One Chapter

The Dam by David Arnold

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

The illustrations are just specular! Knowing that this story is based on a true event makes this story much more heartfelt and emotional. As the father and daughter walk into the valley together, there is this calmness in the story as he talks about how the dam will change life in the valley. No longer will there be joyous parties and dancing, the wildlife and animals will cease to come here, for this land will be forever changed. They come to a tall, brick structure and go inside. The daughter is instructed to play her violin one last time inside this structure while her daddy sings along. I can’t describe how wonderful the illustrations are as these two fill the room with their music.

The duo continues playing their music in all the buildings in this deserted community, filling “the houses with music,” until

“The birds heard.

The beast heard.

The earth heard.

The trees heard.

The ghosts heard.

The day was darkening.

Out of the valley they walked.”

Water slowly covers the land, until, “This was covered over. This was drowned. The lake is beautiful.” The father and daughter return to the land, the land they had last visited and played their duet. It is new, yet it’s the same.

The music is still there and it will continue and so will the memories. Life changes but it’s still the same. Fantastic story!! Check out this beautiful picture book! Definitely a 5-star read for me!

Imperfect: A Story of Body Image by Dounya Awada

2.5 stars Graphic Novel YA

I wasn’t fond of the cover of this book and if I was browsing, I wouldn’t pick it up. This nonfiction story is about Dounya who has a disorder. Body Dysmorphic Disorder – a psychological disorder that makes a person obsessed with their appearance. This person is obsessed with faults that they feel they have in their appearance.

Dounya grew up with a mom who she thought was perfect. Dounya wanted to be just like her mother so she tried, even at a young age to copy everything her mother did. Her world of being a perfectionist was just beginning. In every aspect of her world, Dounya tried to remain the perfect little individual. If Dounya thought she had failed, she was devasted. In their culture, food was love and her mother enjoyed showing her daughter her love through food. As Dounya put on the pounds, she tried to hide it but her aunt’s comment put her size out in the open, devasting Dounya.

Her reaction was not what I had expected. I felt Dounya was hiding and it wasn’t until later, that did she realized what she had done and she knew that she needed to do something different. With determination Dounya started to turn her life around but I began to wonder if she would ever be satisfied? This perfectionist in her just wasn’t going away.

The illustrations in this graphic novel are bright and colorful and I enjoyed all the different size text boxes that they used to create this book. There were a few instances where I thought the illustrations contradicted the story and I just didn’t know what to believe. If she accepted herself for who she was, why did her illustrations make her look so perfect? Was she perfect? I appreciate that Dounya shared her story but I have mixed feelings about how the artwork fit with her story. 2.5 stars

That Flag by Tameka Fryer Brown

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

A very powerful book. It’s all about thinking you know something but you really don’t. The power of conforming to something but you’re unaware of what message you’re actually sending out. How a person’s actions speak louder than their words.

They’re inseparable at school, Keira and Bianca are like each other’s shadow. From wearing their hair, the same way, to reading the same book, Keira and Bianca are like twins. The girls even live on the same street. Yet, these girls have never been to each other’s houses. Keira and Bianca haven’t attended any party, any sleepover, they haven’t been able to run around their street together screaming and chasing each other because of something Bianca has. A flag.

Bianca’s parents fly the confederate flag on a flagpole near their house. “It’s a celebration of courage and pride,” they tell her but Keira’s parents feel the flag is a symbol of violence and oppression. The girls listen to their parent’s advice.

One a school class field trip to the Southern Legacy Museum, the girls plan to be partners but the teacher breaks them up into two different groups. Since Keira’s father came along, the father-daughter team discovers an exhibit about the historical South. Keira is excited seeing the displays featuring historical technology and fashion but as they drift to other displays in that area, their demeanor changes. These exhibitions feature power, segregation, and slavery. They also hanging from the ceiling, the flag. The same flag design that Bianca has flying in her front yard.

I was hoping that dad and Keira read some information that was included in the displays as they walked through the museum instead of just looking at the items. The next page in the story, is a total mood changer. Bianca runs up to Keira and tries to hug her, claiming that she has been trying to find her. Keira, deflated because of the exhibit, just points to something that has upset her and walks off. Total relationship changer as the girls have witnessed the flag being used in history.

