Lucky Breaks Review

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(More customer reviews)At age 10 Lucky Trimble survived running away from home, finding her Higher Power and all the craziness the town of Hard Pan, California --- population 43 --- has to offer. All of this, though, is nothing compared to what awaits her at 11 years old. After all, eleven is much more intrepid than only ten. The more Lucky looks for intrepidness, the more things seem the same --- or do they?
Lucky's best friend, Lincoln, is gaining recognition with his world-class knots. His latest obsession is safely hidden away for the upcoming International Guild of Knot Tyers contest that promises fame and the possibility of leaving Hard Pan --- and Lucky. Brigitte, Lucky's legal guardian, has created her own niche in Hard Pan with a delightful French cuisine restaurant open for lunch on the weekends. Everyone has a piece of advice for Brigitte as she continues to adapt to the American way of life while staying true to herself. Miles --- newly certifiable genius --- is excited to share his sixth birthday celebration with Lucky, and he wants the whole town invited.
Lucky has come to the conclusion, however, that only a girl best friend will truly make her 11th year unforgettable. Enter Paloma Wellborne, niece of a geologist who happens to stop at Brigitte's cafe for lunch on the way to surveying rock layers in the desert. Paloma and Lucky hit it off right away --- laughing hysterically at gifts for chickens, swimming lessons in a bucket, and other all-important girl conversations. When Paloma's parents agree to let Paloma spend the weekend, Lucky makes plans to impress her with all the wonders Hard Pan has to offer. Lucky plots to uncover the mystery surrounding the rather large box sitting in Short Sammy's yard, stay far away from Lincoln and Miles, bake over 50 cupcakes for the birthday celebration, and perhaps search for a long-lost broach hidden outside of Hard Pan.
While Lucky promised both Brigitte and Paloma's parents that she would make good decisions, Lucky also promised herself that she would be intrepid from now on. Lucky doesn't live up to her namesake, however, when things go unplanned and she puts both Paloma and herself in danger. Her fearlessness starts to break, and she is forced to make some tough decisions that impact others more than she had imagined.
Susan Patron created magic in her Newbery Award-winning THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY, and fans will not be disappointed with this rewarding sequel. Matt Phelan once again sprinkles elegant drawings throughout that bring an added depth to the story. I appreciate that as this series grows so do all of the characters. They have learned from their mistakes, but they still continue to make new ones. I also enjoyed the ease in reading the book. You feel as though you're tagging along with Lucky and are in the center of the action. It's a fast read, but a very rewarding one. LUCKY BREAKS is the second book in the Lucky trilogy, and readers can expect a satisfying conclusion in the future.
--- Reviewed by Benjamin Boche (bennyboche@hotmail.com)

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Life Lessons from a Ranch Horse Review

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(More customer reviews)This is simply a great book, whether you are a horse person or not. In fact, so far I have given it to all my friends and employees, none of which are "horsey", and they all love it! It's hard to put into words what I have learned from it and what I continue to learn each time I read it. (4 times so far) Suffice it to say that it is the best book I've read in the last two years, and maybe longer. However, I must also say if you buy this because you are looking for a horse training book per si, then you will most certainly be disappointed. It isn't a training book in the literal sense. Rather it opens doors to possibilities that are available to us all not just with horses, but more importantly, in our overall daily lives. If you are looking to find better ways to help your horse through understanding and communication, or simply to help improve your life in general, then this one is for you. The lessons to be gleaned from this book are simple but very powerful. Right up there with another one of my favorites, The Tao of Pooh. I HIGHLY recomend this book.

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Internationally renowned horse trainer Mark Rashid pays tribute to the horse that became his teacher.In Mark Rashid's fourth book, Life Lessons from a Ranch Horse, the teacher becomes the student when a nondescript, seven-year-old horse steps into his life. A famous horse trainer, known for listening to horses and working with them in a non-confrontational manner, Mark is faced with odd behavior from this horse, and he must reevaluate everything he understands about horses and about himself, as a trainer and as a person.Beginning with an untimely balk from Buck, who never falters, Mark tried to find out why it happened. Drawing on experiences as far reaching as the Navajo way and Japanese martial arts, Mark begins to piece together the workings of the mind of his horse. That process and the conclusions he reaches are the heart of this very personal story.What he finds challenges him to become a better horse trainer, but it also challenges him to become a better person. His argument that Buck, an everyday horse, has the ability to plan ahead and make choices in a consistent manner will challenge the reader to rethink his or her relationships with animals and way of dealing with life.In separate chapters, Mark describes the six life lessons he learned while working with Buck. Later in the book, he puts these lessons into practice, with topics such as blending, balance, and communication. Throughout the book, a philosophy of dealing with horses and of living life itself emerges.Mark's inimitable storytelling skills illuminate what Buck has to teach. Heart warming but gritty, Life Lessons From a Ranch Horse is not a conventional horse book. But, then again, Buck is not a conventional horse, nor is his owner a conventional horse trainer.

