[ARC REVIEW] Unraveling Rose by Brian Wray (@Schifferbooks, @stanberybooks)

Title:  Unraveling Rose

Author:  Brian Wray

Artist:  Shiloh Penfield

Genre:  Toys / Friendship / Children's / OCD / Mental Health

Year Published: 2017

Year Read:  2017

Publisher:  Schiffer Publishing  

Source: eARC (Edelweiss)

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Nothing Obejectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

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

2017 seems to be the year where I am able to find many children’s book that deal with mental health issues and I loved the fact that I am able to find such children’s books since I wanted to read more about mental health and these books were essential to my reading choices!  So, I picked up another book from Edelweiss called “Unraveling Rose,” which was written by Brian Wray along with artwork by Shiloh Penfield that dealt with the issue of OCD and I really enjoyed this book!

Rose was a stuffed bunny who was loved by a little boy and they would do all kind of activities with each other like read books and play in the park together.  Also, Rose likes everything to be perfect such as making sure that the books on the bookshelf were straighten up and making sure that the tea cups were facing the right.  One day, however, Rose noticed that there was a loose thread dangling from her arm and even though Rose tried to ignore the thread, it ended up being the only thing that she thought about and she ended up pulling out the thread.  Unfortunately, the thread ended up stretching out even longer and it got to the point where Rose could not do much of the activities that she used to due to the thread pulling out the stuffing in her arm and rendering her arm useless.

Will Rose be able to play with the boy again and can she get over her obsession with fixing her loose thread?

Read this book to find out!

I must admit that I was quite impressed with this children’s book as it is rare that I read a children’s book that dealt with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Brian Wray has done a great job at conveying the signs of having Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which includes making sure everything is perfect, to the point that it becomes a massive obsession.  I really enjoyed the relationship shared between Rose and the boy as it reminded of the relationship shared between the boy and the stuffed rabbit in “The Velveteen Rabbit,” which is where the boy truly cares about Rose, even if Rose was losing her stuffing out of her arm.  This story also seems to be extremely similar to the classic children’s story “The Velveteen Rabbit,” as both stories involved a young boy playing with their stuffed rabbit.  The only difference between the two is that this story has the “Velveteen Rabbit” character (Rose in this case) suffer from OCD and we get to see how Rose handles having this condition.  I also loved the fact that Brian Wray provided some information about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) at the end of the book as it gave me more insight on how OCD works and how you can help a person who is suffering from OCD.  Shiloh Penfield’s artwork is adorable to look at, especially of the images of Rose herself having a cute white dress with pink polka dots on it and the small boy having large glasses and a friendly expression on his face.

The reason why I took off half a point from the rating was because I felt that the pacing was a bit slow in some places and I often found myself trying to read through this book rather quickly as I wanted to hold my interest in the story.

Overall, “Unraveling Rose” is a truly cute book about teaching children about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and how to deal with it.  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing objectionable in this book.

 You might also like:

• Robin and the White Rabbit by Åse Brunnström and Emma Lindström

• Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
• The Lemonade Club by Patricia Polacco

[BOOK REVIEW] Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

Title:  Made You Up

Author:  Francesca Zappia

Genre: Contemporary Romance / Mental Health

Year Published: 2015

Number of Pages: 428 pages

Date Read: 8/29/2017

Publisher:   Greenwillow Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Strong Language)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

“Sometimes I think people take reality for granted.” 

For many years now, I have been hearing many good things about Francesca Zappia’s book “Made You Up” and for a long time, I had wanted to check this book out and see what all the excitement was about.  So, when I finally got around to reading “Made You Up” by Francesca Zappia, I was seriously on cloud nine after finishing this book, because this was seriously one of the most unique and awesome books I had ever read!

Alex Ridgemont is just your average girl trying to make it into college and get through the tough trials of high school, except for one thing:  she has schizophrenia and is prone to seeing things that do not really exist and usually becomes extremely panicked whenever these delusions pop up.  However, despite Alex having schizophrenia, she does not let that get in her way of trying to live a normal life such as maintaining a job and going out with her friends.  One day however, Alex meets up with a mysterious and intimidating boy named Miles Richter and she believes that he may be the boy she met when she was younger.  However, Alex thought that the mysterious boy she met when she was younger was a part of her hallucinations and she tries to figure out if Miles is real or not.

