library – Page 5 – One Chapter

Butt or Face? Volume 2 Revenge of the Butts by Kari Lavelle

5 stars Children’s Nonfiction

What a fun book. Just like its predecessor, this book continues with the question: “Can you tell which end you’re looking at?” Animals have evolved throughout the years and it’s no surprise that animals use their bodies so that they can survive in their environments. Author Kari Lavelle presents readers with a variety of pictures asking readers to decide whether they are looking at a close-up look at the butt or face of an animal.

They are also asked what animal they think they are looking at. Turning the page, the reader is given the answer and a picture of the animal. The reader also gets some interesting information on that animal.

Most of these animals are not your typical animal, like a bear or an elephant. These animals are specific and unique. An Indian peacock, dugong, saiga antelope, or my favorite the spicebush swallowtail caterpillar. I enjoyed reading all the interesting information about each animal and I loved how they covered different parts of the globe. The different text fonts added a fun element to the book too.

The vocabulary might be challenging for some younger readers, but it might also encourage younger readers also. Advance words: intimidating, dependent, bodacious, regenerate, bulgy, etc. I thought this was a great book and one that makes nonfiction learning fun. 5 stars

As Cool As It Gets by Jory John

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

What a great book with a fantastic lesson! It’s the holiday season which brings stress upon Cool Bean. Not everything about the season stresses him out, it’s the gift exchange. The dreaded gift exchange.

All the beans have entered their names into a hat for the gift exchange. As they each draw a name to see who they get to find a gift for, Cool Bean draws Beanadette J.’s name. She is one of the coolest beans in town and immediately, Cool Bean starts to feel the pressure. She is going to want something expensive and cool.

With no bean-bucks to spend and no luck finding anything on his treasure hunt, panic sets in. What will Cool Bean do? Ah-ha! Cool Bean decides he will be creative and make something for Beanadette J. and he’s quite proud of it, for the moment. As time passes, his self-esteem starts to fade and on the day of the party, his panic returns. I could totally relate to his emotions as he mingled in the party just waiting for the ball to drop.

This was a great book dealing with self-worth, stress, peer pressure and acceptance. I liked how the author dealt with Cool Beans emotions as they swung in every direction and Cool Bean didn’t have an easy way out. Definitely a 5-star read for me.

This is MY Fort by Drew Daywalt

5 stars Children’s Picture book

I love Monkey and Cake! Yes, this 60+ Nana loves these two. A children’s book written in the format of a graphic novel, these two are as honest and true as it can be. Geared for young readers, they are best friends whose stories are comical, fun, and they really do make you think.

In this story, cake (he really is a slice of cake) is making a fort. Monkey loves fort, only the fort that Cake is making is not for Monkey. Cake is making a fort that does not allow monkeys. Sounds rude and mean yet, in reality, this is how children play sometimes.

Monkey is offended that Cake is creating such a thing. After pondering for a few minutes, Monkey decides to create his own fort which now has Cake intrigued. I loved this! I really loved this!! Cake wants to know what Monkey is up to now. This is such a super read!

Cake and Monkey get into a disagreement and now it seems, Monkey is calm now and Cake is upset. They can’t let the fort get between their friendship. As they go about settling the matter, the ending will put a smile on your face and you realize what a great friendship they have.

My Tooth is Lost! Monkey & Cake #3 by Drew Daywalt

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

In this story, Monkey has lost his tooth, and he’s sad. Cake tries explaining to Monkey that losing a tooth is a good thing and that Monkey shouldn’t be sad. Explaining about the Tooth Fairy, Cake explains how while individuals are sleeping, the Tooth Fairy will take lost teeth that are underneath their pillow and replace the tooth with money. Hoping this will provide comfort, Monkey is not impressed. Monkey doesn’t want money; he wants his tooth.

