Kids’ Review: THE MEGASAURUS by Thomas Weck and Peter Weck

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I recently received a copy of THE MEGASAURUS in the mail to review from Claudia, a publicist:

photo (48)LIMABEARBOOK

This children’s picture book (with illustrations by Len DiSalvo) is one in a series of books about the “Lima Bears”, small bean-shaped bears that live in the Beandom. Each book has a message and a problem that the Lima Bears must solve. In THE MEGASAURUS, the bears are being terrorized by the scary, large megasaurus monster who loves to eat beans. The kingdom must come up with a solution to this problem. Will they only listen to their wisest advisors? Or will they listen to one of the littlest bean’s idea?

This was a sweet book with a good message. I have to say that when the Megasaurus was wreaking havoc, I was a bit concerned that it might be too scary for the littlest ones, but there is a happy ending and all the “eaten” friends come back okay.

I think this book would be a good choice for a preschool or early grade classroom!

Here’s some information on Lima Bear Press:

http://limabearpress.com/

Saturday Snapshot: Flowers in the Yard

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I was just admiring some of the showers in my yard (which is fairly wooded). Every year we try to plant a few new things.

This year the peony bush is looking busy. I love the look of these large, beautiful blooms!

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I also plant petunias each year. They are quite hardy and do well with our New England weather unpredictability. This was an extra little bloom I put in a pot a few weeks ago:

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What’s growing in your yard these days?

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda of http://www.westmetromommy.blogspot.com

Please see her site for details on participating!

Review: CHINA DOLLS by Lisa See

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I’ve been anxiously awaiting the publication of Lisa See’s latest novel, CHINA DOLLS. If you read me, you know I LOVE her works and have read them all. I particularly enjoy her historical fiction. CHINA DOLLS downloaded to my Kindle when it came out a few weeks ago, and  I was so excited the day I turned on my Kindle and there it was! Ms. See hit it out of the ballpark again with this novel, telling the story of three young Asian women during WWII who are entertainers/dancers on the night club scene in San Francisco.

The story starts with Grace, one of the three voices portrayed in the novel. Grace has arrived in California from Plain City, Ohio, and she plans on being a star. Grace is escaping an abusive homelike, and she is sure her dancing talents and determination will be enough to get her to stardom. Next she meets Helen, who is still suffering from a past tragedy, and who lives with her family in a compound in Chinatown. Helen is pretty much only going through the motions of life, when she spontaneously decides to join Grace in her auditioning quest. At the dance call, they meet Ruby, a tough but sparkly young woman from Hawaii who is secretly hiding the fact that she is Japanese, not Chinese. The three become fast friends and vow to never let anything come between them.

Over the course of the book, the three women have a lot of trials and tribulations. Falling in love, lost love, betrayal, back-stabbing, and other relationship woes strain their friendships, and when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Ruby fears for her safety and is eventually arrested and sent to a detainment camp for Japanese Americans. The three girls mature into women who have to constantly balance their own needs with the needs of their families and their relationships and dance careers. The three strike a tentative balance among themselves, with the bond of friendship and love being the foundation on which they move forward with their lives.

I just LOVED this book. Lisa See is an excellent writer. The story was engaging, but her writing itself flows seamlessly. Her depictions are so true to life, and she is spot on in how she portrays women and their relationships. I particularly liked how this story was told through three distinct voices.

I cant’ wait to see what’s next from this gifted author!

You can see this book on Amazon where I got mine.

YA Review: WATCHED by Cindy M. Hogan

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I recently got this book free for my kindle as it was on sale. WATCHED is a YA suspense novel, telling the story of 15-year-old Christy, who wins a scholarship for a trip to D.C. While there, Christy and her friends witness terrorist activity, and the story becomes a big chase and escape until the end (when we discover that this is the first book in a trilogy).

Here’s the thing: I probably would have loved this book when I was 13. Christy is a smart girl, supposedly quite brilliant, but she is socially awkward. She has two boys attracted to her, for the first time in her life. She is trying to shake off her “really smart and not rich”  persona to blend with her new friends. All the time, however, scary terrorists are looking for her and her friends and the FBI is protecting her. I would have lapped this up as a young teen!

To be honest, in the here and now I found Christy’s story rather boring and far-fetched. Christy’s angst over which boy to like went on for so long that it dragged the book down and bored me. There was a great deal of time and space devoted to “I can’t date until I’m 16 and that’s not until next month. How do I handle my emotions? What shall I do? What shall I do???” The whole terrorist/FBI piece was unbelievable and too incredible to be plausible. Personally, as a parent of two children, if my minor children were involved with terrorist plots etc etc while on an educational trip to DC and I was never told about it or notified?? Well, you get my point. The fact that this is book one in a trilogy made the reading feel prolonged, in my opinion; and I have a personal pet peeve about lack of resolution at the end of a book.