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Alan Wake Review

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(More customer reviews)It tells the same story of the game. It doesn't add anything At all to the story, it even removes some parts. The game is better. But it's the game in book form. Simple enough. No added extra's just Alan Wake for Xbox 360 told through words with a few grammar issues.
If you're the biggest Alan Wake fan ever, like me, you should get it. If you don't want to play the game, but you want the story, get it because the story's great!
If you're anything else, pass on this one and go by the Resident Evil books because they rule!

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The Dog Days of Charlotte Hayes Review

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(More customer reviews)When I was a boy, I was not a pet person, let alone a dog person. But it wasn't necessarily by choice. My parents were not pet people therefore, my sister and I grew up pet-less. After we went off to college my younger brother rescued a kitten from the tennis courts in town (high schoolers had been pelting it with tennis balls) and my parents allowed him to keep it. Figures! We leave and now the family takes in a pet! Since then, my sister and I have both taken in cats. It's funny how they can become such an important part of your family. In the past, a book like THE DOG DAYS OF CHARLOTTE HAYES would not have gotten much of a reaction out of me. But anymore, I have to turn the television channel when those sad abandoned pet commercials come on!
Charlotte Hayes is not a dog person. But somebody has to take care of Beauregard (the Saint Bernard her father bought because he just can't say "no" to a great deal). Since no one else in the family is jumping at the responsibility, Charlotte feels compelled to fill his water bowl daily, feed him, and rub his belly. But she doesn't like it. And Beauregard deserves a better life. A life he doesn't have to spend chained up in the backyard, rain or shine. He deserves a family that will love him and give him attention. A family with a yellow kitchen and a soft plaid dog bed, just like in Charlotte's dream. When her dad refuses to let Beauregard go (possibly to a family that will appreciate him), Charlotte takes it upon herself to make her dream a reality.
It'd be easy to describe this book as a "dog story" about a girl that doesn't like dogs. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what author Marlane Kennedy had in mind when pitching this idea. I think that would be a little misleading though, because it was obvious from page 1 that Charlotte is not quite as annoyed by the furry canine as she claims to be. Sure she tells us through her fun, first-person narrative, that her care for Beauregard is more out of pity than kindness, but her actions speak louder than words. There's something sweet in the way Charlotte talks to Beauregard, in the way she bathes him with her sister Agnes' strawberry shampoo, and how she builds him a makeshift extension for the roof of his too-small doghouse to help keep him dry during rainstorms. The pride she feels in successfully teaching Beauregard how to "shake" and her change in sleeping habits near the end of the novel prove there's more than pity behind her actions. She loves this dog, which makes her mission all the more heartwrenching.
I couldn't help but feel annoyed with the adults in this novel, especially Charlotte's father. Time and time again, he proves to be lazy, immature, and selfish. He neglectfully forgets to take care of Beauregard, but argues profusely to keep him. I didn't understand it. One particularly infuriating scene takes place at a garage sale (Daddy loves a good bargain). Charlotte wants her Daddy to buy a set of paints for her. Daddy doesn't want to buy them until he overhears a couple talking about how great of a deal they are. Daddy then buys the paints . . . but not for Charlotte! For himself! Never once has he shown an interest in painting, and suddenly he buys up a set of paints that his daughter wanted and rubs it in her face by using them all in front of her. Sure by the end of the book Charlotte has moved on but seriously . . . what kind of parent does that?
Later, after Charlotte's scheme is revealed to her parents, they agree to give her three months to raise enough dough ($400) to send Beauregard to a proper Saint Bernard rescue organization. In doing so, she's sacrificing her birthday gifts for the year. Mama even jokes "Well, after she's done paying for him, she should be responsible for buying his bags of dog food too." Who taught these two how to parent? Someone forgot to remind them that THEY were the ones to purchase the dog and that THEY were the ones too irresponsible to take care of it. So now it's okay to take out their frustrations on the poor kid who's trying to make the best of the situation? They are insane!
Despite their poor parenting skills, I really enjoyed this tearjerker of a book. It's short chapters make for a quick and easy read and the touching scenes between Charlotte and Beauregard are great. I got the feeling that this book was set smack dab in the middle of a chaotic time for this family. New baby, new dog, lots of new challenges and by the end of the book, you sense a return to normalcy for this family, even though we don't really know what their normal is. Daddy annoyed me throughout but Mama's transformation from post pardem depression is believable. The character of Petunia was necessary for Charlotte to see Beauregard in a different light. Petunia's loneliness paralleled Beauregard's loneliness nicely and forces Charlotte to own up to her growing feelings for the dog.
Couple this book with ME AND THE PUMPKIN QUEEN and I think Marlane Kennedy is an author worth paying attention to.

