Oh, how I wish I’d listened to everyone and read this book a lot sooner than I did. I loved Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (review HERE) and One True Loves (review HERE), but Daisy Jones & the Six is different. It’s really something special, and I cannot recommend it enough.

Daisy Jones is written in a style I don’t usually read and don’t usually enjoy: interview. The book is almost 100% pure interviews with a fictional band, The Six, and their eventual lead singer, Daisy Jones. They are being interviewed years after their success and break-up, and the reader is treated to the story of how they came together and how they fell apart.

Reid is a great writer, but this book just might be her best. I had to stop myself from Googling the band, because I kept thinking it was real and I wanted to know even more. The interview style works so well here, and even though there are multiple characters involved, after a few pages it’s not a problem remembering who they are. I felt as though I was right alongside them on their journey, through the ups and downs, and my heart was happy for them and broke for them along the way.

Daisy Jones and the Six might be “popular fiction,” but I’m going to go ahead and say that I think this is a masterpiece of a book. It is exactly what fiction should be: fun, entertaining, heartbreaking, moving, and made me really wish I’d written it.

I hope wherever Daisy is, she’s happy. And if you haven’t read this book yet, please do it soon!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

EXTRA!

I haven’t listened to it yet, but I did buy the audio version of Daisy Jones on Audible. I’ve heard it’s absolutely amazing and adds even more to the story. Can you wrong with Jennifer Beals??

In case y’all haven’t noticed, I very happily partner with Blue Slip Media quite often for their children’s books. That’s because they consistently select the most amazing books to promote. Spiky, by Ilaria Guarducci and translated by Laura Watkinson, is another fantastic addition. Guarducci is an Italian author and illustrator, and this is the most charming, wonderful book that teaches a sweet lesson about friendship and inclusion.

Description from publisher:

Spiky lives in the dark of the forest, where he spends his days being very, very bad, bullying the other forest creatures and sharpening the spikes on his body. Those spikes are handy for keeping everybody at a distance, and that’s just how Spiky likes it! But then one day the unthinkable happens: Spiky starts losing his spikes! Soon he is left looking as soft and as pink as a soft, pink marshmallow. What will Spiky do, now that he can no longer scare away the other forest creatures? Will he have to (gulp!) make friends? It’s a good thing Bernardo the bunny comes along to show him how it’s done.

First published in Italy, this charming story of friendship will have children giggling until the very end.

I love, love, love Spiky, and I know a few kids who I’m planning to buy it for. It’s sweet and funny, and teaches a lesson without being preachy. It does have a few scenes that might upset younger children (Spiky pulls the wings off a butterfly), but I think 5 and up will be fine with it, and it just emphasizes just how much Spiky changes, and that you don’t have to be mean just because people expect you to be! I hope Guarducci uses her talents to write more books like this!

Happy Cat World Domination Day!

No, really, it’s a thing, and it’s why I’m posting my review of Max Attacks today!

Kathi Appelt is a prolific children’s author, and her new picture book, Max Attacks, published on June 11, 2019, fits right in with her library of meaningful books. This is such a cute book with simple, colorful illustrations by Penelope Dullaghan. Max is a naughty cat who likes to attack anything in his path. Socks, goldfish, shoelaces, nothing is safe from his pounce. He even keeps score, to make sure everyone knows how good of an attacker he is.

This is a fantastic book for younger kids. The rhyming is fun and silly, and Max is the perfect naughty but cute cat. I think any kid, especially kids who love animals, will love Max Attacks!

Lindsay Ward has done it again! Her Dexter series is so cute, and Vacation for Dexter is no exception. In this third book, out April 16th, Dexter and his owner are going on vacation! The only problem? They have to fly on an airplane, and Dexter is scared. He has to learn how to be brave on the plane, and that at the end of the flight is a really fun family vacation.

This is a great book for all kids, and especially kids (or adults, ahem, like me) who have some anxiety about traveling or flying. It shows that it’s ok to be afraid, but that you can be brave too! And who doesn’t want to be brave and get an awesome beach vacation at the end of it? And snacks. Snacks are definitely essential on airplanes.

My 7-year-old and I love the Dexter books, and this one is just as good as the first two!

Happy National Siblings Day! I don’t have a sibling, but I love watching the sibling relationship my two boys have. (Well, sometimes I don’t love watching them annoy each other on purpose, but that’s just part of it!) In honor of Siblings Day, Blue Slip Media sent me the sequel one of my favorite picture books, I Am Famous, about fabulous Kiely and her paparazzi family. In I Used to Be Famous, Kiely isn’t quite the paparazzi darling she once was due to the arrival of her baby sister, Abby. Kiely has to figure out how to share the spotlight instead of stealing it all for herself.

This is such a sweet book, and it’s perfect for younger kids and new moms of two (or more)! It’s a fun way to show how there’s enough love and attention to go around for all siblings, and sharing the attention is ok. I hope Becky Cattie and Tara Luebbe have another one planned in this series!