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Pete the Cat’s 12 Groovy Days of Christmas by Kimberly Dean and James Dean

November 20, 2018 by

Source: Purchased
Hardcover, 48 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Pete the Cat’s 12 Groovy Days of Christmas by Kimberly and James Dean as you might have guessed is a reworked version of the “12 Days of Christmas” song. In Pete’s version, his groovy gift giving begins with the grand road trip to the sea. The text in this song is fun and easy to read for young readers, though I’m not sure what is supposed to be “groovy” about it, unless you find fuzzy gloves and cupcakes groovy.  For kids, this may be the case. Or perhaps it was the use of “far-out” to describe surfboards.

The pictures are what I come to expect from these books with basic designs and colors, animals and shapes to attract children to the page. Many of the animal characters from the previous book make an appearance in this one, and kids will like seeing them in action with their gifts. As the song is really about the extravagance of gift giving, it is kind of appropriate that some of the gifts Pete gives are a bit weird, like sloths. However, I’m not sure that kids will pick up on those nuances as much as adults will, and that should prompt a conversation about Christmas and what it means (i.e. not about getting gifts). The last page of the book should help with that since the friends are all at the beach enjoying their company. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not advocating for any preaching here in Pete the Cat.

Pete the Cat’s 12 Groovy Days of Christmas by Kimberly and James Dean is a fun rendition of a classic carol that will have younger readers singing along with different lyrics if they already know  the song. In our case, it was mom why are you saying the lines like that and I had to explain there was a song with different lyrics.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Author and Illustrator:

James Dean’s art has sold in more than ninety galleries and shops across the United States. He has devoted his paintings to Pete the Cat for ten years and has turned his natural love for cats into his life’s work. James published his first adult book, The Misadventures of Pete the Cat, a history of his art work, in 2006. He illustrated his first self-published children’s book, Pete the Cat I Love my White Shoes, written by Eric Litwin, in 2008, and the follow-up book, Pete the Cat: Rocking In My School Shoes, in 2011. James lives in Savannah, Georgia with his wife, Kimberly.

In 2004, Kimberly & James Dean sat down at their kitchen table to work on a children’s book together. Their dream has finally become a reality with the release of this new Pete the Cat book, Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses. Both left corporate jobs in the late nineties (James was an electrical engineer, Kimberly worked in the press office of the governor of Georgia) to pursue their passion for art, and they have experienced a life made up of strange and wonderful coincidences ever since. Pete the Cat has brought magic into their lives. They work in side-by-side studios, sharing their home with five cats and Emma the pug.

Filed Under: children's fiction, Publishers/Publicists, purchased, Read in 2018, reviews, Scholastic Tagged With: , ,

Mailbox Monday #507

November 19, 2018 by

Mailbox Monday has become a tradition in the blogging world, and many of us thank Marcia of The Printed Page for creating it.

It now has it’s own blog where book bloggers can link up their own mailbox posts and share which books they bought or which they received for review from publishers, authors, and more.

Leslie, Martha, and I also will share our picks from everyone’s links in the new feature Books that Caught Our Eye. We hope you’ll join us.

Here’s what my daughter received in the last two months from her Scholastic book fair and order form:

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown

Jasper Rabbit loves carrots—especially Crackenhopper Field carrots.
He eats them on the way to school.
He eats them going to Little League.
He eats them walking home.
Until the day the carrots start following him…or are they?
Celebrated artist Peter Brown’s stylish illustrations pair perfectly with Aaron Reynold’s text in this hilarious picture book that shows it’s all fun and games…until you get too greedy.

Dogman: Lord of the Fleas by Dave Pilkey

When a new bunch of baddies bust up the town, Dog Man is called into action — and this time he isn’t alone. With a cute kitten and a remarkable robot by his side, our heroes must save the day by joining forces with an unlikely ally: Petey, the World’s Most Evil Cat. But can the villainous Petey avoid vengeance and venture into virtue?

