Category: YA/MG/Children’s Books Page 6 of 38

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: The Haunting Scent of Poppies by Victoria Williamson

I’m very pleased today to welcome The Write Reads Ultimate Blog Tour for Victoria Williamson’s The Haunting Scent of Poppies! A handful of bloggers have already been talking about it on the tour, and a few more are coming–go check out https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours to see a what those who’ve read it have had to say. But in the meantime, let me tell you about the book.

The Haunting Scent of Poppies Tour Banner

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Fiction/YA/Horror
Publisher: Silver Thistle Press
Format: Paperback/Ebook
Length: 59 pages
Publication Date: December 1, 2023
The Haunting Scent of Poppies Cover

About the Book:

A spine-chilling winter ghost story set in the months after the Great War. Perfect for lovers of MR James and Susan Hill

The War is over, but for petty criminal Charlie his darkest days are only just beginning.

Charlie Briggs is never off-duty, even when a botched job means he’s forced to lay low in a sleepy Hampshire town for the holiday season. Always searching for his next unwitting victim, or a shiny trinket he can pilfer, he can’t believe his luck when he happens upon a rare book so valuable it will set him up for life. All he needs to do is sit tight until Boxing Day. But there’s a desperate story that bleeds beyond the pages; something far more dangerous than London’s mobsters is lurking in the shadows.

Could the book be cursed? Why is he haunted by the horrors of war? Can he put things right before he’s suffocated by his own greed?

Book Links:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon ~ Goodreads

About the Author:

Victoria WilliamsonVictoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.

Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.

Her latest novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is a middle grade fantasy inspired by classic folklore. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book are donated to CharChar Literacy, an organisation working to improve children’s literacy levels in Malawi.

You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website: www.strangelymagical.com.

Author Links:

Website ~ Twitter


My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

Fuzzwiggs: The Switcheroo by Amy Maren Rice: A Silly (and Odorous) MG Adventure Sure to Please

I’ve got a Q&A with the author, Amy Maren Rice, coming up this afternoon, come back and give it a read, will you?


Fuzzwiggs: The SwitcherooFuzzwiggs:
The Switcheroo

by Amy Maren Rice

DETAILS:
Series: Fuzzwigs, #1
Publisher: Covenant Books
Publication Date: July 14, 2022
Format: Paperback
Length: 294 pg.
Read Date: August 31-September 2, 2023
Buy from Bookshop.org Support Indie Bookstores

A Brief Introduction/Disclaimer

When I type (and when I read), I always insert an “i” between the “z”s and the “w”. I don’t know why, it just got into the back of my head that way. I believe I caught them all in proofreading, but I may not have.

Apologies in advance. Also, next time she comes up with a race of extra-dimensional characters, I hope Rice consults with me about the vowels she should use.


…the bowl shifted.

Slowly the crimson crockery began to rise. Twig like fingers curled around the edge. A pair of furry arms followed and then came two frightened golden eyes that blinked rapidly at them. A triangular face with a soft puppylike nose was next. It twitched as a strand of pasta slid off it to the floor. Oversized tufted ears slowly unfolded as the creature spoke…

“Please, we are needing your help.” It repeated, its eyes large and pleading like a puppy begging for a treat.

Jasper rubbed his own eyes in disbelief. “W-w-w…” he stuttered. He licked his lips he tried again. “What are you?”

“We are being the Fuzzwiggs,” the creature replied.

“Whose [sic] ‘we’ and what are, uh, those?” Milo asked, brushing the lettuce from his hair.

The animal made a gesture with his long fingers and several other big-eyed furry creatures shuffled forward, filling the room. They came from behind doors and under furniture. One was even inside a kitchen cabinet. Their rabbit like feet stepped carefully around the food-splattered floor…

What’s Fuzzwiggs: The Switcheroo About?

I’ll try to keep this brief…but no promises.

When we meet them, Jasper (12) and his brother, Milo (10), are moving to a new home. Their father died in a plane crash, and their mother can’t support the family as things are. So they, their mother (Emily) and baby brother (Wyatt) are going to live in tiny little town in Idaho to live with their grandfather and aunt. The brothers really don’t know their family well, but the house their father grew up in is large enough for them and the change will be good for the family (or so Emily hopes).

