Art
Bricksy: The unauthorized Underground Brick Street Art
by Jeff Friesen – Friesen recreates Banksy art in Lego.
Children’s Books
Once Upon A Sesame Street Christmas – You can meet
Groover’s granddaddy.
Twiddlebug Fun – I’ve always loved the Twiddlebugs.
Which Witch is Which (Sesame Street) – Oscar was
always the smart one.
Elmo’s Delicious Christmas – sweet.
Abby Cadabbty Rhyme Time – funny.
Love from Sesame Street – Ted Cruz would not want you
to read this book, so you should read it.
What’s the Word on the Street – good little book to
teach words to children.
The Hiccup by Ingrid Sissung – cute book about a bear
with the hiccups
Dragon Fire illustrated by Geert de Kockere –
touching book about coming to terms with illness.
Brick Bible Series – Joseph and the Colorful Coat; The Miracles of Jesus; The Easter Story,
Exodus - good retellings of the stories using the art of Lego.
5 Minute Holiday Classics by Fern Bisel Peat – while it includes the
Night Before, Yes Virginia, and a
version of a Nutcracker, it is hard imagining a modern child enjoying this book
of collected classic (1900s some of them) stories.
The Twelve Days of Christmas by Angel Dominquez- Nicely illustrated book
about the song.
Little Narwal’s Day by Angel Castillo – cute little book. The illustrations make it worth reading.
Fairy Tale Fraud Series (4 books) -Breaking News, Jack’s
Giant Problem, Fame Game, Wolf in Disguise by Katie Pye – nice twists on
fairy tales. There is a moral but it is
a more modern moral than the original.
The Sleeping Beauty one, - Fame Game is particularly good.
HOW Collection Series (2 books) – The Blue Whale, The Artic Tern by Yuliya Babannikov. These two
books are good nature books for children.
When Step Met Skip by Vicky Weber – good introduction to note
reading for very young children.
Yara and the
Yellow-Head Parrots by Yossi Lapid
– good entry in the series, it also addresses why some people traffic in endangered
animals.
When the Clock Strikes on Christmas Eve by Lisa
Ferland – meh.
It’s Raining Cats and Dogs by M. Drew- cute. Lovely illustrations.
Save Our Earth Series (2 books) – Save our Scarps, Save Our
Sharks by Bethany Stahl. Compared to the other books in the series, Sav Our Sharks is weak. Sharks don’t monitor turtles, for
instance. But still worth while for kids
interested in the environment.
Boss Women by Gwen Richardson – Richardson gives
profiles of seven Black women who run companies.
My Magical Brown
Unicorn by Ren Lowe- cute
Mini Movers and
Shakers Series (6 books) Serena Williams, Anne Frank, Walt Disney,
Frida Kahlo, Amelia Ernhardt, Indra Nooyi by Mary Nhin- this series
focuses on the lives of famous people.
The timelines at the end are a bit on the very general biography
side. However the series does address
series issues well – like the racism that Williams has faced, the sexism that
Nooyi dealt with. Nhin’s Ninja Life Hacks 12 Days of Christmas was
also good.
Burrakito and the Key
to Happiness by Paalna Deeksha – cute. Nice illustrations.
Cray Saves the Day by G
Pa Rhymes – meh.
A Wolf by the Window by Natilia
Kashchak – a retelling of an Ukrainian folktale.
The Heart of a Hero:
The DR Daniel Hale Williams Story by Stephen Noble - Nicely done biography.
Dancing Monkeys in my
Soup by S. F. Hardy -Nicely illustrated counting
book that also teaches about monkeys in Peru.
Puppy Pete’s Imaginary
Jungle by Rachel Hilz – the story
is fine, the illustrations are actually stills of crochet work. The book includes a link for a pattern.
Adventures of a
Pangopup by Terri Tatchell - story is a little wordy, but it is a good
animal book.
Catterfly Grows a
Garden by Alma Hammond – not as good as her other
children’s books.
The Fox and the
Feather by Kendall Lanning – another children’s book
about grief.
Zachary and the Potato
Catastrophe by Junia Wonders –
story is predictable but the illustrations make up for it.
Stella and Steve
Travel though Space by James Duffet-Smith - great book about the planets.
The Spotty Dotty Daffodil
by Rose Mannering – nice story
about a flower.
This Old Band by Tamera Will Wissing -counting book with a
band.
Silly Milly Fall by
Sheri Wall -Cute book focusing on a Great Dane experiencing the events of fall.
Yoga Fox by
Sylva Fae – what happens when a fox learns yoga.
Forest of Faith Series
– Easter Gift From Jesus; A Birthday Party for Jesus by Susan Jones – religious but more so in
the sense of the holiday, and in general Christian sense.
Cowgirl and the Ghost; Cowgirl
Christmas by Rae Rankin – These
are cute but stories are bit boring.
Maya and Neel’s India Adventure
Series (2 Books) - Let’s Celebrate
Ganesha’s Birthday, Let’s Celebrate Krishna’s Birthday by Ajanta
Chakraborty – excellent series about India.
This is really well done.
Princess in Black and
the Case of Coronavirus by Shannon
Hale – this free eBook (really a pamphlet) presents the information in a kid
friendly way using Hale’s Princess in Black and friends.
How to Track the
Easter Bunny, How to Trap a Leprechaun by Sue
Fliess – story and craft books.