Money Math: Addition and Subtraction by David Adler, illustrated by Edward Miller

Trusted team David A. Adler and Edward Miller continue their series of popular math books. Amusing cartoon versions of American presidents guide children through this lively introduction to currency values and adding and subtracting money. Topics covered include an introduction to American units of money; the many ways these units combine to make a price; basic money symbols such as the dollar and cent signs; and the math inherent in shopping. After reading this, kids will be confident with their pocket change! A Junior Library Guild Selection.

Kitty’s Magic 4: Star the Little Farm Cat by Ella Moonheart

Kitty has always thought she was allergic to cats, but during a midnight sneezing fit at a sleepover, she learns that the truth is far more magical–Kitty is able to turn into a cat! She eagerly takes her place as the Guardian of the local cats’ Cat Council, using her human knowledge to help them solve their feline problems.

Kitty is going to her cousin’s farm for the weekend! There are lots of animals to meet, including Daisy, an adorable black and white puppy, and Star, the old farmhouse cat. Star’s job is to chase mice away from the strawberry harvest–but it’s become hard now that he’s older. Daisy wants to help, but cats and dogs can’t be friends . . . can they? Will Kitty be able to solve her toughest problem yet–without the help of the Cat Council?

The Sun Is Kind of a Big Deal by Nick Seluk

Oh hey, guess what? The Sun never stops working to keep things on Earth running smoothly. (That’s why it’s been Employee of the Month for 4.5 billion years.) So why does the Sun get to be the center of attention? Because it’s our solar system’s very own star!

This funny and factual picture book from Awkward Yeti creator Nick Seluk explains every part of the Sun’s big job: keeping our solar system together, giving Earth day and night, keeping us warm, and more. In fact, the Sun does so much for us that we wouldn’t be alive without it. That’s kind of a big deal.

Each spread features bite-sized text and comic-style art with sidebars sprinkled throughout. Anthropomorphized planets (and Pluto) chime in with commentary as readers learn about the Sun. For instance, Mars found someone’s rover. Earth wants the Sun to do more stuff for it. And Jupiter just wants the Sun’s autograph. Funny, smart, and accessible, The Sun Is Kind of a Big Deal is a must-have!

Dork Diaries 1-6 by Rachel Renée Russell

Let your inner dork shine bright with these six—count ’em, six!—bestselling Dork Diary books, now together in one dorktastic boxed set.

Join Nikki Maxwell as she navigates the halls of middle school, mean girls, BFF drama and first crushes in this collectible boxed set that includes books one through six in the wildly popular New York Times, USA TODAY, and Publishers Weekly bestselling Dork Diaries series!

This boxed set includes:
Dork Diaries #1: Tales From a Not-So-Fabulous Life
Dork Diaries #2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
Dork Diaries #3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
Dork Diaries #4: Tales From a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess
Dork Diaries #5: Tales from a Not-So-Smart Miss Know-It-All
Dork Diaries #6: Tales from a Not-So-Happy Heartbreaker

101 School Jokes by Lisa Eisenberg , Katy Hall

Jokes poke fun at aspects of school life such as teachers, homework, lunch, and report cards.

 

 

Spy 101: Codes and Ciphers by Kris Hirschmann

The Princess in Black and the Science Fair Scare by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale, illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Princess Magnolia is excited. Excited and nervous. She’s going to the Interkingdom Science Fair today to present her poster about seeds and plants, and when she arrives, she sees that her friends are there too! Princess Honeysuckle made a mole habitat, Princess Sneezewort has built a blanket fort, and Tommy Wigtower has a talking volcano that’s saying “EAAAAT!” Wait, what? A surprise goo monster makes this a job for the Princess in Black, and the Princess in Blankets is on the scene to lend a hand. But will two masked heroes be enough to save the science fair? A little scientific problem-solving — and a lot of princess power — will make the sixth entry in the New York Timesbest-selling series a smash hit.

How to Catch Santa by Jean Reagan, illustrated by Lee Wildish

After waiting for days and days and days, it’s finally Christmas Eve. And that’s when you can try to catch Santa. . . .

