Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel
Author: Isabel Sanchez Vegara
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Reviewer: Gloria

Summary: The book was about the story of how Gabrielle Chanel became Coco Chanel. It was about her journey in life and what she went through. She was an orphan and was sent to a strict school, and that is where she learned to sew. As a young adult she was a seamstress during the day, and a night she would like to entertain people so she would sing. She was always different and at first everyone judged her for it. But Coco remained herself no matter what others thought. Until finally she wasn’t seen as different and everyone wanted what she was making, because it was different and comfortable.  

Review: I really enjoyed reading this book, the story was creative and very amusing. I liked how it teaches you that it is okay to be different. To believe in yourself. And that is how to ultimately be happy.  

The Apprentice Witch

The Apprentice Witch
Author: James Nicol
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Reviewer: Christi

Summary: Sent away in disgrace after failing her witch's assessment, Arianwyn learns that the remote community where she works as a magic apprentice is under the shadow of a dark hex infestation. 

Review:  A great read for this upcoming fall season. A story of a witch who is the only one in her school to fail her witch’s test much to the amusement of her nemesis Gimma. Thankfully her grandmother is on the council of elders and is able to get her an ‘apprentice’ badge to wear to her appointment in the town of Lull. A small sleepy town that has recently been battling a variety of magical things. There she meets Salle who quickly becomes a friend and the bumbling mayor. As she tackles some of the problems in town using the book she received at her grandmother’s bookstore she starts to learn her craft. When the mayors niece, Gimma, her protagonist comes to town and starts to cause trouble she has to find a way to fix it. In the end she earn the respect of her grandmother and the town and she finally gets the badge she should have got all along. The only reason I gave the book 4 stars was it was in my opinion slightly dry. It lacked warmth but overall a great story. Slightly reminiscent of JK Rowlings. 

Book 2 “A Witch Alone” comes out September 25, 2018. 

No Biggy!: A Story About Overcoming Everyday Obstacles

No Biggy!: A Story About Overcoming Everyday Obstacles
Author: Elycia Rubin
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Reviewer: Denise Z.

Summary: Getting frustrated is a part of life! And, whether Kiki is working on squeezing toothpaste right onto her toothbrush, getting the zipper to slide all the way up her jacket, or spreading cream cheese on a bagel, she learns that taking a deep breath, saying “no biggy!” and trying again helps manage frustration.

Review: This is one of those picture books with a great lesson, with the lesson being not to get frustrated over little things. The illustrations are cute and the message is simple enough for kids to understand. I like how it pointed out that everyone gets frustrated, not just Kiki and not just kids. For ages 4 to 8.

Wishtree

 Wishtree

Author: Katherine Applegate

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Reviewer: Aleece

Summary: Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood "wishtree"—people write their wishes on pieces of cloth and tie them to Red's branches. Along with her crow friend Bongo and other animals who seek refuge in Red's hollows, this "wishtree" watches over the neighborhood.  You might say Red has seen it all. Until a new family moves in. Not everyone is welcoming, and Red's experiences as a wishtree are more important than ever.  (From Goodreads) 

Review: Unfortunately I did not enjoy the audio of this book.  I liked the premise of the book and overall was a very quick story to listen to but I just couldn’t get into this audio unfortunately.  I don’t know if it was the narrator or if it was the book itself.  

The Wild Robot

The Wild Robot
Author: Peter Brown
Narrator: Kate Atwater
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Reviewer: Kelly

Summary: When a cargo ship is taken out in a fierce storm at sea, 5 robots end up on an island but only one will survive.  When Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she has no idea where she is but she does know that she needs to learn how to survive.  The obstacles that lay in her path are; the new terrain, the variety of new animals, the weather, and the fact that all of the creatures she meets think that she is a monster. 

Soon, Roz uses her strength and intelligence to save numerous creatures, help them along their way and become a mother to a baby goose after a horrific accident.  The animals learn to love Roz and she becomes one of their family. 

One day, everything starts to change and the past that Roz vaguely remembers comes back to haunt her.  Will she survive another day on the island?  Will her new family be there to save her, like she saved some of them? 

Review: This was a really great audiobook!  From the very first minutes, I was excited to keep listening.  Waves crashed, the wind blew, thunder rumbled and I knew that I would keep listening until the end.  The sound effects along with the reading were a really great addition to keep anyone interested.  A great, added bonus to what ended up being a really great story. 

It was a nice change to travel into nature this month with my selection of this book.  A remote island, wild animals and a wild robot, sounds good to me!  The animal’s triumphs and troubles were all so realistic in our circle of life and our robot, Roz, had the chance to witness all of these herself. 

There was also an element of danger or fear in the reading.  As an adult, it allowed me to think past the simple story that the child would be reading.  With technology and robots so prevalent in our culture today, are there any places that we can truly escape to without being sought after?  Poor Roz ends up very happy where she has landed, only later to have intruders come onto her island and take her back to a place that she does not know and doesn’t necessarily want to be.  Very fitting for where we are at in our culture today.