Rebecca Donnelly

This is a goofy rhyming book about the zany behavior of cats, as observed by a group of young scientists. It enumerates the many properties of a liquid and shows cats performing all of them: slopping, plopping, drizzling, sloshing, flopping. It goes through the water cycle and weather, shows scientists weighing and measuring, and settles on the conclusion: cats are a liquid, except when they're not. The cartoonish illustrations, reminiscent of webcomics, is the perfect delivery system for a show more whole lot of cat pictures. This might be over-the-top silly if I hadn't taught states of matter to 6- to 9-year-olds and seen firsthand that "is a cat a liquid?" is a question that might seriously give pause to someone just learning the rules of the universe. show less

Thanks to Kick-butt Kidlit for a free copy of How to Stage a Catastrophe!

This book is absolutely adorable and hilarious. Filled with plenty of theatre moments and larger-than-life characters, this is a book I wish I could send back in time to my past self (a.k.a., the mirror in a library production of Snow White). There's plenty of business stuff in here, and it's unexpectedly funny -- I think for both adults and kids alike. And I think my favourite part is how the book is written. It's like show more equal parts a theatre script and Sid walking alongside you and chatting your ear off.

An endearing book that I will definitely be recommending! show less

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Netgalley for the advance copy! All opinions shared below are 100% my own.

"Chess Club: The Winning Move" b Rebecca Donnelly is an excellent read for children looking to find their place in the world. What starts as a way for Halima to find other chess players turns into a found family for all four main characters.

When I first picked up the book (I try to read all books before gifting or recommending them to my nieces and nephews), I show more assumed that Halima will be the protagonist. It's very difficult to find muslim representation in children literature where the focus is not on religious identity. That's something I especially appreciated about Halima's depiction here. While, yes, her faith is an important part of her identity, it's not all she thinks about. She is simply a middle grade girl who, alongside her best friend, is trying to start a chess club.

I was delighted to find out that while Halima is the driving factor of the book, there are also three other main characters:
- Jem, Halima's bestie and neighbour, who is bright, creative and a true friend through and through. She's also a great rep for neurodivergent and queer children.
- Daniel, a smart introverted boy, who long for a mystery and, along the way, discovers himself and makes new friends.
- Parker, a fun-loving creative boy, who wants to make a name for himself after living in his family's shadow most of his life and feeling like he's always doing what others expects him to do.

Each chapter presents the unfolding events from one of the four main characters' POVs. They all get a chance to shine and readers will find at least one of them relatable.

The story is pretty cute. It does actually have an interesting plot twist that is revealed in epilogue that I myself found very creative. Overall, it was a delightful quick read.

The reason I am giving this book 5-stars, however, is I really admire how the book introduces young readers to the history and rules of chess using illustrations and the story itself. You emerge from the book having learned not just the names of the pieces or their movements, but a lot of terminology from the chess world, some of the openings and even tournament rules and flow. It's done in an approachable and fun way and is fully integrated in the story that I think makes it effective at teaching the reader without throwing too much at them.

All in all, this was a delightful read and I'm planning on purchasing it for my family.

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The simple text of this amusing new picture-book from author Rebecca Donnelly and illustrator Misa Saburi describes all the ways and circumstances in which our feline friends are liquids - the way they drape themselves, or laze about in relaxed puddles - while the artwork shows them cavorting in various ways. Of course, cats are a liquid, except when they aren't (such as when one is attempting to give them a bath), something also depicted in text and artwork...

Any reader who has ever seen a show more cat do something like this:



will know that the title of this new picture-book is 100% accurate! As it happens, the title of this one is really what drew me in, although I do have a distinct weakness for any picture-book featuring felines. I wasn't that thrilled with the text itself, as I thought it often felt a little scattered, but the idea of the book, along with the cute cartoon-style artwork, kept me entertained. There's even a brief afterword discussing the science of various states of matter. Recommended to all cat lovers, who will appreciate learning about the liquid qualities of their favorite animals! show less