Review: You Are a Little Seed by Sook-Hee Choi

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If you’re looking for a sweet picture book with tender drawings that capture the joy of life beginning, look no further than You Are a Little Seed. Written and illustrated by Sook-Hee Choi, the book shows different types of seeds and the flowers they grow into.

Some seeds are light and fluffy and blow in the wind, like those of a dandelion. Some are ugly and wrinkled, but they turn into sweet-smelling lilacs. Some, like lotus flowers, release their seeds from pods.

The book ends by says, “Yes, you are a seed, too — with a flower in your heart.” The illustrations are colorful and soothing and show lots of children looking at the seeds then interacting with the flowers that bloom from them.

You Are a Little Seed is a great book for bedtime reading, when it is sure to delight both parents and children.

The publisher provided a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Review: All About Color by Elizabeth Rusch & Elizabeth Goss

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All About Color, a picture book by Elizabeth Rusch and Elizabeth Goss, opens with a surprise fact: Color doesn’t exist. We only see blue skies and green grass and yellow flowers because light sends messages to our brain.

The illustrations are also unexpected, as they show people with green or purple skin and things in the world around us in unusual tones. The choices compel readers to look at the world around them with new eyes.

But the book also focuses on what color means when we do see it. Team uniforms to help you identify who is on your side. Stop lights that regulate traffic. Red on a spider to warn of danger.

All About Color starts off playful on the cover, which shows an illustration of a child holding up a hand, with cutouts on the fingertips in different colors to look like finger paints. And extra info at the back talks about the science behind color and also the role it plays in emotion. It’s the kind of picture book that children and parents will want to read over and over.

The publisher provided a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Fall of the House of Tatterly by Shanna Miles

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Theo Tatterly has a special gift. He can see ghosts and help them peacefully transition to the next world. He comes from a long line of people with magical abilities and both the living and the dead reside in the ancestral home in South Carolina. Theo, as the last male in the line, is the main target of an evil force who wants to oust them from that home. If he wants to save it, he will have to stay clear-headed and call on his cousins for help.

The Fall of the House of Tatterly by Shanna Miles has an interesting premise. A 12-year-old boy finding his talents and working to save his family. The community he’s part of has many ways to protect themselves from being discovered and harmed, but even so forces of evil work against them. There’s a strong family connection, with multiple generations living in the same household.

I found the story more interesting in the beginning, when the author was creating Theo’s world and establishing his relationship with his friends and cousins. But as it went along, I got confused by the plethora of aunts and their abilities, as well as other characters who made brief appearances. Also, magical creatures sometimes showed up, and I wasn’t sure of their purpose.

Personally, I love fiction set in the South, and I thought the author did a nice job of evoking the possibility of an alternate reality in a mysterious place. The story was not for me, but I can see how young readers may ignore the issues that bothered me and enjoy reading it.

The publisher provided a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Yumbo Gumbo by Keila V. Dawson

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Annabelle is excited to go to her grandparents’ house and learn to cook gumbo, one of her favorite things to eat. But when they get to Mami and Papi’s, no one can agree on what kind of gumbo to cook. Some want okra, some want chicken. They vote to decide but come out with an even number for each.

Annabelle keeps suggesting new ways to decide, until they all agree and get to work cooking. They’re all happy with the delicious result.

Yumbo Gumbo by Keila V. Dawson sneaks in a bit of math with a family story of figuring out how to compromise with meals. And there’s also the mouth-watering description of gumbo, which also happens to be one of my favorite dishes.

A glossary at the end explains some of the Louisiana creole expressions used in the book, and an author’s note explains more about the origins of gumbo and how the dish evolved with the input from many cultures. Illustrations by Katie Crumpton are whimsical and add bright tones throughout.

Yumbo Gumbo also has a few exercises in the back to help children figure out how to be fair when deciding among competing options. All in all it’s a fun picture book that parents and children will want to read again and again. Preferably when they have time to work in the kitchen.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Princess Protection Program by Alex London

When Rosamund is woken with a kiss after being asleep for 100 years, her first instinct is to flee. With her prince in pursuit she opens a door and steps from her story into the protected haven of Home Educational Academy, where princesses find refuge from their fairy tales.