Cake doesn’t understand. Why would someone want to keep an old tooth? Why would Monkey want to keep his old tooth, what can he do with it when he has the option of getting money and then he could buy something? Turning the page, the reader sees why Monkey wants his tooth back. You’ll have to smile when you see Cake’s reaction and laugh as the book ends. It’s now time for pie. 😊

I love the simple text and how fun the story is. Using text bubbles, the story is easy to follow and having the text bubbles in two different colors for the two best friends is a great addition. With great illustrations that are colorful and have fantastic facial expressions, this is a book you need to pick up. 5 stars.

One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day

4 stars Fiction Suspense

Yeah, happy. Let’s get that definition of happy. Charley, is the happiest character is this story, and she wasn’t even related to the Bishop’s. Charley did her job, played her part, but inside she was walking on eggshells. She was the maid of the Precipice, and she needed that job as much as the Precipice needed her.

Charley was financing the rising cost of her grandmother’s nursing home care with her earnings and the money she “picked” from guest’s pockets. While working, Charley is confronted by Bree. Bree’s heartbreaking story of abuse has Charley hiding Bree is one of the hotel’s room as a hurricane is pounding outside. This is a huge gamble for everyone involved. Her job, her grandmother, and Bree are all on the line. I liked Charley the most as she had the most at stake and she seemed liked the one who was looking in on things. There were times that I questioned her position as she did know quite a bit about the hotel and she tried to act innocent as they each pointed fingers at one another.

In walks the sisters. The competition begins as they each want a piece of what is left of their father’s life. I had to laugh as they each started to give advice as if someone would actually jump at their mere suggestion. All three of them were different, each of them adding something unique to this story. When the murder takes place, weird messages began to arrive. Who was writing these messages? It had to be one of them but which one. A storm is raging outside, the players are stuck inside and the tension is building. 4 stars.

Maggie; Or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie Lee

2.5 stars Fiction

Who thought this book was humorous? Perhaps I was reading a different version of this book but I didn’t find much humor in this book at all. It was about life, the drama it entails, and trying to find your place within it.

I was hoping to find a light comical read about life, but this book felt heavy. As the main character tries to make her way through her divorce, she is hit with another setback. She has cancer. She tries to make light of the situation but inside, it’s dark and the mood is heavy as she now feels alone. What can she do? She would like to turn back time and lean on her “husband” but she knows in reality that can never happen so she must face this unknown world of cancer head-on…… alone.

There are times when she tried to act strong and other times, life got the best of her. Maggie enters her life as the “other woman” and she can’t get Maggie out. I felt at times like the story was disjointed and perhaps that is what the author was trying to accomplish. This was a feeling that I didn’t like as I wanted to help her, I wanted her to succeed so she could move on and put her past behind her.

I was hoping I would like this book more. The cover, title and synopsis was calling but as I read, I was becoming more and more frustrated and confused as the story continued. 2.5 stars

Top 10 Spooky Mysteries: You Wouldn’t Want to Know About! by Fiona MacDonald

3 stars Children’s Nonfiction

I do like a good mystery, and spooky, yes that would make it extra special. This children’s nonfiction caught my attention at the library. This is a slim book consisting of only 32 pages. Those pages include 3 pages of introductions, two pages for the index and table of contents, and two pages for the glossary. In between all of that you have 10 pages of what the author believes are the Top 10 Worse Spooky Mysteries You Wouldn’t Want To Know About!

A mystery is a problem that hasn’t been solved yet inside this book each of the mysteries the author explains, they contain a “probable explanation printed upside down” on the pages of that mystery. As a reader, you’re supposed to try to solve the mystery before reading the upside “probable explanation.”

So let the countdown begin! Each of the two-page spread mysteries feature some vital statistics on the mystery: the name, place, date, the mystery, why you don’t want to know about it, and it’s “probable explanation.” The rest of the two pages are filled with information and illustrations. There are numerous paragraphs with separate titles describing the mysteries accompanying illustrations which are cartoon in nature. The illustrations take up about a third of the space on these pages.

From aliens to Curse of Tutankhamum to Mary Celeste to Dyatlov Pass incident, these mysteries cover ones that everyone should be familiar with and some that are not. I was surprised at the ones that made the list, and I welcomed reading something that I was not that familiar with.

