Despite its popularity, MacBeth has never been one of my favorite Shakespearean plays. Too bloody and gory and gloomy for my taste. But if you like a dismal adventure with plenty of violence and mayhem, MacBeth has plenty of that! And this manga adaptation rings true with the moods and poetry of the original play. I like that the exact dialogue of the play is used in this manga, and the artwork beautifully illustrates all the action and drama.

Each character has a memorable and striking appearance, and I found it especially interesting to see how MacBeth's demeanor changed after he commits murder. His posture and facial expressions are different, and shadows gather around him in the darker colors of the artwork. It's a subtle but effective way of showing the development of his character, slowing falling into madness and despair.

The witches were especially frightening and creepy with all their dark arts and ugly meddling. Their faces were hairy and eerie, and it weirded me out! All of the paranormal scenes were chilling, and that is just how powerful the illustrations are.

I love the heroic characters, with their square jaws and clear eyes. Just from seeing their facial expressions, I could really imagine their dialogue being spoken in distinct voices.

I'm so in love with all the Manga Classics series, and this one is excellently done!

Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley 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 graphic novel wonderfully summarizes the powerful life story of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his peaceful fight for civil rights in the United States.

I especially liked that many exact quotes from MLK, Jr. and others are used as the dialogue, but some of the dialogue is conjecture and added to enhance the story, imagining what might have been said in various situations. I'm always on the lookout for reputable historical books, and I felt that the history here was accurate and true to actual events.

I really liked the cartoon art style, but felt like it could have been a little more polished. However, the colors are vibrant, and the illustrations really show the emotions of the people, bringing the reader right into the history of the time, and making it real. Each panel has an emotional charge and a good sense of action that pushes the story forward.

I thought it was a nice touch to have a glossary in the back of the book for younger readers who are still building their vocabulary. I would recommend this graphic novel to readers aged 7-17.

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

A beautiful board book with jigsaw puzzles on the pages. I will NEVER take those puzzle pieces out. They are too perfect! I adore Shepard's whimsical illustrations, and enjoyed reading the little excerpts from the Wind in the Willows book that accompany each puzzle.
So cute!

These cute little kitties are into all sorts of hijinks, pranks, and kerfuffle...
Nap-kin can't find a decent place to nap.
Bon-bon keeps baking and baking, but the kitties tummies are never full.
Francis gets a crick in his tail that only some relaxing yoga can undo.
Prankster Pants mixes sugar into the soap and it attracts a garden full of butterflies.
Memez is practicing for a music contest, but his dance moves are uninspiring until the dancing kitties tell him that the "best dance moves are the ones that make you feel like yourself."

I love the cute storylines and funny little dramas! The illustrations are full of bright colors and hearts and rainbows. The writing is perfect for this reading level, and the fun comedy and short chapters keep it interesting.

The only thing I didn't like was when one of the kitties, Tummy Tum, keeps eating and eating. It was like a commercial for gluttony, and not a good example for children, especially with today's obesity epidemic.

This is such a cute series, and in conjunction with the Hasbro Lost Kitty toys, an adorable way to make reading fun for young children!

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

The Lost Kitties are having some eating issues. Some kitties only want to eat fish, others make their hot sauce way too hot, and one kitty can't get his toaster to work. From tacos to fancy caviar, these hungry kitties need their tummies filled with delicious food!

The illustrations are bright and colorful with adorable kitty characters on every page. I thought the reading skill level was perfect for young readers, and the chapters are short and fun. I liked the silly little problems that the kitties face, and how their kitty friends join in to help solve their difficulties together.

The only part that I didn't like was the story about Stuffs, the kitty who works as a food critic. He is known for his reputation as a fancy eater, but his secret favorite food is French fries. He gorges himself on massive amounts of French fries. At one point, he eats "...twelve extra large cartons of fries" in one sitting. His character is obviously overweight in the illustrations, and his eating habits are encouraged by his kitty friends. This is a terrible example for young children, especially with today's obesity epidemic. This story could have been handled much better, to encourage better eating habits in children. But maybe this story could be used as a 'teaching moment' to talk to children about healthy dietary habits.

This whole series is cute, and along with the Hasbro Lost Kitties toys, it's a wonderful way to get children interested in reading.

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

Charming and old-fashioned, with a simple plot and simple characters. I just love this type of children’s animal story! Adorable and sweet, with short chapters easy for young readers.

Megan falls into a magic rock pool, and meets various delightful sea creatures who attempt to help her reach the surface again. The lobster suggests that the turtle could give her a ride on its back, or perhaps the puffer fish could float her up to the surface. The wily eel tries to help, but he's too slippery. How will Megan ever reach the surface and escape the magic of the rock pool?

The things that I liked about this book were the imaginative elements of the story, the clever dialogue, and the interesting sea creatures. It's a good story, with good development and scenes that flow naturally. The dialogue is snappy and funny, and I enjoyed the banter between the characters. I also enjoyed the sea creatures that Megan meets. They are striking characters that remain memorable and endearing.

The illustrations are not that good, but I did like the color scheme of the beach scenes and underwater pools. The illustrations have a few strange places where I can't tell what the drawing is showing. For instance, there is a picture of Megan riding on the back of a turtle where I can't tell if there are bubbles coming out of Megan's mouth or if it's vomit. It looks weird, and I am not sure what is happening with the bubble/vomit.

The illustrations also use some "copy and paste" techniques that felt lazy. I would have appreciated more unique art for each page, instead of the same character illustration with a different background. It doesn't look very polished.


The formatting is very unprofessional, giving the book a sloppy look. There is no title page at the beginning of the book. There are no page numbers. There is quite a lot of punctuation missing from the text, in addition to incorrect punctuation and capitalization errors, which made it annoying to read.

There are even spacing errors between words, making it look like it was typed in a word processor instead of formatted for publishing. There are multiple typos such as "...they tried to pull the it out of the cup." A simple mistake, but something that an editor would have caught.

And the story-boarding layout and orientation of the text and illustrations could have been much better arranged. The style of the text is very amateurish, with some small, thin letters and then bold phrases in a larger size. It would also have looked better if the illustration took up the entire double-page spread, with the text layered to one side on top of the background of the illustration. This is how most picture books are arranged. Or possibly with an illustration on one side of the page, and the text on the page facing it. Instead, the illustration is in a small box at the top of each page with the text below it, and it looks awkward.

The writing uses far too many adjectives in one jumble hanging on for dear life to a single noun. The writing also describes things that are already included in the illustrations. For instance, "The sky was all pink and purple and yellow..." when the illustration clearly shows a pink, purple, and yellow sky in the background, making it redundant to describe the sky in the text.

For such a short picture book, it has many good elements in the writing, the story, and characters, but the lack of professional editing and formatting ruined my enjoyment of the book. With a good editor and a more polished art style, this could be a lovely picture book.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author 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 atlas is full of amazing maps and information! It's got pictures and factoids and terrain and history, all with colorful lines and photos and interesting little details.

I like how the book is divided up by continent. It makes it easy to find what you are looking for, and to see how countries that border each other have a lot in common. It has maps that compare the economics, life expectancy, refugee statistics, climate and precipitation, and population of the various countries in each continent and region.

There are maps showing the most prevalent languages on earth, the biggest cities, the most culturally diverse areas, the central religions, how the world grows and exports food, energy, and mineral resources. There is even a map showing the different types of world maps, and how a globe can get distorted by being projected onto a flat surface.

This book does a great job of packing a lot of information into each page without losing clarity or making the page feel jumbled. Because it's a paperback, it's lightweight and perfect for little backpacks.

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.