Review: Christmas Blessings (Really Woolly) by Bonnie Rickner Jensen Illustrated by Donna Chapman

CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS

Really Wolly

by Bonnie Ricker Jensen
and DaySpring

Illustrated by Donna Chapman

Thomas Nelson

Board Book / Holiday

40 pages

ages 3 and up

Enjoy the blessings of Christmas!

Christmastime is full of blessings, and the Really Woolly characters celebrate every part of the season—from time with family and friends, to sledding and decorating, to the joy of giving to others.

Cuddle up close with your little one, and enjoy the precious rhymes, meaningful Bible verses, simple prayers, and endearing illustrations that teach about the greatest Christmas gift of all—the birth of Jesus.

MY TIDBITS

The warmth behind Christmas comes across through lovely, sweet rhymes.

The stability and care given into the making of this book is clear the minute it hits the hands. It's stable for tiny fingers, just the right size for toddlers to carry around and flip through, and even has a softness to the cover to give a gentle, cuddly feeling. This board book was made for kids and will hold up to them.

The first page contains a short, full of Christmas senses, note for parents, which explains the intent of these pages: to cuddle, have happy hearts and read versus and prayers together. That's exactly what this book offers, too. Every two-page spread contains a short title and then a short summary of a Bible verse. Then follows two versus of a simple poem, which brings over the sense behind the verse in a very basic and easy way for young listeners to understand and relate to. At the end is a one line prayer which relates to the reading.

The illustrations are simple, colorful and bring across exactly what is being talked about. Of course, Woolly and his/her friends are always present.

It's a sweet book, which is great for parents and grandparents to use before the holidays. The first few pages concentrate on the story of Jesus' birth. After this the tone changes, and the rest of the book hits various activities surrounding Christmas and how they relate to our Christian lives and happy hearts. I was a little disappointed by some of the verse summaries, however. While some are well done, others don't match up well with the actual meaning of the verse in the Bible. There are highlighted words in every other line of the poems, which could have been really clever if they had a purpose other than being colorful and bold.

In general, this is a cute collection of poems and prayers, which ring in Christmas nicely with very young listeners and brings over the heart of the holiday.

I received a complimentary copy from Booklook Bloggers.

Review: Santa Calls by William Joyce

SANTA CALLS

by William Joyce

Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Picture Book/Holiday

40 pages

ages 4 and up

Art Atchinson Aimesworth -- inventor, crime fighter, and allaround whiz kid-journeys north with his sister, Esther, and his pal, Spaulding, by special invitation from Santa himself. But why did Santa call? Now available in a new hardcover edition, this truly Joyce-ian crusade features villains and swashbuckling adventure, concluding with a most spectacular and touching Christmas celebration.

A holiday extravaganza like no other, by the creator of Rolie Polie Olie, Snowie Rolie, Sleepy Time Olie, Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo, and George Shrinks.

MY TIDBITS

This isn't your cuddly, hot-chocolate-warmth, Santa tale, but rather a fast-paced, high-flying adventure with tons of wondrous Christmas magic around every bend.

Art is a boy in Texas, who is known for his adventurous spirit and talent in about everything. He has only one flaw, he likes to fight with his little sister. When the siblings and Art's best friend discover a mysterious box and find that Santa has called them to the North Pole, an action-filled adventure begins.

The tale begins with Art, a true Texas-crime fighting hero already as a boy. The description and illustrations of this tough, slightly arrogant, and very Western kid start the book off with a clash to the winter-world to come. And it grabs kids right away and jerks them to pay attention.

Slow is not a word to be found in these pages. The moment the kids get that box, it leads to a line of adventure which hits with explosion after explosion. There is mystery, thrills, magical wonder, edge-of-the-seat escapes, daring rescues, and, on top of it all, warmth. This is exactly the kind of Christmas story kids who love adventure and aren't ready to dive into snuggly emotions are going to enjoy. It makes a great read-aloud, especially for groups. However, I wouldn't recommend this for younger readers and see it more as a read for kids ages 5 to 7.

The illustrations have a very traditional feel, which wakes a nice sense of an old-fashioned Christmas. There are lovely details, and every scene brings across the emotions and adventure nicely. While lovely, the traditional style holds an interesting clash to the very fast paced and thrill-filled adventure the kids experience. It's a mixture which demands attention and works.

