The Wonder of Lost Causes by Nick Trout

This is a story about Jasper, who has Cystic Fibrosis, his mother, and an "ugly mutt" that he makes a connection with at his mom's animal rescue centre.

The chapters alternate between Jasper's perspective and his mother's.  While it was good to read the different parent/child reactions and emotions to events, I sometimes found too much overlap explaining the same event twice.  In addition, I'm not saying I like to cry, but I expected this to be a real tear jerker. There were definitely touching moments, but I didn't need to have tissues handy.  However, I did really enjoy the book, especially all the nuances of a family dealing with Cystic Fibrosis and the amazing connection between a boy and a dog.

The author includes details after the ending about how the book came from his own life experiences.  The book also includes book club questions

Juvenile Review - A Dog Wearing Shoes by Sangmi Ko

This is a story of a girl named Mini and her mom, who find a dog lost in traffic that is wearing shoes.  When they can't immediately find the dog's owner, they take it home to look after it until the owner is found. A cute story about caring for lost animals, and the responsibilities that come with having pets. 

I love the illustrations in this book!  It is mostly black and white except for a few splashes of yellow or red on items of significance.

Juvenile Review - They Say Blue by Jillian Tamaki

I found this book a bit disjointed.  I loved the girl's descriptions of colour, and how colour can change. However, the girl goes from playing with friends on one page spread, to sailing alone on a field of grass on the next; I thought I had missed a page. I loved her sprouting into a tree with her imagination but after several pages as the tree, I began to wonder if the girl was gone from the story? Once I finished reading the story, I went back and read it again, sure that I was missing a deeper meaning.  I get that children can jump around from thought to thought, which may be what is happening here, but the adult in me wanted more.

I would have given the book a 2 star rating except for the beautiful illustrations. 

The Underneath by Melanie Finn

Kay, her husband Michael, and their two children come from England to rent a farmhouse in Vermont for the summer.  The idea is to escape their problems back home and work on their marriage.  However, Michael almost immediately gets called away, which adds to the disconnect they are already feeling. While exploring the house, Kay finds some things that set off her radar as a journalist.  Her pursuit for answers only seems to produce more questions, such as where is the owner of the house and why does everyone seem so evasive when asked about him? 
The book also provides chapters on Kay's experiences as a journalist, and how they helped define who she is as a wife and mother.  We also follow the story of Ben, a local, and how the violence in his childhood affects him in the present, both good and bad. 
I liked the quick pace of the book for each of the different story lines.  However, I had a hard time liking Kay.  She seems very self-centered and focused on getting "the story" at the expense of being a better wife and mother.  Although I felt empathy for the way Ben was raised, I also had a hard time accepting some of the choices he makes.  The book seemed to be brewing to a big finish but instead felt anti-climatic.

The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books by Edward Wilson-Lee

I can probably count on one hand the number of times I have ever started a book and not finished it.  The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books, however, was a total snorefest for me.  I was so excited to read this book after seeing promotional blurbs hyping it as the story of Christopher Columbus' illegitimate son, Hernando, and his quest to accumulate every book, image, and piece of music for his library. However, in the few chapters I read, I felt as though the story was more a history of the times and Christopher Columbus' troubles, voyages and relationships with the royal court than one about his son's accomplishments.

The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood

A wonderfully detailed and comprehensive book on essential oils and how to use them in anything and everything, including health issues for different ages, aromatherapy, home cleaning products, beauty products, garden and even pet care.

Juvenile Review - The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson

A beautiful story about how sometimes children feel as though they are so different from everyone else, due to their speech, culture, or what they eat.  However, when each child begins to share parts of themselves to others, they find they are a little alike each person in different ways.

Juvenile Review - Hush Little Bunny by David Ezra Stein

The rhyme in this book mimics the "Hush Little Baby" lullaby.  It is a story about how a Papa bunny will love and protect his little bunny through all kinds of situations. 

Juvenile Review - Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal

Alma Sofia Esperanza Jose Pura Candela thinks her name is too long. Her father explains the significance of each of these names, instilling a sense of family pride and honour.  The name "Alma" is just for her, however, to make and create her own story.  Absolutely wonderful story.

Juvenile Review - Me and My Fear by Francesca Sanna

I loved this book!  What a creative and powerful way to describe a child's fear!  Fear is illustrated as a "friend" that grows and shrinks according to a young girl's feelings and what is happening in her life.  She has recently moved to a new country, so fear has grown very large and is preventing her from participating in her surroundings.  It is only when a boy reaches out to her that she begins to realize that everyone has a fear friend of their own, and the more she engages in her environment, the smaller her fear friend becomes.