From Jean Reagan and Lee Wildish, creators of the bestselling HOW TO… series, comes a delightful new offering, written again in a hilarious instructional style. Two sibling narrators give clever tips for “catching” Santa (be crafty! be clever! be gentle!) on Christmas Eve. Filled with humor and holiday warmth, this is a jolly read-aloud for the whole family to enjoy!

The Christmas SElfie Contest by Rosie Greening and Clare Fennell

Santa is holding a Christmas selfie competition, and one particular elf is determined to win! But what will he do when things don’t go to plan?

Shimmer and Shine: Kitchen Magic

All throughout the genie world, there are delicious dishes to make and eat—and Shimmer, Shine, and Leah are ready to try them all! From Rainbow Pizza and Sparkle Cakes to Beautiful Noodles and Bela Beach Coolers, there are tons of tastes to explore.
Shimmer, Shine, and Leah’s magical morning begins with a healthy best friends’ brunch, including Egg Cups Divine, Pretty Pet Portraits on toast, a Brrr-eakfast Sundae (a healthy smoothie), and Pizza Pancakes. Then the girls hop on their magical carpet to discover the many tastes of Zahramay Falls: They drink a Bela Beach Cooler, and then taste Zahramay Zucchini Fries and Cheesy Noodle Flowers (made with lasagna noodles) at the Genie Market. They have Gooey Gummy Genie Jelly (fruit juice gummies) as a snack on their way to the Azar Bazaar in Rainbow Zahramay, where they taste Fruit Stripe Delight, Beautiful Noodles (which change color right before your eyes!), and Rainbow Pizza. They join Princess Samira for a tea party, complete with Teenie Tea Sandwiches, Sparkle Cakes, and Cinnamon Tea. The day ends with a super sleepover, where they make Genie Bling Apple Rings for a snack, Fish Stick Tacos for dinner, and Cutie Pies for dessert.

Pete the Cat’s 12 Groovy Days of Christmas by Kimberly and James Dean

Pete and his friends are rockin’ and groovin’ while counting down the days to Christmas! Who needs five golden rings, when you can have five onion rings?

Join Pete and the gang for one-of-a-kind holiday cheer. He adds a cool-cat spin on a well-known Christmas carol, bringing a hip and energetic spirit to the season.

What did you receive?

Filed Under: mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Sun Is Kind of A Big Deal by Nick Seluk

November 15, 2018 by

Source: Purchased
Paperback, 40 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

The Sun Is Kind of a Big Deal by Nick Seluk imagines the sun as a rock star of sorts in the solar system where everyone knows his name and his importance. Even Pluto is in the background of this one. My daughter loves books where she’s learning without realizing it. Nonfiction told in a way that’s fun and engaging will always be a big hit with her. Seluk achieves that for the most part in this book.

The book includes a main dialogue about the sun as well as some sidebars about specific facts on the solar system and space terms like “asteroids.” The pictures are colorful and fun, especially since space can be very black and colorless.  My daughter loved how the planets introduced themselves, with Saturn being the “Hula-Hoop Champion.” And Seluk uses a racetrack to illustrate the rotation of the planets around the sun. Very helpful for younger readers just learning about space. The visuals explaining direct and indirect sunlight and its affect on Earth were helpful as well.

However, there are some larger words like Condensation, Evaporation, and Precipitation that make an appearance in the water cycle section, which younger readers may stumble over. Challenging words, however, should never be a discouraging thing. My daughter and I made a game out of mispronouncing the word and breaking each down into smaller, more pronounceable parts until she got them right.

One of our favorite parts of the book is the visual of the sun’s roll in the water cycle where the sun is putting raindrops down an enclosed slide for precipitation. It’s cute. At first my daughter thought the book was too challenging until she realized how fun the pictures were and the thought bubbles became amusing to her.

