Book Review: The Adventures of Spuddy and Biscotti: Big Farm Adventure!

The Adventures of Spuddy and Biscotti: Big Farm Adventure! by Linda Collins (Linda Collins/Lightning Source, 2026, $13.99, ages 3-7, 40 pp PB)(Every grandmother should also be a children's book author, don't you agree?) (sneak peek here)

Spuddy and Biscotti* are the cutest little goat kids you have ever seen! 

One day they wander around their farm meeting all the animals and trying them out - do what they do, try to 'say' what they say. And is that ever funny! First they meet the chickens and the cows and the pigs and the ducks. Then they can't forget the sheep, a horse, an apple tree, and - look out for the sheepdog who returns them to home, all tuckered out and ready for bed.

Spud and Biscotti help youngsters learn their animals** and learn about their animals in a fun way but realistic. And for you pooped parents out there, reading to the littles, it may be possible to cut out an animal or two to make for a shorter good-night story, but don't tell the kids this!

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*One little goat is brown and the other is black. Which do you think is which?

**There are plenty of animals on each page for young readers to identify them several times, thus making learning quicker.

Book Review: Caught in the Snare (a Chautauqua murder mystery)

Caught in the Snare: A Chautauqua Murder Mystery, by Deb Pines (Independently published,  278pp PB, 2024, $21.99)

I haven't read a Deb Pines book for several months now so I thought I had best 'get on with it' before I head up north to the Chautauqua Institution in a couple of months. And Caught in the Snare put me in the mood for my three weeks of a Chautauqua summer.

And this coming year, with her new book out, Tossing Seas,

I am going to list the place names and search them out. Finally. Of course, I know several of them, having taught special studies classes there for several years but I'm not familiar with the house addresses or streets not in the center of the grounds.

Now, On to the Review!

An elderly woman dies after falling down a flight of stairs but was her death due to a slip or a push? The cranky but wealthy old woman has several un-friends that might have done it. 

To the rescue we have again, Mimi Goldman, who writes for a daily newspaper (yes, they still exist!) at Chautauqua, a summer camp for families in upstate New York, replete with lectures, worship services, opera, sports (golf, sailing, SUP and kayaks), dog training (that's me), symphonies, movies and more. With no vehicles allowed on the grounds, walkers can take the free small buses or rent a bike to get around, from hotel to the grassy mall, to the bookstore, post office, shops and eateries. Nine weeks of programming with some residents staying all summer while others are one-week wonders.

Yes, our Mimi is a reporter but she is more than that. She is a grandmother. She is likable. And a sleuth to boot. Caught is a bit different than her other 10 books for two reasons: 1. it is her favorite (and I am going to ask her why when I attend one of her book-signings in July) and 2. the final few chapters star a dog.

Throw in some hanky-panky, a few crisp (ironed?) hundred dollar bills out of a few million, some purple martins (birds), a chemistry teacher, a yoga teacher, a knife skills class, a garbage collector, and a 94-year-old sidekick, and you have a book that you simply can't put down. With a plot that keeps you reading on and on and on - don't start it at 9pm or you won't be able to get a good night's sleep - and my favorite - 52 short chapters - you will soon be hooked on the Mimi Goldman series.

Book Review: Tiny Pieces (growing up and talking to nature)(OT)

 Tiny Pieces, by Kelly Artieri (Crisp Water Publishing, 2025, 48pp PB, $12.99, children's book) 

A small girl with her mother are walking in a field full of flowers, both yellow and white. The girl, though little, is big enough to walk by herself as long as she doesn't veer too far away from her mother. She is picking white flowers for her when a gust of wind comes along and blows the flowers from her hands: poor Penny is devastated watching the floating feathers, helpless and no longer a happy little flower angel.

Turning Disaster into a Little Bit of Heaven

Mother explains nature's ways to Penny while the reader recognizes that they are dandelions full of seeds: the reader recognizes dandelions full of seeds that the wind is dispersing - the first step nature takes to spread them. Mother shows Penny how to feel the sun and hear the wind in the grass.

Written and illustrated by Kelly Artieri, Tiny Pieces is a work of art for explaining how nature works to the little girl, but also for the portrait-like pages that I simply want to frame!

Artieri is also an accomplished medical and scientific illustrator and book cover designer.

Book Review: Pockets (penguins, being different)(OT)

Pockets, by Janet Anderson (Pegasus Publishers, $13.99PB, 2021, 38pp, up to 7 years of age especially grades K-2) 

What on earth is that on the cover? Is it a robot? Is it a sun bather? No, it's a penguin wearing shades and headphones, but why?

Pockets the penguin is happy. She is generous. She loves to laugh but cannot speak. She hears too well plus she is a little bit timid. And the other little penguins only notice how different she is from them. Her flippers are short, her beak is funny, even her feet are different. And, most of all, she has pockets! Six of them. On the front. What on earth can she do with those pockets?

Is your child different in any way? Does it bother her? Perhaps Pockets can show her that everyone is different, only some people (and some penguins) show it on the outside while others keep it on the inside. And what you put in your pockets can make all the difference in the world!

We like it that Pockets lives in Antarctica, a very different place for most of us, with crab cakes (for Marylanders), fishsicles (whatever they are), and snow cones (we all know what these are).

There is so much that is wonderful to unpack in Pockets - on every page. The more we read this book, the more we like it.

Book Review: Omar and the Supertails: First Day of School (OT)

Omar and the Supertails: First Day of School, by Nicky Girl (Nicole Brown, 26 pp PB, 4-8 years, $13.99, 2026)

Learning Life Made Easy

Great lesson in this book, one so colorful your youngster so won't even realize that it's a lesson in living.

