Early Reader Review: Toad Weather by Sandra Markle

Toad Weather by Sandra Markle
Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
Publication Date:  March 1, 2015

 

Format: ebook
Source: Netgalley and Peachtree Publishers in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this book in no way effects my opinion or review.

Rating:

 



Goodreads Synopsis: 

There's nothing to do on a rainy day or so Ally thinks. But Mama says shes seen something amazing, so despite Ally's misgivings, she sets out on an adventure with her mother and grandmother. On her journey, she sees all sorts of things: dripping awnings, wet cardboard, splashing cars but also earthworms, storm drain geysers, and oil slick patterns. And then they turn the corner, just in time to see a big crowd. Whats happening?

 Review: 


 I snatched up this book from Netgalley for the sole reason that I love toads. I have a garden and this past spring I had a few toads living in it - unimaginatively I named them all Mr. Toad and there was a big fat one that was my favorite. I loved have them, they were great for the garden - eating all the bugs and critters that might destroy my small crops and they are adorable :).

Toad Weather is an adorable book about a toad migration and a mother showing her daughter that even a dreary, rainy day can be full of fun and surprises. The illustrations by Gonzalez are aboslutely beautiful and vibrant and with this amazing story only add to the appeal of this book.

The information about the toads is fun for kids and may even lead to questions about the strange slimy creatures. I enjoyed how this book made a rainy day seem interesting and fun for kids - I love rainy days but many kids don't, but they can be just as eventful as a bright sunny day - as this story shows.

The lyrical way the story was written was alluring and I am so happy I spotted this book to review. 

Recent Reads: In Search of Lost Dragons by Elian Black'mor and Carine M

In Search of Lost Dragons by Elian Black'mor and Carine M
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Publication Date:  December 30, 2014

 

Format: ebook
Source: Netgalley and Dynamite Entertainment in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this book in no way effects my opinion or review.

Rating:


 


 

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Gorgeous full-color paintings, accompanied by a unique story of world-wide exploration and dragon encounters! On the trail of dragons forgotten, an intrepid illustrator and reporter journeys from Europe through the Middle East and finally to Saigon in search of the dark caverns and mountaintop perches where the elusive winged serpents dwell. With the gift of seeing the invisible, our explorer friend records each encounter in a journal of gorgeous, fully painted artwork, capturing every majestic and fearsome visual detail of the scaly behemoths, and accompanies his findings with snippets of local lore as evidence that these hidden beasts continue to shape the world in ways we may never expect!

 Review:
This book was absolutely beautiful, I loved everything about it. Full of sketches, paintings, and fantasy, this graphic novel took my breath away. The story is told as if it is a private, personal journal interspersed with all of this wonderful art. 

I LOVED this graphic novel, I don't think I can say it enough. The writer goes on a trip through Europe on a quest to find the various dragons that may still be alive and he finds a bunch of them, chronicling details about them and sketching images from his journey. 

The amount of detail in the art of this graphic was overwhelming. The artist captured the fantastical, whimsy of the world of dragons wonderfully and my only hope is to find these poster sized, they are beautiful.



 

Recent Reads: Lola Going Green by Christine Pakkala with Giveaway!

Lola: Going Green
Series:Last But Not Least Lola #1
Publisher: Boyd Mills Press
Publication Date:  September 2013

 

Format: Paperback ARC
Source: BEA 2013 from the publisher. Receiving this book in no way effects my review or opinions of it.

Rating:




 


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Lola Zuckerman is always last -- ding-dong, Z-for-Zuckerman last. What this means, of course, is that Lola has to win first place in her class's "Going Green" contest. And she'll need to beat Amanda Anderson -- always first, and more importantly, her ex-best-friend! In this laugh-out-loud story with unforgettable characters -- the first in an ongoing series about Lola's travails -- Lola's out to prove that while she may be last, she is certainly not least! 

 Review: 
This was a very cute book about a young girl who is always last, the very last - her last name starts with a Z and she is not happy about it. On top of that, her brother wins at everything and her best friend hates her. 

In Lola #1, we meet Lola Zuckerman, her family and class and talk about Going Green. Lola's class is working on how best to 'go green' and Lola is determined to win. As always though, her class will present their ideas in order, alphabetical order, so Lola will be last... again. 

