The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Frederick Fife never intended to steal Bernard's identity, but the problem with being old is that no one listens to you, and frankly sometimes it's not worth the effort, especially when it's so cold outside, and it's so very nice to have people bring you hot food three times a day. What's the harm? Until mistakes of the past create complications in the present, that is, and Fred finds himself with an ethical dilemma.

I absolutely LOVED this heartwarming tale of a kind, lonely, elderly man who tries to do a good deed and ends up being rewarded for his effort in a profoundly unexpected manner that changes not only his life but the lives of everyone with whom he comes into contact.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary, story secondary. The only sexual content is a spicy elderly woman who chases Fred around and traps him in uncomfortable situations. No onscreen violence, and only a bit of mild swearing that I can recall. Strong themes of chosen family, grief, friendship, kindness, reparations/forgiveness, and the plight of the elderly with medical debt. Deals with dementia, cancer, and gambling addiction.

View all my reviews

 

Cassandra in Reverse

Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What would you do if you discovered you could go back in time (though no further than a certain date)? Would you use it to win the lottery? Prevent accidents? Or try and keep from getting fired from your job and dumped by your boyfriend on the same day? Cassandra Penelope Dankworth chooses the latter option. It is, however, exhausting, and perhaps not what the universe had in mind.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Cassandra was such a wonderful, heartbreaking character. I would say I wanted to scoop her up and hug her and tell her there was absolutely NOTHING wrong with her, except, of course, she would hate that.

I did have a really hard time believing she had gone 31 years without realizing she was autistic, as that was blindingly obvious from almost the first moments of the book, but then I read that the author wasn’t diagnosed until she was 39, so I guess that’s sadly more plausible than I’d realized. I also read that the author herself processes emotions as colors, which explains the phenomenally beautiful way they are described throughout the book.

For readers’ advisors: character and language doorways are strongest. A fair amount of occasional swearing. References to sex and a time loop sex scene (as Cassie tries to “fix” things) which is not described in detail. No physical violence aside from the anti-fur protesters who yell and throw fake blood on Cassandra when she accidentally stumbles into their midst.

View all my reviews

 

The Bad Guys (#1)

The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mr. Wolf is tired of being thought of as a Bad Guy just because he's a wolf, so he rounds up some other folks (Mr. Snake, Mr. Shark, and Mr. Piranha) who have faced the same prejudice, cajoling and convincing them to join his new Good Guys Club to seek out opportunities to do Good Deeds and change their reputations. They aren't at all certain this plan will work or whether they even want it to, but Wolf sweeps them along through sheer force of personality and enthusiasm. The team starts with rescuing a cat in a tree and moves on to liberating a dog pound.

My kids screeched with laughter as we read this fast-paced graphic novel, and I was quite glad I'd bought the full set. The series is a strong incentive for them to get ready for bed on time for a change so as to maximize bedtime story time.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, language (humorous banter) is secondary. Target audience is elementary school children. Piranha gets swallowed temporarily, and both Piranha and Snake get smacked against the side of a building a few times, but no realistic violence.

View all my reviews

 

Hey, Bruce! An Interactive Book

Hey, Bruce!: An Interactive Book by Ryan T. Higgins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ryan T. Higgins' books are an auto-buy for our family, and this one did not disappoint. My kids giggle and take turns poking, swirling, lifting, turning, and shaking the book, etc. as the mice try and "help" Bruce take his nap. We've read it many times since the Easter Bunny first delivered it in April.

View all my reviews

 

Princess Pulverizer: Grilled Cheese and Dragons

Grilled Cheese and Dragons by Nancy E. Krulik
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A spoiled brat princess hates her teacher and her Royal School of Ladylike Manners. She wants to go to Knight School instead because that looks way more fun. Her father tells her she can go to Knight School on the condition that she will first go out into the world and do eight good deeds, bringing back proof of each. This proves harder than she imagined, since honor, kindness, and sacrifice are not her strong suits, but eventually she gets an ogre to capture her so she can try and retrieve the jewels he stole and return them to their rightful owner. Along the way, she grudgingly teams up with a Knight School dropout and his dragon friend who wants to be a chef. One down, seven more good deeds to go!

