Tag: illustrated

Book Review

Moon Reads: Adulthood is a Myth

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Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Andersen

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No I have read some of the single comics before

Ownership: Bought for myself to cheer me up

Spoiler free review: No

Series: Sarah’s Scribbles

Ok, I have read some of Sarah’s comics before on and off from instagram and blogs and the ones people share. I used to follow her on tubmlr and then stopped being so into tumblr, so probably why. But I still like them and I found a copy of the book really cheap second hand so thought you know what? Let’s find some funny good things in life and buy the book and read it and enjoy and giggle.

Of course, being part of the Sarah’s Scribbles series, this is hilarious, has a lot of “relatable” comics, I think I spent most of the time take screenshots and either sending them to my husband or sending them to my friends to what matched our relationships or anecdotes or stories and have a giggle with them.

Which is to say that probably the best review I can give for this book isn’t a very long one but can be summarised into the fact that this book will probably contain at least one strip or comic that will resonate with one or many friends and family members so you will want to share it around and make other smile or laugh or go “do you remember?” or maybe do a “this is us/me/you” to someone as you share and maybe you will also want to make others read it after you have finished because it made you smile and feel like the world wasn’t just you against it but others struggle too and we all try to make fun or it and make the most out of it, and just get on by.

Book Review

Moon Reads: I Don’t Like Books. Never. Ever. The End.

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I Don’t Like Books. Never. Ever. The End. by Emma Perry and Sharon Davey

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: It was a cheer up gift from my best friend.

Spoiler free review: No. Due to it being short and illustrated, this may contain spoilers.

With a title like that, I couldn’t resist adding the book to my wishlist and I assume that is why it was what Nikki sent me. This is the story of a girl called Mabel who keeps getting books as gifts, all the time. And her response is that she doesn’t like them so could people please stop gifting her more books?

However, she still uses the books, to make towers of books, as sleds, as coasters, whatever you can imagine that is not reading the book, she’s probably done it to the book and used it for it! Very creative book uses, but still she does not read them, until one night the books have had enough!

And as she explores stories and falls from book into book without actually getting the full story but just her interest piequed, she decides maybe she might just try reading one, just the one, maybe she doesn’t dislike books that much?

You can imagine where this goes so I’ll leave it there but needless to say I had a lot of fun reading this and the illustrations make it even better, starting from the many alternative book uses t the stories Mabel is missing out on. It was a good cheer up gift and I can recommend it is a funny story or a book to read aoud to kids and let them even try some of the safer alternative book uses for a giggle or something.

Recommended for kids who don’t like books, and those that do, and anyone that may not be a kid but that loves books and illustrations and fun short stories.

Book Review

Moon Reds: Space Detectives Blog Tour

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Space Detective by Mark Powers and Illustrated by Dapo Adeola

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No

Ownership: A copy was provided by the publisher so I could participate in the blogtour but this doesn’t influence my opinion of it.

Spoiler free review: Yes

Space Detectives is a really cute “mystery” middle grade. It is set in a space city orbiting the Earth were our two main characters are spending their summer helping in the ice cream shop. There is a fun cast of alien species making their appearance and odd flavours of ice cream.

But the main event is that as they make friends, they stumble upon a big mess where the space city is on a collition course to the Moon! Our brave pair then decide they can’t let it just stand and they should try to solvethis mystery. They are even joined by their new friend and so chaos ensues as they try to find a way in to investigate and help fix the course of the station.

Overall, I enjoyed the fun story and there were a lot of funny moments however two “science” fails really struck to me, one related to their smart suits and the other related to the actual plot of the collition course being set and “fixed” but there is also a lot of encouragement towards science and computers so I just hope it helps encourage kids to those fields rather than put them off.

The artwork is extremely cute and I had so much fun seeing how the alien species appeared in the illustrations, specially the bat rats which I kinda wanted as pets and also at the same time found slightly terrifying!

Recommended for anyone wanting a wacky space adventure with a quick mystery and save the day story.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Mist Monster

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The Mist Monster by Kirsti Beautyman

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: Bought for myself

Spoiler free review: No

Ok, a mist monster sounds cute and the artwork looked sweet so I had to get it, I have a soft spot for friendly monsters (did anyone ever watch Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends?).

Anyway, this is a story about Penny after she moves to her new house which she isn’t sure she likes, but then she goes out to play and bumps into Morris, a mist monster that joins her in an adventure and as they adventure they discover new friends.