When they arrive, no one is home. They didn’t expect their grandfather to be there—he travels a lot and doesn’t do a great job of keeping the family updated on his location. But their Aunt Delilah should’ve been there. In her place is a note welcoming them to the house, telling them to choose their own rooms, make themselves comfortable, and to do a few specific things—follow some rules and do some chores. Some of the chores and rules are odd, but whatever.

The house is large and wonderful—the boys really want to go exploring some of the strangeness, but their mother makes them focus on unpacking and whatnot. Perhaps the strangest thing about the house is that there is a large, old tree in the center of it—words like “mega” and “ancient” are used by the boys to describe it. Their dad used to joke about being raised in a tree house. Now they get it. Sort of.

What the family is going to learn, is that the Great Tree is a vitally important object beyond their comprehension. It’s guarded (in part) by some strange and magical creatures called the Fuzzwigs. The odd thing about these creatures (well, one of the odd things) is that their magic comes from their flatulence.

But before they learn that, as is expected in stories where people are given oddly specific instructions and warnings—Emily and the kids don’t really heed them as they should. The consequences of that are going to bring a lot of trouble—and the Fuzzwigs—into their lives.

Fuzzwiggs

This is going to be the crux of the book for (at least) most readers—what do you think of these creatures? Even the Middle-Grade readers of this book are going to be familiar with a lot of the things in the novel—the bickering brothers, the family tragedy that makes them move, the mysterious extended family members they have to rely on, the strange thing in the new house that comes with a lot of rules, etc. And sure, silly intelligent (or at least sentient and capable of communication) creatures will be familiar, too—but the Fuzzwiggs are what’s going to draw the attention and keep it or lose it.

For this reader, they kept it. It helps once you get to the point you can see beyond the obvious comedy and get to something deeper (not much deeper, it’s not that kind of book)—I don’t know how much the target audience will respond to that, probably more than I reflexively give them credit for. Also, this will be easier to talk about when we get to Book 2 in the series and I can talk about some of these deeper ideas without spoiling things.

I think the easiest comparison I can make to help one of my readers to understand the Fuzzwiggs is the lemurs from Madagascar movies and the spin-off movies/show. They have a similar kind of manic energy and attitudes. As I make that comparison, I realize that the humor that comes from them reminds me of DreamWorks Animation movies in general.

We might as well segue to:

The Humor

Yes, it’s largely juvenile. So what? The book is directed at people who are juveniles. Can adults appreciate it? Yes, but only if they are willing to find humor in bodily functions and whatnot.

I think of it similarly to that line of C.S. Lewis’ about Fairy Tales, about one day being old enough to start reading them again. Or, “When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” Human bodies are silly things that can make gross noises—at a certain age, we pretend it’s not amusing, and at a more advanced age we can chuckle at it again. Sure, I might not find the sounds and this book as amusing as a ten-year-old will…but I’m okay with that. Actually, I’m a little jealous.

So, to get back to the DreamWorks Animation idea—if Shrek and its counterparts are too juvenile for you—skip this book. And give it to someone who will enjoy the humor.

There is one character in particular I’d love to talk about on the comedy front, but it would spoil too much. Let’s just say that there’s a Hollywood hopeful in these pages that deserves a spin-off novella.

So, what did I think about Fuzzwiggs: The Switcheroo?

I really enjoyed the way that the whole family got involved—at least in some way—with the story. It’d have been very easy for Rice to focus on Jasper and Milo—or the boys and their aunt. But Rice got their baby brother rather involved in the story to great effect—Wyatt’s antics elicit some good chuckles and also brought some sweetness into things. I also appreciated the way their Mom was handled—we get a little from Emily’s perspective, we understand how everything we see here is difficult for her and yet she knows it’s best, and so on. And then she’s largely sidelined because this is a MG book and it’s a rule. Or, to put it less cynically, otherwise, the boys couldn’t get into adventures. But it’s a comical sidelining that Rice used well.

The adventure story itself is exactly what you want in this kind of story—there’s a great trek through the wilderness, hazards from within and without, some villains that really don’t realize what they’ve gotten themselves into (they’re both rotten and comical, a great combination for this kind of book), and some great battles (or scenes that are battle-ish and I don’t know how else to characterize them) and some nice story resolutions with hidden life lessons in them. It’s a good balance between comedy and adventure that I’d imagine would appeal to a broad range of middle-grade readers.

