After being taunted by a bully and getting flattened by a dinosaur, Ralph wakes up in a secret lab under a garage … as a Tyrannosaurus Rex! Professor Overdrive tell Ralph that his brain was put into the body of the T-rex and shows Ralph a message from King Clobberus Crunch who is demanding earth send their designated champion to fight in his gladiator style arena or else the planet will be destroyed. Professor Overdrive then drops the bombshell that Ralph is going to be earth’s champion!
Fights to the death with champion fighters from rival planets remind Ralph of when he and his friend Dave play video games fighting fantasy monsters, only this time it’s real. Thud! Crunch! Smash! Kaboom!
With a cast including aliens, a T-rex, a hunchback, a Professor and heroic kids (male and female), delicacies like pizza and blood grub pies on the menu, atom smashing wedgies, flaming farts, time travel, the threat of barf, and intergalactic gladiator fights, kids are going to have heaps of fun reading this graphic novel.
Along for the ride with Ralph and Professor Overdrive, we meet Lugnut, the Professor’s hunchback assistant, Joona, a girl alien who may be friend material, along with a host of cute, gruesome, scared and mean aliens all battling it out to save their respective planets from annihilation at the hands of evil Clobberus Crunch and his ugly minions.
Seasoned and reluctant readers alike will be drawn in by the non-stop action, the humour and the interesting facts about gladiators at the end of the story. The illustrations are brilliant – bright, full of humour and action themselves, and with the best expressions you’ll probably ever see on a dinosaur.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this graphic novel.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Tyrannosaurus Ralph is the story of fourth-grader Ralph, whose brain is uploaded to a T-Rex body by mad scientist and then is expected to battle in an alien arena to save Earth.
poetry and i usually don’t mix / we repel like opposing ions / my synapses don’t fire / when sparked by verse / however / a flame was lit at the start / kindled by depression and anxiety / yet heartbreak’s oxygen did not fan the flames / satisfied yet / desiring more like / explaining my depression to my mother / a conversation
i don’t know sabrina benaim / never heard her voice / yet depression and i are old buddies / we dance around each other / and make somber music / in the dark recesses of my mind / we love yet hate / one another but / we continue our duet
at times i am sure my getaway car / has obscured my shadow in dust / then i turn the corner / and the sunlight causes me / to glance behind with horror / my shadow has grown large / absorbing the light / and creeps closer / as it follows / sabrina you exhale with eloquence / shine light upon the dark / adjust focus so we can see / the hope depression conceals
anxiety can pick me / out of a line up / loneliness of knowing / in a crowded room / i’m the only one / from my tribe / despair at lack / of understanding / treated like a curiosity / different / not enough
heartbreak / a foreign land / i am an alien there / yet made clear / by hearing sabrina
dark / depression / loneliness / heartbreak / anxiety / despair / swirl into one / flood of emotion / aching / desert of nothingness / numbness / muddy clay that distorts / yet resilience / hope / light
gratitude / netgalley / gratitude / button poetry / gratitude / independent book publishers association / my thoughts for free / lasting impression / set aside other words / drink in this offering / to be returned to again / and again / to sip / to guzzle / to absorb / no regrets
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Depression & Other Magic Tricks is the debut book by Sabrina Benaim, one of the most-viewed performance poets of all time, whose poem “Explaining My Depression to My Mother” has become a cultural phenomenon with over 5,000,000 views.
Depression & Other Magic Tricks explores themes of mental health, love, and family. It is a documentation of struggle and triumph, a celebration of daily life and of living. Benaim’s wit, empathy, and gift for language produce a work of endless wonder
Finally! A book that comes with its own cover story!
“What are you reading?”
“Nothing.”
The banter between Frankie and Charlotte hooked me before they’d even finished their first conversation. I loved their friendship! They were both fluent in sarcasm, were self-deprecating and funny. They got frustrated with one another. They knew each other so well and supported each other, even when supporting meant tough love. They were real! The way Frankie and Charlotte talked and thought reminded me of a rapid fire Gilmore Girls script. I could definitely imagine a teenage me being friends with these girls.
