Review: Aven Green Baking Machine by Dusty Bowling

I had the pleasure of reviewing the first book in this series several months ago and was excited to get my hands on this one. Aven Green comes from a much loved, middle grade tale,  Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, and tells of her own adventures in this chapter book series. Plus, this one inspires young bakers...which is a plus, right?

So, let's take a peek, shall we?

AVEN GREEN 

BAKING MACHINE

by Dusti Bowling

Illustrated by Gina Perry

Sterling Children's Books

Chapter Book

128 pages

ages 6 to 8

COMING...

AUGUST 17th!!!

Now that third-grader Aven Green has retired from sleuthing, it’s time to conquer a whole new world: baking!

Aven knows she’s an expert baker of cakes and cookies since she’s been baking with her mom for a really long time. Plus no one bakes quite like she does. She cracks eggs with her feet and measures sugar and flour with her feet (plus measuring cups), since she was born without arms. And now Aven has her eye on the prize: a beautiful blue ribbon for baking at the county fair. So she teams up with her friends Kayla, Emily, and Sujata. But it turns out they all have very different tastes and a lot of opinions about baking. Talk about a recipe for disaster!

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MY TIDBITS

This is the 2nd book in the series, but by no means is it a problem to pick this one up and read it on its own. The main character also comes from the much-loved Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus.

Aven has found her love for baking and wants to enter a contest at the fair with her three best friends. Each brings over their favorite recipe, and one by one, each desert is created. The best will be chosen for the contest. But Aven finds something she really dislikes about each of them and decides she can't support baking anything with raisins. Her decision leaves her in a fight with her friends and unable to enter the contest...unless she finds a way to make everything right.

I did read the first one in this series and enjoyed it. Aven is spunky and tends to tell everyone exactly what's on her mind—refreshing but gets her into tons of trouble. Her attitude in this book was a bit irritating as she complains about everything and is very harsh to those around her. Of course, people do act that way, at times, but it also made her dislikable since she made this mistake even several times  after her mother reminded her to be kind. Still, Aven learns her lesson, and the book ends on a good note. It's definitely a lesson for those kids, who sometimes act the same way.

The author packs diversity into these pages. Not only does Aven offer her own zest, but each desert comes from a different culture. I did appreciate this variety, and many readers will not recognize the dishes. The author adds the clever note of making sure to explain each lesser known item as part of Aven's candid narration, and there is a glossary at the end. As an extra bonus, the author adds the recipes at the end of the book, which encourages readers not only to bake but allows them to have a chance to try these more exotic dishes on their own. 

This is an easy to read chapter book with very short chapters (something reluctant readers will appreciate). Aven, of course, has her own, distinct way of seeing things, which is either a positive or negative depending on the reader. I find her character intriguing and a bit gritty...something young readers are sure to enjoy. Plus, baking and snacking are always a treat.

And here she is...

Dusti Bowling grew up in Scottsdale, AZ, where, as her family will tell you, she always had her nose in a book. Dusti holds a Bachelor of Psychology and a Master of Education, but she eventually realized that her true passion was writing. She lives in AZ with her husband and three daughters.

Gina Perry graduated from Syracuse University, worked as a compositor in animation, then an art director for a stationery manufacturer, before discovering her true passion—writing and illustrating children's books. She lives with her family in NH

Coming this week: The Living Sword 3 by Pemry Janes with Giveaway!

 

The Living Sword 3 

The Burden of Legacy

by Pemry Janes

The Living Sword, #3

YA Fantasy

COMING...

AUGUST 6th!!!

 

Leraine has finally returned home, but the welcome is not as she imagined it. Tension is rising within the Mochedan Federation as many advocate for an end to the long peace and a return to the glory of war.

She sets off to the most important festival of the Mochedan, hoping to preserve the peace for at least a little while longer. Eurik joins her, to help his friend and to finally find the answers about his parents he’s been chasing since he left the island.

What they find is theft, murder, and a conspiracy to end their world.

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SNEAK PEEK

“Ah, so we’re heading for smithies,” Misthell said.