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Frommer's Best RV and Tent Campgrounds in the U.S.A. (Frommer's Best RV & Tent Campgrounds in the U.S.A.) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm getting ready to retire. I wanted a listing of those out of the way places that I always had to pass up on my travels. They ain't in this book!
I was sorely disappointed in what I found here. They list a lot of campgrounds but they only review about 1 in 10 or 1 in 15. I wanted listings of campgrounds in West Texas. While the maps gave their designation for an RV park...not one of them was reviewed. No names, contact numbers or anything that would really help.
On the other hand, if you want to stay in a state park or BLM site, this books for you. It really does cover those in great detail. In the few private parks they reviewed, the work again was detailed.
The advertisement for this book did not elaborate on what was there...it just led you to believe it was a complete listing...which it was not.
If you are looking for a more thorough listing, Trailer Life or Woodalls provides much more comprehensive cover of ALL the campgrounds they list private or not.

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Covers campgrounds in every state except Hawaii
One out of every ten vehicle-owning households in the U.S. owns an RV, and 150 million Americans enjoy camping
Reviews nearly 5,000 campgrounds that accommodate RVers and families traveling by car
Includes "Campground Awards" for privacy, cleanliness, security, facilities, and best setting
Formerly titled The Unofficial Guide to the Best RV and Tent Campgrounds in the U.S.A.

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Telling Christina Goodbye Review

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(More customer reviews)Telling Christina Goodbye is the story of three teens, Trisha, Cody and Tucker, struggling to move on through senior year after their lives are changed one night in a fatal accident leading to the death of their close friend Christina. Tucker Hanson, Christina's demanding boyfriend, was driving the four of them home one night when his car hit a patch of black-ice and over-turned killing Christina, leaving Cody in a coma, injuring Trisha, but barely sratching Tucker. Trisha struggles to remeber the detials of that horrifying night, but can't. Was it really an accident? Will they find the will to move on? Telling Christina Goodbye will keep you keep you turning the page again and again! This is must read!

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Strawberry Fields: A Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)it doesn't matter much to me
Let me take you down, 'cos I'm going to Strawberry Fields
I approached Marina Lewycka's "Strawberry Fields" with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. Lewycka's first novel, A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian, was a first-rate farce, a brilliant book. Second novels are challenging, both for the author and for the reader. The author is challenged to live up to the promise of her first work. The reader is challenged by virtue of his own heightened expectation and anticipation that the second work will match the qualities of the first novel. Happily, Lewycka was up to the task and "Strawberry Fields" was a funny, satisfying book to read.
The title refers to the strawberry fields found in Kent, England which during the summer are populated by migrant agricultural workers from Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia. The story opens with the arrival of a new worker, Irina, in a strawberry field in Kent, England. Irina is a young girl straight off the bus from Kiev. She is teamed up with a motley group of workers from Poland (Yola, Tomasz, and Marta), Ukraine (Andriy), Malawi (Emanuel), and China (known to the crew only as Chinese Girls One and Two). The field has two trailers for the crew to sleep in - one for the women and one for the men. (The book's title in the UK is "Two Caravans).
Life for migrant agricultural workers in England is no picnic but Irina and her fellow workers form a familial bond - one that is quirky and dysfunctional but very touching and well-drawn. A minor dispute with the field's farmer evolves into something close to a full-blown riot and the next thing you know Irina and her gang flee their trailers and embark on an adventure that takes them from Kent to a horrid chicken processing plant to London and Sheffield and points north. It isn't hard to think of Strawberry Fields as a contemporary Canterbury Tales - as played with an Eastern European accent and influenced by the comic sensibility of Monty Python. This is not to compare Lewycka to Chaucer by any means. But each character has a tale to tell (including a mongrel dog they pick up along the way - and Lewycka does a great job translating dog talk into English!) and their tales are funny and moving.
I cannot say that Strawberry Fields is a better book than Tractors in Ukrainian. They are both excellent but they are different in many respects though. Where Tractors focused on one family, specifically two sisters, Strawberry Fields has a much bigger cast. There were a couple of instances where the book lost some of its narrative power because it was diffused among too many characters. That said, Strawberry Fields manages to combine humor and whimsy in telling a story that could easily pass for tragedy. That is not an easy line to walk but Lewycka does so with skill and grace. The book's dedication "[t]o the Morecambe Bay Cockle-pickers" an accident where 21 migrant workers from China were drowned in the north of England indicates that Lewycka is well aware of the plight of Britain's invisible laborers.
All in all, I was very happy with Strawberry Fields. It was tragedy played as farce and when that is done well, as it was here, it can have a very powerful effect. Highly recommended. L. Fleisig


