Food52 Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes That Will Change The Way You Cook by Kristen Miglore

Totally beautiful photos and fantastic recipes and explanations. Not only does this lovely cookbook have a photo for each recipe, which I think is a requirement for any good cookbook, but it has several step by step photos for some of the recipes and the photos are gorgeous! Including "genius tips" and in depth explanations, the recipes are easy to understand and follow and delicious too. From the Balsamic Glazed Beets and Greens to the mushroom bourguinon to deviled eggs and more, this cookbook is totally a keeper!

Witherwood Reform School by Obert Skye, Keith Thompson

Witherwood reminds me a bit of Camp Green Lake from Holes, only even stranger. This book is the first in a series for kids. After they put tadpoles in the gravy which nearly choked their nanny, Martha, to death, Tobias and Charlotte's father dropped them off at the gate of Witherwood reform school, a very strange and unpleasant place to be. Scary creatures roam the grounds at night, guards sing in the hallways, and a creepy ugly guy has an unusual voice that convinces everyone to do what he says and be happy about it. I think kids may enjoy this book. It ends with a cliffhanger which should lead to more books. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

French Coast by Anita Hughes

This is a romance of the wealthy elite. Serena's dad is a retired senator and she grew up traveling the world and is a writer for Vogue. She has a perfect life with a perfect boyfriend who is about to run for political office. When she is offered a one month dream job interviewing a celebrity for Vogue on the coast of France, her boyfriend sends her off happily because he supports her career, but when a scandal in her family is uncovered, his true colors show. She meets Nick, a handsome sailor while she interviews Yvette about her past love affair. Everyone in the book has secret affairs and lots of money and wears designer clothing. There is mystery and plot twists and romance and the fabulous French food descriptions made me hungry. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

Mountain Dog by by Margarita Engle

Tony is 11 years old
and his mom
is in jail
so he has to live
with his uncle
who he never met
before.
Gabe is his uncle's wilderness rescue dog.
Gabe tells part of the story in prose and Tony tells most of the story in verse.
The story is sad
in many parts,
but Tony's uncle
is really great
and eventually
he deals with
life better.

Winterborne (Universe Unbound #1) by Augusta Blythe

Intriguing YA paranormal mystery/romance. In this book, when a child in the Winterborne family turns 17, they receive or develop paranormal powers. Mia Winterborne is practicing trying to figure out what her powers will be with her best friend Loie. The girls were born on the same day in the same hospital room and have been besties ever since even though Mia's dad disappeared the same day that Loie's parents died in a mysterious car wreck when the girls were 5 years old. Now, as their 17th birthday approaches, some animals begin to act strange and the handsome Andreas begins hanging out with the two girls both of whom are crushing on him. He is not, however just a handsome boy - he is much more. I received this book free to review from Netgalley and I look forward to the next ones.

The Thickety: The Whispering Trees by J.A. White

In this second book in the series, Kara and her brother Taff travel through the Thickety aided by a witch named Mary Kettle who may or may not be really helping them to avoid the evil forest demon, Sordyr. The witch, who wakes up each day a different age - sometimes older and sometimes younger - tells Kara that she is a wexari, a special kind of witch who can perform magic even without a magical book called a grimoire. Kara can communicate with all kinds of animals and they ask her to save them from Sordyr. This book has more magic and adventure and plot twists and once again, ends with a cliffhanger. Looking forward to the next book!

Nanny and Me by Florence Ann Romano

This beautifully illustrated book shows children with their nanny having fun and being cared for by her. It shows the love of the nanny for the children that she cares for. It is a very sweet story. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

Out of the Blue: A book of color idioms and silly pictures by Vanita Oelschlager, Robin Hegan

Adorable illustrations show a variety of idioms about color and their meanings including tickled pink, red tape, green around the gills and more. There are "hidden meanings" or origins of two of the idioms at the end of the book - I wish they had those for all of them. I think the book is fun, silly and informative and children will enjoy it. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

Luna's Red Hat : An Illustrated Storybook to Help Children Cope With Loss and Suicide by Emmi Smid

Including a guide for parents about how to talk to children about suicide, this is a very good book to use when talking to children who have lost someone they love to suicide. On the one year anniversary of her mother's death, Luna and her dad and sibling go on a picnic, but Luna is angry and sad and as she discusses her feelings about her mother's death with her dad, she is able to remember the good times they had together and feel less sad. I received this book free to review from Netgalley and I highly recommend it.

