Category: Book Review (non-blog tour)

Book Review | “Should Have Played Poker” by Debra H. Goldstein with an interview about writing #CosyMysteries

Posted Thursday, 21 April, 2016 by jorielov , , , 2 Comments

Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sergey Zolkin.

Acquired Book By: I was selected to review “Should Have Played Poker” by JKS Communications: A Literary Publicity Firm. JKS is the first publicity firm I started working with when I launched Jorie Loves A Story in August, 2013. I am honoured to continue to work with them now as a 3rd Year Book Blogger. I received my complimentary ARC copy of Should Have Played Poker from the publicist at JKS in exchange for an honest review.  I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

This is a double-showcase for Cosy Mystery author, Debra H. Goldstein: wherein I am first revealling my impressions on behalf of her novel whilst immediately sharing the questions which came to mind to enquiry on her behalf about writing Cosies and where she’d like to take her stories hereafter. Her novel ‘Should Have Played Poker’ celebrated it’s #bookbirthday & #PubDay on the 20th of April, 2016.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Book Review | “Should Have Played Poker” by Debra H. Goldstein with an interview about writing #CosyMysteriesShould Have Played Poker
Subtitle: A Carrie Martin and the Mah Jongg players mystery

“Should Have Played Poker” introduces Carrie Martin and her fellow sleuths, the Sunshine Village retirement home Mah Jongg players, as they work to uncover the mystery behind her mother’s murder.

Carrie’s life as a young corporate lawyer who is balancing her job and visiting her father at the retirement home is upset when her mother unexpectedly returns 26 years after abandoning her family. Her mother leaves her with a sealed envelope and the confession that she once considered killing Carrie’s father. Before Carrie opens the envelope, she finds her mother murdered and the woman who helped raise her seriously injured.

Instructed to leave the detective work to the police, Carrie and the ladies in the retirement home’s Mah Jongg circle attempt to unravel Wahoo, Alabama’s past secrets, putting Carrie in danger and at odds with a former lover – the detective assigned to her mother’s case.


Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781432831592

Series: Carrie Martin and the Mah Jongg players


on 20th April, 2016

Pages: 244

Published By: Five Star Publishing, (Facebook) an imprint of Gale Group
Available Formats: Hardback and E-Book

Order of connection (story and/or characters): the setting of the University of Michigan was originally introduced in Goldstein’s debut novel “Maze in Blue” where some of the characters also made their first appearance. The Mah Jongg players at the retirement home originally were highlighted in the short story “Legal Magic”. Therefore this is the third installment of connective threads of either setting, story or characters by Goldstein.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

My Review of Should Have Played Poker:

Curiously, Carrie’s mother re-enters her life after twenty-six years apart from her (which is quite colossal if you consider Carrie’s only nine and twenty years!) giving her daughter a thin veil of a hint towards why she exited her life and chose this particular moment to make amends with the explanation she was always due to receive. You can feel the emotional shift in the room whilst Carrie and her mother are having this short conversation, one that doesn’t lend well to length as how do you knit together a connection with someone who is still withholding information? I was surprised Carrie kept quiet and did not explode outright as her mother walked out the door, leaving behind a letter and silence.

Her feelings abate whilst she absorbs the void of disclosure, Carrie moves forward with her day settling into a rhythm of work and personal time off the clock where she visits her father at a retirement home. It’s here where she’s put together a new kind of family, wherein she has garnished the familiarity of the residents and have found a welcoming nod of acceptance amongst them. One in particular is a old favourite of her childhood – a librarian and her father has taken his residency here as a blessing, as he has Alzheimer’s which slowly erodes his memory and faculties. Whilst she makes her way to her father’s room, you could say she’s jolted for a loop twice in one day with circumstances surrounding her mother! So much so, I’m quite sure Carrie will feel quite undone by the time the hours dissolve off the clock and the shock wears off where the only thing that remains are her thoughts and her unresolved anguish. Read More

Divider

Posted Thursday, 21 April, 2016 by jorielov in 21st Century, Amateur Detective, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Cosy Mystery, Crime Fiction, Father-Daughter Relationships, Fly in the Ointment, Indie Author, JKS Communications: Literary Publicity Firm, Mahjong, Modern Day, Mother-Daughter Relationships

Book Review | “The Particular Appeal of Gillian Pugsley”by Susan Ornbratt My second novel of #SwedishLit by an writer who soulfully stirs the reader’s heart.

