The Smell of Ink/Lukten av Trykksverte

Recently, I read the children's poetry collection Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble edited by Paul Cookson and today I'll post my review of the book. Description from Goodreads Can you hear the distant dragon's rumble of thunder? And smell the sweet swampy aroma of the ogre? Can you taste the tangy tarantula tarts? And see the girl who's really a wizard? From magic carpets and wands to unicorns, potions, creams and lotions, Paul Cookson's brewing a spell of fantastically magic poems. On this tattered magic carpet You can choose your destination For nothing's quite as magical As your imagination Beautifully illustrated by Eilidh Muldoon, this enchanting anthology brings together work from a range of classic, established and rising poets. Whether you're in the mood for a haunting or a spell gone wrong, this collection of mesmerising poems will have you bewitched from beginning to end! Poets include: William Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, Benjamin Zephaniah, John Agard,...

Recently I read Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab, which is the second book about Cassidy Blake, and today I'll post my review of the book. Description from Goodreads Trouble is haunting Cassidy Blake . . . even more than usual. She (plus her ghost best friend, Jacob, of course) are in Paris, where Cass's parents are filming their TV show about the world's most haunted cities. Sure, it's fun eating croissants and seeing the Eiffel Tower, but there's true ghostly danger lurking beneath Paris, in the creepy underground Catacombs. When Cass accidentally awakens a frighteningly strong spirit, she must rely on her still-growing skills as a ghosthunter -- and turn to friends both old and new to help her unravel a mystery. But time is running out, and the spirit is only growing stronger. And if Cass fails, the force she's unleashed could haunt the city forever. My Thoughts on the Book I really enjoyed reading Tunnel of Bones, and there's something nice with the d...

Earlier this month I read Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads Moomins always sleep through the winter - or they did until the year Moomintroll woke up and went exploring in the silent, snow-covered valley where the river used to scuttle along and all his friends were so busy in summer. My Thoughts on the Book As I'm one of those who grew up with the Moomin characters, I found this book really charming. It's a heartwarming read with some funny and/or philosophical moments that Moomin fans recognise and it's a perfect book to read in the wintertime.

Recently, I read the picture book The Magic Doll by Adrienne Yabouza and Élodie Nouhen and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads Families of all kinds will appreciate this simple tale of love and longing, motherhood and magic. In a small village in West Africa, a young girl explains the special way she was born. Her mother had difficulty getting pregnant, so she seeks help in the form of a doll which she treats like a human baby, carrying it on her back and covering it with kisses. Months go by and finally the woman's belly begins to grow! This beautiful story explores the Akua-Ba fertility figures of the Akan people of Ghana, while also depicting the deep love a mother has for her children. Élodie Nouhen's subtle, gorgeous illustrations combine collage and prints that are reminiscent of traditional African art, while remaining uniquely contemporary. Each spread communicates the look and feel of West Africa--the blazing yellow of the sun, the deep blue of t...

For en liten stund siden leste jeg barneboka Måneønsket av Helene B. Clamén og i dag kommer omtalen av boka. Beskrivelse fra forlaget Jon er en gutt som føler seg annerledes og holder seg mest for seg selv. På skolen blir han erta av Jens. Hjemme blir han mobba av storebroren. Mamma maser. Og pappa bryr seg ikke. Plutselig dukker det opp en mystisk jente som forandrer alt og Jon kastes inn i et nervepirrende eventyr der månen risikerer å gå under. Jakten på en magisk medaljong blir starten på en rekke skumle mysterier. Hvem bor i den hemmelige byen? Hvilken ondskap skjuler seg i den dype ravinen? Og hvorfor må Jon sloss med et livsfarlig sjømonster? Mine tanker om boka Måneønsket er en bok hvor det er lett å følge handlinga, med mye spenning. Den er i tillegg underholdende, og viser at en av og til må hevde seg for å vise at en ikke finner seg i alt.