Nothing unfolded through alternating chapters. Charlotte’s first person written account of how nothing interesting ever happens to them was followed by third person prose that focused more on Frankie. This type of format can be hit and miss, but this time it worked for me. There weren’t gaping holes in the narrative where you needed to catch up and the changeover between first and third person didn’t feel disjointed.
I don’t exactly know how the author managed it but this book about nothing and how boring it is that nothing ever happens is actually quite interesting and very entertaining. Between the nothingness and the boredom, there are friendships (obviously), families, first kisses, parties, a road trip, drugs, alcohol, school, mobile phones, swearing, a stick figure, driving lessons, and plenty of ridicule aimed at YA book clichés, although not in that order.
The style had me believing that this could easily have been written by a teenager. Not in a condescending ‘ugh’ way, but in a ‘the author captured the teenage experience, including the way they talk’ way. I’d happily sign up for another instalment of the nothingness and boredom of these girls’ lives.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for the opportunity to read this book. I’ll be checking out the author’s back catalogue and will be on the lookout for future releases.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Nothing ever happens to Charlotte and Frankie. Their lives are nothing like the lives of the girls they read about in their YA novels. They don’t have flowing red hair and hot romantic encounters never happen—let alone meeting a true soul mate. They just go to high school and live at home with their parents, who are pretty normal, all things considered. But when Charlotte decides to write down everything that happens during their sophomore year to prove that nothing happens and there is no plot or character development in real life, she’s surprised to find that being fifteen isn’t as boring as she thought. It’s weird, heartbreaking, silly, and complicated. And maybe, just perfect.
Fish-Boy is an Inuit folk tale told by Vanita Oelschlager. It’s a wonderful book in which the story of Fish-Boy is told to a young child by Teragloona, a wise old Inuit man. Fish-Boy is the origin story that explains why there are so many sea-parrots (Atlantic puffins) on the stony islands of the far north. This is a story of fathers and sons, kindness and rejection, hospitality to guests, friendship and some magic.
I loved the story and found the glossary very helpful and well written. The illustrations by Mike Blanc are what initially grabbed my interest in this book and are absolutely brilliant. I loved the people, the backgrounds, the use of colour, and the way they immerse you in the story.
I adore the tradition of teaching origin stories to each generation by the elders in so many Indigenous cultures. I’ve had a huge interest in learning about Indigenous cultures, their traditions and stories since I was a child. I had a computer program called 500 Nations with audio by Kevin Costner and I’d lose all concept of time as I explored the richness of cultures I knew nothing about. This book has really whet my appetite again and I want to learn more about the culture of the Inuit people.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Vanita Books for the opportunity to read this book. I hope to see more books retelling other Inuit folk tales by Vanita and Mike.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
The Arctic region of North America is a land of long days, icy cold, hardy people and peculiar creatures. The Inuit people there have made traditional use of remarkable folk tales to find truth and explain the mysteries of an astonishing world.
In Fish-Boy, An Inuit Folk Tale, Vanita Oelschlager retells a tale passed down by a wise old Inuit. It’s an origin story involving a little magic and a very odd boy with a large heart for friendship. On a journey with his new father, he must confront misfortune and the malice of cold hearted villagers. But he has a way … and a lesson for all in the virtues of kindness and hospitality.
Happy Birthday! by Mamoru Suzuki is a love letter of sorts from a mother to their child where the mother recounts from the anticipation of her child’s birth through to the child’s ability to walk, then run. It then looks forward to when the child branches out on their own and assures the child that wherever they are their mother will always love them.
