Casey Lyall

There once was a ship with an old gal and a dog

Whale, That Was Unexpeted by Casey Lyall

May 15, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

There once was an old dame who was …. Whale, no spoilers Okay, a few spoilers. Whale, That Was Unexpeted by Casey Lyall combines the House that Jack Built, There Was an Old Woman, Moby Dick and Pinocchio all into a fairly new story. There is much in the way of familiarity to the story (we have a whale, we have impossible swallowing by said whale, rhyme, and a goat). But there is something new as well (there is a dog, sea lion, a […]

The fact I don’t always like a book is why I love books: something for us all

Vampire Jam Sandwich by Casey Lyall and Nici Gregory

June 13, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I am sorry Casey Lyall and Nici Gregory but your story, Vampire Jam Sandwich (which I read via an online reader copy and is due July 2025) did not hit the spot for me. Now I appreciate the ingredients you put into the illustrations, such as the red colors, the pointy teeth sandwich runny and running around (even if it is a bit messy and I am feeling the sticky getting all over) and the flapping capes that hide the surprise ending. Which was written […]

Frog legs to go

A Spoonful of Frog by Casey Lyall

May 2, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

A spoonful of sugar can make the medicine go down, but what does A Spoonful of Frogs do? They make up the most important ingredient in a witch’s favorite dish! Yet, they do not go quietly into that good cauldron! Humorous antics of the witch and frogs makes Casey Lyall’s picture book a fun treat to dine your eyes on. In the form of a cooking show for witches, our witch of the hour has more trouble getting frogs into her dish than a dog […]

The Great Escape

July 25, 2018 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Meet Inky an octopus who is a Houdini of a guy……octopus. Unknown to me, Inky’s Great Escape: The Incredible (and Mostly True) Story of an Octopus Escape is (very loosely) based on a real octopus who escaped from tank at the aquarium. In April 2016, The New York Times published a story about the real Inky who escaped from the National Aquarium of New Zealand through a drainpipe and eventually found its way to the sea. Inky is tired of his exciting ocean life, where […]

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