Liza Jane & the Dragon by Laura Lippman, Kate Samworth

Liza gets tired of her parents and her perfect life.  She decides to fire them and hire a new parent and she puts up an ad saying no experience required.

Akashic Books sent me a copy of this book to read for review.  It has been published, so you can get a copy now.

I'm not sure where her parents went after being fired but her new parent is happy to move in.  Of all things, she's hired a dragon.  That means the house suddenly has burn marks in odd places, the pizza delivery person will no longer come in the house, and even school gets a bit dangerous.  Now what will she do?

I loved this one.  It's silly, funny and a joy to read.  The illustrations are great, too.  Get a copy for your little one, they'll read it more than once!

The Adventures of Phatty & Payaso: Central Park by Marie Unanue

Phatty is a nice big thirty-pound cat.  He enjoys living in his apartment with his friend across the hall and the other animals in his home.  Lounging in the sun suits him just fine.  That is until a mean hawk says he's coming for the animals and will take them all out on a certain date.

iUniverse and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published and you can by a copy now.

This is a fun read.  Phatty tries to hide under the couch and his butt and back legs stick out because he's too fat... 

He decides he has to tell the zookeeper about the bird so he can be captured and stop being a menace.  So he hides in the laundry bag and gets out of the building that way.  However, Central Park is big and he's having trouble finding the zoo.  He's befriended by a racoon and a turtle and finds a bird with an injured wing that he rescues instead of eating.

In the meantime Payaso and the rest of the animals of the apartment dress up like a man and try to exit the apartment that way.  They almost get caught but a young boy named Max distracts the doorman.  Max is different.  He can hear what they say.  He goes with them as they go to Central Park to look for Phatty.

There's plenty more adventure and a it has a very interesting ending.  This was a very good read.

Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters: The Questioneers Book #1 by Andrea Beaty, David Roberts

While the Riveters have been retired for a while, it doesn't mean they've settled down...

Amulet Books sent me a copy of this book to read for review (thank you).  It has just been published so you can get a copy now.

Rosie and her friends are just full of questions and the Riveters have most of the answers.  I knew a woman who was a riveter in my hometown.  She was quite a character.  They didn't become riveters because they were shy.

Rosie likes to do engineering projects, so when they ask her to help out a fellow riveter who broke her wrists, she says yes.  Now how to create a paint machine that will work for her?

Rosie's neighbor has been unfriendly and avoids her most of the time, but she helps her with this project and when Rosie gets to know her better she likes her.  Never judge people by how they act until you find out why they act way.

This was a fun read and Rosie will be back again.  I wonder what her next project will be?

Little Honour by Penny Freedman

Gina is moving into a new flat and has more room for visiting family members now.  Her youngest daughter is in a Shakespeare play and wants her to watch rehearsals.  Her older daughter's four year old son has to have heart surgery for a hole in his heart.  And her old boyfriend is back in her life again.

Troubador Publishing Limited and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published October 28th.

Gina is a strong-willed stubborn women.  David, her old boyfriend, has the same traits.  That's why they broke up.  But now he's back and asking her to help him with an investigation.  Of course, he doesn't want to tell her anything about the case.  How can she ask questions if she doesn't know what to ask?

In the meantime, she meets a good looking man at the play rehearsals and she's attracted to him.  He seems to be attracted to her, too.  When he and David meet up, they're both decent and pleasant but she's hoping he will make David jealous.

The boy has surgery, his sister is trying to recover a lost dog, and Gina is trying to solve a murder case.  It all gets resolved before the end but parts of it will surprise you.  Nothing is easy in this story.

The Elsewhere Emporium by Ross MacKenzie

Ellie's father has died and left the Nowhere Emporium to David.  He can feel what's happening in the building and he knows when things aren't right.  He also uses the old man's spell book to set things right.  But this time he doesn't know who was let loose or where the Elsewhere Emporium went...

Kelpies and Edelweiss let me read this book for review (thank you).  It is being published today.

This story is full of magic.  There's a dead woman who is still walking and talking due to a magic pendant.  There are twins who don't speak to each other anymore.  They have to visit a dangerous island.  They find that a girl who visited the emporium has been possessed and the being who got away is getting stronger all the time.

Will they be able to stop him?  Who's strong enough to fight him?  You won't be bored if you read this one.

Postcards From a War by Vanita Oelschlager

When her father went to war, she waited at home for his return and read the postcards he sent.  He never mentioned any danger.  He even sent some illustrations to show her the camp.

VanitaBooka and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published so you can grab a copy now.

Thia is a collection of postcards the author got from her father.  My father served in the same war but I wasn't born yet so his letters were mostly love letters to my mom.  Vanita's letters are to a family and sweet in their own right.

When men go to war, you never know if they will return.  Letters keep your hope alive...

Balance the Birds by Susie Ghahremani

This book illustrates how you can balance things.  It's a lot like using a scale but in this story, it's a tree.

Abram Appleseed sent me a copy of this book to read for review (thank you).  It will be published tomorrow.

The story starts with an equal number of birds on both sides of the tree.  Then some of them leave from both sides.  Finally there is only one left.  And here comes a HUGE bird that is going for the opposite side of the tree.  What's the little bird to do?

This is a very easy way to teach your little one about balance.  It's also fun enough to read more than once!