E's Pick of the Week - Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

I know most parents have probably already heard of “Good Night, Gorilla”, but E has been having me read it morning, noon and night lately sooo... it’s da-da-DUUUUUN, “E’s Pick of the Week”! “Good Night, Gorilla” by Peggy Rathmann is a simple story about a zookeeper, his wife, and the animals they care for at the neighboring zoo. It’s silly, cute, and full of great illustrations. We use this book as part of our night time routine. It helps settle E down for the night, but it still a little silly to make him giggle. He loves to make a “shocked” noise along with the zookeeper’s wife and giggle with the gorilla when he’s been found out! This book is great for toddlers as it is mostly illustrations and very interactive.

“Good Night, Gorilla” by Peggy Rathmann is available in paperback, hardcover and board book form by Putnam Juvenile. We prefer board book since we have a little guy who can do a number on paper! You can find it everywhere so be sure to support your local bookstore and pick up a copy next time you visit.

Prom & Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg

When describing “Prom & Prejudice” by Elizabeth Eulberg to my husband, I said it was like cotton candy. It is a sweet and fluffy treat with little substance that I enjoy eating on special occasions. After reading some dystopian books lately, “Prom & Prejudice” was just the light reading snack I needed to lighten the mood. I devoured it in less than 24 hours.

Yum yum:

• It was fun seeing how Ms. Eulberg adapted Austen’s romance to fit into today’s society and make it relevant to teenagers.
• Lizzy is absolutely adorable. I loved her character and I had fun following her adventure. Her reaction to finding out about Will’s parentage was incredibly well written.
• This book is SO charming. I think Austen fans will definitely appreciate it and that Ms. Eulberg did a great job handling the application of a modern world with Austen’s original story. It also may end up introducing teens to the world of Austen too which is wonderful. A+ Ms Eulberg!

The calories:

• Will Darcy was a bit flat as a character. Obviously, since I know P&P so well, I knew he had the hots for Lizzy, but I don’t think my 17 year old sister would have had a clue.
• I know that this book deals with the upper crust of society, but at times, I felt like Ms. Eulberg was trying to hard to stay too close to Austen-esque language. It felt like a bit of a stretch. I didn’t mind it, but I would worry about it appealing to a crowd unfamiliar with formal speech patterns.

Overall, Ms. Eulberg’s “Prom & Prejudice” is positively delightful and a book I would recommend to anyone who is looking for something light and fun to read.

Thanks to Scholastic for providing me with a copy of "Prom & Prejudice” to review. It is currently available online and at your local bookstores.

E's Pick of the Week - Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes

The “E's Pick of the Week” for this lovely Tuesday is Kevin Henkes’ new picture book, “Little White Rabbit”, which just came out from Greenwillow Books on January 25th. What can I say? My son is in the know about hot new books! Haha. I saw this book at ALA Midwinter and knew that we had to purchase it as soon as it was released.

This book is absolutely adorable. It says the age range is 4-8, but my toddler absolutely loves it. His face lights up when he sees the book and he runs to the couch so we can read it together. I grew up on a rabbit farm in Wisconsin (Mr. Henkes’ home state!) so rabbits are one of my favorite animals. Put it together with a story about imagining things and incredibly beautiful art... you get one fantastic book for your children.

You can find it online or at your local bookstore. You can visit Amazon.com and get a look inside the book to preview Mr. Henkes’ beautiful artwork.

Strings Attached by Judy Blundell

It’s weird for me to rate something 4 or 5 stars on Goodreads.com and have it not be a book that I absolutely devoured. “Strings Attached” by Judy Blundell seems to be an exception. It took me awhile to get through, but I enjoyed every moment of it.

The story revolves around Kit Corrigan, an Irish teenager trying to make it as a performer in post-WWII New York City. She came to the city on her own, after breaking up with her boyfriend, and is struggling to make it. She ends up getting tangled up with her ex-boyfriend’s mob attorney father in an attempt to survive in the city and she ends up learning more than her fair share about life as an adult.

“Strings Attached” is a very solid piece of historical fiction. While our heroine is 17, I actually think this book would appeal more to an older audience. Just like with “The Betrayal of Maggie Blair”, I think its appeal rests with an older crowd or with teens that specifically enjoy historical fiction. I also think that theatre types (such as myself) will really be able to connect with Kit and understand her overwhelming desire to perform.

The writing by Ms. Blundell is solid. She does a great job at getting the audience into Kit’s head so that we can feel the turmoil she’s going through as she faces tough decisions one after another. It’s an incredible story of self-discovery and strength of character set in a time period full of intrigue, deceit, and yes, muuuurrrrrrdeerrr (major points to whoever guesses what TV show I’m referencing. One clue: it’s on USA!).

If you enjoy historical fiction, then you should definitely pick this up. If not, try it anyways. Go into it with an open mind and give it the chance it deserves. It may seem slow at first, but the pace picks up and you’ll be glad you gave it a shot!

Thanks to Scholastic at the ALA Midwinter Meeting for the ARC of “Strings Attached”. It is scheduled to be released in March of this year.

Book Blogging - Are you a responsible blogger?

There has been a lot of Twitter debate going on about ARCs, bloggers, and the like. I just thought I'd put up an actual blog post to let you (readers and publishers) know a bit about me as a blogger.

1. I am a reader first, blogger second. I write blog reviews because I love to read and share my thoughts on the books I've read. I'm not writing in this blog to make any money. Yes, I am a member of the NBCC because I do write reviews for other publications from time to time. I will not use Amazon links or any ads on this blog.

