The Unfinished Garden

by Barbara Claypole White

I have finally finished a book! It was a good read. The story is about a recently widowed mother who immersed herself in her gardening business (a wholesale nursery) in order to escape her grief and guilt. Her husband died in a hospital, under circumstances which aren't revealed until much later, as the main character Tilly is having trouble facing them herself. She soon meets James Nealy, a very successful man with his own inner battles. He suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder (and a myriad of other troubles, it seems) and has determined to finally overcome some of his deepest fears by creating a garden. He finds Tilly's nursery and is immediately affected by her garden; demands that she help him make one. Tilly refuses; she doesn't do landscape design. She thinks that's the end of it and moves back to England to confront a family emergency- her mother is ailing. Once there she feels immediately back at home, but is confronted by a host of new troubles- namely that her ex-boyfriend of many years is suddenly hanging around. And before long the unexpected happens when James shows up as well. It makes for a very interesting triangle as the three try to work out their feelings.

And that's what most of this story was about. James struggling to put aside his compulsions, and win Tilly's heart. Tilly trying to figure out what she wants, still grieving her husband and now faced with two very different men both of whom she finds attractive. There are other little dynamics in the form of her mother who seems to know everything that's going on, her best friend who is acting surprisingly chummy with both James and the ex-boyfriend, and her son who was one of my favorite characters- a very likable boy and surprisingly even-tempered considering all that he's going through. There wasn't nearly enough about gardening itself to suit me, but I did find the descriptions of life with OCD interesting. And the storyline had enough unexpected turns (in the relationship dynamics) to keep me curious about what would happen at the end. It was a light, satisfying read.

For once this was a review copy I accepted from the publisher, Harlequin. I was interested because this book dovetailed two of my reading interests- gardening and mental illness. I wasn't much disappointed in that, but I should have paid more attention to the publisher name and realized what I was really getting into was a romance! No real complaints there, it was light for a romance (in my opinion). That means no explicit scenes, just suggestions of what happens behind the closed doors...

I have two copies of this book available to give away! If you'd like to receive one, just let me know in the comments. Sorry, shipping to the US and Canada only. Giveaway ends 10/17/12.

rating: 3/5 ........ 364 pages, 2012

more opinions:
Good Girl Gone Redneck
Book Journey
Steph the Bookworm
Library of Clean Reads

aquisitions

There is something really dumb about buying more books when you're about to pack up over 600 of them into boxes for a move (and that's not counting the two-hundred-odd children's books, either!) But I just can't resist the annual library sale. Here's what I came home with:

A few board books for the little one- I like Maisy (and she enjoys lift-the-flaps right now), she likes chickens (says "bawk-bawk") and the numbers one is cute.

My stack. A few notes on them.

Rivethead by Ben Hamper- I swear this book used to be in my house, but I let it go for some reason. Finding another copy made me intrigued to try reading it again, dunno if that will be fruitful or not.

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist- I liked the film (and I don't usually care for vampire stories); have heard the book is good too.

The Devious Book for Cats and The Dangerous Book for Dogs by Joe Gardner et al- these look like fun, and I was tickled to find them as a pair. Remind me of Paul Gallico's book The Silent Miaow- instruction manuals for pets. Looks very humorous.

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman- I think this one was on my tbr already, seen it on a blog somewhere. It's about how the earth might change if humans disappeared.

Herbal Medicine by Dian Dincin Buchman and The Honest Herbal by Varro Tyler- as my garden is getting reduced to a patio collection mostly of herbs, I thought I might learn a bit more about their uses.

Seasonal Guide to the Natural Year- this looks good! A book about my region- the mid-atlantic- telling you what to expect/observe at different times of the year in nature.

The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden- another book I'm suspicious is on my tbr list, its title looks so familiar. It's handwritten notes with beautiful sketches of plants, birds and other small wildlife. I can't wait to peruse this one.

Minerals: Gifts from the Earth by Julie Kerr Casper-  okay, not really sure why I picked up this one. I guess I was amused to see a book about my friend's hobby, written by someone who has his name as their last name. I might even read it- it's a junior non-fiction book so can't be too difficult on a possibly boring subject. Hm.

The final book at the bottom of the stack was turned sideways to make a nice base and I forgot you wouldn't be able to see the spine. Perspective Sketches. It's an art book of drawings by Theodore Walker. I was interested in them because of the different styles of buildings, trees, linework and materials. I'm not too good at drawing architecture or trees but would like to expand my skills, so it's nice to have something inspiring to look at.

