Author: Ridley Pearson
Age Range: 10 – 14 years
Grade Level: 5 – 9
Series: Kingdom Keepers (Book 7)
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: March 3, 2015

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I remember when I went on my honeymoon to Disney back in 2006 and I picked up a new book called “The Kingdom Keepers” and I finished it while on my trip. Last year, we thought we were at the end of the road with “Kingdom Keepers VII: The Insider”, as it was believed to been the last book in this series. Luckily, that is not the cause and we have more greatness from Ridley Pearson. “A Kingdom Keepers Adventure: The Syndrome” is a really interesting twist since it is a stand-alone story but told from the point of view of the Fairlies. So we get to experience the adventures of The Kingdom Keepers through a fresh set of eyes.

Official Premise: When Amanda travels east to Orlando on a hunch, she’s met with the worst news possible. Kingdom Keeper Finn Whitman is missing. Calling on her own gift (she’s telekinetic), her sister Jess’s ability to dream the future, and their fellow Fairlie Mattie Weaver’s unexplained ability to read minds through physical contact, the three gifted girls must navigate treachery, deception, and the stubborn, unwilling parents of the missing Keepers if they’re to save their friends.

As much as a love “The Kingdom Keepers” series, this is not right up to par with the rest of the books but it is still a ton of fun and packs a lot of magic. This isn’t the end of the series, either as it looks like we are just getting started with another series for “Kingdom Keepers”. Released March 31st in the new series “The Return” called “Disney Lands” is the next book in the series and will kick off new adventures in the series. In fact, this book also includes an excerpt of “Disney Lands” as an added bonus. Keep them coming Ridley!

Author: Peter A. David
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: Thunder Bay Press

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

For those wanting to brush up on all things Avengers prior to the release of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” the lasts release from author Peter A. David and Thunder Bay Press should do the trick. “Marvel” The Avengers Vault” is a 176 page hardcover release that is as the title suggests a vault of information related to each of the core Marvel Avengers. The book is broken down by chapter with each chapter being dedicated to one of 4 characters Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Incredible Hulk. Each page of the book features beautiful full color art work printed on high quality paper. Another plus, the book is laid out very much like a comic book as each chapter delves deep in to the characters origins. If that alone isn’t enough separating each chapter are numerous envelope pages which include some really cool collectibles such as Iron Man concept art, (reproduction) Jack Kirby art and Captain America’s Sentinels of Liberty membership card to name just a few of these great extras.

Though the book appears to be aimed at hardcore Avenger collectors I found it to be very accessible and fun for all ages. Even if you skip the text readers can enjoy all of the really great art work from the four characters comic history all in one place. To close out the book readers are a treated to a glimpse of other upcoming Marvel heroes (Ant Man, Captain Marvel and Black Panther) who will be making their way to the film screen very shortly. Author Peter A. David really hit a home run with this book so if you are looking for something that can hold you over until the May release of “Age of Ultron” this book will certainly do the trick.

“Joy Street”
Author: Dorothy Tristan
Paperback: 372 pages
Memoir

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

If People magazine would have run their “50 Most Beautiful People” issues in the 1970s, Dorothy Tristan would have surely been on it. An artist, singer, model, author and actress, Tristan’s outer beauty hid a strange and inspirational upbringing. That tale is told in her memoir, “Joy Street.”

Born in New York City, Dorothy Behrdnt was the youngest of four children. As her story begins, her oldest sister is away at nursing school, her brother is a juvenile delinquent and her other sister, 14 year old Winnie is, to be polite, quite promiscuous. Add to that her father’s admiration of Adolph Hitler and life was pretty interesting. However, things change when she is chosen by a community charity, the Fresh Air Fund, to go spend a summer with a family in Connecticut, a place where girl scout uniforms, caring adults and girls with names like Foofie are in abundance. The summer goes by all too fast and soon Dorothy is back home. But she has endeared herself to her summer family and soon she is visiting at holidays as well.

