heartache. Milk and Honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look. 

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That’s Not My Otter … – Fiona Watt

Illustrations – Rachel Wells

That’s not my obsession! Oh, wait. Yes it is! My library got another one! 😊 This time our little white mouse is being picky about otters. After carefully checking the preceding otters this happy little rodent finally finds their otter, the one with a fluffy tummy.

So the way I see it, there are currently five other otters available for adoption so I’m claiming the rest. I’m now part of a bevy of otters. One has a shiny nose, one has rough paws, one has fuzzy ears, one has a soft tail and the final one has a smooth tongue.

I know I shouldn’t play favourites but I’m quite partial to the one poking its tongue out as I frequently do the same thing. I think I may also add the dragonfly and butterfly to my growing That’s Not My … family.

If Mr Mouse and his otter are interested, my otters and I will be playing in the water and making really cool waterslides most days, and they’re welcome to join us in the fun whenever they want.

Once again, this touchy-feely book is adorable and makes me clucky enough to wish I had my own otter pup baby to read it to.

Bonus Otter Fact: According to Defenders of Wildlife, sea otters have the densest fur in the animal kingdom, ranging from 250,000 to a million hairs per square inch, which insulates them.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

A delightful touchy-feely book with simple, repetitive text from Usborne’s flagship series for the very young. Adorable otters fill the pages and a little white mouse appears on every page, for children to spot. Bright, colourful illustrations with carefully chosen textures to touch and feel on every page. Helps very young children develop language and sensory skills.

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Xander and the Rainbow-Barfing Unicorns #1: Magic Smells Awful – Matthew K. Manning

Illustrations – Joey Ellis

Do you believe in magic?

Xander does. He’s been a magic hunter for most of his life. When he was younger his friend Kelly would go on magic hunts with him but no longer does. On the very day that he decides to give up on magic it blasts across the sky in all of its technicolor glory. He doesn’t see fairies, gnomes or a spirit.

Instead he witnesses three rainbows, but there’s no pot of gold at the end of these rainbows. What Xander discovers are three unicorns! But not just your garden variety type. These are zombie unicorns 🧟‍♀️🧟‍♂️🦄 and they barf rainbows 🤢🤮🌈🌈🌈!

”RONK!”

Being zombies they also smell terrible and tend to be accompanied by flies. The unicorns have heard about human adults who no longer believe in magic and will experiment on them if discovered. Xander knows it’s up to him to protect these rainbow vomiters from harm, but how?

Matthew K. Manning has written one of the most entertaining books I’ve read this year. The writing engages the reader from the beginning with this amazing and absurd story (I say that with the utmost respect) that is so imaginative and funny. I wanted these rainbow-barfing unicorns to be real. I wanted to go watch them vomit rainbows into the sky for myself. I wanted to visit Pegasia to witness for myself this magical dimension.

Joey Ellis’ illustrations capture the comedy in this book perfectly! My favourite illustration today is of Xander bathed in a rainbow yet pretending he can’t see anything out of the ordinary. It accurately depicts the humour of a kid obviously caught in a lie, denying it regardless and refusing to make eye contact. I expect my favourite illustration will change each time I open the book though.

I spent the whole book thinking this would make an incredible series and I dreaded nearing the end because I needed more! More unicorns! More vomit! More fun! Then I made it to the very end and lo and behold, what do I see on the back cover? The covers for the next three books in the series! Yippee!!! They look like as much fun as this one and I can’t wait!

I will be buying this book as soon as it’s released (for myself) so I can reread it to my heart’s content and have already recommended it to my favourite librarian for an avid young reader who consistently checks out the same kid’s books I do. I need to read the rest of the series urgently!

Food I craved while reading this book: apple donuts, cotton candy and blueberry strudel.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Capstone for introducing me to this new favourite.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Reread 9 April 2020

From the ‘Why I Call Myself an Alleged Adult’ Files: When asked what I wanted for my birthday last year I requested a series of kid’s books about zombie unicorns that vomit rainbows. I’ve been holding off on bingeing them until now because …

🦄 9 April is Unicorn Day! 🦄

It’s been two years since I first discovered Xander and the Rainbow-Barfing Unicorns and I’d forgotten how much fun they are to read about. This book is a great way to escape from reality for a while.

