A Giraffe and a Half by Shel Silverstein

3 stars A fun, silly tale that builds nicely. It starts with a boy and a giraffe then continues to add elements in the same vein as There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Each addition is paired with a new illustration, which helps break up the repetition of the text. Humorous story that…

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Grumpy Unicorn: Why Me? by Joey Spiotto

3 stars A humorous book filled with sass and sarcasm. The illustrations are very fun. Colorful, silly, and full of grumpiness. This book introduces readers to Grumpy Unicorn. It consists of short comics with a variety of themes such as holidays, daily activities, and travel. Great for fans of non-traditional unicorns. A quick, fun read…

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Up to No Ghoul (The Ghoul Next Door #2)

By Cullen Bunn Illustrations by Cat Farris 4 stars A fantastic follow-up to the wonderfully creepy The Ghoul Next Door. This one picks up right where the last one left off, with Grey and Lavinia forced apart. But when a new threat rolls in to Ander’s Landing, they must break the rules to save the town….

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Pure Sea Glass: Discovering Nature’s Vanishing Gems

by Richard LaMotte Photography by Celia Pearson 4 stars A great resource for learning more about sea glass. Provides details about the origin, history, and prevalence of different colors and types of glass. Also provides details for identification of bottles, tableware, flat glass, marbles, insulators, and more. There is also a section that breaks down…

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Aster and the Mixed-Up Magic (Aster, #2) by Thom Pico

Illustrated by Karensac 5 stars A wonderful follow-up to Aster’s adventures in book one. This volume includes new perils, some familiar characters, and tons of adventure. As with the first book, this one is broken into two interconnected tales, each with magic, danger, and Aster’s quick-thinking. Karensac’s artwork is spectacular. Loved seeing new character designs…

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Primates

The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas by Jim Ottaviani, Illustrated by Maris Wicks 2 stars I really wanted to love this book. The illustrations are great, often working in details that aren’t touched on in the text. I love the focus on women in science and their extraordinary passion. However,…

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Death & Sparkles by Rob Justus

3 stars A chaotic adventure featuring Death, a unicorn celebrity, and a trio of alien lizards looking to better humanity. Fun humor, adorable artwork, and an unexpected (yet sweet) new friendship. Having Death as a main character, it does dive into some dark humor at times, but has a unique balance with Sparkles rounding it…

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Mushrooming with Confidence

A Guide to Collective Edible and Tasty Mushrooms by Alexander Schwab 4 stars A helpful beginner’s guide to foraging and identifying mushrooms. Schwab provides information on how to confidently identify a mushroom based on specific characteristics. Because of this, Schwab does not give information on lookalikes, focusing on positively identifying the mushroom in front of…

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Lily and the Night Creatures by Nick Lake

Illustrated by Emily Gravett 3 stars Dealing with her own chronic illness and feelings of inadequacy, Lily is not looking forward to the addition of a new baby in the house. But when she returns home to find a mom who is not quite her mother and a dad who is not quite her father,…

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Deadendia: The Broken Halo (Deadendia #2)

by Hamish Steele 5 stars Another perfect volume from Hamish Steele. Action-packed with a whirlwind of character development. Following the aftermath of the destruction of Dead End, the characters mostly split up and have their own adventures. Barney and Logs find out happily-ever-after has a few road bumps, Norma works to control her new ghost…

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