[ARC REVIEW] If the Shoe Fits by Deborah Guarino (@Schifferbooks)

Title:  If the Shoe Fits

Author:  Deborah Guarino

Artist:  Seth Hippen

Genre:  Children's / Humor / Fantasy / Fairy Tale

Year Published: 2019

Year Read:  2019

Publisher:  Schiffer Publishing

Source:  eARC (Edelweiss)

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Nothing Objectionable)

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.

I have always loved reading various fairy tale retellings and I was in the mood to read another “Cinderella” retelling!  So, I went on Edelweiss and I stumbled upon this unusual story called “If the Shoe Fits” by Deborah Guarino along with artwork by Seth Hippen and man, was it a truly hilarious and brilliant read!

Murray was a humble shoemaker who spent most of his days making shoes for the villagers.  But one night, a large fairy suddenly comes to his house and begs him to make her a special pair of shoes for a certain maiden since her wand had ran out of powers.  Murray then gives the fairy a pair of glass slippers and the fairy promises to reward him whenever she gets her magic back.  But the next day, Mona, Murray’s clerk (and the woman he secretly loves) comes rushing inside his shoe shop and tells him about the prince trying to find the maiden whose foot can fit into the glass slipper that she left behind.  And when Murray tells Mona that he was the one who made the glass slippers, Mona then begs him to make her a pair of glass slippers so that she can use them to present to the prince and marry him.  Murray, who is actually crushed by this scheme, sadly makes Mona a pair of glass slippers and Mona goes to the prince to show him the glass slippers.

Will Mona marry the prince and will Murray lose the love of his life?

Read this book to find out!

Wow…just wow!!!  I never would have expected to enjoy this book as much as I did!!!  Deborah Guarino’s writing is both hilarious and heartwarming and I really enjoyed this interesting twist on the “Cinderella” tale!  I really loved Murray as a character as he was both hilarious and engaging and I really felt for him when he wanted to win Mona’s heart, despite Mona wanting to marry the Prince.  I also loved how it was Murray who created the glass slippers for Cinderella since we get to see another character in this story that was not Cinderella.  I also loved the twist of the story of how Mona wanted Murray to make the glass slippers for her and how the prince had nearly married the wrong woman.  Seth Hippen’s artwork was truly hilarious to look at as most of the characters are drawn in exaggerated ways, especially the large fairy, who takes up most of the pages that she’s in.

Overall, “If the Shoe Fits” is a truly hilarious and imaginative story that takes the “Cinderella” mythos and twists it in a truly creative way!  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up, since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

You might also like:

• Cinderella or the Little Glass Slipper by Marcia Brown

• Cinderella Skeleton by Robert D. San Souci

• Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci

[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

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[ARC REVIEW] Farty Princess by A.P. Gai

Title:  Farty Princess

Author:  A.P. Gai

Artist: Kittipong

Genre:  Children's / Humor / Fairy Tale / Royalty / Mission

Year Published: 2013

Year Read:  5/22/2018

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC.   

Source: eARC (Amazon Kindle)

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Some Gross Humor)

I received this book through Amazon Kindle in exchange for an honest review.

I had read a few children’s books that dealt with toilet humor (or to get specific here, fart humor) like “Walter the Farting Dog” and I usually enjoy them since they are so hilarious to read through.  So, when I saw this new children’s book title from Amazon called “Farty Princess” by A.P. Gai along with artwork by Kittipong, I just had to check this little title out!

Princess Priscilla was well loved by the people of her kingdom as she was extremely friendly to everyone around her.  Unfortunately, Priscilla has a little problem…she cannot stop farting uncontrollably and her farts smell so bad that they make anyone who has the misfortunate of being near them faint!  One day, Priscilla was finally going to marry her fiancé Prince Paul and she was so happy about the occasion that she ended up farting in bliss and her farts smelled so bad that it put Prince Paul into a deep sleep!  Now, Priscilla must go on a journey to find a cure for Prince Paul’s curse!

A.P. Gai has done a good job with writing this book as I found myself giggling to myself at the toilet humor going on in this book!  I liked the way that A.P. Gai made Princess Priscilla be the one who rescues the Prince from a curse she (unknowingly) cast upon the Prince as it serves as a nice twist to the usual “Prince saves the Princess” plot line that is usually found in many fairy tales.  I also liked the fact that Princess Priscilla is portrayed as being extremely friendly to everyone she meets along with on her journey as it made her into a likable character and I especially liked the part about her farts saving her from misfortune throughout her journey!  Kittipong’s artwork is adorable to look at as all the characters truly look like they came out of an innocent fairy tale story and I especially loved the appearance of Priscilla herself as she has a cute appearance despite the fact that she farts a lot.  I also loved the way that Kittipong drew Priscilla’s farts as they are not colored in green, which is the usual color you see with farts being illustrated.  Instead, her farts are colored in purple and pink colors, which makes her farts look cute instead of disgusting (Farts are cute? Well, that is the first time I said that)!

