[ARC REVIEW] Jungle Kali by Amie White (@LiteraryTitan)

 

Title:  Jungle Kali

Author:  Amie White

Artist: Olena Oprich

Genre:  Children's / Animals / Adventure / Family

Year Published: 2026

Date Read: 4/21/2026

Publisher: Noctilune Publishing 

Source:  eARC (Author)

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon 

I would like to thank Noctilune Publishing for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So, I had read Amie White’s previous book “A Friend for Hope” and I really enjoyed that book!  So, of course, I was so happy to receive a copy of another children’s book that was written by Amie White and it is called “Jungle Kali” and man, was this book a treat to read!

The book starts off with a young leopard cub named Kali who is about to take swimming lessons with her mother.  But when Kali and her mother went into the jungle, Kali ends up getting separated from her mother and she spends most of the book trying to find her mother, while meeting up with the other animals in the jungles of the Congo, such as elephants and hippos.

Amie White did a great job at writing this book as the book was both adventurous and cute to read.  I loved the fact that we get to meet so many different animals that are found in the Congo Rainforest, such as elephants, hippos, leopards and bongos and it was interesting getting to learn about these animals and how they eat or clean themselves in the jungle.  I also loved the fact that this book took place in Africa, since I love reading books that take place in different countries and it was great seeing the beauty of Africa through this book.  Olena Oprich’s artwork was beautiful to look at.  I especially loved the drawings of the jungle itself as everything looks so lush and beautiful and I really loved how each of the animals were drawn in this book, especially Kali herself.

Overall, “Jungle Kali” was a great book that has lots of adventurous moments and beautiful artwork and if you are a fan of books that take place in Africa or you love reading books that features different animals, then you will definitely enjoy this book!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing problematic in this book.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

• A Friend for Hope by Amie White
• The Speckled Feather by Johanna Ries
• Your Happy Heart: How Helping Others Helps You, Too by Amie Dean

[ARC REVIEW] A Friend for Hope by Amie White (@LiteraryTitan)

 

Title:  A Friend for Hope

Author:  Amie White

Artist: Olena Oprich

Genre:  Children's / Animals / Friendship 

Year Published: 2025

Date Read: 11/29/2025

Publisher: Noctilune Publishing 

Source:  eARC (Author)

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon 

I would like to thank Noctilune Publishing for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So, I have always loved reading children’s books that dealt with the main character wanting to have a friend and they ended up finding a friend in the most unlikely place.  Well, when I received a copy of “A Friend for Hope” by Amie White, I just knew that I found just the right book that explores the power of friendship!

Zoe Meadows is a nine-year-old girl who lives in Ivy Creek and even though she is homeschooled, she desperately wants a friend.  So, when Zoe’s parents noticed how sad Zoe was, they decided to give Zoe a friend: in the form of a dog!  So, Zoe and her parents ended up going to the dog shelter to find a dog for Zoe.  It was then that Zoe finds an old dog, who has been at the shelter for many years.  Zoe decided to take the old dog with her and named the dog Hope. Unfortunately, once they got home, the old dog had trouble connecting with Zoe, due to being too shy.

Will Zoe and Hope become good friends?

Find out in this book!

Amie White has done a great job at writing this book as the relationship between Zoe and Hope felt extremely genuine.  I loved the fact that Zoe tried everything to become good friends with Hope and how she also tries to respect Hope’s hesitation at getting close towards Zoe, due to being alone for so many years; something that Zoe herself had experienced.  Olena Oprich’s artwork was extremely beautiful to look at, as all of the characters look so adorable!  I especially loved how Zoe’s hair was drawn in this book as Zoe’s hair was extremely beautiful to look at and I especially loved how adorable Hope looked as it made me really want to cuddle Hope.

Overall, “A Friend for Hope” is a truly cute book about the importance of friendship that anyone who loves reading books about friendship will definitely enjoy!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up, since there is nothing objectionable in this book.

* 2025 Literary Titan Book Award

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

• The Big Jump and Other Stories by Benjamin Elkin
• The Speckled Feather by Johanna Ries
• Your Happy Heart: How Helping Others Helps You, Too by Amie Dean

[BOOK REVIEW] And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss

Title:  And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street

Author:  Dr. Seuss

Genre:  Children's / Fantasy

Year Published: 1937

Year Read:  2019

Publisher:  Vanguard Press, Inc.   

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (One Offensive Image)

Buy on: Amazon  //  Book Depository

I have been reading Dr. Seuss’s works ever since I was a child (it is pretty much a requirement as a child to read a Dr. Seuss book). So of course, I still have not read all of Dr. Seuss’s works and one of the books that I had owned ever since I was little, but I never really read was “And to Think that I Saw it On Mulberry Street!”  I only picked up this book after all of these years when some of my Goodreads friends had recommended it to me and I must say that it was quite a decent beginning for Dr. Seuss’s early works.

