This book is so depressing that it's actually funny! In every chapter, another poor man is dying, being murdered, committing suicide, going insane, about to be hanged as a criminal, or dying of some horrific illness because his heart is breaking for love of the beautiful Princess Osra. All these poor stupid men, dying because the Princess is beautiful. It's tragic and funny in its ridiculousness. (I mean, how beautiful could she be? She's Helen of Troy, apparently.)

I love how chivalrous the noblemen are, and even the common men without riches or titles are full of chivalry and high feelings. The villains are calculating and malicious, and the heroes are completely unselfish and generous and kind. All of them are ready to dare anything, risk bodily harm, fight to the death in impossible duels, and risk their fortunes for the sake of the Princess and their own honor.

Each chapter follows some different escapade of the Princess and her would-be suitors, and I love the high adventure plots. It reminds me of Dumas' Three Musketeers.

Excellent sequel!

I just love the Aunt Jane's Nieces stories, and each one pleasantly surprises me. The simple story lines really keep my interest and the characters are funny and likeable.

In this book, Uncle John acquires a run-down farm in the country, and promptly proposes to spend the summer there with his three favorite nieces. The local village is all agog at the fancy "citified" furniture, decorations, and trappings that come in to furnish the old farmhouse with more "modern" conveniences.

The summering party arrives in the country and finds a mystery to unravel regarding the previous owners of the farm, an old sea-captain who died under questionable circumstances, and his wayward son who is currently missing. The nieces find a plethora of suspects in the little village, but can find no concrete evidence to support their wild theories of murder, burglary, and fraud. Ultimately, the girls have to explain their suspicions to their Uncle John, and they discover that the truth is entirely different than they had imagined.

I loved how this book blends together elements of comedy and drama into every chapter. There are some really funny scenes with the local village population trying to swindle rich Uncle John out of his money. And there are heartbreaking scenes of poor people in trouble, needing friendship and aid from the girls.
The scenes flow together really well, and kept me reading with interest and delight!

This is a collection of some shorter stories set at various times during Doctor Dolittle's different voyages, including his African travels and his Canary Opera in London. The first few stories are tales from the Home for Crossbred Dogs, as the dogs describe their various adventures and how they came to be a part of the Doctor's club for dogs. There is also a story from a maggot, who tells the Doctor about the trials of an insect who attempts to travel further than his home tree.

I liked this book, but a couple of the stories did not capture my interest as much as the other Dolittle books. The maggot's story was sort of strange, and there is a story about a lost little boy who follows the Doctor home that wasn't very interesting. The other stories are wonderful though, and I really enjoyed the writing style! This is a good ending to the Doctor Dolittle series, since it revisits some of the exciting times in the Doctor's life with more details and rabbit trails.

This book lists the major characteristics and customs of over 160 Native American tribes, dedicating one or two pages to each tribe and including illustrations and photographs, both of historic cultures and modern people.

The book is grouped by region, showing how the environment and climate shaped their culture and livelihood. Time lines demonstrate the changes and historic events that developed their societies.
Each region section has a tribal story that is a part of that culture's traditions and beliefs.

One of the features that I really appreciated is the phonetic pronunciation guide that helps readers to know how pronounce tribal names, including simple words in each language like "hello," goodbye," and "thank you".

The photographs are colorful and emotional, drawing the reader into this vibrant world. I really loved the combination of illustrations and photos, showing artifacts, animals, historical people, homes, toys, traditional dress, musical instruments, common foods, and every detail pertaining to daily life.

The book does a good job of balancing historical information with modern information about the tribes today. It also deals in a fair and unbiased way with some of the terrible wars that Native Americans had with Europeans settlers, giving the facts about events, but not going into details.

I was especially excited to look up the entry for the Cherokee people, since my great-grandmother was Cherokee! I was happy to see that it includes the development of the Cherokee alphabet and writing system, as well as the history of the Trail of Tears.

I loved this book, and I enjoyed finding out more about these rich and beautiful cultures!

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

This fascinating book teaches children the concepts and ideas behind computer programming, and provides simple coding problems to be solved. The challenges include activities, games, and crafts that can be completed to solve the puzzles, as the reader learns computer coding approaches like binary code, directions, algorithms, loops of code, debugging when there is a problem, and optimizing the commands given to the program. Using logic and simple commands, the reader learns to understand the basic structure of a computer program.

The puzzles are a lot of fun, and the narrative includes some cute robot characters. The reader has to help the robot characters to complete tasks by giving them commands in code. The robots explore caves and take photos of ancient artifacts, explore the ocean floor with a robot submarine, and repair a satellite in space. The reader has to give the right commands, so that the robot will navigate around obstacles in their path.

The artwork is colorful and really grabs your attention. The text is easy to read, and organized in small sections that are perfect for kids with small attention spans. There are some silly little jokes peppered throughout the chapters that keep the writing fresh and fun!

I was so interested in all these computer programming ideas! Not that the reader would actually know how to create a computer program after reading this, but it does give some good information of the basic concepts behind codes and programming that are age-appropriate for children. This would be sure to inspire some kids to research computer programming even further!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.