The Taco Tuesday Cookbook by Laura Fuentes

"The Taco Tuesday Cookbook is the cookbook your family’s been dreaming of, because if there’s one thing we all can agree on, it’s that tacos are awesome. They’re customizable. They’re quick. They’re tasty. And most importantly, they make us all happy!"

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So I haven't ever reviewed a cookbook before but who can pass up Tacos?? I mean they are tacos! The most awesome thing in the world.

So first off, it is exactly what it says it is : A cookbook about tacos. This book gives you 52 taco recipes so you can literally have a different taco every Tuesday for a whole year. It also provides sauce and drink recipes to add to your amazing main dish! One of the more interesting parts is the recipes for gluten free, vegetarian and paleo options, which means that dietary restrictions shouldn't stop you from 1.) purchasing this book and 2.) eating some freaking tacos on Taco Tuesday!

I did learn something from this book. I have had breakfast burritos before, but until this book I hadn't thought about breakfast tacos, and that alone made me so very excited to keep browsing this book. (Yes browsing, its a cookbook, I'm not going to read every single recipe) Also, the my daughter caught me looking at the breakfast tacos and we ended up having them for breakfast (Totally recommend the black bean and queso breakfast tacos!) and insisted we have tacos for breakfast this morning.

The last thing I would like to say about this cookbook, is that you dont have to have a ridiculous amount of time or money to make these tacos. The breakfast one we had actually said "1 can black beans" because this author KNOWS that soaking beans overnight just for breakfast tacos isn't always something someone can do when you have kids. These are easy recipes that would make a great edition to anyones house.

Hanger by Hirotaka Kisaragi

"In a futuristic Neo-Tokyo, crime is rising rapidly in the wake of a new generation of super-drugs capable of enhancing the user's physical and mental abilities. Hajime Tsukomo is a new recruit on a federal task force trained to go after these powered-up criminals. Now he must team up with Zeroichi, a so-called Hanger looking to reduce his own jail sentence in exchange for helping to take down these chemically-boosted bad guys."

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What appears to be another hit from Kisaragi, Hanger is set up to be a great new manga series that is a must read for fans. Unfortunately I had a hard time reading it due to format issues, which hopefully will not translate out into the actual novel copies.

Hanger jumps right into the action with a nice opening scene presenting us with both main characters front and center. It gives us readers a sense of Zeroichi (01) and Hajimes' relationship and sets us up for great character development throughout the series. The backdrop for this relationship is well thought out and (even if a tad cliched) seems to work well with Kisaragis' style.

The Peoples Awards by Lily Murray

"Welcome to the People Awards! The ceremony is about to begin. Who will win the Best Hat award? Who will be named Bad-Tempered Musical Genius? Who gets the Stand Up For What You Believe In prize?

A celebration of 50 famous people from around the world who made history and changed the world for the better, with stunning art from award-winning artist Ana Albero."

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With full color illustrations, and pages brimming with information on everyone involved, The Peoples Award is a wonderful introduction to history both recent and not so recent, for curious kids! This book introduces you to a historical figure with a 2-3 paragraph blurb of what that person is famous for and gives you 4 great reasons that they have received their award at the bottom of the page. A cartoon representation of each person is given "portrait style" along with a quote. The second page devoted to each person is full of "snapshots", or illustrations of events that happened in that persons life as if a camera had been thee to see it. These are all followed up with descriptions.

Some awards have multiple earners, such as the Trailblazer Award. These pages contain 4 award recipients each who have a kind of "sub award"(ie: the shoot for the stars award) and a short description is given for each person.

Overall this book is a great addition to any curious kids bookshelf, or even a supplement to a history lesson in a school!

A List of all people featured: Albert Einstein • Wangari Maathai • Abraham Lincoln • Valentina Tereshkova • Leonardo da Vinci • Marie Curie • Mahatma Gandi • Trischa Zorn • Pablo Picasso • J. K. Rowling • Vincent Lingiari • Tim Berners-Lee • Ellen de Generes • Nelson Mandela • Mary Anning • Alfred Nobel • Frida Kahlo • Louis Pasteur • Gabriel Garcia Marquez • Olaudah Equiano • David Bowie • Anne Frank • Confucius • Cleopatra • Pelé • Beethoven • Maria Montessori • Tegla Louroupe • Malala Yousefsai • Isaac Newton • Erno Rubik • Sejong the Great • Jan Amos Komenský • Katherine Johnson • Roald Amundsen • Hanae Mori • Eva Peron • Joan of Arc • Sir Donald Bradman • Queen Anna Nzinga • Rosa Parks • Muhammed Ali • Antonia Rodrigues • Simon Bolivar • Rigoberto Munchu • Antoni Gaudí •Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart • Hans Christian Andersen • Sappho

The Night Dragon by Naomi Howarth

"“I wish I could fly, and breathe fire, and fill the sky with great grey, sooty clouds,” Maud said to her friend, Mouse.