That's it! As usual most of these books will probably sit on my shelves for weeks, months, perhaps even years before I read their pages. But they have a home with me now.

Catching Fire

by Suzanne Collins

I feel like there's no real way I can do this book justice, particularly as my mind has been very distracted lately, but here's my impressions anyways. Catching Fire takes off directly where The Hunger Games left off. Having survived the brutal Games, Katniss should have a life of ease now, with a house of her own, more money than she knows what to do with, friends right next door. But of course since she blatantly thwarted the Capitol in her move to win the Games, they've got their eyes on her. Unwittingly she finds herself mixed up in the throes of a rebellion, and thrown into danger when she least expects it. Once again forced into the arena of the Games, she must depend on her wits to survive, hopefully to pull her friends through as well. Things are in turmoil, danger is looming, the government is seething with corruption, people have hidden agendas etc etc. It's always hard for me to write about sequels without giving too much away so I think I'll just stop there. Honestly I was quite surprised at the turn this book took, I wasn't expecting the events that rose up, at all. And even though it was my escape-read of the moment, which meant I didn't really get lost in a gripping story but instead used it to distract myself before going back into the real (lately often unpleasant) world, the last page had me immediately wanting to pick up Mockingjay to see what happens next. It's got that kind of cliffhanger, to grab my attention even when I wasn't really trying to give it. Yeah, I've been a pretty lame reader of late. And still I can tell you this is a good read. It's got angst, rebellion, love, action, suspense, intellectual challenges, survivalist moves, futuristic weirdness (which always intrigues me).... I just wasn't in the mood to give it all my appreciation. For that reason probably going to wait awhile until I read the third in this series. So I can give it its due. Properly.

Do the book a favor and read a few of the reviews linked below.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 399 pages, 2012

more opinions: Ardent Reader

who else? I know some of you've read it!

hiatus

This blog is experiencing an interruption of its normal publishing schedule, for now and into an unpredictable amount of time in the future...

Seeing as it's been over two weeks since I last posted and I am still lingering in the middle of a book, I suppose it's time for a notification of sorts. I used to be so good about posting regularly, even finding thoughts to share on past reads when I hadn't recently finished a book. But a lot has changed in my life recently, including the start of a new job and a pending move. I am lucky to be able to work from home, but between the kids and the work hours there is little-to-none "me time" left. I've been reading Catching Fire for weeks now (and its the kind of book I normally would not be able to put down!) For the most part my reading has been in little snatches, mostly simple, entertaining stuff like Thornton Burgess stories (which no one else seems interested in) or fascinating but still relatively short articles from back issues of National Geographic. I have one promised review copy sitting waiting on my shelf but after that will no longer be accepting books for review, until further notice. So my blogging activity is going to be very sparse now, with posts here just once a week or even less frequently. Just didn't want you all thinking I'd fallen off the face of the earth! I'm still here, just very occupied in this new phase of my life.

As a good indication of how upside down things are around here, my blog turned five years old last month and I didn't even notice!

The Wake

Sandman Vol 10
by Neil Gaiman

Once again, I'm a bit disappointed to say that Sandman didn't quite wow me like I kept hoping it would. I feel like it's a failing on my part, though, not at all a reflection on the works.

The main part of this book is about the wake held in memory of Morpheus, for he has passed on and his son Daniel taken his place as the new Dream King. Loads of characters from the previous volumes make an appearance, quite a few which I didn't really remember well (wished I had all the previous volumes on hand to flip back to). Morpheus' previous lovers remember him in their own ways (some say a lot, others nothing at all), his family members take turns speaking, many many others have their say but most of them are just alluded to. I did chuckle at the Batman bit, and I haven't even read those, just know what I've picked up from pop culture and a few films. On the other side of this story we see the new Dream King adjusting to his new role, meeting the denizens of the realm, bringing a few servants back to life, etc. The raven gets quite a big part as he grieves Morpheus' end and tries to decide if he wants to stay on and serve the new Dream King (who proves quite soon that he's a different entity from his father, even if in the same role and now bearing the same knowledge...)