Posted Saturday, 20 February, 2016 by jorielov , , 0 Comments

Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sergey Zolkin.

Acquired Book By: One day in June I ducked inside #LitChat and discovered a hearty conversation about Indie Publishers and the stories they publish. There were two publishers in attendance, with Light Messages Publishing being the one who happily corresponded with me a bit after the chat concluded. Whilst in communication with their publicity department, I was encouraged to look through their beautifully lovely catalogue and see if one of their upcoming Autumn releases might suit my bookish curiosities. I picked two which fancied me the most, one of which was not mentioned to me but I discovered on my own: “Tea and Crumples” by Summer Kinard, who had attended the chat. If your curious about the Small Press Showcase #LitChat I attended you can replay the conversation in whole by visiting the Nurph Channel for LitChat where it’s archived.

I love hosting Indie Publishers and Press on Jorie Loves A Story, as it speaks to the wicked quality of editing and crafting of stories in today’s book market. I nearly read more Indie authors on a yearly basis than I do Major Trade, a credit to being a book blogger whose bookish world has tenfold increased since she started blogging. You get further into the book world as a blogger and I’m incredibly blessed due to the connections I am making in the twitterverse.

This marks my first review for Light Messages Publishing and I will be following it with a review of “Tea and Crumples”. After which I am hoping to make a new selection and continue to support the writers and team behind this inspirational Indie Publisher! I received a complimentary copy of “The Particular Appeal of Gillian Pugsley” direct from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

A bit of an introduction to Light Messages Publishing:

Light Messages is a family run publishing company founded in 1998, and we began expanding to general trade in 2011. We now have close to 100 titles in our catalog and release 6-8 titles per year. We pride ourselves on publishing meaningful books by emerging authors.

This is the official mission statement of Light Messages as a publisher and one that is aptly suited to their publishing house. One of the takeaways I took from my interactions with them in the #LitChat I attended and the research I did on their publishing website, this is a publisher whose entire focus is on crafting uplifting stories rooted in heart and soul story-lines. They give specific attention to their authors and their stories whilst being open-minded about book bloggers and reviewers who are seeking stories to review. They are a gem of a find if your a blogger, as similar to my admiration for World Weaver Press (on my review of FAE and on this post) they give us a lot to work with whilst we’re hosting their authors!

The flexibility to read through their catalogue of front list and backlist titles is one that I appreciate, as this reminds me of my readings of ChocLitUK; where your are not limited to front list selections. I enjoy getting the opportunity to read the stories which nestle into my imagination long before I pick them up as a bit of a precursor of what I might find inside their chapters. Reading for review is a bit like sorting out which writer and which story not only appeals to you in the moment of discovery, but one that will have a lasting curiosity by the time you sit down to read it. Oft-times we’re making selections a bit ahead of our blogging schedules (by three to six months!), and the beauty for me is finding the stories which are uniquely individualistic to both their authors and their publishing house. This is in part why I love reading Indies, they have their own styling and their own written voice which sets them apart from Major Trade.

I have blogged in the past about being a hybrid reader of both Mainstream and INSPY (my shortened endearing name for ‘Inspirational Fiction’ as found via the twitterverse or most directly the INSPY Awards) novelists and the selections I’m making via Light Messages speaks to that particular appreciation of reading across literary boundaries. I love being uplifted by hard-hitting story-lines which speak to the human condition and the state of humanity. (hence why I read a heap of war dramas!) At the very same time, I love the lightness and joyfully blissful story-lines where the drama is lightly touched upon and comic moments intersect the character’s lives. I am eclectically happy experiencing my literary wanderings and I am quite thankful I discovered Light Messages as they are creating a balance of what I appreciate out of both ‘umbrellas’ so to speak of literature.

Equally lovely is how they do not limit the kinds of stories their authors are writing, as I happily found selections in a cross mixture of genre and styles of literature, including science fiction and suspense!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Book Review | “The Particular Appeal of Gillian Pugsley”by Susan Ornbratt My second novel of #SwedishLit by an writer who soulfully stirs the reader’s heart.The Particular Appeal of Gillian Pugsley
Subtitle: a love story

To satisfy her wandering feet, eighteen-year-old Gillian McAllister is sent from Ireland to Canada in the summer of 1932. She arrives with her Irish ways intact, determined not to let the wiles of crop duster Christian Hunter woo her into submission. Yet as the summer unfolds and the sweet taste of love grows,

Gillian’s appeal lures more than she anticipates, shattering the life they’ve built. From the shores of The Great Lakes to the slums of Bombay and a tiny island in between, this love story takes the reader on an intimate journey to unravel a family secret that’s laid hidden for generations.


Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1-61153-111-4

on 23rd April 2015

Pages: 318

Published By: Light Messages Publishing (@LMpublishing)

Author Page @ Light Messages Publishing
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

I elected to shorten the title to encourage bookish chatter in the twitterverse!

Converse via: #GillianPugsley

I am not even sure I grabbed all the tweets I referenced over the months I spent with this novel as I used this shortened tag quite a heap as it was a way to convey a short code nod towards what I was reading but also, to bring to light a name shared by two characters!

Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards Badge created by Jorie in Canva. Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.

Read More

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
Divider

Posted Saturday, 20 February, 2016 by jorielov in 20th Century, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Book Trailer, Bookish Discussions, Bookish Films, Clever Turns of Phrase, Debut Author, Debut Novel, During WWI, England, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Ireland, Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards, Light Messages Publishing, Modern Day, Poetry, Prior to WWI, the Thirties, The World Wars, Time Shift, Time Slip, War Drama, War-time Romance, Women's Fiction, Wordsmiths & Palettes of Sage, Writing Style & Voice

Book Review | Two incredible Science Biography collections anchoured together: “Magnificent Minds” and “Remarkable Minds”, featuring women of Science & Medicine by Pendred E. Noyce

Posted Tuesday, 9 February, 2016 by jorielov , , , 2 Comments

Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sergey Zolkin.

Acquired Book By:

I was selected to review “Remarkable Minds” by JKS Communications: A Literary Publicity Firm. JKS is the first publicity firm I started working with when I launched Jorie Loves A Story in August, 2013. I am honoured to continue to work with them now as a 2nd Year Book Blogger. As I was speaking with the publicist at JKS, I realised this was a duology release (at least at this point in time) thereby I enquired if it were possible to receive both editions rather than the last. I received my complimentary ARC copy of Remarkable Minds and a hardback copy of Magnificent Minds direct from the publisher Tumblehome Learning in exchange for an honest review.  I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I am extremely excited and wicked happy for these biography anthologies:

To read my strong appreciation on behalf of Tumblehome Learning Publishing, please direct your attention to the top anchour of my review for ‘The Contaminated Case of the Cooking Contest’.

The following note is an excerpt of my reply to JKS when the review was first pitched:

I just pulled up the pub site and found out this is a companion to *Magnificent Minds*! I never read the first collection of stories either, but what I liked about both releases is how women in history are being showcased! I learnt a small bit about Augusta Ada Bryon yesterday when I was looking through Creston Book’s front list; as they have an Early Reader story upcoming this Autumn about her! Nice to see she made the cut in *Magnificent Minds!*

*Remarkable Minds* is truly the type of book I would have loved to have found as a fourteen year old freshman who was struggling through Biology 101! I loved learning about DNA & Genetics but science, math, and medicine did not come easy to a dyslexic! It was the film “The Race for the Double Helix” where I saw in a teleplay format how Rosalind Franklin gave so much to the understanding of DNA yet is sidelined in both history and science. She was only one of a few women I was seeking out at that point in time and so, I definitely agree on the need for books that can help others like me who are curious to follow history’s mirror of women fore-founders of science to discover these wicked awesome books!