The Sun Is Kind of a Big Deal by Nick Seluk is chock full of facts about the solar system, nature’s cycles, and so much more. The pictures are bright and engaging, and the characterizations of the planets and other elements are amusing for young readers.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Author:

Nick Seluk worked as a graphic designer before becoming a full-time illustrator. He is the creator of the popular Awkward Yeti comic and author of the New York Times bestselling Heart and Brain, and its follow-ups Gut Instincts and Body Language. His work has appeared on CBSNews.com, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, reddit, and blogs across the internet. Nick lives in Michigan with his wife, three kids, and a very awkward dog.

Filed Under: challenges, children's fiction, New Authors Challenge, nonfiction, Publishers/Publicists, purchased, Read in 2018, reviews, Scholastic Tagged With: ,

The Poetry of Us edited by J. Patrick Lewis

November 14, 2018 by

Source: Media Masters Publicity
Hardcover, 192 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

The Poetry of US edited by J. Patrick Lewis is a compilation of poetry representing a number of aspects of our country. Broken down by region, the poems speak to New England, the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, Pacific Coast, and the U.S. Territories. Former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate J Patrick Lewis chose more than 200 poems for the collection to demonstrate the diversity not only of our country, but the poets themselves. The color photos from the National Geographic archives are gorgeous and full bleed in most cases, ensuring this collection packs a visual punch as well.

Reading the poems in the New England section was like coming home, particularly when reading David Elliott’s “Boston Baked Beans: A Recipe,” which includes some wonderful unique speech that Boston is known for, even if not everyone speaks dropping their r’s.

This collection also includes some of my very favorite poems from Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, and other classic poets, but there are also contemporary poets throughout, including Ted Kooser, Jane Yolen, Lewis himself, Naomi Shihab Nye, and more.

The Poetry of US edited by J. Patrick Lewis is a wonderful introduction to our country for younger readers, providing them with just a sprinkling of our geographic diversity and a heap of cultural diversity. From the immigrants who come to our shores seeking a home to those who have lived here since the country was born, these poems and images seek to remind us of who we hope to be — a melting pot of diversity. Heartwarming photos of children being embraced in the nation’s capital, sweeping photos of Niagara Falls and mountains of majesty, the collection brings home the unity we can find together if we put our hearts and minds to it.

RATING: Cinquain

About the Editor:

Former Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis grew up in Gary, Indiana and earned a BA at Saint Joseph’s College, an MA at Indiana University, and a PhD in economics at the Ohio State University. Lewis taught in the department of Business, Accounting and Economics at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, until 1998 when he became a full-time writer.

Lewis is the author of more than fifty books of poetry for children, which find their shape in both free and formal verse and engage a wide range of subjects from history to mathematics, Russian folklore to the animal kingdom. His books for children include Spot the Plot: A Riddle Book of Book Riddles (2009, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger); New York Times Best Illustrated Book The Last Resort (2002, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti and translated into more than a dozen languages); The Shoe Tree of Chagrin (2001, illustrated by Chris Sheban), which won the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators’ Golden Kite Award; and A Hippopotamusn’t: And Other Animal Poems (1990, illustrated by Victoria Chess). His collaborations with other children’s poets have yielded several collections, including Castles: Old Stone Poems (2006, with Rebecca Dotlich, illustrated by Dan Burr) and Birds on a Wire: A Renga ‘Round the Town (2008, with Paul Janeczko, illustrated by Gary Lippincott).

Filed Under: challenges, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, Read in 2018, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Fly With Me by Jane Yolen, Heidi E.Y. Stemple, Adam Stemple, and Jason Stemple

November 13, 2018 by

Source: Media Masters Publicity
Hardcover, 192 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Fly with Me: A Celebration of Birds Through Pictures, Poems, and Stories by Jane Yolen, Heidi E.Y. Stemple, Adam Stemple, and Jason Stemple is gorgeous. The photographs and reproductions of artwork are stunning, bring each bird to life for young readers. With these colorful pictures, it will be hard for young readers to turn away, and parents will be able to use this as a resource for not only the biology of birds, but also in geography lessons in which state birds are talked about. The giant state bird map is wonderfully detailed, as are the pages about migration, ancient birds, evolution and extinction, and so much more.