2. I buy Kindle or physical copies of all the books I recommend, even though I already have an ARC. I support the authors and the publishing industry. I am also big on buying books as gifts so I may end up purchasing a LOT of copies of books that I love to give to friends who may not be as motivated as me to go their local library or book store.

3. I give almost all of my ARCs (except the most precious, which I treasure) to my friend who is a teen services librarian.

4. OMG yes, I love getting ARCs! Nothing makes me happier than going to the mail box and finding BOOKS. Books are my drug, okay people? I am completely addicted. However, I do NOT feel entitled to free books just because I blog about books. I'm starting a feature on this blog soon for books that have been out for awhile so it's not just about the ARCs I get. I also write about my son's favorite books. I JUST LOVE BOOKS!!!! I feel honored that some publishers have been sharing ARCs with me. As I said above, whatever I don't donate, I treasure.

So, that's me as a blogger. What about me as a person? Well, I guess I might as well cover that here too.

1. I am an actor. I do voice over work to pay the bills... from animation & video games to commercials to radio imaging. Heck, I've even done a book trailer or two. (And publishers, if you want, I'd be happy to do more. Haha!) I play pretend for a living. It's the best.

2. I'm a mom. I have a son who is 18 months old and he is the light of my life. He also loves books. That's why I now do a post once a week with "E's Pick of the Week"!

3. I'm a bit goofy. Okay, I don't think I needed to say that. You probably could have figured that out.

4. And let's see...let's do one random fact - OH! My mother-in-law was my elementary school librarian. Yup, true story. Cute, right?

Okie dokie. That is seriously enough about me. This blog is not about me. It's about BOOKS. So, let's get back to our regular programming. Okay?

Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergen

“Waterfall” is Lisa Tawn Bergen’s first foray into the world of young adult fiction and the first in a three part series that is scheduled to be released throughout 2011. From the author’s website, “a teen time travel series in which two girls go from modern times to medieval Italy. Adventure, romance, suspense, and a hefty dose of conflict will hopefully make this series page-turners for young women…that’s my goal, anyway! I conceptualized the series after reading the Twilight series with my teen."

Overall, I would have to say that Ms. Bergen succeeded in her goal. It’s a book full of romance, adventure, and a dash of mystery. “Waterfall” was a page-turner that kept me engaged right from the action-packed beginning. The story follows a strong-willed young woman named Gabi and her sister, Lia, who mysteriously ends up centuries in the past, in the middle of a turf war in 14th century Italy. Ms. Bergen is a Christian fiction writer and while there are undertones of religion, they are plot appropriate. It’s completely natural and in character, which I really appreciate. I tend to shy away from Christian fantasy just because the religious aspect becomes more important and the story/characters suffer for it. Ms. Bergen didn’t let this happen.

I felt like I really got to know Gabi and her sister. Gabi is a delightful heroine – strong-willed, mature and ready to take anything life throws at her. She’s human though and we see her vulnerable side. It was refreshing to see such a real character in the midst of this time traveling young adult novel. She faces some big issues head on and becomes someone I know I’d want to be friends with! The romance is delightfully angsty (but clean!) and the love interest, the nobleman Marcello Forelli, is an interesting character. As a quiet, brooding, and extremely good looking man, he appears pretty stereotypical, but as the characters get to know each other better, the reader gets to see the depth to Marcello’s character. And seriously, who doesn’t love a book filled with Italian hotties? Ms. Bergen’s writing style is clean and simple. It’s not full of artistic flourishes, but it’s solid. The prose are easy to read and the storyline flows well.

I think this book should come with a warning that it may make you crave a good plate of gnocchi and some red wine. If you are looking for a fun romp into history with a strong female character and some drool-worthy guys, then this is the book for you. Ms. Bergen ended the book with a bit of a cliffhanger so I’m anxious to see how the storyline continues to develop in books 2 and 3. Ahh! Why isn’t it June already?!

The publisher, David C. Cook, provided me with an ARC of this book. Waterfall was released today (February 1st, 2011). You can get a sneak peek at the author's website.

This review is also being published in Book/Mark, a quarterly small press review. You can subscribe to Book/Mark by emailing or by mailing $12 ($15 for institutions or $3.50 for a single issue) to Book/Mark, PO Box 516, Miller Place, NY 11764.

E’s Pick of the Week - “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” by Mo Willems

E’s Pick of the Week - “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” by Mo Willems

“Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” by Mo Willems is my son E’s “Pick of the Week.” This book is going to be worn out before the week is over! He can’t just read it once. We have to at least read it 3 times. It’s the third time when the magic really happens. Haha! It’s a fun little book with adorable, simple illustrations. I wouldn’t recommend it to parents who don’t enjoy acting a little bit when they read. I think it requires some performing in order for kids (especially young ones) enjoy it. Being that my day job is as a voice actor, I .. have a tendency to go all out when reading to him which makes this book HIGHLY entertaining. If that isn’t for you though, I’d recommend waiting until your child is preschool age as there are some concepts that they may not understand and the illustrations are simple enough they may get bored. My 18 month old loves it, but mostly because his mom is insane... I mean, I’m silly. Yes. Silly. Not crazy. SILLY.

I really enjoy reading this book with my little guy and I know you will too. Be prepared to be a goof and I think you and your child will have a GREAT time.