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What if we could inspire our children to find the EPIC in the everyday? Opening their eyes to...
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Yazzy's Amazing Yarn in Books
Aug 24, 2019 (Updated Aug 24, 2019)
Anyone who's followed my reviews for awhile knows that I love children's picture books. They're just so much fun to read, and they brighten up my day with how colorful the illustrations can be. When I was asked if I wanted to read and review Yazzy's Amazing Yarn by Cathey Graham Nickell, I didn't hesitate to say yes. Yazzy's Amazing Yarn was such an uplifting and exciting read!
Yazzy is a young girl who loves knitting just like her mom. When Yazzy and her mom walk by a park, Yazzy's mom reminisces about how the park was a lot better back when she was a kid. That night, Yazzy can't sleep. She's thinking about what her mom told her about the park. With the help of her friends, Yazzy decides to yarn bomb the park to bring back some of the cheer her mom experienced as a little girl.
I found the plot for Yazzy's Amazing Yarn to be interesting. My 4 year old son lost interest after a few pages though, but I don't think he's quite the demographic this book would appeal to. To me, I believe this book would appeal most to little girls aged 6 to 10 years of age. I also think the dialogue would be more understandable in this age group. Anyway, I enjoyed learning about what Yazzy and her friends would come up with to make the park more colorful and lively. When the girls leave the house for the park before it opens, I did wonder if they let Yazzy's mom know they were leaving the house. I guess that's just the mom in me though. I would have liked something written in the book that said a parent was notified of them leaving. Anyway, everything else was great, and yarn bombing was a fantastic idea to make a dreary old park come to life. I loved how the author added some history about yarn bombing at the end of the book. I had no idea yarn bombing was a thing until I read Yazzy's Amazing Yarn. From my take on it, it's when someone knits something for an item in their neighborhood such as for stop signs, traffic lights, parks, sidewalks, trees, etc.
The character of Yazzy was likable, and I think young girls can and will relate to her quite easily. She comes across as someone with a kind heart who likes to make others happy. Yazzy seems selfless and like a happy go lucky girl. I loved the diversity of all the characters I came across in Yazzy's Amazing Yarn, but it would have been even better if one of Yazzy's friends had been a boy to show that boy's like knitting as well and that it's not only for females. I was a bit disappointed that only girls were shown knitting. However, that didn't stop me from enjoying this great book.
The illustrations for Yazzy's Amazing Yarn were done superbly. Emily Calimlim, the illustrator, is such a talented artist, and it definitely showed throughout this book. I loved the different vibrant colors used throughout the pictures! My favorite scenes were the ones that took place in the park when it came to illustrations. I felt this was when the colors and illustrations jumped up at me from the page the most.
All in all, Yazzy's Amazing Yarn is such a feel good funtastic (not a typo) story that will warm everyone's heart. The story itself is beautifully written, and the illustrations are gorgeous! I would recommend Yazzy's Amazing Yarn by Cathey Graham Nickell to all ages due to the feel good factor although I do believe little girls ages 6 - 10 years would find it the most appealing. Yazzy's Amazing Yarn gets a 4 out of 5 stars from me!
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(A special thank you to Lone Star Book Blog Tours for providing me with an eBook of Yazzy's Amazing Yarn by Cathey Graham Nickell in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
Yazzy is a young girl who loves knitting just like her mom. When Yazzy and her mom walk by a park, Yazzy's mom reminisces about how the park was a lot better back when she was a kid. That night, Yazzy can't sleep. She's thinking about what her mom told her about the park. With the help of her friends, Yazzy decides to yarn bomb the park to bring back some of the cheer her mom experienced as a little girl.
I found the plot for Yazzy's Amazing Yarn to be interesting. My 4 year old son lost interest after a few pages though, but I don't think he's quite the demographic this book would appeal to. To me, I believe this book would appeal most to little girls aged 6 to 10 years of age. I also think the dialogue would be more understandable in this age group. Anyway, I enjoyed learning about what Yazzy and her friends would come up with to make the park more colorful and lively. When the girls leave the house for the park before it opens, I did wonder if they let Yazzy's mom know they were leaving the house. I guess that's just the mom in me though. I would have liked something written in the book that said a parent was notified of them leaving. Anyway, everything else was great, and yarn bombing was a fantastic idea to make a dreary old park come to life. I loved how the author added some history about yarn bombing at the end of the book. I had no idea yarn bombing was a thing until I read Yazzy's Amazing Yarn. From my take on it, it's when someone knits something for an item in their neighborhood such as for stop signs, traffic lights, parks, sidewalks, trees, etc.