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Twilight Eyes Review

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(More customer reviews)Carl Stanfeuss was born with Twilight Eyes, a color his grandmother said foretold of psychic abilities. After murdering his uncle Denton at the tender age of seventeen, Carl flees Oregon, shedding his name to become Slim MacKenzie, and join up with the Sombra Brothers Carnival. Of course, it wasn't bad that he murdered his uncle ... because his uncle was one of Them. The goblins.
From his psychic abilities, Slim can see the piggish, doggish faces of the goblins hiding underneath the façade of normal humans. They live off the pain and suffering of others, gathering with glee at fires, accidents, shootings, and disasters.
Once with Sombra Brothers, Slim goes to work for concessionaire Rya Raines running the High-Striker, and falls in love with the icy beauty. Among the others he meets is enigmatic freak Joel Tuck (the most compelling character in the book), and after discovering both Joel and Rya can see the "goblins" also, they set a plan in motion to infiltrate one of the horrid monster's nests in the town of Yontsdown. Unsure if they can actually rid the world of the beasts, Slim and Rya plan to extract vengeance from them for the death of Jelly Jordan, one of their friends.
The book has an explosive culmination that won't leave you disappointed. The "goblins" are all too easy to imagine from Koontz's descriptions, and the depictions of carnival life well fleshed out without being overdone. Joel Tuck is my favorite character, Koontz describing the freak's appearance as "God having a bad day" or, worse, "fun with molding flesh".
Koontz doesn't usually write in first person, which makes this a unique novel among all the others he's done. Its also an earlier novel of his, written before he developed a 'Stephen King' predilection for 'verbal diarrhea', overwriting his stories to the point where prose overcame the actual story. 'Twilight Eyes' is an adventuresome novel with a unique storyline and well written enough to keep you up all night long. I highly recommend it. Enjoy!


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When Zachary Beaver Came to Town Review

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(More customer reviews)Zachary Beaver is a novel of many charms, not the least of which is Ms. Holt's penchant and skill at characterization of quirky small-town America. Her adult characters, especially, ring true with the foibles and idiosyncracies that we all have. Holt does this as well as Carson McCullers did. However, Zachary Beaver is less successful the younger the characters get, especially on an emotional level, which should never happen with a novel for young adults. An example? Young Toby's mother sends word that she's not coming home from Nashville. Any 13 year old would be emotionally devastated. Toby is barely budged. Similarly, when his best friend's older brother dies in Vietnam. Should be devastating, does not play that way. Add to this the book's fairly predictable plot and leisurely pacing, and you have a book that many middle and high school kids are going to get assigned but not be aching to finish. Of those who say this is a better novel for adults, this reader agrees.

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Let's Pretend This Never Happened (Dear Dumb Diary, No. 1) Review

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(More customer reviews)My almost 8yr old daughter begged me to buy this series for her after she saw the catchy title and cover in the store. I consider myself a pretty laid back mom, but I feel that this series is very inappropriate for children. I read about halfway through the first book with my daughter and was very uncomfortable with how the writer was labeling peers as dorks, losers and rating them on the popularity scale. I also did not find it funny at all how the young girl in the book seemed to have a hateful obsession toward a "popular" girl in her school. The more I read, the more I felt like these books needed to go back to the store. Now to be fair, my daughter thought the books were funny and entertaining; however, the moment she called her little sisters losers and threatened to cut their hair off with scissors- that made up my mind!

