Professional book critic, amateur housewife, full-time polymath. I like a good story. My other mystery reviews can be found here: https://www.criminalelement.com/author/dvaleris/
Sep 07 2022
Meet Gustav, a pig with a big imagination, and Henri Normal, his best friend who happens to be a dog (but like in a Goofy kind of way, as opposed to a Pluto.) The best friends enjoy spending time together, doing the usual things Australian kids do, including an old favorite of mine, playing badminton. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/09/07/gustav-henri-vol-1-space-time-cake-by-andy-matthews-peader-thomas/
Sep 06 2022
Welp, Labor Day is over, so ofc it’s time to turn the consumerist attention to Halloween! (I’m mostly kidding, but also resigned to the world we live in.) Halloween is such a weird holiday, IMO, less so in its origins than in the way it’s evolved over the years as an American (and associated) celebration. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/09/06/trick-or-treat-alistair-gray-by-lindy-ryan-timea-gazdag/
Sep 01 2022
So my eldest child is now in middle school, and as someone who did not go through the American system for that span but who does have a husband who thinks it’s the most formative experience of a child’s life, it has been a bit nerve-wracking, to say the least, to watch my little fledgling …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/09/01/how-to-master-your-social-power-in-middle-school-kid-confident-book-1-by-bonnie-zucker-deandra-hodge/
Aug 30 2022
I continue to be genuinely pleased and impressed by the consistently high quality of this children’s graphic novel series, that speaks just as meaningfully to any adult with an interest in popular (and sometimes not-so-popular) history as to any curious child. The tenth installment of the Magical History Tour has Annie and Nico discussing spaceflight, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/08/30/magical-history-tour-10-the-first-steps-on-the-moon-by-fabrice-erre-sylvain-savoia/
Aug 25 2022
with charming illustrations throughout by Gina Perry. I picked up this book at ALAAC and 100% did not notice that the titular heroine does not have arms, despite the many illustrations inside and out pertaining to it, till she actually mentions it herself in the course of the first-person narrative. To a large extent, that’s …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/08/25/aven-green-music-machine-by-dusti-bowling/
Aug 23 2022
Genuinely unsure how I’ve become some sort of go-to reviewer for books about birds, but I 100% love it, especially when it brings gorgeous, informative books like these into my inbox! Around The World In 80 Birds is a delightful travelogue that uses birds as its focus. Charting the world by discussing eighty of the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/08/23/around-the-world-in-80-birds-by-mike-unwin-ryuto-miyake/
Aug 18 2022
Y’all know I’m all in for any Marvel superheroine named Doreen (even if I don’t like squirrels. Shocking, I know, but my brother and I have stories.) Animal-animosity regardless, the best part of the Squirrel Girl titles has always been, for me, how Doreen Green’s positive attitude ensures that she truly is unbeatable. This novel …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/08/18/squirrel-girl-universe-by-tristan-palmgren/
Aug 16 2022
I had the pleasure of meeting Kari Allen at ALAAC and loved how she signed my copy of this delightful children’s book with the wonderful message “Share your stories!” But could you expect less from the writer of this affirming series about a pair of loving, if not entirely friction-free, young sisters? Maddie is the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/08/16/maddie-and-mabel-by-kari-allen-tatjana-mai-wyss/
Aug 11 2022
Oh no, this isn’t the last in the series, is it?! I mean, it’s not a bad way to end it, but there’s still so much more to explore of this amazing sci-fi universe. This installment tells us a bit more of the Rosk war, and further explores the cultures of the Quelin and Akarak …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/08/11/the-galaxy-and-the-ground-within-by-becky-chambers-2/
Aug 09 2022
As we sprint towards the deadline for Hugo voting and I, for the second year in a row, concede defeat over being able to read all the books in time, I wanted to make sure that I at least got to cover a book Doug was raving to me about (tho I see he hasn’t …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/08/09/light-from-uncommon-stars-by-ryka-aoki/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire