No Bears Allowed Lydia Lukidis, Tara J. Hannon

Rabbit is deathly afraid of bears.  They have such nasty claws and big teeth.

Blue Whale Press and Edelweiss let me read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published July 1st.

H gets caught in a snare and is hanging from the tree when the bear shows up.  The bear assures him he didn't set the snare and helps to set him free.  When he gets down from the tree, the bear shows his teeth and claws and rabbit thinks he's done for.  No, the bear was scaring off a fox that was after the rabbit. 

He takes the rabbit home with him to make carrot soup.  The rabbit just knows he's going to go in the soup pot, too, so he runs.  But he hears the bear calling for help. He goes back.  The bear is scared of a spider.  The rabbit takes it outside and then has a bowl of carrot soup with the bear.

Not all bears are mean and want to eat you.  That's true about people too.  We are all individuals, some good, some bad.

Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks by Suzanne Slade, Cozbi A. Cabrera

Gwendolyn grew up with poetry.  Her father read it in the evenings.  It didn't take long until she was writing her own...

Abrams young readers allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published on April 7th.

When she sends her poetry in to a newspaper, they print it.  So does the magazine she sends it to.  Then the depression hits and no one is paying for printing anymore.  Then she gathers a pile of poetry and sends it to a book publisher.  He wants twice as much to make a book.  She sends him more.  He prints it.

She begins writing poetry about growing up in Chicago and sends that to the publisher.  He prints another book.

One day when she's without heat, the phone rings.  It's journalist who tells her she has won the Pulitzer prize for her second book!

She always had big dreams.  Now they are starting to come true.

Good Guys, Bad Guys by Joanne Rocklin, Nancy Carpenter

This is a fun read.  A brother and sister each play a bad guy and a good guy.  They and their friends use their imaginations and become pirates and more in the afternoon.

Abrams Young Readers let me read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published on May 5th.

They even act as cowboys!  The good guys are there but don't butt in on the games unless someone needs help.  They have a great day and when bedtime comes, The brother says he'll be the bad guy in the morning.  His sister agrees, she'll be the good guy tomorrow.

They have great imaginations!

Lion Needs a Haircut by Hyewon Yum

His father tells him he needs a haircut.  He says he likes his hair the way it is.  There is more discussion but dad wins the argument.

Abrams Young Readers allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published on May 5th.

Then the son says he'll get his haircut if his dad gets his cut too.  Dad is not crazy about this idea and says he likes his hair as it is.  But mom pipes up and suggests a haircut would be a good idea.

So two unwilling lions go to the barber shop.  Will they like their haircuts when they are done?

Fox & Rabbit by Beth Ferry, Gergely Dudas (Illustrations)

This is a graphic novel in chapters.  Fox and rabbit are very good friends and they each work on the others fears.

Amulet books sent me a copy of this book to read and review (thank you).  It has been published and you can grab a copy now.

They go to the fair and Rabbit wants to ride the Ferris wheel.  Fox doesn't like it because it goes so high.  They eat cotton candy, play lots of games where fox wins all the prizes and then rabbit gets fox to go for a ride.  He's scared but he finds it's fun and not bad at all.

They look for hidden treasure, plant a garden in their back yard, they even go swimming although rabbit didn't want to.  He finds it's good fun.

Having a good friend means you'll learn some new things.

This book is nicely done and children will read it more than once.

The Request by David Bell

He was doing a buddy a favor.  He sneaks in the house to retrieve some letters written by his buddy.  The house is torn apart, he can't find the letters and he unfortunately finds a dead body.

Berkley and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published June 30th.

His buddy claims no knowledge about the murder.  He also blackmails Ryan into remaining silent about it.  He claims a drunk Ryan ran over a girl and hit her sister.  Ryan doesn't remember.  But his buddy uses it for all he's worth.

This story is filled with lies and only here and there does the truth come out.

There are those who are envious of Ryan and his perfect life.  He wants to help his buddy but all he is is trouble.  Ryan gets caught up in his buddy's mess and even his family get threatened.  Ryan is trying to get clear but even his wife has lied to him.

Poor Ryan.  His life is spiraling out of control.  Can he stop it in time?

Vagrant Queen Volume 1 by Magdalene Visaggio, Jason Smith

Elida was a child queen until she was driven off her throne by revolutionaries.  She's grown up now and an old enemy looks her up.  He claims to know where they are holding her mother.

Vault Comics and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It's been published and you can grab a copy now. 

She heads back to her kingdom to find her.  The fights are dirty, he tries to betray her her and the action increases.

This story isn't boring, there's plenty of action and she's fighting for her life the whole time...