Startled, Eurik glanced over his shoulder at the blade. “We are. How did you know?”

“We’re looking for my makers, that’s the point of this whole story. Also, there were at least two carts laden with iron bars and coal we passed heading the same way we are.”

Looking past Misthell, Eurik spotted one of the carts in question. “Right. I should have noticed that.”

“You’re too focused on one thing. Or should I say, one Way. Why don’t you try Dance of the Whirlwind to find what you’re looking for?”

He hesitated for a moment as the people flowed around him. But these past weeks, what little time he’d had for training had been taken up by Silver Fang. And on the Road, even wind chiri didn’t quite work as it should.

Taking a deep breath, he reached out only to have Misthell whistle sharply in his ear. Eurik flinched away. “What was that for?”

“Because you’re starting wrong. The wind is motion, so if you’re trying to become one with the wind . . .”

He sighed. He should know this and he did. “So must I.” Eurik moved forward, arms hanging loose at his side, fingers lightly splayed, and felt for the flow of wind chiri. Though flow was the wrong word for the chaotic mess swirling around him, a chaos he added to with every step, every breath. On reflex, he closed his eyes to better concentrate on his other sense.

He tried feeling for the ringing of steel, of hammers striking hot iron. But the wind chiri shied away from his reach, his flow rebuffing those around him.

Eurik sidestepped a group walking toward them, their wake washing over him. A sharp flow snaked its way out of a tavern to his left, carrying a jaunty tune. Behind him an ox exerted himself, hot air blasting out with every huff.

Those flows he could feel, because they mixed and bounced off his own, but they also constrained his world. He pushed, wind ruffling clothes and hair, and he felt his perception expand. So did the chaos, new flows emerging within his flow while more flows beat at it from without.

The wingbeat of a lake gull, the wind blowing over the rooftops of Urumoy, hot air rising from a dozen chimneys, the staccato of a thousand voices whispering, speaking, hollering.

Eurik swayed, and a wagon wheel ground past his toes, almost crushing them. “Look where you’re going!” Opening his eyes, he staggered away as he lost his connection with the world. Out of the flow of traffic, into a narrow, shadowed alley. The air hung in there, thick and fetid. His deep breaths only set him to coughing.

“What did you do wrong?”

“I—” Another cough. Eurik shook his head. “I don’t know.” Breathing through his nose wasn’t better, only made the smell worse, but it helped against the coughing. “I tried to reach out to find the smithy, but I got swamped by the city. There was too much.”

“Wind is not earth,” Misthell said, his voice changing into a familiar one. One Eurik had not heard in months. “It is more like water, flowing from a place of abundance to one where there is absence. The wind dances to its own music, and you must dance with it if you wish to guide it to where you need it.”

Eurik blinked until his sight stopped being blurry. “You talked a lot to sesin.”

“Yeah. What, you thought I’d spent all that time in a box?”

Eurik shook his head. “Hard to imagine. I would have found you within a year or so if that were true. All I would have to do is follow the stream of complaints.”

“You mean pointed reminders. Not my fault your fleshy minds leak memories like sieves.”

And here he is...

Pemry Janes grew up on a family-owned farm. He has had a love for history for as long as he can remember and studied it at university. Fantasy he discovered a few years later and now tries to combine the two in his writing.

 

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Review: My Dad's Jokes are Very (Terribly, Awfully, Painfully) Bad! by Jacob Eckeberger

 Some days need a few jokes...even bad ones...to get us through the day. So, today's review is a picture book which will have even older ones smiling and moaning.

MY DAD'S JOKES ARE VERY (TERRIBLY, AWFULLY, PAINFULLY) BAD!

by Jacob Eckeberger

Illustrated by Keith Zarraga

24 pages

ages 4 to 10

Who has the worst jokes of all? Dads.

This book is dedicated to the kids who put up with all the very, terribly, awfully, painfully, bad jokes from their dads!

At the beginning of the book, you're met by a new friend whose Dad is the king of bad jokes. But it doesn't take long for their Dad to start telling his jokes, and soon you're faced with a challenge: can you make it to the end of the book without cracking a smile?

