Rockabye Baby!

Rockabye Baby!
By: Baby Rock Records
5/5 Stars

Summary: The Rockabye Baby! albums use the familiar songs parents love by their favorite artists and turn them into calming instrumental-only lullabies that are kid-friendly. They have more than 50 renditions to choose from including the Beatles, Beach Boys, Green Day, and Nirvana.

Review: Any Rockabye Baby! album would make a great addition to your child’s music collection. Parents get to enjoy their favorite songs by their favorite artists with their kids without having to worry about the music sounding too harsh or the lyrics being inappropriate, as it is all instrumental and transformed into a light, soothing lullaby. This is also a great way to introduce your child to your music and avoid some of the children’s music you can’t stand or heard a million times already. It’s also interesting to hear a song you love turned into a pretty lullaby. Some of my favorite Rockabye Baby! albums include lullabies made from music from Journey, Elvis, and the Beach Boys.

Interred with Their Bones

Interred with Their Bones

Author: Jennifer Lee Carrell
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Reviewer: Lydia

Jennifer Lee Carrell’s debut book was an instant bestseller when it was released, and even after a few years it is still a thrilling read. The story contains an intriguing mystery surrounding history’s greatest playwright, the highly prolific yet extremely enigmatic William Shakespeare.

Dr. Kate Stanley is a Shakespearean scholar who left academia to stage theatre productions in London. However, she is pulled back into her former life when her best friend reveals a secret and gives her a mysterious object mere hours before she is brutally murdered.

Spurred on by her friend’s untimely death and the prospect of finding a lost play by Shakespeare which no one has ever seen, Kate must navigate a treacherous world where her friends may be her enemies, and a ruthless killer will stop at nothing to obtain a priceless artifact.

Carrell’s book is a fascinating look at the life of Shakespeare, and she manages to teach her readers a lot without compromising the fast-paced plot. While the writing isn’t spectacularly vivid or creative, I overlooked this minor detraction because I was so engrossed in the man behind the mystery.

Carrell has also written and released another Shakespearean mystery featuring Dr. Kate Stanley and Shakespeare’s chilling play Macbeth titled Haunt Me Still.

Frogs and Toads: Max's Magical Journey

Frogs and Toads: Max's Magical Journey
By: Phase 4 Films
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Reviewer: Christi

Summary: Six-year-old Max has an important mission: find some frog eggs for his older brother. Together with his friend Jesse he embarks on an adventurous and heartwarming journey through fields, farms, and a forest, which eventually leads to his grandma's house. There he's welcomed by his grandma, her pancakes, and the desired frog eggs. On his overwhelming journey through nature, he's accompanied by cheerful children's songs.

Review: This is a story of Max and his mission to find his brother some ‘pond scum’ (tadpoles). Max’s brother is going to have his tonsils removed and he tells Max the only way he’ll be able to talk again is if Max brings him pond scum. When Max sets out on this mission he meets a friend and they go on an adventure to try and find his brothers magical cure. Parents recommended this movie to me and did they find a gem! This was absolutely one of the best children’s movies I’ve seen in a long time! It had some of that charm of movies from when I was a kid. Frogs and Toads would be perfect for preschool aged kids. This movie is dubbed from Dutch but within about 5-10 minutes you don’t even notice it anymore. Give this movie a chance you will be pleasantly surprised.  Rated G.

Edgar Allan's Official Crime Investigation Notebook

Edgar Allan's Official Crime Investigation Notebook
Author: Mary Amato
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Reviewer: Aleece

Summary: When someone takes a pet goldfish, then other items from Ms. Herschel’s classroom, each time leaving a clue in the form of a poem, student Edgar Allan competes with a classmate to be first to solve the mystery.

Review: I really liked how this book incorporated poems into the plot, as well as used them as clues that the thief left.  This book is really funny when you hear the main character, Edgar talk to himself in his notebook.  His internal monologue is actually written out in his notebook which makes it very funny to read.  While Edgar is “observing” possible suspects of the crime he comes to realize that some people are hiding their true feelings and decides that he will try to make them feel better through poetry.  By doing this Edgar not only makes his classmates feel better but they become friends as a result and everyone comes together to solve the crime.  Overall, this book was a good mystery and had interesting twists.  The character development was really well done and you could feel what the characters were feeling as Edgar described them through his notebook. This book is listed on the 2014 Bluestem List.