We’re introduced to Xander, a 12 year old outcast who still believes in magic, and three unicorns who have been banished from Pegasia, their home. Cradie, Blep and Ronk used to be ordinary, everyday unicorns but something happened on Pegasia that transformed them into smelly, rainbow-vomiting, zombie-like creatures.

“The thing is, we were normal unicorns, but then we got a space virus, and we had to walk through the Banish Desert, which is nowhere near as much fun as the Danish Dessert – but that’s another story entirely – and then we dropped through the Western Portal and ended up on this mountain and Ronk can’t stop vomiting rainbows and neither can we, if I’m being honest, and -“

During my second read I wondered how the unicorns were able to speak the same language as Xander. I also noticed the illustrations, which I love, don’t always line up with the descriptions in the text. For example, Ronk is supposed to have two yellow eyes, not one yellow and one white, and Cradie’s hooves are supposed to be greenish, not purple.

Following the story is a glossary, a list of barf words and jokes. This book’s character spotlight shines a light on Ronk – exposed spine, melting skin, hairy ooze and everything else that makes this unicorn unique.

I’m ready to find it out what happens next!

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Xander Stone didn’t believe in unicorns – until one puked on him! In this adventure, twelve-year-old Xander first meets the Rainbow-Barfing Unicorns – stinky, zombielike, upchucking creatures from the magical world of Pegasia. They’ve been banished to Earth for, well, being stinky, zombielike, upchucking creatures. However, Earth presents them with a great danger: HUMANS. Luckily, the dashing, naively heroic Xander vows to protect them and their disgusting secret at all costs.

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Does It Fart?: The Definitive Field Guide to Animal Flatulence – Nick Caruso & Dani Rabaiotti

Illustrations – Ethan Kocak

You know those facts that you didn’t know you needed to know until you read a blurb and realise that you urgently need to know this vital information? Well, that sums up how I felt when I discovered Does It Fart? on NetGalley. I read the blurb, knew immediately that I needed this book in my life, hit the Request button and waited. Then my email notification arrived letting me know I was denied access to this title. My heart sank and I experienced one of my biggest NetGalley disappointments to date.

Yet I still desperately needed to read it ASAP so I waited as patiently as possible for the release date. Finally it arrived and I thought about ordering it through my local library but quickly determined that I needed it now, so downloaded it to my Kindle and started reading straight away.

I was anticipating a book with some facts but more laughs. In the introduction I read that “Not all farts are created equal” and that confirmed to me that this was definitely the book for me, so I eagerly read on. Then I found I was disappointed because my expectations didn’t match the reality of this book.

There are some interesting facts and you do find out the answers regarding whether an animal farts, doesn’t fart or maybe farts, but I found it was written in such a clinical way that the only laughs I got out of the book came from the illustrations.

Had I simply expected information telling me that this animal farts because it eats a plant based diet and has a certain type of stomach and digestive system, or this animal farts because it eats a meat based diet and has certain type of stomach and digestive system, I would have been satisfied. There was other information about each animal including details of scent glands and digestive enzymes, how many species of that animal exist and where they’re found along with the animal’s scientific name, but I didn’t need to laugh at all while I read.

I did like learning smelly facts including an animal that uses their farts to kill prey, another that uses farts to communicate and one that will die if they don’t fart, but I found these facts interesting rather than funny. Even the entry about unicorns mostly compared them to horses, cows and rhinos, making the assumption that because each of these animals fart then a unicorn would be likely to as well.

I know I’m in the minority here as plenty of reviewers are talking about how hilarious this book is but the illustrations stole the show for me. They were fantastic and looked like they belonged in a cartoon or a funny graphic novel. The expressions on the animals’ faces were priceless, with plenty of big googly eyes and crosses replacing eyes for those in the flatulence firing line. All of the animals had so much character I could have written a story featuring each of them based on their expressions and the way they were posed alone. I definitely need to see more of Ethan Kocak’s artwork.

I am glad I read this book as it satisfied my curiosity and I now know the answers about whether the animals discussed fart or not. However I wish I’d waited to borrow it from the library rather than spending money that I would have preferred, in hindsight, to spend on several other books I know I would have enjoyed more and wanted to reread.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Dogs do it. Millipedes do it. Dinosaurs did it. You do it. I do it. Octopuses don’t (and nor do octopi). Spiders might do it: more research is needed. Birds don’t do it, but they could if they wanted to. Herrings do it to communicate with each other. 

