What Can I Be Today? is a delightful book that encourages children to dream of what they want to be when they grow up. The book is beautifully illustrated with first a caterpillar and other insects. The illustrations are colorful and child friendly. The prose rhymes, which as a pediatric speech language pathologist, meets the needs of many of my clients for literacy goals. The prose on the e-book was simply words, with no illustrations, so perhaps the bound book is different. A few small illustrations on those pages would help tie in the prose to the picture to the opposite page. The book also includes a blank page where a child can draw what they aspire to. Also included are coloring pages for children, to keep them engaged, while working on their fine motor skills. Perfect for a younger child!
Thanks to #NetGalley for an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This would be a great gift for a birthday or holiday! Four stars!
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Full Disclosure: I loved the band Queen, and always will. I have been listening to their music for 35 or so years, so I have a bit of a love for their talent and outrageousness. So that said, here is my "unbiased" review of this new book by Martin Popoff, known for his books about rock bands of the era.
Having just seen the film “Bohemian Rhapsody” this week, I was delighted to be invited to be among the first to read and review this retrospective book on Queen’s 15 studio albums. The book is arranged where each album is discussed by a panel of experts on Queen and rock music of the era, and even includes Sir Paul McCartney. The interview style lends itself to the feeling that you are involved in a conversation with Queen experts, rock journalists, musicians, music industry people and superfans put together by author Martin Popoff. I loved the style and all the photographs and ticket stubs from concerts were so great to see. Having grown up on Queen, I could put myself back in time, where listening to the latest Queen album made for a great Saturday night. This book is a great choice for any Queen fan, with all of the pictures and commentary of the music experts and fans. I want to go back and see the movie again now that I have read through this book. If you are a Queen fan, or simply a rock fan of the era, this one will be a hit. This book is such a great tribute to a groundbreaking band. Thanks to #NetGalley, author Martin Popoff, and the publisher for an advance e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 5 stars for this one! attempt to give each book I read a fighting chance. I read until around 100 pages even if I struggle with it. With advanced reader copies, of which this was one, I really try to read the entire book. As a potential writer myself, I feel this is only respectful to do. Sugar Run by Miesha Maren was given those same chances.
That said, I struggled so much with this book to finish and find some way to keep reading. I simply couldn’t . I found myself re-reading passages, flipping back to see what I might have missed, and yet, couldn’t keep track of who is who and what is going on in the story. I found too much going on with the story to figure out the characters and what drove their actions. Jodi and Miranda did not draw me in. I couldn’t connect with the characters, nor the community in which they lived. Thanks to #NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. I regret that it was not for me. Quite possibly the best new book I've read this year, Gone So Long will stay with me for a long while. Written by the same author as House of Sand and Fog, this novel creates characters that live and breathe for the reader, who aren't well liked, but relatable. Andre Dubus III writes characters that are human and messy, complete with their own meatiness and depth. I couldn't put this 480 page novel down and consumed, yes, consumed it in a day! "Daniel Ahearn lives a quiet, solitary existence in a seaside New England town. Forty years ago, following a shocking act of impulsive violence on his part, his daughter, Susan, was ripped from his arms by police. Now in her forties, Susan still suffers from the trauma of a night she doesn’t remember, as she struggles to feel settled, to love a man and create something that lasts. Lois, her maternal grandmother who raised her, tries to find peace in her antique shop in a quaint Florida town but cannot escape her own anger, bitterness, and fear." -Goodreads synopsis from the publisher While this is the essence of the book, the book is so much more. Told from the eyes of the three characters, Daniel, Susan and Noni, it shows us grief and regret and so much more. The author also gets the locale of the novel correct, depicting the hard scrabble area of the Massachusetts shore, as well as little Arcadia, Florida. The towns become additional characters in their own right. Having read the author's book, House of Sand and Fog, when it was released years ago, I can say this book is even better. I highly recommend this book for someone wanting a more dense read and a model for character development. 5 Stars! Thanks to #NetGalley and the author for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. If your library, or piles of books, or rooms of books, looks overwhelming, take time to organize, if even in your mind, how you can lessen both the visual clutter, but also the mental clutter of owning so many books that remain unread. There are tons of reading challenges to meet your interests, your ability to read just a few or hundreds, reading harder, reading to others, authors of color, or anything else you can imagine. I have personally joined a few and achieved some. I like Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge, which encourages you to stretch to different genres than what you will likely read. As of this posting, I have read 258 books and completed Read Harder and Goodreads book challenge of reading 80 books. I still haven't finished one that requires a book of fantasy to be read. I just don't read fantasy, even after picking up a few books at the library. Couldn't do it. Next year, I will . join in a few more. There is a group on Goodreads which addresses this. You pick and commit to a certain number of books and keep track of these as you read them. Challenge Levels: Pike's Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s