The reason I wanted to share this excerpt with you is to share my initial joy in finding out there are two anthology collections of biographies celebrating women in science & medicine on equal ground. For girls like me who grew up with a deep appreciation for the sciences but without a clear-cut way to pursue them with their learning difficulties and/or in combination with a harder road to navigate in general (most Academia paths are hard on funding long-term, especially when you get into research, etc) – it was quite lovely seeing a publisher take the time to find a way to encourage those of us who are on the brink of discovering our niche in the world. Perhaps a young reader similar to me will find a renewed encouragement about pursuing the Sciences (or Medicine) full-time and re-define how a path can be forged to do so!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Similar to anthologies of Fantasy I regularly review, I decided to select the women who stood out to me the most from the collective whole of whom are featured within both biographies.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Book Review | Two incredible Science Biography collections anchoured together: “Magnificent Minds” and “Remarkable Minds”, featuring women of Science & Medicine by Pendred E. NoyceRemarkable Minds
Subtitle: 17 Pioneering Women in Science and Medicine

For centuries, women have risen above their traditional roles to pursue a new understanding of the natural world.

This book, which grows out of an exhibit at the Grolier Club in New York, introduces the lives, sayings, and dreams of 16 women over four centuries and chronicles their contributions to mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, and medicine.

Some of the notable women portrayed in the book include French mathematician Marie-Sophie Germain, known for her work in Elasticity theory, differential geometry, and number theory; Scottish chemist Elizabeth Fulhame, best known for her 1794 work An Essay on Combustion; and Rita Levi-Montalcini, who, with colleague Stanley Cohen, received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of nerve growth factor.

A companion volume to Magnificent Minds by the same author, this book offers inspiration to all girls and young women considering a life in the sciences.


Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9780990782902

on 1st September, 2015

Format: Paperback ARC

Pages: 192

Published By: Tumblehome Learning (@TumblehomeLearn)

Available Formats: Hardcover

Converse via Twitter: #ScienceBiography + #WomenOfScience + #SciencePioneers

#TumblehomeLearning and #JKSLitPublicity

About Pendred E. Noyce

Pendred E. Noyce

Pendred E. (Penny) Noyce is a doctor, education advocate, writer and publisher.

Penny grew up in California’s Silicon Valley when it was still mostly apricot orchards and fields of mustard. Along with her brother and sisters, she rode ponies, put on plays, and explored the rapidly changing countryside. She graduated with a degree in biochemistry from Harvard University and an M.D. from Stanford University. After her internship and residency in internal medicine in Minneapolis-St. Paul, she worked at the East Boston Community Health Center. During a year in London, she received a diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Subsequently, she supervised medical residents at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, but she left the practice of medicine after the birth of her fifth child.

In 1991, Penny became a founding trustee of the Noyce Foundation, which supports K-12 mathematics and science education across the U.S. For nine years she also helped lead a statewide effort to improve mathematics, science, and technology education in Massachusetts. Currently she serves on the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

A past trustee of Radcliffe College, Penny has served on a number of nonprofit boards, mostly of organizations involved in science and math education. She currently chairs the boards of the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy and Maine’s Libra Foundation.

Penny is author or co-author of eight novels for children ages 9-12, including Lost in Lexicon and The Ice Castle from Scarletta Press and six books in the Galactic Academy of Science series from Tumblehome Learning. Her most recent book, this one nonfiction, is Magnificent Minds: Sixteen Pioneering Women in Science and Medicine. As cofounder of Tumblehome Learning, which publishes science mystery and adventure stories for young people, Penny serves as Tumblehome’s editor and chair.

Penny and her husband, Leo X. Liu, MD, live in Boston with their youngest child, who will be leaving for college in one more year.

Read More

Divider

Posted Tuesday, 9 February, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, Astronomy, Astrophysics, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Children's Literature, Education & Learning, Illustrations for Stories, JKS Communications: Literary Publicity Firm, Juvenile Fiction, Mechanical Engineering, Middle Grade Novel, Non-Fiction, Quantum | Mechanics Physics Theory, Quantum Physics, Science, Vignettes of Real Life

Book Review w/ Author Q&A | The #picturebooks of Muon Van (“In A Village by the Sea” and “Little Tree”) with a lovely convo about her creative style of writing stories for children.

Posted Sunday, 3 January, 2016 by jorielov , , , , , 0 Comments

Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sergey Zolkin.