There are several shorter stories at the end, one showing Hob (still one of my favorite characters) attending a renaissance fair with his present girlfriend, and complaining about how unlike the past it really is (which made me laugh, as I've often wondered how accurate any kind of re-enactment is to what it purports to remember). Hob is disgusted by the revelry and bad pronunciations of old English (or whatever it's supposed to be) and goes off to get drunk when he meets Death who informs him of Morpheus' passing and offers him the opportunity to end his long existence as well...

Another little tale is of an old man sent into exile. While crossing a vast desert he rescues a kitten, then wanders into the outskirts of the dream realm, where he meets his dead son and then encounters the Dream King himself, has a brief conversation with him, finds his way out again. Lovely brushwork illustrations in that one.

The final story is about Shakespeare writing The Tempest (a play I really like) under Morpheus' inspiration. Interesting stuff. But still, for some reason parts of the book I enjoyed most were the eloquent introduction, and the quirky artwork at the end portraying the artists/contributors! Another thing I really do like about these books is to see how the various artists depict the same reappearing characters in their very different styles. It's really intriguing to see how I can recognize their faces and gestures even when they come from the stroke of a different artist's pen.

This is the last book in the Dream King's story arc, but I find quite a few other companion volumes listed in the back, like The Dream Hunters (which I think remains me favorite)- one that has stories featuring each of the Endless family members, another pair of volumes about his sister Dream, etc. I think I might enjoy those, so going to look for them someday.

Rating: 3/5 ......... 192 pages, 1996

more opinions:
Stella Matutina
Such a Book Nerd

Mrs. Peter Rabbit

by Thornton W. Burgess

In this little book Peter Rabbit is suddenly feeling restless and lonely. He needs a change of scenery so leaves his home and visits the Old Pasture. On the way he has a narrow escape from an owl which leaves him injured. Hiding in a strange place with smarting wounds, Peter is miserable for some time but then starts exploring the new environment and his spirits lift somewhat with the adventure of it all. He learns that another, larger and older rabbit, lives in the Old Pasture territory and has a few scrapes with the stranger. Almost ready to give up fighting and go home when he discovers another rabbit lives here as well: a gentle, timid rabbit with soft eyes- a girl rabbit, of course! So Peter is determined to stay and make her acquaintance, and he ends up taking her back home with him as his new mate. The two rabbits set up housekeeping and of course soon start a family, although they try to keep that secret hidden for a while. Having read quite a few of these Burgess books by now, I soon recognized a pattern of a restless young male animal going off in search of adventure and then finding a companion. This one reminded me a lot of the woodchuck's story. None of the usually present moralistic themes jumped out at me (but then I read a lot while tired, and in bits and snatches) aside from the one of minding your own business, as lots of Peter's friends wanted to poke their noses in where they weren't wanted, when he suddenly returned home with Mrs. Peter!

It's funny that I never thought of the Mrs. Peter Rabbit character before as Peter's wife. I've read several of the books out of order, so met her before and she was always worrying about Peter's recklessness and chiding him; sounded like a mother to me, I guess! (Also, I have a perpetual image in my head of Peter as the Peter Rabbit from Beatrix Potter, who was always a young bunny living at home with his mom).

My computer is out of sorts so if you're reading this post with no cover image it's because I'm not working on my own computer; I'll post images up soon as it's fixed!

Rating: 3/5 ........ 64 pages, 1919

Babies, Babies!

by Debby Slier

A baby book could not be more simple. This one is just baby faces showing a variety of identified expressions and activities: smiling, pouting, crying, looking curious or surprised. My child's favorite page seems to be the one of a little girl peeking through her hands; she always stops on that page and wants to initiate a peek-a-boo game herself. She just loves looking at pictures of other babies her age, something I wish more board-book publishers would realize, as I have trouble finding any more books like this at the library. Of course, it could just be that they're popular with other toddlers as well and so are never available on the shelf. Very cute!

rating: 3/5 ........ 12 pages, 2012

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

I've had Catching Fire sitting on my TBR shelf for ages, but never felt motivated yet to find the first book at the library and start the trilogy. But then my sister gave me a copy of the Hunger Games, so I've been reading it over the past few weeks. Slow going only because other events in my life have limited reading time of late; the story actually moves very quickly and its one of those books that are hard to put down; you want to just read straight to the end.