Mount Blanc: Read 24 books from your TBR pile/s Mt. Vancouver: Read 36 books from your TBR pile/s Mt. Ararat: Read 48 books from your TBR piles/s Mt. Kilimanjaro: Read 60 books from your TBR pile/s El Toro: Read 75 books from your TBR pile/s Mt. Everest: Read 100 books from your TBR pile/s Mount Olympus : Read 150+ books from your TBR pile/s Personally, I will be challenging myself to Mt Kilimanjaro and then donating the book to my local library for their book sales. When you post anywhere, such as Goodreads, Litsy, or LibraryThing, use the hashtag, #MountTBR so you can keep track and other will see your accomplishment. I will read 60 books in 2019, which should be pretty easily accomplished. How about you???? Leave a comment if you plan to join in. Time to Get Started: A Story about Learning to Take Initiative is a book written for parents, teachers, therapists and tutors working with children who have trouble getting started on tasks. Having raised two children with ADHD, and as a pediatric speech language pathologist, this difficulty has been on my personal front burner for years. The precepts of Time to Get Started are clear. Getting things done is hard. And one step at a time is needed. The story itself reads like fiction, but the child and parent together should be able to discuss the salient points, how everyone has trouble with getting started on tasks, and then how to "fix" that. The story is about a boy who has difficulty with being overwhelmed with tasks and completing them. There is a an extensive part at the end for parents and educators that would be invaluable. The author discusses the need for structure and breaking tasks down so that the overwhelming nature of getting things accomplished occurs. The use of timers, explaining how behaviors impact them and others when they don't follow through is discussed, as is the need to help the child in prioritizing things that need to get done through out their day. The illustrations help keep this a child friendly book without being too preachy. Educators might want to purchase this for their classrooms for those times when children need reminded how to approach larger tasks. Counselors who run social groups for ADHD could use this book for a jumping off point for keeping focus. Recommend this book highly! Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Silent Night by Lara Hawthorne is a beautifully illustrated picture book for children. The book uses the lyrics to the Christmas carol, Silent Night, which then have lovely illustrations matching the song. I could see that this would be a beautiful book to give as a gift to nieces, nephews and grandchildren for Christmas, so they could begin to understand the Christmas story. The book also contains the history of how the song Silent Night came to be, and includes the lyrics on one page. 5 stars for this book! Perfect book for gift giving! Thanks to #NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for a free e-book copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ,
This book, ABC for Me: ABC What Can She Be? is an amazing ABC book for young girls to expose them to the possibilities for their futures. Having raised two girls, I wish I would have had this book for them. Female empowerment is very important to the development of self of girls. Everywhere we turn we see negative images of how women are mistreated and unequal. This book exposes little girls to ideas and possibilities that may never get communicated to them any other day. It will open the imagination to many exciting things for them. The illustrations are child friendly and positively impact the story. This is a great book for little girls; pick up one for a little girl in your life. Thanks to #NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for a complimentary e-book in exchange for a honest review. Five stars! I’ll be buying this one for a few preschool classrooms! The Adults is a light read for a cozy weekend when you co-parent and need to have the “who gets the kids on the holiday “ discussion. While the publisher is touting this as humorous, I, for one, never felt there were situations that deserved “humorous”, or “funny”. The situations all seemed ditzy and not well thought out, but I guess that makes for flawed characters and an interesting story line. Set in England, it takes place, mostly, in a resort catering to those wishing a getaway in the country. Activities, tacky Santas, and even a burlesque class enters into the vacation. The brochure paints quite the lovely place; it misses. Not much could be more awkward than the parents’ holiday plan. Claire and Matt are divorced, both in new relationships and co-parent Scarlett. They decide that spending the holiday with their new partners and together under one roof for Christmas would be a good idea. Add an imaginary 6 foot rabbit, who is Scarlett’s best friend to the mix and you do have some well recognized scenarios. Silly with some bittersweet moments, this book may be a welcome break from the holiday stress we all feel. It is an easily read book, just not one that grabbed me immensely. It is well written and will be a easy read for some. I give it 3.5 stars. Thanks to #NetGalley, the author, and the book publisher for an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. A quiet book, well written and hard to put down. I read it in less than a day and the characters will stay with me for a long time.
Connell and Marianne both grow up in different classes in a working class Irish town. Both brilliant students, they connect in an on again and off again relationship during high school through young adulthood. There are themes of loneliness, mental illness, submissiveness, politics and social angst. I loved it. Quiet, yet bold. Perceptive, and keen. Five stars Do it. Check out my blog at https://safepassagesandprose.weebly.com/ We travel and I read. We love this place. It's just a simple beach in a great state park. Yes, it is as lovely as it looks. A little golf, anyone?? Sawgrass, the PGA course, which of course is a beautiful place. Here is Luke, loving the fact that he is at the PGA!
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AuthorReader, Traveler, Reviewer. Come join us as we travel the US in our RV. I review books. Archives
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