Book Review: Treasure State, A Cassie Dewell novel (mystery, Montana) (OT)

Treasure State, by CJ Box (Minotaur Books/St. Martin's, 2022, 286 pp, $28.99), Book 6 in the series. Review by Skye Anderson

Montana Murder Mystery

CJ Box' Treasure State only gets better with each chapter (in other words, it starts out slowly) as it ties nearly all the many loose ends together. However, you may not want to read this at night, alone in the house.

Yes, there is a Manhattan, Montana, and most of the other towns are very familiar to me, being from northern Idaho. Even the historical facts of copper mining are 'right on.' However, I'm so glad it took place in Montana and not my Idaho, and though the most well-known nickname of the state is Big Sky Country, The Treasure State is also a nickname (which fits in so well with the plot).

Our PI (private investigator), Cassie Dewell and the other characters are not ones the reader can necessarily identify with or want to be but they are real, even the old bag lady who simply walks from one end of town to the other. Cassie lives with her 16-year-old son Ben and her mother, who doesn't get along very well with Cassie but works as her receptionist, at times. Fortunately, Cassie also has an assistant, a PI wanna-be, a 20-something from Wyoming whom Ben has a crush on.

Like many mystery series, Box' weaves in previous characters which only serves to whet your appetite to read the earlier five in the series.

A Doozy of an Opening

The first chapter is a doozy. An overweight and laconic PI, JD Spengler from Florida arrives in Montana and is close to solving his case in the first chapter only to have that chapter end with "JD Spengler had no idea he would never leave this place alive." (p. 7)

And then you find out that Spengler is not the protagonist but it takes several more pages to get to know Cassie Dewell, PI.

All in all, a suspenseful story by an Edgar winning author - with a strikingly beautiful cover.

Book Review: The Bee that Can't See (children's, eyeglasses)(OT)

The Bee that Can't See, by Cynthia Ng (printed in Australia, ages 3-8 [pre-K to lower primary], 2021, 36 pp PB) Review by Skye Anderson

A Bee Who Can't See? A Travesty!

When you hear of a bee who can't see, what is the first thing you think of? 

We thought that maybe bees can't see at night so they stay home in their cozy hives, but, no. This bee, named Bella, crash lands because she literally cannot see very well at all. Everything is fuzzy. She lands in a pond one day and hits a large animal another time but fortunately she always gives a warning buzz. 

Her friend Salvatore the snail suggests they go see Ming the mantis, the optometrist on the hill, because that is what friends do - they help each other. And that visit will explain the front cover.

We Like This Book!

Friends Salvatore Snail and Ming Mantis (in addition to Bella Bee ) display behaviors that snails and mantises and bees actually exhibit.

Bee is a short book with a lesson of love and some humor tossed in with clear illustrations.

Book Review: Bendy Bones and Stretchy Skin (children's book about an invisible illness)(OT)

Bendy Bones and Stretchy Skin: An Ehlers-Danlos Book, by Pey Carter and Abigail Bailey (Wise Ink, 2024, $18.95, ages 4-8, 31pp HB) Review by Skye Anderson

What a Title!

Written by mother Pey and daughter Abigail, Bendy Bones and Stretchy Skin is an unforgettable title that explains a very rare genetic condition called Ehlers-Danlos. Both mother and daughter exhibit the condition but the book follows daughter Abigail as she receives her diagnosis and as both explain the condition to Abigail's school chums.

The Value of Friendship

Pey wears knee braces to help support her when walking and sometimes has to use a wheelchair while Abigail needs to sit in a soft chair and sometimes must leave class to walk a bit but other than that, she is as normal as ever. This is a condition that can be an invisible disability so the students then brainstorm what they can do to help their friend. They decide to run on grass rather than asphalt or concrete, and to play basketball when Abigail feels too weak for races.

Lovely Illustrations

We also love the watercolor illustrations and Abigail's red hair but mostly we love the zebras - count them and see if you can find one on nearly every page. Just as some cancers have associated colors (pink for breast cancer), Ehlers-Danlos has an animal, the zebra, with a story behind it that can be found by googling.

