Tag: 4 stars

Glow – Ross Morgan

A young girl and her grandfather used scraps from her grandfather’s junkyard for their projects. Their latest project remains unfinished after his death.

The girl and her dog walk through the darkness of the junkyard until they find a buried secret. A turn of a key sets in motion something magical.

The illustrations are extraordinary, capturing the granddaughter’s grief and the darkness she finds herself surrounded by as she comes to terms with her loss.

There was something both lovely and sad about the fact that the project the girl was working on with her grandfather before he died is complete by the end of the book.

I knew I had only scratched the surface after two reads. I watched an interview with the author and read it a third time before even attempting to write a review.

The darkness of some of the early illustrations probably would have scared me as a young child and I definitely would have needed an adult to explain what the story was about because the words alone wouldn’t have made it clear. If I’d read this to a child without having watched the interview with the author, I’m not sure I could have answered their questions.

In case it’s not already obvious, this book has left me conflicted. The story took work for me to figure it out. I had absolutely no idea that the underground object represented the grandfather’s reincarnation until I heard the author say it in the interview.

I saw the glow as a representation of her grandfather’s love but it could also be a guiding light, a reminder that her grandfather’s legacy will never fade, magic that awakens mechanical objects…

The illustrations are some of my favourites in any picture book. 

Thank you so much to Walker Studio, an imprint of Walker Books, for the opportunity to read this picture book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

There is a path I walk with care.
There is a shadow that follows me there.
There is a place, a secret I keep,
where something special is buried down deep …

A sumptuously illustrated and immersive picture book that speaks to memory, shared moments, and love beyond and between worlds.

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Sleepy Sheepy – Lucy Ruth Cummins

Illustrations – Pete Oswald

Ma and Pa Sheepy are sleepy. Sleepy Sheepy is not. Of course he’s not!

Don’t Ma and Pa realise that bedtime is the best time to do all of the last minute things, like checking the springiness of the lounge chair, preparing for your next concert and practicing your lasso skills?

Oh, wait. Was that a yawn?

Never mind. It’s time for Sleepy Sheepy’s second wind.

This bedtime story is so relatable. I probably would have viewed this as an instruction manual on the various ways I hadn’t thought of avoiding sleep yet but hopefully your little lamb is more inclined to be ready to count sheep when you tell them it’s time to go to bed.

The illustrations are cute and adult me was as delighted as kid me would have been to discover the sheet of stickers in the back of the book!

Sleep Sheepy sticker sheet

I would have loved to have seen the looks on Ma and Pa’s faces when Sleepy Sheepy finally yawned.

Thank you so much to Walker Books for the opportunity to read this picture book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Despite his name, Sleepy Sheepy is NOT sleepy. He’d much rather build with blocks … or knit socks than go to sleep. Will Ma and Pa Sheepy ever get their sheepy to go to sleepy?

From New York Times bestselling illustrator Pete Oswald and critically acclaimed author Lucy Ruth Cummins comes a hilarious bedtime read-aloud that will be loved by little lambs everywhere for generations to come.

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Wylah the Koorie Warrior #3: Protectors – Richard Pritchard & Jordan Gould

Illustrations – Richard Pritchard, Sierra Pritchard & Max Pritchard

Wylah is now the Koorie Warrior and she’s determined to free her family and friends from the Dragon Army’s camp. Meanwhile, Tiller, Livingstone and Captain Frye are working on the duality machine, cooking up some alchemical evil.

As the Koorie Warrior, Wylah has great responsibilities. We are introduced to more people that need her help, some friendlier than others, and some new baddies who will be doing their best to thwart her efforts.

There are a lot of new megabeasts to meet as well, including scorpions, spiders and penguins.

This book is jam-packed with action, which young readers will enjoy. My favourite scene, though, was when Wylah was in the Dreamtime with Grandma. I love Grandma.

‘Times of great trouble are coming, Wylah. Many battles will be fought and a war must be won and you need to be ready.’

As with the books before it, this one ends in a cliffhanger. The Dragon Army are not done being dastardly yet.

