Mini Review: A Fairy Extraordinary Christmas Story by A.J. York

A Fairy Extraordinary Christmas Story by A.J. York

Release Date: November 27, 2015
Publisher:  Nova Sky Books
Format: ebook, 31 pages
Genre: Children’s Fantasy
Source: Author 
Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Upstairs in the Anderson’s attic there is chatter coming from the Christmas, Easter and Halloween boxes. Someone new has arrived. Tallulah the Christmas Fairy wakes to find herself attached to the top of a tree. She soon makes friends and has a magical first Christmas. Once the festivities are over, Tallulah finds herself in the attic with the other decorations from Easter and Halloween. Each year they watch the seasons change as they wait excitedly for their turn to go downstairs. Until one day new boxes appear and then the unthinkable happens. A Fairy Extraordinary Christmas Story is a magical and uplifting tale for the whole family.

This is a story about a Christmas fairy named Tallulah. Tallulah was created by an older couple and sold to a family to be put on top of a Christmas tree. The special thing about Tallulah is that she is alive! Soon she figures out that not only is she alive, but so are all the other Christmas, and other holiday, decorations. She makes new friends and figures out what she is for and what Christmas is all about.

Tallulah is around to be on top of the tree with all her friends for years. She watches the family she has come to know grow up and move on to be with their own families. Until one day when Christmas didn’t seem to come for the decorations. So the decorations took it into their own hands to make the holiday.

This was such a quick and cute Christmas story. I have read a couple other stories by this author and enjoyed both of those as well so I was more than happy to read and review this book when the author asked. If you have children, or like to read children’s books yourself, then I highly recommend checking out A.J’s books. 

*This was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

2B Tuesday #68

Where I highlight a book from my endless to-be-read list. Those books need love too!

What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy by Gregory Maguire

Release Date: September 11th 2007
Publisher:Candlewick Press
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 304
Genre: Young Adult/Children’s - Fantasy
Author: Website | Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository
Add it: Goodreads

From the author of the best-selling WICKED, a transporting tale-within-a-tale about the strange world of skibbereen — aka tooth fairies — and the universal need to believe.

A terrible storm is raging, and ten-year-old Dinah is huddled by candlelight with her brother, sister, and Cousin Gage, who is telling a very unusual tale. It’s the story of What-the-Dickens, a newly hatched orphan creature who finds he has an attraction to teeth, a crush on a cat named McCavity, and a penchant for getting into trouble. One day he happens upon a feisty girl skibberee who is working as an Agent of Change — trading coins for teeth — and learns that there is a dutiful tribe of skibbereen (call them tooth fairies) to which he hopes to belong. As his tale of discovery unfolds, however, both What-the-Dickens and Dinah come to see that the world is both richer and less sure than they ever imagined.

I found this book on the clearance shelf at Half Price Books. I only paid $1 for it. How can I pass up a $1 hardcover about a rogue tooth fairy?! Not gonna happen. I don’t know anything about this book except for what the synopsis says. I haven’t heard anyone talk about it but I will definitely read this eventually.  

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts?

Mini Review: Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer

Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer

Release Date: September 13th 2011
Publisher: National Geographic Children’s Books
Format: Hardcover

Pages: 144
Genre: Juvenile Non-fiction
Source: Library
Author: Website | Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository
Add it: Goodreads

In the little colonial town of Salem Village, Massachusetts, two girls began to twitch, mumble, and contort their bodies into strange shapes. The doctor tried every remedy, but nothing cured the young Puritans. He grimly announced the dire diagnosis: the girls were bewitched! And then the accusations began.

The riveting, true story of the victims, accused witches, crooked officials, and mass hysteria that turned a mysterious illness affecting two children into a witch hunt that took over a dozen people’s lives and ruined hundreds more unfolds in chilling detail in this young adult book by award-winning author and illustrator Rosalyn Schanzer.

With a powerful narrative, chilling primary source accounts, a design evoking the period, and stylized black-white-and-red scratchboard illustrations of young girls having wild fits in the courtroom, witches flying overhead, and the Devil and his servants terrorizing the Puritans, this book will rivet young readers with novelistic power.

Taught in middle and high schools around the U.S., the 17th-century saga remains hauntingly resonant as people struggle even today with the urgent need to find someone to blame for their misfortunes. 

In addition to the Sibert Honor, Witches! has been honored by the Society of Illustrators with their Original Art Award Gold Medal, has been named a Notable book by both the American Library Association and the National Council for the Social Studies, and was chosen one ofSchool Library Journal's 100 Magnificent Children's Books and one of Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Children's Books.

This is a children’s non-fiction book about the Salem Witch Trials. This book tells the stories of the victims and their families, the corrupt officials, and everything that went along with the trials. Over 20 people lost their lives, including 3 dogs, not to mention all the families whose lives were ruined because of it.

