illustrated – Page 8 – The Constellation of Moon

Moon Reads: Night Shift

Posted on September 13, 2020

Night Shift by Debi Gliori

Rating:

I bought this book as it was on sale and it had dragons and a mental health focus, plus it was illustrated so it sounded like something I’d read and review. Which it is.

The artwork is interesting and there’s deffnitely dragons and it’s mostly black and white. And the focus of the book is how the author sees depression as a dragon that is trying to set her on fire or that sets things she likes on fire, that the smoke fromt he dragon is tiring and draining. And of course, it is about hope, about how the cycles of depression can go and you can see again a little better.

I have to say I liked the metaphor of depression as a dragon and the illustrations did this well, but the prose didn’t really stick in my head or capture my attention enough, it was for the images and the metaphor that I stuck around rather than the way it was written (which is why it doesn’t have a higher rating, as I have seen a variety of comics and ways of representing depression and this was nice but it didn’t hit as well as others had done before).

Still, it is a nice book and the art is great, so I’d still recommend, particularly if you like dragons. As much as it may not have struck as well with me in with the words, it may strike better on you or a loved one to share this with.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Sheets

Posted on August 29, 2020

Sheets by Brenna Thummler

Rating:

I got a sampler on one of the free comic book day events, and made a mental note to buy it full at some point. That point was a lot later because I don’t have the sampler anymore. But I did buy the book, so it kinda worked to give me a sampler for it? (Honestly I wish there were more demo/sampler options for books and other items, but that’s a discussion for some other day and post).

Sheets is the story of a young girl, Marjorie, trying her best to keep her family, school and laundromat afloat after her mother’s death. And a ghost, Wendell, who isn’t fitting in the ghost world after dying.

Being outsiders and just not fitting right makes for two parallel stories that at some point join when our ghost accidentally ends up haunting the laundromat and causing a lot of issues for Marjorie who does her absolute best ot help.

Thankfully at the breaking point where things are all going wrong and there is no saving grace, Wendell pulls through and works some ghostly magic for Marjorie, changing her life in a great way, plus becoming good friends.

Reading through Sheets was emotional, bittersweet but it was also nice ot read a book about some realities some kids have when the main adult checks out and they have to take adult duties and make it look the adult is still functioning so they care for themselves and any siblings.

Sadly the artwork wasn’t really my style so I wasn’t as keen on ti and it was the story that won my over this time. Still I think this is the kind of book I’d have in a school or kids library available for those that feel like ghosts in their own home and environment.

Book Review, Books

Dragons Love Tacos Review

Posted on August 9, 2020

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin. illustrated by Daniel Salmieri

Rating:

Look, a book that mixes dragons and tacos? Yes please! And lovely friend saw it and decided it was the perfect gift sonow I have a cute tiny dragon holding a taco at home.

Isn’t it adorable?

The book is all about how dragons love tacos with cute drawings of different types of dragons, what to put on the tacos to make dragons love them more and what to avoid and even features a taco party (this felt perfectly like it was describing me as I love hosting taco parties and sharing the taco love around) so it was most certainly the right book for me and I kept cooing over it.

And it comes with the little plush toy which is a nice bonus. I recommend it is a gift for a child (or an adult like me that loves dragons and tacos) and it will mean a lot fo time spent in joy looking and playing with the taco dragon and pondering what dragons one might have over for a taco party when it is possible to do that again!

Book Review, Books

Not Like The Others Review

Posted on July 9, 2020

Not Like The Others by Jana Broecker

Rating:

A friend gifted me this book out form my wishlist and I had it there because it has foxes and the artwork looks adorable!

A short cute book celebrating diversity (even if it is mostly with animals) and being different. It is in a way a readalong, an activity book and just cute to look at. Each set of pages has some information about the animal in the opposite page and then the idea is to find the one that is not like the others (hints of what makes it different are in the description).

At the end you also have more activities ifyou want to, and you could read this along, or hand to a child to just be mesmerised by the many animal sin the pages and the subtle differences (or the poignant ones) and what makes them special. Or play a “which one do you feel like right now?” I can see a lot of potential of keeping younger children absorbed in it and the little details.

All in all, a cut ebook for searching, celebrating differences and just larning a tiny bit about animals.

Book Review, Books

Giant Days Volume One

Posted on July 7, 2020

Giant Days Volume One by John Allison, Lissa Treiman (Illustrator), Whitney Cogar (Colors)

Rating:

At some point I got a sampler for this and then on a whim bought the first volume. Completely forgot about it. And recently I was doing a clear up and organising of my graphic novels/comics and this one popped up. I decided that since it looked short I’d give it a read and decide if I was actually into it or not.

You can guess what the result was… (I have somehow now purchased up to volume 13).

The three girls that share a dorm room/area are as interestingly differnet as can be. Innocent ray of sunshine, “normal” and drama queen. And well, this is a delightful mix. I giggled a lot and also I found it refreshing that the drama queen isn’t trying to be one and even bets against causing drama intentionally or not (it doesn’t go well for her bet), our normal girl isn’t that normal (woops, even if she tries) and the cute innocent sunshine has a bit of gloom and bad luck around her.

I like their weird adventures and the relationship between them which made this a fun read, the artwork worked well to give a laidback college vibe and keeping it fun even fi topics range from lighthearted crushes to mental health and drugs.

I obviously will keep reaidng once the next volumes arrive, so expect more reviews to come about Giant Days!

Book Review, Books

The Boy who Dreamed of Dragons Review

Posted on July 1, 2020

The Boy who Dreamed of Dragons by Andy Shepherd. Illustrated by Sara Ogilvie.