Differences are Super!

It is the first day of school and Omar is a bit leery - he is short, you see (but still taller than his best friend the monkey who has ADHD). As a matter of fact, all the Supertails kids at the Animal Academy have a different but still super difference - a superpower! For some, it's height, or sight and emotions, or even a wheelchair. And I bet your child knows friends with other superpowers, too.

Your child can make this book his own by writing his name in the space provided at the front. And he just might notice before you do, that each character is identified with their own color: the giraffe with green and - but I'll let you two to discover the rest

Rhyming is Hard to Do!

Kids love rhymes - they help them remember things. But rhyming is hard to do for an author. Fortunately author Nicky Girl has done an excellent job.

Book Review: Perri's Pencil Problem (OT)

 Perri's Pencil Problem, by Marleigh Brown (Butterscotch Tape, 2026, 31pp PB, $8.49, ages 5-9)

What a delightful, astonished girl cover!

Perri, our cover girl, has a problem - too many pencils, and in her hair! How did that happen? By her astonished look, you can bet that it wasn't her. But who and why?

With lovely illustrations of a multicultural elementary school classroom with plenty of activity, Perri's Pencil Problem is a fun learning read on how to relate to people (even if they are adorable kids) who are very different from you. And what to say to anyone who may not realize how they can hurt with words. (A couple of pages in the back of the book give ideas of what to say to someone who has hurt you.)

We also loved the opening pages - of Perri looking in a mirror - and trying to figure out just what that was. This is an example of once you see it, you can't unsee it! Once you get it, you can't not get it.

A second lesson is about listening to your mama because she loves you and knows just what to do. And it may just be that the person whose words hurt you, did so because she is jealous of you.

Book Review: The Wrong War (Afghanistan)

The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy and the Way Out of Afghanistan, by Bing West (Random House, $28, 307 pp HB, 2011) Striking front book cover!

I couldn't put it down. 

But what is the "wrong war"? And, why? Are we truly always fighting the last war?

I know the name, Bing West, from somewhere but can't put my finger on where. He was a colonel in the Marines and perhaps wrote for Army Times (or Marine Corps Times or Air Force Times or Navy Times - they are all related), is an author of several highly acclaimed military books and served as Assistant Sec Dev (for International Security Affairs) after serving in combat in Viet Nam.

All that said, this should be a required text book at West Point and Annapolis (for future Marine leaders). West does an excellent job of telling it like it is for infantry troops in a "hot" northeastern province of Afghanistan (Konar) for half the book, then relating a difficult situation in Helmand province, down south in Pashtun* country. However, by the time you get to the "Helmand half," you may be as tired as I was hearing about patrols and small unit fighting. Even me who knows the place names and history, having spent a tour in southern Afghanistan a year prior to the times West depicts (2007-08 while West's Marines fought in Helmand primarily beginning in 2009 [the book was written in 2011]).

Who are the Players?

West describes the problem with exquisite explaining (the solution, not so well, but he does list the solution components) - all the different sides: farmers and villagers and insurgents and informants and mullahs and elders, corrupt Afghan police, corrupt Afghan soldiers, corrupt Afghan politicians (yes, even President Karzai is described in less than positive terms). the Taliban, US forces. "Demanding money and resources was a habit. The military was the cleanest Afghan institution, yet each rank took from those below them. Uniform standards, particularly in selecting leaders, were lacking . . . . The system lacked a uniform set of rewards and penalties. The Afghan security system paid low wages, . . . . There was no incentive to run risks today in order to be rewarded later. Some incompetent officers were promoted due to tribal connections or payoffs, while others were selected based on proven courage and leadership. In contrast, the Taliban relieved leaders who performed poorly,  . . . ." (p. 163)

And What About the Future? Is There an Entitlement Culture There?

Is counterinsurgency composed of "clear, hold, and build"? Should the US military be in the business of nation-building? Is materialism the unifying principle of a liberal counterinsurgency practice? (p. 242)

Love the Photos!

Primarily taken by the author (not a professional), the photos depict (and are called out in the text) life and combat in Afghanistan. However, three to a page makes them not quite as impressive as I would like.

Writing Style

Author West brings you along for the ride, as he was embedded with troops over three years. He also includes, as appendices,  General Petraeus' COIN** guidance of August 2010 and his own to-do list of counterinsurgency lessons as well as points from his final fact-finding trip. Definitely food for thought as higher-ups compare and contrast VietNam and Afghanistan.

West acknowledges the people who helped him make this book possible and names more than 16 columns of them, mostly Soldiers and Marines. What a tribute!

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Other tidbits:

Korengal is mentioned, as is Restrepo, the film. Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea is explained on page 110. Also COP Keating in Nuristan.

Nation building features these tasks: 1. protect the population, 2. give money and projects to stimulate patriotism, and 3. link the population with competent government officials. (p. 249)

Defeating an insurgency requires three tasks: 1. we cannot defeat the Taliban. They are too elusive and have a vast sanctuary. 2. we don't have the time to build a nation when its top leaders are feckless. 3. training and instilling confidence in the Afghan forces should be the first priority at this juncture. This war turns on whether the Afghan forces show they can beat the Taliban. Only then will the Pashtun khans begin to cooperate. (p. 289, West's observations)

What role did sanctuary play - not only UBL but also Pakistan? Geography? History of the tribes?

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*The Pashtuns are the major tribe in Afghanistan and the "birthplace" of the Taliban is said to be Kandahar, a province next to Helmand in the south. President Karzai is a Pashtun.

** Counterinsurgency