Book Review: Unicorn Bowling by Dana Simpson

**I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Attention! We have Phoebe and her Unicorn #9!!! My son and I have read these from the first book. We were beyond excited.

First let me tell you what Ivan says. "This was full of the funniest jokes yet!"

It's very lighthearted, and as an adult I still enjoy this series. I especially get it when her parents are on scene. But Phoebe and her Unicorn speaks to the little girl I used to be. Love it, seriously!

Book Review: Narwhal's Otter Friend: A Narwhal and Jelly Book

A new Narwhal and Jelly book! My 10 year old son was very excited. He really has enjoyed this series.

It's cute, and silly. I like how it has a few facts about otters and jellyfish. And that they talk about jealousy in friendships. If your BFF makes a new friend, how does that make you feel?

My son said it was great, but too short. I think he's starting to get a little too old for these. Very cute read, perfect for the younger crowd.

Some Books to Review - from kids to adults and something in between...

**Many thanks to NetGalley for this copy**

Ivan and I have been hooked since the first Pheobe and her Unicorn book. Here comes #8, Unicorn Theater by Dana Simpson.

This one is all summer camp and that was fun. Instead of band, this year Phoebe wanted to attend drama camp. She is looking forward to spending time with Marigold (the Unicorn is named Marigold Heavenly Nostrils for those who are unfamiliar), but Marigold has invited her sister Florence Unfortunate Nostrils.

It's a silly story, but it seriously deals with the whole jealousy issue. Don't act like you haven't ever been jealous when a friend is spending time with someone else. We've all been there. That's right, I'm saying I learned something here. Not that I didn't already know that on a human level, but it was a good refresher course. Just because your friend is hanging with someone else, doesn't take away your friendship nor diminish it's importance.

It's a great message in a fun book. Ivan and I both think so!

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**Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this book!**

This next book is Claw the System: Poems from the Cat Uprising by Francesco Marciuliano.  Another book of cat poems. I don't know who was more tickled, me or Ivan. He adores cats, I think the poems are funny, and we both enjoy reading them together.

I'm not sure how to really review poems. I like the book, some of the poems make me laugh and the photographs are gorgeous!

If you liked "I could Pee on This" or "I Could Pee on This, Too!" you will 100% love this.

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**Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this!**

This book is titled Super Chill: A Year of Living Anxiously by Adam Ellis. I'm a new fan of Mr. Ellis! This book was full of insights, and "I do that, too!" moments put out there in a hilarious way.

Sometimes it's anxiety, not wanting to do social things, and sometimes you just want the tacos more than the workout! I laughed a lot, I mean a lot! I want to read this one over again before it expires.

I have enjoyed Sarah's Scribbles, and this is in the a similar category but for guys. Enjoy!

Book Review: Ozy and Millie by Dana Simpson

**Thanks NetGalley for lending us this digital copy!**

Ivan and I love Dana Simpson! Well, we have read and enjoyed all the Phoebe and Her Unicorn books, and when I spotted this, I had to get it for Ivan. He was excited, too.

Well, he read it in one day and insisted on my reading it, too. Which I planned, but he really had fun with it.

It had a lot of the same tone of Phoebe and her Unicorn, but it was geared toward an older crowd. The backstory says she wrote these when she was younger.  It's still perfectly fine for the younger crowd.

I liked it a lot, it made me laugh. Ivan loved it, and he's 9. He was excited to share and talk about it, and you can't ask for higher praise than that!

Reviewing Children's Fiction

This is a Taco! 
written by: Andrew Cangelose
drawn by:Josh Shipley 

**Thank you NetGalley for this copy.**

This was a tickle! My son, Ivan, said yeah and he read it. His only complaint was that the digital edition was lagging. That has nothing to do with the book, but my tablet.

It's a funny story built around a few squirrel facts. The  squirrels name is Taco because he loves Tacos. When the author talks about hawks, Taco steps in and takes control of his story. This is a little one picture book, and your kids will just love it!

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Brina and the Gang of the Feline Sun
by Giorgio Salati & Christian Cornia

**Thank you NetGalley for this copy.**This is a pretty easy to read graphic novel. Again, Ivan was game to try this one as he is an avid cat person.

