Early Book Review: The Gender Book: Girls, Boys, Non-binary, and Beyond by Cassandra Jules Corrigan
Audiobook Review: How to Stay Productive When the World Is Ending: Productivity, Burnout, and Why Everyone Needs to Relax More Except You by Reductress, Narrated by Mara Wilson and Jay Aaseng
How to Stay Productive When the World Is Ending: Productivity, Burnout, and Why Everyone Needs to Relax More Except You is a humor and satire collection from Reductress. The audiobook is narrated by Mara Wilson and Jay Aaseng. This humor collection is about the cult of productivity and the feeling of impending doom that comes with it. Juggling careers, maintaining relationships, managing side gigs, and sustaining an engaging social media presence is hard––and we're expected to do it all while battling the ever-present feeling of existential dread against the backdrop of climate catastrophe, an ongoing pandemic, and social isolation.
How to Stay Productive When the World Is Ending is a funny, and sadly too relatable, collection of short pieces that had me nodding, laughing, and thinking as I listened along. There were bits that were more fun and relate to me than others, but that is to be expected. There is something in this collection for everyone that has ever worked. The readers did a great job of capturing the needed tome in each segment and I really enjoyed the book on several levels.
Early Book Review: Crock Pot Essentials: 101 Recipes to Make with Your Slow Cooker by Anne Schaeffer
Early Book Review: The 30-Minute Gardener: Cultivate Beauty and Joy by Gardening Every Day by Greg Loades
Book Review: Do Other Earths Exist?: Mysteries of Space by Jennifer Lombardo
Book Review: Sheepology: The Ultimate Encyclopedia by Ilaria Demonti, Camilla Pintonato
Early Book Review: indiscernible elements: Calcium by Korynn Newville
Early Book Review: Creative Embroidery and Beyond: Inspiration, tips, techniques, and projects from three professional artists by Jenny Billingham; Sophie Timms; Theresa Wensing
Early Book Review: Strange Animals by Tom Jackson
Early Book Review:100 Morning Treats: With Muffins, Rolls, Biscuits, Sweet and Savory Breakfast Breads, and More by Sarah Kieffer
Early Book Review: The Genius Kid's Guide to Mythical Creatures by Sara Novak
Early Book Review: A Flower is a Friend by Frieda Wishinsky, Karen Patkau
Early Book Review: Search for a Giant Squid by Amy Seto Forrester and Andy Chou Musser
Search for a Giant Squid, written by Amy Seto Forrester and illustrated by Andy Chou Musser, is a children's book currently scheduled for release on April 25 2023. An exciting ocean-themed choose-your-path STEM adventure for emerging readers! Take a journey to the ocean's twilight zone in Search for a Giant Squid ! An exciting mixture of action and nonfiction, this choose-your-own-adventure-style story allows readers to take on the mantle of a teuthologist looking for a giant squid in its natural habitat. Once readers pick their submersible, pilot, and dive site, the adventure begins!
Search for a Giant Squid is a combination of adventure and nonfiction. I liked the amount of information shared about the people that study and work in the ocean, and study specific aspects and creatures of the ocean. I learned a few new things, and I think most young readers will learn a great deal. I loved that the fact the scientists are still learning, still asking questions, and still looking to better understand things. Helping kids see that the adults are still looking to answer questions makes them feel a little better when they do not know the answer, even when they think they should. I thought making the story interactive was a great idea, giving young readers the ability to make the choices, and see the consequences of those choices in a book is safe and low stakes. I like that the readers are encouraged to try different paths, and see what else they can discover. I also like that they are encouraged to check the glossary if they see a word they do not understand. The inclusion of suggestions for further research, the sources used, and some additional fun facts at the end were a perfect addition.
Search for a Giant Squid is a wonderful book for curious young readers, especially for those with interest in animals or the sciences in general.