If you're looking for a different type of Christmas tale, which still holds on to a bit of traditional charm while packing in a fast-paced adventure to please action fans, this tale is it. Especially kids ages 5 to 7 are sure to stay attentive as this story is read-aloud to them, and they'll probably hit the playground and join in on similar adventures of their own imaginations.



All about. . .

William Joyce does a lot of stuff but children's books are his true bailiwick (The Numberlys, rolie Polie Olie, dinosaur bob, George Shrings, and the #1 New York bestselling The Fantastic flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which is also his Academy Award-winning short film, to name a few). He lives in Shreveport, Louisiana. Talk to William Joyce and look at upcoming work at @HeyBillJoyce on Twitter and Instagram.

Review: Winter's Siren by Krystal Jane Ruin with Giveaway

Winter’s Siren 

by Krystal Jane Ruin

November 1st 2017

YA Paranormal

For the last five years, Fawn has been the star soprano of a secluded opera house, forced to sing for her kidnapper.
His daughter, Devi, waits patiently in the shadows, hiding a face so horrible that no one who’s seen it will look at it again.
As Fawn plots her escape, whispers spread through the shaded corridors of dark sorcery, warning her that she must flee by the next opening night.
But when Fawn draws close to the exit, it’s Devi who’s standing in her way, leading Fawn to suspect that Devi has something to gain if she fails.
(a dark reimagining of Swan Lake)

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

MY TIDBITS

Dark, eerie, beautiful and with a touch of magic—this tale draws into a creepily lovely world, pulls at the heartstrings and leaves a biting trail of goose bumps behind.

Kidnapped from an orphanage as a small girl, Fawn is held captive in a reclusive opera house, which flaunts the grandness of a castle. And she is the star. Every day, she sings her heart out for her captor, only to be locked away in a tower at night. But that's not the worst of it. She knows that he's waiting for something, something to do with his deformed daughter Devi, who hides her face behind a veil—a face to ugly to see.

I loved this book. It is dark, creepy and haunting, yet flaunts a touch of beauty in the luxury of a successful opera house. The two girls, Fawn and Devi, each share the story, the plot switching between both points of view in a masterful way, which leaves no room for confusion and lets the intrigue blossom and grow. The longing of both touches the heart, as they each seek their own version of freedom. But both are caught in a very dark scheme. 

The writing brings the world to life in all of it's senses. The beauty of the opera house offers a lovely contrast to the dark shadows of those dwelling within. And each person's mask plays an enticing role in this deadly game like a well trained ballet. It's hard to determine who's right and who's wrong, each desire hitting the area of gray. The good and evil within both girls adds a terrific tension, making it hard to decide who to love and who to hate. 

Fans of darker fiction with a touch of fairy tale and musical beauty are sure to get lost in these pages. Especially the end guarantees a perfect finish for such a tale and leaves a bitter-sweet sense of longing lingering behind. 

EXCERPT

Frosty air nips at my nose. I stand almost knee deep in fresh fallen snow, letting the diffused sunlight hit my face. There is no sound. Peace settles over me. In this moment, I truly feel like I’m in the middle of nowhere.
Something cold and wet explodes on the back of my neck. For a moment, I fear the worst. A boil. Pus. My father’s description of my mother’s face plays out in my mind.
But then I hear Andrew laughing behind me. I touch the rough skin on my neck and bring a shaky and damp glove to my face. Snow. It’s just snow.
It’s the middle of the day, and my face is uncovered. To make everything worse, it’s bright outside. Freezing and overcast, but bright.
My hands fly to my face automatically.
“Are you going to let me get away with that?” Andrew laughs again.
I twist around and peek at him through my fingers.
He stands before me, his arms spread wide. A thick coat covers his arms, and in his gloved hands, he holds another snowball. “You have two seconds to stop me!”
I flip my hood over my head and drop down to gather snow in my hands.
Another snowball bursts against my head. The wetness plasters my hair to my face. I hurl my deformed ball in his direction. It misses him completely.
Another wad of snow lands on my neck while I gather a larger, rounder ball of snow. “Cheating!” I throw my handful at him. It lands weakly by his knees.
“Here, let me help you.” He climbs towards me and gathers a nice, solid ball in his fist. He hands this to me, and then stands back and spreads his arms wide again. “Try again.”
I throw it square at his nose.
“Ow!” He covers his face and cries out dramatically. “It’s in my eyes!”
“Stop it! Are you serious?” I navigate closer to him, and he falls back into the snow. I run to his side and hear laughter bubbling out from behind his hands. “Jerk!” I shovel snow over his body, and he laughs all the while.
Then he goes still. I stop.
“Andrew?” I lean in close. “Andrew?”
He lunges out of his shallow grave and tackles me to the ground.
A panicked scream leaves my body as he lands on top of me, heavy and warm. Then a strange sound comes out of my mouth. Something that’s never come out of it before. Laughter.
His braid hangs down, inches from my sunken cheek. Suddenly aware of how close his head is to mine, the laughter dies in my throat, and I slap my gloves to my cheeks.
“You have such beautiful eyes,” he says.
My breath is trapped in my chest. It hurts. I don’t know how much he can see of my face—my hood is pulled low and my hair and hands cover everything else—but I fear it’s too much.
“Andrew . . .”

