I thoroughly enjoyed this story.  It is done in such a masterful way that even though it is a bit long, it sails by.  Pearl is a young pig still in school.  On a bight sunny day, she takes a picnic and finds a bone that once fell out of a witch’s basket. This amazing bone could talk.  It was very helpful in scaring away the robbers that attacked with knives and guns. But the Fox was smart.  He saw the bone and how amazing it was.  He wanted it for himself and Pearl for dinner. Literally! A pignapping happens, but the bone still saves the day.  This book is heavily banned.  The reasons range from witchcraft and the occult to violence and kidnapping.  I get why parents complain, this book is a bit more macabre wrapped in pretty paper than stories are now.  But the story is lovely.  It’s a folk tale that could be told again and again and again and kids would be on the edge of their seat every single time. 

 

This true story of a little girl (name has been changed for her protection) who is sent to school in secret as a way to cope with the loss of her mother and father is inspiring.  This is a true story from when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan and women had most of their rights taken away, including the right to an education.  This is not a happy book, but rather a story of what you sometimes have to do to cope with the atrocities of life.  This book has been banned and challenged multiple times.  There are parents that think this book is too violent for their children to read. Iit is not! the most violent thing is Nasrenn’s uncle gets taken. Still other parents get upset because this book is not about the Christian lifestyle and dares to include an Islamic prayer and mention of the Koran.  How dare they!!  And how dare you not read this book.  This is the type of story we should be sharing with kids, both now and in the future so we do not repeat history, or so that others know, this was real.  These events were not made up! 

 

This book was funny, if a bit long.  A cowboy only takes a bath once a year.  He smells, is covered in dirt grime, bugs, and fungus.  He takes his horse and his dog on a long journey to find the nearest river in which to bath and instructs his dog to let no one near his clothes.  Once done with his bath, the dog no longer recognizes the cowboy and will not let him touch the clothes.  They argue, the clothes get destroyed and the cowboy walks home naked.  If you have not guessed already, this book is BANNED.  It is banned because of a naked cowboy.  The reader doesn’t see more than a bare chest and legs.  “Inappropriate” body parts are always covered by rocks, animals, or other things.  But that was not enough for some parents.  They compared this book to a child’s Hustler.  That description does not fit at all, but it was still enough to have this book pulled from school districts far and wide. 

 

This book was fantastic. It was written in 1991 and each letter is a small poem about a different child behaving badly.  This book has been banned, frequently.  The most common complaint is that it gives children the wrong ideas on proper behavior.  All these kids do rotten things however instances of beating animals, or the suggestions of holes in underwear, I can see why some parents’ object.  However, I liked it.  It has it’s time.  It is probably not still in most public libraries, and while I suggest you do read it, it will slowly fade away and only be available in the libraries that purposefully keep banned books. 

 

This book is an oldie but a goodie.  Pinkerton is a Great Dane, who has a lot of trouble learning their commands.  So much so they flunk out of obeisance school.  However, when the house is invaded by a burglar Pinkerton will save the day, even if the family has to use the “wrong” commands to get the “right” answer.   This book has been banned, but also “fixed” by the author to take out references of guns after Sandy Hook.  It was the author that approached the publisher about the new edition for it’s 30th anniversary.  

 

 

This was a fun book.  Kids will like it.  The only problem I have is that the author says fire trucks are red.  Not in all communities.  I wish the author had said fire trucks are usually red but could also be blue or yellow and maybe explain the purpose of different colors.  But other than that, this book works well. 

 

This action graphic novel is a bit confusing.  And very wordy.  It was hard to get through.  A human has been stolen and sent to compete in the Titan King Champion to save his world.  In this game each species is fitted with a special arm/glove thing that bonds them to a titan champion.  They become a titan rider.  But this game is deadly.  Not only will Eli have to figure out this world he never knew existed, but he will also have to learn to control his temper, and which friends are worth saving.  This gally only has some of the color done.  I think color will help with the battle scenes so the reader can tell what is happening with what character.  Overall, the story is interesting, and someone is going to love and devour every book in the series.  Unfortunately, that person is not this reviewer.  I am happy to have added this book to a “read” list, so others can know about it.  But for this reviewer it is a one book read. 

 

This book was typical of the genera.  The patters are for beginners, but what is nice is that there are lessons on changing up or adding to patterns to make the designs unique.  Overall I liked the book but it will not become a staple on the subject. 

 

I really wanted to like this book.  The author purposefully sets out a cadence, then does not stick to it.  She tries to rhyme, but when a rhyme doesn’t work, they don’t seem to care.  Examples, Kindness does not rhyme with happiness, nor does Melanin rhyme with amazing.   Then add that the story is long, and a bit complicated.  I like the message of the book, but it is delivered poorly.  This message has been done better, so I would leave this one on the shelf. 

 

As currently in the gally edition I have, I would not add this book to my library collection.  The best way to describe it is a word dump.  The book tries to talk about the various layers of the sea and what is in them, but it never explains the sea has layers.  It just goes right into what would be found in those layers.  Plus, all the words are info bits that run into each other. This book was not for this reader.