Returning to New York City and her family is always a challenge. When her sister the nurse announces she is seeing a doctor the first thing the father can imagine (correctly) is that he is Jewish. Professing Hitler’s hate-speech he bans her from his home. When she is old enough to leave the nest Dorothy runs off to a future she can not imagine. It is this time in her life, when her natural beauty begins to open doors for her, that her artistic wings begin to grow. Whether modeling for the exclusive Ford Agency, gracing the cover of LIFE magazine or starring opposite Jane Fonda on screen, her stories are richly described, her words painting a picture of the events being described. The highs and lows are both revealed and she omits nothing. Her words are sad, funny, dramatic and expressive. And often at the same time. Her recall of events is amazing and fans will be amazed at all she has accomplished.

Now living in Indiana with film director John Hancock, her husband of almost 40 years, Tristan is still amazing her fans, having recently written and starred in the feature film “Swan Song.” If you’re looking for an uplifting and memorable story I can’t recommend “Joy Street” enough.

Related Content

• Book Review: Barney Hoskyns “Small Town Talk”
• Book Review “The Art of Inside Out”
• Book Review “The Art and Making of Pacific Rim Uprising”
• Book Review “The James Bond Omnibus 003”
• Book Review: “Hit So Hard: A Memoir” By Patty Schemel

Depending on who you ask, Jason Offutt is one of the leading journalists on things that go bump in the night, or he’s the helpful professor for hundreds of future journalism students at Northwest Missouri State University. Both can agree though, he’s a damn good writer. Avid readers of Jason’s work might be surprised by his next release, “A Funeral Story”. Instead of providing a good non-fiction scare, and a need to leave a nightlight on, Jason has crafted a fiction book that will have people snickering and laughing as they turn the page. Jason Offutt took time during a busy finals week at Northwest to talk with Media Mikes about his first novel.

Jeremy Werner: Alright Jason, tell us about “A Funeral Story”
Jason Offutt: “A Funeral Story” is a story about a 30-year-old man that still lives at home, plays dungeon and dragons with his old high school buddies every Friday and nobody knows that he likes to pick up and have sex with strange women at funerals.

JW: (laughs) Where does an idea like that come from?
JO: I have no idea, actually, where it came from. I was sitting at Kansas City International Airport waiting for a flight to Houston and it just popped into my head. I carry a notebook everywhere and I probably wrote three chapters as I was waiting on a plane.

JW: So this isn’t based on anyone?
JO: No. Nobody at all.

JW: Do you see any of yourself in this character?
JO: No. I never picked up any strange people at funerals…I think lots of writers do this, they try to put people in ridiculous situations and see how they react. And somebody trying to pick up sex at a funeral is probably the most extreme I could think of. That’s probably where it came from.

JW: I’ve read the book and it can be pretty filthy. Was there any part of you that was worried about publishing something like this?
JO: Well…a little bit because what I’ve written before is family friendly. So to that extent, yes. I am going to put a warning out there for people who are use to my non-fiction that this is not family friend, but one of the things that I’ve been known to do is take things to a level that people probably shouldn’t go to. (laughs) That’s what I did with this.

JW: Now, if someone who doesn’t know you was to look at your previous writing examples, and even people who’ve read all your works, they’ll notice you usually write about the paranormal. Were you starting to get burnt out on writing about the paranormal or did you just want a change of scenery?
JO: Right. I’ve been finding that out. I’m going to be on a Travel Channel show this season because I’m the go-to paranormal guy. But…I’ve always wanted to write novels. Ever since I was 10-years-old, I remember telling my parents I’ve wanted to write novels when I grew up and of course they laughed, rubbed my head, and sent me off to play. But that’s something I’ve wanted to do forever. I’ve been stuck with the non-fiction mainly because I was a journalist for 17 years and that’s what I’ve done. And I finally decided…if I want to write novels, I should probably do it because if I don’t now, I’m going to regret it later.

