Dec 03 2024

Pedro The Pirate by Ciara O’Neal & Antonella Fant

subtitled Learning To Trust A New Crew.

Pedro is a child who lives in a foster home. He doesn’t trust the other kids around him, but thaws to the dog whom he calls Parrot. Whenever someone human makes friendly overtures, however, he rebuffs them, claiming that he’s a pirate who sails alone. Alas for Pedro, too much rudeness calls out the adult known as Governor Daddybeard, who lays down the law.

Frustrated, Pedro decides to run away to sea with only Parrot for company. But when he stumbles across an astonishing treasure, he’ll have to reconsider whether his insistence on going it alone is really what’s best for him, or whether gathering a crew to join the fight and share the spoils is the true, free life of a pirate.

This touching picture book is impressively layered, ostensibly telling one tale with its straightforward story of a young boy with a big imagination, while adding so much nuance and detail with the illustrations. Ciara O’Neal and Antonella Fant clearly worked hard together to convey the story of a scared, lonely kid having big but entirely normal feelings about a tough situation. Ms Fant’s playful digital illustrations are the perfect complement to the light touch of Ms O’Neal’s words, ensuring that this kid’s book stays accessible for the readers who probably need it the most. The amount of care taken in this book to center Pedro and his coping mechanisms — while also gently showing how the people around him engage in best practices to draw him out — makes this an invaluable addition to the library of anyone with any connection to fostering.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/12/03/pedro-the-pirate-by-ciara-oneal-antonella-fant/

Dec 02 2024

Bits Of String Too Small To Save by Ruby Peru (AUDIOBOOK EXCERPT)

Readers, I’m so excited to be able to share a new format of excerpt for you! I am, unfortunately, one of those unlucky people who has trouble concentrating on audiobooks and podcasts, but I know a ton of you appreciate the convenience of those mediums. So today, in addition to the usual printed excerpt, I also have a snippet of an award-winning audiobook to share with you!

Ruby Peru’s Bits Of String Too Small To Save is a witty, classically illustrated fantasy for adults that asks: What’s the difference between animals and people? Magic and technology? A true home and a place to live?

In 2021, BoSTStS was a New York City Big Book Award distinguished favorite. In the novel (now a dramatized, full-cast audiobook,) innocent ElizabethAnn, her criminal genius Grandma and their loyal sheepdog Jackson dive out of the postmodern police state of No Oaks, through a hidden portal, and into the forested dystopia of Bumblegreen. There, ElizabethAnn must either rescue this world from a terrible blight or be executed as the cause of it. In the process, she investigates the disappearance of an ancient genderless magician, befriends a reluctant teenage queen, and rides a scheming, talking monkey, all in order to restore Grandma’s scientific reputation and to make this troubled land their new and true home.

The long-awaited release of the audio format for the book won the 2022 Deanna Tulley Multimedia Prize. Narrated by the author herself and voiced by a wide cast, this full-cast recording brings the novel’s colorful, imaginative characters to life in fresh new ways sure to delight dark fantasy readers of all ages.

Read on for a print excerpt before enjoying the audio sample!

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/12/02/bits-of-string-too-small-to-save-by-ruby-peru-audiobook-excerpt/

Nov 29 2024

Tantalizing Tales — November 2024 — Part Three

Three, three fortnightly roundups for the month of November, ah-ah-ah! (That last bit was meant to be laughed a la Sesame Street’s The Count.) And what a coincidence, today’s post falls on Black Friday too! Let’s take a look at some of the delicious books I haven’t yet had a chance to get to reading these past two weeks, if not longer, shall we?

First up is a time travel YA heist, Tilia Klebenov Jacobs and Norman Birnbach’s Stealing Time. Tori lives in 2020 and her parents are getting divorced. Bobby lives in 1980 and his family is about to fall apart. But when Tori finds herself stranded in Bobby’s time, the two must join forces and prevent a crime that could destroy everyone they care about.

Simultaneously home and not home, Tori finds herself in a gritty New York just beginning to claw its way out of bankruptcy. Pollution and crime are rampant, graffiti is everywhere, and cell phones and the Internet don’t exist. Can two teenagers stop the jewelry theft of the decade? Will Tori ever get back to her own day and age? And how will Bobby react when she tells him that she’s both an accidental time-traveler and his daughter?

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/11/29/tantalizing-tales-november-2024-part-three/

Nov 27 2024

Smarty The Brain: Stories by Brian S Hamilton

An interesting collection of short stories meant to be read by caregivers to their preschool children, focused on brain/concussion safety.