So- in case you don't know the brief version, The Hunger Games is a dystopian story set in a future country called Panem where the United States used to be. There's twelve districts all in subservience to the Capital and periodically in order to assert their authority the Capital requires each district to offer up two teenagers to participate in the Games. The kids are prepped and then thrown together into a wilderness arena where they basically fight to the death- it's a game of elimination. The last one alive wins glory, fame, wealth for life, you name it. Oh, and it's all televised and everyone's required to watch. So not only does Katniss (our female protagonist) have to pit her wits against her peers in the Games, she also has to keep in mind how the audience responds to what she does (or doesn't do) as gaining favor with viewers can earn her support. It's really a gruesome thing, this life-or-death reality tv battle. There's plenty of harrowing scenes. But somehow those didn't stick with me. The writing is sparse yet descriptive; I found it easy to gloss over the gory details and instead enjoyed the adventure, the survivalist aspect of it all, the intrigue between the characters. Pretty gripping stuff. I don't think I'd like to see it on the screen, though. I think that would be too much for me.

rating: 3/5 ........ 374 pages, 2008

more opinions (just a few of many): 
Maw Books Blog
Jenny's Books
Puss Reboots
I Read a Lot of Books

Funny Farm

by David Doepker

This cute board book is just close-ups of animal faces, all living on a farm. It's the captions that make it so amusing- the horse curling his lip is proclaimed to tell jokes, the cross-looking chickens are declared "pushy", a goat posed regally and shot from a low angle is touted as being "as big as the sky." The "happy hog" really does have a big smile on its face; the only picture that doesn't really seem to fit is the shaggy sheep- he's really not that shaggy. I've seen ones with much longer wool! Regardless, it's really cute and flows with singsong phrases that introduce kids to animals attributed with recognizable emotions or personalities. The pictures are big and bold, which makes it really attractive to my little one.

rating: 4/5 ........ 16 pages, 2004

Kitten's Summer

by Eugenie Fernandes

I finally got hold of a copy of Kitten's Summer from the library, completing this little quartet of picture books. Lush illustrations made of paint washes, cut paper and modeled clay collages show the little kitten exploring the forest around his farm during a rain shower. We see flowers blooming, baby animals hiding from the rain with their mothers- raccoons, squirrel infants in a leafy nest, a fuzzy robin chick under its mother's wing. My favorite was the darling little nest of baby rabbits under a bush. The details of leaf, twigs, forest litter, raindrops and other tiny things and textures are just exquisite. And there are snails and other small creepy critters tucked into corners just awaiting discovery. It's an adorable book full of woodland wonders to explore on every page. When the kitten comes back home at the end of the book, a basket of strawberries and freshly-picked peas next to muddy boots show the bounty that nature provides in the garden during the summer as well. Lovely!

rating: 4/5 ........ 24 pages, 2011

One Moon, Two Cats

by Laura Godwin
illustrated by Yoko Tanaka

I seldom find and read a book so quickly after seeing a review of it online, but this time I did. Something about what Puss Reboots said of this picture book made it sound appealing, so I went and checked it out.

One Moon, Two Cats shows what two different cats are up to at night while their owners sleep. A fluffy white cat lounges on a little girl's bed in a city bedroom; a somewhat sneaky-looking tabby seems to be just waiting for the moment to escape from his boy's room in the country. Both cats stretch and jump out the window, go strolling along high vantage points, sniff about and then chase mice. Even though their environment is different- city streets and grassy countryside lanes- they both delight in the same feline activities. A thunderstorm frightens them home where they curl up to sleep just as the children awake, having no idea what their kitties have been up to. The text is simply, brief phrases that rhyme nicely. The acrylic paintings have a lovely soft texture, and the cats' faces are really expressive with their knowing eyes. I liked it.

rating: 3/5 ........ 32 pages, 2011

Kenneth Graham's The Reluctant Dragon

retold by Robert D. San Souci
illustrated by John Segal

This is the Reluctant Dragon book I found browsing, that made me look for the original. And it is nearly cut in half. The length, I mean. But the text is lifted so easily that the story still reads seamlessly. Having read the first one so recently I recognized passages immediately and could tell where parts were missing- conversations cut short, detailed descriptions just not there. It lost some of its whimsy and charm, but still a good story. The boy has a name here; he's called Jack. He doesn't express glee at the dragon's prospect of a fight, which I noticed right away. Not much else stood out to me as being different. The pictures are charming but rather small, however there are several on each page and the font is one of those that makes you read slow and careful, holding the book perhaps a little closer than usual, which makes you see those bitty pictures up close too. Well, I enjoyed it and so did my seven-year-old who read it after me. But I still prefer the original, it has just that much more character that's missing a bit here.

rating: 3/5 ........ 40 pages, 2004

books are my ally

It's become pretty much a regular thing in my house that there's always a little stack of board books by the potty. At first it was just a way to get her to sit still long enough to do her business, but now she insists on having a book read to her (often that's just two or three pages!) even if she's already tinkled. A few times I've taken her potty into the bathroom so she can join me there and she runs out to get a book and brings it back with her. I think it's kind of funny. I have to keep rotating which books are sitting there to keep her interest in them long enough for moments when a bit of patience is needed.

