Lila Danisa

Wow. That was so intense. Short but full of intensity in the story. Though the ending was not my kind of ending. It was open ending that make the readers think and conclude whatever they want to. For me, the ending was bittersweet. Like it served the righteousness in justice side of the story but not good enough in overall end of it.

There were also some plot holes I didn't like. They might be not plot holes, just undetailed background stories of the characters.

The illustrations fit perfectly with the vibe of the story. Suspenseful with mostly black and white colors.

Overall I liked this book a lot.

Thank you to Szymon Kudranski, Image Comics, and NetGalley for the ARC.

What a delightful story! My son (and I) loved it so much!

Winnie, the witch, had black house and everything inside it black too. Her cat, Wilbur, also had black color. She often couldn't see Wilbur because the cat blended in with the house and its furniture. Then Winnie changed Wilbur's color and that were the story began.

The story was simple yet meaningful. My son concluded the story himself that sometimes you need to adapt and change for someone you love. On the note that the changes are in better ways. I also told him, based on the story, changes always have two sides, could be good and could be bad too. He might don't 100% understand what I said yet, but I believe my son is compassion enough to comprehend it when he gets older.

The words used in this book were simple enough. My 5 years old son could read 75% by himself and I am so proud of him.

The illustrations were also good. I personally loved it so much because it reminded me of "old time" illustration. Of course it is, since this Winnie The Witch series originally released in 1980s.

Thank you to Valerie Thomas, Histria Books, Histria Kids, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Though we (my son and I) currently live in tropical country that only has 2 seasons (dry season and rainy season), we kinda feel the summer solstice too. Especially now (end of April to June/July) because the sun was so strong.

The garden this book portrayed was kinda the same like our neighborhood gardens and bushes. The flowers were blooming and so colorful. Though the people around here choose to not come outside after 9 or 10 in the morning because the sun is already full power.

My son mostly loved this book because of its colorful illustrations. He said he felt cheerful because of the vibrant colors the illustrations presented. However, he was complaining a little bit about no hijabi in the illustrations. There was a woman with scarf around her neck, but my son said it's not the same with hijab. Well ok then. As for me, the diversity in this book was good enough. I can’t complain since I easily think the scarf woman is enough to represent the hijabi.

Thank you to Kate Allen Fox (Author), Elisa Paganelli (Illustrator), Broadleaf Books, Beaming Books, and NetGalley for the ARC.

What a refreshing book!

This book presented how a comic artist interpreted poems. I found this book refreshing because the illustrations helped me (a lot) to understand better almost all the poems in this book. It also helped me to dig the meanings behind and beneath each poem.

The illustrations were so good. So fit with each poem. Somehow Julian Peters could easily changed (or adapted) the style of the illustrations to suit the vibe and the messages of each poem.

Some of my favorites, both from the poems and the illustrations sides, are Daybreak in Alabama by Langston Hughes; Truth by Gwendolyn Brooks; Three Haikus About The Moon by Matsuo Bashō, Masaoka Shiki, and Ueda Chōshū; The Eagle by Alfred, Lord Tennyson; Not Waving but Drowning by Stevie Smith; Fog by Carl Sandburg; I Thank You God For Most This Amazing by e. e. cummings; and God's Grandeur by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Thank you to Julian Peters, Plough Publishing, Plough Publishing House, and NetGalley for the ARC.

That was so fun and so relatable. My 5 years old son fortunately almost always easily regulate his emotions. But like any kids, he sometimes also throws tantrums and all forgets about how to regulate his emotions. This book helped him remember that to set your feelings free is totally fine. And not to forget that there are many ways to regulate emotions in healthy ways.

My son's personal favorite from this book is how to counter fear into imagination. He also loved that there is a mother with hijab that represents his mother (me) in this book.

I loved how this book is so diverse in characters. Representation matters and this book conveyed that message perfectly.

The illustrations were top notch. I don't know how to explain it, but the color schemes in this book were pastel color soft but still vibrant and colorful. This book was still giving calming vibe which fit with the theme of the book despite many colors showed.

Thank you to Jon Fogel, Jess Fogel, Broadleaf Books, Beaming Books, and NetGalley for the ARC.

"My eyes cannot see color, so my mind does. I imagine a colorful world, full of possibilities."

This book was so beautiful 🥹❤️

I got this book for my son so he could learn more about blindness, but at the end I was the one who amazed by this book.

For me, this book is perfect to introduce the kids about blindness. My son already knew about blindness from other books we read, his videos, and real life encounter with blind people. He knew about tactile paving since long time ago when he asked about them in one of our walks. I could say that my son has been well introduced to blindness. And through all of them, I hope his compassion has also being build.

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"There are times when I wish I weren't blind, and that's okay. When I feel that way, I remind myself that being blind is one of the many things that make me me!"

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This book was so heartwarming and enlightening at the same time. Like the author has said in the note, sometimes we have many questions regarding blindness but we afraid to ask. This book answered almost all the questions possibly asked to blind people. The simple and almost lyrical words used in this book were also so easy to understand even for my 5 years old son.