JW: Is this your first novel?
JO: It’s my first novel being published. I wrote one before it that’s being published in a year from January. I got two novels coming out in 2016. They’re a book series on…it’s an apocalyptic type series.

JW: Are you going to stick with fiction for a while or do you see yourself going back to writing about paranormal occurrences and what not?
JO: If the right subject, the right book hits me, yeah, I’ll definitely go back to non-fiction. But I’m having a lot of fun right now writing fiction.

JW: In terms of your fiction writing, do you ever see yourself straying away from humor and going more for a serious tone?
JO: No matter what I write, something funny comes out because that’s just what I’m use to. I really, really want to write a horror story. I really want to write something terrifying. So that’s something I got going on in the future.

JW: I assume you’ll pull some inspiration from some of the real-life horror stories you’ve heard from people.
JO: Oh yes. I’m definitely going to heavily rely on the non-fiction work that I’ve done on the paranormal and on ghosts, spirits, monsters. I think that’ll help…lend it a lot of realism.

JW: I know you’re always working on something. Do you have anything that you’re piecing together and working on now?
JO: I’m working on something. I’ve got a lot of notes down. My wife and I just had a baby about a month and a half ago.
JW: Oh wow. Congratulations. I didn’t hear that.
JO: Well, (laughs) it was a bit of a surprise because I had vasectomy six years ago.
JW: Oh. Holy crap.
JO: (laughs) Yeah…I was OK six years ago, everything went well, but I was one in a couple of thousand people that found out my super power is I can heal myself. So I took notes throughout the pregnancy and wrote a bunch of funny stuff that happened. The tentative name for the book is “The Vasectomy Diaries”.

JW: I know you’ve written about your kids and being a father before. Do you still do that?
JO: I still write a weekly humor column and I write funny stuff about the kids, once and a while when they do something ridiculous, which is quite a bit. So I still do that kind of writing.

JW: I know you have a lot of different projects and there was a monster killing book you were working on. How’s that coming along?
JO: I found a publisher and it’s coming out in January.
JW: Tell us about it.
JO: The book’s called “How to Kill Monsters Using Common Household Items”. It’s a book about what would happen if the monsters took over and invaded your house. What do you have if a werewolf breaks into your house? What do you have lying around that you can use to kill it? And I go through just random things around your house that could kill a werewolf, vampire, demonic clown, gnome, killer robot from the future, velociraptor, lots of other different types of monsters.

JW: Is this another humor book or could it be considered real advice?
JO: It’s more humor, but you know what? You could seriously beat a zombie to death with a prosthetic leg. So it’s pretty handy.

JW: How many monsters do you cover in this?
JO: 14. Including reanimated corpses like Frankenstein’s monster, dragons and your evil twin from an alternate dimension.

JW: Do you ever see writing as your full-time gig?
JO: That…I think that is about every writer’s dream, to do it full time, but realistically…there are only about 120 writers in the country, that’s all they do is write books. I could see that if I got successful, but you know what? I really enjoy teaching college students. So even if I did get to the point where I could write books for a living, I don’t know if I would. I think I’d keep teaching.

“A Funeral Story” is available December 19th.
You can check out Jason at his website, http://www.jasonoffutt.com, or follow him on Twitter: @TheJasonOffutt
You can also read his writings, at jasonoffutt.blogspot.com and at from-the-shadows.blogspot.com

Related Content

• Who is winning the comic book movie war?
• Murray Langston talks about his new book “Journey Thru the Unknown”
• Tony Lee Moral talks about his book “Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie”

