Review: Blue (Little Boy Blue) by Elizabeth Rose

BLUE

Little Boy Blue

Once Upon A Rhyme, Book 3

by Elizabeth Rose

Young Adult Fantasy

121 pages

Be careful what you wish for because you might just get it . . . and it might not be what you expect!

Raven Birchfield has had her share of trouble ever since digging up an old book of nursery rhymes in the garden of her late eccentric aunt's house where she now lives. With the creepy graveyard next door, evil nursery rhyme characters are coming to life one by one, taking over the bodies of her family and friends.

Now her younger brother Johnny is acting odd, and the spirit of Little Boy Blue has made his appearance. At first she thinks she likes it since "Blue" as he calls himself, has a way with people and can play the trumpet better than her irritating little brother ever could.

But when awful things start happening and Johnny is stuck on another realm, Raven and her friend Candy know they have to save him before it's too late. But Johnny likes the life of Blue and wishes he could be him forever.

Be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it . . . and it might not be what you expect.

Be sure to read Mary, Mary - Book 1, and Muffet - Book 2 as well.

 MY TIDBITS

Nursery rhymes take on an entire new meaning, one which won't leave Little Boy Blue in the same light again.

Note: This is the third book in a series but can be read as a stand-alone. I did not read the other books before diving into it and had little trouble sinking into the tale.

Raven is a sixteen-year-old girl, who lives with her mother and brother in their deceased aunt's house. They struggle to make ends meet, but that isn't Raven's biggest concern. Her aunt was a bit strange, and since coming to the house, Raven has dug up an old nursery rhyme book as well as a crystal, which she wears around her neck. Her past experiences with the two have not been good, and this time doesn't appear it will be much better. Thanks to an attempt to give her brother a little happiness on his birthday, she's accidentally released a new nursery rhyme, one that takes over her brother's body. But her brother doesn't seem to mind, and neither does her best friend since this new version of him does appear pretty cool. But there's always more to these characters than first meets the eye, and Raven's convinced this time isn't any different.

I don't think I've ever read a nursery rhyme retelling. So, this was quite a refreshing spin. The author lays out the background nicely—Raven's family tries their best to get by but suffers quite a bit. It's hard not to feel for their situation, and although Raven's actions are a bit silly, considering the circumstances with her past run-in with rhymes, it's somewhat understandable why she takes the risk. Still, since she her and her friend have had bad experiences with the rhymes before, I was a little surprised by some of their actions.

Friendship is golden in these pages as well as sibling relationships. It's nice to see a YA novel which allows the relationship between brother and sister to hit the center light. There's a nice amount of intrigue, high enough tension to keep the plot plowing forward, and a dash of high school/junior high drama to make it a great fit for the intended age group. The alternate 'Johnny' did not always act his age, though, which didn't sit quite right. But then, I had a bit of trouble connecting to the characters, although the read was entertaining.

Especially the younger end of YAers and retelling fans are sure to enjoy this one.

Review:Happy Heart by Hannah Eliot

HAPPY HEART

by Hannah Eliot

Illustrated by Susie Hammer

Little Simon

Board Book

14 pages

ages 2 and up

Celebrate the ones you love with this adorable glittery heart-shaped board book!

You are the sun in my sky.
You are the apple of my eye.
You mean the world to me.
You make my heart so happy.

Each page of this adorable board book is die-cut in a different shape. With sweet, loving text, bright, happy illustrations from Susie Hammer, and glitter on every page, Happy Heart is perfect to share with someone you love! 

 MY TIDBITS

What a super cute book! Filled with glittery bliss...and I do mean lots of glitter, every page shimmers and shines with happiness and love.

This is a relatively small board book, which is shaped in the form of a heart. And that fits perfectly with the main theme—love. The poem inside is simple and as packed with love as the book. It's hard not to smile and feel warm and fuzzy while reading it.

The illustrations are very simple and basically create each page...and no, not every page is a heart. These radiate joy and happiness, making it easy for even the youngest readers/listeners to understand. Just picking it up made my family members smile, even the one who is an anti-glitter kid.

I can see little listeners getting a kick of carrying this one around and enjoying the glittery fun. The message inside is definitely one they'll never hear enough and enjoy.

Cover Reveal: Alpha Erased by Aileen Erin with Giveaway!

ALPHA ERASED

by Aileen Erin

Alpha Girls #9

Ink Monster LLC

YA Paranormal

COMING...

MAY 12, 2020!!!

