Yo, wassup?
A confession. Mom and me? We’re Reece-aholics. (Not to be confused with a Reese-aholic of the peanut butter variety. Or crispy bacon. That’s diff. But just as tasty.)
Ever since we read Matt Guzman’s riotous fantasy/sci fi romp, Rieden Reece and the Broken Moon, we’ve been hooked on this kid and his madcap adventures. Rieden grows on ya. So we were delighted to hear Ri’s back for another crazy adventure in this fourth and latest installment. Here’s the 4-1-1:
Kimber: Mom! Mom! Come quick!
Her Royal Momness: What’s up Kimster? Earthquake? Fire? Flood? The imminent demise of doggie treats?
Kimber: ‘Course not. I just gotta tell ya about my new best bud, Petunia.
Mom: Petunia?
Kimber: Yeah. She’s furry and fluffy and she’s the star of the show in this new book for the little’uns, Blink and Glow.
Mom: Blink and Glow? By Raven Howell?
Kimber: That’s it! Mom, you’re a genius.
Mom: I thought that book was about two kids, Leo and Lilly. They catch fireflies, a salamander, and a Luna moth. For their classroom show and tell. The critters dim in captivity and grandma gently explains that they need to be free to live happily and shine bright.
Silly Mom!
Well. To cut to the chase, so to speak, Lilly and Leo think long and hard about what their grandma said as the lights of their trapped firefly and salamander begin to fade. It was fun to catch and jar them. But should the kids keep them?
This is a short, sweet story about loving and respecting nature and taking care of the environment. Bite-sized sentences are short and easy to digest and won’t strain young attention spans.
Besides a delightful story that’s both entertaining and educational, the text is complemented by vibrant illustrations. With bright, bold colors, the illustrations are top-notch. They’re gorgeous and dynamic, suggesting motion and fluidity.
Beautifully written, skillfully illustrated and briskly paced, Blink and Glow will make a welcome addition to any school or home library. It would also make an excellent read-aloud or bedtime story.
Step-by-step instructions for making your own firefly sun-catchers are included!
Kimber: Leo and Lilly aren’t alone in their adventures in their natural world. An unnamed little white dog is supervising. Just so ya know, okay? I named her Petunia. She’s my new best bud.
Mom: Why Petunia?
Kimber: Cuz Her Royal Magnificence, Queen of the Universe and World’s Most Amazingly Brilliant and Super Gorgeous Canine was already taken. By me.
Silly Mom.
Pages & Paws Rating
***
If the genre is “thriller,” then two authors often come to the forefront: John Grisham and David Baldacci.
Grisham is the king of the legal thriller/courtroom drama. Has been for decades. Baldacci is a king of thriller fiction. Both are expert storytellers and hugely popular. Both authors have had their books turned into movies. And in 2024, both authors’ most recent releases focus on race relations and the courtroom, either directly or indirectly. It’s kinda like a “Titan Two-fer.”
This is noteworthy cuz legal thrillers are usually Grisham’s bread and butter, as is the case in his latest novel, Camino Ghosts. But Baldacci makes a memorable contribution to the genre too, with A Calamity of Souls. More on that in a min. So kindly keep your shirt on, Toots.
First, Grisham’s newest book, Camino Ghosts:
Mom’s a sucker. I know. This isn’t exactly news. If you’ve been reading along with us for any length of time, you know that Her Royal Momness is a sucker for pretty much any well-written ‘dog book.’ (Because, hey! Me!) Also horse stories. Good, solid action/adventure/outdoor-ish tomes. Historical fiction. Legal/crime thrillers. Children’s and YA books. Faith-flavored titles that aren’t preachy. Ghirardelli chocolate…
Almost smells good enough to eat! Almost…
But didya know that Mom’s also a sucker for ‘lost books’? Well, she is.
Like the other day when we were visiting The Book Place. (I have to wait outside. Something about ‘service dogs only.’ So annoying.) Anywho, Mom’s cruising along the shelves and comes to a sign that says:
Use You Library Card to Grab These Never-Before Checked Out Books
Well, Who can resist that?
Her darkest secret.
Her gravest mistake.
Can she make peace with herself… and Paris?
Kimber here, being my usual Magnificent Self. Telling you that Her Momness is doing that sparkly-eyed, sniffly nose thing again. Cuz of a book she just finished. Hang just a sec while a grab a hankie for Mom.
Ready, Mom? Okay. I’ll let her tell you more:
Ever want to just smack an entire cast of characters? That’s what we felt like after 309 pages of The Ivies.
Now, The Ivies is the kinda book that’s gonna nab rave reviews all over the place. Not here, Toots. We don’t do that gob-smacked slobber stuff over a book that smells like Eau de Skunk. Walks and talks like it, too.
We’re just funny that way. Like:
If you’ve been reading with us for any length of time – say, 20 minutes or so – you know that Mom and I are singularly unimpressed by the words “Best-selling author.” Or its kissing cousins, “(fill in the blank) Award Winner” and “Over a bazillion copies in print.” The fact that everyone and their neighbor’s cat is crowing about a new release impresses us about as much as a plate of overcooked arugula.
Yea, verily. We’ve heaped praise on unknown indie authors who’ve earned it. We’ve also panned Pulitzer Prize winners who deserved it. Ya just never know.
Hey, Kimster! Is the tea hot yet? And will you kindly quit hogging the fleece blankie?
Bother. The things I do for Mom. We’re both hunkering down to read this gripping and intense tale of mind-numbing cold, desperation, myth, legend and survival by Dan Simmons.
First, if you’ve never heard of Franklin’s ill-fated expedition, The Terror might be a good place to start. We were pretty familiar with the history before starting the book. So some bias there.
Before we dive in to specifics, you may want to know that The Terror is a fictionalized account of Sir John Franklin’s lost expedition to the Arctic to find the Northwest Passage. The expedition’s two ships are the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. Franklin is the overall expedition commander. James Fitzjames captains the Erebus. Franics Crozier captains the Terror. They set out to find the elusive Northwest Passage in 1845. The ships – and all hands – disappeared without a trace in the summer of 1848.
“Mom! Mom! Stop the presses!”
“Stop what presses, Kimster? We don’t do presses around here.”
“So? I’ve just always wanted to say that. Especially when I have a super-duper, extra-crispy bacon worthy announcement!”
“Okay, Kimmi. Spill it.”
“Well Mom, I wantcha to meet my two new best buds: War Horse and Big Love.”
“What?”
“Yeah. You see, there’s this awesome new book out called Big Love and War Horse. War Horse is a Doberman pup. Big Love is a senior Great Pyrenees, and…”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope! In fact this book is so good, I’;m gonna tell ya all about it myself! So here is the Official Unabridged Kimber the Magnificent Version of a book we absolutely LOVED (with a little help from the one with opposable thumbs. Cuz, ya know. Mom): Like this:
You know how Her Royal Momness and I love historical fiction, right? Could scarf it up with a spoon. Forget to eat breakfast. Lunch. And dinner. Stay up all night until The End. Forego another round of extra-crispy bacon.
Wait. Belay that last one. But suffice it to say that of the bazillion historical fiction titles we’ve read lately, Melissa Cole’s A Grain of Hope is one of the most compelling. In fact, we’re giving A Grain of Hope The Official Mom and Kimber Must-Read Stamp of Approval. Here’s why:
Pages & Paws 