I bought this book for my daughter, and it's pretty cute. I like how the self-centered princess (very) slowly begins to think of others, which bodes well for the later books in the series. I do wish Lady Frump and the ogre weren't basically caricatures of stereotypes, but perhaps they might be given depth and nuance later on in the series? I won't hold my breath on that, though.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, character secondary. Very fast-paced. Good for showing that not everyone fits neatly in predetermined gender (or species) roles, and even misfits have strengths to contribute.

View all my reviews

 

The Princess in Black and the Giant Problem

The Princess in Black and the Giant Problem by Shannon Hale
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's a quiet, snowy winter day and time for a superhero playdate, when suddenly the fun is interrupted by a giant who starts squashing everything and doesn't respond to the usual superhero tactics. What to do? Call in reinforcements, of course! Soon the Princess in Black, Princess in Blankets, and the Goat Avenger are joined by not just their superhero friends, but also 8 NEW superhero friends and animal sidekicks. Together they trap the giant in a giant-sized twine playpen, and the giant starts to...cry??

My kids and I love the theme of friendship and collaboration, and it's fun to see the silly combination of disguises the new friends come up with. You don't learn anything much about the new characters, but that may come in future installments in the series.

View all my reviews

 

Once More Upon a Time

Once More Upon a Time by Roshani Chokshi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm having a hard time deciding on a rating for this one because on the one hand, it was an absolutely delightful second-chance romance tale of a young King Ambrose and Queen Imelda whose love was taken away by a curse the day after they married, in exchange for saving Imelda's life. To rule their tiny kingdom, they must love each other, however, so they were forced out after a year and a day had passed. Only then, on a quest to steal a potion from one witch to give to another, do they discover that though they no longer remember being in love, there never was anything preventing them from falling in love all over again. They simply wasted that year. The journey they undertake together is both literal and figurative, with plenty of personal growth and adventurous escapes from carnivorous beds, enchanted animals, and potion-wielding witches. Both the narrator (the witch) and a cloak that thinks it's a horse provide plenty of humor along the way.

On the other hand, I somehow forgot it was a novella and was unpleasantly startled when the book ended just as it was getting going. This really would have been better as a full-length novel, in my opinion. Not because I think the romance needed to take any longer to rekindle, but because there was so much more story to be told of how they found their way once it was and adjusted to their newly realized heart's desires. Their healing from adolescent traumas was just beginning, and I wanted to stay with these characters as they built something new.

But Goodreads doesn't allow half stars, so I think I'll round up to 4 because I really did enjoy the novella until there were no more pages.

For readers' advisors: character and language doorways are primary, but setting is strong as well, since it's beautifully written, humorous fantasy based on the fairy tale of the dancing princesses. Though the target audience is adults, it works for older teens as well. It's steamy, but the one sex scene happens off-screen. No real gritty violence or profanity that I can recall.

View all my reviews

 

Book Lovers

Book Lovers by Emily Henry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nora Stephens has been dumped not once, not twice, but FOUR times by men who leave New York City for a Hallmark-movie-ending in the country. If her life were a romance novel trope, she'd be the "Evil City Girlfriend." Nora adores NYC, though, and has zero desire to live anywhere else. She is a classic workaholic, devoted to her clients and dedicated to securing the best publishing deals she can in her role as a fierce literary agent. She is also devoted to her younger sister, nieces, and brother-in-law, so when Libby begs her to take a month-long sisters' vacation to the very small town that's the setting of a client's best-selling novel, she acquiesces. Little does she know her sister has ulterior motives for the trip and is on a mission to give Nora her very own Hallmark movie experience. Not long after the women arrive, it's not a handsome stranger they run into, though, but the very editor who once turned down the book that put this town on the map, so to speak, and Nora begins to learn that everyone has a backstory, and sometimes first impressions are dead wrong.

I absolutely adored this book! Yes, the solution the characters struggle to see was obvious to me from the moment we learn what Libby's secret is--and it crossed my mind even before that--but the journey they took to get there was necessary, heartwarming, and sometimes even heart wrenching. Plus the witty banter was perfect, like an R-rated Gilmore Girls, and had me laughing out loud or at least grinning 'til my face hurt though most of the story.