This book is intended as a birthday gift and children will love to hear about how loved they are. I expect children this book is read to who take everything literally will be eagerly waiting for the time when they gain the ability to fly as the looking forward part shows two children flying in the sky Peter Pan style. The illustrations are cute and use soft warm colours except for the end of the book when the Darling children follow Peter Pan to Neverland.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and Museyon Inc. for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
The occasion of a birthday provide the opportunity to look back at the long days spent waiting patiently for the baby to be born, the special day it arrives, and the miraculous perfection of every stage of its growth. Soft, warm colors and cozy images are accompanied by a spare text that perfectly captures the all-encompassing love parents for their children. This birthday book will resonate with anyone who has loved a child. It is a gift that every child deserves.
Kuma-Kuma Chan’s Travels is the third in the Kuma-Kuma Chan picture book series. Kuma-Kuma Chan loosely translates from Japanese as ‘cute little bear’. In this book we read about where this bear travels, such as a tropical beach and to the top of a mountain, although we learn that Kuma-Kuma Chan doesn’t actually go anywhere. He travels in his imagination, in his writing and in his dreams. He sends the unnamed narrator writings about his travels but because his writing is too messy, the narrator cannot read them.
I expect the intention of this book is to encourage readers to also use their imaginations. From reading reviews of previous books in the series I understand that this bear is quite popular in Japan. It’s not the kind of children’s book I gravitate to though as nothing really happens.
There isn’t the rhyming or excitement that usually engages young children or bright, detailed illustrations to capture their imaginations. The illustrations are simple and have muted colours. I got sort of a zen feel from reading the book, like I was floating in clouds while I was reading it.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and Museyon Inc. for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
In the third book in the Kuma-Kuma Chan series, the title character flies off to a south sea isle where he lies in the sun and drifts into a lazy snooze. He climbs to the summit of a mountain and views the sunrise while drinking a cup of hot chocolate. Instead of physically setting out for one place or another, Kuma-Kuma travels freely all over the world – inside his head. Once again, Kuma-Kuma Chan charms as he exemplifies the joy of a simple, peaceful, life. With its spare text and delightful illustrations, this small-format picture book invites readers to explore their own imaginations and create their own travels.
I didn’t think I could have any more admiration for the work librarians do, but that was before I read this book. This Is What a Librarian Looks Like is a celebration of the unsung superheroes of the literary world. They are the keepers of knowledge, protectors of words, and walking and talking book recommending extraordinaires! I’m sure they get their superpowers from inhaling the smell of new books. They perform surgical procedures second to none repairing stories that have been loved to pieces. They know the secrets of how to reserve the upcoming bestseller before there’s a queue 50 deep waiting for it (and if you’re nice to them they may even share this coveted knowledge with you). They are the holders of the key to unlocking the universe, a library card, and they’ll give you one for free! Friends to book nerds everywhere, librarians are underappreciated paperback royalty.
This Is What a Librarian Looks Like is a fantastic book and should be required reading for any politician or government official who has any say in how much funding libraries receive. I’ve haunted libraries for as long as I can remember yet I still didn’t realise how integral libraries and librarians are to society. While this book’s focus is America its principles are universal. In a nutshell, libraries and librarians are awesome!! This book is chock full of photographs and quotes from librarians who work at various public, school, prison and hospital libraries across America, along with essays about the history of libraries and personal library experiences of authors including Neil Gaiman and George R.R. Martin.
My Mum was the one who introduced me to our local library (A.K.A. the most magical place on earth). I’d marvel at the selection of books on offer that I got to choose from, knowing that the next time we visited I’d get to do it all over again. Mum and I would visit the library not only for ‘just for the pleasure of reading’ books but also for help with school projects.
The librarians knew everything! Mum and I would tell them what my project was about and they’d lead us to wherever Mr Dewey called. They’d make personal recommendations about the best books for the topics I was looking for and even let me in to the special back room that held the super important local history archives and other curiosities that you could photocopy but could never, ever cross the seal. Oh, wait … that was Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but I swear I felt important enough that I may as well have been holding the Holy Grail.