The young women (and one prince) at the academy all had their tales go awry in some way, and Vera, the headmistress of the school, promises to educate them and protect them before sending them on their way. But Rosamund finds that all is not right at the school. For one thing, the lessons are always the same. For another, no one seems to leave. Is the HEA just another place to be trapped in a story?

The Princess Protection Program by Alex London puts a modern twist on classic fairy tales and reimagines what happily ever after could look like. Rosamund is a spunky character who makes friends quickly in her new world, but she also likes to question why things are the way they are and what would happen if a story changed. She also has sympathy for the prince she left behind, who can’t move on but must wait for her to come back.

It’s fun and thought-provoking and has a few surprises as the story goes along, which is just the kind of tale that can engage young readers and keep them turning pages until the end. I recommend The Princess Protection Program for ages 8 to 12.

The author provided a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Our Story Book Review: Fatima Al-Fihri

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Our Story books seek to shine a light on historical figures who accomplished great things. Fatima Al-Fihri is one of those. In 859 CE she established what has become the world’s oldest university in the city of Fes, Morrocco.

Born in Tunisia, Fatima was the daughter of a wealthy merchant who migrated with his family to Fes. When he died young, he left a fortune to Fatima and her sister. They each spent their inheritance building a mosque. But Fatima also firmly believed in the importance of education, so she expanded the role of her mosque to also be a center of learning.

Fatima’s story has gorgeous illustrations by Emanuel Colban, who incorporates symbolism from Fatima’s country as well as the continent of Africa in the artwork. Activities at the end promote discussion in a way that young children will be able to relate Fatima’s actions to their own lives. There’s also a fun craft activity for parents and caregivers to conduct with their children. A glossary of terms and pronunciation guide help introduce new words and concepts. I recommend Fatima Al-Fihri’s story for ages 4 to 8.

Review: My University of the World by Neill McKee

Today I’m taking part in a blog tour through Wow! Women on Writing for Neill McKee’s book, My University of the World: Adventures of an International Film & Media Maker. For other stops on the tour, check out the complete list following my review.

As a young man, Neill McKee volunteered to be a high school teacher in Malaysia through an agency then called Canadian University Services Overseas, or CUSO. Little did he know that that one small action would eventually lead him to finding the woman he loved and a decades long career making educational documentaries. My University of the World is McKee’s account of the impact his work had and the challenges he faced both personally and professionally along the way.

Early in the book McKee says of one of his assignments, “I can’t say taking this job was a completely wrong choice, for I have always found whatever choices you make, you usually learn something new, and something about yourself, which leads to personal growth.” This outlook pervades throughout his story, and it led me to ruminate on how lives unfold from one event to the next without us knowing how things will turn out until time has passed.

McKee’s work focused at times on issues that affected agriculture, forestry, education, health, and more in developing countries. Through his story, I learned about efforts to educate girls especially, and to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS as well as other health issues.

Sometimes, though, I felt the narrative got bogged down with specific details, particularly the names of people McKee worked with on projects, which made reading slow-going until I gave up trying to remember most of them.

I did enjoy reading about how McKee met and wooed his eventual wife, Beth, and the stories of how she adapted to the many moves the family made throughout McKee’s career. All in all, My University of the World provides a first-row seat and personal perspective to some recognizable challenges the world faced in the 1970s, 80s, and beyond.

The author provided me with a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Review: I’m Trying to Love Germs by Bethany Barton

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Germs are everywhere. And when most of us think of them, we think of bad germs. Like the ones that cause us to feel nauseated, or have diarrhea, or get a cold. But there are also good germs that help us stay healthy. Bethany’s Barton’s cute and fun picture book, I’m Trying to Love Germs, helps teach kids about different kinds of microbes and what they do.

told by a talking germ, the book is a great way to get children interested in science. It defines microbes as “teeny-tiny living things” that can be helpful or harmful. Pathogens make people sick. Microbes help keep us healthy. So do things like fungi, good bacteria and viruses, and protozoa. Many words are in large print, so it’s easy for young readers to follow the story. And the illustrations are often squiggly and wiggly and colorful.

A page in the back talks about how washing hands is one of the easiest ways to protect us from bad germs. I’m Trying to Love Germs is the kind of picture book that can be read over and over for new understanding as kids grow. And it may even inspire some of them to think about being a scientist who studies germs when they grow up.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

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