November Reads

 

Art

The Adorable Circle of Life by Alex Solis – either going to love the illustrations of predators eating prey (all cutely done) or you are going to hate it.

God Jul: A Swedish Christmas by Anders Neumuller – history of the art work on Swedish Christmas cards.

 Audio

Cicero: The Life and Times  by John Cureless

Children’s Books

The Day the Great Lakes Drained Away by Charles Ferguson Baker – nicely down and is pretty interesting.

Izzy the Very Bad Burglar by Amy Proud – cute

Amigos Friends Forever by Bilder Von Walko – Sweet story about a dog and a cat.

Springy Chicken  by Isabel Atherton – story about a chicken with springs for legs.

Welcome to Cuckooville by Susan Chandler – interesting book about differences.

Not Just a Dot by Loryn Brantz – book about why dots are important.  Makes use of grammar rules too.

Rudy’s New Human  by Roxanna Elden – sweet book told from a dog’s pov when the owners bring home a baby.

There Was an Old Lady Who Gobbled a Skink by Tamara Will Wissinger – fishing version of the famous song.

No More Biege Food by Leann Shirtliffe – interesting book about cooking – includes various cuisines.

Lilla’s Sunflowers by Colleen Rowan Kosinski – story about a girl, her garden, and her father.  Sweet.

The Ghosts Go Scaring by Chrissy Bozik – Ghostly version of the ant marching song.

Hattie Peck: The Journey Home  by Emma Levey – nice story about chicken and her collection of eggs.

Taino Tales: The Secret of the Hummingbird by Vicky Weber.  An excellent retelling of the story.

Our Double Fifth Celebration by Yobe Qiu – details celebrations in China, Japan, and Korea for children.

Gizelle’s Silly Soggy Day by Joy VanDertuin -this was sweet and funny, until you read the various bios of the author and illustrators where they feel the need to tell, repeatedly, how they born again and when they became so.

Sade and The Language Mix Up  by Yewande Daniel-Ayoade -this is charming book about being a new immigrant to Canada.

Catterfly is Born by Alma Hammond – what happens when you cross a cat and a butterfly.

Elmo’s Christmas Countdown – cute little Christmas themed counting book

Princess In Black by Shannon Hale – Lovely princess superhero story

Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon Hale – excellent retelling of Rapunzel. 

The Sky Painter by Margarita Engle – Beautiful book about the painter Louis Fuertes.

George the Hero Hound by Jeffrey Ebbeler-  cute story about a dog

Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo – this is a funny story about a pig.

Leroy NInkler Saddles Up  by Kate DiCamillo – nice little riff on Westerns.

Ready for Rescue  by Katie Pye – nice twist on Rapunzel, even if the lesson is a bit heavy handed.

The Sound that Jazz Makes  by Carole Boston Weatherford- wonderful book about the history of Jazz.

My Hands Sing the Blues  by Jeanne Harvey Walker – Illustratrions are good but not a really a biography of Romare Bearden.

Missing Math  by Loreen Leedy – good children’s book about Math.

The Careless Kitty by Seth Clay- nothing really to write home about.

A Bedtime for Bear by Bonny Becker- nicely illustrated.

Little Krampus and the Christmas Secret; Little Krampus and the Magical Sleigh Ride by Killian Wolf – nice holiday stories featuring a young Krampus.

I’m Basically a Unicorn by Melanie Hawkins – nice book about children who are different.

Along the Tapajos by Fernado Vilna – illustrations are great, the story is so -so.

The Ugly Pony  by Angharad Thompson Rees – Ugly Duckling but with a horse.

Groggle Monster’s Valentine by Diana Murray – cute Valentine’s story

The Tiny Snowflake by Arthur Ginolfi – religious based story about how everyone is different and that should be accepted.

How to Trick a Christmas Elf  by Sue Fliess – nice crafting book for Christmas.

Everyone is Invited to Christmas by Susan Jones – animals of the forest attend a Christmas Party

Aaron’s Dream  by Pamela Rice- nice illustrations.  Wonderful use of dreams.

Bubba Heard a Mouse by Bubba’s Dad – cute, if too long.

The River Mumma by Sonica Ellis- good use of mermaid/siren stories from the Caribbean.

My Pocket Sloth Goes to School  by Lori Yarborough – cute especially if you like Sloths.

Trouble at the Zoo  by Chris Stead – Its nice but the eagles in it make no sense.

The Runaway Mitten by Margaret Anne Lewis – nice travel book for kids.

Animals in the Outhouse  by Anja Frohilch – funny story about an outhouse in the forest.

I Saw Mommy Biting Santa Claus by Matt Mogk – not as funny as it thinks it is.

If Dinosaurs Lived in My Town  by Marianne Plumridge – excellent dinosaur book for children

Ava the Monster Slayer; Ava the Monster Slayer : Cousin Power by Lisa Maggiore – really good, includes instructions about how to make things.