In 2017 zoologist Dani Rabaiotti’s teenage brother asked her a most teenaged question: Do snakes fart? Stumped, Rabaiotti turned to Twitter. The internet did not disappoint. Her innocent question spawned the hashtag #doesitfart and it spread like a noxious gas. Dozens of noted experts began weighing in on which animals do and don’t fart, and if they do, how much, how often, what it’s made of, what it smells like, and why. 

Clearly, the public demands more information on animal farts. Does it Fart? fills that void: a fully authoritative, fully illustrated guide to animal flatulence, covering the habits of 80 animals in more detail than you ever knew you needed. 

What do hyena farts smell especially bad? What is a fossa, and does it fart? Why do clams vomit but not fart? And what is a fart, really? Pairing hilarious illustrations with surprisingly detailed scientific explanations, Does it Fart? will allow you to shift the blame onto all kinds of unlikely animals for years to come. 

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The Truth About My Unbelievable School … – Davide Cali

Illustrations – Benjamin Chaud

Why have I only just discovered the genius that is the partnership between author Davide Cali and illustrator Benjamin Chaud? This book takes you on a tour of one of the coolest schools ever! I could easily see kids graduating from this school and then moving on to finish their high school years at Hogwarts. That is the level of cool we’re talking about here!

Henry’s teacher asks him to give the new girl a tour of the school. Henry, fully decked out in his pinstriped suit with coordinating socks and tie, proceeds to show the new girl around his “there really isn’t anything to see here” school.

Henry nonchalantly climbs the ladder to feed the class pet fish, a ginormous jellyfish. The pair wander past the school’s music room, art room and math corner before taking a peek at the secret science experiment that’s almost finished.

The shortcut to recess takes them through a twisty clear tube reminiscent of the one that ended Augustus Gloop’s tour of Mr Wonka’s factory. Henry’s fellow classmates are playing in a tree that includes a very ho-hum roller coaster.

Between recess and lunch they drop in on some more classes, and after lunch they check out the school library and wonder what the teachers get up to in the teacher’s lounge. After a few more stops the pair make it back to their classroom just in time to go home. Now that was good timing! There’s even a surprise at the end of the book that I certainly didn’t see coming and made me chuckle.

This kid’s book is so imaginative. There’s such a disconnect between the boredom of showing the new kid around school and the wild illustrations that show just why this school is so unbelievable. Unbelievably awesome, that is! The illustrations are detailed and funny.

While kids will love the illustrations and marvel at all of the incredible things they wish their school would have on offer, adults will probably even appreciate them ever more.

I was delighted to come across some fun allusions to Creature from the Black Lagoon, Smaug, Pippi Longstocking and The Phantom of the Opera. Once you’ve read the book I’d encourage you to carefully check each illustration as there are some scattered clues to the surprise ending for you to find.

I got to the end of this book and then immediately subscribed myself at the publisher’s website, went to order everything my library has from this duo and told Mum she’s going to love this book. I need to either recreate or move in to this school’s library!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Beware of … this school?! Henry is taking his new classmate on a whirlwind tour of their school. Mysterious inventions lurk, the cafeteria requires ninja skills, and some teachers may be monsters! Is this fantastical school to be believed? Or is there an even more outrageous surprise in store?

Celebrated international author-illustrator team Davide Cali and Benjamin Chaud – the duo behind Junior Library Guild selections I Didn’t Do My Homework Because … and The Truth About My Unbelievable Summer … – are back with yet another rollicking tale about truth, lies, and … school!

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Noble Volume 1: God Shots – Brandon Thomas

Illustrations – Roger Robinson

Colours – Juan Fernández

The blurb for this graphic novel sounded like a mash up of lots of movies I’ve enjoyed and while it’s not an especially original concept, it sounded like it would be fun. We have astronauts on a suicide mission to save Earth from an asteroid (Hi, Armageddon, etc). Somehow while saving the world one of the astronauts learns a new trick. David now has telekinesis (Hello, Carrie and Matilda).

For some reason David can’t remember much of anything at all (Hiya, Dory). There’s a villain (Hey, every action film ever!) and a wife that’s fighting to get her husband back (take your pick!). Astrid, David’s wife, is a real badass and I would’ve liked to have seen her in action some more because she had potential to wreak havoc.

