4⭐This suicide mystery started off with a bang, but ended with a fizzle. Trigger warning the very first thing that happens in this book is a suicide. At the side of the person who dies is left a notebook that says the thrasher. The thrasher happens to be a group of five students who are led by Zachary Thrasher. They‘re more collection of friends than any type of organized group. For our wealthy one is not. It is well known that to be thrashed is t

4 ⭐ Wow, this is not a boys town press it kind of reads like one. Where you‘re given a problem and ways to deal with it. The refrain in this book is worry worry go away. I don‘t have time for you today. And that actually really works especially with the examples that are given , and that the reaction isn‘t always the same as long as you take time to think about it and know that you can be better. Over all this book works.

3 ⭐ Celebrity author, books are one thing but when they use their life to tell a fake story, it doesn‘t always work. This book very much reads like Alex Rodriguez is sharing the glory days of his youth. It‘s overly long and tad bit tripe and feels like a giant fish story. I do think the illustrations are great and I love how in the end they included real pictures and Ted bits about Alex Rodriguez‘s life.

4⭐This is a reminder that you can do anything. A little girl and her baby doll named Qai loved to dance. And they look forward to dancing but worried they might not be good enough. But Qai Qai reminds baby girl that as long as you do your best, that‘s all anybody‘s asking for. This book is lovely. A tad bit obnoxious with always saying baby girl and not giving the child a name. But overall, it was a joy to read little girls are going to like it.

2 ⭐Complete vanity project. First off, this book is massively too wordy for a picture book. And it‘s about little Mariah; Mariah Carey when she was younger. She even talks to herself in the form of a letter at the beginning of a book. It is also not an adverb or an adjective that I think this woman has forgotten about. Everything must have three to four, sometimes five adjectives to describe it. And things are constantly told to the reader over

4 ⭐This book is fantastic. It sounds like John Cena if I‘m beginning to end. It‘s a story about always trying your hardest and that it‘s OK to be different. I love that one of the monster trucks is electric, which is what makes them different from the others but yeah, there‘s still this message of family. This book feels like the author and like someone who spends a lot of time with children.

4 ⭐This book is very creative. There are no pictures. The book tells the reader that whoever is reading this to you must say every word because with no pictures there‘s no way to skip. This sounds like something someone mad at their librarian and would say. Because we are known to skip sentences or pages when story time getting a little out of hand. But I say this with love and affection with a smirk on my face. I love this book.

2 ⭐The best thing I can say about this book is, I‘m not sure I understand it. Our character in her buttercream yellow swimsuit knows the world is blue. She‘s depressed and crying and her tears won‘t stop until she sweeps herself down the drain of the pool. She comes back from either the other side or a world of make believe. I‘m not quite sure. There are so many different things this could be. I will say the artwork is top-notch and beautiful.

3 ⭐This is the autobiography of a lone child in China. This story is about a young girl learning to be her own friend and recognizing true friends. The story is interesting but slow. We see Yinfin as a child with a family, both large and small. This book is about the everyday things that make life. It‘s an interesting look and an interesting autobiography, but not one I think will be long remembered.

4.5 ⭐The girls in the neighborhood each like to do things but like to do them in different ways. And at first, they don‘t get along and it‘s only by talking things out and working together that they realize they can be better as a team. These are written in such a way that it‘s understandable. You can feel each character‘s, frustration, and their hope when they realize that they‘re not as different as they think they are.

2 ⭐ This book is based off a TV show which itself is based off a book. The original books are decent. The show is fine for the age it‘s written. However, the books based on the show are too long too complicated and boring. They should‘ve just left this where it was and not created a book to go with the show.

2 ⭐ This story is about the water cycle. There is a vaguely rhyming story of the cloud telling you the type of mood that they‘re in from beginning to end. But then there‘s also a little red bird telling the reader about the water cycle. The illustrations are interesting but once again nothing amazing or unique.

4 ⭐This is a nice little rhyming story about what a baby does in their day. The illustrations are lovely the story rhymes quite well and altogether it works.