This was a fun book, Lola is a funny little girl and her problem solving is fun to follow. The book will also have great pictures for young readers - my copy was an ARC so I only have pictures up through page 35, but they were fun and added to those beginning chapters very well.

I think young readers will enjoy this book and this series, the ideas for the going green project were instructive and they could be fun projects to do at home. Overall, I think this was a fun book.

Now would you like my copy? I have 1 paperback ARC to giveaway, only slightly worn from my shelves and one read.

Giveaway is open to the US only

Ages 13+ or with a parents permission

Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below.

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Building the Book Pile #128

Welcome to Building the Book Pile!  A Weekly meme inspired by Stacking the Shelves

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

What's Happening?! 

How was your week ? Let me know in the comments.


So we got some more snow :) but we also had today, which was above freezing so it helped clear a lot of the ice/snow from our driveway. 

In Blog news - I had a lot  of things go up on the blog last week (Guest Posts, Interviews, Excerpts, Cover Reveals, Reviews) and I forgot a few things too (whoops) oh well, there is always this week :). 

Work is crazy busy and I have to stay late a few times this week but I am hoping to still get some reading done. 

How was your week?

Giveaways Going on NOW

5 $10 Amazon Gift Cards

Coming up on the Blog...

  

Recent Reads: Lola Going Green by Christine Pakkala (MG)

Recent Reads: Eliza Bluebell by A.J. York (MG)

Recent Reads: In Search of Lost Dragons by Elian Black'mor and Carine M (GN)

Early Reader Review: Toad Weather by Sandra Markle (MG/ Youth) 

No Books Received this Week

   

 

I picked up 

Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #2) from Netgalley and Random House Books for young readers

In Search of Lost Dragons by Elian Black'mor and Carine M from Netgalley and Dynamite Entertainment

Gronk: A Monster's Story by Katie Cook (Volume 2) from Netgalley and Action Lab Entertainment

 

 

Have you missed anything lately? 

•  Blog Tour: Guest Post -- Top 10 Things When I Write by Jeanne Barker w/ giveaway 

• Recent Reads: William Shakespeare's Star Wars by Ian Doescher (Adult)- 4 stars
  
  
• Blog Blast: Sword by Amy Bai w/ giveaway
  
  
• The Taylor Swift Book Tag (I was tagged a while ago by Liliana) 
  
  
• Short Interview & Excerpt: Dead Girl Walking by Ruth Silver (YA)

• Cover Reveal: Consent by Nancy Ohlin (YA)

 

  Comment and leave me a link to your Round-up/ STS/ Weekly...anything post and I will happily stop by and say hello!

 Happy Reading!

Cover Reveal: Consent by Nancy Ohlin

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This is a simple, wonderful cover, I love it!

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Consent by Nancy Ohlin 
Published by: Simon Pulse
Publication date: November 10th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

About the Book

Bea has a secret.
Actually, she has more than one. There’s her dreams for the future that she can’t tell anyone—not her father and not even her best friend, Plum.
And now there’s Dane Rossi. Dane is hot, he shares Bea’s love of piano, and he believes in her.
He’s also Bea’s teacher.
When their passion for music crosses into passion for each other, Bea finds herself falling completely for Dane. She’s never felt so wanted, so understood, so known to her core. But the risk of discovery carries unexpected surprises that could shake Bea entirely. Bea must piece together what is and isn’t true about Dane, herself, and the most intense relationship she’s ever experienced, in this absorbing novel from Nancy Ohlin.

About the Author

I am the author of BEAUTY, a YA retelling of the Snow White tale, and ALWAYS,

FOREVER, a YA retelling of Daphne du Maurier's REBECCA. ALWAYS, FOREVER was originally published in hardcover as THORN ABBEY.

I've also contributed to several celebrity novels, including a New York Times-bestselling YA trilogy.

I'm currently hard at work on my next YA novel, which will be as mind-bending as ALWAYS, FOREVER (I hope!).

My favorite cures for writers' block are long walks, long showers, popcorn, chocolate, and really expensive coffee. I talk to myself a lot while I write (you know, to make sure the dialogue zings).

