The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister

5 stars Fiction

This was my first story by Erica Bauermeister but I will definitely be watching out for her in the future and I will be looking to see what books my library carries of this fantastic author.  With fluid movements, Erica painted a distinct picture of Emmeline’s world. I understood Emmeline’s confusion as she grew up on the island with her father where life was simple and carefree.  When she moves inland later in life, she became more aware of the world and its complexity and realizes that there is now much more to consider for the return that she was getting. 

Living on the island with her father, Emmeline led a simple life, under her father’s rules.  Her father provided for her everything that she needed, allowing for just a few luxuries but what would happen should that system fail? Did her father ever think about the future?  I had hoped that he had to have wondered about the day that she would get curious or the day that something would happen to him and his system failed.  Did he even have a backup plan? 

I loved the concept of the jars and the story behind them.  The scent of smell is a powerful tool and to be able to capture that element would be priceless. I was glad that Emmeline found Fisher and they created a great friendship. This was an excellent story that I was wrapped up in, emotionally and mentally.

I won a copy of this book.  Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, for sending me a copy of this book. This review is my own honest opinion.        

Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre by Anika Denise

5 stars Children’s

After reading this children’s story and the author’s note on the back two pages, I got chills.  This story is fantastic and I am so glad that I picked it up.  It tells the true story of a woman who shared stories from her childhood which changed the lives of many.  As I read this story, I thought of how she stepped forward and went about making a difference. This woman was not a loud, strong woman.  This woman saw a void and wanted to fill it. 

The year is 1921 and Pura Teresa leaves San Juan to visit her sister in the U.S. Seeing what the U.S. had to offer, Pura finds a job and begins to settle in. When the library posts a job for a bilingual assistant, Pura knows that she is the perfect individual for the job.

Realizing there are no Puerto Rico folktales on the library shelves, Puro recalls the stories that she heard growing up. As the children gather around her during story hour, Puro doesn’t need any book to read from. Puro’s words are enough that the children are soon whisked away into Puro’s world and imagination.  It isn’t long before Puro begins to create puppets to add to her stories and then, the word gets out about Puro and her stories and there is no stopping what happens to these wonderful tales.

This children’s book put a smile on my face and it warmed my heart as I read about her journey through life, sharing her stories.  I hoped her journey would never end as she was such a positive individual.  This book gives the full account of her life and it truly is a wonderful story.  Make sure you read the author’s note which is located in the back of the book. Located also in the back of the book are a few pages on additional resources you could use for more information on topics contained in the story. 

Another by Christian Robinson

3 stars Children’s

This is a wordless book that I liked yet I felt that it was missing something. The illustrations were wonderfully done with bright, bold colors and simple lines.  It was the storylines that went through my head, as I flipped through the pages, that confused me.  I went over this children’s book numerous times, looking at it a variety of ways and still, I’m puzzled.

As a girl slept in her bed with her cat (with a red collar) looking out her window, a bright porthole opened up in her room. Soon, another cat identical to the one lying on the bed (this one had a blue collar on) popped through the porthole and snatched the red toy mouse that was lying on the bedroom floor.  Crawling back through the porthole, the cat carries the mouse, who is now followed by the first cat and the girl, who has awakened and seems curious to what is happening.

It seems that they have entered another world as gravity for one, is not the same. There are other differences but what I like is that this world is not too busy, the pages aren’t overflowing with colors and activities.  The pages have a great flow to them and you can follow what is happening. There are geometric shapes throughout the pages yet no definite pattern.

Perhaps I am reading too much into this book.  Perhaps I wanted too much from this book.  I do feel that it would be beneficial a child who reads this book to talk about it someone. I think discussing it with someone, they might discover something they missed in the book or a different view. 

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