Review: Three Little Birds — Cedella Marley
Posted on | August 28, 2010 | No Comments
Three Little Birds
Three Little Birds is a wonderful board book adapted from the Bob Marley song (by Cedella Marley). The lush, colorful illustrations are beautiful. This is a board book, but is perfect for babies, toddlers, and even older kids because the message transcends. “Every little thing is gonna be all right.”
My mom purchased this for both my son, Connal (now 9 months), and my four-year-old niece. They both love it. Connal enjoys the pictures and the sing-song lyrics. My niece actually knew the song already and was very excited to have this book based on it.
This book can be a little tough to find in book stores, but you can order it through amazon.com here.
Tags: board book > cedella marley > Children > children's books > review > three little birds
Review: My Big Animal Book — Roger Priddy (board book)
Posted on | August 24, 2010 | No Comments
I bought this for Connal when he was four months old. He loved it then and continues to. The book is quite big. It has bold colors and beautiful photographs. Each animals picture has the name of the animal beneath it. This type of book can grow with your child. He started out simply enjoying the colors while I read to him. Now he points at the pictures (in no particular order) and turns the pages for me. Older children can point out animals as you read and eventually read them to you. It’s a solid board book that withstands chewing, sucking, and attempts to pry the pages apart. I’m certain this book will be one of his favorites for quite a while.
Tags: books for children > Children > children's book > my big animal book > review > roger priddy
Review: Fairy Hunters Ink. — Sheila A. Dane
Posted on | August 18, 2010 | No Comments
Rose Csorba beautifully illustrated this journal-of-sorts about a group of Fairy Hunters. Ashley and narrator Laura, aided by their friends Big Rabbit and Turtle, find the fairies that exist in every day things. Pocket Fairies, Teacup Fairies, Sock Fairies, and others have their own brief story and the story of their capture.
The idea that this story is for children and adults alike is a bit of a stretch. I think children would be entertained by the idea that fairies are everywhere if you just look hard enough and Csorba’s skillful art is entertaining. However, as an adult, it sounded to me like “Laura” was Ashley’s step mother, Big Rabbit and Turtle making up the rest of the family members, and that this book might be more of a way for “Laura” to relive a nice time of bonding with Ashley. There were a few times Laura says things to Ashley that make Ashley’s mom sound like not nearly as much fun as Laura. Thinly veiled.
I was mostly annoyed with the heinous editing. There were randomly capitalized letters in the middle of sentences, punctuation seemingly thrown about, and sentence fragments galore outside of dialogue. For those reasons, I wouldn’t want this to be a staple in my child’s library. Fairy Hunter’s Ink. is written for an age group of children who are learning the correct way to write.
There was also this line, “But Turtle surprised us, he did, and more about that you shall hear,” which I’m guessing was supposed to sound magical or something. As soon as I read it, I thought of Yoda. Things like this are really just matters of editing, but they bugged me enough to mention.
Complaints aside, Fairy Hunter’s Ink. is a very creative children’s book with some very good points. The interaction between Laura and Ashley and their friends is heart warming. The idea that fairies are part of every day life and you just have to look hard to find them is truly a metaphor for taking the time to enjoy life amid the chaos. If your child were particularly interested in this book, you could certainly use it to inspire your own Fairy Hunters group and have you child help you come up with your own fairies.
My favorite fairies were the Book Fairies (of course) who all wear glasses. They read so much that they forget to eat, eat meals at odd times, and are very forgetful. I can relate!
Tags: books for children > Children > children's book > fairy hunters ink > review
Book Review Blog Carnival
Posted on | August 8, 2010 | No Comments
It has again been quite a while since I participated in the Book Review Blog Carnival, but today I am. The Carnival has grown quite a bit. There are lots of good book review bloggers participating now. Go check it out.
This post is in the 48th
Review: Jesus Land: A Memoir — Julia Scheeres
Posted on | August 7, 2010 | 1 Comment
The title Jesus Land is from a sign that Julia Scheeres and her adopted brother David see when exploring their new town, “This here is: JESUS LAND.” Julia is a white girl who has two, adopted black brothers. One, Jerome, is older and prone to stealing, running away, and molesting Julia. David is close to Julia’s age and the two were very close. Their parents are Calvinist and her mother is especially dedicated to the church. However, they seem to know nothing about raising children in a loving home.
Julia’s father beats the boys, but not her. She struggles with a lot of guilt over it. Their parents care very little about what the kids do as long as it doesn’t reflect badly on them. When Jerome runs away, they change the locks.
When they move from the city and their tiny Christian school to a town in rural Indiana where they attend a larger, public school, Jerome and David are the only minority students. All three kids encounter racism in a variety of forms. Julia is nearly gang-raped, set up by friends of Jerome, who told them she was easy. The kids are spied on by their parents via intercom. They’re forced to listen to Christian radio 24/7. They’re keenly aware that discussing anything with their mother will send her off the deep end. The boys have scars from the beatings they take from their dad. At one point David is beaten so badly, with a 2×4, that his arm is broken. His favorite song was “Our House,” by Madness.
