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The Panda Chronicles Coloring Book
The Panda Chronicles Coloring Book
Anne Belov | 2015 | Humor & Comedy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Review with image example can be found here: https://hazelstainer.wordpress.com/2016/07/15/who-says-pandas-are-black-and-white/

Who says pandas are all black and white?

Anne Belov is a satirical cartoonist with an obsession for pandas. She has published several books in <i>The Panda Chronicles</i> and has now produced a colouring book to go with the series. Pandas may seem like a peculiar subject for a colouring book since they are, as Belov puts it, “chromatically challenged,” however the world around them is bursting with different tints and shades.

The pandas featured in <i>The Panda Chronicles</i> are not the typical bears you might see in a zoo, or endangered in the wild. Anne Belov’s pandas get up to all sorts of mischief. In this colouring book you can expect to find pandas in all sorts of locations, wearing a variety of odd outfits, taking part in highly suspicious activities. So despite monochromatic fur, there is so much to add colour to.

<i>The Panda Chronicles Colouring Book</i> contains approximately 60 single sided illustrations. Although the paper feels quite thin, the lack of anything on the reverse means that it is safe to use any medium you wish to fill the drawing with colour.

Belov’s drawing approach is not the typical style of the hundreds of colouring books you see in stores – i.e. thick, precise lines and patterns. Belov sticks to her sketchy manner that she has used in all the chronicles thus far. In fact there is reason to believe (although do not quote this) that many of the illustrations are from the original books. While standing out in such a niche market, these particular pages may be more difficult to colour in. Some contain many scribbles rather than clear objects, however that does not detract from the overall fun guaranteed with this book.

Pandas in unconventional settings are a great cause for hilarity and satire. Not only is it funny that these bears are parodying human life, but the things they are up to are highly amusing. One particularly comical scene contains a mother panda telling her child off for being the cause of the <b>LEANING</b> Tower of Pisa, to which the youngster protests, “I didn’t do it! It was leaning when we got here!” The wittiness continues throughout the remainder of the book.

I bought this book hoping it would be suitable for my “pandamaniac” friend, who on occasion tells farcical stories about her (imaginary) friend <i>Miss Panda</i>. Anne Belov’s colouring book is the absolutely perfect present for her. It is almost as if the scenes are written/drawn about <i>Miss Panda</i> herself, despite the artist and my friend having never met… Unless… oh the horror! Maybe <i>Miss Panda</i> IS real!
  
Scrappy Little Nobody
Scrappy Little Nobody
Anna Kendrick | 2016 | Biography
6
8.0 (13 Ratings)
Book Rating
I was first introduced to Anna Kendrick from the movie Pitch Perfect. She was a cute little nobody who made a place for herself in the acapella world. Although my favorite movie of her is The Accountant with Ben Affleck. I really enjoyed this book which I think was made even better with her reading it. It chronicles her life from growing up in Maine to getting jobs in low budget movies, and theater productions. I didn't know she had done so much before Pitch Perfect. The book was funny and she made you feel like you were sitting down to talk to your best friend.
  
TG
The Guest (The Chosen Chronicles #0.5)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is a short story than can be read alone or can go along with "The Chosen Chronicles" series. The Guest, from the title, is residing at a Buddhist monastery, and the reader gets to see how he handles the ideas of Death, Karma, and Reincarnation, especially when they deal with someone he considers a close friend.

While the story is only a few pages in length, the imagery is wonderful, and I could fully visualize the monastery, the monks, and the Guest. This little snippet makes me want to dive right into the series and read more of Ms. Dales' work right away!
  
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
C.S. Lewis | 2009 | Children
8
8.2 (60 Ratings)
Book Rating
Going by publication date the first of CS Lewis's 'Chronicles of Narnia' series; this is the second by the authors own reading-order guide and the most famous of the entire series.

It is, of course, very easy to see the Christian allegory throughout the course of the story, which tells of how Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy first came to the magical land of Narnia (through the wardrobe): a land which is under perpetual snow and ice due to the White Witch - always Winter; never Christmas - before being freed by the children under the guidance and with the help of Aslan the Lion.
  
The third in Michael Arnold's <i>Civil War Chronicles</i>, again following the exploits of Captain Stryker and his men, who are fighting for the (doomed) Royalist cause.

At the start of this particular entry, Stryker and his men are unknowingly behind enemy lines, after the cessation of a brief truce. This novel could also be split into three main sections: the first dealing with their journey back to their own side of the lines, the second with what is effectively a siege that they are forced to undergo while on that journey, and the final part with the battle of Stratton.

As before, this was a thoroughly entertaining read!