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MY TIDBITS

Smiles and smirks are guaranteed as jokes mix with a boy's uncomfortableness.

Dad's make bad jokes, and this boy really is tired of hearing them. He tries to be nice, but lets the reader know how awful he really finds each and every one. The more jokes the dad tells, the funnier the boy reacts.

This book takes the fun of a joke book (because the reader does learn jokes) and mixes it with the silly discomfort of a kid, who's trying to deal with his embarrassing father. In other words, many young listeners will have no trouble relating. The jokes the dad tells are about the same level as found in a joke book...not any worse or better...but it's the kid's reactions, which add even more fun as he tries to explain how awful it is living with a dad like that.

The illustrations are simple but completely right for this type of book. It's fun to watch the boy's expressions as he whines and complains about each joke. I do like the way the illustrator divided the pages so that the joke is on one side with the question at the top and answer below, and the boy's reaction next to it.

The words and jokes are age appropriate. There is a little more text, making it better for slightly older listeners. I was a little disappointed to see that the author tried to rhyme the boy's dialogue/thoughts, since this didn't flow well and felt forced. But it doesn't ruin the fun in the slightest.

I can see young listeners enjoying this and telling some of these jokes for weeks...months...years?...to come.

Review: D-39 A Robodog's Journey by Irene Latham

 

D-39: A ROBODOG'S JOURNEY

by Irene Latham

Charlesbridge Publishing

Middle Grade Science Fiction

272 pages

ages 8 to 12

Klynt's days on her Papa's farm are the all the same, even during wartime. Until the robodog, that is. A dystopic but heartwarming novel-in-verse perfect for fans of Pax by Sara Pennypacker.

In a future United States, civil war is devastating a country on its last legs. On one side: the Patriots. On the other: President Vex's corrupt government. In the middle: everybody else, just trying to survive. The war is going from bad to worse, but out in the sparsely populated Worselands, twelve-year-old Klynt Tovis doesn't see much of it.

Instead, Klynt spends most of her long summer days bored, or restoring artifacts in her Museum of Fond Memories. Real pet dogs are a thing of the past: after they were found to be carriers of a sickness the government ordered them all killed. But one day an incredible antique shows up at the farm: a D-39 robodog, "Real as a dog can be!" Klynt is overjoyed, but the good luck doesn't last. When the war makes its way into the empty Worselands, she and D-39 find themselves thrown into an epic journey for survival and hope.

Through the twists and turns of this riveting read, Irene Latham deftly shows how kindness can appear in unexpected places during uncertain times.

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MY TIDBITS

Although not really written in verse, this is novel dives into deep thoughts surrounding life, courage, and family.

Klynt lives on a farm in the Worselands. She hasn't seen her mother in a long time, since she's working in the underground to save dogs against a tyranny. Her father is a farmer and does his best to raise Klynt and keep his farm going. While Klynt enjoys her hobby of restoring artifacts for her personal museum, she's bored, especially when the government decides to close down the schools. When  Robodog crosses her path, a ray of sunshine seeps into her life, but it only lasts a little while. The government keeps tightening the rules and soon, she finds herself on a journey to survive.

This book supposedly is written in verse, but this isn't quite the case. It's more like a few paragraphs of the story on each page for about half a page. The rest of the page is kept blank, while words from the last sentence are used as a title to the next paragraphs on the next page. And it continues like this without any poetic feeling. Instead, it comes across as a telling with dialogue in italics. Although I wasn't a fan of the format in the beginning (choppy), it wasn't really bad, either, and interesting enough to keep me reading the entire way through.

Fans of slow, deeper reads will like this one. There are a lot of thoughts from Klynt's end, and the book goes more through daily happenings before the 'journey' begins. Even then, it's not super fast-paced, but gives time for the situation to sink in. The problems Klynt and her family face are never fully explained, but drop in with bits and pieces to make the danger the war imposes obvious. In general, there is background information missing, and yet, this doesn't disturb the read, since it is about Klynt's courage and determination to overcome the problems. Family love is also important in these pages.

