Picture Book Review: Books for Memorial Day

Just a few new to the library books:

It's not just the soldier that serves; it's the whole family. This book showcases different soldiers and their family - what they do when they serve and what happens on the homefront while the soldiers are gone. 

The message here is that everyone is strong and everyone has a mission. Everyone serves. The illustrations are lovely. There's so much here to share and talk about. 

One Veteran takes a trip to Washington D.C. as part of a special tour from the Honor Flight Network.

 This book showcases several war monuments and shares that not all Veterans were welcomed home. There's a lovely surprise at the end of the flight. I won't lie, this book made me ugly cry. It's emotional and heartfelt. 

If you or your family served, thank you for your service. 

On Your Radar: (12)

Title: Princess in Black and the Science Fair Scare

Author:  Shannon and Dean Hale

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publication Date: September 25th 

Why it Should be on Your Radar:

Science and STEM 

Monsters

Friendship

Secret Identities

Team Work

Problem Solving

Pure fun!

Source: BEA book 2018

Cover Thoughts: Adorable

Library Recommendation: A must have for school and public libraries

The Agency: cover reissues and contest

To Y.S. Lee, The Agency is…

A love letter to Victorian London, in all its glory and hypocrisy

A desire to see different kinds of people in historical fiction: the poor, the brown-skinned, the marginal

A teasing homage to the Victorian detective novel

A radical possibility for a poor girl in 1850s England

How I LOVED these books, let me count the ways:

1. Feisty female lead character who is a spy (also a diverse character)

2. Mary's intelligence and resourcefulness

3. The Agency is for women only

4. The romance 

5. Mary discovering her background (reminded me of Sally Lockhart)

6. James isn't going to "make" Mary do anything

7. Victorian London - love this setting

8. The action

9. The danger

10. Being in the Queen's household.

I wish there were more Mary Quinn stories but I'm really glad more people will discover them again. After I read the first one, I begged Candlewick for the ARCs of the rest. I rarely ask publishers for ARCs, but it was too hard to wait for these books to come out! Want to see what I thought of each book, check my reviews here.

Y.S. Lee has a Ph.D. in Victorian literature and culture and says her research inspired her to write Book One of The Agency trilogy. “Women’s choices were grim in those days, even for the clever,” she says. “The Agency is a totally unrealistic, completely fictitious antidote to the fate that would otherwise swallow a girl like Mary Quinn.” Y. S. Lee lives in Ontario, Canada.

http://yslee.com/

https://twitter.com/yinglee - @yinglee

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Y-S-Lee/73653078249

Need more convincing? Read a sample chapter from book #1 or listen to the audio reading.

Have I sold you on these books yet? 

Well, you're in luck! Candlewick is gifting one lucky reader a complete set (all four books). 

a Rafflecopter giveaway