Chuck’s Truck — Peggy Perry Anderson

A fun book about a farmer that goes into town and all the animals that decide to pile into his truck and come with him. Lots of rhymes and tongue twisters that will have the kids laughing as they try to read along as quickly as they can :)

Manny’s Cows, the Niagara Falls Tale — Suzy Becker

It’s the last day of school and the teacher wants to know everyone’s summer vacation plans. Manny is the only one who doesn’t want to go on vacation because every vacation is the same: taking care of the cows. When someone suggests he takes the cows on vacation with him, he starts to wonder what that would be like. A very busy book, loaded with words and busy pictures.

I Will Never NOT EVER Eat A Tomato — Lauren Child

Lola is a fussy eater. Her brother has to figure out a way to get her to eat all the foods she doesn’t like to eat. A fun story with good repetition and unique illustrations (a mixture of photographs and drawings).

Paddington Bear — Michael Bond, Illustrated by R.W. Alley

I don’t think I’ve ever read the actual Paddington Bear story, so this 40th edition was a treat. The story of a little bear from the darkest Peru who is found in the Paddington train station and adopted by a loving family.

Grandfather Buffalo — Jim Arnosku

Beautiful colors in this book about a buffalo that roams through the prairies and observes the wildlife around him. The book is very pretty, with the colors of the prairies (the beautiful pinks and yellows of the skies at dusk, the dark midnight blues of nightime with the clear skies and the twinkling stars). It really did capture the beauty of the land.

In the Fiddle Is a Song — Durga Berhard

A lift-the-flap book that shows just what nature can give us. For example, in the wheat is bread waiting to be made. In the clay is a pot waiting to be thrown. In this book is a nice and simple story waiting to be told. Good for really young kids.

A Day at the Beach — Ed Briant

Illustrated with pictures of clay sculptures, this is a very nice looking book. It tells the story of a family of panda bears that decide to spend a day at the beach. They pile into the car and drive to the beach to play, when they realise they forgot something. So the father panda piles them into the car to get it. But that’s okay, it’ll only take a half an hour to go back and get it. Unless you keep forgetting things and have to go back to get them again and again. Cute story.

Mama’s Wild Child/Papa’s Wild Child — Dianna Hutts Aston, Illustrated by Nora Hilb

A flip me over book (half for Mama’s Wild Child, and half for Papa’s Wild Child). A story about animal mamas and papas found in the wild and how they interact with their children. Gives information about animals and their habits. Each page reads like a poem.

Sally Jean, The Bicycle Queen — Cari Best, Illustrated by Christine Davenier

Sally Jean is the bicycle queen, a girl who has loved bicycles since she was a baby and finally gets one. She rides it all the time, raising the seat and handlebars so the bike will grow with her. One day she gets too big for her bike and needs a new one, but her family can’t afford to get her another one just yet, so Sally Jean has to figure out how to raise some money to buy herself a new bike. A cute story, this would be a good present to give a child along with their first “big kid” bike.

I was contacted by the publicists for this book and asked to read and review it here. Based on the title alone, I was ready to say thanks, but no thanks. But I looked into the book and read a few synopses, and decided it might be interesting. I am glad I agreed to read it, and let it be a lesson to those of you who might judge a book by its title (or cover or whatever).

I had conflicted feelings while reading this book. It was humorous, it was depressing, it was happy, it was sad. It was definitely an interesting read, with unique characters unlike any I have ever encountered before. (more…)

In this sequel to Archangel, the world of Samaria is in a state of rebirth and rebuilding. The new Archangel Gabriel has taken control after the god Jovah brought down a mighty thunderbolt of destruction upon the evil Archangel Raphael and his fallen angel followers on Mount Galo. Gabriel’s first actions as Archangel have been to destroy Raphael’s angel hold at Windy Point and commission a new angel hold to be built at Cedar Hills.

The angels have seen better times. Their population is now severely depleted, a third of them having been killed at Mount Galo. The remaining angels are stretched thin across the three provinces, and there are not enough to travel the lands and help the people of Samaria. The birth of an angel baby, always a joyful event, is now cause for the most extreme of celebrations, for it will ensure the future of the angel population, the guardians of safety and harmony in the world. (more…)

This is the second book I’ve read of Shinn’s Samaria series, and while it lives up to the impression that Archangel left on me, it took a while to get there. At first, the story seemed too similiar to Archangel, and I worried that it would be the same story, just with different names and a few differences in scenarios.

