nonfiction – One Chapter

Startling Stay: Scary Hotels and Inns by Natalie Lunis

5 stars Nonfiction Middle School/YA

They can check out anytime they want, but they never really leave. Welcome to a book devoted to some of the mysterious hotels and inns in North America and Europe. One of the first things that came to my mind when I picked up this book was that individuals still flock to the historical hotel where Stephen King’s The Shining took place. I loved this movie and I would definitely love to stay at this hotel, perhaps someday I just may book a room, take a tour, and maybe, hopefully, I might see something. This book touches on all the senses: do individuals see a vision, hear an unexplained noise, smell something that’s not physically there or do they feel something in close range when nothing is there.

In one hotel, management has tried to keep individuals from experiencing any of these feelings. They have physically locked one of their room doors to from curious minds so the dead spirit that is contained inside can’t harm them. Now, that is one hotel boss who cares about his customers. The story of Robert the Doll was a good one for me as I like creepy dolls. A life-sized cloth doll was given to a painter’s son who lived in this beautiful large home. Gene named his doll, Robert. Strange behavior was recorded by others surrounding Robert. When Gene got older, he left home for schooling but returned years later with his wife. Robert behavior continued as the community’s awareness continued. After Gene’s death, Robert was placed in a museum where his behavior continues. Want to go see him? Be nice and don’t take a picture unless you ask.

Each 2-page spread in the book features a destination. Each destination features why it is creepy, strange, or even spooky. A destination you’ll want to visit or stay clear from. Tales from the years gone past or ones not too long ago, these stories are interesting and exciting.

This book gave me the basic facts on specific destinations. I liked how the book provided where the destination is, what it consists of, and how things went dark. The story continues with how individuals experience these strange happenings and the author tries to shed some light on the subject. With realistic photographs and art, each destination becomes its own eerie destination. There’s just enough detail to make the reader aware of the destination and the history behind it.

I really liked this book. It’s a children’s nonfiction book covering about 18 different destinations but it’s a great one in my opinion. This is one book in the series, which I grabbed the rest of the series the library had while I was there. The Index in the back of the book was very good and there is also a list of 4 other Read More books at the back which the author listed. There is a Learn More Online site which includes a QR code which I scanned. This scan led me to more resources which listed more destinations which I could read about. There was a www. Site for those who can’t or don’t want to scan the code and/or you can even scan the cover of the book to see other websites. There is also a Glossary which is helpful for young readers. I liked the detailed map, A World of the Startling Stays, which shows the world and points out each of the different sites which was mentioned in the book. Check out this book!! 5 stars

Hauntings at Home: Scary Houses and Farms

5 stars Nonfiction Middle School/YA

What the heck! These stories were just craziness. Take Annie for example. Annie built a dungeon in the middle of her house to imprison her workers who tried to run away from her. That’s one cruel, evil woman. This is Annie and this is the early 1800’s. Annie lived in a large mansion. Annie was later known as the White Witch of Rose Hall. An owner of a sugar plantation, she liked to have her workers beaten and tortured for fun. Annie was married three times, and it’s been said that she killed all of them. She later had her eyes on another gentleman, but this gentleman had his eyes on one of Annie’s workers. So, yeah…..Annie wasn’t going for that. So, Annie put a spell on the girl (The White Witch part of her name) and the girl died days later. A relative of the girl got his revenge, and he put Annie to rest, forever. Ha! Her beautiful home, she still is in control of it. She haunts the grounds and it had to be turned into a museum as it could no longer be a home. Crazy! What about the farm in Germany where the whole family was killed including the housekeeper. Who did this and why? Still today, over a hundred years ago, the police have never been able to solve this case. It’s the events leading up to this day that make this crime bizarre. Were those events just coincidence or were they something else? Makes you think. You’re bound to find something inside this book to make your sense come alive.

Each 2-page spread in the book features a destination. Each destination features why it is creepy, strange, or even spooky. A destination you’ll want to inquire more about or one you’re glad you know about. From mansions, to estates, to the famous Amityville House, this book will get you going,

This book gave me the basic facts on specific destinations. I liked how the book provided where the destination is, what it consists of, and how things went dark. The story continues with how individuals experience these strange happenings highlighting the senses within them. With realistic photographs and art, each destination becomes its own eerie destination. There’s just enough detail to make the reader aware of the destination and the history behind it.

