Book Review: Penelope Perfect A Tale of Perfectionism Gone Wild by Shannon Anderson

Penelope Perfect: A Tale of Perfectionism Gone Wild by Shannon Anderson is a children's book written in rhyme about a young lady that tries to be perfect in everything she does. When a power outage makes her wake up late, her whole day is thrown off. Could changing her routine be more than the disaster she expects?

Penelope Perfect: A Tale of Perfectionism Gone Wild is a great book for anyone, of any age, that gets anxiety ridden or out of sorts when things do not go as planned. I am one of those people that need to be early for everything, so the idea of starting off late is just as scary to me as it was for Penelope. Just like Penelope I like to follow my schedule, and I think many children feel the same way. However, Penelope eventually is shown that loosing the reigns and stepping outside your comfort zone can be a good thing. 

Penelope Perfect: A Tale of Perfectionism Gone Wild is a story of encouragement and understanding. It is told in rhyme, and has a cheerful tone to it, which might help readers feel calm as they read. I liked that the book includes information to help students, teachers, and parents deal with stress and anxiety and how to talk about related problems.

Early Book Review: Magical Animal Adoption Agency: The Enchanted Egg by Kallie George and Alexandra Boiger

The Enchanted Egg is the second book in the Magical Animal Adoption Agency series written by Kallie George and illustrated by Alexandra Boiger. It is currently scheduled for release on November 3 2015. Mr. Jams brought home an enchanted egg from his last journey, and Clover can't wait to find out what kind of creature the polka-dotted shell contains. But one morning after Mr. Jams leaves on another trip Clover checks on the cozy nest of feathers she's made for the egg. She finds the nest empty and the baby animal is nowhere in sight! Clover is anxious to find the creature, but the Agency is full of visitors looking for pets of their own. Will Clover be able to match them with their perfect companions and save the mysterious animal before Mr. Jams returns from his trip?

The Enchanted Egg is a great follow up to Clover's Luck. Clover is settling into her work at the Magical Adoption Center, and loving the daily tasks involved in learning about and taking care of magical creatures. When Mr. Jams runs off again to get special supplied to care for whatever might be hatching for the mystery egg she is a little worried, but content in her duties. That is until the mystery egg hatches and Clover cannot find anything by mischief in the wake of the critter, but no sight of it. When a variety of hopeful adopters come looking for the perfect pets, and Clover still looking for the former inhabitant of the egg her wit and resolve are tested. Thankfully Clover's good heart and quick thinking save the day again.

The Enchanted Egg is a delightful book. I do suggest reading the series in order, and thanks to a little tease at the end of this book I am very eager to get my hands on the next book. I highly recommend this series to young chapter book readers that enjoy reading about animals, magic, or both.  

Early Book Review: Build!: A Knight’s Castle Paper Toy Archaeology by Annalie Seaman, , Charlie Simpson

Build!: A Knight’s Castle Paper Toy Archaeology by Annalie Seaman is an interactive children's book that is currently scheduled for release on October 20 2015.  This puzzle-in-a-book invites kids ages 7 and older to pop out and assemble a stand-up castle complete with knights and battle equipment. Like real archaeologists, kids will interpret clues from medieval documents, paintings, maps, and ground surveys, and then apply their knowledge to excavate the site of a besieged castle and reconstruct both the castle and the battle scene, figuring out how the pieces of wall fit together, what's located inside the courtyard, how a trebuchet works, and much more. With the final setup of warring knights on horseback, the battle comes to life! This book offers hours of imaginative play so fascinating that kids won't even notice how much they're learning along the way.  

Build!: A Knight’s Castle Paper Toy Archaeology is a great way to make history and archaeology come alive for interested students. The book allows children to act as detective, builder, and archaeologists to build their own castle. They can read about castle life and battles while learning about how archaeologists work. The hands on action of popping out the pieces and building with engage readers and make the information become even more real for them. The reader must use their new-found knowledge of how the castle was laid out, and what siege engines looked like to figure out how to piece the paper scene together. This is a great way to get mildly interested kids much more involved in reading and learning about medieval times and/or the science of archaeology. 

