Hide and Seek Harry (Two Board Books)

Board book: Hide and Seek Harry On the Farm. Kenny Harrison. 2015. Candlewick. 20 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: We're at the farm with Harry today. And hide-and-seek is what he wants to play.

Premise/plot: Harry--the hippo--loves, loves, loves to play hide and seek. Harry has trouble hiding, that is, he's always super-easy to find. But he doesn't mind being easy-to-find, he just loves the game. There are four Hide and Seek Harry books so far. I've also reviewed Hide and Seek Harry Around the House and Hide and Seek Harry At the Beach.

My thoughts: I liked this one. I liked the art. I think it's a silly book to read with children. It's fun to "find" Harry on all the pages. I like the rhyme as well.

Board book: Hide and Seek Harry At The Playground. Kenny Harrison. 2015. Candlewick. 20 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: We're playing hide-and-seek at the playground...and Harry's hiding. Can he be found? Is he by the seesaw, lying low? Is he on the swing set? Where did he go?

Premise/plot: Another hide-and-seek adventure with Harry the hippo. This time Harry is playing with his friends at the playground. Though there is much to do at the playground, Harry, of course, wants to play hide and seek. If you've read any of the other books in this series, you know exactly what to expect. These are simple and predictable and quite silly.

My thoughts: I like all four books in this simple series. The books are cute and silly and would be good for sharing with young children.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Seuss on Saturday #11

On Beyond Zebra! Dr. Seuss. 1955. Random House. 64 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence:

Said Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell,
My very young friend who is learning to spell:
"The A is for Ape. And the B is for Bear.
"The C is for Camel. The H is for Hare.
"The M is for Mouse. And the R. is for Rat.
"I know all the twenty-six letters like that...
"...through to Z is for Zebra. I know them all well."
Said Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell.

Premise/Plot: One little boy claims his alphabet starts where other kids' alphabets end. He introduces the letters, "YUZZ," "WUM," "UM," "HUMPF," "FUDDLE," "GLIKK," NUH," "SNEE," "QUAN," "THNAD," "SPAZZ," "FLOOB," "ZATZ," "JOGG," "FLUNN," "ITCH," "YEKK," "VROO," AND "HI!" Of course, there's reasoning behind each new letter. Crazy fun as only Dr. Seuss can do. For example:

Then just one step a step further past Wum is for Wumbus
And there you'll find UM. And the Um is for Umbus
A sort of a Cow, with one head and one tail,
But to milk this great cow you need more than one pail!
She has ninety-eight faucets that give milk quite nicely.
Perhaps ninety-nine. I forget just precisely.
And, boy! She is something most people don't see
Because most people stop at the Z
But not me!

My thoughts: What's not to love?! I'll admit this is the first time I've read On Beyond Zebra! And I'll admit it didn't instantly become my new favorite Seuss book or anything. But is it worth reading? Yes! I like the rhyming and the storytelling. It's a very imaginative book. If you grew up reading and loving There's A Wocket in My Pocket and you haven't read On Beyond Zebra yet, well, I think you'll enjoy it.

Have you read On Beyond Zebra!? Did you like it? love it? hate it? I'd love to know what you think of it! If you'd like to join me in reading or rereading Dr. Seuss (chronologically) I'd love to have you join me!  The next book I'll be reviewing is If I Ran the Circus.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Hoot Owl Master of Disguise (2015)

Hoot Owl Master of Disguise. Sean Taylor. Illustrated by Jean Jullien. 2015. Candlewick. 48 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Watch out! I am Hoot Owl! I am hungry. And here I come!

Premise/Plot: Hoot Owl is HUNGRY, very, very HUNGRY. He's a bit proud that he's a master of disguise. Surely by using his disguises he can satisfy his hunger, right? He spots his prey, he gets in disguise, and.... Well, you need to read the book!

My thoughts: This one is very well-written. I really liked the text. It's very descriptive:

"The night has a thousand eyes, and two of them are mine. I swoop through the bleak blackness like a wolf in the air." 

and

"The shadowy night stretches away forever, as black as burnt toast." 

It is also clever and witty in places. It kept me smiling. I won't spoil the surprise, but, I quite liked the ending!

Overall, I definitely liked the text and the illustrations. Have you read this one? What did you think?

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Case of the Vanishing Emerald (2015)

The Case of the Vanishing Emerald (Maisie Hitchins #2) Holly Webb. 2013/2015. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 176 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I enjoyed reading The Case of the Vanishing Emerald, the second book in the Maisie Hitchins mystery series for very young readers. Both books are set in Victorian London. Maisie, the protagonist, is a girl who really wants to be a detective, and she doesn't want to have to wait until she grows up. The second case she solves is, in my opinion, a much more interesting case: an actress has had a necklace stolen from her dressing room. Maisie is hired to assist her in dressing and everyone is hoping that she will find the necklace and the person who took it. In my review of the first book, I said the book was light on history and light on mystery, and, I suppose that can still be said. But I found the book to be very charming and just a treat to read.

The first book in the series was The Case of The Stolen Sixpence.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Accidental Empress (2015)

The Accidental Empress. Allison Pataki. 2015. Howard Books. 512 pages. [Source: Review copy]

If you love historical fiction with a royal focus, this book may prove quite satisfying. I do love historical fiction. And this one does have a royal focus. The Accidental Empress is set in Austria (and Hungary) in the 1850s and 1860s. It tells the story of Empress Elizabeth of Austria and Emperor Franz Joseph I. She is the "accidental" empress because the arranged marriage was originally between Franz and her older sister. She accompanied her sister to court, and Franz fell in love with her and not the sister.

The book captures many events, many emotions, many tensions. DRAMA. The book has plenty of drama!!! For the most part, the book is told from HER point of view, and only her point of view. Readers can judge for themselves if her perceptions are fair or not. Plenty of arguments between husband and wife are related. In some cases, it's easy to see what it was all about. To see HER side and to see HIS side. Yes, the book is from HER point of view, but, readers can pick up on why he's acting and reacting the way he is. Not all the time, not every time, but enough to give the impression that she is far from perfect and not always right. For example, when she nags him every single time she sees him about how horrible his mother is, readers know he's not going to like her complaining and whining about how awful and horrible his mother is. Should he try to see it from her perspective, try to put himself in her shoes, to be more understanding and supportive of his wife's feelings. Probably. But you could see why it would be difficult to enjoy spending time with her. To be fair, he's not great at fidelity. And the idea that no royal could ever, ever, ever be expected to be faithful--that it was unnatural--doesn't sit easy. So I could only take my sympathy so far with him.

Actually, did I really "like" either character? I'm not sure I did. I found the book fascinating however!!!

Though I tend to think of this division of Simon & Schuster (Howard Books) being "Christian," there was nothing distinctively Christian about the book itself. It is historical fiction. It's based on real people, royal people. But it isn't your typical Christian book with a Christian message about life and love and family. I would have a difficult time classifying this as a clean read.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews