To Knit a Ghost by Z.B. Asterplume
The cover of To Knit a Ghost (read via an online reader copy, due July 2026) is adorable. Now, I know not to judge a book by its cover, but when you have a cover that has this kind of brightness and color, odds are good you’ll be having some fun and it will be a cute story. Z.B. Asterplume and illustrator Heather Brockman Lee live up to that cover. They made a sweet story that has fun illustrations and makes both knitting and non-holiday […]
Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
My costume is green. I wear green velvet knickers, a yellow turtleneck, a forest-green velvet smock, and a perky stocking cap decorated with spangles. This is my work uniform. ― David Sedaris, Holidays on Ice I’ve read this, listened to the public radio broadcast of David Sedaris’s reading, and I’ve seen a performance of The Santaland Diaries. It’s been a while, so this was a fun yet illuminating reread. David is a thirty-three-year-old man hired to be an elf at Santaland in at Macy’s in […]
Halloween Tree by Susan Montanari
When I first saw the title Halloween Tree I thought the cover was not matching what I was thinking. What I was thinking about was Ray Bradbury’s novel of the same name. But then I wondered if it was possible to adapt it to a picture book format? Especially with such a cute cover? Yes, it is possible, but the real question is should it be adapted. Well, thankfully (I guess) it was not that Halloween Tree but its own unique story. Susan Montanari’s Halloween […]
Knight Owl's Little Christmas by Christopher Denise
Sometimes sequels and companion books do not always hit as well as the first book of a series or collection by an author for me. The Knight Owl books are good and I like them, but the second book was not as good as the first. I am not jumping up and down and saying they are my favorite books, but I like recommending them and on occasion reading them again. Therefore, these are exceptions to that comment. And one day, while browsing potential online […]
Ramadan for Everyone: A Muslim Community Story by Aya Khalil
Again, I almost did not read a book. I have read several books about Ramadan, and thought that perhaps Ramadan for Everyone: A Muslim Community Story by Aya Khalil would be just like those. Turns out, it is and is not like other books. We have the concept of Ramadan, the events and things one does to honor Allah, but there is more as well. The young girl of the story has a voice that is different from other stories, and yet is familiar too. […]
The Legend of the Christmas Witch by Dan Murphy and Aubrey Plaza
With the book, The Legend of the Christmas Witch, I wanted more about Christmas and less, well, witch. I understand that Dan Murphy and Aubrey Plaza wanted to build up to the climax, but it made no real sense to me why things were called Christmas. First, she practices Yule celebrations. Second, we only see her being impatient, spoiled and naive. We do find Christmas with a Santa character, who is the witch’s beloved twin brother who turns out to be a bit of a […]
