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.