Acquired Book By:

I was selected to review “In A Village by the Sea” by JKS Communications: A Literary Publicity Firm. After I was putting together this showcase, to highlight both the story and a conversation with the author, I learnt of her second picture book “Little Tree”; enabling me to combine my showcase to feature both releases. JKS is the first publicity firm I started working with when I launched Jorie Loves A Story in August, 2013. I am honoured to continue to work with them now as a 2nd Year Book Blogger. I received my complimentary copy of In A Village by the Sea (hardback) and Little Tree (PDF) direct from the publicist at JKS Communications in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

I decided I wanted to switch things up a bit today, and offer the conversation before my thoughts on behalf of the illustrated stories contained within the picture books of Muon Van! In this way, I wanted the author’s own words to help define the stories and in some ways, give an extra layer of enjoyment to my readers as they read this ahead of knowing what I found inside the books themselves! Enjoy!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

My convo with Muon Van on her creative way of giving children a beautiful ‘first start’ towards embracing creative stories built on family, hearth and love:

How did you create In A Village by the Sea to bespeak of such a grounding of autobiographical inspiration and homage to your heritage whilst renewing the spirit of Vietnam for those of us who are not as familiar with the country?

Van responds: I come from a long line of fisherfolk on both sides of the family, which is pretty unusual for both an American and Vietnamese-American. I grew up with my dad at sea most of the time, and eating seafood for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so I wanted to write a story that would reflect those experiences.

Whilst your father was away fishing, how did your mother encourage you and your siblings not to worry about his safety and well being? Were the passages of home and hearth reminiscent of your mother tending to the home? I ask as there is such a lot of warmth and love set inside this story, it softens the concerns of dangers at sea. 

Van responds: Even though fishing is considered one of the most dangerous occupations around, my siblings and I didn’t consider it as such while we were growing up–it was just what our dad did. My mother definitely tended the home–cooking, cleaning, washing, shopping, dressing, educating nine kids! I always knew she was a superwoman and supermom but after I had my first kid, I was amazed!

I was curious about the process you took with April Chu to bring your story to life through her illustrations – can you explain how you worked together to give the reader such a wellspring of living realism whilst deepening it with thought-provoking narrative?

Van responds: Unlike what most people think, April and I did not collaborate in real-time on the book–we only met once it was completed! April only received a plain, unannotated manuscript and knowledge that the story was dedicated to my father, a Vietnamese fisherman. With just those pieces of information, she was able to imagine and execute the brilliant art in the book. I, and the readers, are truly lucky!

The spirit of Vietnam is strongly lit inside you, as the story that is set inside this picture book is alarmingly clear and visually stunning – when you wrote the words that are featured against the illustrations did the final copy read to you like the internal visuals you had whilst you had written the story?

Van responds: I believe the published visuals are faithful to the story but in my imagination, they were spare and monochromatic, sort of like the verse. I was surprised, and delighted, by the outcome.

What has caused the fishing lifestyle of the villages in Vietnam to disappear? Is it the culture of the time that is changing or is the fishing industry unable to support itself, as this happens in other countries as well?

Van responds: I can’t speak to all fishing lifestyles in Vietnam–just the one in my ancestral village. The villagers there, and the ones who have migrated to America, have found the the income derived from fishing is not as great, or sustainable, as it is through other means. While most of my relatives worked in fishing when they first arrived in America, most now work in the cosmetic (nails) industry, as it’s lower-risk and more profitable.

In your heart, your drawn to the sea as it states in your biography you live near it; what do you find the most alluring balm about the sea and how it’s set a harmonic pulse inside your life?

Van responds: Probably that it seems so vast and unknowable (you can only see a bit of it at a time, from a beach or a boat or an airplane). I also like the color blue :)

In The Little Tree the colour contrasts are brilliantly bright and pop with vitality whereas the colour contrasts in In A Village by the Sea is more traditional and classic. Did you have input about the colour spectrum for the illustrations and books?

Van responds: No, but I love that they are so different.

The Little Tree is philosophical and intuitive, giving children a pause to think about the larger scale of life and how the circle of life evolves during our lifetime. How did you tap into this life lesson whilst writing such a cleverly witty story?

Van responds: I was inspired after my first (and so far, only) trip back to Vietnam in nearly thirty years. I thought about how my parents must have felt when we left and how they would felt about it now, thirty years later.