Book Review: The Tales of SCUBA Steve: Isfjell Point (campers, environment, the Arctic)(OT)

The Tales of SCUBA* Steve: Isfjell Point, by Steven Kamlet (Fulton Books, 2023, 102pp PB, ages 7-9, $19.95) Review by Skye Anderson

Third in a series, Isfjell Point magically transports** half a dozen advanced swimmers (boys and girls both) at a day camp to exotic locales, a la The Magic Treehouse, but doing so is more subtle for the swimmers and rather than a history lesson, the campers learn respect for the environment and SCUBA* safety.

The first book involves Hawaii and sea turtles - animals caught in fishing nets
while the second features Carcharodon Island.

Isfjell Point brings our group north of the Arctic Circle to meet playful seals and helpful narwhals. Along the way, our intrepid pack is reminded of SCUBA safety and how to act around wild animals, even those who live underwater.

But what do they find in the Arctic waters and what do they think of the aurora borealis and polar bears and glaciers calving? And what do they do about the garbage they find even way up north - all the plastic from populated regions around the globe?

*Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus

**Camper Ben and his friends with counselor "SCUBA Steve" swim to the bottom of the camp pool and into the drain, coming out in exotic locales where their assistance is needed by marine animals.

Book Review: Recipe Road Trip (young reader)(OT)

Recipe Road Trip: Cooking Your Way Across the USA by Nanette Lavin (Kitchen Ink Publishing, 2023, $24.95HB, 252pp, ages 6-10 years, grades 1-5) Review by Skye Anderson. 

A Keeper, Whether You Have Kids or Not

So, you're not a cook. Or, so you need something fun to keep your kids occupied and learning?

Recipe Road Trip is a creative way to learn cooking and geography with plenty of good jokes thrown in for laughs. Travel through the US from the northeast to the territories, one state at a time, stopping over to cook easy, intermediate and advanced recipes while learning fun facts and jokes about those foods.

Cook Your Way Across the USA!

With more than 120 delicious recipes, this book will last a long time! A bonus is meal menus from the various regions with a recipe for each level of difficulty for each meal so all three kids can all participate!

We started with Maryland, then went to Washington and Idaho and Arizona and Hawaii - then all the others. Maryland dishes are crab cakes (level 1, beginning cook) and Berger cookies (level 2, intermediate cook) while Washington's are wild mushroom barley (level 2) and Emma's applesauce (level 1). 

Suggestions

We would suggest, for the 2nd edition, that the book be spiral bound for ease of use and for some of the recipes we simply did not 'get' the connection with the states they are listed under, but then we are not real foodies. We loved the jokes but a couple were forced and before we passed them on, we reworded some of them slightly. One favorite: Q: What do you call a pig who gets fired from his job? A: A canned ham.

For Washington: Q: What did the apple skin (peel) say to the apple? A: I got you covered.

And why couldn't the teddy bear finish his muffin? Because he was stuffed already!

Maybe add a diary page so readers (and cookers) can write down their favorite recipe, a new joke, and make this book really theirs.

All in all, this book is a keeper for kids and adults as well.

Book Review: Teaching Tornero: The True Story of a Sloth Superstar (OT)

Teaching Tornero: The True Story of a Sloth Superstar by Georgeanne Irvine (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Press, 36pp, $14.99HB, ages 6-10) Review by Skye Anderson.

Surprise!

Tornero is like Topsy from Uncle Tom's Cabin - he just appeared one morning  and was named Nugget until the zoo found out he was a boy. Soon the little sloth became a superstar as he was trained to be a wildlife ambassador for the San Diego Zoo. He was slowly given exciting adventures and opportunities away from his mom Xena, a wildlife ambassador, when he could handle the separations and in the first few outings he was given a stuffed sloth to hang on to (but he soon graduated from that).

The young reader will see Tornero's foot prints on the inside covers and read what even families can do to help conserve wildlife, such as feeding birds, keeping cats indoors, and planting native plants rather than invasive exotic species.

But the most fun is following the little sloth and learning about this unusual animal through the trips he will take to visit schools to teach children about nature - and he will travel by Slothmobile! But so far, he has only been on TV.

Life Upside Down

The sloth, a slow animal, spends a lot of time hanging on tree branches, upside down!

Even though you might like a pet sloth to eat your broccoli, they are wild animals and we need to respect that. This book will help educate people about animals and what families can do to help in conservation efforts.