4.5⭐I love the sloth and squirrel books. I also love the illustrations. They share an illustrator with the Steve the Horse books. In this book, the pickle booth has been so fantastic that Sloth and Squirrel need a vacation. They decide to stay close to home and as you know, sloths do certain things very slowly and like to nap. But squirrels are very active and busy. They find that they both get a fantastic adventure when things don‘t go as planned

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐5 ⭐
This book is translated. And I think it‘s done very well. Octavio has had a problem seeing, but they have a new pair of glasses and now they get to explore the world. They explore the world through the stories in the books that they read and the dreams they have while sleeping. This was a great book to bring to US audiences. And one I could see being read for storytime for years to come.

2 ⭐This book was adorable. Small Saul wants nothing more than to be a pirate. But even after finishing pirate school, he doesn‘t have an easy life at sea. He‘s eventually kicked off his boat when the rest of the pirates realized how good they had it they go back and rescue Saul. While I like this book, I also do not like this book. I love that Saul chases his dream and makes the way he does things work into getting his dream.

4 ⭐ This is a nice mixed used book. It‘s both a picture book with an adventure club as well as a nonfiction book with facts about sea turtles. It altogether works quite well. You can leave out the info bit if you want to read it for story time or just read the info bit if you‘ve got a kid really interested in sea turtles.

2⭐This book is too long and it‘s not one I think most parents want to read to their kids. Freya sees a snake. She tells her parents. Dad spends a few pages trying to catch the snake. Instead of catching it, he kills it. Freya calls him a murderer And after that I don‘t care anymore. It appears they‘re in nature where snakes should be and the lesson should be leave the snake alone and it will leave you alone.

2 ⭐I wanted to like this. Bob is a boo-boo or an Ouchi. It needs to find the right person to stay on make friends with until he eventually disappears. And then they‘ll move on to the next person. Or come back and visit another one after a tragic accident. I like the idea of making boo-boos, scrape, scratches, etc. something fun. And something not to fear but there‘s something about the way this book does it that makes it more ugly than cute.

3 ⭐When you have a kid that won‘t go to sleep, and you tell him to count sheep this is the book you get. Our little person is determined not to go to sleep, and their mom says count the sheep. When they get to 68 the sheep does not want to be counted. And the kid gets to experience what mom experiences when it‘s time to go to bed. This book was fine.

4 ⭐James loves kites. James has a little sister Gigi. Her brother‘s kites are not just given to him. He works hard to buy them himself. And when he‘s worried that Gigi might harm one, he works even harder to buy her kind of her own. They even eventually fly it. This book was endearing. It was bright. It was beautiful and full of heart. The illustrations are an older style. Reminds me very much of Madeleine. I loved it from beginning to end.

4 ⭐This book is sad but hopeful. Our main character is sent to spend the summer with her grandparents. We know that Anna is sick, which is why Anna is not there. This is about how you spend time waiting and wondering. This book does have a happy ending where Anna comes back. I do think that‘s lovely and it‘s a great way to talk about issues when a sibling is sick. Not a good one if a sibling dies, but a good one to read when there is an illness.

4 ⭐The Steve graphic novels are adorable. In this one, a red balloon has floated into Steve‘s world and Steve is trying to figure out what it is. Him and his friends Raccoon and Hair tried to help with the scientific method but the best they come up with is egg balloon. And we get to watch Steve, and his friends have an interesting time with a balloon they think is an egg. Overall, this is well done, and I can‘t wait for the next adventure.

2 ⭐Mega man is all grown up. And he got boring. I grew up with mega Man and the adventures were always exciting. Whether you were reading or watching a cartoon Mega Man was exciting. Mega man as an adult is boring. A lot of this is setting up the world and the universe in which we now find Mega Man. Maybe I didn‘t get far enough, but this book was boring and put me to sleep.

4 ⭐This is a sweet and romantic book series. It‘s much better to read book one and two together. Follow this couple that are not friends but something more. It‘s little vignettes that give you a peak into their lives. You wait for the tension of a kiss or something more. The artwork still stands out as being entirely unique. Altogether this is a book series that I‘m glad I‘ve read. I‘m not sure who I would suggest it to, but I‘m glad I‘ve read it.