What I don't understand is why the official synopsis of this book says Nora and Charlie are rivals. They barely know each other until Nora & Libby arrive in Sunshine Falls. The only time they've ever interacted was 2 years prior at the meeting where Nora pitched Charlie the manuscript for Once in a Lifetime, and he turned it down because he hated the setting. In fact, when Nora does spot Charlie in the coffee shop, she isn't sure it's him and has to look up his address to send an email as a test to see if the man ahead of her in line responds. Which he does, because apparently they both have email notifications turned on--something I would never do because the constant pinging would make me insane, but I suppose it makes sense for their business email accounts. At any rate, they aren't rivals; they are acquaintances who become colleagues and friends with enough electricity sparking between them to start a wildfire.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary, language secondary (for the banter). There is no violence, but there are a few steamy sex scenes and some profanity sprinkled throughout.

Many many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the free eGalley copy in exchange for my honest review!

View all my reviews

 

The Other Miss Bridgerton

The Other Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Poppy Bridgerton did not intend to get kidnapped (does anyone?), and Captain Andrew James (Rokesby, but his crew doesn't know that) never intended to hold anyone captive, but life has a funny way of turning out sometimes. If only Poppy had chosen to walk the opposite direction on the beach that day. If only Andrew hadn't needed to ensure the cave remained secret and the documents got safely delivered tomorrow. But she did, and it did, and they did, so Poppy awoke to discover herself confined to the nicely appointed captain's quarters aboard the privateer ship Infinity enroute to Portugal.

I absolutely adored this book, especially the banter between Poppy and Andrew and the way that they each slowly realize this person they are stuck with is actually someone they want to spend time with, is in fact a kindred spirit. I love that each really sees and appreciates the other in a way that no one else ever has. This is a character-driven story for sure, but with a plot twist I didn't see coming.

For readers' advisors: character and language doorways are primary, setting (at sea headed to Portugal in 1786) is secondary. A few mild swear words. The threat of violence in one scene about 3/4 of the way into the book, but no one gets hurt. Two steamy but not terribly explicit sex scenes near the end.

View all my reviews

 

Norman Didn't Do It! (Yes, he did.)

Norman Didn't Do It!: by Ryan T. Higgins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Norman and Mildred are best friends. The fact that one is a porcupine and the other a tree makes no difference at all. That is, until the day that a seedling begins to grow nearby. Then Norman's worries sprout and take root as well, until he feels the new tree is such a threat to his relationship with Mildred that he digs it up in the dark of night and takes it far, far away. Fixed! Except...it didn't fix anything, and now Norman feels horribly guilty and ashamed of himself. What's a porcupine to do?

As always, Ryan T. Higgins' artwork is worth many thousands of words. So much nuance and emotion conveyed with his illustrations. Brilliant, as always.

I love that this is a book depicting someone making a horrible choice, realizing the harm his actions have caused, coming up with a plan to make amends, and following through--a really critical life skill! And this book does it in such a way that it doesn't come across as preachy or afterschool-special-y. A great read-aloud for preschool through early elementary school. Or let's be honest, it's a great read for *adults* too!

View all my reviews

 

Undercover Bromance

Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Liv Papandreas is a brilliant pastry chef with a horrible boss. Braden Mack is a wealthy nightclub owner who wants to settle down with his current girlfriend so he can experience the kind of relationship he has helped his friends achieve. When Mack decides to splurge on a fancy dinner and $1000 cupcake at the restaurant where Liv works, the evening ends in disaster, with Mack's girlfriend dumping him, and Liv witnessing a young server being forced into performing sexual acts by their boss. Liv's defense of the girl costs Liv her job.

Realizing her former boss clearly has a history of harassing and coercing women, Liv goes on the offensive, trying to discover his previous victims, regardless of their fear, shame, and reluctance to come forward and accuse this powerful celebrity chef of his crimes. She demands Mack make up for costing her her job by offering a job to the server in an attempt to protect her. The girl initially refuses the help, but Liv is determined to put a stop to the abuse. Eventually the entire Bromance Book Club (plus a few others) cooks up a plan to break in to Royce's office and steal his computer files containing information on the women he's harassed and paid off so they have hard evidence with which to confront him.