I can't wait for more books in this series like Amazing Omeo, A Baby Koala's true Story of Survival.

Book Review: Angela and Lulingu: Two Gorillas, a World Apart (OT)

Angela and Lulingu: Two Gorillas, a World Apart, by Brenda Royce (Blue Sneaker Press, 2023, ages 6-10, 36pp, $14.99HB) Review by Skye Anderson.

Two gorillas, different yet similar, live "a world apart." One lives in a zoo in California (Angela) while the other, orphan Lulingu, lives in a sanctuary in Africa. They are different species but closely related.

Angela and Lulingu opens with the story of Angela, the zoo baby, then shares the Lulingu's story and concludes with a few pages comparing and contrasting their veterinary care, night nests, favorite foods and daily life. 

Author Brenda Royce includes just enough photos to balance the words and even though many pictures do not have captions, it is easy enough to title them yourself! A combination of photographs with fern and flower artistic artwork in purple, orange and green, bordering on comics, is a unique approach to keep the reader's interest.

Most pages also have a vocabulary word and definition like 'orphan' and hopefully your child will notice that Angela's color is green, Lulingu's is red-orange and the several pages in the back of the book are blue-purple where the two gorillas are brought together in prose and photo. Lulingu's sanctuary, GRACE, has even selected her to become an ambassador for gorillas and conservation.

Angela's mom had not been a mom before so the zookeepers used a stuffed gorilla to teach her what to do.

Baby Angela

And Lulingu, without a gorilla mom, had two human caretakers 24/7 until the baby was old enough to meet the other gorillas in the sanctuary.

Baby Lulingu

With an emphasis on what gorillas can teach us and what young readers can do to help endangered animals, perhaps some of these students will someday work in the fields of animal conservation.

Book Review: The Rescue of Eddie and Elliott: A Bald Eagle Adventure

The Rescue of Eddie and Elliott: A Bald Eaglet Adventure by Keith Ross (Book House Publishing, 2023, book and plush toys $65, 672-piece puzzle $19.99, 38 pp PB) Review by Skye Anderson.

A Gem!

Little baby eagles, eaglets, are so ugly they're cute! And this is a book about two eaglets and how they were saved from possible harm.

Saved by a Dog!

It all started with a dog. Mom and Dad Eagle didn't make a very good nest so one day the eaglets found themselves not in a tree top aerie (eyrie) but on the ground where dangers lurk for little birds who can't yet fly (or walk very well). A little dog walking by with his human one fine early May morning noticed the birds and 'told' his person that he saw, heard and smelled something out of the ordinary. Human goes to investigate and finds two baby eagles on the ground, not in their tree top nest where they belong! She calls a large volunteer corps into action to treat the little eaglets and climb their tree to put them back into their nest.

Home at Last!

With beautiful prose - sometimes suspenseful - by author Keith Ross, and incredible photos of the day* in May that the birds were saved, also by Keith Ross, The Rescue of Eddie and Elliott is inspiring and educational for students and families alike. Ross has included pages of fun facts plus a bonus page of questions and answers that tell the reader what to do when finding a baby bird: this page is worth making into a poster!

Stuffies, Too! (Plushies)

You can get your own Eddie and Elliott who are velcro'd together, or a jigsaw puzzle to make and frame - and Youtube also has the story to watch.

All in all, a book to remember taking place in a little, barely known town in Washington - Sequim.

*The Rescue is probably about one entire day when knowledgeable volunteers sprang into action to do what needed to be done to save our national birds.

Book Review: Amazing Omeo: A Baby Koala's True Story of Survival (OT)(children's book)

Amazing Omeo: A Baby Koala's True Story of Survival by Georgeanne Irving (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Press, 2023, $14.99HB, ages 6-10, 36pp) Review by Skye Anderson.

With the most adorable cover, Amazing Omeo tells the story of both one baby koala and of koalas in general as well as a bit about wildlife and conservation with baby foot prints on the inside front cover and grown-up footprints on the inside back cover. 

Jelly Beans and Roller Coasters

Did you know when a baby koala is born, he is the size of a jelly bean and is called a joey? He lives in his mom's safe pouch for about six months until he grows.