Unfortunately there was so much jumping around that if I hadn’t already read the blurb I would have been completely lost and even with that information I still couldn’t really connect the dots with any consistency until around the halfway mark. There were so many time shifts, back and forth to different time periods both before and after the ‘event’.

The main character has no idea who they are so they’re no help to the reader but they do get flashbacks, oftentimes in the middle of a fight scene. There’s a lot of action, with people fighting all over the place as David’s powers continue to grow stronger for some reason.

Had there been smoother transitions and some more information early on to help readers get into the story and get to know the characters this could have been a winner. As it stands I really struggled to make it to the point where the story was starting to make sense and I never really connected to the characters.

While the story will be continuing I won’t be following along, which is a shame because the illustrations were really well done and the story itself had a lot of potential. There are some explanations given along the way but not enough to balance out the frustration I felt at the frenetic time shifts.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Lion Forge and Diamond Book Distributors for the opportunity to read this graphic novel.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Astronaut David Powell was one of the team of five astronauts who took on the suicide mission of destroying the Icarus2 asteroid before it could collide with Earth and annihilate all life on the planet. The team succeeded, but as a result of the explosion, David gained the ability of telekinesis, the means of moving matter with one’s mind. David also lost his memories.

Now, back on Earth, David is travelling throughout the world, taking on different identities and jobs, helping people while his powers grow. Fighting to stay alive and out of the reach of the Foresight Corporation and its CEO, Lorena Payan. Hoping to one day remember his life, his name, and the mysterious woman and young boy in his memory flashes. His wife and son.

David’s wife, Astrid Allen-Powell, has been receiving secret messages from an informant within Foresight, confirming David is alive and his movements. Astrid is now on a mission: to get her husband back. To put her family back together. Astrid Allen-Powell is much more than most people realise, and she will use every skill and weapon in her arsenal to get back the man she loves. 

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Everyday Gratitude: Inspiration for Living Life as a Gift – A Network for Grateful Living

Everyday Gratitude is a collection of quotes from authors, spiritual leaders including monks and rabbis, and other well known people from history along with some I’d never heard of. Intended to make you think about your own life, each quote is accompanied by a question that encourages you in one or more of the following:

“1. STOP: Pause and awaken.

2. LOOK: Become aware of the gifts and opportunities around you.

3. GO: Take action based on gratefulness and great-fulness.”

This book used watercolours extensively. Looking at the backgrounds I remembered playing with watercolours in preschool; how the colours would blend together on the page and there’d be splotches of more intense colour amongst the watered down areas. That’s the feeling the backgrounds gave me, although unlike my works of ‘art’ these looked like they had purpose. Some were lines of colour, some were circles and others were more abstract.

“Though you may not change it, you can handle an ugly situation beautifully.”

Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan

Personally I wasn’t a fan of the questions put to the reader under each quote. While some did make me think, the majority seemed to either be simply rewording the statement of the quote into a question or didn’t appear overly related to the quote at all. I expect some readers will appreciate the questions as a tool for introspection as they mine the quote for meaning. I prefer to ponder quotes without guidance, deciding what they mean to me at this time in my life or applying them to a specific circumstance.

Some of the quotes in this book are ones I’d expect to see on a poster in a pokey little store that sells tie dye clothes, Buddha figurines, smells of incense, and most likely also sells this book. While there were some quotes that I expect will stay with me for a long time there were others that made me question whether they belonged in this book.

“Life does not accommodate you, it shatters you … every seed destroys its container or else there would be no fruition.”

Florida Scott-Maxwell

I can see Everyday Gratitude as a lovely gift or coffee table book. I wouldn’t have the discipline to use it as recommended, by reading a quote and its question each morning and then thinking about it throughout the day, but there will be those who have that discipline and I expect they’ll get a lot out of it.

I doubt anyone could overdose on gratitude and am sure the world would be a more positive place to be if more people spent more of their time focusing on what they’re thankful for.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go out and do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

Howard Thurman

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Storey Publishing, LLC for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Experience and science say that daily practices and motiving reminders help us to be the people we want to be and to live the lives we want to live. This inspiring collection of 365 sayings and reflections comes from the Network of Grateful Living, founded by David Steindl-Rast. Quotes from A.A. Milne, Anne Frank, Thomas Merton, Maya Angelou, and more are paired with related questions and practices to help you notice the gifts you receive – both large and small – every day.

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