kailey_luminouslibro's Reviews (3.79k)

Benji and his grandmother go on a grocery shopping trip around the city, but many of the old stores that Bubbe used to know are closed or moved, and she gets confused. She remembers the old days when she was young. She has trouble adjusting to the modern world, lost in her memories of the old ways.

This graphic novel is definitely interesting. Benji's Bubbe is not always polite or reasonable, but her memories are what shape her thinking. You can see her reasons for her behavior are rooted in her past. It's an interesting look into what shapes people's personalities and beliefs. The book ends on a hopeful note as Bubbe reconnects with an old friend and they reminisce together.

I loved the art style! It's kind of fuzzy and atmospheric. The present is all in shades of grey with Bubbe's memories in dusty colors, as though her memories are more real to her than what is actually happening in the present moment.

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.

Gustav and Herni are playing when they lose their shuttlecock. It must have been thrown into outerspace! They construct a space ship and track their shuttlecock to the moon. But a greedy space crab has claimed the shuttlecock as a crown, calling himself King of the Moon. The two friends will have to complete four impossible tasks to reclaim the shuttlecock.

When Gustav forgets to return a library book, the two friends travel back in time to return the book with terrible consequences when they are attacked by "clock-o-dials" in the time stream.

Gustav wants to celebrate Pig Day with a wonderful cake. All Henri's enemies are invited to watch her eat the cake, and none of them will get a slice! But the cake disappears and Gustav must become a detective to discover the culprit.

This graphic novel/ comic is so hilarious! I love the funny jokes and crazy plot lines. It had me giggling and laughing all the way through.

The art style is really cute, and it adds to the comedy of the story. Everything is in gray, white, and blue. I like the way the blue colors are used to bring shadows and light into the art.

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.

When Henry David Thoreau was a boy, he explored the forests and meadows and ponds surrounding his beloved home in Concord, Massachusetts. This book gives us a look into his writings, his life, and the nature that inspired him.

The illustrations are beautiful. Some of them are sketches and maps from Thoreau's own notebooks. The sketches of birds, plants, and animals are all beautifully and delicately drawn.

It is definitely interesting to read about Thoreau and his life experience out in the woods surrounding Walden Pond. His house was a station on the Underground Railroad. He helped to catalog and record dozens of species of plants and birds and animals. He knew all the birds individual songs and their calls. This book captures the slow and thoughtful nature of his ramblings through the woods, but also the fierce beliefs that he upheld even when he was thrown into jail for them.

I was grateful that this book doesn't give the author's opinion about Thoreau, but approaches each subject with the unbiased facts. In this way, difficult subjects like slavery, Darwin's theory of evolution, religion, and climate change are touched on, telling what Thoreau wrote about these subjects, but the reader is left to make their own conclusions.

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.

This book contains interesting information about ringed seals, their habitat, their hunting, and their young pups. There are two to three paragraphs of information in each section, giving tidbits of information like how the seals have a layer of blubber fat that keeps them warm. Seals are intelligent and good at swimming away from predators like polar bears. They have strong claws on their front flippers for digging their way out of the ice. There is even a section about how Inuit tribes will use seal meat for food and make sealskin boots.

I love the warm artwork in this book! It really makes it enjoyable to read and see these wild animals illustrated in their wilderness home. It immediately captured my attention!

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.

Jasper the Cat and Scruff the Dog have their own restaurant with their special signature dish, a cheese sandwich. When a fancy restaurant opens across the street, the recipe for their signature dish is mysteriously stolen, and the fancy restaurant announces that they will be serving a special cheese sandwich! How can Jasper and Scruff compete with the fanciness? Jasper comes up with a whole new menu, hoping to impress the food critics. But their new menu is a disaster! Jasper and Scruff learn that they can count on their loyal costumers to keep their restaurant afloat.

This is such a fun book! Jasper and Scruff are hilarious! I loved all the twists and turns of the plot, and how the two friends are resilient and resourceful through every circumstance. There are a few paragraphs of text on each page, making this the perfect type of book for children who are learning to read small chapter books on their own.

The illustrations are really cute and I love the designs for all the animals characters! Every page is so colorful.

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.

Duck lives all alone in her yard. She has a wonky leg and has to use a crutch, so she never ventures out into the world. When a blind Chicken wanders in, she invites Duck to join her on a journey to find the land of wishes. Duck and Chicken embark on a journey fraught with peril and danger and deep ravines and dark forests and high mountains. Duck narrates to Chicken about all the sights and dangers along the way, and Chicken helps Duck to make the weary journey with her wonky leg. They bicker and argue, but in the end they learn that the true wish of their heart is just to have a friend.