The story starts off with Marco’s father telling Marco to keep his eyelids up and see the things he can see on the street.  So, when Marco walked down Mulberry Street, he noticed a horse pulling a broken-down wagon down the street.  Marco thought that this sight was too boring and he started to imagine seeing more lavish decorations to the horse and wagon such as imagining it as a chariot being pulled by a reindeer or a sleigh being pulled by a large blue elephant with a Rajah riding on the elephant.

I have been reading many of Dr. Seuss’s works ever since I was a child and this book just happened to pass under the radar for me at the time.  It is amazing in seeing how Dr. Seuss’s earlier works differs heavily from his later works (for one thing, Dr. Seuss’s earlier works are a lot wordier than his later works).  So, of course I was a bit curious about seeing how this early work of Dr. Seuss’s would turn out and I ended up being quite interested in the subtle yet creative storytelling of this book!  Dr. Seuss had done a great job at writing this story as the story explores how far Marco’s imagination can go and teaches the reader about the beauty of having a vivid imagination. I loved the scenes of Marco using his imagination to make the sight of Mulberry Street much more interesting as it made the scenes much more entertaining to look at.  I especially loved the scenes of Marco imagining a musical band being pulled by a blue elephant as it was such a creative sight to see!

The reason why I took off half a point from the rating was because while the story was quite creative, I do not think that this book was as memorable as some of Dr. Seuss’s later works.  For one thing, the writing is much lengthier than most of Dr. Seuss’s works and that can make this book a bit of chore to read through. Also, this book does not have Dr. Seuss’s signature odd creatures that usually appear in his books (with the exception of the blue elephant).  There is also a controversial image in this book of a Chinese boy being shown as an offensive stereotype of Asians that might offend some people (although this book was written during the 1930s).

Overall, “And to Think that I Saw it on Mulberry Street” is a great introduction to Dr. Seuss’s earlier works and would be a great read for children who are huge fans of Dr. Seuss’s works!  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the portrayal of the Chinese boy might offend some people.

You might also like:

• The King's Stilts by Dr. Seuss

• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

• Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss

[BOOK REVIEW] The Master Player by Emma Darcy

Title:  The Master Player 

Author: Emma Darcy

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Year Published: 2009

Number of Pages: 186 pages

Date Read: 2/24/2011

Publisher: Harlequin Books 

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Sexual Dialogue)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads



Book Reporter: Hello everyone! This is the Book Reporter and today I am going to interview Miss Ronyell about her thoughts on Emma Darcy’s one hundredth book, “The Master Player!” Hello Miss Ronyell! 

Ronyell: Hello Book Reporter! Nice to meet you!

Book Reporter: So I see that you have just recently read Emma Darcy’s book, “The Master Player.” Could you give us a brief summary on this book? 

Ronyell: Certainly! Basically, “The Master Player” is about a young star actress named Chloe Rollins who is married to a popular screenwriter named Tony Lipton and has her mother, Stephanie Rollins, as her agent. Life was going well for Chloe until a horrible scandal between Tony and her personal assistant, Laura Farrell, threaten to destroy Chloe’s career, until a handsome billionaire named Maximilian Hart saves Chloe from getting her reputation ruined when he takes her to live with him at his mansion. Of course, Chloe has heard rumors that Max is a player and she notices that Max not only wants to rescue her, but steal her heart in the process too!

Book Reporter: Wow! This book does sound interesting! So what did you think about Emma Darcy’s writing style? 

Ronyell: I loved the way that Emma Darcy made this book extremely dramatic and heartwarming at the same time. The scenes where Chloe confronts her mother, Tony and Laura were extremely well done as these scenes were seriously intense and greatly confirmed Chloe’s fear of them. I was actually on the edge of my seat when I was reading these scenes between Chloe and her family. I also loved the sexual scenes between Max and Chloe, even though there were rarely any in this book and one of the sex scenes in this book were a little bit too explicit, but nicely done. I will admit that whenever Emma Darcy spelled certain words like “realize” to “realise,” I was a little confused, but because the story was so interesting, I did not mind about the spellings in this book.

Book Reporter: Who were your favorite characters and what do you like about them? 

Ronyell: My favorite characters in this book were Chloe and Max and what I liked about Chloe’s character was that at first she did not know how to defend herself since she was told what to do almost her entire life; however, as the book evolves Chloe becomes a stronger and more independent character that I really enjoyed reading through. The character who truly stood out the most for me was Maximilian Hart (or Max for short) because he was truly an awesome character. Not only was he described as being an extremely muscular man, which is an aspect that I loved about most romance heroes, but he was an extremely considerate and independent character who truly cares for Chloe’s feelings and tries everything in his power to protect her. My favorite scene with Max was when he literally threw Tony out of his mansion when he was threatening Chloe and that just showed so much man power for me!

Book Reporter: So you love muscular men in romance novels, do you? 

