Ahhhhhhhhh.  I know I say that every time, but these books just make me so happy.  I love the innocence and fun of Narwhal and Jelly.  I love the puns and the play on words, and how these two friends think of each other and help each other out.  This is another stellar book in a stellar series.

This has to be the most interesting take I have ever read on a Sherlock Holmes character.  We get to see Moriarty not as an evil villain, but as someone who wants to make the world better and bring societies to live as one.  He uses dastardly ways to do it, but his heart is in the right place.  This is supposed to take place at the same times as Sherlock Holmes stories which would be turn of the century 1890s.  But one character uses a gun way too modern for that, even though the rest of the story does fit.  I thoroughly enjoyed this manga, and I really want to keep reading the adventures of Moriarty, just to see what he does next.  How does he come in contact with Holmes, and as he calls himself a consulting detective, what will Holmes think of Moriarty’s use of his term.  Vol. 2 can not get here soon enough.

This book may not have been what I wanted, but it was what I needed.  I wanted the end to the trilogy and to have all my questions answered.  Instead I got something better, and another wait for book 4.  This book is back to form for McNeal. It has all the excitement and the guessing of #Murdertrending, but none of the things that caused #Murderfunding to suffer from a second book slump.  This time, we are trapped with contestants in an Escape Room that no one is meant to escape.  I had most the main points figured out close to figured by 2/3s in, but I loved how it all came together that had my mind going “oh s*#&, oh s*#&.  The only thing I hate is the wait for book 4.  I’m on pins and needles and want to know what can possibly come next. This book contains lots of blood and guts, just like I wanted, and will make any fan of the first book happy, and newbies entertained.

Some picture books just make an adult tear up and this one did it for me.  Madeline Finn is a little girl training her dog to be a therapy specialist.  But there is one man at the nursing home that will take a bit extra to make you smile.  This is a lovely tale and the illustrations match.  There is a bit of diversity in the characters, but not much.

The point of this book is to teach mindfulness, but I am not sure it’s successful.  Mary is a naturally quiet child who gets lost in between her loud siblings, family, and a world full of noise.  It’s only when everyone quiets down that she can be found and heard.  I think the thing I don’t like about this book is that Mary disappears as if she never existed or as if no one wants her, until they are quiet.  I get the message, I'm just not a fan of how it was done. Also there is no diversity of characters in this book.

This book is all over the place.  A squirrel named Sam has lots of pants and tells the reader about every pair and what they do on those pants.  Then he meets a new squirrel who is upset because he ruined his only pair of pants.  So Sam decides to give him a pair of his.  This book was written for Goodwill (the organization).  The first part of the story is just a hyperactive kid describing everything he does and wears.  The “lesson” of the story is left for the last page, and is not well done.  The illustrator did a better job telling the story in pictures, both of playing and the family gathering stuff for Goodwill.  The authors left that blank and were just like here you go.  Overall not a successful book for the authors, but I love the work of the illustrator.

This was a wonderful story about a figure from American history that is rarely taught in school.  William Still is known as the father of the Underground Railroad.  He kept records, told stories, and fought to have Black citizens seen as equal members of the community.  Sometimes this story gets a bit long winded, but overall it works, and is a great addition to any history class for young kids.

This is not the most successful book in the series.  It is very short on information.  Shackleton was a young man who wanted to explore and explore.  He even survived multiple trips to Antarctica.  This book just seems to rush through his most adventurous days.  For example, how did they live on floating ice.  How long did the trip take, etc. There is just not enough information to really get at the core of who Shackleton was and why he is important to history.

The illustrations in this book are quite wonderful.  They are vibrant and simple, but super fun.  They go well with the story.  Little Sammy is hyper.  He is constantly moving about and can not sit still.  It makes him angry if anyone makes him do what he does not want to do.  Until he meets the dog Dojo Max in the park who teaches him breathing techniques to use when he is upset.  The story is not the greatest.  It’s simply written as someone would tell a story, rather than as a professionally written picture book.  Some of the concepts don’t jell well with the way they’re written, like how being hyper leads to anger and such.  Overall I like the book, but I wouldn’t add it to my library.

This book reeks of vanity publishing and not in the good way.  Cookie is one of a set of twin dogs who are white and fluffy.  When it comes to walking they are as different as can be.  Cookie goes off exploring on her own.  The story is okay but very long winded.  Real photos are used instead of illustrations, and it’s these real photos that make the book seem like a vanity project.  They all seem like bad photos taken with a camera phone by a novice.  Some are not in focus, many have no composition value, many are shadowed and dark.  Then add the layout with words on most pages fully underlined like they are being made to stand out.  This book just does not work for me in any way. It is something I would never add to my collection unless the author was local and donating it to my library.