This family goes on vacation and when their cat starts throwing a tizzy about being inside, they let it out. That annoyed me, because who is the human here??? They were worried about her escaping, and guess what happens?

Brina got a taste of freedom and she went with it. But it is up to her to figure out who her real friends are.

There is one crazy moment where the leader talks about how he came to be injured. He was taken from his boy and put in a bag and thrown in the river. It really made Ivan angry, he told me he will NEVER forgive that man. So, that was a little rough for him to read through. The thing is, that stuff happens. So, not that wasn't a happy moment, and there's another crazy moment, so don't go with real young kids on this one.

But other than that. You know what? Honestly, those humans drove me nuts, I didn't like the one cat, but I still read it all the way through and enjoyed myself. So, it is a good enough story.

Book Review: The Wonderful Baron Doppelgänger Device by Eric Bower

**I received a digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

The Bizarre Baron Inventions #3 is here! And we couldn't have been more excited. In fact, when I told my oldest I had it, we stopped what we were reading and started on it right away. These books are just fun! They are so silly, and even my youngest stops and listens. He even asked me to read it to him when he was sick!

So yes, this was just as silly and just as much fun. I really can't wait for the next one!

Book Review: Unicorn of Many Hats by Dana Simpson

Ivan literally squealed when I showed him this on. So first, let me thank NetGalley for letting me review another Phoebe and her Unicorn adventure.

There's nothing specific I can point out. It follows Phoebe and the people in her life. She deals with teasing, friendships, and other issues. My son has his own things to deal with, and one of them is pointing out the "truth" to people. When Phoebe insisted Marigold was a horse and Marigold stormed off in a huff, it made me happy that he had read that lesson.

There are so many good things pack in here, and it's funny and cute. The little girl in me who loved Unicorns, adores this series. I also love that I can enjoy this with my son.

I hope Dana keeps writing, and that Ivan and I can keep reading.

P.S. It was pretty awesome to see Ivan light up telling his librarian how he got to read the latest Phoebe and Her Unicorn book before anyone else!  lol

Book Review: Peanut Butter and Jelly by Ben Clanton

**I received a digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

The latest in the Narwhal books is here! I requested this one for my son Ivan. He loves Narwhal, and this didn't disappoint.

First he read it. His review is that it's the perfect length, but he wishes it had been longer because he enjoyed it so. And that it was really funny.

He told me I had to read it. I planned on it, I'm a reviewer here.

I read it out loud, both boys listened. I heard a few chuckles from my oldest. I laughed too, Narwhal is silly and Jelly is a great straight man.

I did think it was crazy short. I mean, I read it out loud in less than 15 minutes. I'd put this as a great early graphic novel.

This week in graphic novels #3

**I received digital copies from NetGalley in exchange for honest reviews.**

Andrew Matthews & Tony Ross

4 tales from Shakespeare written out for kids. I like how it has pictures, gives the cast and a quote from the original play. Then it tells the story and finishes up with an explanation of what just happened and some history of Shakespeare and the play.

I liked it. Henry V, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice and Hamlet. I have only read Hamlet before this. I enjoyed the little snippets and kind of wish they'd do this for adults and have the whole play there.

That being said, I think it falls short with the intended audience. It's supposed to be for kids, but my 11 year old didn't like it. He sat through Henry V, I think only because there was a battle going on. But he completely zoned out during A Midsummer Night's Dream and didn't want anything more to do with the book.

I finished it pretty fast. It might be OK for some kids, but the rough and rowdy boys, nope. I really thought he'd like it, he loves fantasy and some classics. 

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Imagine my delight! Not only was this a parody of the If you Give a Mouse a Cookie books, but it's by that same author!!! To be fair, I wasn't looking that closely and I'm not great with remembering names.

It goes along the same line, but it's totally written for wives. "If you give a man a cookies, he'll ask for a glass of milk to go with it...God forbid he should get it himself!" 

As a mom who has read all of her books a million times each, and a wife...I just about died laughing. My husband chuckled and my kids didn't think it was funny at all. But me, Mom, I laughed and laughed and then read it a few more times.

