Archives for August 2023

Top Ten Tuesday: Picture Books We’ve Reviewed This Month

August 22, 2023 By 36 Comments


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Picture books aren’t just for kids! I especially enjoy reading them on days when I’m not feeling well or having trouble concentrating on longer works for whatever reason. They are often about cheerful topics, too, which is a refreshing change from the serious and sometimes scary stuff I typically choose.

Here are ten picture books that we’ve reviewed so far this month. I wrote this in advance for scheduling purposes, so there may be more a few great reviews from this genre on our site by the time this post goes live.

1. Mario and the Hole in the Sky – How a Chemist Saved Our Planet by Elizabeth Rusch

2. Thank You, Neighbor by Ruth Chan

3. Touch the Earth by Julian Lennon

4. My First Day by Phùng Nguyên Quang

5. Purplicious by Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann

6. On Duck Pond by Jane Yolen

7. Dog’s Day by Jane Cabrera

8. Go for the Moon by Chris Gall

9. Cows to the Rescue by John Himmelman 

10. I Am Quiet – A Story for the Introvert in All Of Us by Andie Powers:

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Speech and Debacles by Heather DiAngelis

August 21, 2023 By 2 Comments

Thanks for joining us on our 16th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

Drama class is nothing like Taryn Platt’s favorite TV show—no one has broken out into song yet, and there isn’t nearly as much kissing. But the seventeen-year-old is surprised to find one thing going the way she’d hoped. It turns out she’s not half bad at acting. When her Drama teacher recruits her for the school’s powerhouse Speech and Debate team, she can’t believe her luck. Even better when she finds out the guy catching her eye, Riker, is one of the team’s strongest competitors—and hopefully he got the hint that she likes boys as well as girls. But when painful, amped-up cramps invade her pelvis, performing on demand and getting close to Riker become increasingly less feasible.

Up until junior year, Riker Lucas had one life goal—break into the world of voice acting to perform video game voiceovers. Then one look from the green-eyed new girl from Speech brings on a second goal—getting himself over the hurdle of actually talking to her. The task proves impossible when a nagging inner voice constantly reminds him how worthless he is, how he doesn’t stand a chance.

Taryn’s pain worsens, keeping her out of commission at the most inopportune moments, and Riker’s oppressive self-denigrating thoughts steal his interest from his favorite activities. As Riker and Taryn float closer together, then farther apart, they both must work to find ways of coping—or they’ll miss out on each other as well as their performance goals.

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Windmaster Golem by Helen Henderson

August 21, 2023 By 2 Comments

Thanks for joining us on our 16th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

A rogue mage aims to rule everyone with the ability to wield magic, especially Kiansel, sister of the Oracle. He just needs to find the means to bring the army of clay soldiers to life and the secret to bend the will of others to his.

Kia’s emerging powers force an impossible decision. For to have magic demands she turn her back on her family, her heritage and the teachings of the oracle.

Brodie’s assignment? Protect her. But how can a man without any magic of his own fight a curse or protect a friend from an invisible stalker?

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Frederick Fly-Catcher by Helen C Johannes

August 21, 2023 By 1 Comment

Thanks for joining us on our 16th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

“A fun adventure that was a hit with my nine-year-old!”

What happens when Frederick, a champion fly-catcher, is confronted with a human? After all, humans are dangerous! And worse, this human is carrying a thing of troublesome, powerful magic. What if Frederick can’t get it to stop?

This fast-paced chapter book will entice young readers to keep turning pages to find out what happens next. Connecting with Frederick’s frog’s-eye view reminds children to treat all creatures with respect and to be open to friendships with new or different people. Parents can use the story events as jumping-off points to talk with children about problem-solving and teamwork strategies as well as simply being kind.

“The best thing I could do was to relax and enjoy the ride, so that’s exactly what I did.”

A middle grade chapter book, 16 chapters, approximately 18,000 words.

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Summer People by Corinne LaBalme

August 21, 2023 By Leave a Comment

Thanks for joining us on our 16th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

Jessica Stratton’s long-cherished dream of opening her own Folk Art gallery in an idyllic Cape Cod setting finally comes true. However, her start-up is anything but smooth sailing.

Her ten-year marriage hits the rocks and when the hunk next door – a brooding ecologist on a mission to save the planet – proves too irresistible to ignore, she’s got to relearn the rules of the dating game while figuring out how to run a successful boutique.

Unfortunately, someone’s far too interested in an 19th century example of advertising art in her collection and will go to any means – legal or illegal – to acquire it.

