Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC ebook of Agnes and the Hen in exchange for an honest review.
Title: A Garden Called Home
Author: Jessica J. Lee
Illustrator: Elaine Chen
Publisher:
Publication Date: February 13, 2023
Publisher: Penguin Random House, Canada, Tundra Books
Description:
What makes the place we live feel like home? This is a warm-hearted and lush picture book about family, the immigrant experience and how a simple garden can foster a connection to the larger natural world.
Mama was born in a country far away from here. I love her stories about warm rain in winter and green mountains. And now Mama’s taking me there!
When a young girl and her mother go to visit her family, the girl notices a change. At home, her mother mostly stays inside. Here, her mother likes to explore and go hiking. The girl has never seen her so happy! Her mother tells her about the trees, bushes, flowers and birds. Did you know that tree roots make mountains strong? And that ài hāo (mugwort) is used to make delicious, sweet dumplings?
But her mother’s smile goes away when they return home. It’s cold and she doesn’t want to go outside. She goes back to wearing her big quilted jackets and watering her houseplants.
How can the girl show her mother that nature here can be wondrous too?
Includes a glossary of plants with Mandarin/English words.
My Thoughts
This is a sweet story with beautiful illustrations. While the main point is the blending of cultures and how every place has it’s own beauty, that isn’t my favorite part. I love the compassion and effort the narrator shows to make her mother feel better. Insead of just using kind words, the narrator takes action and does research to find information about plants in their new home. I can see this story inspiring families to create their own gardens.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC ebook of Agnes and the Hen in exchange for an honest review.
Title: Agnes and the Hen
Author; Elle Rowley
Illustrator: Clare Theresen Gray
Publisher: DK Children
Publication Date: January 25, 2023
Description:
This lighthearted story tells the tale of Agnes the Great Dane and Rosie the hen with an important underlying message. With Agne’s help, Rosie discovers that staying true to herself might just be her greatest strength.
Agnes and the Hen is an engaging tale for 3-5 year-olds, teaching an important message about how you can avoid following the crowd and embrace your true self. Children will have fun engaging in the bright and beautiful pages of this picture book and following story alongside vibrant illustrations of farm animals.
My Thoughts:
I love the classic feel of these illustrations. It reminded me of the books I read as a child. There are so many stories about being true to yourself that this didn’t feel original to me. The main character, in this case a hen, is treated badly because they don’t act like the others, then they save the day and everyone loves them.That being said, there’s a reason there are so many stories like this. The message of acceptance and being true to yourself can’t be said enough. Kids will love Agnes’s silly dancing and how the hens scared away the foxes.
One of my goals for 2024 is to post more regularly. To that point, I’m starting a new feature with my favorite book quotes. To kick it off, I’m going to share my favorite quotes from books I’ve chosen as my favorite read of the year:
Favorite Read of 2021
“Life happens whether you’re worrying about it or not, and it seems presumptuous to think we have much of a say in how things play out.” ― Chanel Cleeton, The Last Train to Key West
Favorite Read of 2022
“If we worry about the little things all the time, we run the risk of missing the bigger things.” ― T.J. Klune, Under the Whispering Door
Favorite Read of 2023
“Niceness is all about what we do when other people are looking. Kindness, on the other hand, runs deep. Kindness is what happens when no one’s looking.” ― Sangu Mandanna, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
I posted my top 23 books of 2023 last week, but I left out my overall favorite, so it could get it’s own post. The Very Secret Society of Witches was a perfect blend of heart and humor. Every single character in this book is delightful and intriquing in their own way. There’s a feeling of hope and the value of small changes.
Instead of ranking my top ten books for 2023, I decided to share my top 23 books of the year. These are books I read in 2023, not books published in 2023. I did not assign them specific ranks, I’m just listing them in the order that I read them.
I don’t read a lot of graphic novels, but I love this series. It handles difficult complex racial issues with sensitivity and humor. I love how the characters have evolved in this book and characters get called out on their actions.
I can’t believe I have two graphic novels on my list. Gemma is a baseball prodigy who is holding her family together after her mother leaves. The book captures the dynamics of teenage friendships perfectly.
I love a good historical romance, and love the mail order bride trope because you get to see the whole relationship evolve and really get to know the characters.
When retired tennis star Carrie Soto’s record is in jeopardy, she decides to make a comeback. Carrie is not really likable, but she is a fascinating character.
This is a holiday novella in the Brothers Sinister series. I always forget how much I love this series. Milan writes some of the best bantor in historical romance.
In addition to goodreads, I made an effort to consistently report all my reading on storygraph this year. Last year, I had to import my data from Goodreads and it took a lot longer.
Books read: 82
Pages Read: 26,462
I was surprised that I did the most reading in January. I guess it must’ve been the cold weather. I expected July and August to be my biggest reading months since I’m not teaching.
Not much of a surprise here, although fantasy is usually higher on the list.
Conclusions:
The types of books I read didn’t change much this year, but I read more. For next year I want to work in more middle grade and nonfiction books.
Two years into World War II, Britain is feeling her losses: The Nazis have won battles, the Blitz has destroyed cities, and U-boats have cut off the supply of food. In an effort to help housewives with food rationing, a BBC radio program called The Kitchen Front is holding a cooking contest–and the grand prize is a job as the program’s first-ever female co-host. For four very different women, winning the competition would present a crucial chance to change their lives.
For a young widow, it’s a chance to pay off her husband’s debts and keep a roof over her children’s heads. For a kitchen maid, it’s a chance to leave servitude and find freedom. For a lady of the manor, it’s a chance to escape her wealthy husband’s increasingly hostile behavior. And for a trained chef, it’s a chance to challenge the men at the top of her profession.
These four women are giving the competition their all–even if that sometimes means bending the rules. But with so much at stake, will the contest that aims to bring the community together only serve to break it apart?
Reasons I loved the book
It’s no secret that I love WWII fiction, but there were a few things that made this one stand out:
While the characters experience a lot of hardship, as a whole this was a feel-good story
The focus was on the women’s friendship, not a romance
It has recipes!
Check out the rest of my favorite books of the year here
It’s the day when we all set goals for the upcoming year. I’m not much of a resolution person, but I try to set some intentions each year.
I’ve fallen into the habit of limiting my posts to my favorite read of the month and most anticipated releases of the month. This will continue, but I want to add more different posts. Here are some of the ideas I have, please comment if any of these pique your interest or if you hav eother ideas you’d like to see.
examples of my own fictional writing (pause to brag- I just won a short story contest Past Winners | Writing Battle)
sharing other blogs, sites or youtube channel recommendations
misc. thoughts on reading/writing
Interesting words, etymology and other grammar tips
What else would you like to see on Nicole’s Nook? What goals do you have for your reading and writing?