The character of Yazzy was likable, and I think young girls can and will relate to her quite easily. She comes across as someone with a kind heart who likes to make others happy. Yazzy seems selfless and like a happy go lucky girl. I loved the diversity of all the characters I came across in Yazzy's Amazing Yarn, but it would have been even better if one of Yazzy's friends had been a boy to show that boy's like knitting as well and that it's not only for females. I was a bit disappointed that only girls were shown knitting. However, that didn't stop me from enjoying this great book.
The illustrations for Yazzy's Amazing Yarn were done superbly. Emily Calimlim, the illustrator, is such a talented artist, and it definitely showed throughout this book. I loved the different vibrant colors used throughout the pictures! My favorite scenes were the ones that took place in the park when it came to illustrations. I felt this was when the colors and illustrations jumped up at me from the page the most.
All in all, Yazzy's Amazing Yarn is such a feel good funtastic (not a typo) story that will warm everyone's heart. The story itself is beautifully written, and the illustrations are gorgeous! I would recommend Yazzy's Amazing Yarn by Cathey Graham Nickell to all ages due to the feel good factor although I do believe little girls ages 6 - 10 years would find it the most appealing. Yazzy's Amazing Yarn gets a 4 out of 5 stars from me!
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(A special thank you to Lone Star Book Blog Tours for providing me with an eBook of Yazzy's Amazing Yarn by Cathey Graham Nickell in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Angel Thieves in Books
Sep 8, 2019
I really enjoyed Kathi Appelt's writing style in her children's picture book Max Attacks, so when the chance to read and review her Young Adult novel Angel Thieves presented itself, I decided to give it a read. I'm really glad I did because I fell head over heels in love with this book!
I very much enjoyed the plot of Angel Thieves and found myself immersed in the story from the very first page. It is told from different perspectives including humans, an ocelot, and a bayou which definitely made this book even more interesting! The narrative is told from 1845 through to present time. It all takes place in Houston, Texas. Every perspective is interwoven with each other. We learn about a teenage crush, a father and son duo who steal marble angel statues to make a living, an ocelot who was poached from her home and caught in a hurricane where she's left starving and unable to escape from her cage, a former slave who is trying to help her young daughters escape from being slaves themselves, a bayou who has seen it all, and some other points of view from others throughout Angel Thieves. I was constantly memorized by each chapter, and I was on pins and needles wondering what would happen next. It also helps that the author, Kathi Appelt, is such a fabulous writer who makes all her words come to life with her extraordinary talent! There weren't any major plot twists, but this isn't a book that needs to rely on plot twists to keep it interesting. The writing itself is strong enough to hold its own. There are no cliff hangers, but I would have liked to know a little more about Achsah and her children. There is some mention of them at the end, but I was heavily invested in Achsah's story where I really wanted to know more. However, this doesn't take away from the appeal of the book by no means. Because the prose is so beautifully written, the pacing flows very well. The chapters are mostly all short as well, so it's easy to read this book in one sitting. The world building was done fantastically, and it was obvious that Kathi Appelt had done her research when it came to the plot of her story. In fact, I even learned something when it came to Texas history! I'm also grateful that Kathi Appelt included an author's note at the end of Angel Thieves. It's definitely worth reading even if you don't normally read author's notes. This will give you more of an insight about the real life history that her book is based upon.
I felt like the characters in Angel Thieves were well written and fleshed out perfectly. Kathi Appelt even made a bayou feel like a real person which goes to show how much of a talented writer she really is! I felt Soleil's frustrations with trying to get Cade's attention and her hurt when it came to losing someone close to her. I felt her joy when she was happy. Cade was a great character too. I loved his relationship with his dad. It was obvious how close the two were. It was interesting to see Cade's conflicting emotions when it came to stealing marble angels. One one hand, he wanted to make his dad happy, but he also knew that what they were doing wasn't right. I enjoyed reading about how he dealt with his feelings about that. Zorra, I absolutely loved. My heart went out to this lovely little ocelot who was helpless and taken from everything she'd ever known. I was always hoping she'd be rescued when her next chapter was up. Out of all the characters, my favorite to read about was Achsah. As a mother, I could relate to wanting to keep her children safe no matter what. As a former slave, she had her freedom when her master died, but her daughters were to become slaves to her master's friend. Achsah couldn't and wouldn't let this happen, so she risked everything to keep her girls safe. I felt like Achsah had the most interesting story to tell. I was constantly wishing good things for Achsah and her two little girls. Unfortunately, Achsah's story is based in truth on what happened with a lot of slaves during that horrible period in American history.