Juvenile Review - Blue by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Is Blue a colour? A feeling? The name of a dog?  Maybe all three? To be perfectly honest, I didn't get this book the first time I read it until I was near the end.  Then everything clicked into place.  This simply-worded book packs an emotional wallop as Seeger takes us through the adventures, life, and relationship of a boy and his dog.  Holes are intentionally cut into the pages and hold significance to both the front and back of the same page.  These holes will delight a child's curious mind and fingers, and adults will find themselves remembering fond memories of their own experiences.

Juvenile Review - Mommy's Khimar by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow

Mommy's Khimar is an excellent story of acceptance and cultural diversity.  The young girl details the beautiful colours of the khimars in her mother's closet, and how she uses them to play.  The smells remind her of her mother, making her feel safe and loved.  The girl explains that her grandmother does not go to a mosque like they do, but that is okay and they love each other just the same.

Juvenile Review - You Make Me Happy by Smriti Prasadam-Halls

You Make Me Happy is the uplifting story of a fox and porcupine's relationship.  The book is filled with beautiful illustrations and the rhyming is lovely and well-paced.

Are You Up for the Challenge?

"Read More!" was one of my New Year's Resolutions for 2019.  Was it one of yours? I feel like there are so many good books on my want-to-read-list but never enough time to make a dent in it!  

Goodreads.com offers a yearly reading challenge to encourage and support people who want to follow through on their resolution to read more.  In case you are not familiar with Goodreads, it is the world's largest website for sharing and following what you and others are reading. Once you are a member, you also get book recommendations geared to your personal reading tastes.

According to the Goodreads website, 1,393,100 people have already signed up for the 2019 Reading Challenge!  These people have pledged to read an average of 46 books from the beginning of January until the end of the year. If everyone makes their pledge more than 65,000,000 books will have been read!

Goodreads also provides lots of good advice on how to keep your challenge, or resolution, on track. One tip is to push yourself but make your reading target achievable. They recommend using the calendar as a guideline: if you think you can read one book per month that would mean pledging 12 books, reading one book a week would be 52 books, and so on. They also encourage you to re-read old favourites to count against your pledge, and to try new or other formats, like listening to an audiobook while you're puttering around the house. Goodreads offers thousands of different reading groups you can join to help keep you interested and accountable. I especially like their tip to use your local library, so you always have your next book ready to read!

To help you keep track of what you want to read next, you can either use Goodreads' "Want to Read" shelf, or look and see if your local library offers a Reading List feature when you access your membership account online.

Need inspiration to keep your reading resolution on track?  As I mentioned earlier, Goodreads provides reading recommendations based on your previous reading history.  A library's online catalogue is another great source for finding your next read. Try searching for one of your favourite titles and then check to see if other recommendations for similar titles, authors or story elements are offered.  See if your library subscribes to NoveList, a reader's advisory database. NoveList allows you to view Recommended Read Lists, browse genres or search for favourite titles or authors to get new read-alikes to try.

Photo credit: see glasses on books (CC0 Public Domain)

The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

Alma Belasco was a Polish Jew who came to live with relatives in San Francisco during World War II.  There, the relationship between Alma and the son of her uncle's Japanese gardener began.  Years later, Alma's care worker and nephew try to unravel the clues and secrets about this passionate love affair that lasted through war, social expectations, and marriages to other people.

I was originally drawn to the book due to the never-ending resiliency of people who have suffered through great tragedies in their lives. However, I found Alma to be self-centered, spoiled, and difficult to like at times.  I also felt there were a number of characters in the book that were not necessary and made the story more layered and complicated than it needed to be.  I feel the book would have been more effective if it had focused on just a few central characters.

Juvenile Review - Saffron Ice Cream by Rashin Kheiriyeh

Saffron Ice Cream by Rashin Kheiriyeh is the story of a girl who is going to an American beach for the first time since her family left Iran. She compares the similarities and differences between going to the beach at the Caspian Sea and the one at Coney Island.  A great story for children who find themselves in new and unfamiliar surroundings and for all children to learn about cultural differences. Colourful illustrations promote cultural diversity and acceptance.

Juvenile Review - A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin

What a lovely story to explain the different phases of the moon! Little Star and her mother bake a mooncake together that becomes an irresistable temptation every night. Beautiful illustrations throughout the book.

Juvenile Review - Drawn Together by Minh Le

It is easy to see why Drawn Together by Minh Le was a Caldecott Medalist winner and a best book of 2018.  It is the story of a grandson who comes to spend time with his grandfather but they seem to have nothing in common: the grandfather doesn't seem to speak English and the grandson doesn't speak Thai.  They discover a common interest and use this to bond and learn from one another.  This book does not contain many words: the story is mainly told through colourful illustrations.