Omeo's first few days were truly a roller coaster ride healthwise. As a found orphan, he had to be fed around the clock every few hours and sometimes he wouldn't eat. It would seem as if something was wrong but then he would revive and look strong. 

Teaching a Koala How to Be a Koala

Omeo's zookeepers slowly taught Omeo everything - from drinking out of a bottle to eating eucalyptus leaves. And other koalas eventually helped by being good role models. 

Koalas are the only animals who can eat eucalyptus and it is their only food. These Australian marsupials can eat the leaves because they have a certain bacteria in their gut that they get from their moms. Without a mother, Omeo had to depend on the zookeepers to be able to get other koalas to 'donate' some of that bacteria in 'pap' from poop soup for Omeo to grow and prosper. And grow he did: on his second birthday he loved his 'cake.'

Amazing Omeo is balanced with just the right number of words and photos - and colors. Pink is Omeo's color framing many of the pages and pictures. The young reader will also learn amazing fun facts about koalas and also learn how they and their families can help conserve wildlife.

If you liked Amazing Omeo, you will also like Teaching Tornero: The True Story of a Sloth Superstar! And there are more titles in the series from the San Diego Zoo.

Book Review: All About the Moon Landing (OT)

All About the Moon Landing by Chris Edwards (Blue River Press, 2023, $7.99PB, 128pp, ages 9-12, grades preschool to grade 3) Review by Skye Anderson. 

One in a series of unrelated books about history, All About the Moon Landing is recent history (if there is such a thing). The young readers' grandparents will remember some of these space flights beginning in the 60s.

Ask Grandpa! (Or Grandma)

President Kennedy promised to send us to the moon in 1960 - it was a race between us and the Soviet Union, now Russia, and they seemed to be winning. But before the young reader gets into all that, he must first understand the history behind the history and that appears in chapter 1 and World War II. Of course, grandpa and grandma are also good people to ask about events since they lived through them.

About the Book Itself

We love the table of contents (ToC) and the drawings and maps. Also included is a timeline starting in 1939 and a very helpful list of acronyms and glossary. This, however, is a book that must be read in order, chapter by chapter: you really can't just open it anywhere to start or pick an interesting chapter from the ToC unless the reader has a specific person or year or flight to find out about. Then, the index comes in handy.

If the reader gets bogged down in chapter one, just skip it and come back to it later for the background. 

It's a handy little book, chock full of information, including illustrations (their captions can be hard to read, however since the font is cursive and small).

What's It All About?

You will learn about the first seven US astronauts and the Soviet ones, as well, including the dogs who went into space and, of course, Sputnik. You will learn about the accidents and the near-accidents. And you will be able to place these events in relation to world events happening at the time.

All in all, a good reference book for the interested student.

Book Review: Nurse Florence, What is a Heatstroke? (children's bok)(OT)

Nurse Florence, What is a Heatstroke? by Michael Dow (Dow Creative Enterprises, 2023, 114pp, ages 8-12)(OT) Review by Skye Anderson.

Starring Girls!

Nurse Florence, What is a Heatstroke? is the latest in the Nurse Florence (named for Florence Nightingale) series of educational health books for kids with an emphasis on minorities. And girls! The three protagonists (main characters) are girls who are all different - two little Black girls and one red-headed, freckled White girl. The nurse herself is probably of Indian descent with a red dot, the bindi, on her forehead.

The four eat lunch together at school while conversing about heatstroke - what the symptoms are and how to prevent it. 

Heatstroke is a real story, with a beginning, a middle and an end that are all so realistic. I'd love to see some of the accompanying coloring books, too.

With so many titles in the series (and some in French or Spanish, too), with 99 titles to choose from, your child will select many of them to learn about.

However, . . . . 

This reviewer would suggest deleting the 'A' in the title and, although some pages have lovely illustrations (the oscillating fan, e.g.), others seem as if created by a child.

Although somewhat costly, the Florence Nightingale, a hardcover book, will surely last a long time being passed from child to child.

Other books in this series reviewed include Nurse Florence: How Do We Feel Hot and Cold Things? 

and Nurse Florence: What is Bacterial Meningitis?