Jeremy Spencer is the drummer behind the bombastic sound of the heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch. In the past couple years the band has released two successful studio albums and performed to thousands of fans. To add even more to an already crazy schedule Spencer found time to pen his first book a biography titled “Death Punch’d: Surviving Five Finger Death Punch’s Metal Mayhem”. The book is a candid, no punches pulled account of Spencer’s life both in and out of the band. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Jeremy recently about the books creation as well as what the band has planned for 2015.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us a little over view of the book and tell us why you chose now to the time to release a book like this?
Jeremy Spencer: It all sort of started around the time that I had just gotten out of rehab. I had started writing basically about my whole life as a way to process and get something outs. It was very therapeutic. Anytime I had some down time I would start writing. Once I had a large amount of stuff I started looking back over it and found a lot of it very interesting. I sent it out to my dad to get his take on it and he thought that some of the stuff I had written could be a benefit to people. He did think it needed to be edited down so I would be ostracized as it was very raw and real. (Laughs) He helped me with that and I ended up sending it off to our management and they loved it. From there they started shopping it around to the publishing companies. It wasn’t anything I was planning on but things took shape and we moved forward. Even though our band is still popular and on the upswing which is not when books from band members normally come out, but that ended up being all the more reason to put it out when we did. I think the story can help a lot of people and the positive feedback has been great thus far. This book has helped me with a lot of different things in so it just been a great experience so far.

AL: Being so fresh out of rehab was it hard to look back at some of these stories you put in the book?
JS: Some of it was horrifying! I wasn’t proud of a lot of it, especially when it was where I hurt someone. Those things made me sad. I have tried to work through things the best I can and I certainly wasn’t proud of who I was during those times. At the same time if I didn’t go through that stuff I wouldn’t be where I am now. I think by being a drug addict it forced me to look at things that I may not have if I was sober. Once you start dealing with the addiction side of things you realize that there is more deeply rooted stuff to also address as well. That for me has been a blessing.

AL: The books layout jumps back and forth between the past and present. Was that something that was a conscious decision or was that idea taken directly from your initial writings?
JS: That was something that happened during editing and was suggested by the book company. I am really glad they suggested that because it’s a bit different. I haven’t really read any books that do that. I wrote sort of chronologically and that has been done so much that we decided to change it up. I am really happy with how it turned out.

AL: Throughout the book you speak very candidly about the other members of Five Finger Death Punch. Was it difficult being that truthful knowing your still going to be working with them on a day to day basis?
JS: For sure. I definitely toned things down a bit as my intentions were not to throw anyone under the bus. I made sure to talk with the guys about anything I may have thought was questionable beforehand. I gave them a chance to read the parts they were in ahead of time if they wanted to just in case there was any worry or things like that. This project meant a lot to me and I didn’t want it to hurt anyone. I had to obviously pull back the curtains some so the reader could get a better feel for the story so if needed I changed people’s names or things like that. I was very cautious about all those things. Again there were a few things that got removed. Some of the things I found hilarious at first we decided to leave out after talking a little bit more about them because ultimately they didn’t fit well with the story. I think everyone was pleased with how the book turned out as no one was exposed too much.

AL: With the book having been out now for a few months is there anything that made it into the book that you sort of regret having in there?
JS: I am comfortable with. I don’t really want to change anything or wished I had done something differently. If that first draft I submitted would have come out it would have been terrible! (Laughs) The book went through a lot of editing. The whole thing was a process as there are just so many different steps you have to go through when writing a book. I have lived my several times over now.

AL: The band recently wrapped up a really great co-headlining run with Volbeat but, have there been any discussions about what the band will be doing in the coming year?
JS: The band has huge plans for next year. Once we get through the holidays we will be heading over to Japan for a run of shows there. After that we have a little time off and then we will be heading in to the studio to make the new record with hopes of a summer release. We also have some plans to do a few spring shows and a European run with Judas Priest. First thing first we have to get the new record done and out.

Related Content

• Book Review “Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life as a Ramone”
• Book Review: “Hit So Hard: A Memoir” By Patty Schemel
• Book Review “The Colony: Renegades” by Michaelbrent Collings
• Book Reviews “The World According to Iron Man” and “The World According to Thor”

“Into the Black: The Inside Story of Metallica 1991-2014”
Author: Dave Van Ronk Elijah Wald
Hardcover: 289 pages
Publisher: Da Capo Press

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

“Into the Black: The Inside Story of Metallica 1991-2014” is the second book in a two book series written by Paul Brannigan and Ian Winwood. The follow up to 2013’s “Birth, School, Metallica, Death” which chronicles the bands first decade from 1981-1991. “Into the Black” takes you deeper than its predecessor as the book covers the bands dealing with subjects like fans and fame to competing with other bands in the heavy metal aren. The book recounts one of the bands more turbulent era’s as it looks at the bands dispute with Napster, the disastrous tour with Gun’s N’ Roses and the band return to the spotlight after front man James Hetfield’s battle with addiction.