Maybe the planet isn’t all that needs to be saved…

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Sophia’s Schooling by Maggie Sims

August 21, 2023 By Leave a Comment

Thanks for joining us on our 16th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

An innocent country girl…a jaded earl…an education in pleasure.

“…a perfect balance of proper manners and delicious perversity.” ~Annabel Joseph, NYT & USA Today bestselling author

1816 – London
Orphaned at eighteen, Sophia Wilkinson has learned love means loss. Now she must leave her country home to navigate the opulence of the London Season, although she has no desire for romance or a husband.

Edward Morduant, the newest Earl of Peterborough, is struggling with the business of his family estate. He has shunned marriage due to a shameful secret, but with his title comes the need for heirs.

Despite their misgivings, Sophia and Edward cannot resist their attraction. When she accidentally discovers his penchant for spankings, her curiosity is her undoing. A clandestine meeting risks a scandal. Only marriage to a reluctant bridegroom can save her reputation. But perhaps the School of Enlightenment can give her an education in love.

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Saturday’s Child by Rosemary Morris

August 21, 2023 By Leave a Comment

Thanks for joining us on our 16th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

After the Battle of Waterloo, motherless ten-year-old Annie travels to London with her father, Private Johnson. Discharged from the army, instead of the hero’s welcome he deserves, his desperate attempts to make an honest living fail. Without food or shelter, death seems inevitable. Driven by desperation Johnson pleads for help from Georgiana Tarrant, his deceased colonel’s daughter.

Georgiana, who founded a charity to assist soldiers’ widows and orphans, agrees to provide for them.

At Major and Mrs Tarrant’s luxurious house, Annie is fed, bathed and given clean clothes. Although she and her father, her only relative, will be provided for there is a severe price. Johnson will work for Georgiana while Annie is educated at the Foundling House Georgiana established.

Despite the years she spent overseas when her dear father fought against the French, the horror she witnessed, and recent destitution Annie’s spirit is not crushed. She understands their separation is inevitable because her father cannot refuse employment. Annie vows that one day she will work hard for her living and never again be poor. It is fortunate she cannot foresee the hardship and tragedy ahead to be overcome when she is an adult.

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Oy Vey, Maria! by Mark Reutlinger

August 21, 2023 By Leave a Comment

Thanks for joining us on our 16th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

Rose Kaplan and her sidekick Ida are at it again. It’s the holiday of Purim, and almost everyone at the Julius and Rebecca Cohen Home for Jewish Seniors is in costume for the Purim play. All except one, who will instead have to be fitted for a shroud. Once again, “Mrs. K” and Ida are called upon to solve the puzzle of a mysterious death at the Home. Described by Chanticleer Book Reviews as “at times more Lucy and Ethel than Holmes and Watson, with a soupcon of Miss Jane Marple,” these geriatric amateur sleuths will keep you laughing, guessing, and maybe even learning a bissel Yiddish!

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Kelegeen by Eileen O’Finlan

August 21, 2023 By Leave a Comment

Thanks for joining us on our 16th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

Ireland 1846

Meg O’Connor, daughter of poor Irish cottiers, eagerly anticipates her wedding to Rory Quinn. Her dreams of marriage and family vanish along with Ireland’s potato crop when Kelegeen’s inhabitants awaken one morning to find their sole source of food destroyed by blight.

At first, Meg and Rory are able to use their skills of sewing and wood carving to provide for themselves and their families. Everything changes with the arrival of tragedy and a costly mistake. With their means of survival gone, Meg and Rory have no choice but to turn to desperate, dangerous ventures.

As An Gorta Mór, the Great Hunger, continues to churn through Ireland, ravaging the country’s peasantry with no relief in sight, Meg is forced to make the most difficult decision of her life. What she chooses could be the salvation of the O’Connor and Quinn families or it could separate her forever from all she knows and loves.

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Loving Lennox by KD Ellis

August 21, 2023 By Leave a Comment

Thanks for joining us on our 16th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

Riley didn’t know home wasn’t a place… It’s a person.

Riley would rather sell himself on the streets again than go back home. Only a chance encounter with a stranger saved him from becoming another statistic as a teenager, but now he’s aging out of the youth shelter and has nowhere left to go—until a kind act from the shelter’s director sends him straight to Lennox.

When Lennox’s older sister begs him to rent out his spare room to a kid about to become homeless, he gets way more than he bargained for. He expects an acne-spotted, Red-Bull-bingeing teenager. What he does not expect is Riley.

Riley, who has a dominant streak a mile wide but somehow submits so beautifully.
Riley, who has a tough exterior but hides a sensitive soul.
Riley, who might just be what Lennox never knew he was looking for.

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