Obviously as the mists recede, Morris disappears but that doesnt mean Penny is on her own anymore and she meets Morris every misty day.

I mean, the story is cute, its about adapting to new places and giving things a chance, but also about making friends and being open to finding them even if we’re not in our usual place, a good book to gift to a child moving house or just one who wants to make friends or feels a bit lonely.

The artwork wins and is very fitting to the story so I was super happy with reading it.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Franklin and Luna and the Book of Fairy Tales

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Franklin and Luna and the Book of Fairy Tales by Jen Campbell and Katie Harnett

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: Christmas gift from a lovely friend (Zoe)

Spoiler free review: No

Series: Franklin and Luna #3, you can read my review for the the first and second adventure if you want to know about them.

This time the story is about Luna and the town people preparing a party for Franklin, but they’ve to distract him on his birthday so they go on an adventure.

Accidentally, while browsing books, Luna’s pet turtle goes into a locked book so they follow. Inside the book they start finding the characters of various fairy tales (I think this is the perfect opportunity to “queue” each fairy tale to be read for the next few nights after this book if you’re reading this aloud or if it is a young reader on their own and testing their wings) and as they explain that they’re searching for their turtle friend.

No one has seen the turtle until they find the right fariytale (I’ll let you guess which one, though I’d classify it is a fable rather than a tale). And then they make it to the party with some extra friends tagging along.

I like the concpet of it and that characters keep showing up but new ones come through each new book and the artwork is stunning and fun so I can highly recommend it still. It makes me happy to just read the books and chill.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Winter Tales

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Winter Tales by Dawn Casey and Zanna Goldhawk

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: A Christmas gift via wishlist

Spoiler free review: No

This book is a collection of short “fairy tales” from different countries around the world. Each of the tales comes with an introduction of which country the story comes from and some background on it.

The book starts with The White Bear King which is the tale of the bear prince and the princess who goes with him and then sees him at night and has to go rescue him, from Norway.

Tanuki‘s Gold is a tale from Japan about a monk and a tanuki that visits him every winter instead of hibernating which I found very sweet.

The Mitten is short and sweet and feels like the kind of story that is a verse rather than a long tale, about a boy who loses one mitten in the snow and the creatures that find it ot be a cosy home.

A Cloak for the Moon is about the moon wanting a nice cloak but being unable to find cloth for herself until a brave tailor goes around on a quest for the Moon.

The Nutcracker is a familiar tale about a young girl, and an enchanted nutcracker gifted to her.

The Poinsettia is a tale from Mexico about why the poinsettias are called “Noche Buena” which is “Holy Night/the good night” as it was a gift during Christmas season.

Wee Robin Red Breast and The Little Black Cat are both are animals and winter and finding companionship and in similar sense feel shorter tales or verse tales.

The Snow Maiden is about a child made from snow by a couple and blessed by Winter to become a snow child.

The Silver Pinecones explains the tradition of painting silver pine cones thanks to a gnome king.

The Apple Tree Man is all about wassailing and blessings by taking care of what is given to you and nature.

Sister and Brother is about a pair of siblings that dont help their mother and end up having her taken away by Blizzard so they embark on a quest to rescue her and learn to be more helpful and kind.

The Mother of the Sea is about why winter nights become shorter and we get a nicer seaosn after ward.

The Snow Queen is a traditional tale of a queen that has inspired many other tales.

Rabbit’s Gift is a fun take on how what you give comes back to you in a way.

The Children and the Sun is a Southern African tale that I hadnt read before.

The Twelve Months is a tale about two young girls and how they see the world. I know this tale as the “Seven Days of the Week” but the actual results is the same on how the one girl is blessed and the other isn’t due to how they treat others.

Brigit and the Cailleach is the tale of the origin of Brigit.

Overall it is a lovely delightful collection of wintery and seasonal tales with stunnign illustrations and as I read it I felt like I was going back in time to sitting in my grandparents living room ont he floor reading the various treasuries of tales from different countries, and it was just a really nice read. I think you could also read this one tale each night to children and itd be a nice tradition for December for example.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Marvellous Moon Map

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The Marvellous Moon Map by Teresa Heapy and David Litchfield

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No

Ownership: Gifted by a friend from my wishlist.

Spoiler free review: No.