Authors Paul Brannigan and Ian Winwood cover both the highs and lows that the band has experienced in the later part of its career and though not an officially licensed “biography” this is probably the closest thing I have seen thus far. Everything from bassist Jason Newsted’s departure to the release of “Death Magnetic” and the epic Big 4 tour is recounted in this book. Though I enjoyed the writing duo’s first book I found “Into the Black” went a bit further. Growing up during this era of the bands career the book sparked some great memories for me related to the music and remembering the noted headlines and occurrences in the bands career that were being shared in this book. The book also had several photos of the band that I hadn’t seen before which was cool in its self making this a must have any true Metallica fan out there.

Related Content

• Book Review “Not the Life It Seems: The True Lives of My Chemical Romance”
• Book Review: “Lonely Boy: Tales of a Sex Pistol”
• Book Review “The Art of Inside Out”
• Book Review “Birth School Metallica Death: The Biography Vol. 1”
• Book Review: “Hit So Hard: A Memoir” By Patty Schemel

“Not the Life It Seems: The True Lives of My Chemical Romance”
Author: Tom Bryant
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Da Capo Press

Our Score: 2 out of 5 stars

“Not the Life It Seems: The True Lives of My Chemical Romance” is the story of how a band defied stereotypes and championed uncomfortable subjects. Through unorthodox vocals and stage performances My Chemical Romance helped address often controversial topics head on. Journalist Tom Bryant recounts how the bands personal experiences resulted in some of their biggest hits. Bryant looks at the bands growing success over its four albums and the bands subsequent breakup in 2013. The book delves in to each member’s personal history leaving no stone unturned.

Over the books 384 pages Bryant chronicles the band’s various struggles with addiction, media exposure and issues between the group’s members. With a lot of these stories being told for the first time there was certainly a lot of info included that peaks the reader’s interest to further delve in to the following chapters. The biggest thing that kept weighing on my mind while reading this book was the fact that these stories were being told from an outside source and compiled from a number of unpublished interviews. Now I am certainly not discrediting the authors work however I think the book would have had a more personal feel if it was told via the band members directly and not via an onlooker.

Very seldom do I find biographies of this nature to be as telling as they could be when the actual players are not directly involved. However fan’s of the band will want to check the book out as it does give a fresh look on the events surrounding the groups break up. The book also includes some interesting black and white photos of the band which are worth checking out on their own.

Related Content

• Book Review: “Access All Areas: Stories from a Hard Rock Life” by Scott Ian
• Book Review: Lita Ford “Living Like A Runaway”
• Book Review “The James Bond Omnibus 003”
• Book Review: “Hit So Hard: A Memoir” By Patty Schemel

Author: Ian Brodie
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: Harper Design
Release Date: November 11, 2014

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

New Zealand is a country that I would never think that I would ever want to visit…that is until “The Lord of the Rings” and “The HobThe HobbitThe Hobbit” films came along. Since those films have come out, people all over the world have flocked to New Zealand in order to visit the the “real” Middle-earth. “The Hobbit Motion Picture Trilogy:  Location Guide – Hobbiton, the Lonely Mountain and Beyond” delivers you the locations where the new trilogy was shot around New Zealand from the author of the international bestseller “The Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook”. The book also comes with a foreword by Sir Peter Jackson and contributions by Andy Serkis, Jared Connon, and Dan Hennah.