Thank you so much to Albert Street Books, an imprint of Allen & Unwin, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Wylah is finally the Koorie Warrior, but her troubles are far from over! 

Her family and people are still prisoners of the cruel Dragon Army, and animals and children are disappearing. Faced with new responsibilities and a dangerous new adversary, can Wylah rise to the challenge and become the leader and protector her people need?

Excitement and suspense await in the thrilling third instalment of the best-selling Wylah the Koorie Warrior series. Inspired by First Nations history and grounded in culture, this is a must-read for adventure lovers of all ages!

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The ANNEthology – Robin Sutherland (editor)

Anne (with an e), one of my very favourite kindred spirits, has been reimagined by ten authors. Having known Anne Shirley Cuthbert for over three decades, she’s become part of my story and I was keen to see what she’s been up to in other people’s imaginations.

There are some stories where Anne is clearly the passionate, feisty girl who took up residence in my heart. At times, though, she’s not as easily recognisable. Anne is a boy. Anne is trafficked. Anne comes with a serial number.

My favourite stories were:

Anne and the Bloody Book by Susie Moloney

Anne discovers that appetite for reading can be life changing.

“What a mysterious book…”

In Search of Kindred Spirits by Hope Dalvay

Anne and Gilbert are assigned to work on an art project together.

“A kindred spirit is someone with similar interests to yours. No, it’s more than that. It’s someone you have a deep connection with. That’s why I read so many books. I’m looking for kindred spirits in the pages. Some of my best friends are book characters.”

4624463 by Natasha Deen

Anne lives in a world where you’re punished for having emotions and books are dangerous.

“Something bad is going to happen.”

Anne of the Silver Trail by Shari Green

Anne is absolutely certain she’s about to be un-adopted in this story in verse.

If we’re lucky in life, we come across

someone who challenges

the lies we tell ourselves, someone

who who sits us down and tell us

a different story.

While there wasn’t a bad story in the bunch, I found I enjoyed them more when they included at least one of my other favourite characters, like Diana, Matthew and Marilla.

What I found even more important than the cast of characters, though, was Anne herself. No matter what setting she was placed in, I wanted to be able to connect with her spirit. I needed to be able to identify parts of her personality that made me love her in the first place.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Acorn Press for the opportunity to read this anthology.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Who is YOUR Anne?

Join ten of Canada’s top young adult fiction writers as they set Canada’s favourite red-haired orphan, Anne Shirley, on brand new adventures. With its futuristic settings, cybernetic beings, ghosts, mysterious books and boxes, and racial and sexual diversity in its cast of characters, The ANNEthology offers serious “scope for the imagination” for all readers.

2024 marks the 150th anniversary of L.M. Montgomery’s birth and the 30th anniversary of Acorn Press, Prince Edward Island’s longest-running traditional publishing house. What better way to celebrate these milestones than publishing a collection of stories inspired by the Island’s (and one of Canada’s) most beloved authors?

Sure to include something for everyone, this is a must-have collection for Anne of Green Gables fans.

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Pavlo Gets the Grumps – Natalia Shaloshvili

Pavlo’s day looks a lot like my week. Someone suggests doing something fun, something we’d usually enjoy, and our response is essentially ‘Ugh!’ We’ve got the grumps and nothing you do or say is going to make any difference. Or is it?

Mama has plenty of good suggestions but there’s always a reason to not wanna. Honestly, why would you want to go to the park when “the slide is too SLIDEY!”

Unperturbed, Mama (who is vying for sainthood at this point) finally convinces Pavlo to leave the house. Pavlo learns that his family and friends will still be there for him when he’s having a bad day and that maybe, just maybe, bad days don’t have to last all day.

The illustrations are cute and clearly show Pavlo’s emotions.

Grumpy Pavlo

Be on the lookout for a bird that really wants ice cream and a frog that enjoys reading.

Thank you so much to Walker Books for the opportunity to read this picture book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

A book-shaped hug that we all need on a day when everything just feels BLAH.

Pavlo does not feel like going to the park. Not today.
He does not want to go swimming.
He even says no to the cinema.
What’s going on, Pavlo?
Pavlo’s got the grumps.

