Even Monsters Say Goodnight Review

Title: Even Monsters Say Goodnight 

Author: Doreen Mulryan Marts

Publication House: Capstone Publishing

Publication Date in US:, August 1, 2015

Date Started: April 21, 2015

Date Finished: April 21, 2015

Format: E-Book

Medium: Adobe Digital Downloads

Review:

When I do these reviews on picture books I like to review as I read so I can get real time opinions on it.  It saves me time on flagging and bookmarking comments on Adobe Digital and then having to go back and bleh bleh bleh.

D'AWWWW is my first thought on the cover.  Look at the cute witch and cute mummy and cute dracula :D

Also, the weiny dog is a-dorable!  I also really like the font.  It stands out on it's own and would catch a lot of kids attention.

In the middle of the story I could see how this could fit in to a variety of storytime themes.  While this is a mostly Halloween themed book, it could easily fit in to a bedtime themed storytime along with Goodnight Moon.  I can also see how it could be a little difficult to get into the story.  The first page doesn't have anything on it with the exception of pictures so a description from the storytime kids would be key.

This book would also pair GREAT with fingerpuppets.  I feel that if a kit were sold with these specific puppets (i.e. werewolf, ghosts, witch, skeleton, and vampire) it would do soooo well!  While most children's programmers are pretty efficient with making their own flannelboards or finger puppets, there are some programmers that just do not have the time.(Me.  I'm pointing at me.  I have no time. None of the time.)

The story itself is just a wonderful way to teach kids that it is alright to be afraid, you don't have to feel dumb about being afraid of monsters, and while the fear is real the actual thing is not.  It is also a great tool for parents to learn and understand how to talk to your child about monsters.  As a grown child, I know to treat their imagination with the utmost respect.  If a child is genuinely fearful of something, respect that, don't just shoot it down.

I enjoy a good lesson learned picture book :)

Great job Ms. Marts!

Joe All Alone Review

Title: Joe All Alone

Author: Joanna Nadin

Publication House: Little Brown Young Readers

Publication Date in US:, May 7, 2015

Date Started: April 18, 2015

Date Finished: April 19, 2015

Format: E-Book

Medium: Kindle Keyboard

Review:

As you can see, I read this book in less than a day.  It probably could have taken me less time than that seeing as there are only 240 pages compared to what I have been reading lately but...life.  Cleaning and napping when I'm not working 10-12 hours take up most of my day and I am quite alright with that.  But!  Back to what I'm suppose to be doing on here, reviewing Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin.

NetGalley has an odd way of grouping Juvenile and YA books together so I was a little confused about who this was targeted towards going into this.  The main protagonist is 13 and the cover makes this book seem to be targeted towards Juvenile...buuuut I can tell you it's not.

I haven't ever experienced anything like what Joe had to go through when I was 13; mom and boyfriend abandoning him for weeks, not having enough food, not having electricity, not being able to shower, etc.  This book was so heartbreaking the entire time I was reading it because Joe also hinted at having some form of OCD that he went through therapy to try and help.  Sometimes throughout the book, Joe's OCD comes out through him counting his steps, counting the paint chips on his wall, and also how many times he checked to see if the phone was still working.  His poor little life was so hard before and throughout the book, it just keeps getting harder.

Asha reminded me of one of my best friends when I was younger.  She was spunky and relatively different than most people of my little town.  She practiced a different religion and hung out with me...which was different in itself.  She was always funny and I miss her terribly but she would help me with problems in the way that Asha helped Joe with his problems, in a positive way.  She really did stay loyal to Joe no matter the circumstances and/or consequences that came along with that.

Her uncle Otis was so sweet..  I enjoyed his "Jamaican" accent and how he took things with a positive attitude.  He helped Joe right after he got bullied and was just trying to look out for the well-being of both children.

While I feel this story would not be appropriate for the majority, there are some children and teens who could benefit from a story like Joe's.  I know a couple of patrons who would see themselves in his shoes and who could understand what he was going through.  You never know what book will help which child in whatever situation they find themselves in.  Moral of this paragraph: LIBRARIES DON'T CENSOR.  Thank you and Goodnight. :)

FairyTale Reform School: Flunked Review

Title: Fairy-Tale Reform School: Flunked

Author: Jen Calonita

Publication House: SOURCEBOOKS Jabberwocky

Publication Date in US:, March 03, 2015

Date Started: April 12, 2015

Date Finished: April 18, 2015

Format: E-Book

Medium: Kindle Keyboard

Review:

Just look at this cover!  I know I know, "Don't judge a bloobey blah by it's bladdy bleh" but look at it!  It makes you want to read it.  For some, the cover art may be busy, but the book matches that.  Not that the book is messy in any way at all but it is constantly moving, which (in a book) is very AWESOME.

I feel as if this whole fairy tale movement is coming all at once what with Kingdom Keepers, The Land of Stories, and The School for Good and Evil being published within the last few years all stem from the show Once Upon a Time which is just a fantastic show.  While all of these books and the show talk about how the fairy tale characters were, Flunked takes a completely different approach that is quite interesting.

