Eric Braun (1)

Author Eric Braun and illustrator Robert Squier explore the world of witches in this brief picture-book, part of Picture Window Books' Fairy Tale Superstar series. Establishing that witches are not real, the narrative runs through some of the common physical characteristics of the witches of story, as well as some of the things they like to do. Although noting that not all witches are evil—Tomie de Paola's Strega Nona and L. Frank Baum's Glinda are given as examples of good witches—for show more the most part the book concentrates on evil witches, and the havoc they cause in various famous tales. The book closes with a list of factors about witches, a glossary, index and list of further resources.

Because it is part of the Fairy Tale Superstar series, which also has titles focusing on everything from princesses to ogres, unicorns to dragons, I went into The Truth About Witches expecting that it would focus on witchy figures from fairy-tales, rather than addressing the wider topic of witches. This allowed me to enjoy what was presented, even though, as an examination of witches in general—whether in history, or in world folklore (as opposed to fairy-tales specifically)—it would fall rather short. I appreciated that it mentioned both classic fairy-tale authors like Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, as well as more modern writers like Tomie de Paola and J.K. Rowling. There were a few points of confusion that I think ought to have been cleared up, including the statement that goddesses like Circe, from Homer's Odyssey, were akin to contemporary witches. Of course, Circe is a witch/sorceress figure, but calling her a goddess and then saying that goddesses are pretty much the same thing as witches, is inaccurate and odd—one wouldn't say the gods of any tradition were the same thing as wizards, surely? I think this section should have been worded more carefully, with the information that Circe was a sorceress/witch and a minor goddess, rather than making the claim, as the author did, that "a goddess is like a modern fairy-tale witch."

Leaving this aside, I did appreciate this as a very basic exploration of the witch figure, as she appears in stories with which young people—the audience for this title—might be familiar. The digital artwork from Squier is colorful and vivid, ably capturing many different witch-like figures. Recommended to young fairy-tale fans and readers who enjoy witchy fare, as a companion to their entertainment reading. show less

In this choose-your-own-adventure version of Red Riding Hood, the reader has three scenarios to choose from. Will it be the modern day city where the evil fairy tale wolves have retired, but still hunt in the park at night? How about the wartime setting of children being smuggled through the woods to keep them safe from the wolfish soldiers? Or perhaps the future where everyone wears Focus Hoods and is under the mind control of the hoods, except for brave resistance fighters like Agent show more Granny would suit you better? Whichever setting you choose, there are also many choices within each story. Do you trust the wolf or run? Do you try to fight or freeze in terror? Does someone rescue you? Do you rescue yourself? Or do wind up becoming dessert for a hairy villain?

I was not too sure about this tale. There was definitely some dark undertones to the choices when you picked the path where children were being kidnapped in WWI or the control stories of the future. There was a lot of rescues by shotgun and the familiar tale was in there too. This book could be read over and over with different choices being made each time. I think this book is definitely for middle grades or older.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

This series features Pearl, a young Asian girl with a diverse cast of friends, who enjoys exploring science. It's part of Capstone's 4D augmented reality science experience titles. Pages with a star icon can be scanned with an app and add additional resources and information to the reading experience. There are also online resources. I do have a few families who like these additional resources, and I've purchased some of Capstone's origami 4D titles as I think the linked videos will be show more helpful, but I don't personally have the technology to review this aspect of the book.

The narrative starts with Pearl and her friend Sal hanging out and observing the sunset. They segue into a discussion of the seasons and, with the help of friends and family and her science notebook, Pearl learns about the seasons. Rotation of the earth, changes in the sun, and even some brief mentions of climate change are referenced as Pearl learns all about how seasons are created. Additional questions and science activities are included at the end.

This is one that I think is best-suited for use in a classroom or teaching situation, especially with the added tech. The text is fairly lengthy and doesn't really work well as a story. I felt that it was pushing it a bit to make it narrative nonfiction and it would have done better as expository. However, some kids will click more with a story and I'm guessing the addition of videos and the other additional resources will clarify some of the scientific explanations that get a bit bogged down.

Verdict: I'll suggest this to my local charter school which enjoys resources like this for use with younger classes and also to some of my teachers and see if they find it useful.

ISBN: 9781515813439; Published 2017 by Capstone; Review copy provided by the publisher show less

I adored this book. It was at times heartbreaking and other times harrowing and it kept me wanting to read the next page (You know the type - just one more chapter and then sleep!...Yeah. It was that kind of book). I laughed, I cried, wonderfully written. Epic. 5 out of 5 stars. Awesome for kids!