I originally wanted to review this book because poetry is included, and Yolen’s poems are always accessible to a number of audiences. I wasn’t wrong about that here, either, as her poems in this book are a great way to introduce young readers to birds. There also are poems from Heidi E.Y. Stemple, which are equally accessible. I loved sharing with my daughter how Stemple’s poem, “Vee,” not only examines the migration of geese but is also shaped like the “V” formation of geese.

Fly with Me: A Celebration of Birds Through Pictures, Poems, and Stories by Jane Yolen, Heidi E.Y. Stemple, Adam Stemple, and Jason Stemple is a collection that the whole family can share. It was big hit for its colorful pages and its poetry, but there is so much more to explore in these pages.

RATING: Cinquain

About the Authors:

JANE YOLEN is an author of children’s books, fantasy, and science fiction, including Owl Moon, The Devil’s Arithmetic, and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? She is also a poet, a teacher of writing and literature, and a reviewer of children’s literature.

HEIDI STEMPLE was 28 years old when she joined the family business, publishing her first short story in a book called Famous Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. The famous writer was her mom, author Jane Yolen. Since then, she has published 20 books and numerous short stories and poems, mostly for children.
Stemple, her two daughters, her mom, and a couple cats live in Massachusetts on a big old farm with two houses.

JASON STEMPLE is an author and photographer. He lives with his wife and children in Charleston, South Carolina.

ADAM STEMPLE is a novelist and musician. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Filed Under: challenges, essays, fiction, New Authors Challenge, nonfiction, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, Read in 2018, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Mailbox Monday #506

November 12, 2018 by

Mailbox Monday has become a tradition in the blogging world, and many of us thank Marcia of The Printed Page for creating it.

It now has it’s own blog where book bloggers can link up their own mailbox posts and share which books they bought or which they received for review from publishers, authors, and more.

Leslie, Martha, and I also will share our picks from everyone’s links in the new feature Books that Caught Our Eye. We hope you’ll join us.

Here’s what we received:

National Geographic: The Poetry of US edited by J. Patrick Lewis for review.

Celebrate the gift of language and the vibrant culture of the United States with this collection of classic and never-before-published poetry. Poems are arranged by region, from coast to coast, and among them you’ll find works by Langston Hughes, Dorothy Parker, Robert Frost, Naomi Shihab Nye, Walt Whitman, and more. From the familiar to the surprising, subjects include people, places, landmarks, monuments, nature, and celebrations. Designed for sharing, but geared to younger readers, this beautifully illustrated treasury is a must-have for the whole family.

National Geographic Kids: Fly with Me by Janet Yolen, Heidi E.Y. Stemple, Adam Stemple, and Jason Stemple for review.

This thoughtful and beautifully curated collection of our flying, feathery friends highlights the role birds play in human life from centuries ago to present day. While it’s beautiful, it’s also full of valuable real science about these wondrous creatures. From history and behavior to spotting and photographing, there’s sure to be something for every bird fan in your flock. Young birders will learn all about migration and the importance of habitat conservation. They’ll find stories about bird rescues and fun facts about the fastest, strongest, and tiniest fliers. They’ll also discover the best bird nests, sweet songs to sing, ways to listen for and identify the birds around them, and more. Paired with stunning art and photography and beautiful design, this treasury is sure to become a classic for bird enthusiasts of all ages.

Fly with Me was created to help celebrate Year of the Bird, National Geographic’s 2018 initiative to bring awareness to the plight of birds around the world.

Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails, which my parents got for their granddaughter.

Little kids ages 3-6 will love this charming Little Golden Book that captures all the fun, friendship, and adventure of the Thomas the Tank Engine DVD Hero of the Rails. Thomas discovers a long-lost engine and attempts to save him from the scrap yard by repairing him in secret. The plan works perfectly—until that meddlesome engine Spencer gets involved!

Wild Embers by Nikita Gill, which I purchased.