I had a few quibbles with the book and feel like I should mention them. There’s a museum in town that was established before Lewis and Clark stumbled through the area. I assume that was an editorial slip, or there’s going to be a great explanation eventually given for that. I do wonder if some of the descriptions of the magic/abilities of some of the creatures could’ve been explained a little better. Some (all?) of the scenes that cut away to things not directly involving the main events of this book were really hard to follow, yes, they’re establishing the world for this series and setting up future books. But I think a little more finesse would’ve helped a lot here. Neither of these are fatal flaws, and I anticipate that Rice will do this kind of thing better as she writes more. But they dampen my enthusiasm a bit.

Just a bit, though. I had a ball with this book and I think my readers would enjoy it—and the kids in their lives would enjoy it even more. I’m eager to see where Rice takes this series and I really want to see the scenes that follow the Epilogue. I imagine most readers will be with me there.

Pick this up—I think you’ll be happy you did.


3.5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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Grandpappy’s Corner: Noodle Conquers Comfy Mountain by Jonathan Graziano, Dan Tavis (Illustrator): A Little Pug Faces a Cozy Challenge

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Noodle Conquers Comfy Mountain

by Jonathan Graziano, Dan Tavis (Illustrator)

DETAILS:
Series: Noodle and Jonathan
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: November 7, 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length: 32 pg.
Read Date: November 9, 2023
Buy from Bookshop.org Support Indie Bookstores

What’s Noodle Conquers Comfy Mountain About?

This is a story about poor Noodle needing to find a place to get comfortable for the day—he needs to be able to smell nice smells, see his Jonathan, watch for a snacking opportunity (or several), but most importantly feel comfy.

After some searching, he finds the perfect place on the top of the couch! But how can a little pug get up to something so tall?

Let’s Talk about the Art for a Minute

I wish I had some samples to show (you can click on the artist’s name above and see his portfolio, which doesn’t have any pages from this, but you can see his skill). So let me say this instead—before I had a chance to read the book, I gave it to my wife and daughter to look at while I went upstairs. Their collective “Ohhhh!!”s and “Awwwwwwwww!!”s were so loud I had to pause my audiobook until they finished.

It is just adorable. I don’t have another word to describe the art—it’s so cute that it’s hard to put into words. Also, there’s one picture that you can practically see the tail wagging. I’m not sure how a cartoonish art style is able to convey that so effectively, but it did.

Consider me a fan of Tavis.

How is it to Read Aloud?

It’s fine—there’s not a lot of wordplay, there’s no rhyming, or anything like that. It’s simple phrasing that you can put whatever kind of emphasis on and read without difficulty.

If you’ve watched enough of Graziano’s videos, you can borrow his style to read it; it works really well. If you haven’t? No big deal, just read it naturally and it’ll be fine.

What did the Little Critter think of It?

He’s still a bit too young to be giving opinions. But he liked the sound it made when he slapped it.

So, what did I think about Noodle Conquers Comfy Mountain?

Like when I was describing the art, I don’t know what else to say but it’s hard-to-describe just how cute this is.

It’s a nice little story that most readers can relate to in some way—I think particularly if they’re on the small side and need assistance getting up to a place to sit, as young children tend to be. The story is a little stronger than the previous book’s–which was primarily about the feeling of a No Bones day, and I appreciate that (without criticizing the first book! I’m not heartless.)

There’s a little life lesson about asking for help that we can all use—no matter our age or size—included. Which is a nice bonus.

Do I recommend this adorable read? Yes. Obviously. Get your hands/eyes/ears (as applicable) on anything about Noodle, it’ll make your day brighter.


4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Feast of Ashes by Victoria Williamson

This morning, I’m very pleased to welcome The Write Reads Ultimate Blog Tour for Victoria Williamson’s Feast of Ashes. This is yet one more book that I didn’t have time to read, but wanted to point you to, because you and I should think about fitting it into our upcoming reads. It’s Day One of the Tour, so I can’t point you to much that’s been said about the book, but I’ve seen a little about what some of the bloggers are saying about it, so I want to point you to the X/Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours so you can watch what’s being said over the next few days, it appears that people like it and should be saying things that’ll incline you to read it. The book releases October 5—so you might as well go order it now, right?