After reading this book, I literally wanted to pack up and plan a trip to New Zealand. The locations in these films are so visually stunning that they literally jump off the pages. Luckily, Harper Design delivered us a beautiful book with extremely crisp and high quality original landscape photography. This book exclusive movie images and location photographs, specialty maps and directions, GPS references, touring information and even helpful Internet addresses. If you are a hardcore “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” and you read this book and do not seriously consider a trip to New Zealand then I might suggest that you might not be as big of a fan as you think. Well if you take the trip or not, this is a must own for any fan certainly.

Related Content

• Book Review “Smaug: Unleashing the Dragon”
• Book Review “Marvel: The Avengers Vault”
• Book Review: NOFX: “The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories”
• Book Review “Let There Be GWAR”

“Death Punch’d: Surviving Five Finger Death Punch’s Metal Mayhem”
Author: Jeremy Spencer
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Dey Street Books

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

From the cofounder and drummer of Five Finger Death Punch Jeremy Spencer, “Death Punch’d: Surviving Five Finger Death Punch’s Metal Mayhem” is an inside account of one of today’s most successful heavy metal bands. The book is a revealing, personal journey told first hand by Spencer about the highs and lows of the rock and roll lifestyle. From the group’s early and from all point in between its all here told candidly by the man who lived it.

Very rarely do you get a tell book from a band member who’s still in the band they gained notoriety with let alone who is still selling out arenas around the world at the time of the books release. However Jeremy Spencer’s “Death Punch’d: Surviving Five Finger Death Punch’s Metal Mayhem” is the exception to that rule. From his earliest exposure to music to his first encounters with drugs and alcohol everything is here in this book. Even stories about the bands infighting and uncertainties about one another are included in this book. Again very rarely do you get this kind of access from a group who is still together and at the top of their game. Spencer tell it like it is approach really gives the book character while adding to each story compiled for the book.

At times I did find the books layout to be a bit confusing as past and present events are mixed among chapters. However this gave the book more of a real feel as it was felt like you were in the room listening to these tales from the road with the man himself. Throw in a slew of never before seen color photos and you have the making of a stand out biography worth checking out whether you’re a fan of the band or not.

Related Content

• Book Review “The Hobbit Motion Picture Trilogy: Location Guide – Hobbiton, the Lonely Mountain and Beyond”
• Book Review: “Access All Areas: Stories from a Hard Rock Life” by Scott Ian
• Book Review: “From Cradle to Stage: Stories From the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars” by Virginia Hanlon Grohl
• Book Review: Lita Ford “Living Like A Runaway”
• Book Review: Under the Big Black Sun: A Personal History of L.A. Punk”

Age Range: 8 and up
Grade Level: 2 and up
Series: ArtFolds Color Editions (Book 3)
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Reader’s Digest
Release Date: September 30, 2014

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

Before receiving this I was not sure what to expect from an ArtFolds book but this is definitely more can just a book. “ArtFolds: Christmas Memories” includes instructions that show you how to fold each page to transform this book into a very amazing colorful Christmas Tree sculpture. Seriously! You fold the book and it ends up being a beautiful piece of art. The only downfall is that this is a one-timer. Once you complete the fold, it is art and cannot be redone. I will certainly be keeping an eye out for the next edition of this series.

Official Premise: An ArtFolds book is a hardcover book that is transformed into a unique paper sculpture merely by folding pages, based on our exclusive, patent-pending instructions. The process is fun and easy and takes surprisingly little time, making it as appropriate for children as it is for adults. Color Editions feature a lovely palette of shades that make a vibrant and eye-catching work of art. Each Color Edition includes some fun and compelling reading that matches its art theme. In “ArtFolds: Christmas Memories”, readers can enjoy classic quotations, poems and lyrics that capture the magic of Christmas.