All this plotting and planning means Liv and Mack are spending large amounts of time together, and despite Liv's initial disdain for Mack, she discovers there is more to him than she imagined. Mack, in turn, comes to realize he's going to have to face the trauma of his childhood if he wants to create something real with Liv, who has her own emotional baggage to deal with.

Book #2 in the series reveals more about how the Bromance Book Group got started and why Braden Mack, a bachelor, is a member. Spoiler alert: he started it! Getting to know more of Braden's backstory was one of my favorite aspects of the book. Also, the best thing about a hating-to-dating romance is the lack of insta-love. I generally prefer a slow burn story.

For readers' advisors: character and story doorways via for prominence. Profanity is pervasive, there are some steamy sex scenes, and a rooster gets pretty violent when men come to the farm where Liv resides. Trigger warning for anyone sensitive to issues of domestic violence and sexual harassment.

View all my reviews

 

Why?

Why? by Adam Rex
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When a would-be supervillain crashes through the roof of a shopping mall, everyone flees except a little girl who keeps asking, “Why?” in response to every proclamation he makes. Soon it’s just the two of them wandering the stores, her repeated question inducing him to ponder how he came to this place and time, wondering if maybe his dreams lie elsewhere. A delightful depiction of curiosity cutting through the bluster of a bully to see the wounded child inside.

View all my reviews

 

The Bromance Book Club

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gavin Scott messed up. Badly. The love of his life, his wife of three years and the mother of his twin 3-year-old daughters, wants a divorce. He hadn't even realized they had grown so far apart until the night he found out she'd been faking it in bed for their entire marriage. The pain of her revelation sent him into a tailspin, shutting both his mouth and his ears until she got fed up and kicked him out of the house.

The thing is, Thea is furious because somehow over the past three years she lost herself, subsumed her identity and morphed from an artist into a stereotypical baseball wife, one whom Southern Lifestyle magazine called "wholesomely pastel." What Gavin doesn't grasp is that it's not just sex she's been faking, but everything, and she is D.O.N.E. being a stranger to herself.

Gavin, though, is desperate to save his marriage. So desperate, his best friend drags him to a very unique book group. A dozen or so alpha men of Nashville society--business owners, athletes, city officials--meet to read romance novels ("We call them manuals") and save each other's relationships. What?! Gavin thinks he's being punked, but the men are completely serious. What better way to learn the language of women than to read books "written by women for women...entirely about how they want to be treated and what they want out of life and in a relationship"? The men formulate a plan for Gavin to win Thea's heart all over again. In short? Backstory. It's ALL about backstory, and Gavin needs to understand not only Thea's, but his own if he is to have any hope of success.

I am so glad this is just the first in the series, because it's hilarious, heartwarming, and I wish men would try this strategy in the real world! Seriously, so many relationships could be saved and strengthened.

There is so much to love about this book. One of my favorite quotes is from a funny-but-serious moment in chapter 5 when one of the men says, "Don't be ashamed for liking them. The backlash against the PSL [pumpkin spice latte] is a perfect example of how toxic masculinity permeates even the most mundane things in life. If masses of women like something, our society automatically begins to mock them. Just like romance novels. If women like them, they must be a joke, right?" OMG, yes! Well, I don't know about the PSL--I hate coffee-flavored anything--but Ms. Adams is Spot On about the pervasiveness of toxic masculinity and the constant condescension toward the romance genre in particular.

My biggest beef with this book is that I really wanted Gavin to have more of an Aha! moment after he and Thea are cleaning up the puking toddlers and he has zero idea where the extra towels are. I mean, DUDE. It's your own house, how can you not know where the linen closet and clean towels are? A telling moment, no? But Ms. Adams moves on and passes up the chance for Gavin to have a meaningful awakening there, and I SO wanted him to.

I also kept forgetting the main characters were supposed to be in their mid-20s. Most of the time it seemed more like they were in their early or mid-30s. But given the belly laugh I had in the scene where Thea and her sister Liv come home earlier than expected and interrupt book group in progress, I forgive Ms. Adams entirely!