Rating:

I discovered The Boy who Grew Dragons a while back and adored it so I ended up buying all three books. And then they announced there would be a fourth one and I immediately preordered it because between the cute illustrations and the adorable story, I was sold (plus, dragons, very important part).

The best way I can summarise what the book is all about is to say that it is a transition story, from what happened in the previous three to what is to come if there are more books (which I hope there are). There a lot of changes for the superhero squad, and some new characters added.

Tomas is struggling to cope with the changes and feels like things are moving too fast, but there are ways around them and change brings growth which is a lesosn he definitely has to learn in this book. Plus one of the new characters brings potentially lots of new stories to the game (and I am hoping they will come in more books for sure). We see more Flicker and more dragosn whcih was enjoyable, I just was sad that my original idea of what dreaming of dragons meant wasn’t what happened but I still liked what the title implied to (and it was more fo a “I went expecting/guessing this and something else happened but I still wish this one thing was something in this universe” maybe it will be at some point…)

One of my favourite things is the cute dragons and how unique they are which was wonderful to see here. And the relationships of family like how Tomas and his sister Lolli get along and I love that, or when he interacts with his grandfather. It is lovely to see some family around and the dynamics behind them.

As I mentioned before, the artwork is great and very enjoyable, giving the story a little bit more fun and depth. So go get the first one, or maybe the whole set, because maybe you will suddenly find an interesting fruit and need to know how to deal with the little dragon that may pop out of it!

Book Review, Books

Fox and the Box Review

Posted on June 27, 2020

Fox and the Box by Yvonne Ivinson

Rating:

I got this book gifted by a friend frm my wishlist, and I loved it. I can review it here but I think the best review you will get is my reading it aloud.

https://twitter.com/themoonkestrel/status/1274258010911670272

I absolutely adored the story and the artwork to match, it is easy, sweet but such a delight to read as you can see from the video. It is a gorgeous fun book that I would recommend as a joy to read to anybody who wants a bit of kindness and niceness in their lives or who wants a cute book to read to their children.

Come on, it has a fox in it!

Book Review, Books

A Mouse Called Julian Review

Posted on June 17, 2020

A Mouse Called Julian by Jow Todd-Stanton

Rating:

Look, picture books that have sneaky foxes in the cover or involved foxes as characters, I will most probably add to my wishlist, and this was not the exception.

I needed a small filler book while I waiting between budyd reads and this fit the bill perfectly. It made me feel good and surprisingly goes well with the whole avoiding others and staying inside because of lockdown.

Julian likes to keep to his own company and has learned how to avoid his neighbours, until a sneaky fox shows up and things change for Julian. The artwork is extremely cute, and the story was sweet for a moment making you think something may happen and then it gets better whcih was nice to read.

I liked the concept behind it and feel like feel good books about those that keep their own company are rare, but this one was cute, fun and just worth reading.

So if you like mice, foxes, cute stories or just something to cheer up, I can recommend this book!

Book Review, Books

Ava Twist, Scientist Review

Posted on May 30, 2020

Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty and Illustrated by David Roberts

Rating:

I got this lovely little book from Faye from my wishlist and it did not disappoint.

Ada Twist is a very curious little one and that may get her into trouble. the artwork is wonderful, the relationship of the family and how they try to help Ada, figure out how to answer her questions (because she is absolutely crammed full of them) and just be there.

Obviously at times Ada may get into trouble and still you can feel the love from her family, the curiosity from Ada and how much she has a scientific hypothesis approach in everything.

I think this is a wonderful book to give a curious kid that has all the questions and keeps looking for answers, and to the parents too as it wil show both sides and maybe afterwards add a book about the kids best interests because I just felt like researching and diving deep into a book after reading this.

Book Review, Books

Roller Girl Review

Posted on May 19, 2020

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson

Rating:

When I was a teenager I went from artistic rollerblading to inline hockey and loved it. Derby sounded fun but it just wasn’t an option so I did the ones I had available and loved them. This meant that when I saw this book pop up in suggested reads I got curious and bought it because it sounded fun.

We start with Astrid being bullied a little about the fact she’s rollerblaidng and that it is something for little kids rather than teens/older kids (she’s 12 years old) by someone she doesn’t like and her used to be best friend.

Their friendship soured over summer camp as Astrid had fallen starry eyed for roller derby and wanted to do a roller derby summer camp whereas Nicole (the ex best friend) is a ballet dancer and didn’t tell Nicole she wasn’t going to go with her, just kinda let her assume she would join and then told her she was actually going to ballet camp. (Is there a camp for everything?)

Astrid sees this as a betrayal and this adds up to the fact that roller derby isn’t as easy as she thought it’d be and the camp is hard work.

The story is very much a “becoming a teen and dealing with confusion, new emotions and changes in your whole social life” which I got so well as it went along. Astrid has to navigate making new friends, evaluating who she is and what type of friend she wants to be versus what she used to be and relationship dynamics (not just friends but what about her relationship with her mother?).

It is a lovely graphic novel dealing with a lot of interesting topics, particularly bases of changes as you slowly turn into a teenager and hormones start making you a bundle of confusion (plus how we all do things at a different pace, and how some do it due to peer pressure whereas others just do their thing and become outcasts).

I’d happily give this book to teen me as she struggled to comprehend and deal with all the sudden changes, it would’ve made it a little easier. As Astrid did, I found skating was a wonderful activity and gave new friendships and new things to do outside of school.

All in all, it kept me in the story, I felt for Astrid but also wanted at times to shake some sense into her but at the end felt very proud of where she got to. And now I want to do some rollerblading too…