Feast of Ashes Tour Banner

Book Details:

Title: Feast of Ashes by Victoria Williamson
Genre: YA, Dystopian Fantasy
Publisher: Neem Tree Press
Release date: October 5, 2023
Format: Paperback
Length: 334 pages
Feast of Ashes Cover

About the Book:

The Earth’s ecosystems have collapsed and only ashes remain. Is one girl’s courage enough to keep hope alive in the wastelands?

It’s the year 2123, and sixteen-year-old Adina has just accidentally killed fourteen thousand seven hundred and fifty-six people. Raised in the eco-bubble of Eden Five, Adina has always believed that the Amonston Corporation’s giant greenhouse would keep her safe forever. But when her own careless mistake leads to an explosion that incinerates Eden Five, she and a small group of survivors must brave the barren wastelands outside the ruined Dome to reach the Sanctuary before their biofilters give out and their DNA threatens to mutate in the toxic air.

They soon discover that the outside isn’t as deserted as they were made to believe, and the truth is unearthed on their dangerous expedition. As time runs out, Adina must tackle her guilty conscience and find the courage to get everyone to safety. Will she make it alive, or will the Nomalies get to her first?

Book Links:

Amazon UK ~ Goodreads

About the Author:

Victoria WilliamsonVictoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.

Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.

Her latest novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is a middle grade fantasy inspired by classic folklore. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book are donated to CharChar Literacy, an organisation working to improve children’s literacy levels in Malawi.

You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website: www.strangelymagical.com.

Author Links:

Website ~ Twitter

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

Bone Carnival by Megan Lynch: Mysterious and Spooky, (Almost) Altogether Ooky

Bone CarnivalBone Carnival

by Megan Lynch

DETAILS:
Publisher: Orange Blossom Publishing
Publication Date: October 31, 2023
Format: PDF
Length: 224 pg.
Read Date: September 27-28, 2023
Buy from Bookshop.org Support Indie Bookstores

What’s Bone Carnival About?

Mia Wallace’s parents are professors who’ve taken temporary posts at a university in Rome and have brought the twelve-year-old and her older brother, Enzo, with them. Enzo speaks a little Italian and is fairly independent as 17-year-olds tend to be, but Mia has only a small handful of phrases and is as dependent on her parents as a preteen is forced to be, so her options for the time are pretty limited.

Mia has a reputation (largely earned) for being a troublemaker, a teller of tall tales, and overall ne’er-do-well. It doesn’t seem like she’s leaving a lot of friends behind in the States, and she’s not expecting to change that in Rome, no matter how many resolutions she makes about reform. There’s a girl her age, Grace, who might be a candidate for friendship, but they don’t get off to a good start. Still, Grace’s mother is a colleague of Mia’s mother, so they’re likely to end up spending time together.

There’s a stray cat who lives near their apartment that Mia has started to spend time with. On the first day that their parents have to go to work, Mia slips out of the classroom she, Enzo, and Grace are stuck in all day to go get something from a nearby bakery (her excuse is that Grace hasn’t eaten breakfast and her stomach is too loud). On the way to the cafe, Mila sees “her” cat and follows it. Unbeknownst to her, Grace has followed Mia.

The cat leads them to a street carnival—there’s something about it that both unnerves Mia and appeals to her, too (she can’t describe what elicits either reaction). Grace is more unnerved than anything, but can’t get Mia to leave. There are shades of Pleasure Island (from Disney’s version of Pinocchio) to the carnival—but without the anarchy and transformation into a beast of burden. Honestly, I think what Mia’s in for is worse—but you can decide for yourself.

During part of a puppet show (which is probably not what made me think of Pinocchio), Grace volunteers to participate. She’s awarded a bone of a sorcerer to carry around in a velvet pouch. Supposedly, this will bring her good luck for a day—a lifetime’s worth of good luck in a day.

Grace doesn’t like any of this, and Mia’s a little creeped out by the idea of a finger (no matter that it’s surely just a prop). So they throw it in a nearby dumpster.