Book Review: The Splendid Baron Submarine by Eric Bower

**I received a digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

This is the 2nd book in the Bizarre Baron Adventures, and I can't wait for more. I am reading these to my 11 year old son, and my 8 year old, who rarely follows along is being sucked in as well.

Poor W.B. is such a normal kid, with brilliant parents. He ends up going along with them on all sorts of strange adventures. When his teacher asks him what he did on summer vacation, he ends up in trouble because she assumes he is making up stories.

I love how silly everything gets. Like he is the only one who will fit in the underwater suit. He ends up between a shark and an eel. His father falls in love with a monkey, whom he names Waldo because he always wanted a son named Waldo.  Which really makes W.B. mad, because his name IS Waldo.

It makes us all laugh, and we end up reading through this faster than any other story. It's light and easy going.

This week in Graphic Novels #2

Phoebe and her Unicorn in the Magic Storm
by: Dana Simpson

**I received a free digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

My son and I discovered Phoebe and her Unicorn on Hoopla thanks to our library. He read all 5 copies about 3 times and then checked them all out again.  He really liked them. So I jumped at the chance to review this. The only downside is we only get to keep this one for 55 days.

Anyway, it was as good as ever. Ivan and I like to read it together, where I get to read the unicorns and goblins and Ivan reads the rest. We made it halfway the first day, and then he finished the book without me.

I like how friendships are valued in these stories. And how different people, who may not even really like each other, can still work together and get along.

Ivan really likes all the different characters, and it always makes him laugh.  He said this was a really good book, and it looks like it's a To Be Continued...so he's excited about that.

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Fowl Language - The Struggle is Real
by: Brian Gordon

**I received a free digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

The most honest look at parenting I've ever seen. Plus it's hilarious! The language is pretty adult, but my kids enjoy this as much as I do.

I especially like the comics where I can point out that is how they act. Kind of a fun way to say, "see how silly that is???"

There was a comic in here where a mom was saying her son won't eat meat anymore. I'm living that reality. All they could come up with is the kids must be messing with her. And I thought, "yup, that makes sense!"

I read this one night after putting my kids to bed, I had to keep choking back the laughter so I wouldn't wake them up. I think I sounded like an air mattress with a slow leak - lol.

You do not need to read the first book to read this one. It completely stands alone, most of them comics are stand alone. It's more of a collection, not a set story line. But I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a laugh.

Book Review: Sunny Side Up

Let me say, my youngest (age 8) tends to get stuck on certain books and reads them over and over again. He mostly likes graphic novels; he absolutely devours them. When he likes something, I usually buy it for him because it will be read repeatedly.  

I checked out this story from our library. Getting him to read before bed isn't usually an issue. I asked him last night to at least try this one. To give it a few pages, and then decide if he wanted to read it or not.

Over an hour later he asked if his 20 minutes were up. And if that doesn't convince you that this is an engaging story, he read during the day. My video gaming only while the sun is out boy took his Kindle and instead of Hungry Shark Evolution, finished reading this book.

I was going to read it myself, tonight when he was finishing it up.  So we'd kind of read it together. I got online to find a notice from Goodreads suggesting what I could read next. "Ivan, did you finish Sunny Side Up?" I asked as he walked into the living room.  

"Yup! I told you it was good, Mom!" Then he said that I had to give it 5 stars. I pulled it up and read it myself, very quick for an adult. It was a sweet story, funny and sometimes sad.

You can read the description and decide for yourself.  It's another memoir style book (graphic novel), along the lines of El Deafo (which I also recommend).  It takes place in the summer of 1976, but it jumps back to explain why she ended up with her Grandpa in Florida. I found it easy to follow, although a little confusing in the beginning before I caught on to what was happening. 

All in all, a light read dealing with a serious issue.  

Book Review: Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye

by: Tania del Rio

Illustrated by: Will Staehle

This is another Quirkbook. Honestly, they are the only publisher that I automatically have interest in a book just because they published it. Then add on this cover. I know, "don't judge a book by its cover." But we all do it. This cover is eye catching. Even my oldest was willing to tolerate my reading it to him. He hates it when it's my idea.

So, does the story hold up? I think so. Warren is a decent little boy, with a strong work ethic, a fierce love and loyalty toward his hotel that has been run by Warrens since it was built by Warren the 1st. The only problem is that Warren isn't old enough to inherit it yet, so his Uncle Rupert is in charge. And he's married to Anaconda.