And here she is. . .

 

Krystal is the author of supernatural and paranormal fiction, living in the Tennessee Valley with a collection of swords and daggers. When she's not hoarding stuffed pandas, hourglasses, and Hello Kitty replicas, she can be found in YouTube hole or blogging about books, writing, and random things at KrystalSquared.net.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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Review: The Space Between by Susan Rooke with Giveaway

The Space Between:

 The Prophesy of Faeries

 by Susan Rooke

Fantasy, Fairy Tale

Holynok Press

September 12, 2017

452 pages

Format available for review: ebook (mobi, ePub, PDF)

Tour dates: Oct 23 to Nov 17, 2017

Content Rating: PG-13 (For some violence. There is no sex or bad language)

Mellis, a courageous and resourceful young woman, is kidnapped from the human world and taken to the Space Between by a tribe of faeries called the Penitents. Because of guilt over an ancient sin committed by their angel ancestors against the Maker, the Penitents have cursed themselves with grotesque physical disfigurements. Mellis can help them reunite with the Maker and find their way back to redemption, but she would need to give up the life she's always known to remain in the Space Between.

As she struggles with this heart-wrenching decision, one of the Penitents, bent on revenge, commits a gruesome attack against the tribe, and they learn he has taken Satan--the Maker's greatest enemy--as his ally. All in the Space Between are facing grave danger. Will a long-awaited act of vengeance save them?

Susan Rooke builds a rich and fantastical world of angels and demons, monsters, faeries and dragons. Abounding with spirituality and humanity, this faery tale for adults has a cast of vivid characters you won't soon forget.

To follow the blog tour and read reviews, please visit Susan Rooke's page on iRead Book Tours.

​

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble

Add to Goodreads

MY TIDBITS

With a mixture of fantasy and all things Heaven and Earth, this tale combines the stories of several characters into an intricate, twisting plot.

Mellis was enjoying the day in the park with her dog, when two strangers sweep her away to another world. Here, the inhabitants live a luxurious life but carry deformities. They are kind to her, very much so, but are harboring a secret. She must make a choice: she can return to Earth or she can sacrifice herself to save the odd folk. But both choices hold more than they first appear to.

The book opens with a prologue of someone falling through worlds and, what almost appears to be, eternity. It's not mentioned who or why, which sets a lovely mystery before Mellis comes into the picture. But this someone isn't left to for the reader to discover later on. Rather, the book divides between the tale of, at first, two individuals, and later, intertwines the fate of even more characters. While Mellis has a familiar beginning, a everyday woman taken into a mysterious realm, this 'someone' from the prologue is left in a sort of uncertain haze. The chapters flip-flop between the two, letting the two stories develop beside each other with only a hint of possessing an intertwined fate. It's alluring, draws in, and keeps the tale interesting, but, on the other hand, it's confusing too. Especially since it later becomes clear that the two stories are working on completely different timelines.

The story grabs and even when some spots lean toward the slow direction, it's hard to put the book down. I did find myself skimming some areas, while others were so intriguing that I wanted to read them again. There's something about this book that demands to be loved. There are stumbles in logic and pacing at times, but it's hard not to forgive those and keep reading on. 

The characters are vivid, and it's impossible not to feel for them. Each one has their burden to bear, and each has qualities which shine through. The author does an amazing job at bringing every single person and creature to life with its own personality and tale, while keeping the plot running along. There are unexpected twists, plenty of them. These aren't thrown in with generic style but sail right in as if they truly belong, while adding layers of complexity. It is impossible to guess where the whole thing is going, even though Mellis is wrapped up in the 'heroine of prophecy' fate. 

