Review: What Pet Should I Get? By Dr. Seuss

Goodreads Blurb

A never-before-seen picture book by Dr. Seuss!   This never-ever-before-seen picture book by Dr. Seuss about making up one’s mind is the literary equivalent of buried treasure! What happens when a brother and sister visit a pet store to pick a pet? Naturally, they can’t choose just one! The tale captures a classic childhood moment-choosing a pet-and uses it to illuminate a life lesson: that it is hard to make up your mind, but sometimes you just have to do it!   Told in Dr. Seuss’s signature rhyming style, this is a must-have for Seuss fans and book collectors, and a perfect choice for the holidays, birthdays, and happy occasions of all kinds.   An Editor’s Note at the end discusses Dr. Seuss’s pets, his creative process, and the discovery of the manuscript and illustrations for What Pet Should I Get?

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I was so happy when I found out Dr. Seuss left us one more gift. It is an amazing cute book about pets who he loved tremendously. I am very happy with the outcome of the images that were partly created by the book publisher since they had no idea what colors Dr. Seuss would have wanted. I am very glad that after over 50 years of being created, it was decided that this story needed to be shared with the whole world. I highly recommend you don’t miss out on this book. Loved how they included a little biography about Dr.Seuss and how this book came about. Loved the ending because it left the reading thinking about what pet the kids picked and what the reader would pick for themselves.

Author Biography

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born 2 March 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He graduated Dartmouth College in 1925, and proceeded on to Oxford University with the intent of acquiring a doctorate in literature. At Oxford he met Helen Palmer, who he wed in 1927. He returned from Europe in 1927, and began working for a magazine called Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at the time, submitting both cartoons and humorous articles for them. Additionally, he was submitting cartoons to Life, Vanity Fair and Liberty. In some of his works, he’d made reference to an insecticide called Flit. These references gained notice, and led to a contract to draw comic ads for Flit. This association lasted 17 years, gained him national exposure, and coined the catchphrase “Quick, Henry, the Flit!”

In 1936 on the way to a vacation in Europe, listening to the rhythm of the ship’s engines, he came up with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, which was then promptly rejected by the first 43 publishers he showed it to. Eventually in 1937 a friend published the book for him, and it went on to at least moderate success.

During World War II, Geisel joined the army and was sent to Hollywood. Captain Geisel would write for Frank Capra’s Signal Corps Unit (for which he won the Legion of Merit) and do documentaries (he won Oscar’s for Hitler Lives and Design for Death). He also created a cartoon called Gerald McBoing-Boing which also won him an Oscar.

In May of 1954, Life published a report concerning illiteracy among school children. The report said, among other things, that children were having trouble to read because their books were boring. This inspired Geisel’s publisher, and prompted him to send Geisel a list of 400 words he felt were important, asked him to cut the list to 250 words (the publishers idea of how many words at one time a first grader could absorb), and write a book. Nine months later, Geisel, using 220 of the words given to him published The Cat in the Hat , which went on to instant success.

In 1960 Bennett Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he couldn’t write an entire book using only fifty words. The result was Green Eggs and Ham . Cerf never paid the $50 from the bet.

Helen Palmer Geisel died in 1967. Theodor Geisel married Audrey Stone Diamond in 1968. Theodor Seuss Geisel died 24 September 1991.

Cover Reveal: Pure Vengence

BOOK DETAILS:

Pure Vengeance
Authors: Felicity Brandon, Madden Kole, Maesha Stone, Raisa Greywood, Yolanda Olson
Published by: GTB Publishing LLC
Publication date: November 5, 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

They’ll have their vengeance—and their pleasure, too.
Revenge is like ice cream. Best served cold, and in bed.
And nobody serves up revenge like the villains in these stories.
Because there is no better way to exact your revenge than to make your target crave your touch. To make them beg you for their pleasure, to drive them to the brink of madness as they scream your name.
To make them believe you might actually love them…

Current Read: Dress Codes: How the Law of Fashion Made History by Richard Thompson Ford