Trigger warnings for Angel Thieves include slavery, minor profanity, stealing, a mention of child rape (although not graphic), and some violence (nothing too graphic).
All in all, Angel Thieves is highly interesting read that is also partly educational. It definitely taught me things about Texas that I didn't even know, and I grew up in Texas! Angel Thieves also has such strong characters, and Kathi Appelt's love for this story is apparent on each page. I would definitely recommend Angel Thieves by Kathi Appelt to those aged 14 and older who love getting lost in a good book. This is one book that's very easy to get lost in! An easy 5 out of 5 stars for Angel Thieves!
--
(A special thank you to Kathi Appelt for providing me with a hardback of Angel Thieves in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
I very much enjoyed the plot of Angel Thieves and found myself immersed in the story from the very first page. It is told from different perspectives including humans, an ocelot, and a bayou which definitely made this book even more interesting! The narrative is told from 1845 through to present time. It all takes place in Houston, Texas. Every perspective is interwoven with each other. We learn about a teenage crush, a father and son duo who steal marble angel statues to make a living, an ocelot who was poached from her home and caught in a hurricane where she's left starving and unable to escape from her cage, a former slave who is trying to help her young daughters escape from being slaves themselves, a bayou who has seen it all, and some other points of view from others throughout Angel Thieves. I was constantly memorized by each chapter, and I was on pins and needles wondering what would happen next. It also helps that the author, Kathi Appelt, is such a fabulous writer who makes all her words come to life with her extraordinary talent! There weren't any major plot twists, but this isn't a book that needs to rely on plot twists to keep it interesting. The writing itself is strong enough to hold its own. There are no cliff hangers, but I would have liked to know a little more about Achsah and her children. There is some mention of them at the end, but I was heavily invested in Achsah's story where I really wanted to know more. However, this doesn't take away from the appeal of the book by no means. Because the prose is so beautifully written, the pacing flows very well. The chapters are mostly all short as well, so it's easy to read this book in one sitting. The world building was done fantastically, and it was obvious that Kathi Appelt had done her research when it came to the plot of her story. In fact, I even learned something when it came to Texas history! I'm also grateful that Kathi Appelt included an author's note at the end of Angel Thieves. It's definitely worth reading even if you don't normally read author's notes. This will give you more of an insight about the real life history that her book is based upon.
I felt like the characters in Angel Thieves were well written and fleshed out perfectly. Kathi Appelt even made a bayou feel like a real person which goes to show how much of a talented writer she really is! I felt Soleil's frustrations with trying to get Cade's attention and her hurt when it came to losing someone close to her. I felt her joy when she was happy. Cade was a great character too. I loved his relationship with his dad. It was obvious how close the two were. It was interesting to see Cade's conflicting emotions when it came to stealing marble angels. One one hand, he wanted to make his dad happy, but he also knew that what they were doing wasn't right. I enjoyed reading about how he dealt with his feelings about that. Zorra, I absolutely loved. My heart went out to this lovely little ocelot who was helpless and taken from everything she'd ever known. I was always hoping she'd be rescued when her next chapter was up. Out of all the characters, my favorite to read about was Achsah. As a mother, I could relate to wanting to keep her children safe no matter what. As a former slave, she had her freedom when her master died, but her daughters were to become slaves to her master's friend. Achsah couldn't and wouldn't let this happen, so she risked everything to keep her girls safe. I felt like Achsah had the most interesting story to tell. I was constantly wishing good things for Achsah and her two little girls. Unfortunately, Achsah's story is based in truth on what happened with a lot of slaves during that horrible period in American history.
Trigger warnings for Angel Thieves include slavery, minor profanity, stealing, a mention of child rape (although not graphic), and some violence (nothing too graphic).
All in all, Angel Thieves is highly interesting read that is also partly educational. It definitely taught me things about Texas that I didn't even know, and I grew up in Texas! Angel Thieves also has such strong characters, and Kathi Appelt's love for this story is apparent on each page. I would definitely recommend Angel Thieves by Kathi Appelt to those aged 14 and older who love getting lost in a good book. This is one book that's very easy to get lost in! An easy 5 out of 5 stars for Angel Thieves!
--
(A special thank you to Kathi Appelt for providing me with a hardback of Angel Thieves in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
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