So, what is the real story now? This story has a great ending and I really enjoyed the About the Confederate Flag, Author’s Note and Illustrator’s Notes at the back of the book. 5 stars!!

Trejo’s Taco: Recipes & Stories from L.A. by Danny Trejo

5 Stars Nonfiction Cookbook

Informative, versatile, down-to-earth Mexican dishes from a book that packs a punch. When I saw that Danny had a new cookbook out, I wanted to get my hands on it but then realized that I hadn’t even seen his first cookbook, so I picked it up from my library. From the variety of articles randomly situated inside this cookbook, the great Mexican recipes and the photographs which add flair to the book’s style, this cookbook is one you should look into if you cook this cuisine.

Danny starts off the book by talking about how he got into cooking and his story is quite interesting. His mother helped plant the seed as this was his safe place and she was a “killer cook.” As Danny got into his teens, he knew how to find trouble, he knew prison, he knew crime, he knew he had to do something different, he had to get clean. When Danny came clean, new opportunities opened up and well, he’s a celebrity who started his own successful restaurant which has now grown. Danny talks about his childhood, spices, meats, other great venues, sides, and other interesting topics in this book.

The recipes are broken down into salsas, cremas, sauces & vinaigrettes. Next is tacos, burritos, bowls & quesadillas. The third group is food that is not a taco (guacamole, shrimp, chicken, nachos, fajitas, salads, vegetables, beans, rice, risotto, etc.). The fourth group is donuts & desserts and the last group is margaritas & other drinks. There is an index in the back of the book also. Each recipe comes with detailed instructions, ingredients list, how many it will serve, and a some of the them include some information about dish. No nutritional information is given. Photographs are not included for all the recipes.

I liked how versatile some of the recipes were. Trejo’s Grilled Chicken is a good example of this. This recipe has a photograph but on the two pages following this recipe, there are no photographs but there are recipes for Grilled Chicken Tacos, Grilled Chicken Burritos and Grilled Chicken Bowls which use the Trejo’s Grilled Chicken in their recipe. The recipes don’t require a lot of crazy special ingredients either. I feel this is a good Mexican cookbook to have. 5 stars

Black Dog by Levi Pinfold

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

He’s huge! The Hope Family was greeted one morning to a gigantic dog, I mean an enormous size dog outside their house. Peering from their windows, the husband thought it was the size of a tiger, the wife saw it a bit bigger, perhaps the size of an elephant but the children…….well, they each saw the black dog in their own way. A T-Rex? A Big Jeffrey?

And then, there was the littlest child, Small who thought her family was being silly for being afraid of a dog and decided to open the door (despite the warnings from his family) and see for herself.

Ha! I thought for sure that Small would find a small little black puppy but NO, she found a massive, black, shaggy dog looking down at her. Was Small scared? She didn’t seem to be, as she called the dog a guffin (mythological creature) and the dog leaned down to her. Small makes the dog chase her if he thinks he’s going to eat her and the race is on. Small leads the black dog all over town, over and under, singing and calling out to the dog as she runs ahead of it. A sweet, happy ending to a scary beginning.

“You might be big, I may be small, but I’m not afraid of you at all.”

This is the second book I have read with Levi Pinfold’s name on the cover and it’s just as amazing as the first one. If you haven’t checked out one of his books, I highly suggest you do. This cute book has whimsical illustrations that had me racing through the story, wondering exactly what Small had in mind as she took this black dog on an adventure. I think the dog with its long hair and its beautiful eyes makes this book so special to me.

The size of the dog is comical and I enjoyed all the little details included in the illustrations and the use of the smaller black and yellow tinted illustrations with the larger, more colorful drawings. Are they really afraid of the dog or is it something else?

The Last Laugh by Mindy McGinnis

5 stars YA Suspense

It went off the rails pretty quickly! I suggest that you read the first book in this series before you tackle this book, as you’ll want to enjoy this ride to the fullest effect. There was quite a bit of drama amongst the characters even before this book began. As things started to heat up, I had a hard time putting this book down. Taking off right where the previous book left off, Mindy’s not just wrapping things up inside this book, Mindy begins by stoking up the fire. Into this dark storyline, I met some fantastic characters that I didn’t trust but they fit perfectly inside this story. Thanks, Mindy, for that fantastic ending.