Build!: A Knight’s Castle Paper Toy Archaeology is fantastic. Readers are given information about how archaeologists uncover remains, and use secondary sources.

Annalie Seaman, author of Build! A Knight’s Castle, is an archaeologist and educator. Passionate about sharing the extraordinary history of humanity with the next generation, she provides educational and experimental courses for both children and adults at the Sussex School of Archaeology. Seaman lives in Sussex, England.

Literary Landmarks in New England; Tour 9 Legendary Locations to Literature

Literature fans might want to see where famed writers Louisa May Alcott, Herman Melville, Samuel Clemens and Henry David Thoreau composed their most influential works. Enjoy these sites as individual day trips of on a literary pilgrimage through the area to satisfy your curiosity and find your own inspiration.

The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford Connecticut is where this author lived from 1873 until she died in 1896. Stowe is most regarded for writing Uncle Tom's Cabin, however she wrote over thirty books.Uncle Tom's Cabin challenged the nation to really think about slavery and still resonates with many as a great work of literature and protest. The center has her spindle, rare manuscripts, books and several kinds of personal artifacts on display. There are specialized tours available for each season as well as dedicated tours for children and garden fans.

The Mark Twain House in Hartford Connecticut is where Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, lived from 1874 to 1891. He wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,The Prince and The Pauper and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court while living in this home. The site houses a museum with rare manuscripts, artwork and personal artifacts from Clemens life. There is a two thousand square foot gallery with exhibits, which are changed regularly. There are daily tours and special scheduled events throughout the year. Tickets for seniors are $13, $15 for adults and $9 for children between six and sixteen. Parking is ample and free. While the main floor and museum is handicap accessible the full tour of the home includes navigating three flights of stairs.

Monte Cristo Cottage in New London is the last Connecticut stop in the literary landmark legacy. This home is where Nobel Prize winning playwright Eugene O'Neill spent his formative years. He set two of his most famous plays in the area, 'Long Day's Journey Into Night" and his comedy "Ah! Wilderness". There are multimedia exhibits, memorabilia and artifacts on display. The site is run by the O'Neill Theater and is only open from Memorial Day through Labor Day each year, so I suggest always checking ahead before planning to visit the museum.

The Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst Massachusetts is comprised of two separate homes. The Homestead is Dickinson's birthplace, and where she called home for her entire life. The historic home next door was home to her brother Austin and his family. The furniture in both homes is true to the era and lifestyle of the Dickinson family. There are three different tours available for visitors, each to fit different sets of interests. The site is closed in January and February as well as on a few holidays. The homes are both handicap accessible on the first floor, but due to the historical nature of the grounds there are no elevators for access to the second stories and air quality may be an issue for those with respiratory complications.

Longfellow House in Cambridge Massachusetts was home to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow from 1837 to 1882. The site has books, portraits and historic furnishings on display. The house was also headquarters for General George Washington during the Siege of Boston in July 1775 through April 1776. This site offers many layers of literary and historic value for visitors. With this in mind there are a variety of tours available, I suggest calling ahead to see when tours for your interests are being given. If you are planning on including this stop keep in mind that the only on site parking is for handicapped visitors. However, there is abundant metered parking nearby.

Herman Melville's Arrowhead in Pittsfield Massachusetts offers visitors a glimpse at the view that is said to have inspired the white whale in Moby Dick. The view from his study window is the imposing Mount Graylock. Visitors can tour the authors two story home and the restored barn where he enjoyed conversations with Nathaniel Hawthorne. Learn about Melville's daily life, journeys at sea and enjoy walking the same paths he once trod. The site is open from Memorial Day through Columbus Day for daily tours, however off season tours are available by reservation. 