The whole witch trial fisasco started when two young girls came down with a strange illness that caused them to contort their bodies into strange shapes. The doctor tried everything to make it stop but had no success. He then decided that the girls were bewitched. The girls and many of their friends started pointing out people that they thought were witches. Then came people who had grudges against someone else. All these people were tried and decided they were guilty all from evidence that couldn’t be seen.

There is a lot of information crammed into this tiny book. The first few pages are pretty dense and could potentially lose a child’s focus but if they powered through that then they would probably like the book. The drawings are amazing. They are all black, white, and red and sort of a wood carving look. They are pretty creepy too. I actually learned quite a few things from this book. I highly recommend it if you are interested in the Salem Witch Trials! If not then at least for the drawings.

My Rating:

Mini Monday #55

It’s back! It went on short hiatus but it should be back for good now! I have taken away the “thumbs up, thumbs down” rating and have just started using my star rating system.

MINI MONDAY is where my oldest son and I read and review a couple children’s books every week.

The Dark by Lemony Snicket

Illustrated by Jon Klassen

Release Date: April 2nd 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 40
Source: Library
Author: Website | Facebook | Goodreads
Illustrator: Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository 

Add it: Goodreads

Laszlo is afraid of the dark. The dark is not afraid of Laszlo.

Laszlo lives in a house. The dark lives in the basement.

One night, the dark comes upstairs to Laszlo's room, and Laszlo goes down to the basement.

This is the story of how Laszlo stops being afraid of the dark.

This is a story about a young boy named Laszlo. Laszlo is afraid of the dark, specifically the dark in the basement. Then one night when the dark comes to Laszlo’s room, he has to go down the basement.

The illustrations are pretty simple but my son and I both enjoyed them. In this story the dark talks to Laszlo when it comes up to his room. It tells him where he needs to go. If I was a child and “the dark” started talking to me. I would be absolutely terrified. Laszlo doesn’t seem to have a problem though. I would think that if a child is already scared of the dark this could go either way on whether they like it or not.

My son said that he likes the book because at the start of the book Laszlo was afraid of the dark but at the end he wasn’t anymore. He also liked that the basement held the one thing that could actually make the dark go away.

I love any and all things Lemony Snicket (and a lot of other people must too because I was the 4th person on the waiting list at the library.) I had been wanting to read this ever since I saw it had been released so I think this is a good book to bring back Mini Monday on! 

Rating:

Sky High by Germano Zullo
Illustrated by Albertine

Release Date: November 21st 2012

Publisher: Chronicle Books
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 48
Source: Library
Author: Goodreads
Illustrator: Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository
Add it: Goodreads

In this charming illustrated tale, two competing neighbors begin embellishing their houses, only to find themselves caught up in a race to build the tallest, most decadent skyscraper featuring solid gold doors, diamond-encrusted pillars, grand ballrooms, expensive paintings, live tigers, and indoor swimming pools—with consequences inevitable, and not. Kids will love spotting the funny details hidden in this witty take on an age-old moral, while their parents—particularly any who've ever undertaken a remodel—will chuckle with recognition.

This story shows two neighbors that are in competition with each other to see who can build the bigger better house. It get extremely extravagant and somewhat unsteady. On left page you get the house of Agenor-Agobar Poirier de Chepelle. On the right page you get the house of Willigis Kittychy Junior. They start out with modest house but soon they are adding crazy things. Things like Stuffed Bengal tigers, glass chandeliers, moon rocks, and paintings from famous artists.

There is no story in this book. It is just the building of the two houses and some labels pointed to different objects. My son liked this book way more than I thought he would. I thought he would get bored but he was getting so excited pointing to different things. He would say that it wasn’t fair that these people had things that we don’t. haha.  I would say this book would be better suited for children that can read to themselves.

My Rating:

Book Blast & GIVEAWAY: Save Magic City by Rocsanne Shield

Save Magic City by Rocsanne Shield

Release Date: December 15th 2010
Publisher:  iUniverse
Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
Genre: Children’s fantasy
Author: Website |  Goodreads
Buy it: iUniverse
Add it: Goodreads

Hurled into the time flow by a banishing spell, 13th century Edmund lands into the USA, 2007, in answer to Leona’s fervent prayers for help to save her town.

The corporation employing the townspeople has left, the bank foreclosures have created whole streets of empty houses, people are leaving in droves… the town is slowly dying.

A black magician in his old time, Edmund is forbidden to do any magic if it is not for helping other people. He discovers and is fascinated by the magical powers of Internet and wants to bring instant relief to the townspeople, but Leona, who does not trust their dependency on magic, forbids him to do so.

Leo, Leona’s adoptive son, and his friends, Squirrel and Raccoon, accept the magic with enthusiasm and do their best to help the town to survive.

When misfortune strikes, Leona gives her blessing for Edmund to use his magic.

{About the Author}

Rocsanne Shield was born in Romania and traveled widely before settling in Canada. She spends her time among the flowers in her garden or at the computer writing more fantastic stories.


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