The reason why I gave this book a three-and-a-half-star rating was because while the book had a pretty cute (and hilarious) premise, I felt that both the story and the characters were a bit bland at times.  As much as I like the fact that Princess Priscilla is an extremely nice character, I felt that there was not that much dimension to her character and this also includes her love interest Prince Paul, who was just there to be put into a coma for most of the story.

Overall, while “Farty Princess” is a cute story that is full of toilet humor, the story would have benefited more if there were more dimensions to the characters and to the story itself.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since some children might not like the gross humor in this book.

 You might also like:

• Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray

• Green Wilma by Tedd Arnold
• The Princess Knight by Cornelia Funke

[BOOK REVIEW] Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

Title:  Tender Morsels

Author: Margo Lanagan

Genre: Fantasy

Year Published: 2007

Number of Pages: 436 pages

Date Read: 7/19/2010

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers   

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Sex Scenes and Rape Scenes)

Trigger Warning: Rape Scenes

Buy on:   Amazon  //  Book Depository 

After I read Margo Lanagan’s “Black Juice,” I thought that Margo Lanagan’s “Tender Morsels” was going to be a horrible read.  However, I was quite impressed with how improved the plot and characters are in this book are from “Black Juice.”  “Tender Morsels” is a Printz Honor Book by Margo Lanagan and it is about how a suffering woman named Liga is mysteriously sent to a world where everything is perfect and friendly and raises her two daughters, Branza and Urdda, in this heaven.  However, when wild bears and tiny men come to Liga’s heavenly world, Liga and her two daughters realized that there is another world different from the world they live in.  “Tender Morsels” might be too dark and upsetting for some readers to handle, but the fantasy elements of this book might enchant some readers.

I must admit that after I read “Black Juice,” I thought that this book was going to be no better. However, I was surprised at how much improved this book was in character development and plot development than in “Black Juice.”  Margo Lanagan has done an excellent job at making this story extremely dramatic and somewhat frightening as the characters, especially Liga, go through a series of horrifying events that will have many readers cringing at the description of these events and many readers will definitely feel sympathy for the main character Liga as she goes through so many horrendous situations during her life.  Also, readers who love dark fantasy elements will definitely enjoy this book as there is a good amount of fantasy elements dealing with other world barriers and has an extremely dark tone to the story that would intrigued many readers.

There are three main issues that I had with this book and they included strong violence, some rape scenes and confusing narration.  There are many violent scenes in this book that readers who are sensitive to violence might not be able to handle and these violent scenes include a brutal murder scene, which I will not go into too much detail since I do not want to spoil the book for people who want to read this book, but the violence is extremely graphic as Margo Lanagan goes into great detail about how one of the characters is murdered.  Also, there are two rape scenes in this book that many readers (including myself) who do not approve of rape scenes might not be able to handle.  The issue that really stood out the most in this book is the narration as the story switches from Liga’s perspective to the bear’s perspective on the story and that will confuse many readers.  Liga’s side of the story is pretty straightforward and the characters are well developed and the plot is more interesting, however whenever we get to the bear’s side of the story, there are several different characters speaking on their experiences as the bear character and it is extremely frustrating to read through since you do not know which character is speaking their tale.

“Tender Morsels” is an interesting tale about the dangers of reality versus fantasy worlds and many readers who are fans of dark fantasy books will definitely love this book.  I gave this book three and a half stars because the violence is extremely graphic and the narration is a bit too frustrating to read through as it constantly switches from Liga’s story to the bear’s story and I would have gladly just stick with Liga’s side of the story since her story is much more understanding and interesting than the bear’s side of the story.

* 2008 Shirley Jackson Award Nominee for Novel (Finalist)
* 2008 James Tiptree Jr. Award Honor List
* 2009 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel
* 2009 Ditmar Award for Best Novel
* 2009 Michael L. Printz Award Nominee
* 2010 Sakura Medal Nominee for High School Book

You might also like: 

• The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis

• East by Edith Pattou

• The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

[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