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"I am who I am. I am blind. Most people can see well with their eyes, and I can't. Some people might think that's scary, but I don't."

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This book was also so inspiring. Maya (and the author) inspired my son (and me) to love ourselves and not limiting ourselves in whatever we want to archive.

The illustrations were also so good. Full of details and vibrant with colors.

Thank you to Miso Kwak, Free Spirit Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I humbly and shamely confess that I knew nothing about Armenian Genocide. I only heard it in passing and never looked it up further more. This book brought me into an open door of reading so many things about that terrible event.

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"Denial is the last stage of genocide."

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This book smoothly conveyed the story of heavy subject of genocide. It was devastating especially because it really happened in author's live. The author really wrote the life experience her family went through and I think that's way this book touched my heart the way it was.

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"The past does not stay in the past."

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Again, though this book contained heavy subjects, the author made it easy to read. For me this book is perfect for anyone who wants to know about Armenian Genocide. I believe this book could spark the readers to do their own research afterwards and therefore not forgetting about Armenian Genocide.

I loved the illustrations. They were full of details which totally fit the book.

Thank you to Nadine Takvorian, Levine Querido, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Actual rating: 3,75 stars!

My husband loves to fishing and he started to teach all about fishing to our son. Though the fishing they do is so different with the fishing in this book, this book was a good book to teach different kind of fishing to my son. My son (and I) loved the illustrations so much. They were like a painting with bold and beautiful color schemes.

The technical descriptions about fly fishing were actually educational for me, my son, and my husband. This book is also encouraged us to schedule the time to do fishing.

Thank you to Christopher Robbins, Familius, and NetGalley for the ARC.

The title was the one that caught my interest. It was so intriguing I couldn't help but needed to read this book. Though to be honest, after I finished this book, the contents of the book didn't measure up the amazing title. Some were relatable, but some were miss for me. I understood that this book reflects what the author felt and it might her personal experience outtakes, but I felt like some were so personal I didn't feel right to even relate to that. However, almost all of them were ironically (or sarcastically) funny.

For the illustrations, I personally liked them because they were unique and simple yet still giving meaningful vibes.

Thank you to Lauren Haldeman, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I humbly confess that I don't understand almost all of the poems in this book. At first I thought I would understand if I reread from the beginning to the end. However, by the 5th time of my rereading, I gave up and acknowledged my not so good interpretation of the poems written in this book. I could count in one hand how many poems I barely understand, the rest were just jumbled of words to me. So, the 3 stars rating is not because the poems are bad, but purely because of me not understanding 90% of the book.

But, I have many favorites lines. Those lines were just somehow resonate with me. Some of them were also ironically funny. One of them being, "After all, consumption was a way of measuring". Or "People this obsessed with comparison rarely arrive at preference. They grow attached to the translatability of choice". Another one being, "Admittedly, I had not slept well and felt passive like a doorframe of my self ".

As I write this review, I consider to reread this poetry book as many as I need to finally understand at least 50% of the book. Sound ambitious eh.

Thank you to Xuela Zhang, NYU Press, Fonograf Editions, and NetGalley for the ARC.

The title is "Young Explorers Around Athens" yet me, 31 years old woman, loved this book so much.

This book made me put Greece in my bucket list. I need to visit Greece because this book made it easy to see the beauty of the country through its historical, mystical, and ancient backgrounds. Someday if I really go visit the country, this book would definitely my guide to make itinerary.

My 5 years old son was actually enjoying this book due to its activities involving owl and cats. He loved cats and all the animals, so yeah the mentioned of them was already guarantee of him liking this book.

My son and I also looked up for real pictures and videos of everything that mentioned here in this book. Again, my son particularly loved the many cats in those. He didn't pay much attention of the Greek ancient histories because he has yet exposed in that subjects. Maybe this is the opening door for me to start telling him those stuff.

Thank you to Daniela Celli, White Star, White Star Kids, and NetGalley for the ARC.

To be honest, I only understood most of the "Animal Limericks" part of the book. "Cockroach Soup" and "Glue Soup" were just weird for me. I don't know if I couldn't comprehend good or both of the poems were really segmented. However, when I read both poems to my 5 years old son, he was laughing hard. He said it was so silly people making soup of cockroach and glue. He also said maybe they did it for pranking their friends. Quoting him, he said it's really not good to prank someone with something gross. I concluded that even though he found the poems funny, he still didn't like the real action of it.

Though I didn't enjoy this book and the poems inside, I think someone else might have different opinions.

Thank you to Nina Kossman, Kubik, Open Ends Press, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Ah this book was so much fun!

We (my son and I) used this book as our guidance for our morning walks for weeks, even months, I think.

Each and every activity was so fun and educational at the same time. My son personally loved the "poop" discovery activities 😅 Sound gross but it was fun and silly for him (and me).

Though we currently lived in Indonesia, this book was still related to us. Our neighborhood had everything this book mentioned. That's why we could literally do all activities in this book.

Definitely would do every activities this book offered all over again because each time would lead us to new discovery.

Thank you to Editors of Storey Publishing, Hachette Book Group, Storey Publishing LLC, and NetGalley for the ARC.