The books have also started helping with my older daughter as well. She's been having some rather late nights and very early mornings of late, and I've been suggesting naps but of course she balks strongly at the idea. Today I was putting the baby down for a nap and handed older daughter a picture book I'd brought home just to read for myself. She started reading, picked up another one, and when I looked back over she'd fallen asleep! And I think she really needed it because she slept for several hours. I know I can find a lot more picture books at the library that are sophisticated enough to hold her attention, even though on her own she'd rather read chapter books. Perhaps I can coax her into some daily quiet time and induce a few more naps...!       

The Reluctant Dragon

by Kenneth Grahame

This is one of those books I just can't believe I never read before! It's a charming little story about a boy who befriends a dragon near his cottage home. The dragon is quite the gentleman, loves poetry, and is also rather lazy- he likes his quiet time, let's say. The local villagers discover his cave is occupied and get quite upset. Even though he's never bothered them or so much as set foot in the village, they ask the famous knight St. George to come get rid of the dragon. When the knight arrives, everyone is eager to see a battle- except that the dragon doesn't want to fight at all. The boy is just as excited as the others about a fight, but of course he wants to help his friend. How can he work out the situation? I thought the solution quite clever, and funny too. The original illustrations by Ernest Shepard (of Winnie-the-Pooh fame) are just lovely.

I really discovered this one because of another, newer edition with colored illustrations that I found on a library shelf. I wanted to read the original before the adapted version. It's really not a long story so I'm not sure why it had to be adapted, but I'll find out soon enough if a lot of text got cut; reading that one next.

rating: 4/5 ........ 48 pages, 1966

The Kindly Ones

Sandman Vol 9

by Neil Gaiman

As usual, reading a Sandman volume has been a rather uneven experience for me. I could see very well that the storyline was pulling in loose threads from previous volumes, and characters reappeared that I hadn't seen since the beginning. But unfortunately since I have been borrowing these from the library I don't have the earlier volumes on hand so couldn't check back to refresh my memory of those storylines and characters that started resurfacing. So there was quite a bit that went over my head, but the main arc managed to hold my attention: Dream's realm is facing possible destruction. Wronged woman from his past comes with revenge on her mind. That creepy Corinthian guy with the teeth in his eyes goes searching for Morpheus' son (the younger one, that lives in the waking world) and the intriguingly flighty Delirium is looking for the dog she adopted from Destruction.... lots of other stuff happens, but mostly it is about this revenge being enacted, and the Dream King resigning himself to his fate- out of duty? I thought the bit about Nuala, the fairy who preferred her plain face, most touching.

One of the things I really enjoy about these volumes, strange to say, is their forwards and the after-pages that introduce the author and illustrators. The forwards are always written so eloquently and gushing with praise I'm always just a tad disappointed when I read the bulk of the pages. And the parts at the end with all the contributors are just funny. They're always uniquely bizzare and curious. This time those final pages had old-looking black and white snapshots of children with one-liner descriptions. (Another volume had hand-drawn crazily expressive portraits for each, and I can't remember the others now but they were equally amusing). I also enjoy seeing how the artwork changes with each volume- different artists depicting the now-familiar characters in their own style, but still making them quite recognizable even to me, who has trouble following who's who sometimes.

Moving on to the tenth soon.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 352 pages, 1993

more opinions:
Graphic Novels Challenge

in the bookshelf

I have a small bookshelf in the living room that is just for the little one's board books. She seems to enjoy pulling them all off the shelf just as much as turn the pages or bring one to me to read.

Today she took this activity to a new level and climbed into the shelf herself once it was emptied.

Then tried to pull the books back in with her- and got stuck, of course.
Silly girl!