Before she knows it good things are starting to happen to the pair—and, yup, the pouch is tied around Mia’s neck. What has she gotten the two of them into? And what’s the fine print?

The Worst Parents in the World?

A tricky thing that authors have to address when it comes to kids and adventure novels is how to get the parents out of the way to let the kids have an adventure. Are they dead? Are they away from home/the kid is away from home? Are they missing/kidnapped? Or do the kids sneak off—and then why do they do that and how do the parents not notice? Once that’s dealt with, and how, then the reader can settle in and see what the kid gets up to.

Lynch solves this by giving Mia (and to a lesser extent, Grace) some of the worst parents around, who largely are unaware of what Mia is up to. I’m resisting the impulse to list off all their faults, deficiencies, and sins here—you really need to see them for yourself to draw your own conclusions. I’m typically inclined to see the parent’s/guardian’s perspective and to cut them some slack–I can defend (half-heartedly, I admit) Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, for example. But I’ve got nothing for Mia’s parents. I quickly decided that it wasn’t just Mia’s perspective, either. At a quick glance, half of my notes about this book involve what miserable excuses for parents these two are.

Obviously, parents who abuse, exploit, and/or deprive their children are worse than these parents. Mia, Ezra, and Grace are fed, educated, clothed, and so on. They’re even cared about and for in some manner. But…

The actual trauma they’re inflicting, the emotional abuse they aren’t knowingly inflicting, and the long-term trust issues they’re creating for their children are real, even if they’re unaware they’re doing it (or, worse, unconcerned about it). For the longest time, I’ve considered Betty Draper to be the worst parent I’ve seen in fiction. Mia’s parents (particularly her mother) gives her a run for her money.

So, what did I think about Bone Carnival?

I started off quite unimpressed with Mia and was hoping this book was going to be about her getting her comeuppance and/or growing up. I was more than a little afraid I was going to have to endure 200 pages of an insufferable protagonist’s antics. There is some growing up involved, thankfully, but I think there’s a healthy dose of the reader understanding Mia better, too. It doesn’t take too long (sometime before the carnival, for sure) for the reader to learn more about Mia and she becomes a bit more than just an irritating character. Once the carnival appears—definitely before it disappears, you’ll become invested in her and what happens.

There were several times I thought I saw Lynch heading toward a moral, or a cheesy personal transformation on someone’s part to give everyone a happy ending. She did not do that, thankfully. She dodged both of those things every time it looked likely, and I was relieved and impressed each time. I’m not saying what kind of ending we get, but I do want to assure you that there’s character development and growth—but it’s earned and deserved, and not saccharine in any way. And yes, I do think readers can/should take away life lessons (especially parents in a “don’t be like this” way)—but it’s not what you might expect, and not in a “Here’s a Message for You” kind of way.

It has been years since I’ve been this worried about the stakes in an MG novel—not just the stakes, but the potential life and death (fictional) outcomes for the characters involved. It’s been even longer since an author introduced them as effectively (Riordan and Mull came close—and even killed characters, but I don’t think they made me as apprehensive as Lynch). I could probably point to a few YA books that don’t do it as well as Lynch did. I remember occasionally stumbling across a book that did this when I was this age—John Bellairs for example—but it seems harder to find now*. This is in that neck of the woods.

* Maybe I just need to read better MG books.

This book really spooked me, and was disturbing in all the right ways—the character development was believable (not easy given the short time frame depicted), and I thought the characters as a whole were believable and well-drawn. It might be too much for some MG readers—so parents should exercise discretion*. Although I honestly think it’d be good for some readers to read a book that’s too much for them, it’s a great way to create an appreciation for a certain kind of story.

* Parents should be doing that all of the time, come to think of it.

My main point about Bone Carnival is this: It should be read by many. Maybe even you.

Disclaimer: I received this ARC from Tonya Spitler Orange Blossom Publishing in exchange for this post and my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.


4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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Grandpappy’s Corner: Every Dreaming Creature by Brendan Wenzel: This Book Is So Soft and Comfy It Could Be a Pillow

Grandpappy's Corner Every Dreaming Creature

Every Dreaming Creature

by Brendan Wenzel

DETAILS:
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 26, 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length: 40 pg.
Read Date: September 28, 2023
Buy from Bookshop.org Support Indie Bookstores

I had a dream I was a sleeping salamander.
All the world was safe, snug spaces and a warm, wet blanket of decaying leaves.
Secrets from the soil tickling my hands and soft belly.