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Take a peek inside the diaries of Jamie Kelly!She's cool (sometimes), nice (mostly), and funny (always).Kid-friendly humor & art, along w/JKBenton's signature style make this series a standout!

Read the hilarious, candid (& sometimes mean) diaries of Jamie Kelly, who promises that everything in her diary is true...or at least as true as it needs to be.In this book, Jamie contends with Angeline, the school's prettiest, most popular girl (who Jamie thinks is a goon!) and the impending visit of her troll-like little cousin.Will Jamie survive? Will she go mad?Will she send her mom's nasty casserole to starving children in Wheretheheckistan?You'll just have to read the first installment of Dear Dumb Diary to find out!

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The Secret of the Mansion (Trixie Belden #1) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is a wonderful introduction to a great series of books for young girls. I read the first six when I was 10 years old, and I fell in love with Trixie and her friends. Those stories were written by Julie Campbell in the 1950's and republished in the 1960's. Kathryn Kenny took over with book seven in the late '60's. Readers will notice a change in Trixie's personality and in the focus of the stories. Kenny introduces more of the history of the Hudson River Valley, and includes more facts and less of the banter and teasing that made me so fond of the original books. However, the books which Kenny continued writing into the '70's and the '80's, which I bought for my daughter, are entertaining, if not quite as much fun as the original six. The Red Trailer Mystery, the sequal to the Secret of the Mansion, is also a must to read for anyone who wants to get the full story of how Jim came to be Honey's adopted brother, The Gatehouse Mystery explains the formation of the Bob White club, The Mysterious Visitor chronicles the advent of Diana Lynch into the group. Book five, The Mystery Off Glen Road is a personal favorite of mine, an absolutely hilarious book telling of Trixie's attempts to become a 'lady', not to impress Jim, but for such convoluted reasons that she has her entire family in an uproar. I hope that like the Nancy Drew mysteries, some publisher who knows a good thing when he sees it, will update the Trixie Belden books and republish them for the next generation. I would hate to see this series that has brought so much pleasure and happiness to so many girls be lost forever.

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The Dead Ringer Review

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(More customer reviews)In a lateral logic puzzle, the author gives you a set of seemingly incongruous facts forming a "fair play" mystery. If you can fit the facts together correctly, you can solve the mystery.
"Dead Ringer" is a lateral logic puzzle. All the pertinent facts are there. You just have to recognize which ones are relevant and the solution is obvious. At least it's obvious after Ed and Am Hunter explain how the facts fit together.
A naked midget is found stabbed to death at the carnival. Later a chimpanzee drowns, and finally a child dies. Through the first two deaths, Ed and Am Hunter mind their own business. The third death stirs them to action, and the mystery is quickly solved. They arrive at the solution independently, but Am gets there a little quicker than Ed.
It's not great detective fiction, but it will give the reader an insight into life in the fifties--inside and outside a carnival. Ed and Am form a congenial team. Not quite on a par with Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe, but likeable nonetheless.

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In most murder cases, the setting stays put, if nothing else. But when murder comes to visit the J. C. Hobart travelling carnival, the entire operation has moved town before Captain Weiss can gather any tangible leads. For young Ed Hunter, the case throws him together with a gorgeous redhead from the posing show, but as another murder occurs, and then a third, he and his Uncle Am find their hands full with more than just their ball game concession. In a strange atmosphere of freak shows, show girls, and an escaped chimpanzee, Ed and Uncle Am take it upon themselves to find the killer on the loose - a killer who chooses his victims according to size.

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Coyote Moon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Book 3) Review

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(More customer reviews)John Vornholt really impressed me with this first rate teen thriller based on the tv show. This book didn't take me that long to read - thats only because I couldn't put it down. I strongly reccommend this to teens and Buffy fans.
It is about Buffy, Willow and Xander eager to take a break from slaying vampires and what-not so they take a trip to the carnival that's come to Sunnydale, only to find out the two sexiest carnies are actually werecoyotes!
Awesome book - don't let this fly by!

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The seedy carnival looks just the thing to give Buffy and her best friends, Xander and Willow, a break from staking bloodsuckers. But Buffy senses something evil behind the show. Can she find out what's going on before it's to late?