Ages ago I was fortunate enough to recieve an ARC of the picture book Ritu Weds Chandni by Ameya Narvankar through Netgalley. I read it shortly afterwards and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads Little Ayesha is all excited for her favorite cousin Ritu's wedding. She can't wait to dance in the baraat ceremony! But not everyone is happy that Ritu is marrying her girlfriend Chandni. Some have even vowed to stop the celebrations. Will Ayesha be able to save her cousin's big day? This vibrant book sets the story of a same-sex couple struggling to gain acceptance against the colorful backdrop of an Indian wedding. My Thoughts on the Book Ritu Weds Chandni is a short and sweet picture book about LGBT+ positivity. The illustrations are amazing and there's also a glossary in the back, which can help people unfamiliar with Hindu culture. I totally recommend this book.

As I grew up with books, whether I read them myself or my parents read them to me, I can't deny I've got a lifelong love of books. Considering it's Children's Book Day today, I thought it would be only fair if I recommended 10 children's books to pick up. Some of the books on the list may be a bit more middle grade, while others are suitable for younger kids. I've also added a couple of diverse titles, as reading is for everyone. Here's my ten book recommendations. The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste Description from Goodreads The start of an exciting series filled with Caribbean folklore and daring adventure. Corinne La Mer claims she isn’t afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They’re just tricksters made up by parents to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest, and shining yellow eyes follow her to the edge of the trees. They couldn’t belong to a ...

A while ago I read the middle grade novel Bayou Magic by Jewell Parker Rhodes and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads A magical coming-of-age story from Coretta Scott King honor author Jewell Parker Rhodes, rich with Southern folklore, friendship, family, fireflies and mermaids, plus an environmental twist. It's city-girl Maddy's first summer in the bayou, and she just falls in love with her new surroundings - the glimmering fireflies, the glorious landscape, and something else, deep within the water, that only she can see. Could it be a mermaid? As her grandmother shares wisdom about sayings and signs, Maddy realizes she may be the only sibling to carry on her family's magical legacy. And when a disastrous oil leak threatens the bayou, she knows she may also be the only one who can help. Does she have what it takes to be a hero? Jewell Parker Rhodes weaves a rich tale celebrating the magic within. My Thoughts on the Book I really enjoyed Bayou Magic....

I fjor var jeg såpass heldig at jeg fikk tilsendt et leseeksemplar av bildeboka Mummitrollet og den usynlige gjesten av Cecilia Davidsson, Filippa Widlund og Tove Jansson. Nå har jeg lest den og i dag kommer omtalen. Beskrivelse fra forlaget Hva skal til for at et barn blir synlig? Viktig tema behandlet på nydelig vis. En mørk høstkveld banker det på Mummitrollets dør. I regnet utenfor står en svært merkelig gjest - et usynlig barn. Hun har blitt skremt av den som skulle ta vare på henne. Hvordan gjør man et barn synlig? Det funderer alle i Mummi- familien på denne høsten. De prøver med vennlighet, ny kjole og medisiner. De forteller historier, og de venter. Og hva som skal til, får du vite i denne fortellingen! Historien er basert på novellen Berättelsen om det osynliga barnet og er en del av Bonnier Carlsens satsning på å utvikle nye bøker for neste generasjon Mummi-elskere. Titlene vil forholde seg til Tove Janssons klassiske historier og formidle magien, visdommen, kjærligheten, l...

Last year I was fortunate enough to recieve an ARC of the picture book If You Take Away the Otter by Susannah Buhrman-Deever and Matthew Trueman through Netgalley. I read it shortly afterwards and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads When the sea otters disappear, why does their kelp forest habitat disappear, too? On the Pacific Coast of North America, sea otters play, dive, and hunt for sea urchins, crabs, abalone, and fish in the lush kelp forests beneath the waves. But there was a time when people hunted the otters almost to extinction. Without sea otters to eat them, an army of hungry sea urchins grew and destroyed entire kelp forests. Fish and other animals that depended on the kelp were lost, too. But when people protected the sea otters with new laws, their numbers began to recover, and so did the kelp forests. Susannah Buhrman-Deever offers a beautifully written account of a trophic cascade, which happens when the removal of a single element affects ...

Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to recieve an ARC of the picture book Hockey in the Wild by Nicholas Oldland through Netgalley. I read it shortly afterwards and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads The lovable Life in the Wild trio can't wait to get out on the ice to play hockey. Except, well, they're going to have to! It's wintertime, and the bear, the moose and the beaver can't wait for hockey season to start. They're so eager, in fact, they head out onto the ice before it's thick enough, and they all fall through. Twice. While they wait for the lake to freeze, they try to take their minds off hockey. There's competitive napping. Karaoke. Lots of comfort food. Until, at last, the day arrives when the ice is ready. But, after all that time not being active, are they ready? Part of the bestselling Life in the Wild picture book series from Nicholas Oldland, this funny romp is, at its heart, a love letter to the sport of hock...

Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to recieve an ARC of the picture book The Twelve Days of Christmas by Lara Hawthorne through Netgalley. I read it shortly afterwards and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads "​On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree." Celebrate the magic of Christmas time with this well-loved traditional poem, The Twelve Days of Christmas, beautifully illustrated by Laura Hawthorne. Take a walk through each beautiful scene brimming with details that will remind you of the sights, sounds and smells of Christmas. Perfect to read with your true love. My Thoughts on the Book I was really charmed by this picture book with those really whimsical and beautiful illustrations that certainly capture the Christmas spirit. I'm sure both kids and adults will enjoy it.

Earlier this year I recieved an ARC of the picture book When Winter Comes: Discovering Wildlife in Our Snowy Woods by Aimée M. Bissonette and Erin Hourigan through Netgalley. I read it shortly afterwards and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads A sweet poetic children's book celebrating the vibrancy of life in winter. Though a forest may be blanketed in snow or a lake frozen over, families who enjoy the outdoors in winter, happily bundled up to play in the energizing weather, know that wildlife is still teeming there. When winter comes, and deep snow blankets the woods, and ice forms cold and smooth on the lakes, thick enough for us to skate on, some people think our woods are empty. But we know better. The fallen log that is used to hide behind in a snowball fight is a shelter for tree frogs, caterpillars, ladybugs, and slugs. The drifts of fallen snow that families snowshoe across have winding tunnels made by meadow mice in search of seeds and bark. The towe...

Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to recieve an ARC of A Christmas Carol by Philip Gooden and Charles Dickens through Netgalley. I read it shortly afterwards and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads Who can help a mean old man to love Christmas? How about a ghost? (…or three!) Scrooge’s heart is colder than snow, he’s richer than half the banks in England and meaner than, well, everyone. But when three seriously spooky ghosts turn up to take him on an adventure through time, he soon learns that being cold isn’t cool. Can he change his ways before it’s too late? About The Charles Dickens Children's Collection: Bah humbug! Who says the classics are just for adults? Join Ebeneezer Scrooge on his ghostly Christmas adventure, or follow orphaned Oliver Twist from rags to riches in some of literature's most famous tales from the foggy streets of Victorian London.Adapted and illustrated for children aged 7+. About Sweet Cherry Easy Classics: Sweet Cherry Ea...

Last year I was fortunate enough to recieve an ARC of the picture book The Little Fir Tree by Christopher Corr through Netgalley. I read it shortly afterwards, but I haven't published my review until now. Description from Goodreads Deep in the forest, there lived a beautiful little fir tree who longed to see the world. When the tree is taken to town at Christmas, it feels like all his dreams have come true. But what will happen the day after? Find out in this beautifully illustrated modern retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s festive tale. When he was surrounded by the splendor of nature, the little fir tree could only think about what he wasn’t and what he didn’t have and couldn’t see. After the initial excitement of venturing out, though, he finds that the world isn’t quite what he expected. As the story of the little fir tree unfolds—brought to enchanting life with the colorful, folk art–inspired artwork of acclaimed author/illustrator Christopher Corr—so does a touch...

Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to recieve an ARC of the picture book The Very Last Leaf by Stef Wade and Jennifer Davison through Netgalley. I read it shortly afterwards and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads Lance Cottonwood is the best and brightest of the leaves, but even the top students on the tree have worries. Can Lance conquer his fear of falling and just let go when the time comes for his final exam, or will he let his worries take over? In this funny and encouraging picture book, best-selling author Stef Wade (A Place for Pluto) tells an engaging story and deftly addresses social and emotional struggles many kids encounter each day...feeling anxious, wanting to be perfect, facing fears, etc. These themes combined with illustrator Jennifer Davison's delightful characters and rich autumnal colors make The Very Last Leaf a perfect book for the start of a new school year, the arrival of autumn, or any period of transition in life. My T...

Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to recieve an ARC of the middle grade novel The Witches of Willow Cove by Josh Roberts through Netgalley. I read it shortly afterwards and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads It’s not easy being a teenage witch. Seventh grader Abby Shepherd is just getting the hang of it when weird stuff starts happening all around her hometown of Willow Cove. Green slime bubbling to life in science class. Giant snakes slithering around the middle school gym. Her best friend suddenly keeping secrets and telling lies. Things only begin to make sense when a stranger named Miss Winters reveals that Abby isn’t the only young witch in town—and that Willow Cove is home to a secret past that connects them all. Miss Winters, herself a witch, even offers to teach Abby and the others everything she knows about witchcraft. But as Abby learns more about Miss Winters’ past, she begins to suspect her new mentor is keeping secrets of her own. Can Abb...

Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to recieve an ARC of the biography Dr. Wangari Maathai Plants a Forest by Rebel Girls through Netgalley. I read it shortly afterwards and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads From the world of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls comes the historical novel based on the life of Dr. Wangari Maathai, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist from Kenya. Wangari lives in a magical place in rural Kenya where the soil is rich for planting, the trees abundant, and the nearby pond full of mysterious creatures. She drinks from cool, clean streams and plays beneath her favorite fig tree under her mother’s watchful gaze. Then Wangari grows up and goes away to school, and things start changing at home. Farmers chop down the trees. Landslides bury the stream. The pond dries up. The soil becomes overworked, dry, and unusable for planting. And people go hungry. Dr. Wangari Maathai has a simple solution to all of these problems: plant trees...

Last year I was fortunate enough to recieve an ARC of the picture book/non-fiction book The Artist Who Loved Cats: The Inspiring Tale of Theophile Alexandre Steinlen by Susan Schaefer Bernardo through Netgalley. I read it shortly afterwards and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads The Artist Who Loved Cats is a picture book biography of artist Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen, the creator of iconic French "Chat Noir" posters. When Antoinette notices a little bronze cat in the window of her favorite Parisian antique store, she begs the shopkeeper Monsieur Arvieux and his clever cat Noir to tell her all about the artist. Steinlen moved to Paris in 1881 to pursue his artistic dreams, ultimately creating not just the iconic Chat Noir posters but also more than 700 journal illustrations, famous posters, sculptures, cartoon strips and paintings. Many of Steinlen's artworks feature cats, his favorite subject. Delightful verse, a sweet sprinkling of French...

Last year I was fortunate enough to recieve an ARC of the picture book Johnny's Pheasant by Cheryl Minnema and Julie Flett through Netgalley. I read it shortly afterwards, but I haven't published my review until now. Description from Goodreads An encounter with a pheasant (which may or may not be sleeping) takes a surprising turn in this sweetly serious and funny story of a Native American boy and his grandma. "Pull over, Grandma! Hurry!” Johnny says. Grandma does, and Johnny runs to show her what he spotted near the ditch: a sleeping pheasant. What Grandma sees is a small feathery hump. When Johnny wants to take it home, Grandma tries to tell him that the pheasant might have been hit by a car. But maybe she could use the feathers for her craftwork? So home with Grandma and Johnny the pheasant goes . . . It’s hard to say who is most surprised by what happens next—Grandma, Johnny, or the pheasant. But no one will be more delighted than the reader at this lesson about ...