Wow…just wow… This novel was simply amazing!  I just cannot get over the romantic, mysterious and intensifying tone of this novel!  Francesca Zappia’s writing is both witty and intense at the same time as I got immersed into the mystery plot of the story that involves Principal McCoy’s secret dealings within the school and also trying to figure out what events is Alex hallucinating and what events are actually real.  I also loved the way that Francesca Zappia explored schizophrenia through Alex’s character as we get to see firsthand how schizophrenia works and how it affects the people who have it and we get to see Alex struggle with her condition as she is trying to distinguish between reality and fantasy and how she feels so conflicted because of this.  I was also shocked by the huge twist that happens in the plot towards the end of the story as I was thrown off by this revelation and it took me quite by surprise!  But probably the best part of this story were the characters themselves!  I really enjoyed the witty bantering going on between Alex and Miles as they constantly bicker with each other, but they really understand each other’s situations and they try to be there for each other, no matter how difficult the situation gets.  I also liked the fact that both Miles and Alex have so much interest in world history that the scenes where they are reciting certain parts from history, especially World War II with such ease, are truly adorable to read through!   I really enjoyed Alex herself as a character because she represents the conditions of having schizophrenia and I like the fact that despite her occasional temper tantrums, Alex always tries to look on the bright side of things and tries to live a normal life, despite her condition, which is extremely uplifting!  Now, Miles is probably my most favorite character in this book since he also has a condition where he cannot distinguish emotions from other people and tends to act rude towards other people, because he does not understand about how he affects other people.  I just loved the fact that despite arguing with Alex through most of the book, Miles really does care about Alex and he is always trying to be there for Alex during her rough moments and seems to really understand Alex’s condition.

For anyone who does not like strong language, this novel has a surprising amount of strong language for a young adult novel, including words like the “s” word and the “f” word.

Overall, “Made You Up” is seriously one of the best books about mental illness that I had ever read and I cannot wait to read more of Francesca Zappia’s other works!

* 2015 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Debut Goodreads Author and for Young Adult Fiction

* 2017 Missouri Gateway Readers Award Nominee

You might also like: 

• The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

• Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

• Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

[ARC REVIEW] Robin and the White Rabbit by Åse Brunnström and Emma Lindström (@JKPBooks)

Title:  Robin and the White Rabbit

Authors:  Åse Brunnström and Emma Lindström

Genre:  Autism / Animals / Disability / School / Friendship

Year Published: 2017

Year Read:  2017

Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Source: eARC (Edelweiss)

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

I would like to thank Edelweiss and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It is rare that I find children’s books that discusses autism and how the protagonist who has autism deals with it.  So, imagine my surprise and delight when I found out that Edelweiss has a copy of a children’s book that deals with autism called “Robin and the White Rabbit” by Åse Brunnström and Emma Lindström and man, was I impressed by this inspiring children’s book!

Meet Robin!

Robin is a young girl who often has trouble expressing her true feelings as her emotions seems bottled up inside of her (or in this case, are shown as words that swirl around her) and she has problems with communicating with other children because of this.  One day, when Robin goes and sits underneath a tree by herself while the other children are playing on the playground, a white rabbit suddenly comes up and offers Robin a way to communicate her feelings by showing her pictures of her favorite activities and making a chart that shows what activities she likes and what activities she does not like.

Wow! I was quite impressed with this book as it was both creative and inspiring at the same time!  It is rare that I have read a book that deals with autism and Åse Brunnström and Emma Lindström have both done a wonderful job at writing this story as they show what autism is like and how you can help anyone who has autism express their feelings more clearly.  I like the fact that Robin becomes friends with a white rabbit who truly helps Robin cope with her autism. I especially loved the way that the rabbit helps Robin by showing her pictures of various activities that she could play and placing them on a chart that tells the audience what activities she likes and what activities she does not like.  This activity would certainly help a parent or a teacher understand about how to deal with children or other people who have autism and gain a better understanding of what having autism is like.  I will admit that I was a little curious about whether or not the white rabbit is a figment of Robin’s imagination or really exists in that world, but because I loved the idea about this book exploring autism and the white rabbit helping Robin deal with her autism, I eventually did not mind where the white rabbit came from.  Emma Lindström’s artwork is highly creative as the artwork has a mixture of watercolor drawn characters mixed with realistic photos which gives the story a unique atmosphere.  I also loved the images of the white rabbit itself as it is drawn in a cute way and I loved seeing the little blue bag it carries as it makes me interested in seeing what the white rabbit has in its bag!