This comforting picture book takes a look at bad days and big emotions, and reminds us that we all have grumpy days sometimes but no feeling lasts forever.

Natalia Shaloshvili’s expressive illustrations are sad and funny at the same time, reassuring little ones that we are loved by our family and friends even when we’re not our happiest selves.

Pavlo guides young children on their emotional learning journey and shows how joy is always just around the corner.

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Knights and Bikes #3: Wheels of Legend – Gabrielle Kent

Illustrations – Rex Crowle & Luke Newell

This is the third book in a series that I’d never heard of. The series is based on a video game that I’d never heard of. I’m old, okay?

I knew neither of these things before I started reading. I’d read the blurb and thought it sounded like fun. Now I can tell you that this is a fun book and you don’t need to have read any of the other books in the series or played the video game to enjoy it. I’m helpful like that.

Depending on your perspective, this book will either introduce you to or reacquaint you with the four members of the Penfurzy Rebel Bicycle Club. Best friends Demelza and Nessa are joined by Demelza’s honky pet goose, aptly named Captain Honkers. Together they solve mysteries.

Penfurzy Rebel Bicycle Club

But wait, I hear you say. You said there were four members but you’ve only told us about three. Well spotted.

The fourth member is my favourite character, Sir Calenick, whose body may very well have a mind of its own. The mystery I most want to solve is how his body functions just as well without his head attached. His pickled head. I need to read the other two books so I can spend more time with this knight and learn his backstory.

But for now we’re here to solve a mystery.

‘Penfurzy, and maybe the world, depends on us!’

It’s been almost five months since their last big mystery so this one is overdue. Fortunately, a fair has just arrived that only comes to Penfurzy once every ten years.

‘Mark my words, there’s strange goings on whenever they comes to Penfurzy.’

A ghost train, toffee apples and a mystery to solve? I knew I was going to like this book. There’s also a woman with a powerful voice, snot goblins and a tale of long lost love.

Here to help solve the mystery is Jack, a new friend. You may be familiar with one of his ancestors. I’ve known them since I was a kid and, as we’ve already established, I’m old.

Kid me would have loved this book but definitely would have found the video game first. And read the books in the correct order. They also wouldn’t have had to worry about spoilers. Old me is busy being obsessed with the boombox, complete with cassette tape!

Rex Crowle and Luke Newell’s illustrations bring the action to life. The characters are expressive, with the possible exception of my favourite character. But if you’re either a pickled head or a body with no head attached most of the time, then your opportunities for a wide range of emotions are kind of limited.

The illustrations line up well with the game. I know because I checked. I now want to play the game. I’m also going to be on the lookout for the first two books.

Thank you so much to Walker Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

A new mystery has rolled onto Penfurzy island and the Rebel Bicycle Club are ready to investigate! Nessa, Demelza and Captain Honkers set off to explore a travelling fun-fair when things begin to get strange. With new friends and a new legend to uncover, the best friends do what they do best: SAVE THE DAY FROM A FATE WORSE THAN HOMEWORK. A mysterious adventure with twists, turns and gross-out caravan invaders guaranteed to make you laugh!

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The House That Horror Built – Christina Henry

I can’t imagine a day where I’ll reach my haunted house story limit. There’s something about a menacing presence causing havoc in the place that’s supposed to be safe, one where the harsh realities of the world aren’t supposed to intrude, that never gets old.

This haunting introduces us to Harry, a single mother with the weight of the world on her shoulders. She’s just gotten a new job cleaning the home of a reclusive horror movie director, a man whose work Harry is a fan of.

That door was always locked, and it wasn’t her job to be curious about it.

This is a story where the characters are as haunted as the house. It’s more character driven than I was expecting and I surprised myself by enjoying this, even when it seemed to be taking away from the haunting I picked up the book to experience.

I liked Harry, who’s doing her best to keep her head above water. Her love for her son, Gabe, and her efforts to give him a better life endeared her to me. Gabe, an absolute sweetheart, oftentimes seemed too good to be true but I had a soft spot for him as well. Mr Castillo, Harry’s employer and a man with a troubled past, was the one I kept wanting to know more about.