The Demonologist

The Demonologist

Author: Andrew Pyper
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Reviewer: Lydia

Possibly due to the fact that I read them in succession, Andrew Pyper's newest work, The Demonologist, was initially very reminiscent of Dan Brown's latest novel Inferno. From the very first page both characters are middle-aged male academics who travel to Italy where they uncover clues and puzzles linked to art (Brown’s novel) and literature (Pyper’s novel).

However, this is where the similarities end. Pyper’s novel details Professor David Ullman’s journey to Italy after encountering a strange woman with a mysterious message. Ullman is an expert in John Milton’s most famous work, Paradise Lost, and he is summoned to Italy to, in the words of the strange woman, “witness an event related to his academic field.” Once in Italy, however, horror ensues; after witnessing what appears to be a demonic possession, Ullman watches as his daughter jumps mysteriously to her death in the river below.

Ullman is heartbroken, and returns to the United States. However, he is convinced that the demonic possession he witnessed has somehow exerted its influence over him and his daughter, and may even be the cause of her suicide. Once he returns home Ullman follows clues across the country, many taken from Paradise Lost itself, ultimately unearthing answers to his daughter’s suicide and his own family’s secrets in a surprise ending that will shock you.

The Demonologist is a truly terrifying book, and the many twists and turns and thrills and chills make this book a fast-paced and delightful read. The subject matter is extremely interesting, and Pyper manages to weave demonic possession, devils, and classic literary texts into a coherent mystery. Pyper is also a very gifted writer who blends the sublime with the everyday, and manages to paint scenes and settings with superb ease. This book is for fans of Dan Brown who like their books scary.

Inferno

Inferno

Author: Dan Brown
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Reviewer: Lydia

Author of some of the most famous books of all time—The DaVinci Code, Angels and Demons, and The Lost Symbol—Dan Brown has some big shoes to fill with his latest book titled Inferno. Brown’s recurrent character, the ever-resourceful and extremely intelligent Harvard symbologist named Robert Langdon, is back again for another historical thriller.

Brown’s other novels have dealt with secret societies, priceless paintings, and cryptic codes. This novel is no different, and centers on one of history’s greatest writers, Dante Alighieri, author of the famous epic poem The Divine Comedy. This poem details Dante’s fictional journey through hell. Dante’s poem consists of three separate parts, named Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise.

Brown’s book begins as Robert Langdon wakes up dazed and confused in a hospital in Italy. He has no recollection of the last few days, and is unsure why he is thousands of miles from home. Added to the mystery is the fact that someone—actually, many people—are out to kill Robert Langdon. With the help of his newfound friend Sienna Brooks, Langdon must navigate the city to uncover dark secrets about who his enemies are, and why they are trying to destroy him.

The mystery is connected to Dante’s book, and Langdon must draw on his resources and cunning wit in order to solve puzzles, cryptograms, and codes before the clock runs out. The book is similar in plot and structure to all of Brown’s other works: there is a mystery which must be solved, Langdon solves this mystery with a beautiful woman, and there are bad guys and good guys and a healthy dose of information on paintings and artists. Even though the book is somewhat predictable, I find the puzzles and clues fascinating, as well as Brown’s descriptions of Langdon’s surroundings. Pick up this book for a thrilling academic mystery which you’ll devour in days!

The Beatrice Letters (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

The Beatrice Letters (A Series of Unfortunate Events)
Author: Lemony Snickett
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Reviewer: Helen

Summary: The book reveals a series of letters, alternating between Lemony’s letters to lost love Beatrice and her letters to Lemony. As you read along you suddenly realize that Beatrice, the recipient of the letters and Beatrice the sender, are not the same Beatrice.

Review: A hard cover folder set up with files in a “Snickett Case” is unique and beautiful. Included is a mysterious poster combined with twelve letters, six from Lemony to Beatrice and six from Beatrice to Lemony. Once you begin to read it, it is very difficult to stop. You’ll discover who Beatrice is and her relationship with Lemony.  The mysterious poster, some strange punch-out letters, and dreadful words tell you what happened to Beatrice. Like all other Snickett books, it is full of mysteries. The Beatrice Letters are interesting and entertaining; however, the main highlight of this book is the unique binding. If you are a fan of Lemony Snickett, this will definitely be one of your favorites.