Some children's books, for light relief

Time off from cell-phones and internet was great fun, but it's left me with a huge backlog of emails. Meanwhile time spent in the beauty of Alaska has left me with tons of books to read and review. I thought I'd start with some children's books--quicker to read, lighter on the heart, and some of them truly delightful! So here's some comments, with links to reviews, and coffee recommendations (not ratings--I leave readers to draw their own conclusions about what they want to read).

First comes a truly beautiful little Christmas book--I wish this one had been around when my kids were small. Kelly Moss's The Santa Club answers that dreaded question "Is Santa Claus real?" in a way that's simultaneously honest, appropriate, and faithful to the reason for the season. Enjoy a 2-star bright lively coffee while sharing this with the kids. And come back tomorrow to read Kelly Moss's guest post on my blog.

Next is a zombie book that had me laughing out loud and smiling contentedly--Sean of the Dead for kids perhaps? MJA Ware's Super Zombie Juice Mega Bomb is as zany as its title, with very believable voice and character as young Nathan relates his curiously changing friendship with Misty and his attempts to save the world (or at least his town) from the living dead. Enjoy another 2-star bright lively coffee with this one.

And, continuing the fantasy theme, M.R. Mattias's Cold-hearted Son of a Witch is book two of his Dragoneers Saga, filled with fascinating characters, a delightfully detailed and well-imagined world, strange cultures and determined friendship in the face of danger--I'm looking forward to book three.

Now to finish some of those more adult novels so I can post more reviews... though perhaps I should finish some washing and cleaning first, or even pull some of those dandelions out of the grass (grass out of the dandelions might be a better approach).


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Connect those Connections

Taken from a talk I gave on Sunday at the Writers' Mill. This is a very low-level approach to getting connected, from one beginner to another... Internet Writing, Marketing and Networking If you’ve got an email address you’re on the internet. If you’ve got a book out or an article in a magazine, you’re into marketing. If you’ve got friends, you’re networking. And if you use Google, you can do almost anything. Google Google is your friend. Google “how to join facebook” “How to join goodreads” “How to join Twitter” etc… Google “facebook badges” “blogger widgets” etc… to spice up your pages. Anything you want to know, a nice simple question to google will almost certainly tell you. But keep safe . Don’t just click on the first link you see. Make sure it looks vaguely genuine. “F*@!book.com/badges” might take you somewhere you don’t want your computer to go. “Facebook.com/badges” tells you all about badges. Why would you want to join all these interne...
Read more

Eternal curse might hide a blessing too.

Image
Today is the official launch day for Toi Thomas's paranormal romance, Eternal Curse, and I was lucky enough to be offered a free preview copy some while ago. The novel creates an intriguing mythology of angelic beings and the Fall, binding it nicely to modern day characters in search of meaning for their lives. There's an interesting blend of the paranormal, faith and science, and the story has a nicely old-fashioned feel with separate underlying tales taking center stage on the way to resolution. So... here's the cover, the blurb, and my review: ABOUT THE BOOK 'You have plenty of time to change your mind. You have not yet seen the monster I can be.' Giovanni has been waiting his whole life to meet someone like Mira, someone from the outside world who might be able to help him. He wonders if there really is help for him as he continues to hold tightly onto dark secrets and even darker memories. Giovanni wants to be hopeful and he wants to accept Mira...
Read more

Author or transcriber, reader or visitor, greatest or least? Meet Kathryn Elizabeth Jones

Image
 Today I'm delighted to welcome Kathryn Elizabeth Jones, author of " I walked with Jesus ," to my blog. I very much enjoyed her short stories retelling miracles from the life of Christ - we clearly have faith and short fiction in common with each other.  I loved how historical, real, and relevant Kathryn's stories felt. You can find my review here:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4904771188 . I'd love to meet the author and chat in person, but inviting her to my blog is the next best thing, so I asked her to let me and you how she finds her audience. Here's what she told me. Why I think my audience is beginning to find me by  Kathryn Elizabeth Jones One of the hardest things to do as an author, other than writing or marketing a book, is to find that often illusive audience. It’s easier with mysteries or children’s picture books, probably because you know who reads them; adults and teens who love sleuthing and children and their parents who love reading....
Read more