So I finished the book (thus the review), which is a good thing (if I really dislike a book I don’t finish it, and thus don’t review it), but I was rather disappointed. I think my younger self, though, would have looked past the shortcomings I found and enjoyed Christy’s story.

Quick Review: The Murder Farm by Andrea Maria Shenkel

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I recently received THE MURDER FARM by Andrea Maria Shenkel through Net Galley. The synopsis of this book sounded similar to IN COLD BLOOD — true crime, murdered family on a farm, etc. This book takes place in the 1920’s and has been translated from German into English.

I had mixed feelings about this short novel. In one respect, it held my attention and kept me guessing. The chapters were told from all different viewpoints and perspectives, which, while slightly confusing, was creative. A prayer was interspersed throughout chapters (I’m sure it was relevant, but – full disclosure – I found myself skimming it in order to get back to the story).

When I reached the end of the this short novel, I was struck by the fact that perhaps the murder mystery wasn’t really the point of the story, and instead maybe it was a bit of a discourse on human nature, set within a nonfiction framework. Or maybe it was a murder mystery written in a new way.

Wish I had something more insightful and intelligent to add to this, so I’d welcome input from readers!

Have you read THE MURDER FARM? What did you think?

BEA14: Highlights for Me Part 2 – The Bloggers’ Con

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The first day of BEA for me was attending the Bloggers’ Conference. This was my third bloggers’ con, and I have to say that I love going to this as I meet so many wonderful and interesting people there who LOVE books! I get a lot of new ideas, hear about the latest trends, and generally feel revived for another year of blogging (which sometimes can feel very lonely).

This year’s sessions started with a keynote by YA author Maureen Johnson. She was really funny and the time went quickly. She mentioned a site – The Toast – which was new to me, but which has “Dirtbag Little Women” and “Dirtbag Anne of Green Gables”, which of course I had to look up when I got home. They certainly aren’t for the purists, but they were pretty hysterical. Anyway, Maureen talked about writing and blogging and books and literature — and also her love for the show MI5. She was pretty entertaining.

The day sessions were divided into newbie blogger sessions and experienced blogger sessions. Though I’ve been blogging since ’09, I floated around between both. I feel like the first years my blog was just for family and friends and it’s only in the last two to three years that it’s really grown. I also have self-taught design and tech stuff for my blog, which is a scary thing when you think about it, so I’m always on the lookout for new/useful/creative ideas (and ways to get pictures to show up correctly in the free wordpress version I use). There were sessions on using pictures and images, and also thinking about design and how to work in ads, and then where to find all these things on the web. Lunch was an interview with the Chief and VP of content at BlogHer, Stacy Morrison. After lunch I went to a session on vlogging and making podcasts (something I want to try – maybe – sounds a tad complex). I skipped blogging and the law since I attended that in the past and I missed bloggers and publishers in order to attended “engaging your readers”, where veteran bloggers discussed some of the things they do to engage readers, along with social media marketing. What I took away from the day is that if I want to grow my blog (and do I? Yes, I think I do. Remember, originally my blog was geared towards people I know; now I’ve grown and expanded, which I like a lot), I need to blog a lot more! I like to post once a week; but according to all I heard, that isn’t going to cut it if I want to continue to grow. I need to post more, interact more, tweet more, etc. And I will, since I find the most rewarding part of blogging is connecting with readers and authors.

At the end of the day, they gave us a whole bunch of free books! I didn’t even take them all, and this is what I got:

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All is all, it was a fun day – and I got to meet Sheila of Book Journey and Hannah of Indiewritergirl!

Saturday Snapshot: NYC – Times Square, Manhattenhenge, and more!

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This past week I attended the Book Expo America publishing event in New York City. It was HUGE and very exciting since I’m a book blogger. During the week, it was “Manhattenhenge” — one of the two days all year that the setting sun lines up perfectly with the street grid in Manhatten. Of course, the exact day of Manhattenhenge, there was cloud cover, so my picture looked like nothing much. However, two days later, it was pretty nice out and I caught this attempt:

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Not the greatest, but it gives you some idea of the event.

At the time we were eating at our fave place for our family: Junior’s on Broadway. Here is a shot of my son’s grilled cheese (New York style):

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Seriously, that was one great grilled cheese!!

Times Square is one of those places that you can hardly grow tired of, so I took a few shots:

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I love to look at my NY pictures and think: who ARE all those people??

And of course there’s Rockefeller Center:

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All in all, it was a great conference and a fun day in the city with my family when they came to pick me up! 🙂

 

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda of http://www.westmetromommy.blogspot.com. Check her site for info on participating!

Review: TALES OF A JAILHOUSE LIBRARIAN by Marybeth Zeman

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I recently received a copy of TALES OF A JAILHOUSE LIBRARIAN from my friends at Meryl  Zegarek Publicists (just a note: anything I’ve ever gotten from MZPR I’ve loved!). This is a mini-memoir of one woman’s experience working as a library cart librarian and transition counselor in the juvenile section of a large prison in New York. For Marybeth Zeman, her relationship with the boys in this facility is centered around her library cart and the books and stories she brings to them each week. Reading, for these boys, is a sanctioned escape, a chance for the future, a little bit of freedom in their everyday life.

