Review: Roar Like a Dandelion by Ruth Krauss

Title: Roar Like a Dandelion
Author: Ruth Krauss
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publish Date: October 1, 2019
Source: PR

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "From Ruth Krauss, the children’s book author of The Carrot Seed and A Hole Is to Dig, comes this never-before-published ABC book of one-liners—brought to life by artist Sergio Ruzzier.

Dance with a leaf.

Jump like a raindrop.

Sit in the sun and shine."

My Two Cents: 

"Roar Like a Dandelion" is an off the beaten path alphabet book with adorable drawings. With my four year old girls being in Pre-K, the alphabet and letters are big news in our household. My girls are learning to write and it is both cute and amazing at the same time. With the alphabet getting so much play at the A Bookish Affair household, we go through alphabet books at an alarming rate. Many of them seem the same so I'm appreciative of alphabet books that have something going for them like this one. This one has really funny things for each letter. Some of them are noises (like roaring like a dandelion however they roar) and others paint really lovely pictures in our heads. Because this is not your standard alphabet fare, it allowed me to ask my girls a lot of questions about what they think of certain things in the book and also acting them out. 

This was a really fun book and it's one that my girls ask for again and again! I also really love the art in the book - all of the little critters are so cute!

 

Reading Challenge Update!

As a reminder, I am aiming to read a book from or set in each country the Department of State recognizes, which is 195 countries!
 

This was another really good month! There are so many places that don't seem to have much literature that has been translated into English. Rather than move towards a lot of non-fiction, I have started to read poetry from some of the countries that it has been more difficult to find books for! I don't read much poetry so this has been a great exercise to broaden my horizons!

 

I read books from this many countries in October:

17

You can check out my progress on my map or see a list of where and what I'm reading here.

I have read 104 books for this challenge so far.

Take a look at my list! What else should I be reading?

HFVBT Review: The Highlander's Christmas Bride by Vanessa Kelly

Title: The Highlander's Christmas Bride
Author: Vanessa Kelly
Format: ARC
Publisher: Kensington/ Zebra
Publish Date: October 29, 2019
Source: HFVBT

 

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Being thrown over by the man she expected to marry was humiliating enough. Now that Donella Haddon, grandniece of the Earl of Riddick, has also proven a failure as a nun, she has no choice but to return to her family's estate. The brawny Highlander sent to escort her is brash, handsome, and the only thing standing between Donella and a gang of would-be kidnappers. But the scandal in her past can't be so easily outrun...

Wealthy widower Logan Kendrick was expecting to meet a plain, pious spinster—not a gorgeous, sharp-tongued lass who can hold her own in any ambush. Though she's known as the Flower of Clan Graham, Donella is no shrinking violet. In fact, she might be the perfect woman to bring happiness back to his lonely little son's life, just in time for Christmas.  But first he must protect her from ugly gossip and a mysterious threat—and convince her that their wild, unexpected desire is heaven sent."

My Two Cents:

"The Highlander's Christmas Bride" is a tasty holiday confection about Donella, a woman who finds herself back home after failing to become a nun like she originally planned. She is being protected by Logan Kendrick, a man who is not expecting to have to protect someone like Donella. She is not a weak, fainting lady. Logan quickly realizes that the unexpected is just what he needs.

We still have just under two months until Christmas and with the weather starting to feel chilly, I've been looking for books like this one to warm me up. Romance just feels really good to read as a bit of an escape when the holiday rush starts. When I saw Vanessa Kelly's name on this book, I knew that I would be in good hands!

This is the second book in the Clan Kendrick series but it is very much a standalone book and you don't need to have read the previous books. This book has a lot of the hallmarks of Vanessa Kelly's other books such as the great romance between our main characters, Logan and Donella. I loved seeing how these characters grew throughout the book and how their relationship changed throughout the book. This was certainly a festive way to welcome the season!

 

Review: Epic Journeys: 245 Life-Changing Adventures by National Geographic

Title: Epic Journeys: 245 Life-Changing Adventures
Author: National Geographic
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: National Geographic
Publish Date: October 22, 2019
Source: TLC Book Tours and PR

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "From navigating the class-five rapids of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon to sandboarding the slopes of a volcano in Nicaragua to dogsledding in the Arctic, this beautiful and comprehensive book offers trips of a lifetime for explorers and adrenaline junkies alike. Filled with more than 300 vivid photographs, this inspirational guide reveals over 225 of the planet's best destinations for hikers, skiers, divers, rafters, and more. You'll also find everything you need to know for the ultimate epic journey: what to see, when to go, and what to do. Combining adventure with cultural experiences--for example, a safari through Madagascar or visiting the ruins of Buddhist temples after sea kayaking the warm waters of Vietnam--this one-of-a-kind collection, complemented by top ten lists and adventurer essays covering everything from the best hiking trails to the top wildlife parks, will lead you to new heights of exploration."

My Two Cents:

"Epic Journeys" is a full-color guide to some of the most stunning, fantastic, and downright drool-worthy trips in the entire world! Lovingly put together by trusted travel connoisseur National Geographic, this is a beautiful guide to some very bucket list worthy trips. This is the perfect book to inspire your next grand adventure!

Broken down into sections dedicated to different areas of the world, this book is very easy to navigate. The book includes gorgeous pictures of various destinations. It also includes itineraries for different places as well as stories from some National Geographic writers who have been there and done ALL of that. I also really liked the inclusion of top ten lists for a variety of topics to include safaris and bird-watching. Some of the places I was familiar with but this book also explores a lot of corners of the world that I was unfamiliar with. I must have added a bazillion places that to my to-travel-to list. It was hard to find a trip in this book that didn't sound amazing and like the trip of a lifetime!


This book is absolutely gorgeous and would make a great gift for those in your life that love to travel! It's definitely a book that I know that I am going to want to revisit over and over again. My only criticism is that the book didn't come with unlimited plane tickets to at least get me started on traveling to all of these amazing places!!!

Review: The Museum of Lost Love by Gary Barker

Title: The Museum of Lost Love
Author: Gary Barker

Format: Paperback
Publisher: World Editions
Publish Date: October 1, 2019
Source: PR

What’s the Story?:

Katia and Goran are in love. Tyler is in therapy. On a summer trip to Zagreb, the couple discover an unusual museum—a museum that displays mementos of broken relationships. Inside, Goran stumbles upon an exhibit that seems to be addressed to him, from a girl he met in a Sarajevo refugee camp at age fourteen. What follows is a whirlwind summer of reconnecting with lost pasts: Goran confronts the youth he lost during the Yugoslav Wars, Katia heads to Brazil to find her roots, and Afghanistan veteran Tyler pours out his soul. Set against alternating backdrops of violent circumstances, this novel is a soulful testament to the uncontainable flourishing of the human heart.

My Two Cents:

“The Museum of Lost Love” is a love story and being vulnerable enough to let love in even when it seems like love will just bite you back. This is a story about Katie, a woman who knows little of her background, and Goran, who constantly seems to be running from his background and from the horrific experiences that he had as a young child during the Yugoslav Wars. It’s also the story of Tyler, a veteran of the Afghanistan War, who is back home and very much still trying to get used to what life looks like after war where things may be even more difficult.

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to see how the stories intertwine with each other. They mesh together in some really unexpected ways. I was definitely drawn to both stories. We get to see Katia and Goran grapple with their pasts in order to define their futures. We see Tyler figure out what really matters when it comes to his son and how they move together as a family.

The writing of the book is really good. I loved how the story lines were interspersed with stories from the Museum of Lost Love. These little vignettes cover all sorts of different story lines and some of them are really poignant. I was amazed with how much the author was able to pack into such a small amount of space.  The vignettes cover all different  types of love.  The author is at his best when he’s showing the inner motivations of each character. All the characters feel very real and the mauIn characters are ones I will be thinking about for a long time!

TLC Book Tours: Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution by Multiple Authors

Title: Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution 
Authors: Kate Quinn, Sophie Perinot, Stephanie Dray, Heather Webb, Laura Kamoie, and E. Knight
Format: Paperback
Publisher: William Morrow
Publish Date: October 1, 2019
Source: TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "In late eighteenth-century France, women do not have a place in politics. But as the tide of revolution rises, women from gilded salons to the streets of Paris decide otherwise—upending a world order that has long oppressed them.

