Category: Art



The Elfling PrincessThe Elfling Princess by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After a very stressful day and finishing two books that had me wishing for a bit more to fall asleep to, I pulled this one up on my tablet. It was fun. Just what I needed.

It is no secret that I love Cheryl Kaye Tardif’s adult books, but I worried that this would be too bland or too scary. It was just right. I loved the characters she created. Her illustrations were fun and sweet. I would have loved reading this to my daughter when she was little. And I can tell that the book she plans to follow this one with would have won over my sons way back when.

Anyway, for those with little ones in the home, this is a fun one to pick up. Enjoy!

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Home, Sweet Home
Home, Sweet Home by Amitis Karami

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh, that was adorable! I loved the illustrations and the sweet story.

Though I found the poetry forced. It would read aloud well as the rhythm stayed true, it was more the word order that bothered me.

When I read children’s stories I imagine reading them to my four kids… when they were kids. Back then we had goats and chickens, ducks, a dog and a cat. Thank goodness we had a barn! A discussion would have followed the read. We would have talked about how nice it was for the lady to take in her cold, wet friends. How we should always try to be kind to others, golden rule recited. How our animals give us so much including food, love and laughs.

There were pages that might work better in paper form, such as the picture of the friends with the lady in the bed were cut in half. I have no idea how that could be fixed for Kindle or epub.

Thank you for sharing this sweet book with me. I would give this four stars. I thinks it is fantastic for a first!

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Basic Drawing Technique: The How-to Guide
Basic Drawing Technique: The How-to Guide by Dr. Vook
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This was one of my first Kindle books. It seemed like a great idea at the time. The only thing I can think of to say is, what if you were only able to talk to your art teacher on the phone. Not Skype, just landline type phone. There would be no illustrations to show how it is done. That is how this book attempts to teach art. Just words. There wasn’t even a passion from the teacher. Just deadpan instructions. Boring.

When I was in high school, I thought all the teachers felt sorry for me. That was why I got A’s in art and music. Then they decided I was so advanced that I was placed in senior lever art while only a freshman. That might have worked for me had the teacher actually taught. Instead, he wrote on the chalkboard all the notes we were to copy down. The notebook was to be the grade in this class. ART!!! When I brought home the note that said I was failing this class my mom went through the roof. She made me stay after school every day to catch up with that notebook. I didn’t fail that class but I did learn a lot about my abilities and lack thereof. I had no problems with creativity. I was not good at taking notes, even when they were spelled out in front of me.

This book brought that nightmare to mind. I am glad I got it for free. I can’t imagine spending $2.99 for this non-art book.

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Dar49 Daily. Have a happy and safe New Years everyone!


There's No Such Thing As Monsters
There’s No Such Thing As Monsters by Michael Yu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What great pictures! I loved them so much. I loved the story, too. The rhythm falls apart, though, when the title theme is repeated. Still, I think this would have been a favorite for my children and I to read so long ago. This was a great message to all of us that see things with our imagination after dark. That dark coat hanging on the door can look like a person standing there. It has had my heart beating with fear on occasion. 😉

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Children's book: Pete the Amazing Dragon (Fairy tales books)
Children’s book: Pete the Amazing Dragon (Fairy tales books) by Tal Nir
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I love dragons! I love chocolate! How could I resist this free Kindle book? I loved the cover picture, too. The rest was only okay. Sorry. I wanted more and bigger pictures and was annoyed by the writing that had many uncomfortable sentences. Rhyming ‘well’ with ‘well’ well…

When I review children’s books I try to think of what my children would have liked, what would have spawned great conversations, what I would have enjoyed. I think mine would have gone back to books with more and bigger illustrations. I do like the fact that you can get the coloring book. That would have drawn us all into possible addicts of Pete the Dragon. This one just didn’t work well as a Kindle book for me.

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A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles M. Schulz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have always related to Charlie Brown. He is wishy-washy in a debate as he is able to see both sides of the argument and then because of that both side are mean to him. The good side of being that way is that you can pick and chose and grow with your opinion. In the end, he always wins. Heck, the cartoons are headed with his name. That cute little wooden tree wins, too. Of course, for this former tree-book-lover turned Kindle-e-book-lover. tree-hugger, my choice of tree would have been the live potted kind that can be planted outside later. This year my tree was a recycled catalogue folded into the shape of a tree for collecting and displaying a few Christmas/Holiday cards. We don’t have room for trees in our tiny over crowded apartment.

Back to the review. I love the cartoon. Usually the book is better than Hollywood versions. In this case, not so much. I couldn’t read it at all on my Fire. I could barely read it on my Tablet. I didn’t even try on my Second Generation or Kindle Keyboard. There is no text-to-speech available. On those Kindles there is no color pictures. But for the purpose of handing a tablet to the child to listen to the story this stinks! And this book isn’t loanable. The only good way to read it is the PC Kindle. And hey. where is the great music? I miss Schroeder’s piano playing!

Though the Christmas tree, which has become just as commercialized as the rest of what used to be a Holy Day which was borrowed from pagan religions and even the date was changed for Christ’s birth to win over the pagans aligning closely with Solstice. SO let’s instead stay with Peace and Love and respect for our planet as steward. Care for people as Christ did for the woman at the well. The Angel said “Be not afraid.” Fear is what is causing the bigotry and wars. That to me is the real reason for the season: Peace and Love and Be Not Afraid. Possible that was the message of this illustrated book with font too small too read. Great pictures. though!

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Terry Treetop and the Lost Egg
Terry Treetop and the Lost Egg by Tali Carmi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a free distraction for me. I liked that the kid was called chubby. Chubby kids need love, too! Though I loved the spirit of the book I found that had I been reading it to my children, way back when, I would have to spend a while explaining why a child shouldn’t talk to reptiles like alligators and crocodiles, or even possible snapping turtles. I’m glad that the child is encouraged to climb trees and roam around, hopefully, at five years old, with an adult or older sibling. The other thing is how do deal with the stray egg. We’ve been taught to not handle the stray egg as the mother may reject it due to human scent. There is a way to do it. I hope Terry Treetop had learned how.

The poetry was sweet and clear. The rhythms felt okay in my head. I think it would be fun to read to little ones, especially with the discussions I listed above.

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Dragon Makes New FRIENDS
Dragon Makes New FRIENDS by Michael Yu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Every now and then I need a break from being an adult reader. Most of the time I read Young Adult because I can fill in the holes of enjoyable reading that wasn’t there when I was a YA. But who can resist an illustrated book about friendly dragons?

My older Kindles are usually my go-to reads as they have text-to-speech and adjustable fonts for my visual needs. These old Kindles do not do justice to picture books. Tablets and the Fire are best for children’s books with colorful pictures. And the illustrations in Dragon Makes New Friends are fun. I did wonder how a child cut the apple in half, and how the boy had two feet, but one leg seemed broken(?). Maybe a child wouldn’t notice these things. They were just things that stopped me.

The little story was in poetry form that sound out well in my head most of the time. Then there was the word that represented the sound of a limb getting ready to break. Hopefully, this is an easy fix, how about ‘creak’ instead of ‘creek’? Even still, this was a delightful story with fun pictures. And the message that we can be friends with others who are not like us, is one all ages of people should learn.

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