Much of the book unfolded as I expected it to but I definitely wasn’t right about everything. There’s the expected strange noises and other spooky goings on scattered throughout the book but it isn’t until near the end that things really heat up.

I had hoped for more scares but I have a pretty high threshold for horror so it takes a lot to rattle me. This isn’t my favourite haunted house book but it was a fun read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Single mum Harry Adams has always loved horror movies, so when she’s offered a job cleaning for revered horror director Javier Castillo, she leaps at the chance. His forbidding Chicago mansion, Bright Horses, is filled from top to bottom with terrifying props and costumes, as well as glittering awards from his decades-long career making films that thrilled audiences and dominated the box office — until family tragedy and scandal forced him to vanish from the industry.

Javier values discretion, so Harry tries to clean the house immaculately and keep her head down — she needs the money from this job to support her son. But then she starts hearing noises from behind a locked door. Noises that sound remarkably like a human voice calling for help, though Javier lives alone and never has visitors. Harry knows that not asking questions is a vital part of keeping her job, but she soon finds that the house — and her enigmatic boss — have secrets she can’t ignore…

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Hidden Places – Claudia Martin

I love landscape photography and, as someone who’s never travelled outside of my country, I enjoy imagining all of the places I’ll travel when I stumble across the millions of dollars that have been hiding from me.

This book takes you around the world in 180 photos, highlighting some lesser known places. My travel bucket list has grown extensively as a result.

There’s the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in Toronto, Canada, with over 15 million items!

As someone who collects sea glass, I need to see Glass Beach in California. There are colours there I don’t have in my collection.

I definitely need to learn how to abseil so I can see the ‘heavenly light’ above the sinkhole in Jomblang Cave in Indonesia.

Jomblang Cave
Photo credit: Altung Galip

I want to wander around the Maol-bhuidhe bothy in Scotland and see Cueva de los Verdes, a network of lava tubes, in Lanzarote, Spain. I need to explore the island of Porto Santo in Madeira, Portugal.

Teufelsbrücke (‘Devil’s Bridge) in Rakotzbrücke, Germany fascinates me and I’ve wanted to see the Crooked Forest in Gryfino, Poland for years.

My favourite photo was of Thor’s Well in Oregon, USA.

Thor’s Well
Photo credit: Jeffrey Schwartz

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Amber Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

From the psychedelic salt mines of Yekaterinburg in Siberia to the rugged, green-tinted Copper Canyon in the Sierra Madre in Mexico, Hidden Places roams across the globe in search of hidden treasures and secret places off the beaten track. Explore the Silfra Deep Trench in Iceland, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet to create a remarkable rift and freshwater dive site; experience the weirdest of woodland walks through the Crooked Forest in Pomerania, Poland, where a grove of 400 pines are uniformly curved; marvel at the colourful, gold-plated temple of Doi Suthep in northern Thailand; or visit the world’s highest sand dune, Grande Dune du Pilat, on the Bordeaux coast. Each location is accompanied by a caption explaining the geography and history of the place. Illustrated with 180 colour photographs, Hidden Places ranges from the sparse landscape of the Arctic Circle to the rich rainforests of the Amazon basin. Read this book and discover the special, hidden places that will come to define your bucket list – many of which are much closer to home than you think.

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Full of Myself – Siobhán Gallagher

In this graphic memoir, Siobhán Gallagher takes on body image. We learn about her family, friendships and relationships, and tag along as she navigates her relationship with her body.

It was clear to me as a kid that to be a woman was to be wrong no matter what, and there were so many ways to be wrong!

Siobhán talks about pop culture and the messages she’s received about her body throughout her life.

When you hear something enough, you internalise it. And I internalised the message, “I am not enough.”

As someone who has read fairly widely about disordered eating and body image, I didn’t come away with any new revelations. However, Siobhán’s story is relatable and definitely something younger me needed to hear.

Disordered eating is a serious topic but there were definitely some smiles along the way.

I’ve got a handle on it

And times where I felt called out.