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, character and language secondary. There is no violence, but there is a lot of swearing amongst the witty banter and some very steamy sex scenes. Gavin struggles with a stutter and all the self-esteem issues that can crop up around that. The main characters are presumed white, but there are a few POC secondary characters.

View all my reviews

 

Kill the Farm Boy

Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

This is a fantasy novel that takes many of the usual tropes and turns them upside down: the Chosen One is not a innocent farm boy (saying who it *is* would be a spoiler); Fia, the warrior, hates the bikini chain mail she begins the story wearing; the Dark Lord isn't very dark; the rogue is both female and not very good at sneaking or questing; the witch isn't really wicked; the quest goes sideways constantly and for unusual reasons (both helpful and not); there are allusions to pop culture (Nardstromp's department store at the Goblin Market, artisan cheese and crackers), and so on. The authors were clearly having a great deal of fun writing the story, and it's very entertaining but not as riotously funny as I was expecting (which is not the authors' fault, just a fact of how other readers/reviewers had hyped the book). I am looking forward to the next books in the series, though!

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, character and setting are secondary. Characters have various skin tones/colors, although the fictional world of Pell and its surrounds doesn't map culturally to our own. There is some creative language throughout, especially from Argabella the bard, who likes to say words like "Shoutful," "Songful," and "Deadful." Argabella and Fia have a very sweet romance. There is quite a lot of violence, but it's not graphic--often more absurd than anything. A few main characters don't survive the quest.

View all my reviews

Gimme Shelter: Misadventures and Misinformation

Gimme Shelter: Misadventures and Misinformation by Doreen Cronin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The squad is back, and this time they've got spoons. And brushes. And voluminous feathers. Soon their squabbles over digging a meteor-storm-prehistoric-unicorn-preserving shelter spread to the squirrels and the chipmunks, but all is forgiven and forgotten when a powerful wind starts blowing all of a sudden, and a mysterious furry-faced creature leads them to safety.

This book had my kids, especially my 7-year-old, shrieking with laughter. There were also plenty of opportunities to discuss what's real and what isn't, the dangers of jumping to conclusions based on inadequate information, what is and is not in the US Constitution, and how voting does and does not work, etc. We love this series!

View all my reviews

A Good Day for Chardonnay

A Good Day for Chardonnay: A Novel by Darynda Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sheriff Sunshine Vicram is back in the second installment of the hilarious series that bears her name. A few months have passed since we last saw Sun, and since then her parents managed to con her into going on some really terrible blind dates. The current one is definitely the worst, so it's a huge relief when her deputy calls with an emergency, cutting the date short. A raccoon emergency. At his own house. But hey, it got her out of a creepy coffee date, so there's that!

All too soon her attention is diverted from Randy the Attack Raccoon to a stabbing and hit-and-run at the bar owned by Levi Ravinder, the man she's been in love with since childhood. One man is taken to the ICU, one refuses medical treatment, and a third has his body dumped down a nearby ravine. But before she heads out to track down witnesses to an altercation between the stabbing victim and unknown assailants earlier in the day, Sun receives a message from one of Levi's uncles, claiming to have information about her abduction 15 years ago, and her destination changes. Upon returning to Del Sol, Sunshine is stunned to recognize the face of a young kidnapping victim on security camera footage from the previous day--a child who went missing years ago. Meanwhile, Sun's daughter Auri decides to enlist the help of her boyfriend and best friend in investigating a serial killer from decades ago.

I absolutely LOVED this book. The witty, snappy dialogue and multiple plot threads interwove with tender personal moments. One minute I was laughing out loud, and the next (OK, mostly later in the book) I was sobbing and trying to explain to my kids why Mommy was so sad. I am grateful some questions from the first book were answered or at least partially resolved, even if the answers to the biggest were completely obvious the entire time to everyone but Sun. As per usual, the breakneck pace made putting my iPad down nearly impossible. Plus, I just wanted to spend more time with the characters. And hug them. And join the secret club.

For readers' advisors: story, character, and language are all very strong doorways. There is quite a lot of swearing, some sexual content, some on- and off-screen violence, some alcohol, and a couple of scenes where children or teens are in danger (they survive).

