The Time of Green Magic by Hilary McKay (MG Book Review)

 

The Time of Green Magic

by Hilary McKay

Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books

on July 28. 2020

Genre: Middle Grade, Magical Realism, Fantasy

Length: 240 pages

Ages: 8 - 12 years

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Synopsis:
From award-winning author Hilary McKay comes a beautiful, enchanting story about a girl adjusting to her new family and their new house--which just might be magical. 


My Thoughts:
The Time of Green Magic is a cute magical realism MG novel about two families that become one and move into a fantastic new house that has a bit of 'green magic' to it! 

Abi lost her mother in a car crash when she was just a baby. Max and Louis' father walked out on them. When their parents, Theo and Polly, meet years later, it's love at first sight.
Soon, they're married, moved in together, and house hunting for the perfect big family house, which ends up being a neat ivy-covered house with colorful stained glass windows and really really quiet neighbors.  But there's something odd about the house, and when Abi finds herself falling into the books she reads, she realizes there's something magical going on! 

This cute middle-grade novel covers a lot of real-life subjects and situations, from loss of parents, abandonment, blended families, sibling rivalry, school-age crushes, and more... 

with a dash of magic added! 

If Pluto Was a Pea by Gabrielle Prendergast (Nonfiction Picture Book Review)

If Pluto Was A Pea
Written by Gabrielle Prendergast
Illustrated by Rebecca Gerlings
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books
on August 20, 2019
Genre: Children's, Nonfiction, Picture Book
Length: 40 pages
Ages: 4 - 8 years

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Synopsis:
Join two curious kids as they explore their backyard, and contemplate their place within our vast universe in this adorable picture book that's full of comparisons to help kids understand cosmic size.

If Pluto was a pea...
the Sun would be like a tent,
Mercury would be a marble,
and Earth would be a golf ball.

Pluto is the smallest planet in our solar system, but how small is small? As it turns out, it only takes the contents of a lunchbox and a backyard to find out.

Our Thoughts:

Have you ever wondered how big the sun would be if Pluto were the size of a pea? Or if Earth were the size of a golf ball?

Join these two curious kids as they ponder the skies and the planets while camping in their back yard. 

This fascinating introduction to scale will help kids better understand the difference in sizes between the planets in our solar system.

Includes measurements in both Metric and Imperial style and end pages that show the planets lined up in order, from marble-sized Mercury to pea-sized Pluto, with Earth's and Pluto's even smaller moons shown as well!

Follow

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson (YA Fantasy Book Review)

Sorcery of Thorns 

by Margaret Rogerson

Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books

on June 4, 2019

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Length: 456 pages

Ages: 14 - 17 years

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Synopsis:

All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer's Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery--magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power. 

Then an act of sabotage releases the library's most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth's desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. 

My Thoughts:

Sixteen-year-old Elisabeth Scrivener was raised in one of the Great Libraries where the most powerful grimoires are kept under lock and key. She desires to work her hardest and become a warden and protect the realm someday, but her chance is cut short when she wakes mysteriously one night to find a most terrible grimoire has escaped and killed her library's Director. Soon after, she is blamed with the death and carried off to await her judgment. She soon uncovers a plot against her life and her world while the only person who seems to care enough to help her is the Nathaniel Thorn, a sorcerer.

This was a fantastic fantasy with mystery, danger, and a hint of romance as well! It has sorcery and demons and magic libraries and grimoires that come to life and transform into monsters.
All the Harry Potter vs Shadow and Bone vibes!

The main character, Elisabeth, has grown up around the magical books in the Great Libraries listening to them sing and cry and wail. As a fellow bookworm, I was endeared to her and the setting right away. Elisabeth showed herself to be loyal, fierce, and pretty badass with a sword, making her a character I won't forget soon. 

There was a bit of a Pride and Prejudice element to the romance since Elisabeth had been taught to view sorcery as evil and originally thinks Nathaniel Thorn is cruel, but she unlearns her prejudices and begins to see him differently. It was a nice slow-burn romance nicely woven into a wonderful fantasy plot. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lazy Day Lit (@lazydaylit) on Jun 30, 2019 at 4:47am PDT

Follow

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (Graphic Novel Book Review)

Through the Woods

by Emily Carroll
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books 
on July 1, 2014

Genre: Young Adult, Graphic Novel, Horror

Length: 208 pages

Ages: 14 - 17 years

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Literary Awards:
Bram Stoker Award Nominee for Best Graphic Novel (2014)
Green Carnation Prize Nominee for Longlist (2014)
IGN Award for Best Original Graphic Novel (2014)
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Graphic Novels & Comics (2014)
Milwaukee County Teen Book Award (2015)
British Fantasy Award for Best Comic/Graphic Novel (2015)
Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards for Best Graphic Novel Album-Reprint (2015)
Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (2017)
Lincoln Award Nominee (2017)

Synopsis:

'It came from the woods. Most strange things do.'

Five mysterious, spine-tingling stories follow journeys into (and out of?) the eerie abyss. 

These chilling tales spring from the macabre imagination of acclaimed and award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll. 

Come take a walk in the woods and see what awaits you there...

My Thoughts:

Five delightfully macabre stories in graphic novel form, Through the Woods is both spine-tingling and satisfying!

The tales range from mysterious, to paranormal, to science fiction.
I most enjoyed 'A Lady's Hands Are Cold' which was more of a ghost story, but the first story, 'Our Neighbor's House' was quite mysterious and made me stop to think about the short story before I could go on.  

It's darkly illustrated and rather macabre but still very beautiful and unique. I'd love to own it for the artwork alone if not for the stories!

This reminded me very much of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Albert Schwartz, which I loved and reread many times as a kid, as well as Edgar Allan Poe, so it's a must-own if you love horror and dark graphic novels.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lazy Day Lit (@lazydaylit) on Jun 4, 2019 at 7:46am PDT