Related Content

• “Under the Wizard Moon” – A Great Book for Children of All Ages!
• Book Review “Build My Own: A Magical Christmas”
• “Under the Wizard Moon” – A Great Book for Children of All Ages!
• Book Review “Walt Disney’s Classic Storybook (Volume 3)”
• Book Review “Disney’s Storybook Collection: 2015 Edition”

Age Range: 3 – 7 years
Grade Level: Kindergarten – 3
Series: Build My Own (Book 3)
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Reader’s Digest
Release Date: October 14, 2014

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

Firstly, let’s just clear the air that this is not a LEGO book. It looks like LEGO pieces for it is “building bricks”. I am a sucker for Christmas. This book contains 86 bricks that allow you to read with the book and assemble Christmas themed models, including a little tree. Being a 30+ year old man, I still love LEGO, I mean “building bricks”. The book though, I can’t seem to shake that bargain bin feel.

Official Premise: Ho! Ho! Ho! Youngsters will love getting into the holiday spirit by exploring this super fun treasury filled with stories, songs, crafts, and more, and using the 86 building bricks to make their very own tree, presents and Santa! Specially designed to help reinforce engineering concepts, this magical building block set will make the perfect Christmas (or pre-Christmas) gift for a wide range of ages.

Related Content

• “Under the Wizard Moon” – A Great Book for Children of All Ages!
• Book Review “Walt Disney’s Classic Storybook (Volume 3)”
• Book Review “Cars / Planes: Fly-and-Drive – Read-Along Storybook”
• Book Review “Nella the Princess Knight” by Christine Ricci
• Book Reviews “ArtFolds: Christmas Memories”

Age Range: 3 – 6 years
Grade Level: Preschool – 1
Series: Barbie
Board book: 16 pages
Publisher: Reader’s Digest
Release Date: September 30, 2014

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

“Barbie: A Special Christmas” is my two year old daughters first experience to Barbie. Let’s just say, she really wanted thrilled. The reason this book wasn’t tossed directly to the side was the fact that this very colorful boardbook comes with four press-out glittery ornaments.

Official Premise: Join Barbie and her sisters as they celebrate Christmas and start and entirely NEW family tradition! Read to discover the exciting new Barbie tradition, then look for four press-out glittery Barbie ornaments in the back of the book to enjoy the new tradition too!

The story is cute but the brand Barbie has always been light on content. There is also no shortage of color in this book. Besides the ornaments included, the fact that this is a about our favorite holiday is a saving grace. I will most likely put this away and maybe next year, it will get some more attention.

Related Content

• Book Review “Disney Fairies: Meet Periwinkle”
• Book Review “Disney Princess: Perfect Princess Christmas”
• Book Review “Happy Holidays! From the Avengers”
• Book Review “Doc McStuffins: A Very McStuffins Christmas”
• Book Review “Disney Minnie: Minnie’s Winter Bow Show”
• Book Review “Disney Sofia the First: A Gift from Sofia”

Age Range: 2 – 5 years
Grade Level: Preschool – Kindergarten
Series: Guess Who? (Book 1)
Board book: 10 pages
Publisher: Reader’s Digest
Release Date: October 21, 2014

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

Recently, probably thanks to Amazon Prime Video, my daughter has developed quite the love for Nickelodeon’s “Bubble Guppies”. She is two years old and already loves books and reading. “Bubble Guppies Guess Who’s Fin-tastic!” is the latest in the bestselling Guess Who format filled with all the popular characters from “Bubble Guppies” show! It includes tons of great “lift-the-flaps” to uncover fun surprises.

Official Premise: Come let’s explore and find out who is hiding under the sea! Dive into the world of the Bubble Guppy kids in the adorable board book featuring simple rhymes that encourage preschoolers to “Guess Who” is hiding under each flap. The “stay shut” flap on the front cover makes this a favorite book that little hands grab onto again and again.