There is romance, and it packs uncertainty, longing and the question of whether it exists or not. This is well done and demonstrates the weakness of the heart in so many ways—not necessarily through the main characters, but even in the sub-plots. 

Summed up, this is a difficult book to review. It is marvelous in so many ways but very confusing at times. Fantasy friends who are looking for a completely new type of tale will enjoy this one, and those who love to get lost in characters should definitely give this one a try. It's an interesting start to a very complex series, and I can't wait to see where it goes next.

Although this book is rated PG-13, there are rather graphic and gruesome moments of violence, which are not suitable for younger readers. These mold into the story well but can be disturbing to sensitive readers. 

And here she is. . .

Susan Rooke is a Pushcart-nominated poet and author of the forthcoming The Space Between Series. Her short stories and poems have appeared in publications such as The Christian Science Monitor and The Twilight Zone Magazine, among many others. She resides on a square of green, peaceful country not far from Austin, Texas, with her husband Glen, who runs a small cattle operation while Rooke writes fiction about angels and demons, monsters, faeries and dragons. Look for her fantasy novel, The Space Between: The Prophecy of Faeries on Amazon.

Connect with the Author: Website ~ Twitter ~ facebook

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Ends Nov 25

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Frankenbunny by Jill Esbaum with Giveaway

FRANKENBUNNY

by Jill Esbaum 

Illustrated by Alice Brereton

Sterling Children's Books

Picture Book

ages 4 and up

40 pages

COMING. . .

NOVEMBER 7th!!!

“You know monsters aren’t real, right?” 
Brave is easy in the sunshine. Brave is easy near Papa. But can Spencer the Bunny learn to be brave ALL the time—even when his big brothers try their best to scare him? 

Spencer the Bunny’s big brothers ALWAYS frighten him with scary monster stories. And the most terrifying beast of all is Frankenbunny, with his crusty fangs, flashing red eyes, and ginormous paws. But when Spencer discovers that his brothers made the whole thing up, he hatches a plan to turn the tables on them and conquer his own fears . . . forever.

Any child who has ever worried about a monster in the closet or felt scared in the dark will love this humorous story about learning to be brave.

MY TIDBITS

Even the bravest bunnies can fear monsters, and there's more to this monster than meets the eye.

Spencer knows monsters don't exist, but the endless pokes and jabs from his older brothers start making him wonder. When night comes. . .and that closet looks oh so dark. . .Spencer finds that he might not be so brave after all. But then, he discovers something that turns everything upside down.

Turn off that light, and the imagination takes flight, especially when it comes to monsters. Mix that with older brother teasing, and this tale weaves a very familiar situation with a super fun twist at the end. Spencer has it rough, as many kids with older brothers know. It's easy to feel a little sorry for Spencer, but also to feel brave and proud as he learns to take a stand. The dialogue flows very natural and incorporates terms, which older brothers really will use. It's not a sing-song, gently written text but holds a more true to life ring. The ending is a hilarious counter to the darker tones of the rest of the book, making this a tale which will sit and make kids think.

The illustrations are dark and bring across the perfect amount of goose bumps without going overboard. There's a lovely contrast between the more colorful scenes when Spencer can be brave and the ones where doubt has him wondering if monsters might really exist.

This packs a great message for kids and even gives a little push of encouragement to those who might suffer from sibling antics. 

All about. . .

The author. . .

Author Jill Esbaum is the award-winning author of I Am Cow, Hear Me Moo!, I Hatched! (both Penguin), Teeny Tiny Toady, Elwood Bigfoot, and If a T. Rex Crashes Your Birthday Party (all Sterling). Visit Jill at jillesbaum.com, and follow her on Twitter at @JEsbaum. 

The Illustrator. . .

Illustrator Alice Brereton has won numerous awards from her school, the Academy of Art University, and was an Adobe Design Achievement Awards Semifinalist in 2011 and 2013.

GIVEAWAY!!!

Sterling Children's Books is giving away one copy of

FRANKENBUNNY by Jill Esbaum, Illustrated by Alice Brereton. 

To enter this giveaway, leave a comment below as well as your email address. A winner will be randomly chosen from all comments submitted by midnight (EST) on November 7th and announced here in the comments during the day on November 8th. The winner will also be informed per email. The winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. 

This giveaway is for US/Canada mailing addresses only, and entrants 18+ years of age. The value is around $17 (USD), and the prize cannot be exchanged or transferred. Only one entry per person. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. The giveaway is sponsored by Sterling Children's Books.