Book Review: Magical Animal Adoption Agency - Clover's Luck by Kallie George (Illustrated by Alexandra Bolger)

Summary (Amazon)

The first in a chapter book series starring an unlucky girl named Clover who accepts a volunteer position at a magical animal adoption agency.

My Thoughts:

Clover's Luck was super adorable. Right from the start you feel for her and how much she loves pets even though she can't seem to keep one. 

Actually, the scene at the beginning when she loses her pet-bird is a little heartbreaking because she was taking every precaution not to lose it and then her bad luck struck and she did. 

It was a very interesting balance, actually, between Clover's bad luck, her low expectations for what would happen in her life and the fact that, all in all, she wasn't a pessimist. 

She put her all into the things she did even if she suspected a little that things would go wrong at some point. 

The animals were another big plus for this book, because I loved seeing all the fantastical animals and the troubles they could get Clover into. 

Now this book is definitely for young kids, about elementary I would think, but very adorable and sweet.

Book Review: The Courage of Cat Campbell by Natasha Lowe

Summary (GoodReads)

Cat Campbell is a late-blooming witch whose magical abilities are bursting to be mastered in this charming coming-of-age story set in the world of The Power of Poppy Pendle.

Cat Campbell has had magical powers since the day she was born, but she didn’t always know that. Cat’s mother believes magic ruins lives, and even as Cat’s passion for magic grows over the years, no one suspects she has the gift. But she has indeed inherited the coveted magic gene of her famed great-great-grandmother Mabel, a discovery she makes in a most surprising way. Cat is a witch! 

And when she comes across a book called The Late Bloomer’s Guide to Magic, she finds the encouragement she needs and spells that work. Then the town of Potts Bottom is threatened by a notoriously feared witch, and Cat has the chance to help her family and town—and to prove herself in the process. Because, as The Late Bloomer’s Guide to Magic proclaims, “believing in your magic and yourself is half the battle.”

My Thoughts:

The Courage of Cat Campbell was adorable. Cat herself was such an endearing heroine, she loves magic and loves being a witch, even if her own mother is kind of against it, since she, Poppy, believes magic runs life and she much rather Cat became a baker like herself. 

Like I said, sweet story. Cat was so very likable, and for me she was the thing that worked the best in the story. The rest, well... I didn't know this was sequel until I had started and I felt like the author often fell back on explaining things that happened in the previous book (Cat's Mom story) and spoiled things a bit. 

And at times the writing was a little unfocused, and at such time the book was easy to put down. 

But I was glad to have read the book and make it to the end. I liked the style over all and I enjoyed the town a lot, it seemed like another character. 

Book Review: The Angry Little Puffin by Timothy Young

The Deal: Being a Puffin in the penguin's enclosure at the zoo is hard. For starters, no one knows what he is and everything just says he's a "Funny little penguin".

But he's not a penguin!!! And he's tired of hearing that everyday!!

My Thoughts: This books was adorable. I like puffins, it's actually what my sister calls me most of the time, but they certainly aren't as mainstream as penguins and in this little book, one little puffin is suffering from it.

But it only takes one person to really see him to make him feel loads better.

A really adorable book for kids!

Book Review: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

The Deal: Ivan is a gorilla, a Mighty Silverback to be exact, and he lives at the Exit 8 Big top mall, and for the most part he doesn't mind. He's used to humans staring at him and making faces, and he spends most of his days just watching an old TV in his domain (he likes Westerns) and keeping company with Bob, a small stray dog who sleeps in his domain, and Stella, an aging circus elephant. 

Ivan doesn't like to think about what his life was before the Mall, when he and his twin sister clung to their mother in the wild, when his father kept them safe. But he does like to think about Art, for Ivan has the soul of an artist and he always tries to capture the things around him.

Ivan's life gets shaken up with the arrival of Ruby, a baby elephant who has been taken from her family and who makes Ivan see the world around them with new eyes.

My Thoughts: The One and Only Ivan is excellent. 

I would be pretty happy just leaving it at that, but I'm pretty sure you want me to elaborate ( ;) ). Told entirely from the perspective of Ivan, in short but thoughtful chapters (and illustrations), this story broke my heart wide open. Ivan's voice is gentle but determined, and he was just such a lovely soul. I loved him from the start, and that love only grew as I learned more and more about his history. 