Overall, “Robin and the White Rabbit” is a truly cute and inspiring story that would be great for parents and teachers who are dealing with children and loved ones with autism and it is definitely a children’s book that is worth checking out!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

 You might also like:

• The Art of Miss Chew by Patricia Polacco

• The Lemonade Club by Patricia Polacco
• Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco

[BOOK REVIEW] The Art of Miss Chew by Patricia Polacco

Title:  The Art of Miss Chew

Author:  Patricia Polacco

Genre:  School / Drama / Family / Art

Year Published: 2012

Year Read:  2016

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Now, I have been reading many of Patricia Polacco’s books over the years and even though I continued to be mesmerized by her childhood stories, I have always wondered how Patricia Polacco became such a prolific artist, as well as being an effective storyteller.  So, when I got around to reading one of Patricia Polacco’s newer books “The Art of Miss Chew,” I finally found out how Patricia Polacco became such a talented artist!

After Trisha spent the summer with her grandmother who was a talented artist, Trisha wanted to become an artist herself. Unfortunately, her school does not have an art class that Trisha could participate in until her Irish teacher Mr. Donovan, suggested that Trisha could join a special art class at the high school that is being taught by none other than Miss Chew!  Trisha loved having Miss Chew as her art teacher, as Miss Chew helped Trisha learn the language of art and how she could see the objects she draws in a whole new light.  Unfortunately, a tragic day happened when Mr. Donovan’s father passed away and Mr. Donovan had to attend his father’s funeral, leaving his students in the care of a substitute teacher named Mrs. Spaulding.  Mrs. Spaulding was often cruel towards Trisha as she would not give Trisha enough time to work on her tests, since Trisha was a much slower learner than the other students; and Mrs. Spaulding even threatened to have Trisha thrown out of Miss Chew’s art class since she believed that the art class was distracting Trisha from her studies.

Can Trisha and Miss Chew convince the student board that Trisha should stay in art class?

Read this book to find out!

What I always loved about Patricia Polacco’s works is that her books allow the readers to take a look at her childhood and be inspired by the various teachers that helped her throughout her school life.  I always loved the emotional touches that Patricia Polacco brings to her work as you truly feel her sorrow as she struggles through school due to her learning disability and it was great that she had teachers that really cared about her and try their hardest to help Trisha pass her classes.  As soon as I picked up this book, I knew that I was going to automatically fall in love with both Miss Chew and Mr. Donovan!  Even though Mr. Donovan’s name was not in the title of this book, I loved the fact that Trisha had another teacher who was supportive of her and the fact that he was from Ireland and loved his father dearly really made me love his character!  But let us talk about the true star of this book and that is Miss Chew herself, as she was clearly the one who inspired Trisha to fulfill her lifelong dream to become an artist!  I loved the fact that Miss Chew showed Trisha how to look at the objects she draws in a different light and I also loved the way that she continues to encourage Trisha to follow her dreams of becoming an artist no matter how impossible the odds may be.  I really loved the fact that both Mr. Donovan and Miss Chew were teachers that came from foreign countries (Mr. Donovan came from Ireland and Miss Chew came from China) as it brought a whole new perspective of the teaching experience for young children.  Patricia Polacco’s artwork is magnificent as the characters look so realistic and gorgeous and I loved the fact that we have a book in Patricia Polacco’s works that detailed her inspiration in becoming an artist!

Overall, “The Art of Miss Chew” is a truly beautiful and touching book about the power of art and the importance of supporting students who are struggling in school.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the length of the book might be a bit difficult for some smaller children.