Mouse is excited to set off and find the moon following the Marvellous Moon Map, but his friend Bear worries about how he will manage and if he is well prepared. Mouse starts the adventure in high spirits but as the time goes by, the woods get darker, the weather gets worse and suddenly a map isn’t enough to get by and find the moon.

Thankfully Bear was worried and so prepared a way to save Mouse. They do make it to the moon and Mouse realises how valuable true friendship is and how having friends makes discoveries and things more fun and better, plus easier to deal with.

This is one of those books that are good for read aloud or just letting a young reader go through. The pictures tell most of the story but it has dialogue so also quite fun either way. The artwork is stunning and I was happy to read it and pause to see all the details of what is happening to Mouse, and Bear once he joins the adventure.

Recommended for those wanting a book about friendship for children, a nice read as an adult, something about the moon or cute artwork of animals, it is very soft in colours and feeling.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Happy Narwhalidays

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Happy Narwhalidays by Ben Clanton

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No

Ownership: Preordered as I love this series.

Spoiler free review: No

Before the year ends and the holiday season is behind us, I had to share my review for the fourth Narwhal and Jelly book, which is all about their version of the holidays. There is a magical mermaid unicorn that brings gifts just for giggles to the sea creatures and as per usual Jelly is skeptical but ends up wanting to give a gift to Narwhal, and Narwhal is the cheerful bundle of joy as usual.

I had a lot of fun reading this just before setitng the Christmas tree up and while trying to finally get a feel for the Christmas spirit which I wasnt feeling very much this year due to circumstances *points at world and situation*. But Narwhal is so chirpy and so hopeful that you just can’t resist it and suddenly you feel a little bit more cheerful, a little bit more into the holiday spirit and maybe even wishing a magical mermaid unicorn had brought you a gift or something to spread the holiday cheer.

The artwork is simple but it doesnt take away anyting from it, as it is very expressive and fits well the story, there are still waffles and a lot of sea creature friends alongside Jelly and Narwhal and I can recommend it as a feel good cheer up read where you need all the books from this series because one is just not enough, in a good way.

Recommended for those who love sea facts, narwhals, jellyfish, friendship and cute cartoons. It is a read on your own, or just look at the pictures or share a giggle with someone kind of book.

Book Review, Subscription Boxes

Moon Hauls: Tarot of the Divine and Beneath the Moon

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This is a mix “review” of two things I got that I couldn’t really separate just for the sake of posting about them.

The first is the deck of Tarot of the Divine. This was made by Yoshi Yoshitani and the focus was to make it diverse, queer and just full or new meaning. Each card is a story, some deeper meaning and I absolutely love the artwork and the connections made, plus the fact that it features stories and lore from all over the world, not just the usuals or just the European fairytales. It goes beyond that and does an amazing job and the meanings of the story/lore matching the meaning of the card they represent in the deck.

As a tie in, there is a book, Beneath the Moon, which collects the artwork and stories that feature in the deck. It doesn’t collect everything, since it’d be a very thick book if it did, but it features the main ones, and it made me really excited to read the stories and feel like this is a perfect fairytale book to keep coming back to. It has the stories, gorgeous colourful art and a lot of diversity in cultures and countries.

As a coherent couple fo things, I am just in awe at the immense work Yoshi put into making this deck and book. Every card has packed so much detail trying to convey the story but at the same time, to make them tie in with their meaning and with the opening of many possible interpretations.

There are stories from every continent, form every type of story, I don’t even have enough words on how exciting this is for me since it is gorgeous and perfect.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Once Upon A Dragon’s Fire

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Once Upon A Dragon’s Fire by Beatrice Blue

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

I reviewed a while ago Beatrice’s other book, Once Upon A Unicorn Horn, so when I saw this one was coming, I preordered it. It is easy, make a book I enjoyed, I will almost always preorder your next books.

The artwork was top class, but that was no surprise given I enjoy Beatrice’s art a lot. And as per the previous book, this is a book giving things a new “origin” so in this case it is centered around a dragon and fire.

This is about two children that made up adventures and were obsessed with dragon stories so they decide to go search the dragon and thanks to them “fire” is invented.

Look it is way better than I am describing!

In all honesty the story is a great read out loud or act out one, the artowkr and pictures are full of detail and cuteness, and the story is reaffirming and all about tenderness and warmth (and some dragon fire too).

It has a dragon, fire, and a great story, so this is a definite win and I am eagerly awaiting what else we may get as an origin of this thing type of book from Beatrice Blue.