Find the Author

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads Author Page

Short Interview and Excerpt -- Dead Girl Walking by Ruth Silver

Dead Girl Walking (Royal Reaper) by Ruth Silver

Published: November 25, 2014

Publisher: Booktrope 

About the Book
Forget everything you know about grim reapers.

Princess Ophelia Dacre sneaks out of the castle to visit her boyfriend in secret. A perfect night cut short when she’s brutally murdered.

Ophelia is given the rare chance to become a grim reaper. She must become Leila Bele, cut ties with her old life, and follow the rules of the reapers. Her greatest adventure begins with death.    

Now includes the prequel Ashes to Ashes as a bonus story in the Booktrope edition. Available in eBook & Paperback.
 

Add to Goodreads

Licensed to Ruth Silver

ON SALE FOR JUST 99 cents!!!

Available on Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Licensed to Ruth Silver

  “Listen, kid, I don’t care what you believe in. It’s not for me to say what’s true and untrue, real or unreal. My assignment was you. You get to be one of us, if you want it. Otherwise, you move on, life is over, kaput.” Ophelia backed away from the stranger. For the first time, she realized she didn’t feel cold and wasn’t shivering. Is this what being dead was like? “One of you?” “A grim reaper.” He held out his hand to properly introduce himself. “Edon Montgomery, head reaper and old soul.”  

Do you have any plans to write a spin-off for Aberrant? 

Yes! I am currently working on an untitled project that is a prequel, spin-off. I haven't spoken much about it, but I will say there is plenty of action and a world to explore that we've barely touched in the Aberrant trilogy.  

What are you currently working on? 

I've got several writing projects underway. Forget Me Knot (Royal Reaper 2) is in edits right now with an expected Spring 2015 release. I'm also writing steamy adult fiction under the name Ravyn Rayne, which will be available this year as well. You can find those projects on Ravyn Rayne Reads.  

Do you have a full-time job? 

Writing and marketing my own novels is my full-time job. It involves far more than 40 hours a week, but I love it, so I don't mind.  

 

About the Author

Ruth Silver is the best-selling author of the Aberrant trilogy. With a passion for writing and a love of story-telling, Ruth is actively writing two series: Royal Reaper and Orenda. Her interests also include traveling, reading, and photography. Her favorite vacation destination is Australia. Ruth currently resides in Plainfield, Illinois. She can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and her book blog Write Away Bliss.

The Taylor Swift (UUUUUGGGGG) Book Tag

Liliana @ Lili Lost In a Book tagged me... how nice of her. I am not a huge fan of Taylor Swift but thought this would be entertaining.

So here goes...

 

We Are Never Getting Back Together

A book/series that I thought I loved, but then wanted to break up with   Yea, so this was supposed to be a trilogy then became 6 books -- um nope nope nope. I read through book 4 and I was over it...  

Red

A book with a red cover

The Best Day
A book that makes me feel nostalgic

Love Story
A book with forbidden love

I Knew You Were Trouble  
A book with a bad character that you couldn’t help but love

The Hunter...<3

Innocent
A book that someone spoiled the ending for

I haven't finished reading the series, but I already know the ending :(

Everything Has Changed  
A character from a book who goes through extensive character development
 
Katniss -- right? right...

You Belong With Me
My most anticipated release

So have you read Fangirl? Well, Carry On will be a book - I can NOT wait!



Forever and Always
My favorite book couple

Yukiko and Buruu 

(I know, not a real 'couple' but I love them together)

Begin Again  
A series that deserves a second chance

Wonderland  
My favorite fictional world

I still want to walk into wardrobes and end up in Narnia



Last Kiss  
A series that I’m not ready to let go of, even though it ended

Clean
A series I’m glad is over

It just ended SO well.
 

Wildest Dreams  
My favorite fictional guy
 


Jem

Enchanted
A book I found by accident that I ended up loving

I love this series SO much (xoxoxo)

All You Had to Do Was Stay

A book I DNFed that I wish I’d given another chance

 XX

I don't have many DNFs and of those I don't think I would give them another chance...

And LASTLY .... I TAG:

Michelle @ Playing Jokers

Anya @ On Starships and Dragonwings 

Candace @ Candace's Book Blog 

and

Angie @ Angela's Anxious Life

(sorry...I'm not sorry)