Blue-blooded Sophie de Grouchy believes in democracy, education, and equal rights for women, and marries the only man in Paris who agrees. Emboldened to fight the injustices of King Louis XVI, Sophie aims to prove that an educated populace can govern itself--but one of her students, fruit-seller Louise Audu, is hungrier for bread and vengeance than learning. When the Bastille falls and Louise leads a women’s march to Versailles, the monarchy is forced to bend, but not without a fight. The king’s pious sister Princess Elisabeth takes a stand to defend her brother, spirit her family to safety, and restore the old order, even at the risk of her head.

But when fanatics use the newspapers to twist the revolution’s ideals into a new tyranny, even the women who toppled the monarchy are threatened by the guillotine. Putting her faith in the pen, brilliant political wife Manon Roland tries to write a way out of France’s blood-soaked Reign of Terror while pike-bearing Pauline Leon and steely Charlotte Corday embrace violence as the only way to save the nation. With justice corrupted by revenge, all the women must make impossible choices to survive--unless unlikely heroine and courtesan’s daughter Emilie de Sainte-Amaranthe can sway the man who controls France’s fate: the fearsome Robespierre."

My Two Cents:

 "Ribbons of Scarlet" is a fantastic story of the French Revolution told in six parts by some of the powerhouse women authors of the historical fiction world. The French Revolution is definitely well-trodden territory for historical fiction but this book feels fresh as it gives a lot of new perspectives to such an important event through the eyes of the women who experienced it firsthand. These women are strong, principled, cunning in very different ways! This book was truly a treat!

One of the things that I love best about reading both non-fiction history and historical fiction is the lessons that they hold for the present day and those nuggets are most definitely strewn throughout this book. Women did not often have a platform during this time but all of these women find small and big ways to make waves and stand for what they believe in! Always an important lesson and one that is definitely well done throughout this book!

Each of the six sections of the book is written by a different author but the whole story flows while giving us different perspectives and showing different aspects of the French Revolution. I love this concept and I think it works really well to essentially breakdown super complex events into something that is easier to follow. If you're a historical fiction fan, you may have caught some of the authors in this book in other History 360 books such as "A Day of Fire" and "A Sea of Sorrow" among others. They have found a really great way to tackle some of the big events of history. "Ribbons of Scarlet" is the first History 360 book to be traditionally published, which will hopefully bring these stories to more people. The concept is much the same as the other books although this book really felt more cohesive and a whole story rather than only showing various perspectives.

The characters that we're introduced to are really fantastic and they are so different. We meet some of the great thinkers of the revolutions, the students, the traditionalists, and the muscles of France. They come from different experiences and classes. All of them are women. All of them seem to be stymied in some way because of their sex. All of them find ways to make their voices heard. Present day, when it feels like there is not much you can do about the things going on in the world, this book is seriously inspiring!

 

Review: Dinosnores by Sandra Boynton

Title: Dinosnores
Author: Sandra Boynton
Format: Board Book
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Publish Date: September 3, 2019
Source: PR

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "'Honk SHOOOOOO! Honk SHOOOOOO! . . .'     

The snoring goes on, on and on through the night. They never stop snoring till the first morning light.

Ah, all those dinosaurs look so cute in their pajamas. See them yawn and stretch and brush their teeth. Soon they’ll be sound asleep, and . . . OH NO! SNORING!!!

Little kids love big dinosaurs. They also love the sublime silliness of Sandra Boynton books. So what better way to wind down at the end of the day than with DINOSNORES, a rhyming and rhythmic ritual of getting ready for bed—featuring a pile of loudly snoozing dinos."

My Two Cents:

"Dinosnores" is the latest book by beloved writer of bedtime books, Sandra Boynton! We love her books in my house. My four year olds love the word and we especially liked imitating all of the snoring the dinosaurs do throughout the book. Bedtime is often a good time for us to have one last giggle before we slip off to dreamland and this book definitely is a good fit for that! This short book is a welcome addition to our kiddos' library.

As always, Ms. Boynton's illustrations are fantastic! They are super bright and super cute! My girls are dino obsessed right now and they loved the pictures of the very noisy but still downright cuddly dinos as they snored on through the night. The words are simple and fun and my girls loved repeating the story to me. This was a great book that I know we are going to be revisiting a lot!