What’s Every Dreaming Creature About?

That’s how the book opens—and that “safe, snug spaces”, “warm, wet blanket” and “secrets from the soil” won me over. The “I” there slips from dreaming they’re a salamander, to an octopus, to animal after animal—elephant, falcon, chameleon, and so many others.

There’s no sense or narrative arc to the transitions—like a good dream—but it all works in the moment, sure, why not go from salamander to octopus? (again, like a good dream). The book gives you just enough of an idea of the dream before it goes off to another transition.

Then the morning breaks, the “I” goes out to play before starting the sequence again.

Let’s Talk about the Art for a Minute

Like with most books like this, it’s the art that caught my attention.

Okay, not true. My attention was grabbed by the bookstore owner eagerly pointing at it and telling me that it was new and describing the book. But after that, it was the art.

You might as well be looking a photographs or films shot through cotton, they’re so fuzzy and soft. It’s hard to describe, really—but it’s comfy and cozy, and you might as well be looking at warm blankets and downy pillows. I really felt like I was snuggling up with it. Two of the pictures of that salamander in particular (and I could use almost every animal described) looked like they could’ve been made from felt—like they were something that Jim Henson worked on.

Here are a couple of samples. Tell me you can’t practically feel the fuzzy tiger for…(there are more to be found on the Publisher’s page)
Every Dreaming Creature Sample 1
Every Dreaming Creature Sample 2

How is it to Read Aloud?

There’s something about this book’s subject, art, and prose that almost requires you to read this in a quiet, hushed tone—not quite a whisper, a little louder, but not much.

Without noticing, you’ll be reading quietly like you’re trying to put someone to sleep. Even if there are no children around and you’re just sitting down to read a couple of lines as a sample. (my dog looked a little dozy as I wrapped up, or at least I’m going to pretend that’s true).

So, what did I think about Every Dreaming Creature?

I came for the art, I stayed for the prose, and the…not quite story. But the atmosphere? The ideas? Eh…whatever the prose is trying to get across.

This is about as close to perfect as you’re going to get for a “snuggle-up with the grandchild and help them slip off to Dreamland” book. It won me over, I think it will win you—and whatever child/grandchild/amped-up lab mix you’re reading to, too.

I’ve never heard of Wenzel before, but I imagine I’ll be grabbing more of his books soon.


4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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BOOK SPOTLIGHT: The Whistlers in the Dark by Victoria Williamson

This morning, I’m very pleased to welcome The Write Reads Ultimate Blog Tour for Victoria Williamson’s The Whistlers in the Dark. My September schedule got the better of me, so all I can do is bring you this Spotlight. For more about the book, you should go read all the good things that the others on this Tour are saying via https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours. The book releases tomorrow—so you might as well go order it now, right?

The Whistlers in the DarkTour Banner

Book Details:

Title: The Whistlers in the Dark by Victoria Williamson
Genre: Middle Grade, Spooky mystery
Age Category: Middle Grade, historical fantasy
Publisher: Scotland Street Press
Release date: September 21, 2023
Format: Paperback
Length: 200 pages
The Whistlers in the Dark Cover

About the Book:

Scotland, 158 AD, is a divided country.

On one side of the Antonine Wall, thirteen-year-old Felix is trying to become a good Roman soldier like his father. On the other, twelve-year old Jinny is vowing revenge on the ‘metal men’ who have invaded her Damnonii tribe’s homeland. At the Damnonii’s sacred circle of standing stones, her planned attack on Felix goes badly wrong, awakening a legend that threatens to bring fire and destruction down on them all.

Can Jinny and Felix overcome their differences and soothe the stones back to sleep before it’s too late?

Book Links:

Amazon UK ~ Goodreads

About the Author:

Victoria WilliamsonVictoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.

Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.

Her latest novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is a middle grade fantasy inspired by classic folklore. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book are donated to CharChar Literacy, an organisation working to improve children’s literacy levels in Malawi.

You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website: www.strangelymagical.com.

