For such a little known woman in history (at least to me, because I think history is boring), they picked a great artist to illustrate this story of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor. Bright colors are swirly and quick and scribbly, bringing action to the story. It looks like simple copic markers or inks, but I may be wrong. Tilted and exaggerated perspectives also bring it to life in a comic, fast-paced way. Oooh, this one is good too!

I guess I'm a tough critic when it comes to rating these Mock Caldecott titles for work. Did anyone else think the main character looked like PaRappa the Rapper? Anyway, while I enjoyed the water-color style, the people look like peanuts and rubber-necked legumes. Sooo, for a Caldecott, I'm not sure if kids would enjoy the oddly shaped people or not. I'm just super picky!

A simple story without words. At least I couldn't find any deeper meaning in the basic-shape-created characters. A boy without friends. A friendly bluebird that follows him. They have fun together. They encounter a bully who hurts the bird. The acid kicks in as rainbow birds fly the kid into the sky so the little boy can release his feathered friend into... home? Heaven? I have no idea but you never get to see if the kid is put down safely. If he's ever put down at all by those birds...

What a strange book.

So take a look at this cover and judge what the book will be about, like I did. I set this book aside because my judgement was: "Oh the girl on this cover looks pissed, and judging by the title, she must have gone through a tough breakup and is out for revenge." It looks like that, right? WRONG! I could never be more wrong! This book is amazing and creepy! No, this girl, Veronica, is haunted by ghosts, like everyone else in the world, because after the Event, images of people that had departed the world come back for brief moments to play out a snippet of their life, to be played over and over again. And no wonder she looks haunted, her dead father appears at the kitchen table at the same time every morning to read the same newspaper and take the same sip of coffee before disappearing. Everyone is haunted by these images, and while many have learned to live with it, some can't. Like Veronica's friend. Or her history teacher August Bittner, who is haunted by the girls he has killed, and he will kill again, because Veronica may be the one whom he can kill to bring his daughter back to life.

Yeah, Mr. Bittner may have been one of the creepiest characters I have ever read. Even though this book's events of the Event and ghosts/images are unrealistic, the character of Mr. Bittner was realistically insane.

Again, the story was meh but the art was cute.

Kinda makes me think of the prince as the Doctor. Hmmmm. Well you're thrown right into the action and adventure with not much of a premise but for a note to Rose (another Doctor similarity) as to how the Prince and the fox are off to save planets from the evil influence of the Snake. Pretty simplistic. The art is cute, but the stories just seem to be lacking.

Yes! I found a nonfiction book that I not only liked, I LOVED! It was so adorable! I'm looking into raising a few backyard hens and this book is full of sweet and humorous stories about a family and their own hen adventure! Even better are the illustrations and photographs (and even a mixed media of the two)! The author, Lauren Scheuer, is an artist after my own heart. Everything about this book was perfect for me! If you want a light-hearted and humorous story about raising backyard hens, this is the book for you!

Hm, an interesting comic! That is all.

I am re-reading this series since I recently bought most of it at a book sale. I remember reading these books during the 6th grade as I read through almost every dragon book at my local library. Anyone remember the animated movie "Flight of Dragons" from the early 80s? The main story is based off this book (with the science-y parts about how dragons fly/breathe fire from the book "Flight of Dragons" by Peter Dickinson). I honestly love the book much more, and I'm really happy to be reading the series again! I have reviewed in the past that I enjoy fantasy or sci-fi that has a link to our world, instead of being thrust into a completely original land I have to figure out on my own.

In this case, we are thrust into a different dimension where dragons are real and can talk, there are English wolves and chivalrous knights. But we are not alone in our confusion in this alternate world, as we follow along with Jim Eckert, a professor of Medieval History from our world, who is hypnotized and his mind is placed into that of the dragon Gorbash. A slightly silly premise, I know, but I love it! We discover along with Jim that his fiancee, Angie (which is my name, so when I was younger this delighted me to no end), has also been transported to this world and kidnapped by the Dark Powers!

It's the usual tale of good vs. evil as the balance of both must be retained, and an adventure where Companions must be found to help Jim rescue Angie. Yet, it's not as cliche as it sounds and a great book I could read over and over again.