Book Review: Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Author: Shel Silverstein
Published: 1974
187 Pages
Reviewed By: Cristina
Book Description:
Come in… for where the sidewalk ends, Shel Silverstein’s world begins.
Shel Silverstein, the New York Times bestselling author of The Giving Tree, A Light in the Attic, Falling Up, and Every Thing On It, has created a poetry collection that is outrageously funny and deeply profound.
You’ll meet a boy who turns into a TV set, and a girl who eats a whale. The Unicorn and the Bloath live there, and so does Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout who will not take the garbage out. It is a place where you wash your shadow and plant diamond gardens, a place where shoes fly, sisters are auctioned off, and crocodiles go to the dentist.
Shel Silverstein’s masterful collection of poems and drawings stretches the bounds of imagination and will be cherished by readers of all ages.
Cristina’s Review:
Poetry often gets overlooked for young readers, but it can be a great stepping stone from picture books to chapter books, or comprehension practice for older readers. And, you know, poetry can just be fun to read!
Shel Silverstein is a very popular poet for children. This happens to be my favorite collection of his works. With poems about ice cream, pirates, doing chores, going to school, Silverstein’s poems are something children can relate to in their own lives. Some of them are just plain silly, some are very thoughtful, and some have a little lesson in them. He also draws illustrations to go with them. (The crocodile in the dentist chair is one of my favorites!) If your reader is thinking they are getting “too old” for bedtime stories, or you don’t have time for a whole book or chapter of something, try reading a poem together instead. This is a great collection to get them hooked on poetry!
Audiobook Review: The It Girl by Ruth Ware
The It Girl
Author: Ruth Ware
Narrator: Imogene Church
Published: July 12, 2022
Audiobook: 17 hours 09 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: April 24- May 5, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
April Coutts-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford.
Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead.
Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide… including a murder.
Jessica’s Review:
Ruth Ware and Imogene Church did it again! I enjoyed this one. This was a book club selection for May otherwise I would have listened to it before now. Her books are not perfect for me, but I enjoy them and she is a must listen to with an always fabulous narrator: Imogene Church!
It’s time to go back to college with this one and Hannah is our narrator. We get ‘Before’ and ‘After’ timelines, before and after April’s murder. April and Hannah were roommates and became best friends. College at Oxford was something: Oh, to have a bedroom suite like Hannah and April had! Each had their own fire place. We get a feel of the college life as our cast of characters all experience strip poker on their first night at Oxford.
There is the creepy porter John Neville who is stalkerish and there is also a professor who doesn’t seem squeaky clean. We go back to the past and current day with Hannah. It’s been 10 years since April’s death and her killer has died in prison. A reporter stirs things up for Hannah and she has her doubts now on who actually killed April.
As with all of Ware’s novels, its is a moving mystery that is not super speedy. I did figure out who the killer was just before Hannah did, but the why motive, I did not. April was not likeable at all to me and it didn’t really seem like she thought of herself and Hannah as best friends. You can be friends and roommates and not besties, but Hannah felt that they were best friends.
I enjoyed it and would listen to it again! At one point in the audiobook where we get to a twist I was driving and I had to rewind the track because I was shocked and had to make sure I heard it right! I did and OMG! Imogene Church was wonderful and this time ‘effects’ were used when Hannah was on the phone with other characters. It was different and brought a more realistic feel to the story for me.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Book Birthday Blitz: A Review of Jana’s Brightly Coloured Socks by Sally Fetouh
Today I am taking part in the Book Birthday Blitz for Jana’s Brightly Coloured Socks by Sally Fetouh and illustrated by Alexis Schnitger. This children’s picture book was released last year and I am sharing my review. Happy First Book Birthday!
Author Sally Fetouh was inspired to write this touching story by her own daughter who has Down syndrome, feeling it was important for her and other children like her to be able to see themselves in literature. Two years ago, after reading a different story about a girl with Down syndrome to her daughter’s preschool class, Sally says, “The children were so engaged in the story and asked questions. They were very accepting and loving of their friend—my daughter. I left with a heart overflowing with emotion and that inspired me to write my story.”
Book Description:
When young Jana receives heaps of beautiful socks from her parents after learning how to put on socks all by herself, she can’t wait to show her friends at school. They are always kind and patient with Jana when they play together. Jana decides to share a pair of her new socks with each and every friend. This calls for a school sock parade! All of the children had so much fun showing off their colourful socks together that they gave a very special and huge gift for their kind and generous friend, Jana, a box of more socks!
There is cheerful text and whimsical illustrations that bring alive this heart-warming story of kindness and inclusion featuring a character with Down Syndrome.
Jana’s Brightly Coloured Socks
Author: Sally Fetouh
Illustrator: Alexis Schnitger
Published: May 21, 2022
40 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Read: May 18, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Jessica’s Review:
Jana’s Brightly Coloured Socks is a colorful picture book aimed at children ages 4 and up and focuses on friendship, kindness, and inclusion! Jana has Down Syndrome and she was able to get her socks on herself! Her parents celebrate this accomplishment and Jana takes socks to all the kids at school. This is a simple yet fun book with the illustrations that enhance the story 1000%! The illustrations are watercolor like for me and could tell the story themselves!
We have lots of inclusion and diversity in the pictures presented. The story along with the pictures really show how that even though we are all different in our own way, but that’s ok! The world would be very boring if we were all the same!
This short children’s book can also teach: The focus in the story is socks and how they are all different. Socks reference the extra chromosome that people with Down Syndrome have. Did you know that Chromosomes look like socks? There is also a hashtag: #lotsofsocks which has a campaign: Lots of Socks.
We need more books like this that both children and adults can enjoy and learn something from!
Purchase Links:
Through the author here.
Amazon US
Amazon UK
About the Author:
Writing is very much a part of who author Sally Fetouh is as a human being. As a child, writing was a way for her to express herself and all of the stories and ideas she had in her head. Now, as an adult, she has been inspired to write a beautiful story of kindness and friendship, Jana’s Brightly Coloured Socks, a heart-warming picture book loosely based on her daughter who has Down syndrome.
It was important to Sally that her daughter and other children like her were able to see themselves represented in literature. The idea came to Sally when she visited her daughter’s preschool to read a story about a girl with Down syndrome. The loving, accepting, and inquisitive responses from her daughter’s classmates inspired her to write a story reflecting these caring friendships.
Sally believes a great book is one that has impactful characters and a story that provides a new experience or perspective to the reader that stays with them long after the book is closed. She hopes that her young readers with disabilities or those who are different in some way will be able to relate to the main character and see a little bit of themselves, while also aiming for other readers to gain insight into the world of Down syndrome and the importance and impact of kindness and friendship.
When she isn’t writing thought-provoking children’s books, Sally works as a lawyer and a photographer. She enjoys being in nature, hiking, and horse riding. She lives with her family in Sydney, Australia. Jana’s Brightly Coloured Socks is her debut picture book.
Contact Sally:
Instagram @sallyfetouh
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