David is sent to a bible-thumping boot camp, Escuela Caribe, in the Dominican Republic. When Julia is arrested, she’s given the opportunity to move home with her parents or join David. She decides to be where her brother is. Based on his letters home, it doesn’t sound that bad. What she didn’t know was that his letters home (and all the kids’ letters home from camp) are censored. The place was like a labor camp. I never knew that places like this existed, and still do. The Truth about New Horizon’s Youth Ministries.
Sheeres writes without self-pity. Her resistance to judging those who did her wrong (and her apathy through her teen years) actually made me mad at times. I wanted her to find the strength to save herself. I wanted her to be angry and shun her family. I wanted revenge for the horrible things done to these kids.
Jesus Land exposes the ugly truth about Christian extremists and does so without even a tinge of reciprocal hatred. Scheeres shows how racism and religion nearly destroyed her relationship with her brother, David, but how their love for each other got them through the worst times most people could imagine.
This is a fantastically well-written memoir and one I would recommend to just about anyone.
Review: Finger Lickin’ Fifteen — Janet Evanovich
Posted on | August 6, 2010 | No Comments
Finger Lickin’ Fifteen might be the shortest of the Stephanie Plum novels so far. In Fifteen we see a lot more of Ranger than of Morelli. Stephanie and Morelli are in the off-again phase of their relationship. Joyce Bernhardt is trying to move in on Morelli, much to his chagrin. Stephanie spends a lot of her time working at Rangeman and sleeping in Rangers bed, though usually without him.
The story begins with Lula witnessing the beheading of famous chef, Stanley Chipotle, from inside her car. The murderers see the car and begin hunting Lula down. They shoot her apartment door, her car, blow up her car, and firebomb Stephanie’s apartment — all in an attempt to kill Lula. A huge reward is offered by Chipotle’s sponser company for the capture of the murderers, so Lula decides to enter a BBQ sauce contest, assuming the murderers will attend. Stephanie spends part of her time there in a hot dog costume, which happens to be one of the funniest parts of the story.
Stephanie’s help is enlisted by Ranger, whose business is hurt by a rash of residential robberies. He entrusts Stephanie with checking out his staff, doing walk-throughs of the homes that were broken into, and eventually solving the mystery and accidentally catching the bad guys. In this book, Stephanie gets a lot more credit for her detective skills than in other novels. It was nice to see Evanovich let Stephanie grow up a bit and learn some lessons.
Though this is one of the shorter Stephanie Plum books, there were quite a few parts that had me laughing out loud. Finger Lickin’ Fifteen is in my top three favorite books in this series. I am looking foward to Sizzling Sixteen and next year’s movie release of One for the Money.
Car Deaths
1. Stephanie’s Ford Escort — Set on fire.
2. Ranger’s Porsche Cayenne — Set on fire.
3. Lula’s Firebird — First it gets shot up, then it gets blown up.
4. Ranger’s replacement Porsche Cayenne — Lula’s Firebird landed on it and they burned up together after the explosion.
Tags: finger lickin' fifteen > janet evanovich > mystery > review
Review: Fearless Fourteen — Janet Evanovich
Posted on | August 5, 2010 | No Comments
Fearless Fourteen
Loretta Rizzi needed a Tom Collins, so she robbed a liquor store. Vinnie bonded her out. When she failed to appear in court, Stephanie was tasked with bringing her in. There was a slight hitch in the plan though. Loretta had no assets to use as collateral and no money, so she couldn’t be re-bonded right away and Stephanie promised to take care of her son, Mario, on the off chance that Loretta couldn’t get back in time.
Mario bares a close resemblance to Joe Morelli. A resemblance that has Loretta’s crazy brother, Dom, convinced that Morelli is Mario’s father. Dom just got out of prison and believes that Morelli’s house (given to him by their aunt) holds the key to finding $9 million that Dom got from robbing a bank and which was never recovered.
Stephanie also picks up a gig working for Ranger as security detail for famous, one-named singer, Brenda. Brenda is a has-been who still has diva issues. She likes to drink and party, but Ranger and Stephanie have to keep her clean and sober to perform, while staying on the lookout for her stalker/cousin.
The stalker claims he’s psychic and has dreams about Brenda being smashed by a giant pizza, on the toilet, in the middle of the freeway.
Brenda does a stint trying to make a bounty hunter reality show with Lula and Stephanie, then ends up doing the news. While reporting the news, she shines a light directly on Morelli’s house and tells all of Trenton that there’s $9 million somewhere on the property, spurring people to begin digging up Morelli’s yard.
There’s a lot going on in Fearless Fourteen, not the least of which are some trying times in Stephanie’s relationship with Morelli. They are still uncomitted and while they’ve both said they love each other, the relationship remains at a sort of stand still.