The Orchard House in Concord Massachusetts is where Louisa May Alcott lived from 1858 to 1877. Visitors can see the small desk shaped like a half moon where she wrote Little Women. Tours of the home really make scenes from the book come alive. Guided tours of the Alcott family home offer visitors a chance to see objects of great importance to the family as well as a home that still looks much like it did while they lived there. This site is open year round, but hours vary depending on the season.

Ralph Waldo Emerson Memorial House in Concord Massachusetts is a frame home in which Emerson lived most of his adult life and wrote Self Reliance and The American Scholar. He was a great influence of other American thinkers in his work and lectures on morality, the abolition of slavery and personal responsibility. Personal artifacts of Emerson are on display in the house. The site is open from the middle of April through October each year, although calling ahead is advised. Unfortunately the home is not handicap accessible.

Robert Frost Stone House Museum in South Shaftsbury Vermont was Frost's home from 1920 through 1929. It is where he composed "Stopping by Woods on a Snowing Evening" which was part of his New Hampshire volume of poetry which won his first Pulitzer Prize. The timbered barn which Frost had written about in his poetry lies within the seven acre estate. Exhibits and lectures give visitors the feeling that they really know Frost and how he lived. There is also space dedicated to the work of J. J. Lankes, who did the beautiful wood cut images that decorated Frost's books in the 1920's. The museum is only minutes away from Frost's grave in Bennington Vermont. The site is open from tours daily from May though November.

Book Review: Wild Thunder by Cassie Edwards

Wild Thunder by Cassie Edwards is a historical romance. Hannah Kody came to her brother's ranch in the Kansas Territory to be his eyes, as his sight was failing fast. Yet his misfortune couldn't dim the joy she found in the wide vistas of the Western plains. And the excitement she found in the presence of Strong Wolf. For Strong Wolf, Hannah was supposed to be the enemy, allied not only to the settlers he distrusted, but to the brutal foreman of her brother's ranch. He felt only sorrow could come of their attraction, until the day Hannah rode to his lodge, fell into his arms, and launched a journey neither had the desire to deny.

Wild Thunder is a well researched and detailed historical. Hannah was a character I thought I would love, and the reason I picked up the book. She desired freedom in a time when women had little power and few choices. getting to leave a convent to join her ailing brother was a mixed blessing for her. Strong Wolf was a fiercely honorable and peaceful man, struggling to protect his people. Hannah's brother Chuck was barely fleshed out as a character, and the rest of her family was even less dynamic. I found some of the descriptions of the history and tensions to be interesting, but found the whole thing to be a little too complicated and drawn out. I realize that this was the first book in a new romance series, so some of the detail might have been to build up for future books, but I was ready for a conclusion about halfway through the story. Hannah and Strong Wolf find each other, admit and give into their feelings, and promise to marry about that time. However, more and more other things happen, other characters get introduced, and while it was reasonably well done I just did not think all of it was necessary. 

Wild Thunder was a highly detailed and well researched historical. For those that want a deeper and more layered read than this might be the book you are looking for. I went into the book expecting a lighter read, which might have been my own fault, and found myself skimming through conversations and five page sex scenes. i was just done with the story about half way through, but felt the need to finish it anyway. 

Early Book Review: The Boy Who Knew Everything by Victoria Forester

The Boy Who Knew Everything is a middle grade novel by Victoria Forester. It is currently scheduled for release on October 27, 2015.  This is a companion book to The Girl Who Could Fly, which I have not read. But, Now I want to because there were definitely background to the story that I really wanted to have. I still greatly enjoyed the read, but felt like I was missing something important several times through out the read. Just be prepared to want to go back and read, and then wait for book three to be released. 