The main character of these ten stories is Smarty, a responsible young brain who knows that making sensible choices for his own safety can only help him in the long run. His foil, after a fashion, is the less safety-conscious Moody, whom we learn over the course of the book used to be something of a bully. Fortunately, the friendship he developed with Smarty helped him not only learn how to protect his brain, but also how to be a better person in general. He grows so much as a character that he even helps out his aunt and uncle with the safety of their new baby.

Tbh, I wish Moody’s character arc had been more smoothly described, as it tends to go back and forth over the course of the book. I’m not actually sure what guides the organization of these stories, tho there’s definitely a sense of increased affluence as the book goes on. It begins with fairly standard stuff that almost all kids will experience — biking, vehicle seat belts, babyproofing — before growing increasingly more niche, culminating in safety measures while riding horses and snowmobiles. I get that this is a book for children from all walks of life — brain injuries can happen any time and anywhere, after all — but I was still a little taken aback by the casual treatment of rather pricey expenditures.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/11/27/smarty-the-brain-stories-by-brian-s-hamilton/

Nov 26 2024

Nothing Special Vol 2: Concerning Wings by Katie Cook

I love so much how this book features a cute guy named Declan, giving me further excuse to think of my kids’ future stepdad Declan Rice (not that I really need any excuses, lol.)

Anyway, Declan Hickey is the focal point of the second volume of the long-running web comic Nothing Special. He and our heroine Callie Benson have graduated high school and have started working at her father’s magical antique store with Lasser, the friend they picked up on their last big adventure through the magical world. Working with her dad is Callie’s dream come true, and having her half-human, half-fairy boyfriend Declan work with her is icing on the cake. Dad still does most of the sourcing of goods for the shop — and Lasser most of the actual shopkeeping when he isn’t busy immersing himself in romance novels — but Callie and Declan play important roles in growing both the business and each other’s recently discovered magical abilities.

Dad is actually away on a work trip when Declan’s injured fairy wing starts shooting off sparks, causing him to collapse with pain. Callie, Lasser and Radish (the vegetable spirit who is Callie’s constant companion) shut down the store and take Declan into the magical world in an attempt to find a fairy healer. What should be a simple enough four-day journey to a fairy enclave soon turns into a deeper exploration of who both Callie and Declan really are.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/11/26/nothing-special-vol-2-concerning-wings-by-katie-cook/

Nov 25 2024

What I Must Tell The World by Jay Leslie & Loveis Wise

subtitled How Lorraine Hansberry Found Her Voice

Oh, y’all, I don’t even know why I’m crying. No, actually, I suspect I do: I am shamed, and for once not in a bad way, and challenged by the courage it took for playwright Lorraine Hansberry to follow her dreams and live honestly in an era potentially even more hostile to her than the one I live in now is to me. Every life is different ofc but her valor stands out through time, reminding me — and potentially many other readers — that courage takes work, and that even just using your voice to champion the oppressed is already an important step in reshaping the world to be a better, more just place for everyone in it. It’s definitely continuing a personal trend that I recently discussed in my weekly newsletter, where I was Writing About Writing. Who do we write for, I asked, and why is it important, even when the days seem darkest? If you too need further reason to keep making art, this amazing children’s book will likely help shore you up immeasurably.

Ms Hansberry grew up the daughter of a family that decided to challenge segregation by moving from their Black Chicago neighborhood of Bronzeville to the white neighborhood of Woodlawn. Despite enduring horrifying racism, the Hansberrys persisted in proving that they belonged, even going to court to defend their right to live there. In 1940, the Supreme Court ruled in their favor in the landmark case Hansberry v Lee. As her father Carl Hansberry told all his children:

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/11/25/what-i-must-tell-the-world-by-jay-leslie-loveis-wise/

Nov 22 2024

The Ultimate Guide To Dollywood by Erin K Browne

What a delightful way to either plan for a trip to the musical icon’s theme park or to just daydream about eventually going!

While this unofficial guide doesn’t go into the history of Dollywood, it’s certainly a loving look at the largest employer in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near the birthplace of living legend Dolly Parton. The book occasionally alludes to the former incarnations of what is now Dollywood, but it’s clear that the amusement park as we know it today has been guided and stamped by Ms Parton’s vision. It’s actually pretty impressive how thoughtful, uplifting and inclusive a theme park can be — but that shouldn’t be a surprise for anyone who knows Ms Parton as more than a country music icon. With her early reading initiatives, investment in the poor and championing of equal rights for marginalized groups, she’s long been a quiet but firm backer of common sense approaches to making life better for everyone.

