Coloring Through Loss & Healing

As a coloring and bibliotherapy fan, Colors of Loss and Healing: An Adult Coloring Book for Getting Through Tough Times by Dr. Deborah S. Derman, spoke to me immediately. I was moved by Dr. Derman's Introduction. The strength shown through her own loss and healing can be a source of power and inspiration for anyone dealing with a difficult situation.  Each coloring page features a word or words to provide "a blueprint toward healing and recovery". Dr. Derman asks the reader / colorer to focus on the words and reflect on the their meaning to you as you begin to heal.

The beautiful images, created by Lisa Powell Braun, are shown as full page illustrations. Based on the electronic copy I am reviewing, it looks like the back of each image is blank for personal reflections. Some pages are single images (a grouping of hot air balloons, mandala) others are more elaborate with full background patterning or borders with a focal image. They are all intricate and look like they would be very therapeutic to color. I believe this would be a great book to gift to someone who is dealing with loss or in need of help through a difficult time in their life.

*To comply with new guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform has provided a complimentary electronic copy of this title for review purposes. This review is my opinion and is in no way influenced by the author, illustrator, or publishing company.

The Syndicate

I LOVE time travel novels, especially when they have historical connections. When I read the first sentence describing this book (not the first sentence of the book), I KNEW I had to read it.

"In a future where time travel has been outlawed, a black market exists for anyone with the money, connections, and nerve to request items from days past."

My imagination began to run wild. What would I want to have brought back to me from the past, if I had the money?

Stassi is a runner.  This means she is one who goes back in time to retrieve items requested by clients of The Syndicate. The book begins in the middle of a jump that is not going as planned. When she and her partner, Gaige, return to the present (for us it is the distant future), they don't think they will be jumping again for some time. Instead they find themselves with the opportunity to jump to 1920s Paris in order to look for a lost manuscript.

I love the development of the story. There is not a great deal of detail explaining how The Syndicate was started, but as the story progresses you learn bits and pieces about the background. One of my favorite parts of the story is how far in the future the story takes place 2446. I was tickled that Stassi and roommate / best friend Molly, still have to use a remote for the television! It is hard to say I enjoyed reading about the history leading to the destruction of books, but it was a very interesting way to lead into the central topic of locating the manuscript. It was fascinating to read about the interaction of Stassi and Gaige with historical figures such as Ernest Hemmingway, his wife Hadley, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein.

I am thrilled to say this is the first book in a new series by Sophie Davis (pseudonym of two best friends) ~ Timewaves. I cannot wait for the second book to come out so I can see what Stassi and Gaige will be up to next. I highly recommend the book to those who love time travel, history, romance, and just a great read. It is listed as a YA (young adult) book, but I think it will be enjoyed by those from 15 - 115!

**To comply with new guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission, Sophie Davis book, has provided a complimentary electronic copy of this title for review purposes. This review is my opinion and is in no way influenced by the author, or any other person or company associated with the author.

Counting with Barefoot Critters

Counting with Barefoot Critters
written and illustrated by Teagan White

As a wonderful follow-up to Adventures with Barefoot Critters, Teagan White has created a delightful counting book with incredible attention to detail. In rhyming text from one to twelve the story is presented as friends gather to spend the day in play and adventures. The illustrations, created with watercolor and gouache, offer young readers a variety of ways to count to the focus numeral for each page. I am extremely impressed with the details and how numeracy was incorporated into this fun counting book perfect for bedtime or anytime.

This title will be release August 9, 2016.

*To comply with new guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission, Tundra Books, has provided a complimentary electronic copy of this title for review purposes. This review is my opinion and is in no way influenced by the author, the author's publicist, or the publishing company.

Some Writer!

Some Writer! The Story of E. B. White
by Melissa Sweet

I don't remember the first time I read E. B. White's Charlotte's Web. Honestly, I don't know if I first read the book, or heard the book read aloud to me. If I were to guess, I would say it was read aloud during elementary school, probably my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Ussery. I loved listening to her read to us each day after lunch. It would have been fine with me if she had just read to us all day long.

To this day, Charlotte's Web remains one of my very favorites. I couldn't even begin to count how many times I've read this book. It is one of the very few books I will re-read. When I was a kindergarten teacher, I read Charlotte's Web to my students every year when we studied farm animals.  I am currently re-reading it because the school district I work for is reading the book as the One District, One Book for this spring. I am so excited for the young children who will be experiencing the adventures of Wilbur, Charlotte, and even that rascal Templeton.

As soon as I saw the title of Melissa Sweet's new book, Some Writer! The Story of E. B. White, I knew it would be a book I NEEDED to read. She did not disappoint. Not only does Sweet provide a glimpse into the life of this amazing author, but she also takes us through his career as a writer. It is so cool to see the original hand written notes and manuscripts.  I was fascinated by the back story on Stuart Little and the research requested of friends for The Trumpet of the Swan. The scrapbook-like illustrations create a marvelous background for White's story and give you the feeling of being in one of his journals.