There is a prophecy about a girl who can fly and a boy who knows everything. The prophecy says that they have the power to bring about great change. The boy is Conrad Harrington III. The girl is Piper McCloud. They need their talents now, more than ever, if they are to save the world, and themselves. Conrad is the main character this time around. His dad is the president of the United States and does not want a child quite this smart and Conrad away. After escaping a 'special school' Conrad ends up on Piper's farm. Before long other kids from the school, who are also special, join them and form a group that help out when things go wrong (like hurricanes). It turns out that someone seems to be causing these disasters, but who and why? 

The Boy Who Knew Everything is a story with so much going on that it is hard to describe without giving away some of the joy that comes from discovering it on your own. Conrad has always been too smart for his father to handle, and he thought he was over that. However, as events add up Conrad is forced into action. The band of misfit kids, all unique and wonderful, come together to make positive changes and help others without being noticed. However, there are things going on that are larger that any of them might expect. Conrad faces big changes, and Piper occasionally gets pushed back to the sidelines as readers follow Conrad's exploits. I liked the working of Conrad's mind and the wide variety of conflicts he, and the group as a whole, face. Thankfully there was a certain amount of resolution, but many questions that I want answered. The book is a wonderful set up for even bigger things in the next installment of the series, and left me more than a little eager to know what was going to happen next.

The Boy Who Knew Everything is a well done second book to a series. I need to back track and read The Girl Who Could Fly, to fill in the gaps from the days the kids were in the 'school'. But I have a feeling I will have plenty of time to do that before book three is released. 

Book Review: Love Games by Eden Scott

Love Games by Eden Scott is a novella featuring a romance between two men. Technology-challenged historian Regis is on a mission of mercy for his miserably pregnant cousin, Penny. She needs a diversion and the only thing that will satisfy is the latest version of a video game, Dead Knights at Castle Kill. When Regis braves the aisles of a video game retailer, he is swept off his feet by Mars, the tall, dark, and gorgeous salesclerk who works there. But there's very little chance that such a savvy gamer would ever notice a man who can barely use his computer. Convinced he needs to fake some gamer knowledge to bridge the gap, Regis is determined to make it work. 

Love Games is a short but sweet story. Regis is a responsible academic with no love for video games. However, when his mission of mercy brings him into Mars’s orbit he is swept away. He is willing to do just about anything to connect with Mars, except tell him that he is not a video game fan, never mind the master gamer that he has lead Mars to believe he is. His cousin Peggy urges him to come clean, but Regis doubts his value and continues the deception. Will Mars still be interested is he discovers Regis’s lie?

Love Games is a novella, which I missed when reading the description. I think it did a good job of covering the vulnerable and self-doubting side most of us carry inside- and how so many people think that they need to deceive to be considered good enough. I enjoyed the story, and the realistic use of personal doubts and fears that anyone and everyone can relate to.  

Book Review: My Family Tree and Me by Dušan Petričić

My Family Tree and Me is a two sided picturebook by Dušan Petričić. This book is a beautiful and simple introduction to the concept of family ancestry. It uses two stories in one to explore a small boy's family tree, the family story of one boy's family from his father's side starting from the front of the book, and that of his mother's side starting from the back of the book. Four previous generations are introduced for each, from his great-great-grandparents to his parents. The grand finale in the center of the book reveals the boy's entire extended family, shown in one drawing with all the members from both sides identified by their relationship to him.

My Family Tree and Me is a wonderful way to introduce the idea of a family tree, and the names for the various relatives, to readers of all ages. The artwork does a wonderful job of adding details and humor for each pairing of ancestors and allows children reading to look for clues and make connections. I really liked the fact that the family described is fairly culturally diverse. It includes European and Asian ancestors, and it is fun to see the melding and passing on of physical characteristics from each generation to the next.

My Family Tree and Me is a wonderful book for describing how family trees and generations of family are formed. It could be a great discussion starter for families or classrooms about what we call the members of our family, the cultural make up of our families, and how to build a visual representation of our own family tree. I think this book would be a great addition to classroom libraries and offers a wide range of common core and other activity tie-ins.

