Non-fiction book review - God Made the Dinosaurs

 

God Made the Dinosaurs by Michael and Caroline Carroll

Like most kids I went through a pretty significant phase of fascination with dinosaurs. I learned all about fossil records and carbon dating, different eras of dinosaurs and the links between species. It was all presented in a clear, scientific way that I easily accepted as fact. This lead to a lot of confusion later, then, when some well meaning person presented me with alternate ideas. With books that told me that carbon dating was based on guesses, that dinosaurs were lizards that had been allowed to live longer lives and thus kept growing to huge sizes. In short, religious books that told me science was wrong.  It was hard for me to reconcile and lead me to question whether science and religion could ever be compatible. Enter this book. I wish it was one that had existed in my youth. Because the authors lead with science. We are presented with loads of facts about the prehistoric world and the animals that lived in it. Information is cited. We aren't just told about claws and skeletons. We are told how fossils and scientific examination proves these ideas. God is acknowledged as the maker, the driving force behind these wonders. While it is science forward, there is a fair amount of "god talk" so if religion isn't your bag this isn't the book for you. But if you are looking for a way to bridge the gap between faith and science this is a solid way to do that.

More information: God Made the Dinosaurs releases April 4.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Wild Bird

 

Title: Wild Bird

Author: Diane Zahler

Genre: historical fiction

Similar books: Northwind by Gary Paulsen

                     Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean

Rating:

 

well written but a hard sell

Summary (provided by publisher): Her name was Rype. That wasn’t really her name. It was what the strangers called her. She didn’t remember her real name. She didn’t remember anything at all.
Rype was hiding in the hollow of a tree trunk when they found her. She was hungry, small, cold, alone. She did not speak their language, or understand their mannerisms. But she knew this: To survive, she would have to go with them.
In fourteenth-century Norway, the plague has destroyed the entire village of Skeviga. To stay alive, Rype, the only one left, must embark on a sweeping adventure across Europe with the son of an English ship captain and a band of troubadours in search of a brighter future and a new home.

My opinion: Plague stories can make for pretty compelling reading, especially when it comes to the Black Death. It was a major source of fear, killing quickly and indiscriminately. So we start with Rype, the sole survivor of a plague struck village. She experiencing a world falling apart in every direction as people respond in fear to the threat of illness. So it is a book about a physical journey as well as a personal search for a way to move forward. It is absolutely beautifully written, balancing moments of beauty and joy with absolute destruction and loss. The historical context can make it a bit of a hard sell and the lack of a central thesis, a message that the reader can take from the text, makes for a slow, meandering read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book Bag

 I got a package this winter and when I started to break down the box I was struck by how much it looked like an oversized book.

Because I'm me, I couldn't let the resemblance go. So I set the box aside in hopes of finding the perfect fabric to complete the look. I eventually scrounged up some coordinating fabrics out of our rag bag (I'm on a serious upcycling kick). With a little glue and a strap from my crafting supplies, I feel like the end result is a bag that at least puts one in mind of a novel.

Graphic novel spotlight

 

Twistwood Tales by A.C. McDonald

Let's start by stating this plainly - this book as a bit weird. If you like a straightforward narrative this is not the book for you. But if you're cool with strangeness, if you loved "Gravity Falls" and especially "Over the Garden Wall", then this is the book for you. It's a collection of web comics so there is no narrative, just moments and recurring characters. Some pages are one-off gags and puns, mostly darkly humorous. Other pages are a reflection on the nature of existence and a plea to be kind to yourself. This is a book you could return to time and again, always finding the thing you need be it a simple laugh or some reassurance in a hard time.

More information: Twistwood Tales releases April 4.

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Non-fiction book review - Grow Great Vegetables Michigan

 

Grow Great Vegetables Michigan by Bevin Cohen

 My family has been gardening for a long time but we've always relied on the wisdom of experience and habit to guide our choices. It has long been my opinion, for just about any subject, that there is always room to learn. I as eager to see what this volume could teach us. And there's a lot to glean here, even for the experienced gardener. There's a solid section on soil types and micro-climates which will absolutely inform your gardening experience. A large bulk of the text is dedicated to individual vegetables: how and when to plant them and the kind of maintenance care that they need. I am confident that the information I've learned from this book will improve the quality of our plants and eagerly encourage you to do the same.

More information: Grow Great Vegetables Michigan releases April 4.

But, you protest, I don't live in Michigan. Why should I care? Don't worry, friends. There is a whole Grow Great Vegetables series for each state.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - The Next New Syrian Girl

 

Title: The Next New Syrian Girl

Author: Ream Shukairy

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Saadia by Colleen Nelson

                     Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian

Rating:

 

solid combination of elements

Summary (provided by publisher): Khadija Shami is a Syrian American high school senior raised on boxing and football. Saddled with a monstrous ego and a fierce mother to test it, she dreams of escaping her sheltered life to travel the world with her best friend.
Leene Tahir is a Syrian refugee, doing her best to adjust to the wildly unfamiliar society of a suburban Detroit high school while battling panic attacks and family pressures.
When their worlds collide the result is catastrophic. To Khadija, Leene embodies the tame, dutiful Syrian ideal she's long rebelled against. And to Leene, Khadija is the strong-willed, closed-off American who makes her doubt her place in the world.
But as Khadija digs up Leene’s past, a startling and life-changing discovery forces the two of them closer together. As the girls secretly race to unravel the truth, a friendship slowly and hesitantly begins blooming. Doubts are cast aside as they realize they have more in common than they each expected. What they find takes them on a journey all the way to Jordan, challenging what each knows about the other and herself.

My opinion: This book could easily have become a trite exploration of privilege and identity. And those are certainly big elements of this story Khadija is undeniably privileged. Not just compared to Leene but compared to the average American teen. This is where the weight of expectation comes into play. Everyone makes assumptions about who she is and what motivates here. The result is two complicated characters, both damaged by the past in unique ways. While Khadija is not always very likeable and Leene is perhaps a bit idealized they are complex enough to be interesting and keep us engaged with the plot.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Coat pins

 At Christmastime I made a sheep pin for my coat and was surprised by how much I loved it. I'm not usually into decorations on my outerwear but I loved that sheep to the point that I left it on my coat well into February and felt a bit bereft when I finally removed it. I figured the solution was to add a more all-seasons pin to liven up my coat until warmer weather. I was inspired by old decorative medals to take a bit of ribbon and add a charm. Since it is reading month, I thought I'd make a little felt book. The results were ... underwhelming.

I had just about given up on the pin idea when I found some little decorative glass bottles at my dollar store and was reminded of a bit from one of Disney's oft forgotten gems - "The Emperor's New Groove". A felt scrap and a bit of plain white sticker with some marker was all it took to replicate the poison vial. 

 

The poison. The poison for Kuzco, the poison chosen especially to kill Kuzco, Kuzco's poison. That poison?