Tags: fearless fourteen > janet evanovich > review
Review: Lean Mean Thirteen — Janet Evanovich
Posted on | August 4, 2010 | No Comments
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Stephanie owes Ranger a favor, only this time it isn’t sexual. She has to plant some bugs on her ex, Dickie Orr, who just happens to be boinking Joyce Barnhardt again. When she goes to Dickie’s office, Stephanie sees a picture of Joyce and Dickie and goes postal. When she leaves, she takes a clock her aunt gave Dickie. Dickie goes missing the next day and all fingers are pointed at her. No thanks to Joyce, who posts wanted flyers and tells the newspaper that Stephanie killed Dickie.
Joyce tells the police that Dickie had never gotten around to updating his will, so Stephanie is the sole heir. Between that and the fact that Stephanie attacked Dickie in his office the day before he disappeared, Stephanie is suspected of being involved in his disappearance — by the police, Joyce, and the Burg gossip chain.
Stephanie finds that Dickie had $40 million that was withdrawn from his joint account with his law firm partners before he disappeared. That is what Joyce is after.
Joyce stun guns Stephanie in the mall. A random woman stuns her, also in the mall.
While Morelli’s stuck working a case, he asks Ranger to keep an eye on Stephanie. We don’t see as much Morelli in this book, but the sexual tension between Ranger and Stephanie is growing. Her problem with telling Morelli she loves him seems to have subsided.
Stephanie accidentally discovers who has been keeping Morelli tied up. Joyce saves Stephanie’s life (ish).Stephanie’s FTA, Simon Diggery, is a grave robber. Diggery. Get it? Melvin Pickle moved on to working for Sebring, so we don’t see him at all and Lula’s back to filing. Lula and Tank have struck up a relationship…and we learn Tank’s real name.
Car Death
1. Crown Vic — Pretty much everything that can happen to a car.
Review: Twelve Sharp — Janet Evanovich
Posted on | August 3, 2010 | No Comments
Frustratingly, Twelve Sharp does not pick up where Eleven on Top left off. 11 ends with Stephanie smashing into Stiva’s and Ranger’s infamous one-word response to her, “Babe.” Skipping ahead, we don’t know how Morelli reacted to her ditching him to go chase Stiva or what happened after she did. She is suddenly working for Vinnie again, but no reason or explanation is given. My annoyance with that aside, Twelve Sharp is a good book.
Ranger is once again on the run, but this time he is chasing a man who has decided he was supposed to be Ranger. The guy was working a crappy security job and video store clerk job, hoping to eventually become a cop. He saw Ranger arrest an FTA and began stalking him. Much later, the man kidnaps Ranger’s daughter, Julie, and the hunt begins.
Stephanie only beings unraveling this story when a mysterious woman dressed like Ranger shows up at Vinnie’s. She says she knows Stephanie is boinking her husband, Ranger, and she’s going to kill her once she finds him. The mysterious woman, Carmen When she isn’t useful anymore, he disposes of her and moves on to stalking Stephanie.
Stephanie is stun-gunned umpteen times in this book. In a screwed up way, it’s kind of funny. She never learns her lesson. Joyce even uses one of these instances to steal a high paying FTA out from under Stephanie, while Stephanie is being attacked by her kidnapper. Joyce the bitch…
The whole scary kidnapping, stalking, etc. ends up with fake Ranger, Julie, and Stephanie in Stephanie’s apartment. Fake Ranger is armed and ready to shoot anyone who enters…then one of the men in Stephanie’s life walks through the door and she realizes she loves him, actually she realizes she loves both Morelli and Ranger.
Twelve Sharp finally sheds some light on mysterious Ranger’s life, a little. It’s about time. Staphanie finally tells Morelli that she loves him.
Car Death
None.
Review: Eleven on Top — Janet Evanovich
Posted on | August 2, 2010 | No Comments
Next to Four to Score, I think Eleven on Top is one of the funniest Stephanie Plum books to date. Stephanie decides to quit bounty hunting and look for a normal job, one that won’t get her shot at or result in her cars getting blown up. She does very short stints at the button factory, Cluck-in-a-Bucket, and Kan-Kleen before realizing that changing her jobs isn’t going to change her luck.
After she is shot at and her Kan-Kleen boss is blown up in Stephanie’s car, she decides to go to work for Rangeman. At least the parking is secure. Stephanie gives up sugar in a pact with her mom. Mom gives up liquor. Due to her lack of sugary treats, Stephanie’s hormones kick into overdrive. Even Morelli can’t keep up. Ranger lets her know that, even though he and Morelli have a working relationship (occasionally teaming up to keep her safe), he will not be responsible for keeping her hormones in check. The sexual innuendo of the title is apropos.
Stephanie eventually begins to believe that Spiro is back and trying to kill her. He even runs over Morelli, breaking his leg. There is a big twist in this one, but it’s fairly easy to see coming. Still a great read, but a little predictable.
Eleven on Top abruptly ends with Stephanie ramming Stiva’s car a few times and Ranger saying, “Babe.” (As much as I like Ranger, this was already getting kind of old and to end an entire novel with that was icing on my angry-cake.)
Car death
- Saturn that was blown up with Mama Macaroni in it.
- Joe’s SUV (make unmentioned). In garage that got bombed.
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