Goodreads Blurb

Dress codes are as old as clothing itself. For centuries, clothing has been a wearable status symbol; fashion, a weapon in struggles for social change; and dress codes, a way to maintain political control. Merchants dressing like princes and butchers’ wives wearing gem-encrusted crowns were public enemies in medieval societies structured by social hierarchy and defined by spectacle. In Tudor England, silk, velvet, and fur were reserved for the nobility, and ballooning pants called “trunk hose” could be considered a menace to good order. The Renaissance-era Florentine patriarch Cosimo de Medici captured the power of fashion and dress codes when he remarked, “One can make a gentleman from two yards of red cloth.” Dress codes evolved along with the social and political ideals of the day, but they always reflected struggles for power and status. In the 1700s, South Carolina’s “Negro Act” made it illegal for Black people to dress “above their condition.” In the 1920s, the bobbed hair and form-fitting dresses worn by free-spirited flappers were banned in workplaces throughout the United States, and in the 1940s, the baggy zoot suits favored by Black and Latino men caused riots in cities from coast to coast.

Even in today’s more informal world, dress codes still determine what we wear, when we wear it—and what our clothing means. People lose their jobs for wearing braided hair, long fingernails, large earrings, beards, and tattoos or refusing to wear a suit and tie or make-up and high heels. In some cities, wearing sagging pants is a crime. And even when there are no written rules, implicit dress codes still influence opportunities and social mobility. Silicon Valley CEOs wear t-shirts and flip-flops, setting the tone for an entire industry: women wearing fashionable dresses or high heels face ridicule in the tech world, and some venture capitalists refuse to invest in any company run by someone wearing a suit.

In Dress Codes, law professor and cultural critic Richard Thompson Ford presents a “deeply informative and entertaining” (The New York Times Book Review) history of the laws of fashion from the middle ages to the present day, a walk down history’s red carpet to uncover and examine the canons, mores, and customs of clothing—rules that we often take for granted. After reading Dress Codes, you’ll never think of fashion as superficial again—and getting dressed will never be the same.

Author Biography

Richard Thompson Ford is the George E. Osborne Professor of Law at Stanford Law School. He has pub­lished regularly on the topics of civil rights, constitutional law, race rela­tions, and antidiscrimination law. He is a regular contributor to Slate and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and the San Francisco Chronicle. He is the author of Racial Culture: A Critique, The Race Card and Rights Gone Wrong.

Current Book Club Pick: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Goodreads Blurb

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother’s graveside, Liesel’s life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger’s Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor’s wife’s library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel’s foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel’s world is both opened up, and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

(Note: this title was not published as YA fiction)

My review will be posted soon.

Cover Reveal: The Art of Falling in Love With Your Grumpy Neighbor by Anne Kemp

BOOK DETAILS:

The Art of Falling in Love with Your Grumpy Neighbor
by Anne Kemp
Publication date: September 24, 2024
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

All’s fair in love and war…ESPECIALLY with your grumpy, smoking hot, former football-superstar neighbor.

Bex: Expecting solitude from my new home shouldn’t be the exception. But when you move next door to the grumpiest human on earth, what’s a girl to do? Austin Porter may be a former football star, but this man does not have an attitude of gratitude.

When the strip of land that divides our properties becomes a literal bone of contention, we finally find something we can both agree on: war. Only, I don’t want to fight. I want to show this man that sometimes, the greatest comebacks happen once you’re off the field.

Austin: Was I defined by the game I played? Probably. Judging by the darkness I seem to be most comfortable sinking into, the memory of days now gone by is a weight that threatens to drown my soul. Then she moves in next door.

I never expected a woman like Bex to appear and get me so fired up, but I can see a beacon of light for the first time in a long time. She’s everything I’m not––warm, caring, full of life. And I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with her.

The Art of Falling in Love with Your Grumpy Neighbor is a closed door, enemies to lovers, grumpy sunshine rom com with no third act break up. Like all of my books, there are super swoony (steamy adjacent!) kissing moments, tension, and plenty of chemistry in this small town romance!

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/211598022-the-art-of-falling-in-love-with-your-grumpy-neighbor

Pre-order: https://amzn.to/4ddySXU

AUTHOR BIO:

Anne Kemp is a bestselling author of romantic comedies. She loves reading (and she does it ridiculously fast, too!), gluten-free baking (because everyone needs a hobby that makes them crazy), and finding time to binge-watch her favorite shows. She grew up in Maryland but made Los Angeles her home until she encountered her own real-life meet-cute at a friend’s wedding where she ended up married to one of the groomsmen. For real.