Snacking could fix everything

Something I’m starting to notice more in memoirs is a focus on how difficult things were in the past, then a shift to how much things have improved. While I can empathise with the pain of the past and embrace cheerleader mode when I read about someone being healed/better/more fulfilled than they were, what I really want to know is how they got from A to B.

Most of us are living in the messy in between. We’re looking for signposts to follow or toolbox contents we can test out and adapt for ourselves. I would have loved to have spent more time learning how Siobhán went from disordered eating to acceptance.

I loved the Years in Fashion pages at the beginning of each section. A lot of these brought back fond memories and fashion crimes. I appreciated Schrödinger’s outfit and I’m considering adopting Purple Day Fridays.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this graphic memoir.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Author and illustrator Siobhán Gallagher’s humorous and heartfelt graphic memoir details her journey from being anxious and unhappy to learning to love herself as she is.

“I’m proud of the person I’ve become because I fought to become her.” At the age of 30, Siobhán Gallagher looks back on her teenage years struggling with anxiety and diet culture, desperate to become a beautiful, savvy, and slim adult. As an actual adult, she realises she hasn’t turned out the way she’d imagined, but through the hard work of self-reflection — cut with plenty of humour — Gallagher brings readers along on her journey to self-acceptance and self-love.

Through witty comics and striking illustrations, Full of Myself is a highly relatable story of the awkward, imperfect, and hilariously honest teenage best friend readers will wish they had had — and the awkward, imperfect, and hilariously honest woman she becomes.

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Ferris – Kate DiCamillo

“Loving someone takes a whole lot of courage.”

Ten year old Ferris is newly caffeinated and, with everything happening around her, that’s probably a good thing.

Charisse, Ferris’ beloved grandmother, is spending more time sleeping. She has recently started seeing a ghost in her bedroom.

Ferris’ sister, Pinky, is determined to become an outlaw. I’m fairly convinced she’s working on a psychopathy diagnosis and may spend some of her adulthood incarcerated. She may only be six but her precociousness isn’t limited to her reading ability.

“Out of my way, fools.”

Uncle Ted now lives in the basement. He’s painting a history of the world foot by foot.

Billy, Ferris’ best friend, plays the piano. The same song on repeat.

I love Ferris’ grandmother. Their relationship reminded me of the one I had with my Nan. I have no doubt this contributed to my spending most of the book worried about Charisse. This started to interfere with my enjoyment of the quirkiness of this family. As grandmothers are wont to do, though, she gifted me my favourite quote of the book.

“You have to insist on being yourself. Do not let the world tell you who you are. Rather, tell the world who you are.”

Kate DiCamillo has a way of making me feel like part of the family within a few pages. There’s practically no time between me meeting a character and feeling like I have a grasp of the essence of who they are.

No, I didn’t cry, but only because I thought I saw something coming and stopped reading for a few hours to prepare myself.

This book is love, loss and peanuts of repentance. You’ll encounter a bunch of Mielk words and you’ll endear yourself to Ferris if you bring some candles with you. You’ll crave pie à la mode and you’re likely to see pliers differently after this read.

“We’re going to help someone find their way home.”

Thank you so much to Walker Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

It’s the summer before fifth grade, and for Ferris Wilkey, it is a summer of sheer pandemonium. Her little sister, Pinky, has vowed to become an outlaw. Uncle Ted has left Aunt Shirley and, to Ferris’s mother’s chagrin, is holed up in the Wilkey basement to paint a history of the world. And Charisse, Ferris’s grandmother, has started seeing a ghost in the doorway to her room – which seems like an alarming omen given that she is feeling unwell. But the ghost is not there to usher Charisse to the Great Beyond. Rather, she has other plans – wild, impractical, illuminating plans. How can Ferris satisfy a spectre with Pinky terrorising the town, Uncle Ted sending Ferris to spy on her aunt, and her father battling an invasion of raccoons?

As Charisse likes to say, “Every good story is a love story,” and Kate DiCamillo has written one for the ages: emotionally resonant and healing, showing the twice Newbery Medallist at her most playful, universal and profound.

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