jelly
What is even this book? A small kid hides a witch in his wardrobe and cannot wait to show her to everyone in his school. The kid is demanding, moving the silent and obedient witch here and there, and she is completely objectified.
At school, the witch is bullied “I don't want to sit next to her, she's too ugly”, and the witch answers with a completely placid and smiley face, and no one says anything. She then starts taking revenge by creating many mischievous tricks, and there's not much more to the story. The story made me feel really awkward and I was anxious to turn the next page and see how bad this whole situation would become. This book definitely didn't age well, wow!
PS: The witch does talk in the end, and when she does something on her own that is not revenge, she paints her nails green or asks for a brush to comb her hair... The book is that deep!
Read and reviewed: 2019-12-22
I've never heard of Pathological Demand Avoidance before reading this book. Glòria Durà-Vilà and Tamar Levi did a wonderful job at explaining it and at creating a workbook that is useful for the child and for their caregivers. The book is long (144 pages) but not too dense, and it is not meant to be finished at once. There is room on every page to answer a question with checkbox, or to allow the child to draw their own answer.
The book starts with an open letter to the child with PDA, who is asked to become a teacher, so that their caregivers can understand better what it feels to have PDA. The book goes on exploring the symptoms, the solutions, and the resources available whether at home or at school. The book ends with a personal summary of what everyone came up with to help the child in every overwhelming situation.
I can recommend “Me and My PDA” to any family with children who suffer from anxiety, social stress, and pathological demand avoidance.
Thank you NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Read and reviewed: 2018-11-13
This is a good introduction to understand how children live a common day in different parts of the world. We go through the day with them: waking up, eating breakfast, going to school, playing with friends, eating a snack, learning to be quiet, playing sport, making art, homework, family time, helping out, dinner, reading, bed time and dreams.
Unfortunately, there were many incorrect or stereotypical informations in this book. Where are the kids and parents with disabilities? Where are the single dads? Where are the same-sex parents? Most of the time, the mother was the one taking care of the kids, except for weekend and fun activities
The description of France was very caricatural: “French people eat around 30,000 tones of snails per year”, knowing that most French people don't eat snails, and that they are mostly eaten by tourists. The Senegal flag was also missing at the end of the book, maybe due to ARC version of the book that I read.
The illustrations were mostly good, with a vintage feel to them, but sometimes they could have been improved: “Ava and Luis meet their mom at the school gates. They cycle home together with bike helmets on”, and on the illustration they are not wearing helmets.
It's hard to make a book about one detail of a country without being stereotypical, and I feel like it could have been better.
Thank you NetGalley and Frances Lincoln Children's Books for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Read and reviewed: 2018-11-05
The illustrations were good, but the story didn't click with me. The story of a boy in love with nature, who goes from building tree houses to working for Central Park in NYC.
Read and reviewed: 2018-10-08
Three things immediately caught my eyes: the acrylic paint on wood, the use of colors, and the use of space. A very pleasant book to read and admire! Concerning the narration, I liked it, but somehow I felt like something was missing. I still don't know what. Humor maybe? I still think it is a beautiful book, full of candor, about a shy canary who learns how to make friends. A book that teaches kids to explore outside of their comfort zone.
Read and reviewed: 2018-10-18
Emily is bullied at school and none of her friends stands for her. She becomes more and more isolated, and starts feeling headaches or stomachaches in order to go see the school nurse or to be able to stay at home. She doesn't know why Hannah, the popular girl, started picking on her, and she thinks she has to figure it out and fix it on her own. At one point, full of sadness, she thinks that it will be like this forever and that she will just have to cope with it. Until one day, when enough is enough, she asks for help to her parents, to the nurse, and to her teacher. The teacher decides to talk about bullying during class, and every single kid starts to realize how cruel and unfair it has been to Emily. They also practice expressing one's feeling while sitting in a circle. Little by little, things are improving for Emily.
The second part of the book explores the difficult life of Hannah, the popular girl who started the bullying, and tries to explain her motivations, frustration, and pain. The book ends with useful resources for teacher, counselors and parents to prevent bullying and help our kids when it is happening.
The book has a lot of text and only a few illustrations, so it is intended to kids in middle school. The story is well explained and goes deep into the step-by-step acceleration of the bullying and the physical, emotional and academic consequences of it for Emily.
Thank you NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Read and reviewed: 2018-11-04
This was my first story by Balzac and I really enjoyed it, even if it was sad. I like that Balzac framed the story as a discussion between two strangers, so that we now that he survives in the end. I like stories when I know the ending, and I wonder while reading how it can be possible. I love this sentence so much: “The Desert is God without mankind.” and when he says that the desert is “everything and nothing” A passion in the desert is such a great title, as passion refers to a religious passion as well as a romantic passion. It was so good!
it's also a racist story, when Balzac says that Arab people are animals: “So you have been eating some Arab or other, have you? That doesn't matter. They're animals just the same as you are.”