I loved his relationship with Stella and Bob and Ruby, and with Julia (the little girl who is always giving him crayons and paper so he can do his art, and whose dad works at the mall). 

Totally recommend this book, if you're an animal lover this is a book for you, if you're not an animal lover, this is still a terrific story and great if you want something to read with kids. It was the first book I finished this year, but it was a good one, it made me cry first because I was sad, and them because I was so happy. 

 

Book Review: The Girl Who Wouldn't Brush Her Hair

The Deal: A young girl one day decides that she's not going to brush her long, beautiful hair, that's simply her way. Soon tangles start to form and a few mice find out, and decide that her hair is the perfect home from them.

Soon, the girl has a full array of mice living in her hair, and though she might not have mind at first, she does care by the end.

My Thoughts: The Girl Who Wouldn't Brush Her Hair was ADORABLE. It's a kids books for very young children but it was still pretty charming and the drawings were really really cute.

As a young girl, I was the type who never brushed her hair either, I always had it all long, lose and tangled so I felt connected to our young protagonist and the book was just whimsical enough for a little kid.

Nice book to read with the little kids in your life, and adorable for a pressent.

The Girl Who Wouldn't Brush Her Hair comes out September 10th, 2013

 1/2

Quickies: Much Ado About Juliet and Double Crossed

Hello guys! Today I bring you two quick reviews. 

The first is Minnie & Daisy Best Friends Forever #1: Much Ado About Juliet by Calliope Glass.

This is a short story about Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck in their schoolgirl days. In this installment, Minnie wants to get the lead in the school's production of Romeo and Juliet, just so she can get near the guy playing Romeo: Paul Poser. 

Daisy thinks Paul is exactly that, a poser, so she's doesn't care about the play all that much but agrees to go support Minnie... but she ends up getting the part instead. 

From what was happening, I guess Minnie and Daisy were supposed to be high school girls (or at least middle schoolers) but this book is definitely just for kids. It was cute and I even liked the story but yeah, definitely for little kids. 

Second book is Double Crossed by Ally Carter. 

And well, it really isn't a book but a novella that brings together the worlds of Ally Carter's series: Heist Society and the Gallagher Girls. The two worlds collide when Macy McHenry meets Hale at a society party. One thing leads to the next and soon Kat, Hale and Macey are working together on a little project.

It was a fun novella and I think the fans of both series would like it. Personally, I don't care that much for the Heist characters, particularly Kat, so I would have liked for the story to lean more on the Gallagher Girls side, but it was a good story - this quibble is entirely personal - and it sort of made me wish it was longer. 

One thing the story did prove is that having both sets of characters working together would be really awesome and entertaining, and that both series aren't that far removed from each other.

Plus, it was nice to see Macey take a more central role. 

Thanks to NetGalley and the Disney Group for the galleys of both these stories :)

Book Review: A Flower in the Snow by Tracey Corderoy and Sophie Allsopp

The Deal: Luna and her best friend in the world Bear (who, yes, happens to be a polar bear) enjoy spending their days together playing in the snow. One day they discover a beautiful golden flower that brings even more happiness to their lives... until the flower dies and makes Luna sad. 

In order to see her smile again, Bear goes on a quest to find another flower for his best friend. 

My Thoughts: A Flower in the Snow is a very short but sweet picture book aimed toward the younger kids.

It's a lovely story about friendship and companionship, and the illustrations were adorable. I loved that Bear was Luna's best friend.

If you want to share with your young ones a story that's seasonal but not religiously oriented, then A Flower in the Snow is a very good option. 

1/2

Book Review: Hooligan Bear: A Special Day by Ian Toynton and Andrea Dietrich

The Deal: One day Hooligan Bear realized that his nephew Little Louie didn't know what a birthday was, so Hooligan Bear, along with his friends Scooter, Lenny and Waldo decided to do something about it. 

They come up with a plan to rescue a cupcake and show Louie what a birthday is. 

My Thoughts: Okay, so A Special Day is the third book of the Hooligan Bear series, which tells the story of five teddy bears living on a shelf and forming an epic friendship.

I haven't read the first two books of the series but I found A Special Day to be an adorable read, I liked the design of the books and the strong message of friendship of the story.

The book is fairly short though, but good for very young readers.