Smells Like Dog by Suzanne Selfors

This promotion will be a bit different. The author, Suzanne Selfors, will drop by tomorrow and answer any questions she receives about her book. She's doing a blog tour. Read my review and if you have anything you'd like to ask her about, post your question here on the blog. She'll answer them tomorrow!

Imagine a dog that can't smell - how strange is that???

Homer Pudding is a boy without a place in a life. He has a good family, but he's a bit overweight and not exceptionally smart, and he just doesn't seem to fit in life on a goat farm. He's got chores, but no fun. So he admires his Uncle Drake who travels all over searching for treasure. It's not so much the treasure he wants, but the adventures would be great!

Then his uncle vanishes in a totally mysterious way, which Homer just can't understand. And he inherits Drake's most treasured possession. Which happens to be a bassett hound with real sad eyes...

His Dad doesn't like the dog, he raises purebreds to help on the farm and this dog is no good for that. The dog howls if he can't hang out with Homer. And he eats things he shouldn't because he can't smell anything.

Homer's life is getting worse and worse. And then he finds a coin hidden on the dog's collar and thinks it may be a clue to what happened to his uncle and where the treasure might be buried. But can he find out by himself with an almost worthless dog?

If you'd like to read about Homer and his adventures, I'm giving my review copy of this book from Little Brown Kids away. Just follow these directions:

1) Leave a comment here on the blog.
2) Send me an email at info @ bookfaerie.com (take out the spaces) with your name and address and why you would like to read the book. I'll pick a winner in about a week.

My questions for Suzanne:

Did turtles come into the story because you live on an island in Washington State?

Have you always had an active imagination?

If you have questions, leave them as comments here on the blog!

Legends in the Kitchen by Mrs. Howard Keel and Linda F Radke

This amazing cookbook is a Five Star Publication and was sent to me review.

You'll be surprised to find some of the stars who contributed to this cookbook. It includes Burt Reynolds, Betty Ford, Larry Hagman, Betty White and Dick Clark and many more!

This cookbook includes many unique recipes as well as some old stand bys with a different twist. For example, beef stew with walnuts from Betty Ford. There are a few recipes from the Gunsmoke characters, too.

My favorites were Wrangler Corn Puddin' by Morgan Woodward, Milburn Stone's Bean Soup, Marlowe's LowCholesterol Lemon Cakes by James Garner and Banana Bread by Linda Purl. But there are many more nummy recipes to tantalize your taste buds in this cookbook.

I'm going to give away my copy of this book so if you'd like to win it, here are the steps for you:

1) Leave a comment here on the blog.
2) Send me an email at info @ bookfaerie.com (take out the spaces) with your name and address for shipping and tell me why you'd like to win.

I'll choose a winner in about a week. Happy cooking!

Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash by Wendelin Van Draanen

This is a Random House Yearling Book written by the Edgar Award-Winning Author, Wendelin Van Draanen. This is the 11th book in the Sammy Keyes series.

Sammy is a little girl who lives in an adult only apartment complex. She has figured out methods to sneak in and out of the building and tells the doorman she's there to work for some of the women who live in the building.

While she's sneaking about to go in her secret way, she runs into someone coming out of the building - and can't understand why he doesn't see her. But when he has an attack, falls down the stairs and can't hardly breath, she tries to help him. He hands her money he was carrying and tells her to throw it away. She complies and then races into the building to get to the phone to call for help. Unfortunately, there's no help for him and he dies.

But that money? It's still out there behind the bushes. And since Sammy lives with her grandmother and they never have much money, it's a big temptation to her. I mean, who's going to miss it? And why waste it?

The book is plotted well, you sympathize with the characters, and you know her troubles are just beginning when she spends the first $100 of the group she's hoarding.

If you want to find out where the money came from and who is looking for it, and how much trouble Sammy gets in, be sure to grab yourself a copy.

Based on how much fun this book was to read, I'm going to watch for other books in the series. This one was a great read!

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carol

This edition was published by Tundra Books, and they kindly sent me a copy for review. It's an oversized book that has been bound and decorated in a lovely manner, a very collectible edition.

The outstanding feature of this edition (besides the binding) are the illustrations by Oleg Lipchenko.

This classic tale has been standing alone for years and is a favorite with many people, but Oleg's illustrations bring the story to life. You can watch the progress of the story by "reading" the illustrations on the pages before you read the text. It's delightful!

I had never actually read the story (saw the movie years ago) and I'm very glad this elegant copy was my first "read".

If you have an Alice fan in your household or you just want to give a someone a lovely collectible gift, this is the book for you. It's a wonderful tale with magical pictures to keep you turning the pages.

I highly recommend it.

Deliver Us From Evil - David Baldacci

This book is scary. David Baldacci has a very active imagination and writes a fast paced thrill-a-minute book in most instances, but this one is outstanding.

The "monster" in this book is a man, but a man who loves power and enjoys killing people. He's changed his identity and is a very prosperous business owner now, but he hasn't changed his habits.

Shaw is going after him because he's now playing with nuclear power. But he's not the only one pursuing him! Reggie Campion, a member of secret vigilante group wants him dead for his past crimes.

Shaw and Reggie eventually realize they are going after the same man, and neither one of them is happy about it. They each have their own agenda and they both high achievers. However, sometimes you have to compromise. But are they really compromising?

As you close out the story and get into the last few chapters, you just keep reading and don't want to be interrupted. You know something bad is going to happen and you hope the good guys win. But the bad guys have all the weapons. And they have dogs on the trail...

You won't be bored if you read this one!

Grand Central provided me with this copy for review. Go get yourself a copy and read this one, because I can tell there will a sequel for follow up soon...

I Came as a Stranger by Bryan Prince

Subtitle: The Underground Railroad. This book was provided courtesy of Tundra Books.

This is a non-fictional account of those who were slaves and escaped to Canada for freedom that touches your heart.

There are factual accounts of how the slaves were treated, how they were viewed as chattel, and how desperate they were to have lives of their own and a place to call their own.

The book is filled with photographs, articles, and other historical documents.

It's a heart-rending part of history, but it's our history.

There are pictures of the various locations used for the underground railroad as well as a guide to where they are located. Several of them are museums at this point in time.

I'm sure if I visited these homes, I'd feel the ghosts from the past. Just like I did when I visited Gettysburg.

This is a very good resource for young adults that will give them a chance to live history all over again.

I highly recommend it.

The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Weird

Junior edition. By David Borgenicht and Justin Heimberg and illustrated by Check Gonzales.

This is a fun read filled with fact and fiction for young adults. It has folklore,history and science information in a format that is fun to read and learn. And there are enough silly items in it to keep the child reading the real facts, too.

Chapter 1 covers Aliens and Other Outer Space Oddities. Such as how to survive an alien abduction.

Chapter 2 covers Monsters, Mummies, and More. Such as how to win a zombie showdown.

Chapter 3 covers Hauntings and Other Mysteries. Such as how to investigate a crop circle.

Chapter 4 covers Time Travel. Such as how to survive in prehistoric times.

Chapter 5 covers Magic and Myths. (My favorite!) Such as how to be a sorcerer's apprentice.

It's written a bit tongue in cheek, but it's very readable, the illustrations are a bit corny (and fit the book well) and your child should laugh as well as learn while reading it. Good fun for all.

And, if my examples didn't excite you, there's also a discussion of how to tame and train a dragon...

I can easily recommend this book for those who don't like reading much, but can enjoy fast facts and fun.