Early Book Review: The Peddler’s Road by Matthew Cody

The Peddler’s Road is a middle grade novel by Matthew Cody. This will be the first book in his new Secrets of the Pied Piper series, and is scheduled for release on October 27 2015. It is said that in the thirteenth century, in a village called Hamelin, a piper lured all but one of the town’s children away with his magical flute. Today tough, pink-haired Max and her little brother, Carter, are stuck in modern-day Hamelin with their father until they are also led away by the Piper to a place called the Summer Isle. There they meet the original stolen children, who haven’t aged a day and who have formed their own village, vigilantly guarded from the many nightmarish beings that roam the land. Their appearance may be the key to returning the lost children of Hamelin, and to going home themselves. However, in order to discover the secrets of the Piper, Max and Carter will have to set out on a mysterious quest down the dangerous Peddler’s Road.

The Peddler’s Road is the start to another great middle grade series from Matthew Cody. I really enjoyed the characters, Max is a spunky girl with a strong mind but growing through a period of many changes. Carter has always had challenges, and has faced them with intelligence and grace. Getting stolen away to the Summer Isle is no exception. The framework of folklore and magic woven through the story is wonderfully done, with each character getting enough detail and personality to bring them to life. My only complaint with the story is that when it ended I needed more. The story leaves so many loose ends, definitely a cliff hanger that need the sequels to complete the story in my opinion. I love series that give at least some resolution, while still urging readers to keep reading. I dis not feel that I got quite enough of that resolution to keep me happy, instead I got another layer of plot and complication that needs resolution in the future installments. 

The Peddler’s Road is as well written and engaging as I expect from Cody. I really liked the main characters, especially Max, and felt like they all had significant growth in the story. I was not happy with the inconclusive ending, but am likely to read the sequels because I need to know how they solve the huge problems they are facing.  

Early Book Review: First Time with a Highlander by Gwyn Cready

First Time with a Highlander is the second book in the Sirens of the Scottish Borderlands series by Gwyn Cready. This follow up to Just in Time for a Highlander is currently scheduled for release on October 6 2015. Although this is a sequel, the the story makes for a better read with the background of having read the first, you can easily catch on and enjoy this book without reading the first.

What do you get when you imbibe centuries-old whiskey-besides a hangover the size of the Highlands? If you're twenty-first century ad exec Gerard Innes, you get swept back to 18th-century Edinburgh and into the bed of a gorgeous, fiery redhead. Gerard has only a foggy idea what he and the lady have been up to, but what he does remember draws him into the most dangerous and exhilarating campaign of his life. Serafina Seonag Fallon's scoundrel of a fiancé has left her with nothing, and she's determined to turn the tables. If she can come up with a ringer, she can claim the cargo he stole from her. But the dashing man she summons from the future demands more than a night, and Serafina finds it easier to command the seas under her feet than the crashing waves he unleashes in her heart.

First Time with a Highlander is a solid sequel with great characters. Gerard is a modern man that pulls no punches. He has significant charm, and is used to getting his way all the time. He regularly uses his modern ideas of branding and marketing to help those around him, while garnering some profit for himself. However, he is not a wholly selfish man, he is dynamic and interesting as he tries to piece together what has happened, and what he would like to have happen for his future. Serafina is outspoken and unconventional, while trapped by the confines of the time. Everything she had, including her reputation have been taken from her by her former fiancee, and she is desperate to regain what is rightfully hers. Very little goes as planned, and there is plenty of adventure and suspense as the trail for her cargo leads her and Gerard into more trouble than anyone expected. I really found myself invested in the characters and eager to see how they found their happy ever after. I loved their bickering and heated interactions, although their more intimate moments were not as intense at their verbal exchanges. 

First Time with a Highlander is a satisfying read, with a good cast of characters and use of time travel. My only real complaint on finishing the story is how much I want the next book so I can see how Undine finds her happy ending.