3.5⭐ A blind girl encounters a security officer on the street. She goes to work with him and the rest of this is a romantic drama. The artwork is highly unusual for a manga. I believe it‘s Russian or supposed to be reminiscent of Russian styling. It also feels like it‘s a step at a time like this should be the 50s.It‘s hard to say I enjoyed this, but I am intrigued. I do want to read the next volume because I‘m hoping to see a love story progress.

2 ⭐This book is as confusing and annoying as the title is. In this manga, you have two kids who dated in middle school and broke up two weeks ago because their parents got married. They dated for over a year. Even if it was a middle school relationship, don‘t you think the parents would know something. The male character talks to the librarian so the female character think he‘s cheating. This is so ridiculous, and it‘s a DNF at 30%.

2.5 ⭐ This story is a tad bit long. It‘s about Kai and their ability to tell stories. Sometimes the stories are fun but many times they scare the children in the neighborhood. This makes other parents mad and they want Kai to stop scaring their children. l Kai meets a cat and remembers what part of the fairytale their downfall is. The artwork is better than the story in my opinion. It‘s almost like a alternative version of Peter and the wolf.

2 ⭐This manga does not really make sense. One girl is dead. Her roommate is sad. She‘s at a school for witches. But there‘s some type of war going on where people have died. And apparently a 10-year-old semi bimbo who was just covered in death but seems to be this amazing killing machine is now moving into the school. And let‘s not forget about the nurse that looks more like a prostitute. I find this confusing and I have no desire to finish it.

4⭐ This book was interesting. I think it did a better job than that little people big world books did. I applaud the author for putting on the very first page of the book that Thomas Jefferson had slaves. And while it does mention his children with his wife it never mentions his children with his enslaved people. I think that is it a disservice and forgetfulness of history. If his legitimate kids are mentioned, his illegitimate kids should be too.

3 ⭐This book is fine. Typical of a kid‘s nonfiction book. It‘s part of a series and I‘m sure the books in the series are the same. What makes these a little different is that it‘s an alien explaining what they have observed on a human planet. It‘s an interesting concept and a neat way to learn.

4.5 ⭐ In this book an adult figure has told a child that they are ill and will be passing on. It‘s about living every day and appreciating the time that you have left. These books are incredibly well done. The illustrations are perfect. They remind someone of life and love. I just wish they made a better cover. The cover on these books suck both this book and a hair shaped hole. The cover makes sense but only after you‘ve read the book.

4 ⭐I like the art Quilting. It‘s not something I‘ve ever tried, but this book makes me think that I could be successful. Some of my favorite designs include the snowflake the flowers, particularly the poinsettia and the sunflower and I‘m really intrigued about the letters. This is something I may have to try and if it makes me feel this way, it‘ll make others feel that way too.

3 ⭐This book is about how all skin colors are beautiful. A little girl is getting bullied for how dark she is and this book kind of explains what happens but also how everybody is different, and everyone is beautiful. It‘s based on a Grammy winning song, which must be a Grammy winning children‘s songs because there are refrains of the song in the book. I like this book there‘s just something off about it.

3 ⭐This is a companion to the book A Dog Named Christmas. They are introducing a new puppy to the family and our little girl is on a hunt to find the perfect name. This book is cute. Kids will really enjoy it. The holiday in this book happens to be Fourth of July but it‘s not about the Fourth of July. It‘s more about everyday life. I like the illustrations they match the book pretty well and overall kids will like this.

4 ⭐Fiona is a fluffy cat. She‘s loved by her family, and they complement her frequently. However, Fiona is not impressed with their compliments. She‘s a hard-working cat and without her the family would fall apart. And they need to recognize it! This book is adorable, and the pictures are fantastic. I think it‘s a nice lesson on how something sounds like a compliment but someone maybe taking it a different way.

4 ⭐This is the story of a young child who moves into a new apartment. They‘re not happy with the new apartment but they have a birthday for it. And Dad grants the child three “anything” wishes. They include a rainbow, for it not to be Thursday, and a giant slice of pizza. This is a sweet story. The art is unique. The story may be a little hard for someone to understand, but I like the idea behind it.