I love how you’ve stitched familial history inside your stories – you write from the heart and your stories have a living spirit about them. How did you capture the moment of recognition to be given to the Little Tree by the Little Seed’s leaf? It was such a warm gesture of love from a child to a mother.

Van responds: Parents will always know their children, right? (Ask me this again in thirty years; my older child is only four :))

You give so much of your own heart to your writings and you leave fingerprints of affection in your closing statements where your ancestry and your family are illuminated in short stories of recollection. How did your family react to the picture books and of your continuance of carrying forward your living histories to inspire children and adults alike?

Van responds: My family likes to play it cool but I think one day soon, one of them will get choked up reading it to their daughter or son. Three, soon to be four, of my brothers just had their first child!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Truly blessed to have had the chance to ask these questions of Ms Van and to have your responses threaded inside my showcase! I was truly touched by the warmth of her words in her stories and wanted to gain a bit more insight into how she created the world in which I lived for the time I soaked inside her picture books! I can definitely foresee many Mums and Das appreciating ‘reading time’ with their children as they pick up either volume and enter a world of family and timeless love!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Book Review w/ Author Q&A | The #picturebooks of Muon Van (“In A Village by the Sea” and “Little Tree”) with a lovely convo about her creative style of writing stories for children.In a Village by the Sea
by Muon Van
Illustrator/Cover Designer: April Chu

Written in a spare, lyrical style using fresh, evocative imagery, this richly illustrated picture book is about longing for the comforts of home while braving the adventures and perils of the wide world.

In a house by the sea, a woman is cooking. Near the woman, a baby is crying. Under the floor, a cricket is painting. In the painting, a fisherman rides stormy seas, longing to get home to his wife and infant…

The perfect book for teaching about diverse cultures and lifestyles, children will delight in this beautiful story which pays homage to the vanishing fishing culture in Vietnam, honors courage and sacrifice, and celebrates hearth and home.


Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781939547156

Published by Creston Books LLC

on 9th June, 2015

Format: Hardcover Edition

Pages: 32

Published By: Creston Books, LLC (@CrestonBooks)

Available Formats: Hardcover and Ebook

Converse via Twitter: #MuonVan

#picturebooks and #JKSLitPublicity

About (Illustrator) April Chu

April Chu

APRIL CHU began her career as an architect with a degree from the University of California, Berkeley, but decided to return to her true passion of illustrating and storytelling. April currently lives and works in Oakland, California.

About Muon Van

Muon Van

MUON VAN was born on the run in the southern port city of Rach Giá, Vietnam. When she was nine months old, she left Vietnam as part of the “boat people” mass exodus. She now lives in Northern California.

Her previous book, In a Village by the Sea, is also a family story and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus, as well as rave reviews from The New York Times and School Library Journal’s Fuse #8 Production.

Read More

Divider

Posted Sunday, 3 January, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Children's Literature, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Debut Author, Early Reader | Chapter Books, Equality In Literature, Illustration for Books & Publishing, Illustrations for Stories, Indie Author, JKS Communications: Literary Publicity Firm, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, Picture Book, Story knitted out of Ancestral Data

Book Review | A wicked science-based series for #MGLit readers: Galactic Academy of Science: “The Contaminated Case of the Cooking Contest” by Peter Y. Wong & Pendred Noyce

Posted Sunday, 3 January, 2016 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sergey Zolkin.

Acquired Book By:

I was selected to review “The Contaminated Case of the Cooking Contest” by JKS Communications: A Literary Publicity Firm. JKS is the first publicity firm I started working with when I launched Jorie Loves A Story in August, 2013. I am honoured to continue to work with them now as a 2nd Year Book Blogger. I received my complimentary copy of The Contaminated Case of the Cooking Contest direct from the publisher Tumblehome Learning in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I am finding Tumblehome Learning such a great publisher:

My introduction to the publisher was by way of The Walking Fish, a story that left a firm impression on my mind and heart about two authors who were attempting to make ‘science palpable for young readers’ and turnt out a wicked good story! As you will see in my review of that particular story, I applaud writers who can create a niche out of science and bring science to an audience of younger readers who may not already find science a stimulating entreaty into understanding life and the environs in which we live.