Maud is picked on by the other dragons, so stays cooped up in her cave, sad and lonely. But when the chance comes, will her friend Mouse help her pluck up the courage to fly? A beautiful picture book about individuality and friendship from Naomi Howarth."

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Bright, brilliant, and intuitive, The Night Dragon is a perfect book for bedtime. Its a very "wind down" style of writing that keeps a kid engaged in the story without riling them up with excess excitement at the crucial point in the night.

Its presents kids with a You-Can-Do-It story, (especially helpful in a time where kids are being faced with bullies more often than not) that shows them that, it doesn't matter what other people say, as long as you believe. It is also a reminder to always stick up for and encourage your friends, because you'd be surprised at what they can do with your support! 

Its nicely paced. The pages do not have a ridiculous amount of text, (which is a deterrent if you have a kid that wants 3 or more stories at bedtime!) and the text is set so that it doesn't detract from the wondrous almost watercolor like illustrations. Definitely recommend.

Welcome Back!

Hope everyone had a great 4th! I know I did! Lots of sun and swimming and a TON of explosives! So I've set up a bunch of stuff today. I've created a profile on Goodreads specifically for this blog. It has a "Currently Reading" section that I will try to keep up to date, and since I can post from here directly to GRs, It will be updated daily(ish) as well!

I also created a Facebook page that is empty at the moment, but everyone uses it so I figured I would need it at some point! XD It also occurred to me today that I had this blog listed as mine on Netgalley using my real name as an ID, so I changed that, Lol. And I will be going by my middle name, Anne, for anything that requires a name for now.

I added 2 more pages that can be found up top there ^ and one reads "Socials". You can find all links there for now. The other reads "Comics" and is blank. It is gonna be that way for now, but i'll let you know when there is content for your perusal!

10 Reasons to Love...a Lion by Frances Lincoln Children's Books

"Lions are magnificent animals! Did you know that lions are the only big cat to live in groups? Or that their roar can be heard for miles? Discover ten reasons why lions are amazing and five ways you can show they love them in this gorgeous picture book. A must for any young animal enthusiast and a fantastic introduction to environmental issues."

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10 Reasons, is a childs' book with full page color photos. It educates the reader on lions using text and images! The text tells you facts, IE: They are social cats. While the images present locales, and other animals, as well as plants that might be found in a lions habitat. This was my favorite part of the book honestly. The facts were something I would look up if a had a question about lions ( which you often have random questions you need to answer if you have kids!) But the illustrations brought the book to life with me.

The facts in the book are well presented and geared towards a 1st or 2nd grader, but are very child friendly even for the younger child.


10 Reasons releases on July 5th 2018!

Mae Vol 1 by Gene Ha

"Mae's beloved older sister, Abbie, has been missing for years. Mae has her theories about where Abbie might be. But nowhere in her wildest imagination do those theories encompass a fantasy world full of terrifying monsters, power-hungry nobles, and nefarious scientists. That is, until Abbie suddenly reappears in Mae's world. And not alone."

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This fully colored novel, has its roots in what has to be some of the Author/Artists fandoms, while still being its own book. Its' hints at Dr Who, Oz, Narnia and others make it a comfortable book to get into. The artists rendering is beautiful and its no wonder way hes won awards for previous work. I feel like Gene Ha is in a unique position because of his many talents, to be able to match the text to the illustrations and vice versa. The pictures and text play well together, and enhance your journey with Mae and Abbie.

With the semi fast pace, you kind of feel rushed to take everything in, but it wasn't a deterrent to keep reading. If anything it made me want to keep reading.

Despite it being a pretty great read, I doubt I would buy it. I usually buy books that I can't stop thinking about, and this one is one that hasn't particularly crossed my mind since reading it.

Mae releases soon July 10th 2018! You can get it here

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It has come to my attention as I was grabbing the Amazon link, that this is a new printing/ new artistic rendering?? of Gene Has' comic released February 2017.