When I came across Roald Dahl’s Matilda I wanted to read all of the books in my local library but ended up in awe of her because there were just so many to choose from. Some of my all time favourites that I first discovered on a library shelf as a child have made their way to my own personal library as an adult. I loved my school libraries as well and became a library monitor in high school. Even when I wasn’t ‘on the job’ I could be found hanging out chatting to the school librarians during my lunch break. Not much has changed. Just ask my local librarians!
Decades later Mum and I once again haunt our local library together, but now my local library doesn’t just have books. Between us we borrow books, magazines, CD’s, and DVD’s, along with electronic books, audiobooks, music, magazines, comic books, movies and documentaries. My local library doesn’t even charge for reserving items from another branch and getting them sent to our Mother Ship branch, so I spend time every weekday scouring the new acquisitions and ordering everything Mum and/or I are interested in. There’s even the option to ask the library to buy something they don’t have in stock and I feel like a child at Christmas every time a librarian gives me an item I asked the library to purchase.
Now, I’m definitely not biased and I’m not one to boast, but my librarians are the best in the entire world! They’re so friendly and so helpful, and over the years have become friends I look forward to seeing and catching up with. I go to my library on certain days to see my favourite librarian and love hearing about their life, seeing their holiday photos, and of course hearing about what they’re reading. The best librarian in the world has recommended books to me she knows I’ll love, patiently explains when my brain decides it doesn’t want to understand something, has been a social worker to me when I’ve had bad news, is happy for me when I’m excited about something (like writing book reviews), and laughs with (and at?) me when I’m being weird, eccentric me.
Back to the book, I had too many favourite quotes to list but here are some that made the short list:
“The library was a safe place filled with thousands of potential life-changing friends who couldn’t talk to you, but would tell you a story nonetheless.” – Kyle Cassidy
“Libraries are the connective tissue of the community; connecting people with the resources they need and want in order to do, see, and be all they aspire.” – Brian Hart
“Libraries are very much like oysters; common, abundant, and seemingly ordinary. That is, until you find the endless beauty held within.” – Majed Khader
“Libraries are a safe space where you can challenge your views about life.” – Scott Nicholson
Thank you very much to NetGalley and Hachette Books for the opportunity to read this book. I love it!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
In 2014, author and photographer Kyle Cassidy published a photo essay on Slate.com called “This is What A Librarian Looks Like,” a montage of portraits and a tribute to librarians. Since then, Cassidy has made it his mission to remind us of how essential librarians and libraries are to our communities. His subjects are men and women of all ages, backgrounds, and personal style-from pink hair and leather jackets to button-downs and blazers. In short, not necessarily what one thinks a librarian looks like. The nearly 220 librarians photographed also share their personal thoughts on what it means to be a librarian. This is What A Librarian Looks Like also includes original essay by some of our most beloved writers, journalists, and commentators including Neil Gaiman, George R.R. Martin, Nancy Pearl, Cory Doctorow, Paula Poundstone, Amanda Palmer, Peter Sagal, Jeff VanderMeer, John Scalzi, Sara Farizan, Amy Dickinson, and others. Cassidy also profiles a handful of especially influential librarians and libraries.
When there’s a mystery, Honey Moon needs to solve it and she always goes where she’s needed. When Honey hears howling during a stormy night in Sleepy Hollow, the town where it’s Halloween all year round, she and her mother find a dog out in the storm. After looking after the dog for the night and christening her Stormy, they take her to the local animal shelter to give her the best chance at finding a forever home.
Through this experience Honey comes up with the idea for a dog walking business to keep busy during the holidays and earn some money. Along with her best friend Becky, the business begins and throughout the book there are adventures with runaway dogs, mud puddles, a competition with Honey’s arch nemesis, Clarice, and lots of fun along the way.
Honey and Becky make a new friend, Isabela, who lives in a foster home. Isabela volunteers at the dog shelter and empathises with the dogs because she’s also wanting to find her very own forever home.
The first in a new series and a companion to the Harry Moon series, young girls will really connect with Honey Moon. She’s quirky, is a loyal and trustworthy friend, and loves to have fun and help others. She wears her heart on her sleeve and is someone that you’d want your child to be friends with.