Kitten's Winter

by Eugenie Fernandes

The final book in a little quartet that depicts a kitten exploring the seasons. In the opening scene we see the farm blanketed by winter: the fields covered with snow, the little pond iced over, trees bare of leaves, a snowman in the yard. As Kitten hurries to get home through a mild snowstorm, the reader gets to see how wildlife experiences the winter world. We meet some birds that stay at home: a blue jay and cardinal perched in evergreens, a chickadee on a shrub with some red berries, woodpecker rapping on a tree. We see which animals sleep through the winter: the beaver in its house, raccoon in a tree, turtle burrowed under the ground, chipmunk in its nest, bear in a den. Other animals are out and about searching for food: rabbit, fox, squirrel, even an otter catching a fish. A skunk huddles in a hollow log, a mouse scurries through his tunnel. There are even fish depicted beneath the ice! (Torpid from the cold?) The kitten scampers through the background, sometimes just barely visible as a patch of russet fur, making it fun for kids to try and find him on each page. On the last spread before he gets back home, just his pawprints are seen in the snow. As Kitten enters the house he finds mittens, hats and snow boots on the floor, children's drawings of the animals, books and a mug on the table- nice winter activities I agree! And already there is a hint of spring: some flower bulbs blooming in a pot. The textured illustrations made of sculpted clay, cut paper and paint are just wonderful, something you must see. I'm keeping my eyes out for more Fernandes books now. (And I haven't yet read Kitten's Summer but it's on my request list).

Borrowed from the public library.

rating: 4/5 ........ 24 pages, 2011

Kitten's Autumn

by Eugenie Fernandes

This little book is just as charming as the first. In the opening farm scene we see the pumpkins in the field that was green leaves before, tilled bare earth in the flowerbed, a rake leaning against the house, leaves falling, an empty nest in the tree. As Kitten explores his surroundings he meets birds and caterpillars, finds pinecones and nuts on the ground, sees squirrels busy gathering food for winter. There's a porcupine chewing on a shoe, a bear getting into a stump for honey, a big fish eating a smaller one. Raccoons are after the corn, a skunk slurps worms, a chickadee picks seeds from a sunflower. When the kitten comes back inside, stuff just inside the door indicate what people have been doing: gathering apples and pears, baking pies. Lovely book that shows all kinds of indications of the season, how animals live and find food in nature, with beautiful textures and the Kitten himself hiding throughout the scenery. The illustrations, as I noted before, are made with clay modeling, paint and cut paper- a wonderful combination of colors and textures.

rating: 4/5 ....... 24 pages, 2010

more opinions:
Kiss the Book
Jean Little Library
Puss Reboots

winner

Cipriano has won the watery bookmarks. Congrats!

Kitten's Spring

by Eugenie Fernandes

I saw one of these little picture books on display and was intrigued by the charming illustrations so then I searched out the entire set. The concept is very simply; a kitten wanders through the woods near his home seeing what other animals are doing during different seasons of the year. At the end of the book Kitten returns home where a warm meal or cozy bed is always waiting for him. The text is just two-word rhyming phrases, it is the pictures that make this book. They are so rich in detail I sat looking through the book several times just to take it all in.

As the kitten wanders through the forest we see birds singing and nesting, insects crawling about, frogs near the water, a ducking hatching and a new baby calf, a lamb gamboling and a horse running in a meadow, as well as many other things. I like that the book doesn't tidy up nature; the owl is shown feeding her baby something obviously fuzzy and limp (dead mouse?), the piglet is nursing as his mother lies in a mud wallow. But the pictures are so charming that I don't think these details would bother anyone on the contrary they would encourage children to learn about those kinds of realities. The pictures are just amazing. They're made from a combination of modeled clay, cut paper and cloth, painted backgrounds (looks like watercolor to me but might by acrylic washes.) The cow's tail is yarn threads. It's just lovely and wonderfully engaging to look at. As a plus, each book begins by showing the farm scene and you can look at them altogether to observe how the garden, pond, flowerbed, etc change with the seasons. As the kitten enters the house at the end of each story, there are things scattered about evident of what people have been doing at that time of year; in this spring book there are seed packets and seedlings in trays, bulbs flowering in pots. For most of the pages the kitten is in the background or peeking through leaves, so it can turn into a find-the-kitty exercise too, which is always fun for kids.

rating: 4/5 ........ 24 pages, 2010

more opinions:
BookAndAGarden
Young Readers
Kiss the Book