Alarming Afterlife: Scary Cemeteries and Graveyards by Alex Giannini

5 stars Middle School/ YA

Cemeteries? A whole book devoted to cemeteries and graveyards. This looks very interesting. I thought the Angel of Death from Iowa City was interesting when I had read about it so a couple years ago my husband and I got into the car and visited her. What an interesting site that was. I never thought I would be intrigued by a statue inside a cemetery, but the story was interesting and the statue, that was even more impressive. This book was fun and I liked the variety of stories. This book touches the globe. The United States, Europe, Africa, Australia, and even South America. Each 2-page spread in the book features a destination. Each destination features why it is creepy, strange, or even spooky.

Although most of the destinations inside this book are about hauntings or issues from beyond, not every story carries that tune. Some explain why that particular destination became famous, the history behind the stories. I found most of these stories very interesting. The Last American Vampire, The Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Ghost Town Graves, and The Haunted Road and the Hanged Man just to name a few. I thought it was interesting how some of these stories reminded me of a few stories that I have read, in a lighter tone, in a children’s holiday book.

This book gave me the basic facts on specific destinations. I liked how the book provided where the destination is, what it consists of, and how it originally was structured. It goes on, in the story, explaining how the destination became more disturbing over time. With realistic photographs and art, each destination becomes its own creep show. There’s just enough detail to make the reader aware of the destination and the history behind it.

Information from the book: The late 1700’s in Paris. Graveyards were getting crowded and individuals were no longer able to bury their dead underground. So, what did they do? They started to bury them on top of each other above ground. Yes, above ground! Stacking them “almost 10 feet high inside the cemetery walls.” Visualize this for a moment. Just like anything stacked too tall, the corpse’s weight started to cause these tall towers to fall, spilling the rotten corpses out onto the streets. Eventually, the city workers had to dig up some of the corpses and remove the rotting ones from the streets and rebury them in underground catacombs the city had created. I find this pretty interesting and gross. Imagine digging them up and reburying them under the ground. You must remember that this was over 200 years ago, the technology and advancements that we have now, were not available to them. There were 180 miles of catacombs! That’s a lot of corpses and work!!

I really liked this book. It’s a children’s nonfiction book covering about 18 different destinations but it’s a great one in my opinion. This is one book in the series and thankfully, I grabbed the rest of the series the library had, while I was there. The Index in the back of the book was very good and there is also a list of 4 other Read More books at the back which the author listed. There is a Learn More Online site which includes a QR code which I used. This scan led me to more resources which listed more destinations. There was a www. site for those who can’t or don’t want to scan the code and/or you can even scan the cover of the book to see other websites. There is also a Glossary which is helpful for young readers. I liked the detailed map, “A World of the Alarming Afterlife”, which shows the world and points out each of the different sites which was mentioned in the book. Check out this book!! 5 stars

99 Ways to Die: And How to Avoid Them by Ashely Alker

5 stars Nonfiction

Covering a whole mountain of information, this book breaks everything apart and lays it back down in a nice, organized fashion. We are presented with material that we can read and understand the implications that it has. The book is not all technical and over-your-head facts and figures; there are personal and relatable information packed inside along with information that you can apply to your own life. There are tons of information inside this book, I mean tons. I bet you’ll walk away knowing something that you didn’t know before or better yet, pass along this information to others, who just might think you’re pretty smart. I do have to admit that I did have to take a break from this book for a few days as I needed time to ingest everything I had read. My mind was churning with all the different comments and interactions that hadn’t even crossed my mind before opening this book and I did notice I had become more aware of the world before me. Not paranoid but just aware of things.

Let me share what I enjoyed about this book. I really enjoyed how the author broke the book into different sections. I think these different groupings helped me understand and comprehend the information better. I also liked how the author described each method in medical or technical terms and then expanded on that and explained it in normal everyday language that I could understand. These stories, personal and firsthand accounts made each of these methods practical and more meaningful.

The author put herself in the writings, not only with her personal stories but with her personality and humor which was shown throughout the book in her writing. The tension, knowledge and load of emotions were felt within each section.

I’ll never be able to remember everything that I read in this book, oh my goodness! It’s great to know that this book is available to have as a resource. I know that when I closed this book I knew more and felt more educated than when I first opened it.

I read this book on vacation which probably wasn’t such a good idea. Here I was in a different country reading a book about 99 Ways to Die. Reading this beside my husband, I can’t tell you how many times, I hit him and asked him, “did you know this?’ and then I’d start reading him a passage out of the book. Some great conversations were had over this book.

An interesting and enlightening read for those who are intrigued, ever questioned, or enjoy learning would benefit from this book. I have tons of highlights inside this book, areas that I found interesting and/or eye-opening for me. These sections I found very interesting: the section on penicillin, antibiotics, Ebola, tapeworms, vaccine-diseases (especially since there is a controversy over this now), water, and warfare. The whole book was great, but these previous items were the cream of the crop for me. This was a great read for me. 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Ashley Alker, and St. Martin Press for providing this book to me in exchange for an honest review.

