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‘In blossom’ is a gentle and dreamy book with gorgeous minimalist pictures. It has this uncanny ability to take you from whatever emotions you have been experiencing and transport you into a spring garden on a ’breeze-blowing’, ‘sun-twinkling day’.

There are two characters in the book. Cat has just found a perfect spot for her picnic. She moves her lunch on the bench to make space for Dog who is there to read his book. A falling petal lands on, first, Cat’s nose, then, Dog’s one. Cat offers her lunch, which is gratefully accepted by Dog. This might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship or it might be just one of those lovely shared experiences that stay in our memory even if we do not see the person again.

You need to read books like these to your child if you want to develop their range of emotions. Sometimes you need something pacey with bright vibrant colours. Other times you need something sweet, soft, and tender if you want them to learn to appreciate the beauty of a spring day.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lincoln Children’s Books for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Title: In Blossom
Authors: Cheon Yooju
Published by: Quarto Publishing Group, Lincoln Children’s books
Published: January 15th 2019
ISBN 1786037289 (ISBN13: 9781786037282)

Madeleine Engle said:
“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”

Pi Lightfoot might be the case. It takes you on a whirlwind adventure in a world of alien supercomputers. There are perils to avoid, friends to save and mysteries to solve. Now that I have read the second instalment, I have grown to love the characters: fearless Pi, loyal Gaia, word-mixing klutzy Leo, kind and fatherly HB, and my favourite super smart and super cool Andomime. Inverse is full of fantastic objects such as pinwheels (would make my morning routine so much easier) and spherooms (yes, ceilings are a total waste of space) as well as powerful elements.
Some parts of the book were more abstract and difficult to follow (I am a grown-up, after all). Others were written in such a wonderfully tangible way that I almost felt the cold drops and acrid tang of the Leviathan wave.
Looking forward to reading the third part of Pi’s adventures.

Thank you to NetGalley and Troubador Publishing for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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 Little White fish is a cute and super-friendly creature who would love to know what the most beautiful thing in the ocean is. Little Octopus, Little Turtle, Little Goldfish, Little Seahorse, Little Starfish and Little Snail have different opinions, all of which are valid and true.
I loved the layout, pictures and the font of this sweet and tender book. There is a lot of repetition, which is very important for toddlers who can ‘read along’ with their parent or teacher.
Simply enchanting.
Thank you to NetGalley and Clavis Publishing for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Little White Fish and the sea
Author: Guido Van Genechten
Published by: Clavis Publishing
Publishing Date: 11 Oct 2018

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I grew up on science fiction- Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Ursula Le Guin, Clifford Simak, John Windham… But among the very first ones was Roger Zelazny and his Coils. Oh, how I wanted to be able to travel inside its computer-generated reality.
If you are 12-13, love computers and are about to venture into the world of sci-fi, try this one. Pi (she actually has quite an interesting first name which I won’t give away) is very likeable and easy to relate to. She has an older sister Lani and Mum. Her Dad died when she was 4 weeks old but there is a mystery lurking behind…
One day an amazing thing happens. Pi (Pi’s avatar) gets transported to an alien AI virtual reality where her adventures begin. She makes new friends Gaia, Leo, Andomime and explores the new mysterious world of the Inverse.
At times I felt a bit overloaded with the slang/computer-related lingo and trying to stay behind the technicalities of the Inverse was not easy. However, if you like cyberpunk, Wrinkle in time and Alice in Wonderland, this fast-paced book will keep you gripped. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Troubador publishing Limited for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

It is not easy to limit this hauntingly beautiful novel to one central idea. It is about difficulty of communication, about dualism and wholeness, war and civilization, friendship, trust and human relationships. All of this is set in a cold cold world where the mark of civilization is not comfort but survival. The planet of Gethen (Winter) is still in the Ice Age and the two countries described in the book are situated on a relatively small strip of land between ice sheets and glaciers. The most remarkable thing about the Gethenians (from our point of view) is that they are ambisexual: neuter most of the time (or better-said potential) becoming either female or male for a few days.
The narrator of the book Genly Ai is an envoy entrusted with making contact and bringing this far away world into the Ekumen union of trade, knowledge and culture exchange. ‘The first Envoy to a world always comes alone. One alien is a curiosity, two are an invasion.’ Genly is open-minded and willing to learn about local ways. He has to navigate around ‘shifgrethor’ – prestige, face, place, the pride-relationship, the untranslatable and all-important principle of social authority in…all civilizations of Gethen’. He tries to understand the Gethenian sexual mores- in Gethen anybody ‘can be tied down to childbearing…and nobody is as free as a free male anywhere else’ (the book was written in 1969, things have changed a lot, although not everywhere). He visits a local monastery and takes part in a foretelling ritual that gives him a much better idea of their religious beliefs and practices e.g. the importance of keeping one’s mind clear of abstractions, becoming ‘ignorant’. Yet, he finds it extremely difficult to leave aside his preconceptions and patterns of interaction.

Without giving away too much of the story, its main message is the importance of love, trust and, above all, acceptance.

Thanks for joining me. Please, read, comment and share your opinions.

“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.”

Mortimer J. Adler