This is a really cute story. It’s about a group of Welles, yes, rain boots, that go off to have an adventure. On their adventure, they meet up with their little girl who should be in bed. The illustrations are bright and colorful, but I do think the story is quite long. And while I did like the story, I actually think it would work better as an animated short. The artwork works for that very well. I think because this is the grand adventure it is reminiscent of the shorts from the 90s and has a “Brave Little Toaster” feel. Overall, this was fine, and I would read it again, but most kids would probably fall asleep before you get to the end. 

 

This book is a children’s info dump about Texas. However, this info dump works really well. The author has arranged it in sections that work well together. These sections include various cities, sports places, food inventions, and important people. I like that this book is fully illustrated. Many books like this would be a mix of illustrations and real photos but I think it works well. I actually hope this becomes a series and we get one for every state. 

 

The best part of this book is the illustrations. I do wish they had left off the gold borders around every illustration because that makes it look self-published in a bad way. However, the story needs more work. It’s supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek look at a space mission. The otters launch themselves off but are not quite smart enough to realize they did not go to space, but just landed a few hundred feet away from where they left. They were lucky that everyone survives the crash landing. All in all this book does not work. The illustrations more than make up for the horrible storytelling, but it needs more work. 

 

I really wanted to like this book, but it was very confusing. Part of it seems new, modern and futuristic.  At the same time you have a group of engineers working on clockworks. I got about halfway through this book and ended up with a DNF. I wanted to like it, but found myself not caring because I was having a hard time following the story. 

 

This was a sad DNF. I really thought I would love this book. I do like the art and it’s a supernatural tale. That part I liked, however, one of our main characters makes himself a girl. Very much Weird Science movie vibes. When they made this girl, he made her mindless. She can harm and do battle, but has no thoughts or knowledge of her own. She is an empty vessel for them to do with as they please. I don’t like that. Tt just turned me off, and I do not care to ever finish this book, let alone read any sequels. 

 

What a wonderful book. It packs a fantastic and heartfelt message in so few pages. Beebee is a quite trans girl who is active in cheerleading, Annie a hell on wheels personality that just wants to be left alone. However, Annie’s anti-social personality might make it hard to get into college no matter how good her grades and test scores. So at her mother’s behest, she joins cheerleading. Annie and Beebee used to be friends, before Beebee transitioned. Their friendship is rekindled through cheer. Annie learns to be more social and get along with people, and Beebee leans to stand up for herself, not just to classmates who think they are doing the right thing, but also to her overprotective parents. This book is just so heartwarming. From page one to the end, a reader wants to know these girls, and be part of the squad. It is so reaffirming to see that the cheer mates, cheer for more than sports. They cheer for their teammates to be the best they can be, and to be themselves. There is everything to love about this book. EVERYTHING. 

 

This is the first goosebumps graphic novel. It’s an original tale and not a graphic novel of an already existing tale. This is also not written by RL Stine. However, it was still a fantastic read. I find the scary aspects are not there, but the essence of horror is. This book is about creatures that go bump on a Moonlit night. This book is about werewolves and the swamp that protects them. One of the things I love about goosebumps is that they just don’t put forward a scary story, but they put forward a story with heart. The heart is very much seen in this book about the protection of family. This is a new great way to get kids interested in a series that’s 20 years old. 

 

This simple poem is an ode to a morning walk in the city. A family greets the day with a walk around their community saying Hi to the joy in life. This story is lovely, but quiet. The illustrations match. 

 

Ummmmmmm. No. There is a kitty that loves to sing every night, but they don’t sing well, and it annoys everyone. One night, a black cat poisons the singing cat so she will stop singing for one night only. The following night he gifts her a repaired guitar and an orchestra, and they live happily ever after in cat stardom. It’s the poisoning that I draw a line at. This book is vailed harassment and assault. One cat did something horrible to another cat because they think it was needed and then make everything better. That is a metaphor for going back to an abuser and giving it a happy ending. No thank you. 

 

This story looks like a picture book, but is actually a chapter book, where the chapters are just a page or two. In all honestly, I DNFed this book after the 3rd chapter. It was just too wordy and couldn’t keep my attention, especially when I thought the galley was going to be something different.