Sapient by Jerry Kaczmarowski

A dog, a rat and a boy walk into a bar. But before that, 12 year old Robbie's mother, a research scientist, has been experimenting on animals trying to find a cure for Robbie's autism. When it seems to be working on a rat she has named Einstein, she also injects her virus into a dog. What she does not realize is that the US military, the CDC and others are highly interested in a virus that imparts sapience to animals. Desperate to cure her son, she injects him with the virus and then he and the animals must run for their lives. Einstein can "talk" by typing on a cell phone and makes many jokes about the dog, but together, the three of them make quite a team. There are, however, side effects that come with the serum that Robbie was injected with and he needs an antidote soon. The plot is fast-paced, thought provoking and funny at times and kept me reading to find out what would happen next. I received this book free to review from Netgalley and I think that the YA audience will love it.

The Great American Dust Bowl by Don Brown

This is an excellent book written as a graphic novel that is well written and easy to understand that explains the cause of the dust bowl and what it was like and it's effect on people. It is great for school libraries!

The Thickety: A Path Begins (The Thickety #1) by J.A. White

I read this entire book today. Once I started reading it this afternoon, I had a difficult time putting it down. I had to find out what was going to happen next! Now, I have got to read the next book. Witchcraft, magic versus religion, evil versus good, mystery, romance and more abound in this YA paranormal adventure. Kara's mother was killed for being a witch, now, Kara is experiencing her own powers as a witch. But, she is not the only one. Can she save her family? Will she want to save anyone else? The book ends with a plot twist and a cliffhanger. Excellent book!

Quinny & Hopper by Adriana Brad Schanen (Author), Greg Swearingen (Illustrations)

Great for children in first through 4th grades, this is the story of 8 year old Quinny, who has moved from New York City to a small town. She misses all of her friends from New York, but soon makes friends with her next door neighbor, an 8 year old boy named Hopper who is much quieter than she is. They spend the summer trying to catch a chicken named Freya who had belonged to the former owner of Quinny's house. The book is silly and reminds me a bit of the Junie B. Jones and Ramona series. Touching on friendship, bullying and kindness, this book is sure to be enjoyed by elementary aged children.

Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman ( Author), Laura Cornell (Illustrations)

"Each family is special. The most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love each other." This is a fabulous book about the fact that children may have all kinds of families and that is just fine. I love the bright watercolor illustrations and the beautiful loving story and message in it.

In the Courtyard of the Kabbalist by Ruchama King Feuerman

This book is like a hidden gem. It drew me in and after a while, I could not put it down. It has humor and romance and a bit of kabbalistic thought. Set in Jerusalem, politics and religion play a big part as well. The real story, however lies with the humanity of the characters. I received this book free to review from Netgalley and I really liked it a lot.

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Written in verse, like a rap song or poetry, an entire story is told - about 7th grade twin brothers who play basketball. Their mother is the school principal and their dad was a great basketball player. Then, Jordan gets a girlfriend and their dad's health problems escalate. Fabulous story for middle school and high school kids.

Luna's Red Hat: An Illustrated Storybook to Help Children Cope With Loss and Suicide by Emmi Smid

Including a guide for parents about how to talk to children about suicide, this is a very good book to use when talking to children who have lost someone they love to suicide. On the one year anniversary of her mother's death, Luna and her dad and sibling go on a picnic, but Luna is angry and sad and as she discusses her feelings about her mother's death with her dad, she is able to remember the good times they had together and feel less sad. I received this book free to review from Netgalley and I highly recommend it.

Preserves, Pickles and Cures: Recipes for the Modern Kitchen Larder by Thane Prince

This book has lots of helpful information about how to preserve a variety of foods in a wide variety of ways. From making cheeses and yogurts to breads and jams and pickles to curing meat and a lot more. I like that I found out some ways to use the herbs from my garden that I had not thought of before. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs by Davide Cali, Raphaelle Barbanegre

Bright and colorful, cute and silly. Snow White leaves her wicked stepmother the queen and goes to live with 77 dwarves for whom she cooks and cleans. Perhaps she is better off with the witch. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

Rooted in Design: Sprout Home's Guide to Creative Indoor Planting by Tara Heibel, Tassy de Give

This book shows beautiful and creative ways to use indoor plants as art and decor. I like their cat too. I wish there was more information about how to keep the plants alive because although I can garden outdoors, I tend to kill many indoor plants. The book includes instructions for constructing the different types of displays and containers for the plants. I think that this book will inspire people to use plants in their home decor in lovely and creative ways. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

Forget Me by K.A. Harrington

Totally awesome YA mystery/thriller/romance. When Morgan puts a photo of her dead boyfriend on a social media site and it tries to tag him with another name, she needs to find out the truth. Is Flynn really still alive and is his name actually Evan? As she digs into the mystery, more mysteries are upturned. Will Morgan and her friends live to solve them? I could not put this book down, wanting to find out and it was quite a surprise. Excellent book!

Rutherford B., Who Was He?: Poems About Our Presidents by Marilyn Singer, John Hendrix (Illustrations)

This is a fabulous book of poems about the presidents. Some poems are about one president, and others are about more than one. The illustrations are detailed and often give even more information about each president. I think this book is fabulous for elementary and middle school kids, and people of all ages will enjoy it.