In this magical poetry collection, Nikita Gill unflinchingly explores the fire in every woman and the emotions that lie deep in one’s soul. Featuring rewritten fairytale heroines, goddess wisdom, and verse that burns with magnificent beauty, this raw and powerful collection is an explosion of femininity, empowerment, and personal growth. In these words, readers will find the magnificent energy to spark resistance and revolution.

The Rain in Portugal by Billy Collins, which I purchased.

The Rain in Portugal—a title that admits he’s not much of a rhymer—sheds Collins’s ironic light on such subjects as travel and art, cats and dogs, loneliness and love, beauty and death. His tones range from the whimsical—“the dogs of Minneapolis . . . / have no idea they’re in Minneapolis”—to the elegiac in a reaction to the death of Seamus Heaney. A student of the everyday, Collins here contemplates a weather vane, a still life painting, the calendar, and a child lost at a beach. His imaginative fabrications have Shakespeare flying comfortably in first class and Keith Richards supporting the globe on his head. By turns entertaining, engaging, and enlightening, The Rain in Portugal amounts to another chorus of poems from one of the most respected and familiar voices in the world of American poetry.

What did you receive?

Filed Under: mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Veterans Day 2018

November 11, 2018 by

Filed Under: announcements Tagged With:

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds, Illustrated by Peter Brown

November 9, 2018 by

Source: Purchased
Paperback, 32 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown, is the latest addition to the Jasper Rabbit series and, of course, my daughter had to get this from Scholastic. In this book, Jasper is obsessed with eating wild carrots he finds in the field on his way to and from school. He cannot help but pull them up and gobble them down. In true Jasper style, he begins to sense that something is wrong — could the carrots be following him?

Even as he thinks he sees those carrots from the field, he turns and finds that they are just orange shampoo bottles, etc. Jasper begins to think his imagination is taking over.  His mother and father reassure him that the creepy carrots don’t exist, but in true Jasper fashion, he comes up with his own solution.

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown, is another winner in our house, and my daughter loves that she can read these on her own now. I doubt the two books will be sitting on the shelves until next Halloween.

RATING: Cinquain

About the Author:

Aaron Reynolds is a New York Times Bestselling Author of many highly acclaimed books for kids, including Dude!, Creepy Carrots!, Creepy Pair of Underwear!, Nerdy Birdy, and tons more. He frequently visits schools and his highly participatory presentations are a blast for kids and teachers alike. He lives in the Chicago area with his wife, two kids, four cats, and between three and ten fish, depending on the day.

About the Illustrator:

Peter Brown writes and illustrates books for young whippersnappers. He grew up in Hopewell, New Jersey, where he spent his time imagining and drawing silly characters. He studied Life Lessons at the School of Hard Knocks, and then got his B.F.A. in Illustration from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

Filed Under: children's fiction, Publishers/Publicists, purchased, Read in 2018, reviews, Scholastic Tagged With: , ,

Creepy Pair of Underwear! by Aaron Reynolds, Illustrated by Peter Brown

November 8, 2018 by

Source: Purchased
Hardcover, 48 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Creepy Pair of Underwear! by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown, follows big bunny Jasper as he travels to the underwear store with his mother. When he sees a ghoulish, greenish glow on the shelves, he has to have those green underwear! He convinces his mom to buy one pair along with the white ones, and he’s simply enamored with them. Eventually, Jasper’s imagination takes over and the creepy underwear begin to follow him everywhere even when he stuffs them in a drawer.

Reynolds knows just how to make a creepy (Halloween read) story come to life, especially when it comes to kids’ active imaginations that see things bumping in the night when there are none. Jasper is a young bunny looking to be seen as a big bunny, but he even doubts himself when the creepy pair of underwear strike. Maybe he isn’t as big as he thought. I’m sure kids of all ages have this feeling as they grow up, even as they put on a brave face.

My daughter loves this book, and it has become a yearly Halloween read since we purchased it a couple years ago at her school book fair. She loves that the main character is a rabbit — her favorite animal of the moment — and that there are creepy things going on. She’s very into Halloween. The illustrations almost give this a graphic novel feel with a noir atmosphere, which makes that green glow all the more creepy.