This was such a funny book! I love all the weird quirks of these two friends. Blind and lame, they prop each other up through all of their ups and downs, relying on one another. The ending is hilarious! It really shows the power of your imagination.

I love the cute illustrations! The Duck and Chicken are both so expressive, so the comedy of the story is enhanced through their wacky expressions.

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.

Monkey has some wild ideas about becoming famous, studying turtles by dressing up like a turtle, and maybe becoming a superhero from a radioactive spider bite. Robot patiently helps Monkey to realize that his flights of fancy are not always smart, but there are other ways to realize his dreams in smaller more manageable ways.

This is a weird little comic. The art work is not very good, and looks like a child drew it. The storylines are extremely simple and kind of boring. I guess it has a sort of innocent charm that a child might enjoy, but it is not very polished or professional-looking.

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.

Granny warns young Cora that she must be careful to not get tricked by the winter boy, Frindleswylde. If you let him in the house, he will freeze your bones and steal the light from the lantern. In the end, it is Granny herself who is tricked, and Cora must go on a dangerous quest to get their lantern light back. Frindleswylde sets three impossible tasks for Cora to complete, or she will be forced to stay in his frozen land as the Queen of Winter. Cora cleverly accomplishes each task, but Frindleswylde has more tricks up his sleeve, and Cora will have to search deep inside herself for the warmth and light to combat the cold dark.

This is such a beautiful fairy tale! I love that Cora continually finds the courage to fight for what she loves, even when things are so difficult and painful for her. The writing has that old-fashioned fairy tale style that I love so much.

The illustrations are absolutely lovely! The colors really capture the icy cold of Frindleswylde's wintery land. The art style is delicate and beautiful!

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.

Clarice Bean is worried that her family is losing their Christmas spirit. Her grandmother tells her to think like an elf, and find ways to help the people around her. She finds little things to do to serve others, and discovers that the Christmas spirit is not in the gifts you receive, but in showing others you care.

This is such a cute book! Clarice Bean is such a funny little kid. She has her own perspective on things and I love all her little quirks.
The story is full of holiday cheer, and I loved hearing about all the family traditions that Clarice Bean celebrated with her family. It got me into the holiday spirit!
The writing does such a good job of letting us see things from Clarice Bean's perspective, and it really captures her childish voice.

There are many funny scenes where things go terribly wrong and it is hilarious! They get a huge tree that is way too big for their house. The turkey is accidentally dropped on the floor and then eaten by a mysterious dog or fox. Clarice Bean tries to make fudge, but it is a hazardous undertaking. This whole book is so funny!

I don't like the weird art style though. It's a mixture of different things, and it looks kind of chaotic. I wish they would just stick to one style instead of mixing different elements that don't really match. But that's just my personal preference.


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. 

A little girl, Ah Mei, has a close relationship with her grandmother, Nainai. Although her grandmother is French, her grandfather is Chinese, and Ah Mei has grown up in Shanghai. In the 1960s Chinese Cultural Revolution, people in Shanghai begin to look at foreigners differently, and Ah Mei and her grandmother suffer persecution under the Communist regime.

What drew me to this book is that Ah Mei loves to play piano, and I am a pianist, so that aspect of the story was attractive to me. The scenes about the piano are really beautiful and lyrical.

The writing style is slow and thoughtful, taking time to appreciate beauty in nature and art. We get to hear all the little details of Ah Mei's experience growing up in Shanghai, all the beauty and all the ugliness too as the Communists take over.

I enjoyed 90% of the book, and was swept away in the close affection of this lovely family. But then the ending happened.
My reason for a 1-star rating is the horrible ending. A character decides that they have suffered enough under the Communists, and decides to take their own life. This is tragic and horrifying, but the author treats it like a good thing, saying that this character chose to leave "in dignity."
In this book, suicide is stylized as if it were something romantic and noble, when in reality it is cowardly and ugly. I can't believe that this dangerous philosophic view-point is included in a children's book! This is a dangerous idea to plant in someone's mind, and I'm shocked that the publisher allowed it. It's disgusting and sick. Suicide is never the answer, no matter what the circumstances may be.

I'm very disappointed in this book.


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