I enjoyed how Calonita portrayed the evil villains as being reformed and how they can, if they really wanted to, change to be for the better.  While reading this book I also realized how many of Disney's villains her female.  Ursula, The Evil Stepmother and Stepsisters, Cruella DeVil, the Evil Witch, Maleficent...it was really quite odd too seeing as the main character in all those stories who were in trouble were women.  I don't know...crossed my mind at some point towards the end when Gottie turned into Maleficient? I was really confused by the whole name change, which I see as necessary so Ms. Calonita doesn't get sued, but it was odd and confusing.

I LOVED MAXINE.  Holy cow I wish there were a story about Maxine and her troll ears and her dress for the ball. HEEHEE she was adorable and I want more Maxine, now!

I really hope that this book gets processed for e-readers because it was very difficult to read it during the Magical Scrolls parts.  It took up like three or four pages when it should have taken one or two.

I kind of feel like Gilly is like Harry Potter in the sense she is the main character of the story and also the accidental heroine buuuuuut she won't be anyone's favorite. She doesn't have any defining characteristics that would pull someone into thinking she was just fantastic enough to have as a favorite character.

I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to have more!

Jake's Monster Mess Review

Title: Jake's Monster Mess

Author: Ken Spillman

Publication House: Star Bright Books

Publication Date in US: April 15, 2015

Date Started: April 13, 2015

Date Finished: April 13, 2015

Format: E-Book

Medium: Adobe Digital Edition

Review:

How adorable is it when a child wants nothing more than to please his or her elders by doing something that will please his or her elders of their own choosing?

This book is great not only for children to learn and understand how actually respecting elders can be satisfying for them but it also help adults realize that we can give kids the benefit of the doubt.  Sometimes kids are really trying their hardest to do the best we can but adults push them to the limits.  It is great when adults can give kids a push in the right direction, but when it comes to pushing too far, it gets out of control.

With the lesson out of the way, I LOOOOVE and adore the illustrations throughout this story.  While I am not sure if this book would work properly for a storytime, I think it would be good for kids to use this storybook for learning how to read.  It is almost like a pre-chapter book for kids to learn how books that aren't normal storybooks are read.  It's actually pretty cool.

The illustrations are quite interesting.  I am not sure if this is not the finished product or if the illustrator meant to make the illustrations look unfinished.  I would really like to ask the author what his take on this was.

Overall I quite enjoyed this one and would most definitely get it for my library collection.

The Mermaid's Sister Review

Title: The Mermaid's Sister

Author: Carrie Ann Noble

Publication House: Skyscape

Publication Date in US: March 1, 2015

Date Started: April 5, 2015

Date Finished: April 12, 2015

Format: E-Book

Medium: Kindle Keyboard

Review:

I read Noble's The Mermaid's Sister at the same time I read Tom Cooper's The Marauders and I must say, this one came in as a night read when I had to read with my kindle light.  My averaged thoughts throughout the story were confusion for the time period (the elf/sprites and mermaids just threw me for a loop when trying to picture the period clothing and auto's used), confusion for Clara being so modest and no one else being modest, and why Scarff didn't go looking for those kids himself.

No, but really.  He's not stuck to the land like Auntie is...WHY NOT LOOK FOR THOSE KIDS?!

I don't know.  I really don't know how I feel about this book. I enjoyed the whole premise of the story.  Girl has mermaid for sister, girl loves sister, girl brings sister to ocean, girl marries love of her life and lives happily ever after.  But isn't that a bit conventional?  I mean, yes it's nice when characters get a happy ending, especially after a reader gets attached to the characters but if an author doesn't make her characters at least likeable, then does it really matter if they get their happy ending?  I was more enthralled with Auntie and Scarff's story than I was with what the story was actually suppose to be about.  Wait, what was the story suppose to be about?

Oh, right.  Getting Maren to the ocean.  But they don't want to bring her to the ocean.  But they do.  But they want to tell the ocean king off.  But they don't.  Well, they kinda do.  But not a huge ordeal or anything.  Just what they came to the ocean to do?  I really don't know.

I had a problem with the time period not being clarified either.  I don't know if obscuring the time period was the author's point or if it was accidentally never mentioned?  I DON'T KNOW.  I just didn't like it.

Short review.  Slow book.  Not enough magic for the magic part of it.  Okay characters. But in the end it could have had a much bigger punch.  Very sad.

The Marauders Review

Title: The Marauders

Author: Tom Cooper

Publication House: Crown Publishing

Publication Date in US: February 3, 2015

Date Started: March 29, 2015

Date Finished: April 12, 2015

Format: Hardback

Medium: N/A

Review:

"For better or worse, the Barataria was his hom.  Whatever that meant.  Home was the peaty odor of Spanish moss in the first spring rain.  Homes was the briny sweetness of fresh oysters thirty seconds out of the water.  The termite swarms of early May.  The cacophony of swamp frogs in the summer.  The locusts in the day.  The crickets at night.  The lashing five-minute thunderstorms of late July.  The sugarcane trucks rumbling through town in the autumn.  The carnival giddiness of Mardi Gras.  The blessing of the fleet.  The petit bateaux clustered in the bay.  The pinprick points of their pilot lamps like yuletide lights on the horizon gloaming.  The earthy smell of crawfish boils.  The pecan pralines and boudin and gumbo.  The alligators and herons and redfish and shrimp.  The Cajun voice, briny and gnarled.  The old wrinkled faces as strange as thumbprints...more often than not the Barataria felt like the place he belonged."