This is an original read with a lot of goodness for the right reader, but I'm not exactly sure who it is. The deep thoughts and difficult situations make it better for a young adult, but the word use and interests of Klynt keep it at a middle grade level. As an adult, I did find it entertaining, but my tween daughter wasn't quite as impressed. 

What's Coming in August?

Summer isn't done, yet...to the relief of my kids, who never like school to start up again...and I'm excited to spend some hours outside, enjoying cool evenings with a book in my hand. 

This month, I'm not sure if a single theme sticks out. After doing some counting, I discovered I have a pretty even balance of picture books, middle grade reads, and young adult novels...and that doesn't happen very often. There's some fantasy, dystopians, humor, contemporary...  oh and chills with thrills are included, too. Add some fairy tale retellings, mysteries, wonderful non-fiction...

Let's just call this month the one with a little of everything!

Grab that beach towel, some sunscreen, and let's see what goodies are on their way!

D-39: A ROBODOG'S JOURNEY

The blurb caught my attention right away—a dystopian future where civil war rages, but a 12-year-old boy lives out on the land away from it all...and is bored. When he finds a government created robodog, an amazing journey and adventure begins. More I don't know, but we'll find out on the 2nd!

Middle Grade Science Fiction / Dystopian

THEY CALL ME LUCKY

Nothing warms the heart like a cute bunny! Doesn't this one look adorable? I enjoy gentle adventures and bet this one is a sweet read. Take a snuggle with me on the 7th.

Picture Book

THE WHALER'S DAUGHTER

Set in the 1910's, this one follows a girl as she swears revenge on ocras. She's convinced they hunted down and killed her brothers. As a young girl, she's not supposed to be on a whale hunting ship, let alone become a part of the crew. I'm looking forward to this one and will hit high seas on the 11th.

Middle Grade Historical

UNDER THE MILKY WAY

What's summer without a romantic read? But those out there, who want more than a little romance might also like this one. There's the hint at something beyond the stars and a dash of science fiction. Add dark secrets, high school issues, and...well, I'll know more by the 12th.

Young Adult Contemporary

ONCE UPON A CAMEL

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to get my hands on this one. I've seen it popping up here and there for months and have wanted to see what all the buzz is about. Hear more about it on the 16th.

Middle Grade Animal Fiction

DAGGER HILL

From cuteness to horror? You bet! I don't read a whole lot in this genre, but this one caught my attention. It's about a small, sleepy town and four friends who stumble across a very creepy mystery. Coming from Swoon Reads, this seemed a strange fit...but I'm ready to discover what it's about on the 17th.

Young Adult Paranormal / Horror

BEAR BOY: THE STORY OF A BOY, TWO BEARS, AND THE FIGHT TO BE FREE

Adorned with a foreword from Jane Goodall, this one hits on the story of a teenage boy, who gives everything he can to help two bears. It should carry tons of heart and emotions. Find out more with me on the 20th.

Young Adult Contemporary

SMILE AND SAY HI

From bears to dragons! This one takes a boy on a fantastic adventure, while addressing the problem of being shy. There are dragons galore (I already took a quick peek), but find out more with me on the 22nd.

Picture Book

DRAGON'S WALK AMONG US

Staying in the dragon theme, it's time to toss them into reality. I found the surmise on this one intriguing. A high school girl looses her sight in an accident, but an operation leaves her seeing some people with a dragon-like double imposed on them. See if dragons exist with me on the 23rd.

Young Adult Fantasy

PEAR OF HOPE

This one has been receiving praise for its lovely illustrations and masterful handling of tough issues. It's suppose to hold a wonderful atmosphere of hope as well. Take a look with me on the 26th.

Picture Book

Oh, and I still have this month's joker read... something which is waiting on the sidelines in hopes of getting a chance to pop in and shine.

Ready?

ALL PETS ALLOWED

This is the 2nd in the Blackberry Farm series. I read the first a while back, and having enjoyed it, am looking forward to see what this second adventure holds. When will I get to it? Only the stars know!

Middle Grade Contemporary