Author Links:

Website ~ Twitter

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

GUEST POST: Shaping Smiles with Kay-9 The Robot Dog by J.M. Gulmire

I recently shared a Spotlight for J.M. Gulmire’s MG novel Kay-9 The Robot Dog. Gulmire was kind enough to send along this guest post about the creation of the book. I’ll have more to say about the book soon, but for now, let’s whet our appetite with this bit of behind-the-scenes.


Shaping Smiles with Kay-9 The Robot Dog

Writing is magic. Reading is all about discovering that magic, but getting the words out is quite an adventure.

I learned this after 12 years of writing and submitting work. I played the agent querying game so often you’d think I’d have at least earned some kind of annoyance award. And I have to admit, my first children’s chapter book was a bit off the rails.

I mean how many kids are dying to read about getting A Vacuum for my Birthday?!

But I live with a house full of elves and they wanted to laugh. They like the outlandish and absurd. I’m quite fond of it too so I just kept writing.

Then one day, my favorite impish little elf asked me to write a story about a robot dog. I’d never heard of a story like that so I was all about it. I love dogs and writing, but I didn’t know much about robots, so we started playing with some kits and instead of just writing a story however the words came I sat down and sprinkled some fairy dust on my manuscript.

This helped me to list out what I wanted to happen and how the characters would come to life. I had no idea that an outline could be so shiny, but once it was done I couldn’t stop writing.

I began the story right away and suddenly something amazing happened. No more plot holes, no more hang ups. Everything came together as I sat down at the same time every day. I wanted to let my characters speak for themselves so I talked to them like I would anyone else and their voices called to me from the page.

Before I knew it my elves were reading and laughing at Kay-9 The Robot Dog. We had so much fun that I queried all the agents and papered the indie publishing world with submissions. I’m happy to say that the story got a lot of love. Despite this, the gatekeepers stood over me shaking their heads.

My book was too different, they said.

How could this be? Kids like the weird, the new, the exciting. I knew my story was alive and wagging its tail, just waiting to be loved.

It made me sad to know that so many great books are forgotten before they have a chance to be read, all because someone said, “No.”

I fell into a mystical sleep for a few years, waiting for this awful spell to wear off. Thankfully, when I came to and rubbed my eyes the elves were waiting for me. They patted my back and handed me my book and said, “Make it yourself!”

So that’s what I did.

Kay-9 not only came to life on Sept. 5 this year, the world of claymation sucked me in so I could create fun cartoon shorts to go along with the story. I didn’t need to fly around the world. All I wanted was to make someone smile and maybe start some laughter.

And that’s just what happened. My silly story, Kay-9 The Robot Dog hit #1 in its genre on Amazon and the clay keeps dancing.

Books are silly like that. They live in us every day. We just have to do what we can to properly shape them and share them with other booklovers.

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Scareground by Angela Kecojevic: A Twisty and Fun Ride for the MG Crowd

Scareground Tour Banner

ScaregroundScareground

by Angela Kecojevic

DETAILS:
Publisher: Neem Tree Press
Publication Date: September 7, 2023
Format: eARC
Length: 304 pg.
Read Date: September 6-8, 2023

What’s Scareground About?

Nancy’s an adventuresome girl who helps in her (adoptive) parents’ bakery. There’s something about her that puts most children off—but on the whole, she enjoys her life—and gets up to a lot of mischief by running all over the rooftops of the small town she lives in. (she seems a little young, and historically early to practice Parkour, but really that’s what she does).

Through her antics, she has managed to make one friend, Arthur. Arthur’s father is overprotective due to his mother’s death and keeps a short leash on his son. But these two find ways to stretch the leash and have fun together.

Some strange things start happening in their town, pointing to the arrival of a fair. There’s no way that either of them will be permitted to attend, but they’re determined to have a look. It seems fun enough, it’s something that doesn’t happen often (not in their lifetimes, anyway), and they’ve been forbidden by their parents. For pre-teen Middle-Grade characters, you know that means they’ll sneak into it and get into adventures. Nancy has another reason to go—but she can’t bring herself to tell Arthur—she’s pretty sure that she’ll learn something about the circumstances around her parents leaving her to be found and taken in by the Crumpets.

And they do sneak in, they do get into adventures—most of which are far beyond what they could’ve imagined. The fair—the Scareground—is much more than a typical traveling fair.