Tessa—part witch, part werewolf, raised human and now the unofficial leader of a newly minted supernatural alliance—thinks nothing of her brother, Axel, texting her and Dastien to meet up. The location pin is in a weird spot, but maybe he found a magical anomaly? But when Tessa steps into the darkened warehouse, she doesn’t expect to see her brother laying in a pool of his own blood, smell the sulfuric scent of black magic, or feel the pain of her mate being shot full of silver.
Tessa has seconds to make a choice, but there’s only one thing she can do to save the two most important men in her life—sacrifice herself.
The last thing Dastien hears from Tessa is her plea—help Axel. Then their bond goes silent. He can’t hear her. He can’t feel her. And there’s no sign of the attackers who took her.
Dastien does everything he can to save Axel before calling his friends in a panic. It takes all of them to find Tessa, but when Dastien’s finally reunited with her, there’s no sign of recognition in her eyes.
No magic in her touch.
No wolf beneath the surface.
Everything that made Tessa who she was…has been erased.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Bookbub

And here she is...

 

Aileen Erin is half-Irish, half-Mexican, and 100% nerd–from Star Wars (prequels don’t count) to Star Trek (TNG FTW), she reads Quenya and some Sindarin, and has a severe fascination with the supernatural. Aileen has a BS in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles, and spends her days doing her favorite things: reading books, creating worlds, and kicking ass. 

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Review: Hand in Hand by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

HAND IN HAND

New Books for Newborns

by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Illustrated by Sheryl Murray

Little Simon

Board Book 

16 pages

COMING...

JANUARY 7th, 2020!!!

A little hand holds on tight! Celebrate the special relationship every parent has with their child in this lovely New Books for Newborns board book!

Me
You
We, two
Hand in hand
Through and through

In this sweet New Books for Newborns book, a parent and their child set out for a fun-filled day of adventure. Whether it’s having fun at the park, or letting your child learn something new, this sweet, rhyming board book is the perfect way to tell your little one that no matter where you are or what you’re doing, all that really matters is doing it together, hand in hand.

The New Books for Newborns series is “just right” for parents to read to their babies. With short, lilting and lullaby-like texts, these board books help parents introduce reading to their children with snuggly, soothing read-alouds perfect for first story times.

 MY TIDBITS

This is one of those books, which radiates warmth and love on every single page and leaves the reader feeling cuddly and safe.

Written in poem form (but not rhyming), the author takes very familiar moments and sums them up in extremely short phrases. It's powerful and yet, so easy to understand. Even younger listeners will be able to set themselves in the scenes of going for a walk to the park, seeing a squirrel, or playing at the playground.

It's centered around a little girl and her mother. It's clear they have a very trusting and close relationship. The mother is at the girl's side, snuggles, plays with her and offers tons of smiles. It brings the message, which is repeated again and again, across clearly: "Me, You, We two, Hand in hand." It's a message every child can never hear often enough.

Review: C Jumped Over Three Pots and A Pan by Pamela Jane

C JUMPED OVER THREE POTS AND A PAN

and landed Smack in the garbage can!

by Pamela Jane

Illustrated by Hina Imtiaz

Schiffer Publishing

Picture Books

40 pages

ages 3 to 8

The letter C falls into the garbage can, and it is up to the rest of the alphabet to save him from ending up in the dump! In this rollicking, action-filled story, the letters of the alphabet must work together to help their friend. But four letters of the alphabet are missing! Could they be the answer to saving C? This unique book conveys the transforming power of teamwork and brings language and storytelling to life for young readers as they try to guess the secret word the missing letters form--a word that may save the day for poor C. An adventure, a puzzle, and a word game, this suspenseful story is a delightful approach to letters and words.

 MY TIDBITS

The letters of the alphabet hit an adventure, which takes a small twist into a fun mystery.

A,B, and C are in the kitchen and maybe, up to a little bit of nonsense. When C goes overboard and lands in the stinky trashcan, the other letters need to find a way to help him back out. Deciding the 'E' has the most arms and would be the right letter for the job, they head out to find him. But he's seemed to have disappeared!

While this book does center around the letters of the alphabet, it is by no means the average 'alphabet book'. Each letter comes into play, some with a passing hello and others are pulled directly into the adventure. While young listeners do get a chance to identify each letter, it's indirectly and allows the story itself to control the pages. At the end, there's a clever surprise which, again indirectly, introduces young listeners to the idea of placing the letters together to form a word.

The entire thing is written in playful, easy rhymes and is just right for a read aloud. It's not a serious book, and guarantees some smiles and giggles along the way. But not just in word. The illustrations allow the silliness to gain extra footage as each letter displays a distinct and quirky personality. Young listeners will enjoy discovering each one and flipping through on their own to revisit them. It's a cute way to gain interest in learning the alphabet and reading.