Yonder by Ali Standish

5 stars Historical Fiction Middle School

Jack was a hero. Jack jumped into the racing floodwaters and rescued the two girls from downing while the rest of the congregation stared as the raging waters carried the girls away. If you ask Jack though, he’ll tell you a different story as Jack doesn’t want the attention and the glory. Jack just wants to be Jack. Jack is street smart which is working out for him but the truancy officer thinks Jack needs to be book smart too so he hunts Jack down and tries to make him attend school. Jack doesn’t learn much from the books in school but he does learn about the individuals inside the building.

Danny is the book’s narrator and he attends school with Jack. Like Jack, Danny also delivers the newspapers around town while Danny’s mother keeps the newspaper running. Danny’s mother has an important job and I liked that she was honest with her son as this helps Danny. It’s June of 1943, the war is raging and segregation is occurring. Danny’s father has enlisted while Jack’s father has returned home from the war, bringing home with him parts of the war which overshadow his life. Two teen boys: they’re the same, yet they’re different.

I liked the relationship of Danny and Jack. They could be themselves and they enjoyed being around each other. They liked to have fun together and they were able to talk freely without worrying about what they were saying. When Lou showed up, they tried to include her. Danny had led a sheltered life but when his eyes were opened, we got to see his world through his eyes now.

There seems to be some mysteries popping up in the book when Jack disappears and Danny takes it upon himself to find him. Lou has a different mystery that she wants to solve. I feel that Jack’s disappearance is based on Jack’s solving his own mystery and perhaps, Jack will never find him. Will anyone solve their mystery? I liked how Danny started to take an interest in the war besides just collecting his scrap metal for school. Jack feels comfortable around Danny and talks to him about some personal issues. I loved hearing the excitement in Jack’s voice as he talked about and wondered about Jack’s disappearance.

This is such a fantastic book. A book about war, bullying, friendship, family, and love.

The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill

5 stars Fiction Fantasy

I was totally sucked into this short book as a fifteen-year-old girl and her brother, Michael dealt with their mother and The Crane. I thought at first that The Crane was a metaphor for something else; perhaps a tall person, or someone who tried to take over (casted shadows over them) but when I started reading about wings and feathers and how this bird “nipped the well behind her collarbone, making a bright spot of blood,” I was startled! Their mom was in love with a bird! How can someone, a human, actually have a relationship with a crane? Was she seriously going to continue with this relationship?

The crane wore a hat, shoes, spectacles and he was holding his broken arm which had been tended to by their mother, when she introduced him to her children. Their mother was an artist, so usual behaviors around the house are not that uncommon but this Crane was pushing the limit. The Crane made himself right at home, at their house. Their mother seemed so calm about this new arrangement, yet the children were far from recognizing that this new male in the home, would now be their new father. The children didn’t want another father and they definitely didn’t want the Crane to fill that position. The Crane and mother were inseparable and the feathers were flying, literally. Mother tries to cover up her bruises and deep cuts, but they’re seen. She calls them paper cuts when her daughter draws attention to them and tries to dodge the conversation. Mother has her blinders on but her children see everything that’s happening. As the daughter tells me stories of their families past, I see mother’s relationship with her husband when he was still alive and what their family was like.

As an artist, mother’s studio was out in the barn. Like now, there were days that mother would vanish inside the barn all day. As a weaver, mother’s work was considered magical as she created pictures and stories at her loom where she worked weaving a variety of items into her prints. It’s a good thing that the siblings have a strong, supportive relationship with one another because when their mother would get wrapped up inside her work, everything else seizes to exist around her. Like before, mother is spending most of her time out in her studio. Mother’s obsession is twofold: her work and The Crane. As mother and the Crane disappear into the studio, the children must tend to themselves.