Book Review: Body Talk Animated (kids read body language)(OT)

Body Talk Animated, The Big Kid's Course in Body Language by James Pyle and Maryann Karinch (Armin Lear Press, 2023, 98pp, $16 PB)(OT) Review by Skye Anderson.

Start with Emojis!

Body Talk Animated is a book for everyone. Just as the subtitle says, it is either a course for big kids, or, with poetic license, a big course for kids. Or, even a big course for big kids! But, definitely a course.

It starts explaining the FUN fundamentals of reading body language, which stand for Face, Upper body and Naval down: F for how the eyes, mouth, eyebrows, forehead ("wrinkle and crinkle"), etc., move to show what a person is feeling and what you would do if the signals conflict with one another. U is for the 'Upper body' - shoulders, etc., while N for 'Navel down' draws your attention to the legs and feet, among other parts.

Four types of expressions are then described and even the scientific names for a few of the 600 muscles! (Kids will remember the darndest things!)

And finally the reader will learn a 4-step process to use with real people, with movies and even with cartoons. With a movie trailer, first watch it for enjoyment, then with the sound off followed by a rerun with the sound on but your eyes closed (can you recognize the characters by their voices only?)  and finally with everything intact but scrutinizing for details. 

It's a little book but so chockful of information that you will have to take it slowly and do the exercises (fun homework to practice feelings and snap the expressions with your camera).

Knowing body language will come in handy in life situations, especially for kids, and, as a bonus, the authors occasionally give warnings. For example, if you receive conflicting signals from a stranger, get out of there, leave, go find an adult.

And Finally. . . . 

Pages of animated movies* with what to watch for. For example, could Snow White have been saved from being 'poisoned' if she had been able to read the facial expressions on her stepmother's face?

*Youtube has 6 minutes of "The Bad Guys" to practice on. . . .

Book Review: Oh My Mother! (OT) A Memoir in Nine Adventures

Oh My Mother! A Memoir in Nine Adventures by Connie Wang (Penguin Random House, 2023, $28, 240pp HB) Review by Skye Anderson.

Funny (But Maybe Not Meant to Be)

Author Connie Wang, born in the US of parents from mainland China, has written a memoir of growing up that is primarily about her mother, whose English is not flawless but who tries to be as American as possible - sometimes getting things wrong (and funny).

You will smile as you remember growing up in your own family, fighting with siblings, trying to pull the wool over your parents' eyes and sometimes getting away with it. Wang remembers and writes things about her childhood that you don't, until you read Oh My Mother! 

And the Title?

We all know the meaning of OMG but did you know the 'translation' of OMG into Chinese is Oh, My Mother!? It loses something in the translation of the title, however. On the other hand, the use of the word, mother, is perfect since Wang writes about her mother on every page, in every chapter, as if the book were about her mother or her relationship with her mother or her mother's idiosyncrasies in trying to adapt to life in the US and raise American children in Alabama and Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities.

Wang's mother is an accountant but her main passion in life is fashion which she passed on to Wang (Wang's 4-years-younger sister is a psychiatrist) who becomes a fashion editor in New York City.

The Flow

Wang takes us through nine episodes in "life with mother," (probably chronologically), starting with her early childhood and including a trip to China when she was twelve. A couple of the chapters (Las Vegas and Versailles) were less entertaining, especially to male readers I suppose, but even with an emphasis on international fashion and fashion shows during Fashion Week in New York and Paris, etc., most men will be able to skim over those parts and recognize themselves on nearly every page.

Even the reader who has not traveled abroad will smile at the incidents Wang chooses to include, sort of like writing about a vacation through the eyes of a 7-year-old who remembers Denmark as the place she lost her doll and Scotland as the place she got sick. . . . 

Universalities

Even though our protagonists are Chinese Americans, they are a typical family with embarrassing situations and angry outbursts. I love Wang's sentence structure with some pages consisting of only one paragraph. But I would not attempt to read this book out loud, however, for so many sentences go on and on and on - but Wang does this lovingly and with humor*.

There is much serious food for thought in this book, about family, about immigrants, about DisneyWorld, about belonging. I look forward to more Wang books!

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*typically (?) studious Chinese student's humorous snippet - "I had scored well enough on my tests and papers that it no longer burdened me, which meant l could forget everything I had learned and spend the rest of the holidays decompressing, relaxing, not caring." p.67