Anne now lives on the Kapiti Coast in New Zealand, and even though she was married at Mt. Doom, no…she doesn’t have a Hobbit. However, she and her husband do have a terrier named George Clooney and when she’s not writing, she’s usually with them taking a long walk on the river by their home.

Author links:

https://www.annekemp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/annekempauthor/

https://www.facebook.com/missannekemp/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5805725.Anne_Kemp

Review: Everybody ” Every Body” by Daryl Lynn O’Connell & Carleigh Joy O’Connell

Goodreads Blurb

Everybody “Every Body” a Praise Pals® children’s book that is a sweet story with Praise Pals® characters Carleigh and her pup Mickey. It’s a reflective and inspirational book that teaches children about positive body image, bullying and not to be a bystander. Real life Body Image Hero, Carleigh Joy O’Connell has co-authored the book, with her mom, Daryl Lynn O’Connell with Art Direction/Illustrations and Creator CathyAnn Sarra.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Received this book at bookcon. I really enjoyed this book. It’s such an excellent idea for children. The mitten is totally adorable and fits adults, too. It’s a blessing when mom does a mitten out of scratch for you. Kids really will enjoy this adorable book.

Book Mail Surprise

I won this amazing giveaway from the publisher Hachette. This was the Pollinators Giveaway. This includes Flower Garden for Pollinators, Aster Goldenrod honey, and hand-printed native seed packets. It was a wonderful surprised I received three books with this giveaway.



I love flowers and was hoping to read more about all the different flowers and how they help our environment.

Review: The Little Shop of Monsters by R.L. Stine and Marc Brown

Goodreads Blurb

A frighteningly fun picture book adventure from two monstrously talented children’s book icons–Marc Brown and R.L. Stine!

Are you are afraid of monsters?
Do they make you shiver and shake and shut your eyes really tight at night?

Welcome to the Little Shop of Monsters! Do you want a SNEEZER? A TICKLER? Or one of the CREEPIEST monsters of all? Come on in and choose your favorite, if you dare (before one of them chooses YOU!).

Renowned children’s book creators Marc Brown and R.L. Stine join forces for the very first time-in Stine’s picture book debut-with a tale that is monstrously good fun.

2016 Children’s Choice Book Award Winner — Kindergarten-2nd Grade Book of the Year

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

It’s such a cute book written by two amazing authors. They did a splendid job with the rhymes and the images. Perfect for Halloween to scare the little ones for a short bit.

Author Biography

Robert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children’s literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.

R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children’s author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.

Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids’ Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA’s Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.

Review: Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Goodreads Blurb

Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I’m not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate.

I’m Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I’d killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it’s a little more complicated than that.

Have I killed someone? Yes. I have.

Who was it?

Let’s get started.

EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE

My brother

My stepsister

My wife

My father

My mother

My sister-in-law

My uncle

My stepfather

My aunt

Me

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars


A family of killers will have an unforgettable reunion. Each member has not only killed someone, but they have a closet full of skeletons that will unleash an unexpected family member who will bring to light the mystery of this family. Ernest narrates the story and brings funny moments to the story of Whodunit. Can the writer Ernest put together the puzzle pieces?

The story includes ten characters who each have killed someone. Ernest narrates the story for each character by dividing the book into parts by family members and going over what the family members did and how he got involved. He did a fantastic job connecting the dots for each murder and having Ernest tell everyone his conclusion about who the murderer was and why this all occurred.

The story was a little slow, but it piqued my interest after he spoke to his brother Michael, and the deaths and mysteries were unraveling. I expected the story to turn out differently than it did. Too much was at stake, with too many secrets. This story shows how money can cover any secret.

Cover Reveal: Sin & Mistletoe An Anthology

BOOK DETAILS:

Sin & Mistletoe Anthology
Alison Mackenzie, Amanda Holly, Isabella White, Jade Marshall, M Kay Noir
Publication date: November 1, 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Holiday, Mafia, Romance

Synopsis:

This Christmas, forget about tinsel and trees.

Get ready for dark & dirty, jealous and possessive.

In the darkness, a tempting surprise waits for you. There will not be an exchange of gifts, only shadows waiting to claim you. This holiday season, forget about happiness and family.

Instead, we welcome you to embrace the darkness.

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214982505-sin-mistletoe

Pre-orderhttps://amzn.to/46q03Mm