Thus, it’s a pleasure to read of all the ways in which Dollywood is a safe space for all of its visitors, from those with sensory issues to those with uncommon dietary needs. Erin K Browne makes a point of noting these little details and more in ways that make it easier for visitors to plan ahead, so that everyone going can have a good time. Divided into ten parts, this book focuses mainly on the sights of Dollywood actual, confining related attractions such as Splash Country and the Stampede Dinner Attraction to a single chapter at the end. It’s still a large amount of info, neatly distilled by Ms Browne so that visitors can make the most of their time in the area, assuming that they’re primarily there for the main theme park.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/11/22/the-ultimate-guide-to-dollywood-by-erin-k-browne/

Nov 21 2024

Castle Swimmer Vol 1 by Wendy Martin

Y’all, I did not expect to tear up at this sweet and surprisingly substantial look at star-crossed mermen fated by prophecy to lose one another.

Kappa is born to be the Beacon. Almost immediately after he hatches from his egg, the God of the Surface informs him that his task is to swim around the ocean, fulfilling prophecies for its various peoples. Unsure what that actually means, Kappa finds himself drawn irresistibly from castle to castle, as a catalyst for blessings. Perhaps if his very first mission had gone better, he’d enjoy the task more. As it is, he feels little better than a thing, a cog cared for only for his utility and not for anything that actually makes him a person with needs and desires and dreams.

Siren is a prince of the Shark people. Years ago, they were cursed by a minigod to a tragic end, one they can be saved from if their unscarred prince kills the Beacon. Siren has thus been kept in a protective bubble his entire life, raised by his mother the Queen and her closest advisor, even as his father, the previous Prince, has disappeared on a quixotic quest to end the curse without resorting to murder. As tenderhearted and moral as his father, Siren does not relish the prospect of killing the Beacon, even before Kappa swims close enough to Shark territory to be captured and held in the castle dungeon, awaiting the lethal point of Siren’s spear.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/11/21/castle-swimmer-vol-1-by-wendy-martin/

Nov 20 2024

One-Shot Wonders by Sam Bartlett, Beth Davies & Destiny Howell

With the caveat that I’m reviewing the sample set handed out for Free RPG Day 2024, which I must say feels fairly representative of how the book must be as a whole!

I’m actually finally coming around to writing a review of this because I got a chance to use a sample for one my own RPG sessions. I’ve been running Ghosts Of Saltmarsh as an overarching campaign for my local RPG group, dropping in the occasional one-shot between chapters for both cohesion and funsies. Interestingly, most of the adventures included in the GoS book don’t actually take place in the town actual, so I’ve been forced to look for outside materials to help build up Saltmarsh and its citizenry. One-Shot Wonders’ Fishy Business adventure was the perfect way to help do that!

And small wonder that it’s the adventure from which the cover illustration is taken. Over the course of a mere two pages (including the wonderfully evocative art,) Game Masters are given a comprehensive blueprint for an adventure that includes roleplay, investigation and two stages of combat, in an easy to follow layout that requires few additional notes. Important Characters are grouped in one section, with Quick Stats next to that, then Key Locations are provided on the facing page. Even tho there’s plenty of information available at a glance, nothing is crowded together. I ran the adventure with this two-page spread open in front of me (but behind the DM’s screen one of my players helpfully brings to each of my sessions,) with my phone for reference alongside and a notebook to jot down names as I made them up on the fly, often with input from my table. There’s a reason four of the sailors are called Summersby, Wintersby, Fallsby and Monsoonby, lol.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/11/20/one-shot-wonders-by-sam-bartlett-beth-davies-destiny-howell/

Nov 19 2024

Cold Snap by Lindy Ryan

I can see what Lindy Ryan was trying to do here, given my steeping in world mythology, but I think it needed a little more explaining so that the average reader can figure out what’s actually going on in this horror novella of guilt and grief.

Just a few weeks ago, Derek Sinclaire died, falling off of the roof while putting up Christmas lights. His wife Christine has been guilt-stricken ever since: at her inability to save him, at her insistence on getting the lights up so soon, at all the things that aren’t her fault but that she blames herself for anyway. She feels like her fifteen year-old son Billy would much rather that she had been the one to die, as that’s pretty much what she feels, too.

Unable to take the suffocating sympathy of her neighbors any longer, she packs up Billy and their cat Haiku and takes them up to the mountains where Derek had made reservations for them to have a Christmas getaway out in the snowy wilds. The lady at check-in is kind of a bitch, but does warn Christine to look out for moose. She also tells her where to find the Wi-fi information, which Christine immediately palms in a futile effort to get her kid to talk to her instead of staying glued to his phone the entire trip. Still addled by grief, Christine finds that she packed over-well in some cases and poorly in others. And that’s before the lights start shattering in their remote mountain cabin and a strange horned figure begins to lurk outside.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/11/19/cold-snap-by-lindy-ryan/