Grandma’s Promise by Susan Jones - sweet.
The Journey of the Marmabill
by Daniel Errico – nice pictures.
Little Miss Muffet by Iza Trapani – pretty standard.
Lego Man in Space by Mara
Shaughnessy – little story.
A Bear and His Boy by Sean Bryan – Funny
What Makes Me Scared;
What Makes me Sad by Heidi Howarth
– nice animal books about emotion
Little Dragon and the
New Baby by Deborah Cuneo – Pretty
much what it says.
Big Book of Brick
Trucks by Amanda Brack -ABC book using Lego made
trucks
The Runaway Pumpkin by
Anne Margert Lewis – nice Halloween story.
Romey the Cow’s 123
Counting on the Farm by Sandrina Kurtz. As advertised.
No Peacocks by Robin Newman. The peacocks do not look like peacocks.
I am So Bored by Henrike Wilson – a bear finds a way to
get rid of boredom.
Princesses Don’t Have
Sticky Hair by Angela Castillo – this
was good.
Smelly Ghost by
Isabel Atherton -perhaps a bit heavy handed with the message, but like the
types of ghosts used in the illustrations.
Emily’s Perfect
Christmas Tree by Catherine Christensen – There is a certain charm to this story.
The Gingerbread House by Laura Gia West – how to trap a runaway
gingerbread man
I Want to Eat Your
Books by Karin LeFranc - nice take on the zombie
Five Busy Beavers by
Stella Partheniou Grasso -counting book.
The Little Black Dog
Has Puppies by J. B. Spooner – A cut above most dog books.
The Christmas Unicorns
by Julia Zheng – Covid Christmas
story
Olaf’s Night Before
Christmas -If you have seen Olaf
retell the Disney movies, you’ll like this.
Grace and the Gravy Pirates by Aaron Cushley -for a free book published by
Heinz, this was good.
Takema and the Fennec Fox by
Angela Castillo – nice little story about listening.
Comics
Ivar Timewalker #1 – I don’t usually like Time Travel
but this was fun.
Fuzzy Baseball Vol 1 -ideal for girls who like sports
and animals
4001 A.D. #1 – seems interesting but I am not
familiar with the world.
Light Princess #1 – faithful adaptation but the font
used for the text is annoying.
Crush – sexualizes teen girls. Bad.
Semiautomagic Vol 1 – I enjoyed this. The plot was
good, and the female lead was not sexualized.
Psi-Lords (1996) #1 – meh.
Divinity II
#1– nice start to a series about the Cold War, space, and superheroes.
Harriet Tubman Fighter for Freedom by James Buckley
Jr. – Kid friendly comic about Harriet Tubman.
Very well done.
Beauty #1 – oh dear, you get sick and then get
beautiful and then puck.
Southern Cross #1 – This seems like an interesting
murder mystery
Nomen Omen #1 – good in terms of representation but
the story telling is confusing.
Sea of Stars #1 – ho hum story about a dad and son in
space.
Self/Made #1 – this is really interesting. Good twist on video games.
Sex Criminals #1 – interesting. Love the discussion about women/girls and
sex.
Die!Die!Die! #1- bit too violent for my tastes.
Gasolina #1 the interesting bits get blogged down by
the sci-fi twist.
Extremity #1 seems to be female version of the Mad Max
world
Excellence #1 - book about wizards of color. Interesting.
Postal #1 -doesn’t
grab me
Isola #1 - This
does interest me. Like the companions in
the story.
Witchblade #1
yeah, no to the dress.
God Complex #1 – makes use of Greek gods and historical
figures.
Triage #1- Alternate reality story.
Devolution #1 – meh
Bitter Root #1 - Excellent
first issue about a family that fights the supernatural.
Die #1 – D&D gone bad.
The Chalice by Phil Rickman – not one of his Merrily
Watkins books, but a spooky tale about a dark chalice.
Fiction (general)
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor –
not that Elizabeth Taylor. Well
written. You can see why it is a
classic.
The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani – excellent book about work,
family, motherhood, and a nanny.
Non-fiction
Beauty & Inferno: Essays by Roberto Savino. Collection of essays that includes musings
about literature and football as well as Italy and crime.
On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed- Brief history of the
holiday but also a meditation about history.
The Carols of Christmas by Andrew Gant – short if dry look at the
history of some Christmas songs.
Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World by Kumari
Jayawardena – must read feminist text.
Biased by Jennifer Eberhardt – An important book, highly
recommended.
The Adversary by Emmanuel Carrerè – a true crime read.
Historical Fiction
Counterpoint (3 Short stories in eBook form) Theo,
Barbara, and Henry by Elizabeth St. John.
I like the time period, but the writing doesn’t want me to try the novel
that these stories tie into.
Mystery
The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler. An excellent collection. Nice mix of classics and modern
mysteries. The book does have something
for everyone.
The Mousse Wonderful Time of the Year by H.Y. Hanna
- DNf’ed. Too much info dumping.
A Silver Christmas by J. A. Whiting – the mystery isn’t really
pressing until late in the book, but the writer writes about horses well.
Romance
A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews – a bit predictable but
enjoyable. I mean it is a romance, you
know how it is going to end.
Her Donut Shifters by Mia Harlan – part romance, part humor. Kinda like Chuck Tingle but with a little
less parody.
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