The story takes place about 200 years before Archangel. It begins just like Archangel did, with the current Archangel’s term coming to an end and the Archangel-elect, Gaaron of the Eyrie, needing to find and marry his Angelica-to-be before the Gloria, an event where the people of Samaria come together to sing their praises and gratitude to the god, Jovah. And once again, the Angelica, this time named Susannah, is hard to find because she is a member of a traveling Edori tribe. And yet again, once she is found, she is unwilling to take on the role, but she does because it is what the god wants. So if you’ve read Archangel, you can understand why I worried that this novel in the series wasn’t going to feel original and be unique. Thankfully, the worry went away a few chapters in, as the story started to veer into its own directions. (more…)

I’ve mentioned before that I work in a library, so I very rarely buy books anymore. When I do buy them, it’s because I LOVE the author and own everything the author has written to date, or it’s because I collect the books of a certain series and once I start, well… I can’t just stop now, can I?

So there I was, shopping in Costco, and instead of avoiding the new books tables as I usually do (better to avoid temptation than invite it, right?), I thought I’d just take a little look. A glance, really. And as I quickly swept my eyes over the table, I notice sitting there, side-by-side no less, were the only two books I’ve been anticipating buying for about a year or more now. The fact they were sitting there right next to each other seemed like as good a sign as any that I’d better just buy them right then and there, rather than go hunting through the bookstores looking for the best possible prices (Yes, I do this. It’s almost obsessive for me. I just can’t buy anything without knowing I got the best deal, even if the difference is just a dollar or two, I will do the work and go the extra mile to find it and I tell you, if I discover after the purchase that it’s cheaper somewhere else or that it goes on sale very soon, I literally moan with a bit of pain).

Anyway! I got Maeve Binchy’s latest, Whitethorn Woods, which I’ve been waiting for a long time to be published (though my husband jokes, “Oh? Another Binchy? Can it already have been a month since her last one came out?” Grrrrr… she doesn’t pump them out that quickly, and each one of them is damn GOOD, dammit!) and Diana Gabaldon’s A Breath of Snow and Ashes, which has finally been released in the trade paperback format I’ve been buying her Outlander series in.

<Happy sigh> Since I don’t buy books very often, I really do get very excited when I can, and I think I end up loving them even more because of it. On the way home, instead of putting the books in the trunk with the groceries and other things I bought at Costco, I put them on the passenger seat so they wouldn’t be tossed about or slide into something and risk getting a page bent. There was even a moment when I had to brake suddenly and I threw an arm out to make sure the books didn’t fly to the floor… I’m sure I’ll make an excellent mother some day ;)

Carrot Soup — John Segal

Rabbit works hard to plant every variety of carrot seed he can find and waits patiently for them to grow. When the day finally comes to harvest the carrots, Rabbit rushes out to get started, but they’re all gone! What could have happened to his carrots?

Oink? — written by Margie Palatini, illustrated by Henry Cole

Cute book about two lazy pigs living on a farm where the other animals can’t believe how lazy they are. The chickens want the pigs to paint their pen, rabbit wants the pigs to plant some vegetables, the duck wants the pigs to clean up their pen and put in a nice pond to bathe in. When the pigs aren’t in any rush to change for them, they discover that sometimes laziness pays off.

Spots, Feathers and Curly Tales – Nancy Tafuri

A really simply written book about animals and their recognizeable traits. And by simple, I mean REALLY simple. I suppose it would be good for one or two year olds who are just learning to say their words. Made me marvel at how just about anything can get published nowadays, particularly in kid lit.

Mr. and Mrs. God in the Creation Kitchen – written by Nancy Wood, illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering

Interesting book about creationism. Mr. and Mrs. God are in their celestial kitchen baking, where they create the sun, the earth and the earth’s creatures. This is a story that could be somewhat controversial to highly religious people. I thought it was an interesting idea. Didn’t like the reason for what they did to the dinosaurs though. Illustrations are also interesting; very dark and swishy, not really the sort of environment I’d expect Mr. and Mrs. God to be living in.