After reading a short paragraph on the spooky mystery, I would read the vital statistics as that is how the book flowed for each of the mysteries. The supporting information followed as I read, and I was not a fan of how that additional information was presented on the pages. I tried different ways to read this information, but this information just felt disjointed, like some of the FYI Facts that someone had just plastered on the pages. I thought they did a great job with the various sizes and font types that were used on the pages, as they set the different sections of the information off from one another. I have mixed feelings about the illustrations that were used. They did a great job in creating the cartoon art for each of the mysteries but I’m not sure if humorous cartoon art was appropriate for this book. Again, this is just my own thoughts and preference. I give this book 3 stars as I was expecting to love this book but I didn’t.

I’m Sorry You Got Mad by Kyle Lukoff

4.5 stars Children’s Picture Book

Are you really sorry? Sometimes it takes some time to really be sorry for something you did. I think that is what really is happening in this children’s book which takes place in a classroom. The teacher is having Jack write a letter of apology to Zoe for something he did, and I don’t think he’s ready.

Jack’s first attempts at the letter are short and I mean short. He crumples that attempt and tosses it into the garbage. The next couple attempts at a letter include more words, but you can see that Jack is not really sorry for what he did. He is just making his teacher happy by attempting to write this apology.

Each page of this book shows Jack’s attempts of writing an apology note to Zoe and you can feel his mood start to change. By watching the illustrations in the book, you can also see how Jack watches Zoe and how he feels towards her. At first, he is mad but later he starts to miss his friendship with her, and he understands that he must apologize to be her friend again.

I like how Jack has to work through his feelings in this book and how Zoe watches his throughout the day. I liked how the teacher encouraged Jack and helped him throughout the process.

The illustrations supported the message the book tried to convey, and I liked the color-scheme that was used. 4.5 stars

Squirrel and Bird by Laura Baker

3.5 stars Children’s Picture Book

Great illustrations and I loved the use of just a few colors within the pages as I think that brought a special element to this story. I did think that the wording in this children’s book was a bit jumbled and it didn’t flow very well for me. I did like the message that the book was trying to convey and as I read it, I had to explain it to my grandchildren.

The book centers around Squirrel and Bird. The author tries to tell the reader that Squirrel is the busy, excited, and basically the extrovert of the two. The Bird on the other hand, is the quiet, calm, and introvert of the two.

Hosting a concert, these two best friends are getting ready for the forest friends to listen to them perform. Now, you would think Squirrel would hold center stage and Bird would be nervous and shy yet as the author is explaining how they are getting ready, Bird speaks up and starts to sing. He’s wonderful!

And squirrel, he listens as his friend’s voice bellows throughout the sky. The author reflects on the moment when Bird and Squirrel decide that they can be however they want to be, one size does not fit all.

A great message in the book but I wasn’t fond of the text and how it was presented. It was too cumbersome. 3.5 stars

The Great Paper Caper by Oliver Jeffers

4 stars Children’s Picture Book

Oliver Jeffers is one of my favorite children’s authors, so I wanted to read this one. I wasn’t a fan of this one, unfortunately. When the forest animals discover that someone was stealing the branches from the area trees, they started to blame each other. After discussing the issue, they decided that someone else must be the culprit but who? The forest friends start an investigation but now, it’s more than tree branches that are being taken from the forest.

Meanwhile, Bear needs some paper for the 112^nd Biennial Paper Airplane Competition. With 2 large portraits on his wall of his family members, wearing their Championship metals holding their paper airplanes in their hands, Bear is feeling the pressure of competing and winning.

What happens when one of Bear’s paper airplanes lands in the forest floor and the forest friends find it?

I felt sorry for Bear as the forest friends called the authorities on him instead of talking to him. I was confused about Bear’s relationship with the other animals. When Bear is confronted about the missing trees, Bear’s confession was sad, and he knew he was wrong. As far as his punishment, I was hoping for something different, and I didn’t like how it ended. 4 stars.