Noah wants to go sailing to look for seals, but Nana says that she has to repair the boat. While he waits, Noah crafts a seal out of sand, putting in pebbles and seaweed for the eyes and mouth. A storm sweeps in, and Nana and Noah have to take shelter. When the storm is over, Noah's sand seal is gone! Will he ever see his seal again?

I loved this sweet book! The ending is so emotional and clever. Noah is such a cute little guy with a big imagination. I love that his Nana is kind and understanding. They have a special relationship.

The illustrations are beautiful! Every scene has these wide sweeping skies and the sparkling waves of the sea. The art really shows the ferocity of the storm with raging purple clouds. The character design of Noah and Nana is adorable too. They are so expressive and fun! Even the endpapers have beautiful artwork on them.

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.

Narwhal follows a group of fish to school, but the teacher is out sick, so Narwhal decides to substitute teach the class with Jelly as the supervisor teacher. The fish learn about waffles and math and science. They have a scavenger hunt to find fun facts about the sea creatures living in the ocean.

The cuteness!! The adorableness!! The sillyness! I can't get enough of Narwhal and Jelly. They are so cute and lovable!

Each chapter is so delightfully funny! I laughed my head off, and smiled and chuckled with glee. I love the simple yet striking illustrations, and the bright colors. I love the sweetly imaginative dialogue and storylines.

I can imagine reading this aloud to a child and having so much fun together!

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

Supervillain Lord Blackheart has a new sidekick, Nimona, who is a shapeshifter. They team up against Sir Goldenloin to prove that the heroes aren't all they seem to be. But Nimona is keeping secrets, and Lord Blackheart begins to wonder if she is more dangerous than she appears.

This comic is so funny and imaginative! I loved all the witty one-liners and the weird characters. The story really kept me guessing, and I loved gradually learning the backstory for each of the characters.

The setting is so weird, since it looks like medieval times, but they have some modern technology. Science and magic have to work side by side. I love it!

I really liked the whimsical art style, and the intense colors. Every scene uses color and light and shadow to set the mood for an epic battle with a dragon or maybe a quiet board game night with pizza.

This is so much fun from start to finish!

This novella is a strange tale of two men who tried to become kings of Kafiristan by trickery and a show of military strength. Years later, one man tells the story of how they fooled the natives into thinking they were gods, took control of many villages, and militarized the people who eventually turned on them.

This is not Kipling's best work. The narrative is mostly told from an unreliable narrator who is going insane and losing his mind. So the story is disjointed and chaotic. There are a lot of cultural things that are never explained, so I was left wondering what was going on in a few scenes.

But it does have that Kipling flavor! There is this mystic mood, and the feeling that anything could happen in the distant mountains of the world where everything is possible.

Little Dakota the mouse goes on a dangerous journey through the museum to search for the long-lost treasure. Along the way, she finds a beautiful painting (a postage stamp), a historic statue (an action figure toy), and at last the shining treasure. But what will she do with the amazing prizes she has gathered?

This is such a cute book! Dakota is full of courage and resourcefulness. I just love stories about little mice making their way through a big world. I love all her funny adventures in the museum! The story encourages using your imagination.

One of the cool things about this book is that it is also a search-and-find. While Dakota is searching for the treasure, the reader can also search for the items listed in the back of the book. They are hidden in the background of every scene. I love the details in this book!

The illustrations are really colorful and interesting. I love the art style, and how expressive Dakota is.

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.

Hercule Poirot begins to investigate the murderous attempts on the life of Nick Buckley, a pretty young lady living at End House by the seaside. A heavy picture frame falls, the brakes in her car are cut, a bullet makes a hole in her hat, but she miraculously escapes death each time. All around her are family and friends with a possible motive to kill her, but only Hercule Poirot can unravel the clues to find the truth.

I loved this mystery! So many twists and turns in the plot. I had no idea until the very end who could possibly be the killer. I was completely fooled. Every clue comes together perfectly at the end. Each character is hiding a secret, and it was so interesting to gradually discover their backstories, and speculate about who is lying and who is telling the truth.

I adore Poirot and Hastings. They are such a great team, and I love their merry friendship. The dialogue between them is priceless! I really love the mysteries that are told from Hastings point of view. He's such a great narrator and sidekick for Poirot.

Hachiken enters his first horse riding competition with the school equestrian club. He is very nervous, but he tries to encourage his teammates. He is focused and determined to do well, but there are various distractions surrounding the competition. A rider from another school calls him out as her greatest rival with hilarious results. In the second half of this volume, Hachiken is helping to prepare for the big school festival and has a long list of responsibilities.

I loved this volume! I got really excited about the riding competition and was interested to see the scores of the different characters who competed. There are some really funny scenes, and interesting developments for Hachiken in his personal relationships with friends and family.

Hachiken deals with the aftermath of the school festival, and goes on a first date with a girl he likes. He is forced to help with the birth of two baby calves while the rest of the school gets to watch the school's big baseball game. He misses all the fun, but gains the confidence to keep searching for his dreams.

This manga just keeps getting more and more hilarious! I love that things go wrong for the characters, and they are disappointed and have to struggle through tough situations. It shows their strong personalities and the way they have to encourage each other through hard times.

Anne Elliot meets Captain Wentworth again after breaking off their engagement eight years before. She is filled with doubt and anxiety, and wonders how she should behave and whether or not his feelings have changed. Captain Wentworth tries to ignore her without actually being rude, and flirts with other young ladies of their acquaintance. It is impossible to tell if he is trying to hide a broken heart or if he has truly left behind his old feelings for Anne, but a few little words and looks might tell the true story.

A perfect masterpiece! Every time I reread this book I love it more and more, and see more depth in the characters, and more humor in the sarcastic writing style.

There are so many sweet little moments between Anne and Captain Wentworth! A glance, a small gesture, a chance word; all these things create such a suspense and make the story exciting. It's the little undercurrents of emotion behind everyday scenes that make this book so special. On the surface, the plot doesn't have much going on; but we get such an intimate look into Anne's heart, and so much depth from each of the supporting characters, that it shows that there is quite a lot happening under the surface.

This book isn't as humorous as some of Austen's other writing, but it does have a lot of dry humor. It's an understated humor that is just the style that I love. Every time I reread it, I find it funnier and more enjoyable. Some of the supporting characters, like Anne's sister Mary, are so extremely silly that they feel like caricatures. Anne must be an angel to put up with all their nonsense. It does make for some very funny scenes and hilarious dialogue though!

I really love how the writing analyzes the personalities of each character. Anne is a very intelligent and thoughtful person, so we get to hear her reasoning about the merits and faults of her family and friends. She is compassionate but sensible and discerning. She is not blind to their silliness, but loves them in spite of it. This gives us wonderful insights into the family dynamics, the friendships, and loyalties of each person around Anne. We also get to see how these relationships grow and change through the events of the story.

This book is a forever favorite!