Being able to ‘try out’ one of the serial installments for the Galactic Academy of Science was a special treat because this series has sparked supplemental materials for both teachers and parents, who want to encourage their science-curious young minds to explore more than what is contained inside the book itself. I find it quite wicked that a publisher has found a cross-media way to explore stories and how those stories are evolving into thought-provoking projects to get kids interested in science. Anything that engages with hands-on learning and thought-producing after effects is something I will be standing behind as I grew up learning science at the community Science Center where nothing was off-limits and topics of discussion grew out of natural bourne curiosity. It was a lot of wicked fun over the Summers, but more than anything, I appreciated a stimulating environment to ask ‘how’ and ‘why’ and find answers that re-inspired me to continue to learn even more.

If books and publishers can bring that same sense of curiosity to readers, who might not even have a Science Center to attend – what explosive fun that would be! Definitely applaud Tumblehome Learning to continue to bridge the gaps between where those of us who are naturally curious about science and those who are not entirely sure they want to love science can come together through the craft of stories with characters who inspire everyone who picks up this series to read.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Book Review | A wicked science-based series for #MGLit readers: Galactic Academy of Science: “The Contaminated Case of the Cooking Contest” by Peter Y. Wong & Pendred NoyceThe Contaminated Case of the Cooking Contest

Middle school students Mae and Clinton are excited to be aboard a Caribbean cruise that features cooking contests for adults and teens. But when passengers start falling ill, Selectra Volt, their Galactic Academy of Science guide from the future, challenges them to find the cause. Is the outbreak a result of poor food handling, or is someone purposely sabotaging the ship’s food supply?

Mae and Clinton learn about food safety through a series of visits to scientists, doctors, and inventors of the past and present. They visit Nicholas Appert, who invented canning to feed Napoleon’s army; Clarence Birdseye, who learned about freezing fish from the Inuit in the Arctic; John Snow, who discovered the cause of a cholera outbreak in Victorian London; Typhoid Mary, who unknowingly caused illness in seven families she worked for; Ferran Adria, a master of creative cooking; and present-day scientists studying food-borne illness at the CDC in Atlanta and a U.S. Army research facility in Natick, Massachusetts.

Between trips, Mae and Clinton make new friends, compete in the kids’ cooking contest, help out in the ship infirmary, test food samples for bacteria, gather clues, and follow suspicious characters. As the ship sails through the edge of a hurricane and the ship infirmary fills to overflowing, the Clinton and Mae risk their lives getting medical supplies, gather evidence, and sift through a pile of suspects.


Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9780990782926

on 1st June, 2015

Pages: 174

Published By: Tumblehome Learning (@TumblehomeLearn)

Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook

For more information check out this Galactic Academy series page!

Converse via Twitter: #GalacticAcademyOfScience

#TumblehomeLearning and #JKSLitPublicity

About Peter Y. Wong

Peter Y. Wong

Peter has been involved with engineering research and education throughout his career as a Research Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Tufts University (Medford, MA); Director of University Relations and Director of Middle School Engineering Curriculum at the Museum of Science, Boston, MA; Founder and Director of the K2 Enrichment Program in Newton, MA; and Board Member of the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair. He has taught undergraduate courses ranging from fluid mechanics to gourmet engineering (heat transfer in the kitchen). He has produced over 85 technical journal and conference publications, one patent, three middle school algebra and engineering supplemental books, and one women in engineering outreach guide. He has directed dozens of undergraduate students in research, advised 13 graduate engineering students, and reviewed 18 graduate students as a thesis committee member. His after-school program, K2 Enrichment Program, has been running since 2005, generating science & engineering interest in numerous young children ever year.

Peter graduated from Boston Latin School in 1986. He received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (senior thesis work related to thermal processing of High Temperature superconductors) and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (master thesis work numerical modeling of zone-melting recrystallization of silicon wafers) from Tufts University in 1991. His doctoral research focused on numerical modeling of radiant thermal processing of semiconductors. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University in 1995.

Read More

Divider

Posted Sunday, 3 January, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Children's Literature, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Illustrations for Stories, JKS Communications: Literary Publicity Firm, Juvenile Fiction, Literature for Boys, Middle Grade Novel