Cute premise, sadly ruined by casual racism. Just as an example, here is what a rooster says as he dances the hula: "hooka hooka, hot Chihuahua! Hot tiki mama!" Granted this rooster is not seen as knowledgeable, and is being played for laughs, but it is in fact supposed to be a joke and no one ever corrects his portrayals of various native peoples over the course of the book. Sigh.

Perfect amount of silliness to cut the spookiness. Not too much, not too little.

Yes the imaginary worlds are wonderful, but this year (2020) there is another world that feels imaginary as well. This one. I want to visit our earth, please. All the hidden wonders of it.

I will note, however, that this is very clearly written by a white person, in ways that are at times cringy. Lots of holy sites described as one might describe a quaint oddity, Burma labeled as Myanmar, and "Egungun Voodoo Ceremony" listed among the attractions, as if this religious ceremony were a landmark. Still, on the whole I found it to be a great way to thumb through the world, especially while sitting at home in lockdown.

The pictures are nice, but honestly, I don't see a lot here that are "kid friendly." I suppose some children really do eat vegetables, but...still. I wish this had more simple "recipes" like pb & banana, things like that. Instead ,these recipes are very vegetable heavy. That said, as an adult I do think thy'd taste good, and I'm going to give some a try!

Advance Reading Copy provided by NetGalley

Solidly good fantasy school story, on the early side of middle grade fiction. I read this as an audiobook, and the reader is excellent. I also have to tip my hat to the gentle handling of a non-accepting family that feels true without bringing the whole series into depression territory. Each book focuses on a different child in the class, while still maintaining Nory as the main character.

Yes the story has been done before. But I still love this. The images are lovely, and the text is sparse in a pleasing lyrical manner.

Boys being gentle with each other's emotions and thoughtful about their impacts on the world around them at the same time as having adventures and bits of childish gross-out humor to boot? SIGN ME UP. Such a wonderful presentation of masculinity.

Very fun, but the plot started making less sense near the end. Still, I do love dragons.

Cute as far as it goes, but I'm troubled by the sense that the fact that "mister fairy" is a boy is somehow part of the joke? Or perhaps there is only one boy fairy? On the whole I just don't love the name being all about the gender. Outside of the gender thing it's a nice story, but I'm left feeling some discomfort there. If the fairy was named Reginald or Paul or something I don't think I'd have the same reaction.