Kecojevic’s Language

There’s something about the language—particularly a couple of word choices—that bothered me. A few words (like “macabre,” and “maritime”) are used perhaps too often. It feels like someone learned a new word and was trying to squeeze it in as often as possible. I obviously don’t think that’s what happened—it just feels that way.

Aside from that, the vocabulary and phrasing do strike me as someone trying to capture or create a mood—a feel to the book. One that’s reminiscent of a fairy tale or a story from another time. I don’t know that Kecojevic was entirely successful at it, however. But you can’t help but see that’s what she was going for, and it adds just the right amount of whimsy to enliven this story and the characters (Nancy in particular).

So, what did I think about Scareground?

As many good things that were in the book, several little choices that Kecojevic made added up—like the final words of the prologue which were an over-the-top threat delivered to no one at all just so the villain could monologue for a bit—and almost makes this book die a death of a thousand cuts. Please note the “almost” there. Thinking back to the prologue—you snip that monologue and you’ve got a nice, disturbing introduction to the book.

The book works well if you take it on the surface, enjoy Nancy and Arthur—and the friends they make along the way—and get caught up in the story and the strange world it takes place in. If you think about many aspects too much, it doesn’t hold up too well. It’s not a house of cards by any means, but maybe balsa wood.

Or, come to think of it—think of this as a carnival ride or fair attraction. That’s appropriate, right? It might be a spooky ride through a house of horrors, it might be an exciting-looking roller coaster, or it might be a pretty carousel—but if you look behind the curtain, or too closely at the structure, or spend too much time looking at the paint job on the horses or the lighting fixtures, and it’s less impressive.

Thankfully, you’re not going to find a lot of the target audience dwelling on aspects—they’re going to be in it for the ride. Which, getting back to my main point—works well when you take Scareground that way.

Nancy and Arthur are a whole lot of fun. The Crumpets are a delightful couple and the kind of parents (biological or not) that you want to see in fiction. And so many other characters could be talked about in this way. Nancy’s extra abilities are a wonderful, imaginative touch—but so is her heart and drive. Arthur matches that heart and drive without her abilities, and it’s their friendship that makes a lot of this work.

It’s a fast and strange ride that will entertain, for sure. I recommend it to readers of the right age.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Neem Tree Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Scareground by Angela Kecojevic

This morning, I’m very pleased to welcome The Write Reads Ultimate Blog Tour for Angela Kecojevic’s Scareground. In addition to this Spotlight, my post about the book will be coming along soon. In the meantime, go check out https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours—we’re in the middle of this tour and several bloggers have been writing interesting things about this book and and there are more to come you can find them all there. But for now, let’s learn a little bit about the book, shall we?

Scareground Tour Banner

Book Details:

Title: Scareground by Angela Kecojevic
Genre: Middle Grade, Spooky mystery
Age Category: Middle Grade
Publisher: Neem Tree Press
Release date: September 7, 2023
Format: Paperback/Ebook/Audiobook
Length: 304 pages
Scareground Cover

About the Book:

Roll up, roll up, the Scareground is in town!

Twelve-year-old Nancy Crumpet lives above a bakery and her life is a delightful mix of flour, salt, and love. Yet her mind is brimming with questions no one can answer: Why did her birth parents disappear? Why can she speak with the sky? And why must she keep her mysterious birthmark hidden?

Everything is about to change when the Scareground returns to Greenwich. Nancy is convinced it holds the answers to her parents’ disappearance. Nancy and her best friend Arthur Green meet the fair’s spooky owner, Skelter, and discover a world full of dark magic and mystery. Nancy must confront her greatest fears to get to the truth. But is she ready for all the secrets the Scareground will reveal?

Book Links:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US

About the Author:

Angela Kecojevic
Angela Kecojevic is a senior librarian, author and creative writing tutor. She has written for the Oxford Reading Tree programme and the multi-award-winning adventure park Hobbledown where her characters can be seen walking around, something she still finds incredibly charming! She is a member of the Climate Writers Fiction League, a group of international authors who use climate issues in their work. Angela lives in the city of Oxford with her family.

Author Links:

Website ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ TikTok ~ Threads ~ Linktree

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

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