Related Content

• Book Review “Disney Frozen Melt My Heart: Share Hugs with Olaf!”
• Book Review “Sofia the First: The Curse of Princess Ivy”
• Book Review “Disney’s 5-Minute Minnie Tales”
• Book Review “Disney Fairies: Winter Wonderland Reusable Sticker Book”
• Book Review “Disney Fairies: Bedtime Fairy Stories: A Treasury”

Author: by Brandon Alinger
Hardcover: 232 pages
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Release Date: October 28, 2014

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

When it comes to “Star Wars”, who doesn’t love the amazing costumes that these characters have worn. “Star Wars Costumes” is going to be a huge hit with fans because it focuses on The Original Trilogy. What kid didn’t flip out when they saw Darth Vader’s costume for the first time. This is not the first costume book for “Star Wars” films thought since “Dressing a Galaxy” was released in 2005 but this book is much more in-depth about each costume. It is filled of pretty photos don’t get me wrong, very pretty and extremely detailed but there is some great descriptions backing those wonderful images. Episodes IV, V and IV are well represented here with costumes ranging for Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3PO, Boba Fett, Darth Vadar, Stormtroopers and every guys favorite Slave Leia outfit and many more. I am sure fans are going to not be as thrilled for the inevitable follow-up for the Prequel Trilogy but it could have some great designs for sure. This is a must for any “Star Wars” fan.

Official Premise: Who can forget the first time Darth Vader marched onto Princess Leia’s ship, in his black cape and mask? Or the white hard-body suit of the stormtroopers? Or Leia’s outfit as Jabba’s slave? These costumes—like so many that adorned the characters of that galaxy far, far away—have become iconic. For the first time, the Lucasfilm Archives is granting full access to the original costumes of episodes IV, V, and VI, allowing them to be revealed in never-before-seen detail. In over 200 new costume photographs, sketches, and behind-the-scenes photos and notes, based on new interviews, fans will get a fresh perspective on the creation of the clothes and costume props that brought these much-loved characters to life. Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy affords both new and longtime Star Wars fans an intimate look at the unforgettable costumes from this classic series.

Like I said the resolution on the photos are very impressive. They even have some that are quite close up and you can literally see the seams. I am sure that fans are going to love this. What I also loved is that there is no wasting of pages here since there are great photos throughout this book. The author is Brandon Alinger, who is the COO of the Los Angeles branch of The Prop Store of London, the industry leader in movie props and costumes. There are also three great forewords by John Mollo, Aggie Rodgers, and Nilo Rodis-Jamero. John is the costume designer on Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. Nilo was the assistant art director and concept artist on Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back and costume designer for Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. Aggie was the costume designer on Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. These people certainly have and give us great insight into their work on the series.

Related Content

• Film Review: “Solo: A Star Wars Story”
• Book Reviews “Star Wars Art: Illustration & Posters” and “Star Wars Visions”
• Book Review “Star Wars The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight”
• Book Review “Star Wars Rebels: A New Hero”
• Book Review “Batman: A Visual History”

Age Range: 4 – 8 years
Grade Level: Preschool – 3
Series: Passport to Reading Level 1
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: LB Kids
Release Date: November 4, 2014

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

If there is one Disney Fairy that my daughter loves outside of Tinker Bell, it is easily Periwinkle. We have either weekly or monthly viewings of “Secret of the Wings”. “Disney Fairies: Meet Periwinkle” is the latest Passport to Reading Level 1 book and it is coming at a perfect time as my daughter is learning to read.

Official Premise: Meet Periwinkle! Periwinkle is a frost fairy from the Winter Woods. When Tinker Bell and Peri meet, the two fairies discover a very special bond, but they are kept apart for the safety of their wings. However, when snow appears all over Pixie Hollow, Periwinkle and the frost fairies must help save the day!

The story is cute. It is a sort of abridged version of “Secret of the Wings”. The illustrations are colorful and vibrant. If you love Disney Fairies, I mean what little girl doesn’t, then this is a great buy for you. Plus at a price of less than $4 dollars on Amazon, I mean can you really go wrong here?

Related Content

• Book Review “Barbie: A Special Christmas”
• Book Review “Disney Frozen: Elsa’s Gift”
• Book Review “Disney Frozen Let It Go”
• Book Review “Frozen Sing-Along Storybook”
• Book Review “Sofia the First: Royal Prep Academy”