Last Day Blues — written by Julie Danneberg, illustrated by Judy Love

For the beginning of the school year, a book about the end of the school year ;) I liked this book a lot. It’s the last week of school in Mrs. Hartwell’s class and she’s sad to be saying good bye to her students. Her students want to cheer her up and say thank you by getting her a good bye present, but they aren’t sure what to get her. Really nice story.

Cowboy Slim — written by Julie Danneberg, illustrated by Margot Apple

A young cowboy is ridiculed by the other cowboys because he’s better at making poetry than he is at taking care of the cows. But when there’s a mad stampede, only the poet seems to know how to calm the cows down.

Keeper of Soles — written by Teresa Bateman, illustrated by Yayo

I really liked the cleverness in this story. Colin the cobbler is the best shoemaker around. He makes expensive shoes for the wealthy and cheap shoes for the poor, but every shoe he makes is the highest quality and of the finest craftsmanship regardless of the price. When Death comes to the door to claim his soul, the cobbler is surprised that he’s barefoot and offers to make him a pair of comfortable walking shoes and to just come back in a couple of weeks when they’re ready. When Death comes for his new “soles”, the cobbler tells him to try them out for a couple of weeks and see if he likes them. When Death comes back, the cobbler offers to make him some warm boots since winter is on its way, and tells him to come back in another couple of weeks, and so on… Smart cobbler. Reminds me of Scheherazade and The Thousand and One Nights story.

Hardworking Puppies — Lynn Reiser

Ten little puppies want new jobs. Counting down from ten, each puppy is given an important job. A really nice story that tells of the many jobs dogs have in our society. Cute illustrations and very educational.

I Wish I Were a Pilot — written by Stella Blackstone, illustrated by Max Grover

Tells the story of a little boy who wishes he were many different things that all include travel of some sort. Simple story.

So I had This Heart of Mine under Currently Reading on my sidebar for a long time, and I totally meant to get to it, but I just… didn’t. It’s not that I tried reading it and gave up, because I didn’t even get started on it. I just haven’t felt like reading much of any book lately. Probably due to a combination of being really tired the last couple of weeks, working extra hours and pursuing other non-reading activities. But I have been reading a bit here and there, mainly one of Sharon Shinn’s Samaria books. I gave it a good commitment today, so hopefully I’ll finish it soon and get the review up.

I visit a bunch of book blogs and I am amazed at how much people read and how often they post their reviews. And a lot of these people have kids (which I don’t) and full-time jobs (which I don’t) and other things taking their up their time. I’m amazed how much they can read despite it all. How do you do it, readers? When do you find the time to read so much? Are you just fast readers?

My husband is an incredibly fast reader… he puts me to shame more often that I’ll admit to him. But he also reads while eating (I find it hard to hold the book and eat without making a mess) and he’ll read in the bathroom (I’m more of a “get in and get out quick” kind of girl). I also prefer to find a chunk of time that I can devote to reading, so 10 minutes here and there doesn’t cut it for me, and then I’ll minimize distractions like the TV or music or people, and settle in with all my attention on the book.

I have always liked writing. Even writing essays as an English major in University wasn’t all that much of a hardship for me. After University, I took creative writing classes and I even belonged to a writer’s club for a while. But over the last couple of years, I stopped writing. Life just got busy: new job, a wedding to plan, being awed by my new niece and nephew, buying a house, working on the house, landscaping… all kinds of excuses.

I started this blog to encourage myself to read more books and to keep track of the books I read, but also to feed my desire to write. I’ve read books not just for leisure, but from the perspective of a writer, mulling over an author’s choice of words, contemplating her decision to plot the story the way she did, wondering where he got his inspiration for his story. I’m okay with being one of those people that say “One day I’d like to write a novel”, but I’d be really sad if I turn into one of those people who say it ’til the day they die.

I confess to having a major case of writer’s block — I’m just not inspired. But I’m also just not pushing myself hard enough to try. Confession #2: I have a major fear of trying and just plain failing. I don’t mean failing as in, I wrote a novel and no one likes it and it will never be published. That’s not even on the radar (yet) when it comes to my fears. My fears are of the “What if?” variety. What if I just can’t come up with an idea to write about in the first place? What if I have an idea, but as I write it turns out my idea is totally unoriginal and goes nowhere? What if I abandon it? What if, what if, what if… I think fear is a major reason for not doing a lot of things in my life. (more…)