Many many thanks to NetGalley, Darynda Jones, and St. Martin's Publishing Group for letting me read an eGalley copy in exchange for my honest review. Um, when does the next book come out? Is it soon? Please may I read it right away? Please??

View all my reviews

Ramona and Her Father

Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ramona is just timeless. I'm so glad my daughter is old enough to fully appreciate these books now. She begged me to read her an extra chapter one afternoon, in addition to our regular bedtime chapters, and would have happily read the whole thing in one sitting if there had been time.

This book takes place as Ramona's father loses his job and struggles to find another one. Her mother has to increase her hours at her job to compensate, but money is very tight (because of the sexist pay gap, but that's not addressed in the book). After Beezus mentions how smoking turns your lungs black and makes you sick, Ramona begins a campaign to get their father to stop smoking. Given the current stresses and job losses of the pandemic, the themes in this book feel especially relevant right now, although the particulars aren't to my daughter, whose parents have never smoked and who remain employed. But the FEELINGS--those transcend time and place, a testament to Beverly Cleary's brilliant writing.

View all my reviews

The Duke and I

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After binge-watching the first series of Bridgerton on Netflix, I pulled out my copy of The Duke and I to re-read and see how much had been altered. The book was even more delightful than I remembered! Far fewer sub-plots than on Netflix, and far more witty dialogue. In large part that is because in the book, Daphne is not quite as young as she is portrayed in the show--she's at the end of her second season, so somewhere around 20 instead of around 18--and she's more comfortable around men--too comfortable, is really the problem, as they see her as a pal instead of a potential wife. Even Nigel Berbrooke isn't as heinous in the book, just dim-witted, desperate, and convinced he loves Daphne. Lord Featherington is already dead, so there is no gambling debt sub-plot. There is no opera singer mistress for Anthony, no boxer best friend for Simon, no Queen, no pregnant Featherington guest/relative, and Lady Danbury is important but not Simon's mother's best friend. The characters are all white, as they would have been in those societal positions at the time and not as Shonda Rhimes revised history. (The color-conscious casting is the tv series is WONDERFUL.)

In short, the book focuses far more on the relationship between Daphne and Simon, as well as the warm relationship between the Bridgerton family members. Violet is a whole lot more cunning, capable, and confident in the book. Anthony has already allowed Daphne to turn down several marriage proposals. And the banter is a balm to my soul, a needed antidote to the violence and chaos in the news.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary, setting secondary. There is a little violence (Daphne punching Nigel in the hallway is hysterical more than violent), a few swear words, and several medium-spicy sex scenes. There is WAY more nudity in the tv series, so this seems tame by comparison.

View all my reviews

Tacky's Christmas

Tacky's Christmas by Helen Lester
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Tacky the Penguin and his friends are back in this tale of Christmas preparations and mistaken identity. It's a lucky thing Tacky gave his friends shaving cream and happened to be squirting it onto their faces as the Hunters (a bear and two wolves) approach. Soon both penguins and hunters are having a Christmas party together, no longer predators and prey, since the Hunters think the penguins are "Sandy Clawz" and elves.

The story is cute and has some funny lines. I am bothered by the illiterate dialogue the hunters speak, however. It dropped my rating from 4 to 2 stars. The uneducated speech and clothing* seems like it's supposed to suggest the animals are Southerners, likely from remote, rural areas--some sort of "hayseed" or "hillbilly" persona. My husband is a Southerner, and these stereotypes are offensive and hurtful.

So this was a 4-star book for me, right up until the end. Darnit!

Our copy was part of a Christmas book bundle from Scholastic, and it didn't come with a CD at the end, so I have no opinion on that part.

(*Yes, I also realize that I'm talking about a book where penguins talk, wrap presents, wear hats & scarves, & decorate for Christmas, so it's not like ANY of it is the least bit realistic.)

View all my reviews

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Cute story based on the rhyme/pattern of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.” The kids were drawn with different skin & hair colors; however, the adults were both white. The story requires a fair amount of willing suspension of disbelief, but that makes it silly & fun, so OK. The ending does rather seem like it’s trying to influence kids toward vegetarianism, which I have mixed feelings about, but overall it’s a funny book I think my kids will enjoy.

View all my reviews