Imagine what it would be like to have a crane come into your home. His body size, his appetite, and his behavior are just a few of the things that you’d have to consider. The Crane brought with him some brand new issues and considerations that would otherwise seem strange and unnecessary to their home which the children noticed. The children wanted him gone but their determined mother said he was staying. How would this book play out? I had to know why? Why him? Why a Crane? Why was she working so secretly in her studio? Why would she do this to her children? A great book that fascinated me and kept me captivated until I closed the last page. 5 stars.

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner

3.5 stars Children’s

I’m on the fence on this one. This is a sweet, slow story which might not capture the attention of some children (like my young grandchildren) but I liked that it actually shows how animals live in winter. This might be a good picture book for older readers who are looking for information on animals or a good bedtime story but my little readers didn’t care for it when I read it to them.

The story is told from the point of view of a young boy who is snow-skiing with his father out on the fresh-fallen snow. Quietly they are alone, using hand-poles and navigating around trees and up and down hillsides throughout the story. The story begins when the boy notices a squirrel scamper by and then, it vanishes. The boy asks his father, “Where did it go?” The story takes off as the father explains all the different wildlife that is hiding under and around the snowy area.

There are lots of animals included in this story: from the owls on the branches which the boy can see, to the hidden tiny shrews and voles in the chilly tunnels under his feet, and the fat bullfrogs sleeping under the snow, the duo continues on their journey through the snow. They’re thinking about all the creatures that are around them in this white landscape. You’ll need to stop and look at the illustrations in this book as many of the pages, the illustrator has layered the landscape so the reader can see the chipmunk under the snow with his nuts and leaves, the queen bee safely sleeping under the roots of an tree, and the mice cuddling up together to stay warm (just a few of the examples). While not a bright and colorful book, the book hues take on the warmth of the story and the quietness of the snowy day. 3.5 stars

Paradise Sands by Levi Pinfold

5+ stars Children’s

Cover Love! I fell in love with the cover of this book while browsing the new picture books at my library. As I thumbed through the book, I knew I had to read it as the illustrations were just spectacular! I flipped to the back of the book, to read the author’s bio and then, I headed to my library’s website and placed all of the author’s books that they had on hold. Levi’s debut picture book Django was the Winner of the Book Trust Best New Illustrator Award and her other book, Black Dog also won a different award. I think Paradise Sands should also win an award as the illustrations are magnificent! Great artist detail and I loved how the author combined real world with fantasy to create such stunning artwork. Ok, on with the book.

The story is labeled, “A Story of Enchantment” and it definitely is. A girl is taking a car trip with her three brothers. From the faces on the children and the tone of the book, this is a serious trip. The siblings are visiting their mother. Sister wants to take their mother flowers so Bill pulls the car over and they all get out.

In the desert, this is a destination that they all recall, there’s white roses in Teller’s Hollow and they’ll take them. I liked how the text and illustration came together to show the family’s relationship. On foot, the four siblings climb the sandhills and rocky hills to gather flowers on this deserted rocky ledge. They spot a building in the distant. Sister wants to continue on their journey, they need to go see their mother while the brothers want to quench their thirst from the building. The brother’s thirst wins and they travel toward the building. Sister refuses to get a drink from the fountain but she watches as they do. They can’t leave now, the brothers feel the building calling them to enter, a feeling the boys can’t deny. Sister is on edge, memories from her mother flood her head and she knows they should be leaving. Her brothers seem to have forgotten about their original plans as they are now charmed by the paradise that this building is providing them.

It seems a bit odd why Sister is not behaving like her siblings in the building and why do mother’s comments pop into her head. Is there something more sinister happening here? When Sister is approached by the Teller, he tries to understand why she’s not accepting this “wonderful, safe place” that he’s offering them.

She tries to explain yet the Teller wants to strike up a deal with her. As she accepts this deal, I wonder what the Teller was capable of doing? Was Sister strong enough for this deal? Will they see their mother, wherever she was?

The illustrations inside this book were phenomenal! The way she captures the characters on the page was just remarkable and bringing in the element of fantasy, I was whisked away to where anything was possible. The story comes full circle and I had to start the book over again to experience the joy all over again. What an experience! I need to share this book with everyone I know! So yes, definitely pick this book up, I highly recommend it. Pick it up for yourself and then, share it with everyone that you know. I can’t wait to read the author’s other books! 5+ stars