3 ⭐This is about a snake and lizard that live in a hole together and decide to put a nameplate over their door. But changes to the names on the door and caused problems in the friendship. There‘s also this running line on how sometimes friendship has a capital F and sometimes it has a small f. I understand the sentiment, but it seems misplaced in this book. This book is fine. It will have its readers but overall, this book is not for me.

4 ⭐This is sweet. It‘s about a little boy who fears the water and his grandma makes a promise: He learns to swim, she learns to swim. It also gets into the history of blacks swimming in the US and why there‘s such a disparity between who can and who can‘t swim. The information in the back is a great addition to the story. This is a little long for a story time but for a lesson book, it‘s fantastic and the colorful illustrations are perfect match.

4 ⭐The story is about feeling scared and alone, but knowing friends are there and can help ease the way. This author wrote this during Covid when many people were separated from loved ones and we‘re trying to find a happy moment was hard. The author does a great job of stating that it‘s OK to be who you are, to be sad, and to look for the light and eventually you‘ll find it.

4 ⭐ Coco is a sweet bulldog who has found many things not to like about Halloween. The noise, the people, etc. But the family kitty is going to help him find the fun. Fun is exactly what this book is. It‘s a story and an activity all in one. It would be excellent for one-on-one reading or for story time.

Inner peach huh. Not sure I find it often.

I like to sew and craft when the world gets crazy.

And when I need to find that in er calm and happiness I either need a good picture book or a cozy romance.

@TheSpineView #twofortuesday

4 ⭐If this book was written now, it would probably be banned. And I‘m not talking banned for DEI (as it is February 2025) but banned for guns. We don‘t see the guns, but a character gets shot in a duck hunting accident. I don‘t know if accidents is the right word. This book is about Elmer the duck. Elmer is just a little bit different. He is what used to be called a sissy. They like to play by themselves and play with the girls.

4 ⭐Why did this have to end there?! I get it. It‘s a logical ending spot, but it‘s a bad spot since I have no idea how long it will be before book 4 gets here. In this, we learn about the war between the fairies what‘s going, on who Lucia most likely is, and some more in two different love stories. The series is addicting so much so I almost want to go to Webtoons to read the rest, but I prefer the print version.

4⭐Volume two we go on a hunt. If you haven‘t read book one go no further. We know Lucia is a fairy and that modus can talk. We follow these two further in their life and understanding of who and what they are. We also get to see the king and future queen at least talk to each other if not begin to fall in love. Of course, this book ends exactly where you don‘t want it too. And I‘m very happy. I have volume three waiting to be cracked open.

4.5⭐ This was fun. Lucia is brought home to a new family to be a lady in waiting for the future queen. Years later, the marriage is eminent, and Lucia is interested in finding their way in the new world and the new palace. We know a secret about Lucia that needs to be kept but also is a secret that one can‘t wait to be revealed. Add into this a living suit of armor to become the next hero of the realm that while creepy is also so sweet and loving.

4 ⭐This graphic novel is a collection of three stories. They‘re not really interconnected except for a little cute thing in the epilogues. Our first story is about an artist and her muse. The second story is about two time travelers learning to live in a different era and our third story is about a cemetery gardener, and if he can see ghosts. The best way to describe this is cute. It is a happily ever after. The stories put a smile on your face.

4 ⭐This book looks at various animals in a rainforest. And if the stereotypes about these animals are true and where the stereotype comes from. It‘s an interesting way of looking at picture books and I do think it works quite well. I think kids will enjoy this because it feels like a picture book while it‘s hiding it‘s non-fiction information between the words.

4 ⭐ This book explores what it means to have a new friend if your new friend was Persian. It goes through what a day of friendship would be like when invited over to a Persian household. This book was lovely. The illustrations have this pastel feel that is soft and embracing and warm to that match perfectly with the thoughts provided in the book. That meeting new people and having new experiences is a great thing and you are welcome anytime.

4 ⭐ Great nonfiction book on various insects and animals out in nature. However, I wish this was a real story picture book that I thought was I was getting based on the title and the cover.