Bonnie Worth

In rhyme, the Cat in the Hat discusses a few different species of dinosaur and how to pronounce their names correctly, followed by the fictional Cat-in-the-Hat-saurus.

I find the non-Seuss Cat in the Hat series books to be pretty eyeroll-worthy, but I did appreciate the rhymes here being used to teach pronunciation of dinosaur names. Definitely helps me with pronouncing them when I read other dinosaur books out loud.

Daughter of the Centaurs is a charming book. The language is simple but clean and vivid, making it easy to see and follow the many characters, cultures, and settings in K.K. Ross' fantasy future-earth. The book tackles some pretty heavy concepts, first when Malora loses her family and her tribe and then, later, when she's captured and introduced into Centaur society as a "pet," pampered, indulged, and powerless. I caught my jaw dropping when, for example, the centuars would sigh with relief show more every time Malora confirmed that her tribe (i.e., her mother and father and friends) were all dead.

The heroine, Malora, sets the tone for the whole novel - and she refuses to mope or be defeated. She's steadfast, loyal, smart in a salt of the earth way, and good-natured. She's definitely a glass half-full kind of girl and while she can be uncompromising, she also knows when to go with the flow. It's easy to spend time in her head.

The book moves along at a good clip. I worried when I read other reviews that it would dwell for too long on her childhood learning to train horses, or her years all alone with her herd, but Ross gives us just enough to get the flavor. Once the centaurs capture Malora, DAUGHTER OF THE CENTAURS becomes a fish out of water tale. Everything is new and unfamiliar and Malora has to struggle to find her place in a new world, especially if she's not content to remain a pet.

The climax of the novel revolves around a horse race - naturally, since Malora's earliest ambitions were all about horse training - but we get tantalizing glimpses of where the sequels will take us. By the end it's clear that the cultured, highly classed society of the centaurs is due for a shake-up, and that Malora will be at the center of some pretty major changes.

DAUGHTER OF THE CENTAURS is on the sweet side but it's got real depth, and more grit than you'd expect from a girl-and-her-horse book. show less

A day in the life of Pooh as he wakes up, battles bees as he hunts for honey, shares with friends, and heads back to bed. It's board book told in sentences of one to three words and has the most adorable pictures that just made me squee on nearly every page, especially when the cutest little Pooh ever gets angry. Ooooh, Pooh Bear, you are ever so cross, yes you are, you livid little lambiekins!

(My Pooh Project: I love Winnie the Pooh, and so does my wife. Having a daughter gave us a chance show more to indoctrinate her into the cult by buying and reading her every Pooh book we came across. How many is that? I’m going to count them this year by reading and reviewing one every day and seeing which month I finally run out. Track my progress here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/23954351-rod-brown?ref=nav_mybooks&she... ) show less

Although this is not an original Dr. Seuss book, the illustrations and diction of the text follows so closely, you don't necessarily notice. BUT, the entirety of the book is spent surveying the different levels, and wildlife of a rain forest, so it's message is more science driven and, well semi-preachy. It's important to understand the rain forests do need to be saved, but it's also important to recognize this book does not follow the typical ridiculousness of a Dr. Seuss original.