[ARC REVIEW] Bluebell: The Wish Fairy by P.J. Reed

 

Title:  Bluebell: The Wish Fairy

Author:  P.J. Reed

Artist: Emma Gribble

Genre: Humor / Fantasy / Adventure

Year Published: 2021

Number of Pages: 136 pages

Date Read: 10/18/2024

Series: The Fairies of Therwen Wood #1

Publisher:   Lost Tower Publications

Source:   eARC (Author)

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (No Objectionable Content)

Buy on:  Amazon // Goodreads

I would like to thank the author P.J. Reed for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So, I have been reading many fantasy children’s books over the years and I have read many children’s books that feature fairies in the stories.  However, I have never read a book quite like this one! “Bluebell: The Wish Fairy” is a children’s book that is written by P.J. Reed, along with illustrations by Emma Gribble and it was quite a lovely book to read through!

The story starts off with a fairy named Bluebell who becomes the new wish fairy and she is trying not to mess up on the first day of her new job.  For her first mission, Bluebell will have to travel to the human world to grant wishes of little boys and girls.  But unfortunately, since Bluebell has a tendency to be clumsy, many citizens in Therwen Wood do not believe that she has what it takes to become the wish fairy.

Can Bluebell prove everyone wrong?

Find out in this book!

So, I was quite surprised to be checking out this book since this is the first time that I have heard about this series.  So, I read the first book in the series and I really enjoyed it!  P.J. Reed did a fantastic job at writing this story as I found myself loving Bluebell as a character.  Bluebell is such a relatable character, even though she is a fairy, because she tends to make a lot of mistakes, but always pulls through in the end, just like how so many people in real life tend to do.  I also loved how the situation about the fairies trying to grant children’s wishes is being seen as a job for the fairies, which makes how everything in this world function much more interesting.  Emma Gribble’s illustrations are truly beautiful to look at as the world and the characters look realistic yet beautiful at the same time.  I especially loved the artwork for when Bluebell accidentally made a mistake by bringing in a dragon to a little boy and you can see the dragon blowing its flames towards the little boy, since it is something that I would have never expected to see in a children’s book about fairies.

Overall, “Bluebell: The Wish Fairy” is truly a fun and cute book that anyone who is a fan of fairies should definitely check out!  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since there is not much frightening content in this book.

You might also like: 

• The Fairy in the Kettle by Pauline Tait

• The Fairy in the Kettle Gets Magical by Pauline Tait
• Little Lit: Folklore and Fairy Tale Funnies edited by Art Spiegelman

[ARC REVIEW] The Fairy in the Kettle Gets Magical by Pauline Tait (@PTait_author)

Title:  The Fairy in the Kettle Gets Magical

Author:  Pauline Tait

Artist: Debbie Bellaby

Genre:  Fantasy / Adventure / Travel / Fairies

Year Published: 2019

Year Read: 2019

Publisher:  SilverWood Books

Series: The Fairy in the Kettle #3

Source:  eARC (NetGalley)

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

I would like to thank NetGalley and SilverWood Books for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A few years ago, I had read a book called “The Fairy in the Kettle” by Pauline Tait, along with artwork by Debbie Bellaby.  So, imagine my surprise when I found out that this book was turned into a series and I actually got my hands on the third book in the series “The Fairy in the Kettle gets Magical” and it was quite a cute read!

One day, Leona the Kettle Fairy was being awakened by one of the other fairies and it was then that she knew that something was wrong.  When Leona met up with her friends and the elders, she finds out that the citizens of Fairy Glen were running out of fairy dust and they needed the fairy dust to maintain their powers.  So, Leona and her friends decided to go out of Fairy Glen and find the fairy dust to restore the fairies’ powers.

Pauline Tait has done a great job at writing this book as it was both cute and interesting to read through!  I liked the fact that this story is much more adventurous compared to the first book as the fairies have to go on a mission to save the fairies’ source of power.  I also loved the great friendship that Leona has with her friends as they go on missions together and I love how supportive they are of each other!  Debbie Bellaby’s artwork is adorable to look at as all the fairies look so cute and I loved the simplistic yet colorful look of the characters and the world that they live in.

The only problem that I had with this book was that the pacing was a bit slow at times and there was not a lot of action sequences in this book that would keep me interested.

Overall, “The Fairy in the Kettle gets Magical” is a great read for anyone who loves reading about fairies and magic in general!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

You might also like:

• The Fairy in the Kettle by Pauline Tait

• Thumbelina by Hans Christian Andersen
• The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

Book Depository

[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] Saga Volume 8 by Brian K. Vaughan

Title:  Saga Volume 8

Author:  Brian K. Vaughan

Artist:  Fiona Staples

Genre:  Adventure / Family / Fantasy / Science Fiction

Year Published:  2017

Year Read: 11/14/2018

Series:  Saga #8

Publisher:  Image Comics

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Gory Violence, Strong Language and Nudity)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

Introduction:

Yes!!!  I finally got around to reading “Saga Volume Eight!”  I only need to get “Saga Volume Nine” soon to finish up this series!  I found “Saga Volume Eight” to be a truly delightful volume to read from the “Saga” series!