Creepy Pair of Underwear! by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown, is a household favorite. When October rolls around, we reach for this book with several other creepy reads. Now my daughter can read this one mostly on her own, which makes it all the more of a treat for her.

RATING: Cinquain

About the Author:

Aaron Reynolds is a New York Times Bestselling Author of many highly acclaimed books for kids, including Dude!, Creepy Carrots!, Creepy Pair of Underwear!, Nerdy Birdy, and tons more. He frequently visits schools and his highly participatory presentations are a blast for kids and teachers alike. He lives in the Chicago area with his wife, two kids, four cats, and between three and ten fish, depending on the day.

About the Illustrator:

Peter Brown writes and illustrates books for young whippersnappers. He grew up in Hopewell, New Jersey, where he spent his time imagining and drawing silly characters. He studied Life Lessons at the School of Hard Knocks, and then got his B.F.A. in Illustration from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

Filed Under: challenges, children's fiction, New Authors Challenge, Publishers/Publicists, purchased, Read in 2018, reviews, Scholastic Tagged With: , ,

Shelf Life of Happiness by Virginia Pye

November 7, 2018 by

Source: Caitlin Hamilton Summie Marketing & Publicity
Paperback, 170 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Shelf Life of Happiness by Virginia Pye is a slow burn, because like happiness it can take time to see when you actually have it. Pye’s characters are all unique in their experiences from a young man rebelling against his perceptions of his father by looking to a career in skateboarding to an artist who’s big ritual signals an end to his long-fought-for break. These stories explore how long happiness lasts, and in many cases, these characters realize that their happiness happened long ago or that their current happiness may be cut too short.

From “Crying in Italian” (pg. 24)

“The children huddle, deciding if their longing for gelato can be satisfied with limonata instead. That’s the question, isn’t it? she thinks. Can one high, desperate longing be satisfied by something else instead?

From “White Dog” (pg. 36)

“From somewhere behind the house, two gunshots sounded rapidly, one after the other. Dunster flinched and Roxanne steadied him. ‘Enemy’s closer than we thought,’ he mumbled.”

Pye’s intimate portraits of these characters reveal the motivations we all have and the worries we carry about our own happiness. If something looks better in someone else’s life, don’t we covet it and wonder what it would be like to be them? We look and think that their happiness is better than our own and we either strive to emulate that which we see or we destroy what happiness we have in seeking out the “other” happiness. Then there is the internal doubt about our own happiness, the happiness we have in the moment — is it real or imagined? What is the shelf life of happiness? It’s probably different for everyone and some of us achieve more than others in terms of emotional happiness, but what does it even mean to be happy?

Shelf Life of Happiness by Virginia Pye offers a variety of stories exploring this idea of happiness and what it means in all of its forms. Some happiness lasts longer than others, and some characters soon realize the thing they thought they needed to be happy is not the happiness they had. Big questions for book clubs to explore and so much more.

RATING: Quatrain

PHOTO: Terry Brown

About the Author:

Virginia Pye is the author of two award-winning novels, Dreams of the Red Phoenix and River of Dust, and the forthcoming short story collection, Shelf Life of Happiness. Her stories, essays, and interviews have appeared in The North American Review, The Baltimore Review, Literary Hub, The New York Times, The Rumpus, Huffington Post and elsewhere. She lived in Richmond, Virginia, for many years and recently returned Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she grew up.

She holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied with Allan Gurganus, Joan Silber, and Chuck Wachtel. In college at Wesleyan University she learned from Annie Dillard and F.D. Reeve. After graduate school, she served as assistant to Frances Goldin at her literary agency in New York City. Virginia has taught creative writing and literature at New York University, and later in Philadelphia, at the University of Pennsylvania, in high schools, community centers, and in her home. In Richmond, she helped establish and run James River Writers, a literary non-profit. In Boston, she now teaches at Grub Street Writing Center.

Filed Under: challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2018, review copy, reviews, short stories Tagged With: , , ,