My only wish is this book was currently available. The publication date has been moved back to October 2016. I think the elementary children reading this book as part of our One District, One Book initiative would find the author's life very interesting.

I enjoy reading biographies and this is by far one of the very best I have read in a long time. The fact that it is geared toward children is even better. I have never had a problem reading a book written for children, especially if it provides me the information I need in a concise manner. I don't think a biography of E. B. White could be better presented by any author. I highly recommend Melissa Sweet's Some Writer! The Story of E. B. White for all elementary and middle school libraries and for anyone who loves White's writings. This is a fabulous celebration of a "Terrific" writer.

*To comply with new guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group, HMH Books for Young Readers has provided a complimentary electronic copy of this title for review purposes. This review is my opinion and is in no way influenced by the author, the author's publicist, or the publishing company.

Welcome to the World of Mamoko

When I was a child I loved perusing the pages of Richard Scarry's Busytown books. When I began looking through Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski's Welcome to Mamoko, I was immediately taken back to my childhood.

Welcome to Mamoko
by Aleksandra Mizielinska & Daniel Mizielinski

As you open Welcome to Mamoko you are  introduced to the main characters, twenty-four of them. These are the characters you will be observing throughout the book in order to determine what happens to them. Will everyone be able to go to the town carnival? If not, why? Children will have to be very observant in order to follow the story line of each of the characters. First you should choose one character to follow through the book. Turn the page and try to find that character. Look at their surroundings. What are they doing? Where are they and what do you think they are doing? Then turn to the next page and ask those same questions.

The World of Mamoko in the Year 3000
by Aleksandra Mizielinska & Daniel Mizielinski

The World of Mamoko in the Year 3000 - Twenty-eight different characters are introduced to the reader as this book opens. From there all of the characters are seen in seven very different scenes around the community. Text is only present on the first page. The reader is responsible for telling the story. The question, "What does the future hold for Mamoko's next generation?" is posed in order to jump start the readers imagination.

Much like the ever popular WHERE'S WALDO? series, the illustrations are filled with details. In Mamoko's world as the reader turns the page a story unfolds, sans words. This is a great book for building vocabulary and observation skills. I love the fact that words are not on every page. This allows young children to read the pictures and use their words to tell the story. I highly recommend this series of books (three in all to date - The World of Mamoko in Time of Dragons is the third in the series) for children from five to eight to read independently. It would also be great as a lap read with younger children.

The Marvels by Brian Selznick

The Marvels
by Brian Selznick

Brian Selznick's masterful illustrations and writing are combined in this beautiful tome which captures your attention immediately with the elaboratly decorated cover and gilded pages. The first part of the story (approximately half of the 665 pages) is told with Selznick's signature style of illustrations, black and white, telling the story of a lone survivor - Billy Marvel - of a shipwreck in 1766. As the story progresses the reader follows the Marvel family through five generations of actors and theater life.

Abruptly the Marvel story ends (as do the pictures) and a new story (in text form) begins in 1990 as Joseph runs away from school to locate his eclectic and estranged Uncle Albert. Joseph finds himself in a home unluck he has never been. 

How are the two stories connected? Who are the Marvels? What connection do they have to Uncle Albert and Joseph? All of the questions will be answered in this marvelous story loosely based on The Dennis Severs House located in Spitalfields, London.

Brian Selznick created a wonderful book trailer for this book. It can be seen on The Marvels website.

I highly recommend reading any and all of Mr. Selznick's other books, such as the following.

• The Houdini Box (1991)
• The Boy of a Thousand Faces (2000)
• The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007) - Caldecott Winner
• Wonderstruck (2011)

Harlan Coben Doesn't Fool Around

Back in 2012, I had the most wonderful experience of meeting two authors I had only recently discovered: Harlan Coben and Lisa Scottoline. My mother and I attended the Texas Library Association's LiFTA Luncheon in order to hear them speak about their books. Scottoline spoke about Come Home, which had only been released a week earlier and Harlan Coben enticed readers with bits of his book Stay Close. Since then I have become a huge fan of both of these fantastic authors and when I see information about a new book coming out, I have to jump on it immediately.

I was granted early access to Harlan Coben's next bestseller, which will be released March 22, 2016, title through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Fool Me Once
by Harlan Coben

Like his previous books, Mr. Coben leads you down a pathway and then allows you to plummet off the cliff not realizing you were lead astray. The book revolves around Maya Stern, a retired helicopter pilot, surrounded by scandal and also the murders of her sister (while she was in Iraq) and her husband (soon after her return). When Maya discovers a video of her "dead" husband on the nanny cam given to her by her best friend following her husband's funeral suspicions begin to arise. Could Joe be alive? Who killed her sister? Why is death following Maya and who will be next?

This stand alone novel by this best selling author will have you on edge until the very end. I highly recommend this book. Once you find Coben, you will want to read everything he writes.

**To comply with guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission, Dutton (part of Penguin Group) has provided a complimentary electronic copy of Fool Me Once for review purposes. My review is in no way influenced by the author or publishing company and is solely my opinion.