Aug 25 2025
It is tempting to begin this roundup with the timeworn lede, “Comics! They’re not just for kids any more!” I’ve been rolling my eyes at that one for decades at this point, as mainstream reviewers seemingly “discover” that sophisticated graphic novels exist, over and over again. In fact, the graphic novel is a form that …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/25/18443/
Aug 13 2025
Wahey, I’m back to my regularly scheduled review programming! And what lovelier way to return than with a gorgeously illustrated children’s book that artfully blends science with fantasy, for a delightfully whimsical read. This field guide to enchanted creatures starts with several very important caveats to young readers, in a way that absolutely aligns with …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/13/how-to-spot-a-magical-woodland-creature-by-sarah-glenn-marsh-lilla-bolecz/
Aug 11 2025
This post concludes my year of reading all of Diana Wynne Jones’s books! After her death in 2011, Earwig and the Witch was published the same year, and a collection of her nonfiction writing was published in 2012. Much more recently, Moondust Books has published collections of her plays and poems! In this post I’ll …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/11/a-year-of-diana-wynne-jones-wrap-up/
Jul 14 2025
Aside: this is the second zombie-related book I’ve read in a row, how odd for the middle of July! It’s Halloween and the normally quiet graveyard by Honey Hills is abuzz. Literally, as strange creatures begin to rise from the tombs and wend their winding way through town. Could these flying apparitions be… bees? But …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/14/the-zombees-by-justin-colon-kaly-quarles/
Jul 03 2025
This month I reached the end of Diana Wynne Jones’s life in my year of reading all the books by Diana Wynne Jones! I read The Game, House of Many Ways, and Enchanted Glass. That’s one final book in Howl’s universe and two stand alones – three extremely strong books. The Game (2007) In The …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/03/a-year-of-diana-wynne-jones-the-late-2000s/
Jun 30 2025
Which parent hasn’t had the frustrating experience of being manipulated and possibly even outsmarted by their young children? It is, after all, to be expected as your kids get older and smarter, but being outwitted by an actual child, especially when you’re trying to get them to do things for their own good, is a …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/06/30/lila-said-no-by-kiki-frayard-aileen-bennett/
Jun 23 2025
Oh, huh, I didn’t realize that this second book in The Web Of The Spider series would have a different protagonist than the first one, but it makes sense! In Rise Of The Spider, our narrator was young Rolf, who watched with growing horror as the Nazi Party’s hatefulness infiltrated not only his beloved hometown …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/06/23/threat-of-the-spider-by-michael-p-spradlin/
Jun 16 2025
subtitled Flaco The Owl’s Dreams Take Flight. I cannot be the only person who keeps confusing Flaco the owl with the red tailed hawks who also famously made New York City their home. Fortunately, this picture book helps clear up any misunderstanding caused by the unwittingly cognate names! Told in the first person, this anthropomorphized …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/06/16/free-bird-by-christine-mott-ofra-layla-isler/
Jun 11 2025
subtitled Discover Earth’s Amazing Ecosystems. And oh what a lovely and surprisingly topical look this is at not only the ways that plants and animals form mutually beneficial ecosystems in nature, but also how integral they all are to human life! A lot of science books talk about humans almost as if we’re separate from …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/06/11/friends-in-nature-by-marina-ruiz/
Jun 03 2025
In my quest to read all of Diana Wynne Jones’s books in one year, this month I read The Merlin Conspiracy, Conrad’s Fate, and The Pinhoe Egg! We have now entered the era of Diana Wynne Jones books I read one time when they came out, and generally have not read since. It is an …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/06/03/a-year-of-diana-wynne-jones-the-mid-2000s/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
Emily Lauer
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire