This was one of those books that I noticed on the shelf and pretty much decided to buy before I even picked it up. The cover is designed like a video rental jacket from the 80’s, front to back, right down to the “Be Kind, Rewind” sticker, and it’s like I had no choice. I still remember in fourth grade when the one liquor store in town started renting VCRs and movies on VHS, and just looking at this book brought back the sights and […]
Harry Potter and the Mostly Good Story About His Kid
Confession: I have owned my very own copy of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for about 2 years, ever since I bought it at the super cool Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris (if you EVER have the chance to go to Paris, it’s a must visit. Try not to live there. Though, they don’t really frown upon people living there. But I digress). It has set, unread, in that time. I’m a pretty significant Potter fan, but I had heard of it being […]
Poppy, Buttercup, Bluebell, and Dandy
A group of young wildflowers on skateboards and scooters zoom around the pages of Poppy, Buttercup, Bluebell, and Dandy by Fiona Woodcock. They leave seeds all over to create color and life where there was only gray before. Poppy, Buttercup, Bluebell, and Dandy (the names of our heroines) is a straight forward story about conservation and making your world beautiful by going out and doing instead of just standing by. The watercolor-like illustrations keep with the lightheartedness of the text. This allows the deeper meaning […]
Enchanting, atmospheric (and timely) read
This week, the UK has been hit by massive* snowstorms that disrupted travel pretty much everywhere, as well as practically-arctic winds that have dropped temperatures to shockingly low*. Also this week, I was supposed to fly across the country for my PhD viva. Well–that didn’t happen. So I read The Bear and the Nightingale instead. And it was just the most perfect book to read during this kind of weather! The book takes place in a barely-fictional Russia in the Middle Ages. The fantasy elements come […]