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Hoot Review

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(More customer reviews)I love Hiaasen's novels about Florida and all of the zany characters he creates to tell his pro-ecology stories. When I saw he had written another one I reflexivly one clicked to have it sent to me. When I got it I thought it was a tad smaller in size than the usual novel one buys in hardcover and the print seemed to be a little large, but no matter as I dove into the saga of Roy Eberhardt.
I was perhaps a couple of chapters into the book when I noticed on the fly leaf that it was a Children's Book of the Month Club selection. Really? Well, I was enjoying and as I continued to read through it I continued to be drawn along with the story of the new boy from Montana being introduced to both the beauty of Florida and it's not so beautiful experiences with developers.
In this story the guys in black work for a Pancake House conglomerate called, Mother Paula's All American Pancake House. They intend to open their 469th family style restaurant on a piece of property in Coconut Grove. The fences are up. The construction trailer is on the site. The bulldozers have arrived. All appears to be ready for construction to begin. Then things start to happen. First all the survey markers are pulled up and all the stake holes are filled in.The air is let out of the construction vehiles tires. Alligators (small ones) are put in the out house toilets. No work is being done. The date for a grand opening is approaching. Who is doing this and why are no mystery to the reader, but they are a serious question to the construction foreman, Curly, police officer Delinko and Curly's boss at headquarters, Chuck Muckle. Of course, Mother Paula's is about to be constructed on land on which there a bunch of burrowing owls. Mother Paula's people know it. No one else does until a very unusual "hero" sets in motion a wonderful string of events which leads to a predictable but very humorous conclusion.
It may have been written for children, but what the heck - we are all kids at heart.

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By the Great Horn Spoon Review

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(More customer reviews)When I was nine, I read this book. At age 40, I read the same copy to my children, ages ten and eight. As much as I enjoyed reading it the first time, reading it out loud was a much richer experience.
The writing flows naturally, and encourages a great variation in expression. The adventure truly comes out in the reader's voice. I am an actor, but I felt that this story would bring out the actor in anybody.
The story was so exciting and surprising that long reading sessions never dragged. At several points, my children threw themselves down on the floor and yelled, "Oh my gosh!"
This experience brought it all together for me, if I may speak personally: books, performing, involvement with my children, a classic story that I relished as a child myself. Those evenings added up to the happiest time of my life.
The plot concerns a boy who runs away during the California gold rush--with his butler!--to try to get his family out of debt. The adventures along the way are episodic, and each episode is an amazing and believable story in itself. Every step in the journey is given full attention: the voyage from Boston to San Francisco, the trip to the gold fields, the experiences among the miners. There are plenty of colorful characters, and plenty of opportunities for the two main characters to grow. There are also several threads that run through the whole story, maintaining suspense. Their resolution is unpredictable and satisfying.
There was very little in the book that could make a parent squirm, and very little that sounded out of date. But there were three moments that made me pause: 1) There is a fist fight, though it is handled in a light-hearted way. 2) There is a reference to corporal punishment when an adult threatens to "take a hairbrush" to a child. 3) There is an expression used once that might be innocent for all I know, but sure doesn't sound that way: "That's mighty white of you."
Minor reservations, I hope you'll agree. So plunge in and have an experience you and your listeners will never forget.

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2011 Exit Now: Interstate Exit Directory Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is the best. We have an RV and the ability to know ahead of time where you plan to get gas or take a rest break has been marvelous. Often times it is difficult to find a gas station that is laid out well enough to maneuver a large rig in. This solves that problem most of the time. I really like that the interstates are listed from start to finish across all states rather than state by state, interstate by interstate. No flipping pages whenever you cross a state line. In summary, terrific book!!!

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It's a Book Review

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(More customer reviews)As a picture book for grown ups, It's a Book is clever and well illustrated, easily a 4/5. However, it is being marketed to children four to eight years old. As the mother of two children in that age range, and a former third grade teacher, I find that strange. The concept is great, but the execution is so-so. First off, children aren't as familiar with that technology (blogs are for grown ups.) As people who grew up with technology AND printed books all around them, they just aren't worried about the death of the publishing industry. So, much of it goes over their heads, and then it ends with the word jackass (which is going to offend a number of parents, keep it off library shelves, etc.) I can't imagine recommending this book to other families with little kids. However, I can think of lots of adults and snarky teenagers who would adore it.

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