Picture Board Book Review: Rainy Day by Janet Morgan Stoeke

So it is a rainy Wednesday and it is national read a book day. So I just made myself a large mug of vanilla chai tea with extra cream and have decided to catch up on some of my picture book reading. Today's theme is RAIN! 

It is raining out and the hen Minerva Louise is stuck out in it and must find herself some shelter.

I have never read the Minerva Louise books before but, after reading this little gem I'm going to seek out more of them! This was incredibly short. Like short short. Like this is the perfect book for the wee itty bitty ones. Despite the brevity of this book I had an honest out loud laugh. Minerva Louise decides to take shelter under a lamb and it had me laughing more than any board book has before...come to think of it this might be a first. Normally, I don't care for board books. They are designed for baby's and well...they can be boring. But not this one!

I LOVED this! It has such great illustrations that I went back twice (again only a few pages long) to look at them all over again. I also loved that little spark of humor that was conveid in such few words but with a perfectly matched illustration. This is perfect for a baby and mom and dad wont mind reading this one over and over again. This has gone straight to my favorites shelf and I will be seeking out more books by this author. 

A well deserved 5 out of 5 stars!

Book Reread Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Ok so I actually finished this one over a month and half ago. But as I was forced to take another short break from blogging (more diabetes related complications) I never got to post my review. I'm not new to the Harry Potter world and have made no secret of my love of it nor that there was a time that I refused to read the books. (I'm a hufflepuffer by the way).

This is one that again I'm not going to summarize because you either have read the books or you never will. But seriously if you haven't what is wrong with you? No, really? Even I gave in and read them and I was stubborn as could be about not wanting to read them. Pick up the first book now. Go on, I'll wait...

This is probably my least favorite of all of the Harry Potter books. I've had to think long and hard on what it was that I don't like about the book. I think for me it is poor Ginny. I wont give anything spoilerish away (but seriously if you are reading this and haven't read the books...why?!?! Go read them!). I just felt so bad for her and cringe over what happens.

It is nice to get back to the castle where they area all a little bit older even if they are not always a bit wiser. Dobby is a great addition to the books. I know some people find him annoying but I always found him sweet and I love his loyalty (he is a Gryffindor for sure). We also get to learn more about Hagrid's past and why he was kicked out of Hogwarts. We are also introduced to one of my favorite characters...Arthur Weasley. His fascination with us muggles delights me as much as we delight him.

This one is 4 out of 5 stars!

YA Book Review: Fatal Secrets by Richie Tankersley Cusick

So there was a period of time from about 1989-1996 where I was deep into reading YA books. I was also starting to branch out into adult books but the majority of my reading was YA. YA in the 90s was different from today's YA. Back then only pre-teens and teens read YA. Now it is widely accepted for adults to read YA. But once you hit a certain age it was creepy to be seen in the YA section of the bookstore/library. I lived for authors like R.L. Stein, Christopher Pike, Diane Hoh, L.J. Smith, and the Queen of my favorite horror with romance was Richie Tankersley Cusick. 

Fatal Secrets is about Ryan and her recently deceased sister Marissa. Ryan is haunted by the day that her sister fell through the ice. In fact she begins to see and feel things that has her starting to think she is going crazy. Is Marissa back from the dead or is someone trying to find out the secret that Marissa told her moments before she died?

Ok so this was one of my all time favorite books when I was a teen. I'm pretty sure I read it at least 20 times. This and her other book Teachers Pet were read so many times I had long lost the covers to the books. Yesterday my son went back to school and feeling the nostalgia of a time gone by I decided to pick up the book. It has probably been about 20 years since I last read this book. The book hasn't changed but apparently as an adult I have. 

I still enjoyed parts of the book. The relationship between Jinx and Ryan still is as goofy smile inducing as it ever was. Quite honestly that was always my favorite parts of the book. I mean the interaction between the two of them. I always imagined Jinx to look like Christian Slater (still do apparently). 

What did change for me now is the aggravation over the adults; specifically Ryan's mother. Now as a mother I can't imagine going through the loss of a child but her reaction and the way she ignored her other daughter bothered the heck out of me. I'd be holding my remaining "baby" all the tighter. I'd be more paranoid about her going out. Instead, Ryan's mother practically forgets she exists till (spoiler) she thinks Ryan tried to kill herself.