Reading this story makes me want to spend a night in the desert, and look at the sky and the moon reflected on the sand.
Read and reviewed: 2022-06-13
The story was promising –chickens get rescued after a tornado destroyed their farm– but the writing was heavy-handed and trying too hard to be funny.
Examples from the very first pages of the book: “Suddenly, a chilly draft slides over Hen, giving her goosebumps. Which is funny since she's a chicken. But this is no laughing matter”. Or “She doesn't remember how she got here. She doesn't remember being born, but who does?” Or “I might be doomed! thinks Hen”. The text is also scattered all over the place, which makes it unpleasant to read.
The first pages were very scary for children and used a lot of complex words. The illustrations were black and white, to set the tone, and felt quite claustrophobic. It was also very cynical for the chicken to land on a chicken restaurant, after being thrown away from the tornado.
Little by little, the colors become more pleasant and the story more appealing, as the chickens get rescued and start living a free life with their new family. I loved learning about chicken's habits, personality and behaviors, and I appreciated the author's note at the end of the book to learn even more about them. Still, I disliked reading this book and I would not recommend it.
Thank you NetGalley and Stone Pier Press for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Read and reviewed: 2018-11-08
Borrowed this book to read something from a South American author for the Spring bingo, and because Neruda was recommended to me. I read a little bit of it in the car while waiting for my Ralph's order to arrive.
Started reading and reviewed: 2022-06-11
The short stories are just so good and I absolutely want to re-read them at some point in my life. Unfortunately, the plot of the kidnapping is an unnecessary and badly written frame around those little gems. I would recommend skipping the first and the last chapter, and diving directly into the 8 stand-alone short stories.
Read and reviewed: 2019-12-08
The sweet story of an older sister who wants to build a seahouse far away from home after her new sibling is born. She imagines all of her new adventures, the great house she will build, the new friends she will make, the diaries she will write, but then realizes that there would also be lonely, stormy, and scary days, all alone and far from home. In the end, she decides to build her seahouse, but keep her real house too :)
A sweet story about the meaning of home and family.
Thank you NetGalley and Nimbus Publishing for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
What a stunning and captivating collection of poetry! The opening poem “Hills” left me in such a dreamy and colorful state, I was completely transported. It is the kind of synesthesia that simply makes you happy :)
And the art... throughout the book... splendid, captivating, raw, so well defined, so well constructed, just beyond words... Ah! It's been years since I bought a books, but if I were, it could be for this book, just for the pleasure of flipping its pages, rediscovering with joy its beautiful paintings, and for the experience of reading out loud its poems.
Thank you NetGalley and Yale University Press for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Read and reviewed: 2019-12-30
This is the story of Hedgehog and her love for gardening. One day, she finds out that her garden has been completely destroyed. She fixes it, only to find out that it happens again the next day. She then goes on a quest to find out who is responsible for the destruction of her garden.
I was pleased with the charming and colorful illustrations, but very disappointed by the story, especially by the communication skills of Hedgehog.
When Hedgehog tries to find who destroyed her garden, instead of simply asking her friends for clues, she goes on blaming, yelling, and accusing every single one of her friends, without ever apologizing afterward. What a terrible friend!
When she finally discovers who is guilty, it doesn't make any sense. The vast destruction of the garden from the illustrations doesn't even start to compare with what the guilty animal is capable of doing. This part was very illogical.
Finally, it feels like the transition between accusation and friendship was too abrupt and not well explained well enough.
Despise the positive ending, I would not recommend this book, as I feel that there are better books about friendship, being sorry, and giving a second chance.
Thank you NetGalley and QEB for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Read and reviewed: 2018-12-03
The sweet story of a fox who wants to celebrate the beauty of a garden by making ephemeral art. Set it Monet's garden in Giverny, this tale is beautifully illustrated, nicely told, and very relaxing to read.
Thank you NetGalley and Schiffer Publishing Ltd for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Read and reviewed: 2018-11-06
I read it twice in a row. That's how much I liked it. The story of a kid who dreams of flying high in the sky. The narration goes chronologically, from the first airplanes prototypes, to the launching of the first space ship to the moon
3,5 stars
This one is about liberty and what it is, beyond the walls and gates of a prison. “If I have freedom in my love / And in my soul am free, / Angels alone, that soar above / Enjoy such liberty.”
Read and reviewed: 2022-05-27