Told in short vignettes, Marybeth has captured numerous tales of different boys: how they came to be in prison, what their daily life is like, how bright or bleak their futures are. Their stories are touching, painful, and honest, and one is left with the knowledge that these boys are just a small percentage of the thousands of young men incarcerated in our country each year. Marybeth’s story highlights the workings of the justice system and shows where improvements could occur, especially in helping the boys to have the skills they need in order to not become repeat offenders. Most poignant of all, though, are the voices of the boys that stay with you long after reading this book.

I was so touched by this book that I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Then I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Marybeth Zeman while I was in NY at BEA. We connected through her publicist and spent about 90 minutes together just chatting and talking about her work, the juvenile justice system, her experiences, etc. There was no formal interview, or a “how did you come to write this book” type of Q&A. Instead we were just two educators and readers, come together to discuss our concerns and feelings about these boys and our hopes for the future.

Marybeth’s story is one that deserves to be told. Readable, touching, and unforgettable, her TALES OF A JAILHOUSE LIBRARIAN reveals an intimate portrait of what life is like for many of our nation’s young citizens. And Marybeth is a spunky narrator, both in the book and in real life! I can’t believe I’ve heard the last from this woman — she is going places and, as her subtitle suggests, she is “challenging the juvenile justice system one book at a time”.

Here is a picture of Marybeth from our time together:

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Book Expo America 2014 – Highlights for Me (Part 1)

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So last week I travelled to NYC for the biggest publishing industry event: Book Expo America (BEA).

I have attended the bloggers’ conference at BEA twice before, but this year decided to attend the actual BEA conference as well. It was exciting, but huge and overwhelming at the same time. I had planned to attend several sessions, especially those highlighting what was new and forthcoming in different genres, but I actually spent all my time in the exhibit halls, gathering info and books or waiting in lines to get a signed book from an author.

If you enjoy collecting book bags then BEA is the place for you! I only take things I really want, and I still ended up with five book bags. This is a picture of my favorite one:

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I was SO very excited to see the South Dakota State Historical Press at BEA as they are publishing Laura Ingalls Wilder’s original manuscript entitled “Pioneer Girl”. This is the memoir from whence the Little House books came. Now if you know me, you know that when I’m not obsessing over Louisa May Alcott, I’m obsessing over Laura Ingalls Wilder. I’ve been WAITING for “Pioneer Girl” to publish and it’s been a loooong wait. The gentleman in the booth said they are looking at this year at holiday time now. We had a nice chat about how when it does publish, perhaps it will put to bed these notions that Laura was not the author of the Little House books, but Rose was. Anyway, I can’t wait to get it! And this bag is so beautiful, too – the picture is the forthcoming cover of “Pioneer Girl”. (If you want to read more about the Pioneer Girl project, check out this site: http://pioneergirlproject.org/.

I received MANY wonderful books at BEA, but here’s a picture of some of my faves:

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If you read me, you know I loved ORPHAN TRAIN and WE WERE LIARS. I was able to get paper copies of both signed by the authors – so exciting! I got a signed copy of MADAME TUSSAUD’S APPRENTICE, which I look forward to reading, too. My pick of the week, though, was CONVERSION. I really, really, REALLY want to read this book and have not been able to get it through my usual channels. Now I have a signed copy! And I will be starting it today.

The Wimpy Kid Planner was given out at the Children’s Author Breakfast, which I attended. Jeff Kinney was a great speaker – very funny as you would imagine. Mem Fox also spoke. I just love her (I’ve seen her before at Internat’l Reading). We got a copy of her BABY BEDTIME book. Carl Hiaasen spoke, and we received his new book, and the whole things was chaired by Jason Segel of Muppet Movie fame (he’s written a book for kids, too). It was a pretty fun time, though I had to hunt for two of the books as my table didn’t have them.

The day before I had attended the Adult Author Breakfast, which was chaired by Neil Patrick Harris. This was major for me as I’m a total theater nut. I was soooo excited to just be in the same room with NPH. His autobiography, which is based on a “choose your own adventure” – remember those?, is coming out in the fall. Angelica Huston spoke beautifully, too, about her life and her memoirs (which was apparently given to attendees, though my table didn’t have it — boo!). I have to say, though, that I really enjoyed Tavis Smiley, the NPR host and PBS show host, most of all as he talked about his life and Dr. Martin Luther King and his new book on him (which we received). Tavis was such an engaging speaker; I just loved him. I missed the last speaker, Lisa Scottoline.

As you can imagine, between the amazing books and authors and all the things to see in the exhibit halls, I was a bit overwhelmed in the two days I was at BEA!

My next post will follow up on the Bloggers’ Conference and what we discussed there, books we received, new friends, etc.