Search

Search only in certain items:

Stickmen's Guide to Your Mighty Muscles and Bones by John Farndon and Venitia Dean is well-written with clear text and illustrations. The diagrams are labeled well and easy to understand. Children will enjoy the interesting diagrams throughout the book. The book contains a large about of information that is presented in a way that is accessible by the reader. An illustrated timeline shows the history of muscle and bone is fascinating. It has an added bonus of providing a sense of how understanding of our skeletal system grows. The timeline also provides extra information about muscles and bones.  

I recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about the human body and how it works. 

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group and Hungry Tomato in exchange for an honest review. 
  
ZP
Zen Pencils: Creative Struggle
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I picked this book up on Netgalley by randomly looking through the graphic novels section on the website. This looked interesting and honestly, I'm really glad I took the time to read it. Gavin Aung Than was able to perfectly illustrate the struggle that many creative individuals have. It was truly inspiring. I think many people are scared to begin a project, or take a step out and create something different. This book has shown that you're not alone and the great creators in the world dealt with the same things that you are going though.

The artwork in this graphic novel is really fun. I enjoyed looking at the artwork and I really loved how it was illustrated.

All in all, the artwork, the words, everything was perfect.

*I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
  
Animal Planet Baby Animals
Animal Planet Baby Animals
Dorothea DePrisco | 2017 | Children
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
Animal Planet: Animal Bite, Baby Animals by Dorothea Deprisco, Animal Planet is a book about various animal species family life. It talks about live and egg birth, how long babies stay with their parents, what they eat, where they live, how they travel and more.

The photos in this book are vibrant. They are close that you feel as if you can touch the animals.

There are some special sections on that side of the page that that include cool animal facts, simple infographics, and illustrated maps of the Earth and the habitats as well as the short bits on "All Grown Up". The special sections will invite discussion and further investigation. They even have bits on "Just like Humans" where they show how human families interact in some of the various topics.

On the top of the page there are activities, further resources and an extensive Glossary.
  
Wild Zoo Train
Wild Zoo Train
Carmela LaVigna Coyle | 2017 | Children
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wild Zoo Train by Carmela LaVigna Coyle & Illustrated by Steve Gray a charming is a fun book filed with trains and animals. It is full of great rhyming, repetition and vocabulary words. The strong illustration will have kids flipping the pages and wanting to read it again.

It is so very colorful, crazy train conductor, the kids see all kinds of animal that you would find in a zoo. It could also be easily use as a search and find. The book is all about children visiting the zoo and hoping on a train to see different parts of the zoo and the conductor making sure they have what ever they need to do that. Just a great all around book for memorize and practing words.

I received this ARC from Rowman & Littlefield and Muddy Boots via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
  
The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)
The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)
2018 | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
I had no expectations going into this film. The only thing I knew about it was that it was based off of a book that was originally illustrated by Edward Gorey.
It's strange that Jack Black has found his niche in making kids movies. I thought he was great as the eccentric uncle, and Cate Blanchett was a good counterbalance. Their banter was enough to keep me entertain most of the film.
Yes, the story line is very predictable, and you would think it's because there have been so many films like it before, but since the book was written in the 1970s, I'm assuming all of the other films were originally riffing off this story.
The costumes and visuals were great, and I liked the creepy vibe. Eli Roth did a pretty good job keeping it PG. It wasn't great, but I didn't hate my life while watching it.
  
Mutiny/The Bad Seed by The Birthday Party
Mutiny/The Bad Seed by The Birthday Party
1989 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I guess anyone who's read any sort of Nick Cave book will tell you this story, but when they finished this record his girlfriend at the time, Anita Lane, did the painting for the sleeve and he thought it was really, really shit but he let it be the cover anyway. But I like it. I'm a sucker for painted roses for some reason. When I was first in The Horrors, The Birthday Party were definitely one band that we all collectively liked, other than 60s garage bands. They are a fantastic band. In terms of Birthday Party-related things though, I think one of my favourites is Rowland Howard's first solo album called Teenage Snuff Film, but that isn't an illustrated cover so I didn't include it. But Rowland Howard is one of my favourite guitarists and that's probably what I liked most about The Birthday Party."

Source
  
40x40

Rufus Wainwright recommended Debut by Bjork in Music (curated)

 
Debut by Bjork
Debut by Bjork
1993 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"It's the same era, yeah. If anything, it demonstrates my eclectic nature, and also it illustrates an amazing period in music history. This album is still my favourite Bjork record, though I love a lot of things she does and I don't want to limit her to this one. It really illustrated the zeitgeist, especially if you were gay. There was a sophistication [to the gay scene] that wasn't being defined by the dance music scene – though maybe a little bit with the Pet Shop Boys. Bjork really brought the whole dance world, the clubbing world, up to this other more introspective level, and dealt with this strange life that everybody seemed to be living: on one hand it was really great and beautiful and passionate, but also very frightening, drug-induced and AIDS-related. She just became this kind of phantom for what everybody was really feeling."

Source
  
The Tales of Beedle the Bard
The Tales of Beedle the Bard
J.K. Rowling | 2008 | Children
6
8.2 (38 Ratings)
Book Rating
"The Tales of Beedle the Bard": a series of five 'in universe' short stories first mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and portrayed as having being discovered amongst Professor Dumbledore's belongings (following the events of the Harry Potter series), and with each of theses stories as being annotated by the Professor himself.

The version I 'read' was the Audible version, narrated by several of the stars of the films themselves, so I obviously can't comment on the (supposedly magnificent) illustrations: indeed, I didn't even know until just now that this was as illustrated book!

The stories within include:

The Wizard and the Hopping Pot
The Fountain of Fair Fortune
The Warlock's Hairy Heart
Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump
The Tale of the Three Brothers

and are, like their muggle fairy tale counterparts, designed to pass on moral lessons to the young reader.
  
Poems to Live Your Life By
Poems to Live Your Life By
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Poems to Live Your Life By is a book of poetry collated and illustrated by Chris Riddell. People who read my blog regularly know that I obsess over Chris Riddell, which explains my reasons for buying this.

The collection is just beautiful. Each poem has individual illustrations surrounding it, bringing the poem to life.

Even though I dislike poetry as a whole, there are a few poems that I love, and some of them were in this collection, including Digging by Seamus Heaney and Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll. Even though I have read these poems multiple times, the illustrations made them feel new to me, because it almost gave a new interpretation to them.

I also discovered some poems that I hadn’t heard of before and now love, including Thirteen by Kate Tempest, and Safe Sounds by Carol Ann Duffy.

This is definitely a book to buy for the poetry lover in your life!
  
Record of a Spaceborn Few
Record of a Spaceborn Few
Becky Chambers | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
"From the ground, we stand. From our ships, we live. By the stars, we hope..."
The lives of five people and their friends and family are followed on board one of the ships of the Exodus fleet. These are the descendants of those who escaped a dying Earth, not knowing if what they were doing would result in their deaths anyway. It didn't.
I loved reading about these people: they illustrated the different kinds of lives they had, and how they were regarded in the wider universe.
Becky Chambers books are so descriptive without being boring: I felt as though I was walking the corridors and sitting in the 'hexes' with the families. All three of these Wayfarers novels have had that personal feel to them, and this is something that has really appealed to me and kept me coming back for more. I can't wait to see where Chambers goes next. Whether she continues with the Wayfarers or not, I'll definitely read them!