Zane and the Hurricane: A Story of Katrina by Rodman Philbrick

Touching and raw and sad, this is an excellent story about Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. This book is great for children ages 9 and up and it is a compelling story and I think that kids will really enjoy it. I did.

The Princess In Black by Shannon Hale

Totally silly, fun easy chapter book for kids in which the main character is a girl who is a princess and also a ninja who fights off monsters! What more could you ask for? Love it! Great for elementary school age kids.

The Forbidden Flats (Sky Jumpers, #2) by Peggy Eddleman

More action and adventure and some chemistry and geology fill this second book in the series. Once again, it is up to 12 year old Hope and her friends to brave the Bomb's Breath to save their town. When an earthquake releases gasses into the atmosphere, the deadly Bomb's Breath begins to lower over their town of White Rock and if they can't get a cure and bring it back in time, the town will become uninhabitable. Awesome story!

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō, Cathy Hirano (Translator)

This book is filled with wit and wisdom. The wit is the fact that the author truly believes that inanimate objects respond to our emotions and have feelings of their own. She believes that we should greet our home, thank inanimate objects for the work that they do for us and treat them well so that they can rest and relax when they are off duty. So, we should never ball up our socks because how can they relax in the drawer if we do that? And, we should empty our purses daily so they can rest and be ready for work the next day. The wisdom in this book includes that the things that we "really like do not change over time", and "putting our house in order" can help us discover these things. Also, every time I read any book on decluttering, I get rid of stuff and this book is no exception. The author says to get rid of anything that does not fill us with joy, which is over reaching things a bit because socks do not spark joy whether I ball them up or not. I think that despite the concept of inanimate objects having feelings, the author does bring up some good points that do touch many people and help them to get rid of clutter and tidy their homes.

Unbreakable (The Legion, #1) by Kami Garcia

This is a YA paranormal romance. Kennedy is 17 (the magical age for all females in YA paranormal romances) and after her mother dies, handsome twin 17 year old boys show up at her house and save her from a vengeance spirit that has been sent to kill her. She joins the twins and two other teens and together, it is up to them to save the world from a demon that their ancestors accidentally released. Even though one of the other members of their group is a beautiful teenage girl, both brothers seem to fall for Kennedy in the typical YA paranormal romance love triangle plotline. The story is well written and there are scary ghosts and ghost hunting along with the love triangle angst. This is the first book in a series and I look forward to reading the next one!

Emily's Blue Period by Cathleen Daly, Lisa Brown (Illustrator)

This is a short chapter book in which Emily explores and deals with her unhappiness about her parents' divorce through art. She learns about Picasso's blue period and has a blue period of her own, but gradually, she comes to terms with the divorce and having two homes and she expresses that through art too.

The Scraps Book by Lois Ehlert

Interesting book in which the author/illustrator shows how she comes up with ideas for books and explains her writing and illustrating techniques. I think that kids and adults alike will find this book fascinating and fun to read.

The Lost Planet by Rachel Searles

Excellent first book in this new middle grade series. Chase wakes up with a wounded head and no memory at all. Quickly he is drawn into a race through space with action, intrigue and many secrets and unknown elements. A little bit like Star Wars and altogether an excellent adventure for kids.

Random Body Parts by Leslie Bulion ( Author), Mike Lowery (Illustrations)

What a totally cool book! It has the unusual combination of biology and poetry and with poems and riddles about body parts, also gives factual information about the human body and includes information about each poem - it's type and rhyme pattern etc... at the end of the book. I think this book is a fun and unusual way to look at body parts and poetry for kids. It includes drawings and some photographs, a glossary, a diagram of the human body, and more. From the heart to the bones, eyes, blood, pancreas, brain and more, a variety of interesting and sometimes a bit disgusting information is shared in the form of poems, rhymes and prose. It is quite informative and lots of fun to read. I received this book free to review from Netgalley and I highly recommend it.

Becoming Un-Orthodox: Stories of Ex-Hasidic Jews by Lynn Davidman

The author of this book analyzes why and how a variety of people left the Hasidic faith. She explains that the clothing, speech, food and other outward signs were large parts of their faith and what they symbolized and how changing these outward things showed how the people were changing inwardly. She also explains that no matter how much they change, their background and childhood in the Hasidic faith affects them for their entire lives. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

Serbian Cooking: Popular Recipes from the Balkan Region by Danijela Kracun, Charles McFadden

Interesting to see "Serbian" recipes. The book includes appetizers, entrees and deserts. The recipes are written in a way that should be easy to follow. They look a bit simple and plain, but that may just be what they have to work with in Serbia. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

Poems About Cats by Yasmine Surovec

A cute little book full of poems about cats
Their hunting and eating, their games and their spats
By Dickenson, Shelly, Wordsworth and Keats
Some anonymous nursery rhymes, illustrations quite neat.
If you enjoy cats and poetry too
this catalogue of poems should be pleasing to you.

