book reviews (all genres)

[magical review] Little Witch’s To-Do List by Helen Kemp Zax and Kiersten Eve Eagan

~ jama ~ 25 Comments

Happy Halloween!

It’s time for ghosts, goblins, spiders and skeletons, black cats, bats, witches and warlocks. Have you ever wondered what our spooky friends are up to before they venture out at night?

In Little Witch’s To-Do List by Helen Kemp Zax and Kiersten Eve Eagan (Abrams Appleseed, 2025), a young witch manages her busy day by methodically tackling a variety of tasks one item at a time. It’s a good thing she’s made a list because there are so many things to finish before bedtime!

Cast a spell for sunshine
Fluff my cobweb bed
Feed my baby phoenix
Turn my black robe red

Once she’s donned her robe and pointy hat, she looks in the mirror, tries to grow a wart hair and practices her scowling. She’s quite determined to master her technique. 🙂

The fun continues with owl training, working on her magic-wand skills, brewing a bee-wing potion, then baking a toadstool cake. With a poof of her magic-wand, she even turns herself into a dragon!

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[crunchy review] Fortune Cookies for Everyone! by Mia Wenjen and Colleen Kong-Savage

~ jama ~ 10 Comments

Everyone looks forward to cracking open a fortune cookie after finishing a mouthwatering Chinese meal. What does the future hold (“You will meet a handsome stranger”)? What handy bit of wisdom awaits (“A closed mouth gathers no feet”)?

While we all enjoy these fun and pithy messages, it’s logical to assume fortune cookies are a Chinese invention, when in fact they most likely originated in Japan. What’s more, most people in China haven’t even heard of fortune cookies, let alone eaten them! 😯

In Fortune Cookies for Everyone!: The Surprising Story of the Tasty Treat We Love to Eat (Smithsonian/Red Comet Press, 2025), Mia Wenjen and Colleen Kong-Savage serve up a captivating intergenerational tale flavored with sides of history, mystery, and cultural pride. Learning about a food’s interesting backstory makes it even tastier, don’t you think?

As the story opens, Grandma Miyako has ordered Chinese takeout for her grandchildren Kenji and Keiko. After they’ve feasted on their favorites — salt and pepper squid, garlic pea pods, and beef lo mein — she hands them their fortune cookies, mentioning that she knew who invented them.

The kids are excited to hear more about that in the “long and twisty story” Grandma tells using her scrapbook. When she was a girl, Makoto Hagiwara, the man who ran the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, served tea with miso-flavored fortune cookies he made by hand using a kata (iron mold).

Because the cookies were so popular, Hagiwara asked Grandma’s best friend Yukiko’s father (who owned a bakery) to help him. Mr. Okamura was happy to do so, suggesting they change the cookie flavor to sweet vanilla and butter to make them more appealing to Americans.

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[mindful review+ giveaway] The Gift of the Broken Teacup by Allan Wolf and Jade Orlando

~ jama ~ 24 Comments

Imagine standing beneath a tall tree in a quiet snow-laden forest, your soul abloom with heightened awareness. Or perhaps you’re lying on your bed, eyes closed, envisioning a butterfly fluttering just above you, its wings stirring up the gentle air before it softly lands on your fingers, nose and eyelids.

Whether immersing yourself in nature or traveling within, moments of calm introspection can help offset the stresses of daily life, rejuvenate the spirit and restore balance. In The Gift of the Broken Teacup: Poems of Mindfulness, Meditation, and Me (Candlewick, 2025), poet Allan Wolf and illustrator Jade Orlando invite young readers to open their minds, think deeper, and enjoy the benefits of being fully present in their daily lives.

This insightful collection explores the essence of mindfulness by offering strategies for self actualization and emotional literacy. With an emphasis on positive values like empathy, kindness, gratitude and respect, this child-friendly primer for being in the world truly inspires and empowers.

Thirty poems are presented in three sections — Mindfulness, Meditation, and Me — with the opening poem introducing the book’s overarching themes of acceptance, openness, and intention. 

THE GIFT OF THE BROKEN TEACUP

I drink my tea 
from a broken cup.
The handle is gone,
so I pick the cup up
with both hands cupped
as if to pray.
I've learned my tea
tastes better this way.

I like the speaker’s non judgmental attitude and willingness to embrace the broken cup for what it is, ultimately discovering an unexpected gift. Good lesson: always remain open to possibilities, trust yourself.

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[review] This Moment is Special: A Día de Muertos Story by John Parra

~ jama ~ 10 Comments

Come November 1-2, Mexicans and other Latino communities around the world will be observing Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead), a traditional fiesta to honor and remember deceased loved ones.

Celebrations will include using marigolds and calaveras (skeletons), decorating family gravesites, constructing altars with photos, memorabilia and offerings of the departed’s favorite foods and beverages; as well as holding community gatherings with music, dancing, feasting, and masquerading as death.

Rather than being a somber, mournful occasion, this much anticipated holiday is a time to welcome the spirits of departed ancestors to a joyful reunion with the living on Earth.

In This Moment is Special: A Día de Muertos Story (Paula Wiseman/S&S, 2025) by award-winning author-illustrator John Parra, a young boy practices mindfulness as he prepares for the fiesta throughout the day. He treasures each moment with family and friends — moments time will turn into the precious memories of a life well lived.

We first meet him early in the morning as he anticipates what’s ahead with hope and excitement:

Today holds a special promise. Una promesa especial.

Oh, the possibilities! He first shares “a tamale, avocado and egg breakfast” with his family, who, like him, have donned calaveras paint. Next, he and his sister take the bus to school, where he pushes his mind “to discover and learn” subjects like history, language, geography and science.

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[review] Sweet Dreams: Moon Poems for Bedtime by Charles Ghigna and Jacqueline East

~ jama ~ 27 Comments

When we were little, we likely heard about the cow jumping over the moon and the dish running away with the spoon. We learned the moon was made of green cheese, and that when the man in the moon tumbled down too soon, he burned his mouth eating porridge.

Whether in nursery rhyme or popular folklore, the moon continues to charm us. No surprise that kids are especially captivated by its presence in the night sky and curious about its changing appearance.

In Sweet Dreams: Moon Poems for Bedtime (Schiffer Kids, 2025), beloved Alabama poet Charles Ghigna serves up a delightful platter of lunar treats illustrated by Jacqueline East. The fourteen short poems in the collection invite young readers to explore the moon’s many guises, whether playful, evocative, majestic or enchanting.

When night has fallen and children are tucked safely in their beds, they can imagine the moon as a lollipop, orange, pumpkin, ice cream cone or lost balloon. They can see the moon as artist, magician, or guardian of safety.

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