RESONATE.  If this book did nothing more it gave me a strong sense of nostalgia.  I originate from a little town with almost the same aspects of Jeanette.  Strong-willed community, a sense of independence from outside help, and a healthy dose of potty mouth.  My family are the people represented in this book and they were represented very well.

I've always hated the term "coon-ass".  I guess it's because most of the time it's spat and comes out wrapped in a disgusting tone.  I love my hometown and I love how simple-minded the people and the life is back home but I just don't fit in there.  I guess Grimes felt the same way and that's why I connected with him so well.  It was amazing to see the transformation of disgust for his hometown to his utmost willingness to stay behind with his sick momma.  That's how life is in Louisiana.  If your momma or daddy are sick, you stay at home and you help.  It doesn't matter what kind of outside life you live, you help the ones who helped you.

Cosgrove and Hanson did not rub me right.  The same way the Toups brothers did not rub me right.  While one set of comrades seemed a little less vile than they other, they both had a motif that would get them into some deep poo-poo.  The Toup brothers are more or less a cultural metaphor of the entire Cajun culture and how protective they are of anything they have.  Be it land, food, or (not often) some MJ.

Lindquist.  Poor poor Lindquist.  He made me sad for any and all old men in the swamp.  I wanted to hug him and let him know that he could be whatever and whoever he wanted to be no matter his situation.  I wanted to be his Wes and let him know that he could move out of the Barataria if he wanted to.  The Toups brothers were just so vile and vicious to him without any regard for his well-being.  It made me sick.  That is the awesomeness of good writing, I tell ya.

I feel as if Cooper made some of the lingo more New Orleans than he did Cajun.  For emphasis, most Cajuns do not live around New Orleans.  Most live around Lafayette.  I don't know if he was basing his little Louisiana town on Jeanerette, La or if he put New Orleans influence into a Cajun town.  Some of the wording was a little off.  Like most Cajuns say "Mais" before and after any sentence.  While this can get monotonous within a book, putting it in once or twice will get a good laugh out of any Cajun reading it.  I quite enjoyed the use of "frissons" and that made me giggle and smile so much.

I feel as if this book gives a pretty good idea of what the BP oil spill meant to be people down in Louisiana whose lives depend on the swamp.  My daddy has recently received a cut in his pay. He is an offshore worker and was one when the BP crisis hit.  I was so afraid for him I lost it and drove home.  He was alright but ever since then it has been hard.  He has now gone to trawling in the swamp for crawfish.  It makes me sad but the man sure does love a hard job.  He loves to work with his hands and loves to work for his money.

Anyone from Louisiana should read this book just for the sake of loving your home and the people found in it.  

Max the Brave Review

Title: Max the Brave

Author: Ed Vere

Publication House: SOURCEBOOKS Jabberwocky

Publication Date in US: September 1, 2015 (BUT CAN IT COME OUT SOONER PLEASE)

Date Started: April 2, 2015

Date Finished: April 2, 2015

Format: E-Pub 

Medium: Adobe Digital Downloads

Review:

So, there's this little thing that I do at my library called "storytime", I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but during this "storytime" we read books, dance, sing songs, do crafts and just have a lot of fun laughing at Miss Breonna making a fool of herself.  It's a great time.  Books like "Max the Brave" make storytime sooooo much easier for me and sooooo much more fun for the kids who attend.

(I have allergy brain right now so please excuse if the next parts make no sense. I will try my best)

I enjoy making the kids laugh during storytime and any book that helps push that enjoyment along is of the utmost adoration of mine.  Something else that the author Ed Vere does is makes it easier to recreate his characters for things like flannelboard play or fingerplay.  Kids always enjoy when they can participate and move the story along.  The biggest participation I would be able to get out of this book is when Max asks if this certain animal is a mouse; the kids would respond with no or they would just scream and yell like they enjoy doing.

It is also great to fun to reassure the kids that they are so smart.  I like acting like I don't know certain things like an animal or what that person is doing and I say "can you remind Miss Breonna what this is/how to do this?" and they just love it.  It makes them feel as if they are teaching an adult rather than the other way around.  At the same time, when a child gets an answer wrong, I don't criticize them or put them down, I say "Close, try again".  This book gives lots of opportunity for engagement of audience and important repetition phrasing.

"Max the Brave" would also be amazing for this Summer Reading Program which is all about heroes.  Not just Superman and Batman but local /community heroes as well.  I am putting on a community hero program that will include firefighters, cops, and animal heroes and this would just work so well.  Alas, it is not being released until after SRP but that's okay.  I'm still going to add it to my collection. :)