Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too!

This looks like a fun book for young children. Each two page spread features one color and one shape, along with pictures of small objects that are hidden in the mosaic-like illustration. I can happily imagine going through this book with a child; I am certain that we would both enjoy it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto!

#AnimosaicsCanYouFindIt #NetGalley

I have blogged on a number of books that can inspire children to reach for their dreams. What makes this one special is that each woman featured speaks directly to the reader in her own voice . The scope of the book is broad; for example there are entries by Hillary Clinton, Sheryl Sandberg, Ava DuVernay, Shonda Rhimes, Serena Williams and Gabby Douglas. among others. As you can see the book features contemporary women in politics, business, government service, television and sport, along with other career choices. Each entry includes photos in addition to the text. The book also has a time line of women’s history beginning in 1920 when the 19th amendment was passed. This book deserves a spot in school libraries and on the shelves of girls who want to think about their possibilities in life and plan for their futures.

Salvador Dali is a painter whose name you probably know; it is also possible that you do not fully understand him or his work. If that is true for you, this book provides a welcome opportunity to spend time with Dali and his family and to better understand the artist in context. The reader learns about Dali’s parents’ lives before he was born and the death of their earlier son whom they also named Salvador. The author speculates that, in this, may lie some of Dali’s duality. Dali’s home village, the places he lived, the teachers and the schools that influenced him are all acknowledged. There are quotes from Dali’s own writings along with excellent painterly and photographic illustrations. If you would like to spend time with this enigmatic, surrealist, I encourage you to take a look at this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Quarto for this excellent read.

 

This is a simple story of a goose who becomes separated from her flock. Fox does his very best to help her catch up and the two have some adventures along the way. Fox is then invited to stay with the flock so the two friends can delay their good-byes. This is a nice tale of how friends help one another and stick together and about how groups can include those who are not like them. This book is enhanced with discussion questions and activities at the end making it a nice read for a toddler story hour.

Thanks NetGalley and Quarto!

Stephanie Barron has written in several genres. She is the author of the Nantucket based, Merry Folger mysteries which I read and enjoyed. She also wrote the Jane Austen mystery series and novels with JFK and Virginia Woolf as characters. In this book, That Churchill Woman is Jennie Jerome Churchill, the mother most famously of Winston, the wife of Randall and a lover of Charles Kinsky.

The novel moves back and forth in time allowing the reader to understand Jennie’s upbringing in the Gilded Age and her father’s influence on her life. The reader also learns about the traumas of Jennie’s early life, including the profound loss she faced, her father’s affairs, her move to Europe, etc.

Jennie glitters in British society. There are numerous appearances in the book of Bertie, the Prince of Wales and his wife Princess Alix. Other American women who married into the British aristocracy are also characters in the novel.

The reader empathizes with Jennie, especially during a time when a young Winston is quite ill. Further, as Jennie learns the truth about her husband, (I don’t want to include spoilers), one truly feels for her.

I highly recommend this novel for those who like historical fiction, those who are Anglophiles and those interested in the family in which Winston grew up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this absorbing read.

#ThatChurchillWoman #NetGalley

I have truly loved the Inspector Banks series and have read all of the novels, except this one, the most recent.  I have been saving it, as I sometimes do when a book is by a favorite author.  I plan to read it soon.  In the meanwhile, you can add it to your TBR list as it is just $1.99 today.

These novels can be read out of order but, if you start at the beginning, you will see how the relationships between characters evolve.  Up to you.

Packed with twists and turns, heart and soul, this is another triumph from an author “at the top of his game” (LOUISE PENNY).

From Goodreads:

 

This is a short book with snappy rhyming text.  In it, young Riley and a relative, Joe, imagine some of the many jobs that Riley could potentially grow up to do.  The continuing refrain is that Riley can be anything.  For example:

“Riley thought for a little while

And then he gave a massive smile.

“A pilot, ” he said.  “Now that sounds great!”

“I’m so excited.  I can’t wait!…”

Joe smiled and said…”Riley, you can be anything!”

The story ends at school where the students all give a thought about a future career.

This book shows children that they can dream big.  For that reason, it is worth reading.

Thanks NetGalley.

 

This is a level 2 reader with a simple vocabulary and short sentences, appropriate for those who are mastering their reading skills. The book is illustrated with photographs of families enjoying the holiday.

The text explains the origin of Thanksgiving and many of the holiday’s rituals and customs. This book will help newcomers to the U.S. to learn more about an iconic holiday, while those who already celebrate, will be reminded of why they do so and what they most enjoy about the day.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this seasonal read.

I am waiting to read this one.  What you see below is courtesy of the publisher.

In Blood is Blood, a bombing injures private enquiry agent Cyrus Barker, leaving it up to his soon-to-be-married junior partner Thomas Llewelyn to find the person trying to murder them both before it’s too late―in the newest mystery in Will Thomas’s beloved Thomas Llewlyn series.

In 19th century London, Cyrus Barker and his associate Thomas Llewelyn are renowned private enquiry agents, successfully employed by the highest levels of Her Majesty’s government as well as private citizens. Their success, however, has led to their acquiring a powerful group of enemies, many of whom are determined to have their revenge.

At least one of those enemies is responsible for a bombing of their offices that puts Cyrus Barker into the hospital and endangers Thomas Llewelyn’s rapidly forthcoming nuptials. To add to the confusion, Barker’s long-lost brother Caleb turns up on the rubble of their doorstep not long after the not-quite-fatal bombing.

Unsure of Caleb and warned about him by Barker, Thomas reluctantly accepts Caleb’s help both with a new case that comes in as well as trying to pinpoint which of Barker’s enemies is making a move against them. As Thomas works his way through their enemy list, someone else is winnowing down that list: one by one those enemies are dying.

With time running out―and his bride-to-be reconsidering their marriage―Llewelyn must (with the sick-bed bound Barker’s help) uncover the killer and the plot before it’s too late.

This is a reassuring, optimistic, factual and supportive book that talks about gender identity.  Terms are clearly defined, children are encouraged to be who they are and all topics are clearly explained.  This book will be especially welcome to families whose children may not identify with the old girl/boy dichotomy of times past.  It will be a good resource for school library shelves.