I Am Not Little Red Riding Hood by Alessandro Lecis – good winter story about a girl who is not Red Riding Hood.

I Don’t Want to be Scary on Halloween by Gina Gallois.  Another excellent possum story.

Peter Rabbit  by Beatrix Potter, Illustrated by Cindy Thornton – Good version of the story.  Illustrations are so beautiful.

Ming and Her Poppy by Deirdre Sullivan- perhaps a bit too simple.

Briana A Pagan Picture Book by Andrea Stein – an unique book about a girl trying to decide what pagan religion to follow.  It really is a special book.

Just a Stage by Corey Majeau – nice little story about having to move to find work.

Tough Cookie by Kate Louise – interesting story about a gingerbread man.

Watch the Cookie! By Nancy Cote – story about a  mouse protecting a cookie.

Hero’s Cape by Cory Q. Tan – It isn’t bad but it is not great.

Little Red by Bethany Stahl  - funny version of Red Riding Hood.

That’s Not Your Mommy Anymore: A Zombie Tale – a children’s zombie story.  So it is very dark. 

Fee, Fi, Fo Grow! By Lois Wickstorm – the story is a good version of Jack and the Beanstalk.  The artwork is not good though.

 Comics

The Incredibles 2 – Slow Burn #1, Crisis in Mid-Life #1, Secret Identities #1 – the Slow burn series is the weakest.  The Secret Identifies one focuses on Violet and was a good start

Disney’s Snow White #1 – this comic adaption of the movie gives more time to the relationship between the prince and Snow White.  Much better than the Little Mermaid #1 comic which really doesn’t add anything even makes Ariel seem more spoiled.

Disney Frozen 2 – The Hero Within #1; Breaking Boundaries #1, True Treasure #1 – these are pretty good

Captain Marvel Vol 1  - didn’t really grab me, though I like how the relationship with Rhodey is done.

Dinosaur Explorers Vol 1 – good presentation of science.  However, only the male characters are explorers so a bit one sided in that area.

Jennifer Blood #1 – did not like this one.

The Girl in the Bay #1 – this comic sets up an interesting idea with a girl who may or may not be dead.

Before Tomorrowland – Tie in comic to the movie.  Better off just seeing the movie.

Moby Dick starring Donald Duck – Yeah, it is still too long.

Chloe Vol 1 – supposedly about an 12/13 year old but the girls of color are very sexualized making this very icky.

Black Widow: Shield’s Most Wanted Vol 1 – I liked this storyline.  I also enjoyed how Widow’s body type was drawn here as well.

Seed of Destruction: Hellboy – Good humor, but man do the women get sidelined something awful.

Oz the Manga # 1, and Land of OZ #1-Very good adaptions.

B.R.P.D Plague of Frogs: Vol 1 – second Hellboy collection where the women are sidelined.  What is with this?

Baxter the Retriever: A Giant Size Hunting Dog by John Troy – funny cartoons, for adults and kids, featuring a hunting dog.

Azure #1 – Idea is interesting, main character isn’t.

From the Pages of Bram Stoker’s Dracula: Harker #1 – very, very male.  I mean Mina is so un Mina.

Fearscape #1 – meh.  Idea is interesting, but it is not attention grabbing

The Wrong Earth #1 – what if Batman worlds collide, but it’s not really Batman because of copyright.

Manor Black #1 – Makes use of Lovecraft but far more interesting.

Geek Girl Vol 1 – meh and boring.

Fantasy

A Witch for Mr. Holiday by Deanna Chase.  The use of a love spell makes this paranormal romance not really romantic and more rapey.  DNF.

The Beast of London (Mina Murray #1) by L. D. Goffigan – the premise is good, an alternate Dracula with a emphasis on Mina, but too  much info dumping and some plot points that make no sense destroy the book.  DNF.

The Big Book of Teeny Tiny Stories by Skylar Hammond – the fantasy, sci-fi and horror stories here are short, but very good.

Feminist

Men Who Hate Woman by Lauren Bates – important book, especially considering the amount women who are killed by man each year.

General Fiction

Other Worlds by Teffi – interesting collection of short stories by the Russian author.  Many of which draw on folklore.

IN the Country of Others  by Lelia Slimani – powerful book.

History

1619 Project – edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones.  Expands on the Times magazine edition.  It is worth reading.

From Warsaw with Love by John Pomfret – a history in part about the Polish spy service but also about a rescue in Iraq.  Engaging.

Historical Fiction

Dickon’s Tudor Christmas Carol  by Hester Huffman – very funny Tudor version of the Dickens story.

The Tubman Train (Underground Railroad #3) by Doug Peterson  - this is good historical novel about Tubman.  Suitable for both older children and adults.

Memoir

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson.  This memoir is constantly being banned and challenged.  It’s target audience is high school students, and it is an important book.

Mystery

They Do It With Mirrors By Agatha Christie.  Didn’t like this as much as the other Miss Marple books I’ve read so far.

A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie  I didn’t see the twist coming.