Turns out Aunt Anaconda is after the All-Seeing Eye, but the real mystery is what is that??? And who are all these people who suddenly show up? Warren finds himself battling with his aunt, just to protect his precious hotel. They are in a race to see who can find it first. She wants power, he simply wants her to leave him and his hotel alone.

It was a fun story, and the illustrations were terribly cute. I had a very bad Kindle version, don't judge them...that often happens on NetGalley with illustrated books. We still enjoyed it, perhaps all the more for the effort we had to put in. I wouldn't discourage you from getting the kindle copy if that's available, it's the freebie one that they don't try hard with. ;) But I would suggest you support your local bookstore and buy a copy. The artwork alone is worth it.

It's fine for kids, although my 10 year old found the pictures to be creepy. But he has a low tolerance for that at bedtime - lol.

Book Review: Counting by 7s.

by: Holly Goldberg Sloan

I've been seeing this book on Overdrive a lot. I looked at it, the cover is definitely eye catching. But it's children's fiction and I have enough on my TBR list - lol. My youngest son chose this the other night as the book for me to read to him. About 2 paragraphs in, he pronounced it "BORING!" and refused to listen to anymore.

Don't listen to him, it's anything but boring. It's a story about Willow, a very special little girl who has some big hardships to get through. I literally sobbed through the last few pages...my poor husband is probably wondering what is wrong with me.

Willow is independent and wickedly smart. She's not great with people, but it doesn't really bother her too much. Sometimes she feels the whole from not having friends, but mostly she just keeps moving forward. Even when she starts a new school, and is confident that she will finally make some friends, she is not thwarted when she realizes that she is still an outsider.

When she stumbles upon an older girl, she decides that she likes her and takes steps to make friends. She actually teachers herself Vitnamese to ease communication. Mai is so impressed, that they really do end up becoming friends.

When her parents both die in a tragic accident, Willow is touched by all the people that step up in her life to help her. She isn't good at expressing it, but she is amazed at all the effort everyone has gone through. The best part, though, is how everyone is touched by having Willow in their life. We see everyone improving by degrees, while hoping Willow finds her old self that she buried with her parents.

Just the way everyone steps up to protect her and care for her, that's what had me sobbing. This story is beautiful, finely sculpted, sometimes very funny, sometimes intensely sad.

It says in the description that this isn't a tragedy, and it really isn't. It's a wonderful tale about overcoming hardship, rolling with change, and stepping up to help people even if they can't ask for it.

Book Review: The Red Sun: Legends of Orkney

by: Alane Adams

A book along the lines of Percy Jackson, but with Norse mythology. Sounds great, right?

I hated it. Now please temper that with the fact that my 9 year old says he loved it and won't let me give away the book. It was torture for me, and I couldn't wait to finish. I felt the main character was unlikable, as he seemed to go out of his way to make the worst possible decision. The other characters weren't developed much and you could take them or leave them. I didn't feel you got to know anyone very much. And some things that didn't make sense seemed to be put there just because other kids books do it. Like Sam's friend telling him that if he can't do it, no one can...or something along those lines. I literally stopped reading and stared at the book, "based on what???" The friend hadn't seen him do anything at that point. Neither fighting or magic, so where is that unwavering confidence coming from??? Just little things like that started wearing on me.

There's one scene that even CW agreed with me, the young lady is home alone waiting for her father to return. She hears a knock on the door and her first thought is that it must be her father. Seriously? That's your first thought? That would be my last thought because parents don't generally knock on their own door.

So as an adult, I was incredibly disappointed. CW did like it, but he even felt it was a stretch more than once. And what's worse, is I really wanted to love it. We were both excited to read this one.

It's around middle school aged, but I would recommend parents check it out themselves first. It's a bit dark fairly often, and Sam is not a perfectly charming character.

Hmmmm, maybe I should be recommending it. While I was annoyed, I was definitely feeling something strongly. lol

Alane Adams isn't a bad author. I think her writing was solid, and I would giver her another chance. But not Sam of Orkney...nope, I'm closing the book on this chapter. I think she needs to explore another genre and find her fit.