Guerilla Furniture Design: A Manual for Building Lean, Modern Furnishings from Salvaged and Sustainable Materials by Will Holman

This book shows how to upcycle a variety of reclaimed items into furniture. I do like the idea of using reclaimed items to build with. The book includes a table made from an old door, a cardboard chair, traffic cone lamp, road sign chair, milk crate credenza, yogurt tub lamp and more. To me, the furniture is very functional and industrial looking and much of it is not really fashionable or attractive and some things, like the yogurt tub lamp just look like trash made into a lamp. The instructions look pretty difficult to me and I think you really have to know what you are doing and have a lot of tools and a shop to make these items. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

The Fire Wish (The Jinni Wars, #1) by Amber Lough

Set in the middle east, told alternately by Zayele, who is being taken to marry a prince she has never met and Najwa, a Jinni who is being trained to spy on humans. When they are brought together by accident or fate, Zayele grabs Najwa and wishes for the Jinni to take her place with the prince and that she would go home. Instead, they trade places. The story is fast paced and intriguing and I think that many young people will enjoy it. It ends with a cliffhanger. I look forward to reading the next book. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

It's an Orange Aardvark! by Michael Hall

Similar to Eric Carle's stories and illustrations, this colorful story shows ants drilling holes through their anthill and through the pages of the book to see what is outside. Could it be an orange aardvark? You have to read this cute, silly book to find out!

Meet the Parents by Peter Bently, Sara Ogilvie (Illustrations)

What are parents for? Well, according to this book, they may be targets of kechup and hoses and also give cuddles and tickles. The book is rather silly and children and parents may enjoy this funny, rhyming book.

I Am So Brave! by Stephen Krensky

Big dogs, the dark, and other fears that many young children have are conquered by the brave child in this cute book with colorful, fun illustrations.

Besos for Baby: A Little Book of Kisses

This is an English/Spanish board book with sweet, cute illustrations and a picture/Spanish word glossary at the back. Mommy, daddy, doggy, flowers, the wind and more all give kisses or besos.

Water Can Be... by Laura Purdie Salas

With absolutely beautiful illustrations, this book explains many things that water can be from otter feeder, to kid drencher, ship breaker to woodchuck warmer. The end of the book has explanations of how water does all those things and also includes a glossary. This is a totally fabulous book for elementary school aged children.

Some Bugs by Angela Diterlizzi, Brendan Wenzel (Illustrations)

I totally love the illustrations in this interesting rhyming children's picture book. I think it would be fun to have children try to count all the bugs on each page. There is an illustrated insect identification page at the end as well.

My Grandfather's Coat by Jim Aylesworth (Retelling), Barbara McClintock (Illustrator)

Based on a Yiddish folk song, this is a story of an American Immigrant who is a tailor and his life story is told as he sews a coat and as it wears out, he alters it into smaller and smaller items.

Early Bird by Toni Yuly

Bright, simple, fun illustrations follow a very active Early Bird as he travels across, through, over and under and more on his search for the Early Worm, with whom he shares breakfast. This is a fun action story for toddlers.

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh

This is an excellent historical fiction story about the Mendez v. Westminster case - a fight for school desegregation in 1947 in California where Mexicans were forced to attend segregated schools. This is a desegregation story that is not well known and the book does a great job of telling the story for elementary and middle school age children. It is well written and informative and includes an author's note giving more information, photographs, a glossary and other helpful reference material at the end of the book. I loved and disliked the illustrations. I love the digitalized collage effect showing a variety of textures. I did not like the faces. I found them rather fish-like and creepy and I think that some children may also find the faces disturbing. Other than that, I really loved the book and think it is fantastic.

Chips and Cheese and Nana's Knees: What Is Alliteration? by Brian P. Cleary, Martin Goneau

The drawings are goofy and the colors are bright
making this cute rhyming book a delight,
From the "bride with braids of brown"
to a landscape "humid, hot and hilly",
Alliterations always abound
in this story seeming silly.
People of all ages
from young children to the sages
Will like learning these lessons
in alliterative sessions.

This book is a cute, fun way to teach children about alliteration. I received this book free to review from Netgalley and I highly recommend it.

Henna House by Nomi Eve

This is a fascinating historical fiction story about Adela, a Yemenite Jew. The story begins in the 1920s when she is a child and shows the exile of the Jews from Yemen, the Holocaust and the remarkable emigration of the Yemenite Jews to Israel. The book details the culture and lives of the Jews in Yemen during that time including the use of henna. Adela's story is vivid and compelling, full of hope and heartbreak. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.