Petrifying Playtime: Scary Amusement Parks and Playgrounds by Joyce Markovics

5 stars

When a place of fun and entertainment turns into something sinister, what happens to it? From Hawaii to Nebraska, from Massachusetts to Louisiana, this nonfiction book covers the United States. Each 2-page spread features a destination. Where once this destination was a fun way to spend some time, it has now turned into something dark and dreary.

It’s not all about ghost hauntings. There are some places that have been abandoned, rediscovered, or for some, they just shut the doors and never opened them back up. Some of these stories were very interesting and I would like to follow-up on them later. This book gave me the basic facts on specific destinations. I liked how the book provided how each of the destination sites came to be, what happened to cause it to fall from its days of glory and what the condition of the site ended up being. There wasn’t a lot of detail but just enough to provide the information and intrigue the reader or to make the reader aware that such a place exists. The pictures provided were historical and most of them were real photographs. I think the author choice of words in the title is misleading for some as not all the stories as “scary” per say. Sinister, creepy or disturbing would be a more accurate description, I think.

Krug Park in Omaha, Nebraska, the Big Dipper roller coaster brought in the crowds in the 1930’s. For 17 years, this park thrived and was loved by all. Then, unfortunately, things tumbled. An accident occurred on the Big Dipper, which marked the beginning of the end of Krug Park. What’s left of this park? Check out the book.

Whose Feather is That? by Stan Tekiela

5 stars Nonfiction Children’s

A fun, educational book for kids and adults too. I saw this book in the children’s new section at the library, and I thought my grandkids might like to try their hand at guessing since we have a lot of birds in our backyard. We have read this book many times switching up the way that we read it, making this book work, a multiple different ways.

It’s a book that is read horizontally which works very well for this nonfiction book. The first two-page spread of a particular bird gives a couple sentences that describe the bird and the corresponding page shows the feather of that bird and a Hint. Turning the page, the next two pages show a realistic picture of the bird and some interesting facts about the bird. The birds featured are a hummingbird, a house sparrow, a bluebird, a cardinal, a downy woodpecker, an American Crow, s Canada Goose, a northern flicker, a wild turkey, and a great horned owl. At the back of the book, there are more interesting animal facts about each of these birds.

“This bird lives in small groups, often close to people’s homes. It’s small, brown feathers might be in your yard.” “Whose feather is that?” “Hint: This bird likes to build its nest atop the side of a house.” With bold text fonts against colorful backgrounds, the information is presented and a brown feather is presented. Turn the page after you have guessed.

What I enjoyed about this book was the ease of the text, simplicity of the flow, and how fun it was to learn. Stan makes this book educational and fun. The littlest of learners can follow along with the oldest as they learn characteristics of the birds.

I was very impressed with this book and after reading About the Author and looking up information about Stan Tekiela, I can understand why this book is so fantastic. Stan has written more than 190 field guides, nature books, children’s book, etc. about the different species in the United States. Stan has also received many awards for his photography and books. After reading this book many times, I am interested in reading the other books that Sam has written, for both children and adults. 5 stars

Begin Again by Oliver Jeffers

4.5 stars

We all need to read this book. Oliver Jeffers brings together a lot of issues in this book that in my own country today we are facing head-on. Jeffers speaks of a “world” yet in my own country, this book even applies to us. We are full of strangers right now, a country divided but we are still the same, people who “like to feel warm both on the skin and in the heart.”

Our country is a divided one, a nation that has been built on a firm foundation is now cracking and it’s heartbreaking. Jeffers talks in his author notes why he wrote the book, and I suggest you read this also.

Where are we headed? What will happen? Great question as like Jeffers talks about, we’re all running, racing to the end. Pulling and competing with one another, choosing based on the concept that it’s “more important to be right over wrong than to be better over worse.” “WE ARE BLIND”

I totally agree with Jeffers, we have to keep an eye on the past and the present to be successful. We can’t forget what we have seen or experienced. WE must work together as a part of the crew for we are “no longer passengers on this ship, “ we are all part of the story. Great story but not for younger readers more for adults or mature readers. Read it slowly and think about it as your read. 4.5 stars

Butt or Face? by Kari Lavelle

5 stars Children’s Nonfiction

What a fun book. “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 hippo or a giraffe. These animals are specific and unique. A Cuyaba dwarf frog, a star-nosed mole, or my favorite the Mary River turtle. 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: delicacies, coincidental, deceptive, amplifying, parasitic, etc. I thought this was a great book and one that makes nonfiction learning fun. 5 stars

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.

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

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.