Children's Book: The Soap Box Derby [Bed...

Sammy is riding his bike when a soap box derby car speeds by him causing him problems. He decides he must build a soap box derby car to beat the one that almost ran him over. And so he does.

I love Sammy. Once again he asks us for help. He does forget a few things for his car but remembers them when he runs into trouble.

I look forward to reading Sammy. He makes my day.

The morning after a party attended at her country store, Robbie goes down to begin her day and discovers the body of Erica, the party's honoree. She investigates on her own but lets the cops know what she finds. Robbie has theories. Some more farfetched than others. Other things are also happening in town. Robbie has a list of suspects but cannot narrow it down. Who did it? Also, what is that tool she found?

I love these characters. They are like a family almost (probably get along better than some.) Robbie's romance has hit the rocks. I feel bad for her. Not so sure what I feel towards Jim right now. I only hope there is no collateral damage from it. I'm getting to like Buck. He's okay. Wanda's rough around the edges. The story was good. I am no detective. Until it plays out at the end, I did not know who I was looking at for the murder. Am looking forward to reading the next book.

This is the story of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph can interpret dreams. When he interprets dreams about his family, his brothers hate him. They hate him more because he is their father's favorite. When Joseph comes to bring them food, they plot to kill him but decide to sell him to merchants who are traveling past them. Joseph ends up in Egypt, a servant to Potipher. He gets thrown into jail where he interprets dreams for the other prisoners. His ability is brought to the attention of Pharoah who has him removed from jail to interpret his dreams. He becomes a ruler of Egypt.

This is one of my favorite Bible stories but so much was missing from this version. Though it is for children, they can understand the whole story and too much was missing in this book that it felt like I was walking into the middle of the story. I felt that I was missing the story. It also ended abruptly so I got no closure of when Joseph's brothers come to Egypt to buy food during the famine. Children may need a little explanation, but they know when things are left out. I'd like to see the author rewrite this book and put the whole story of Joseph and his coat and his brothers. The illustrations are beautiful, and they deserve the full story also.

Grandpa Mudcake wants a haircut, but Grandma Mudcake says she is too old to give him one, so he has to go out and get a haircut. Grandpa refuses and his hair grows and grows. Finally, he cannot take it anymore, so he goes to find a barber. He tells Bazil the Barber want he wants but Bazil does not speak English very well and Grandpa falls asleep. What a haircut he gets! But is it what he wanted? What happens when Grandpa wakes up?

I enjoyed this story. It makes me want to read more of the series. Grandpa is a grump and Grandma does not seem to be any different. I loved his haircut. I also liked that Grandpa wanted the lollipop at the end of the haircut. This is a perfect book for your early readers. They can laugh over Grandpa's haircut and style.

Perfect Spiral - Lane Hart

Someone leaves a baby on Quinton Dunn's porch claiming it is his. He thinks it's a joke but decides to have a DNA test to find out. In the meantime, he tries to remember what he did 9 months previously to have a baby. He remembers with help from his teammates. He tracks down the address of the baby's mother only to be met by her sister with anger. Callie is exactly what he is looking for--a woman who says no. They fight over the baby then come to an arrangement. Quinton pursues her, but she is gun shy because of her ex and her sister. Is he the father of the baby? Can they come to an agreement? Can he convince her he's changed?

I enjoyed this story. I liked Quinton and Callie. I found Quin's criteria for a woman interesting. I loved the two points-of-view through the story. I like knowing what each one is thinking and feeling. I understand Callie's feelings knowing his history. I appreciated his teammates warning him about Callie's desire for a baby, but I liked that he ignored them.

I look forward to reading more of this series. It made me feel good although the subjects talked of are tough. I felt hopeful for Quinton and Callie throughout the book.