The best thing is that I thought I remembered everything in the book. But NOOOPE. I forgot who one of the bad guys was. And quite frankly it surprised me and it was nice to get that little twist at the end. 

When I was a teen this was a 10 out of 5 stars. But now as an adult it lands probably more at a 3 1/2 out of 5 but for nostalgia reasons alone I'm bumping it up to 4 out of 5 stars

SOR Book Reread Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone by J.K. Rowling

When the Harry Potter books first came out I refused to read them. Yeah, I know some of you are probably thinking what the heck is her problem. Well, back then I had a thing about reading books with lots of hype behind them. I couldn't handle the disappointment when they didn't live up to the hype. It was even worse than when a movie doesn't live up to the hype. Thankfully, at some point, I got over it and gave the books a chance and soon I was a Potterhead waiting in line at midnight for that next book.

I won't bother giving a synopsis because quite frankly if you don't know the plot by now or haven't read the books you most likely never will. Confession time by the way...I've read this first book more times than I've read any other book. I've lost count but we are up in the double digits by now.

Hogwarts is like coming home for me. I read the first couple of books at least once or twice a year. It is the book equivalent of chicken soup. When everything else in my life is falling apart I can pick up the first Harry Potter book and fall right back into the world I so wish I was a part of. 

Don't get me wrong these are not perfect books and the more I read them the more I see the problems and failures of logic. But I can ignore all of that. I love these books and have gotten over the guilt I feel when I decide to read it over again versus reading a new book. Because, what is the point of having a favorite if you can't reread that favorite over and over and over and over again?

This will always be 5 out of 5 stars.

SOR Picture Book Review: When a Wolf is Hungry by Christine Naumann-Villemin Illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo

You can always seem to rely on *Netgalley to have some of the cutest and original picture books. I wasn't disappointed by this SOR read!

Edmund Bigsnout has a big craving for a rabbit. But not just any rabbit...no he wants city rabbit. Edmund, however, encounters the rabbit's neighbors. He is forced to go back and forth from his home to the city as each neighbor mistakes him for a new neighbor.  Each one borrows the items he has brought in order to eat the rabbit. 

EEEK!! I LOVED this! First, the story was adorably funny. Edmund didn't want any of the neighbors to catch on so he willingly lent them his items like a rope, pot, and chainsaw. I found myself actually laughing out loud when I read this.

The illustrations are awesome as well. The texture detail is great. I loved the high heeled shoes on the turkey and the tuxedo that Edmund wore. The drawings are sure to keep the interest of readers of all ages and both adults and children will find the story itself amusing.

5 out of 5 stars!!




*I recieved a free ecopy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. This in no way influenced my review. 

Summer of Reading!!

Welcome to the Summer of Reading aka SOR. I've decided to spend this summer devouring as many Children's books as I can get my hands on. That means about 3-7 books a day!! Old, new, never read before, always wanted to read, childhood favorites etc! 

While this will mostly be picture books there may also be some early readers and middle-grade books. I'm so excited and looking forward to this. Over two months of reading should guarantee that I'll find plenty of books to love and cherish forever. I'll be using Netgalley, Openlibrary.org, my local library, Amazon free books and books I already own to find books to read. 

Got any books you think I should read? Some childhood favorites or newer favorites? Are you an author or illustrator and have a review copy of your book you'd like me to review? Let me know in the comments or send me an email. Requests and suggestions in no way influence my reviews and I'm always honest about what I like or don't like about a book.

Books Read: 9

1. Peppermint- June 27, 2017
2. Pigg's Eggs- June 27, 2017
3. The Elephant and the Bad Baby June 27, 2017
4. The Duck in the Gun-  June 28, 2017
5. Benji & The 24 Pound Banana Squash - June 28, 2017 
6. Argyle Fox - June 28, 2017
7. Little Detectives at School- June 29, 2017
8. The Enormous Crocodile - June 29, 2017
9. When a Wolf is Hungry - June 30, 2017
10. Harry Potter and Sorcerers Stone- Read July 7, 2017