Ronyell: I most certainly do!

Book Reporter: What rating did you give this book? 

Ronyell: I gave this book a four and a half rating because it seems like Chloe did not trust Max enough to commit to a serious relationship with him. Even I though I liked the idea of Chloe being independent, I think that she rarely trusted Max and she was pretty oblivious to Max’s affections for her. Also, Max practically helped Chloe with being independent and he also protected and cared for Chloe. I know that Chloe has trust issues with Max because of her rough life with her mother and Tony, but she should have confided her problems to Max and also when her mother made accusations against Max not being able to love her back, Chloe rarely stood up for Max and she sort of let what her mother and Tony said affect her feelings for Max, which is probably why there were not many romantic scenes between Max and Chloe until a hundred pages later.

Book Reporter: I understand that this is the first book that you have read from the Harlequin Presents series. Any final thoughts on this book are you planning on reading more books from the Harlequin Presents series? 

Ronyell: Overall, I thought that “The Master Player” was a great romance novel and I am sure that many romance fans will definitely enjoy this book! Yes, now that I have read this book, I am definitely looking forward to reading more books from the Harlequin Presents series!

Book Reporter: Thank you for your time Ronyell! Well, there you have it everyone! Be sure to check this book out at your local library or your local bookstore! 

You might also like: 

• Vision in White by Nora Roberts

• It Takes a Cat Burglar by Cailin Briste

• Brown-Eyed Girl by Lisa Kleypas

[BOOK REVIEW] East by Edith Pattou

Title:  East

Author: Edith Pattou

Genre: Fantasy

Year Published: 2003

Number of Pages: 498 pages

Date Read: 12/2/2010

Series: East #1

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers  

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 13+ (Some Intense Scenes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I never would have thought that there could be a whole chapter book retelling of a classic fairy tale other than Shannon Hale’s “The Goose Girl.”  Well, I have just recently stumbled upon this book called “East” that happens to be a great retelling of a classic fairy tale!  “East” is a retelling of a classic Scandinavian folktale called “East of the Sun West of the Moon” by Edith Pattou and anyone who is a huge fan of fairy tales will definitely get a kick out of this book!

Rose is the youngest child of seven children and because she was a born a North born child, according to her mother, she always loved exploring her homeland Njord and getting into trouble.  One day, however, a mysterious white bear comes in and promises Rose’s family that he will make them rich if they agree to let Rose come away with him to his cave.  At first, Rose’s family did not want her to leave with the white bear, but Rose decided to go with the white bear to save her family and so she and the white bear traveled for days until they reached the white bear’s magnificent cave where Rose lived for many years.  During her years with the white bear, Rose realizes that a mysterious stranger has been sleeping in bed next to her and when she discovers the stranger’s true identity, she embarks on a journey to save her true love from a terrible curse!

Beautiful! Simply Beautiful!  I never would have thought that I would have read a retelling of a popular folktale that was written so beautifully!  Edith Pattou has certainly done an excellent job at retelling the ancient Scandinavian folktale.  I loved the way that Edith Pattou added more elements to this story such as adding background information about each character in the book, especially Rose and we actually get to read about the other point of views of each character associated with Rose’s life like her father, her brother Neddy, the White Bear and the Troll Queen.  What I loved the most about this book is that each chapter is split up into a different character’s point of view.  Like for example, you have one chapter entitled “Rose” and the chapter is narrated by Rose herself and her point of view on the situation she is thrown into and then another chapter would be entitled “White Bear” and the white bear is narrating the chapter, and I really love this setup because you can actually get a feel of what each character is thinking about the situation at hand.  Another thing that I loved about this book was the relationships between all the characters in this book, especially between Rose, Neddy and her father.  I loved the way that Neddy and Rose’s father cared so much about Rose that they were willing to put their lives at stake in order to rescue her from any kind of danger.  I also loved the fairy tale elements in this story, especially since this story is based off of “East of the Sun West of the Moon” and I am a huge fan of many fairy tales and folktales, so the fairy tale elements in this story (enchantment, epic journey) are always relaxing to me.  I also think many people would enjoy this story if they enjoyed “The Golden Compass” since this book does have a similar element to “The Golden Compass” which is a girl riding a white bear on her journey.

Now the reason why I gave this book a four and a half star rating instead of a five star rating is because the story tends to drag on too long in certain scenes such as during the scenes where Rose is exploring the cave of the white bear and she is describing every single item she comes across.  It is alright to describe some items that have significance to the story, but to describe every other item that has nothing to do with the main point of the story does become tiresome really fast.

Overall “East” is truly an absolute masterpiece in its own right as it is filled with drama, fantasy and romance that anyone who is a huge fan of fairy tales will instantly take a liking to.

* 2004 Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Award Nominee
* 2008 Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award Nominee

You might also like: 

• Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

• The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

• Alice by Christina Henry