Beanie the Bansheenie by Eoin Colfer
The online reader site I use had a new listing of titles up. I saw the cover of Beanie the Bansheenie by Eoin Colfer and illustrator Steve McCarthy and said, sorry, not now. But I would go back to it. Okay, let’s read the description… banshee, a little girl, death. Nope, not right now. Then went back a third time. Still a no. It would be several looks later that I said I would read it. I still wasn’t sure if I should read, as […]
Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey
The United States of Cryptids by J.W. Ocker
Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey – 3.25 stars For a country with a comparatively short written history, the United States has a great many ghosts, and the most compelling of those have their stories rooted deep in the places from which they’ve sprung up. This was a nice seasonal read which reminded me to look about me with a greater awareness of the many small histories that must cling to every bus station or convenience store I pass, even as […]
Monster Locker Volume 1 by Jorge Aguirre
Currently available (but I read via an online reader copy), Monster Locker Volume 1 is a fun book that is a bit predictable for adults, but for at least 8 and up (more 10 to 13 perhaps) this is going to be a neat adventure. A mostly diverse cast of characters allows us to see a family following traditions but also forgetting its past. Then magic happens (cue a magic cell phone, a typical kid, and some ancient goddesses) and chaos happens. This is all […]
Living Ghosts and Mischievous Monsters: Chilling American Indian Stories by Dan SaSuWeh Jones
Readers who have been craving a selection of tales reminiscent of Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark should look no further than Living Ghosts and Mischievous Monsters: Chilling American Indian Stories, compiled by Ponca storyteller Dan SaSuWeh Jones. Jones is a busy guy: he is a writer, producer, and artist; he’s worked as an Imagineer for Disney and produced for Sesame Street; he is a sculptor, a former Chairman of the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, and he assembled this creepy collection of […]
Haru Book 2: Summer by Joe Latham
In February 2024 I read book one of Haru by Joe Latham (or Haru 1: Spring). In August of 2024 I read Haru Book 2: Summer still by Joe Latham. Both were read via an online reader copy but I was thinking I would purchase copies of both when book two came out. However, it is not due until October 2024 and I am glad I did not wait. This is because Book Two is much darker than Book One was. Things are more layered […]
Into the Goblin Market by Vikki VanSickle
Recently I located a list of books that were recommended by other booksellers across the country. I found the picture book section and said, “Online reading here I come.” And I was able to read most of them (I have one in physical form so I passed and I have two more to read), but one that really stuck out to me was Into the Goblin Market by Vikki VanSickle and Jensine Eckwall as the illustrator. It is a contemporary folktale or fairy tale that […]