What is this story about?

After the tragic events that happened on the Planet Phang in the last volume, the gang ended up in Abortion Town, which is a town that resembles the Old West.  After Alana suffered a miscarriage when they were trying to escape the Planet Phang, they have to go to Abortion Town so that she could get an abortion.  Also, it turns out that the miscarriage is temporarily giving Alana magic powers, but having these powers is slowly killing Alana.  Can the gang help Alana abort the still born child before it is too late?

What I loved about this story:

Brian K. Vaughan’s writing:  Wow!  Seriously, Brian K. Vaughan just continues to write an amazing and bizarre series that constantly keeps me coming back for more!  Brian K. Vaughan has done a brilliant job at making this story both exciting and emotional as I was seriously upset at the fact that Alana had a miscarriage and the emotional turmoil that she was going through during that situation.  I also loved the fact that the rest of the crew were supportive of Alana and how they tried to help her deal with this traumatic situation as it showed us just how much closer this crew is becoming towards each other.  I also loved the way that Brian K. Vaughan introduced the aspects of the Wild West into this story as it brings even more creativity to this series and I was interested in seeing how the Wild West would be portrayed in this series!

Fiona Staples’ artwork:  Fiona Staples’ artwork is still as gorgeous as before, especially of the images of Abortion Town itself as it looks like a bizarre version of the Wild West!  I also loved seeing all the bizarre alien creatures that inhabit this world as their appearances made the story even more interesting to read!

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who does not like strong language, violence and nudity, there is quite a bit of all of the above in this volume, although this volume is surprisingly light on all of these aspects.  Also, even though the rating for this volume is still pretty high, I could not give this volume a full six-star rating because the pacing was a bit slower here than in the previous volumes.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Saga Volume Eight” is a fantastic volume that really turns up the drama and excitement in this series and I cannot wait to read the ninth volume of this book soon!

You might also like: 

• Saga Volume 7 by Brian K. Vaughan

• Saga Volume 5 by Brian K. Vaughan

• Saga Volume 6 by Brian K. Vaughan

[BOOK REVIEW] One, Two, Three Going to Sea by Alain

Title:  One, Two, Three Going to Sea

Author:  Alain

Artist:  Alain

Genre:  Humor / Traveling / Friendship / Children's

Year Published: 1964

Year Read:  2018

Publisher:  Scholastic Inc.

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 3+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

I had a ton of children’s books that I kept on my shelf for many, many years and yet, I was never able to get around to reading those books, despite the fact that I had those books since I was a toddler!  “One, Two, Three Going to Sea” by Alain was one of those children’s books that was on my shelf for years and I did not read, until now!

The story starts off with several fisherman going out fishing in the sea. As the story progresses, more fisherman was added to the cast, which eventually led to nine fishermen meeting up with one more fisherman and then…

What happens next?

Read this book to find out!

Wow! I just loved the way that Alain wrote this book as this story was full of humor and creativity!  I just loved the way that Alain helps children learn how to count to ten by counting out the number of fishermen going to sea, while also presenting the concept of adding and subtracting numbers by using the fishermen each time one of them joins or leaves the party.  Alain’s artwork was also a treat to look at as the artwork was done in a simplistic yet cute style that really made these characters come to life in a unique way.  I also loved the fact that the artwork is mostly shown in blue, white and black colors as it makes the artwork look even more creative!

Overall, “One, Two, Three Going to Sea” is a truly fantastic read for children who want to learn about counting and who enjoy reading books that deal with the sea!  I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

You might also like:

• My Little Sister Ate One Hare by Bill Grossman

• One Grain of Rice by Demi

• One Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor J. Pinczes

[BOOK REVIEW] It's Not Easy Being a Bunny by Marilyn Sadler

Title:  It's Not Easy Being a Bunny

Author:  Marilyn Sadler

Artist: Roger Bollen


Genre:  Children's / Animals / Family / Humor

Year Published: 1983

Year Read:  2010

Series: P.J. Funnybunny #1

Publisher:  Beginner Books

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 3+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny” is apart of the famous “P.J. Funnybunny” series written by Marilyn Sadler along with illustrations by Roger Bollen.  In P.J’s latest adventure, P.J. decides that he does want to be a bunny anymore and so he goes on a journey to find another breed of animals to live with.  “It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny” will surely be a classic for fans of P.J. Funnybunny.

Marilyn Sadler has written a delightfully cute story about how P.J. Funnybunny was not satisfied with being a mere bunny until he experiences the lives of the other animals.  I love the way that Marilyn Sadler has made a point being yourself as P.J. soon finds out that maybe it is not so bad being a bunny as he experiences the various activities done by the other animals that he would not normally do.  Roger Bollen’s illustrations are hilarious and cute at the same time, especially of the image of P.J. Funnybunny having huge ears and a large pink nose, making look like a very cute bunny.

“It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny” is the perfect book about being yourself and being satisfied with your current lifestyle.  I would strongly recommend this book to children ages three and up since the content is extremely family-friendly and the format is easy to read.

You might also like:

• No, David! by David Shannon

• Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

• The Napping House by Audrey Wood