This book subtly teaches children so many valuable lessons and values including responsibility, honesty, bravery, generosity, empathy, resilience, helping others and being a good friend. Throughout the book you hope, right along with Honey, that Stormy and Isabela both find their own forever homes.
The illustrations by Becky Minor (based on the artwork of Christina Weidman) are perfect for the target audience. The use of an illustrated dog tag at the beginning of each chapter is a really cute but effective way of communicating something about the chapter’s contents.
I expect young girls to enjoy this book and want to continue reading about the new adventures Honey and her friends experience in subsequent books. I know I plan to continue reading the series. This book is both a fun read and a rewarding experience.
Thank you very much to NetGalley, Rabbit Publishers and Diamond Book Distributors for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Wanting to start a business together to earn some spending money, Honey Moon and her friends have a magical idea. In the town where every day is Halloween night, Honey and friends start a dog–walking service called the Sleepy Hollow Howlers. But when the business becomes more than the girls can handle, dog–walking suddenly takes on a new leash and fur flies with disastrous and entertaining results.
You Hold Me Up is a lovely picture book that teaches children empathy, compassion, love and the importance of supporting one another. I’ve read this book twice so far and the second read was as sweet and heartwarming as my first time through.
Danielle Daniel’s illustrations are bright, colourful and happy. I loved that the principles outlined in this book are shown clearly relating to children’s interactions with not only their peers, but also adults and family.
I particularly loved the author’s note at the end of the book that provided deeper meaning to this project, that of much needed reconciliation and healing for Canada’s Indigenous population as a result of 150 years of abuse suffered by children in Indian Residential (boarding) Schools.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and Orca Book Publishers for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
This vibrant picture book, beautifully illustrated by celebrated artist Danielle Daniel, encourages children to show love and support for each other and to consider each other’s well-being in their everyday actions.
Consultant, international speaker and award-winning author Monique Gray Smith wrote You Hold Me Up to prompt a dialogue among young people, their care providers and educators about reconciliation and the importance of the connections children make with their friends, classmates and families. This is a foundational book about building relationships, fostering empathy and encouraging respect between peers, starting with our littlest citizens.
This book in a nutshell? Stop dreaming and start doing.
If you want the experience of having gone to see a motivational speaker while sitting on the lounge in your pyjamas, then this book may be what you’re looking for. It read to me like a motivational speaker’s speech that basically went along the lines of ‘if you can dream it then you can do it’ along with other clichés and plenty of anecdotes.
What you’ll get from this book is common sense advice to move you from thinking about it to doing it, whatever your creative ‘it’ may be. I didn’t read anything revolutionary but it was a quick read. If you feel the need to read something positive to get your butt into gear, try this book. More power to you.
My favourite sentence:
“The more people who align their lives with love, passion and action, the better this world becomes for everyone.”
Biggest annoyance of the book? Following a statement about how we’re all on our own hero’s journey and an anecdote about Luke Skywalker saving a planet with a suggestion for how you can step up your own hero game … by fixing the photocopier again even though you didn’t break it … Really?
At times I felt like I was sitting around a campfire listening to a guy in a tie dye shirt chilling out and telling me, “The Universe will guide you towards your highest good” and that my inner critic is a “snotball” (actual quotes).
This book wasn’t for me and if I hadn’t committed myself to reviewing it I wouldn’t have made it past the first 20%, but just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean you won’t get something from it that launches you into creative overdrive.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and Smith Publicity for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Can’t quite get your creative juices flowing? The day job sucking your soul? Fizzled out before you put the finishing touches on your amazing creation?
With relentless positivity, full-on authenticity and a punk rock thunder spirit, author Jeff Leisawitz pulls back the curtain on the creative process and reminds us that we are all creative SuperStars.
It’s time to get off the couch and get on the path. It’s time to tap into the cosmic heartbeat that thumps in your chest and shines from your soul. It’s time to get NFA!
Schizanthus Nerd 