In early August, I took the vacation I was dying to take all year: my Common Grounds Pilgrimage themed around Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier. Do I like the book? Yes. Do I love it as much as I love these experiences? No. In April 2022, I did the Frankenstein/Mary Shelley Pilgrimage, hosted by the same…

In this past month, I’ve read 3 books that specifically referenced STARFISH by Lisa Fipps as a comp title, and I am here to tell you, not all that glitters is gold, and while I thought this was a fine middle grade novel, especially since it featured a sport/hobby you don’t see talked about a…

Another round up, with some VARYING levels of kid-friendliness, haha. Another Barnett/Klassen combo—which might be one of their darkest yet–some wholesome library support, a lovely display of representation in Kid Lit fun, and a museum cat. The Wolf, The Duck, & The Mouse by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen Uh….wow. That’s really all I…

It’s time for another Easy Reader Series Series, this time the Brownie and Pearl books by Cynthia Rylant, with pictures by Brian Biggs. They are pre-Level 1 easy readers and six by my count, and I believe the first one, and the characters, are adapted from a picture book. Let’s dive in–in order of listing…

I can’t believe July 2023 is over! If you’re reading this, I’m about to head on vacation, and while I’m sure that’s going to throw my reading off, I’m still excited. Reflecting on a little more than half a year so far, I’m pretty impressed with how I’ve kept up with my reading goals! My…

August is just around the corner! My award season ends in just a few short months, and I’m already dreaming of the pleasure reading I’m going to do when it’s done! All five of these titles are at the top of that list! The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu I LOVE Xu’s work–it’s so nuanced…

I love a good project and today I present to you my latest project: The Great Mara Rockliff Round-Up. It’s where I read (almost) every book written by Mara Rockliff. I say almost because she has a couple, earlier books I couldn’t get my hands on, but the bulk of her picture book biographies and…

This isn’t a brag blog. This is an accountability post. I don’t order, and especially don’t pre-order, that many books anymore, but when I do…I apparently don’t read them. Some of these are books I really am excited to read…eventually. All of them are books I am HOPING to read soon. Which one should I…

I remember this winning some big award…which led me to reading the first book in this series, and now that I’m reading them all, I’m unable to figure out why this came across my radar to begin with. Oh, to be libraries. It didn’t win a Geisel, like I thought. Maybe it won Mock Geisels…

Another picture book round up today, lots of Spring 2023 releases, including an array of books that I don’t really think are for kids, some beautiful illustrations, and some great depictions of nature. To Make by Danielle Davis and Mags DeRoma This gorgeously illustrated, but a little kitschy, picture book is absolutely more of an…