Good read, short but lots of information. A nice mix of more and less well known ladies. I like their summaries of other women they wanted to include in the back, and that they do have a research and resources page, though I really wish it had a bibliography. (And better art, I really don't like the art style.)

Vivid imagery of a fantastical time and place with colorful characters. A magical circus at turn of the century Europe / Northeastern US. Conjures the feeling of "The Prestige" and Tim Burton films, with two main characters caught in the crosshairs of an epic Game. I enjoyed living in the circus, with all its wondrous tents and entertainers, but fell out of love once the danger and death started to kick in. Couldn't feel strongly about the two main characters falling in love and what happened to them, but I greatly enjoyed the setting and imagery of the book.

Torn on this one. It's very sweet, but despite being based on her life, I feel like it really shouldn't be in non-fiction. Even in kid's books I'm not big on non-fiction books putting specific thoughts in people's heads unless those people have written or spoken along those lines. So I'm suuuuper not big on non-fiction books showing animals thinking like people. I'm also iffy on how she turned herself into a tween/teen and glossed entirely over her injuries. It's lovely to have a thoughtful and positive portrayal, and first hand, view, I just wish it had emphasized more on the training and working together and less on an imaginary dog's POV and a quasi-fictional view on her. Two separate books-maybe a more real non-fiction and then a picture book might have been more appropriate here?

It's very cute. Follows the age old younger sibling frustrated with older siblings story, but I think it's timeless because so many kids can identify with it. (Heck I can still totally identify with the mean cousin, even if mine was younger...) I think a lot of kids will also identify both the with excitement and frustrations of traditions and family visits. Talking with her neighbor is a transparent but still clever way to sound out and explain words for readers who haven't run into them before. (Also partial to her habit of making collages since that's what one of my last videos was on and I'm hoping to revisit a different aspect in awhile.)

Just finished the Seashells more than a Home book. I kind of wish she defined mollusk at the beginning of the book since she uses the word throughout, but it's a beautiful book. It gives solid and easy to understand examples, the main font is clearly differentiated from the notes, but both are large and legible. It's also always fun to get to learn new things from a picture book. I have an abalone shell, but never knew what the holes were for! Or why cockle shells are so fragile looking. And there's a partial bibliography both for the author and the illustrator, huzzah!

Attractive enough, but so vague as to be nearly useless. More a stilted but dreamy picture book than anything actually informative. (And as much as I like the idea of nods to the artists style, seriously, can we have some actual examples of his art, more than two small photos in the end material?! I'm really not digging this narrative nonfiction trend where bios of artists don't actually include much of the artists work.)

I guess it's a case of not bad but not much there? More of an opener than a complete story? Namesless city is a much cooler title than the city everyone calls something different... I do like the nod to names and how they work in terms of control. The visuals are great, as someone who always has issues with perspective no matter how much I sketch out vanishing points and angles, serious respect. That's a lot of tiles and bricks and shadowing to have on point. And the pacing of the racing scenes really does ramp up nicely. (I'm always iffy on the nabbing Eastern settings and clothing styles and naming conventions without plot tie in. Not sure where the line is on what's okay and what's not. Especially in a graphic novel that seems to be leading to questioning conquest and colonialism?)

I thought it was awfully cute. The pace is a little off, sometimes slow and sometimes galloping, but overall it's charming with a nice message of being yourself with a dash of reclaiming and acknowledging the brokenness of the past. The mayor's heel turn from basically one panel to the next was sudden, I mean, closure is good, but still could have used a bit more there. (I also kind of wish there'd be some kind of acknowledgement of the role of patriarchy in the prosecution of witches beyond the obvious of it being male descendants, but yeah...)

Really good, it flips quickly between funny and heartbreaking. Took me awhile to get used to the art, but then moved at an amazing pace. A glimpse at a history and point of view I know embarrassingly little about. (read for the graphic memoir component)

A complex and complicated history of African-American culinary history, as well as American and world history in general in light of the long history and legacy of slaves brought from Africa to the Americas. Worth reading slowly and thoughtfully. Provocative.