Do Bees Say Please? by Janice Garden Macdonald is an illustrated rhyming book for 2-6-year-old children. The story is narrated by a friendly bumble bee living on a country farm. The bee is desperate to make friends, but for an unknown reason, all the farm...

1LifeObit: Funeral Wishes is a work of non-fiction in the autobiography, memoir, and emotive writing subgenres. It is suitable for the general adult reading audience and was penned by author Sarah-Luisa Gosling-Berté as a sort of self-written obituary. Inspired by her adoption as a child,...

Alianne Donnelly’s Shadow Hawk is a science-fiction story involving survival. Laura Belden had just been notified that her husband William, who has a degenerative disease, had decided to go to an assisted living center. While she was fuming over his decision, the Shadows attacked. Three...

I know from personal experience how difficult it is, even in a short story, to create a fictional character based on real-life events and make readers fully relate to that protagonist’s emotions and decisions in a twisty murder mystery. But that is what D.F. Kennedy,...

I love how Simone Majetich writes most of her children’s story, My Greatest Masterpiece, in the second person narrative. This is a complex voice, but she uses it easily. The author is talking about her two children, young artists with a strong creative mindset, full...

Hearthender is the first novel in the Warhound Series by Catrina Prager. With King Helling too old to govern, it was up to Prince Adelras and Prince Mei to look after the Amagiraeans. The land and its people appeared prosperous, but something dangerous lurked in...

Aria & Liam: The Cursed Empress by Coline Monsarrat is a fantasy adventure for middle graders. While participating in a sailing competition, best friends Aria and Liam inadvertently stumble upon a mysterious cavern of crystals, where they meet siblings Kael and Thayla, children of Empress...

Jane Meyer is the heroine of Beach of the Dead: Book Two of the Heartland Trilogy, but we only meet Jane briefly before she changes her name to Ana Jiménez. The novel opens with a carefully crafted hook: “My first purchase in my new life...

A Bird of Dereliction is a collection of 12 surreal tales. Written by Charlie Selkirk, these short stories push the boundaries of your imagination to provide some poignant insights into the human condition. A person suffering from severe societal alienation visits a physician for a...

Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival by Eugenia Chu and Y.Y. Chan is a collection of stories, history, folklore, traditions, and recipes of Chinese culture. It targets kids aged 6-9, but I believe many older readers will find this book just as interesting and informative. The book is...

FBI Special Agent Juan McCormack had come so close. He had collected enough facts and evidence. All that was needed was to prove that his theory was correct. Seventeen murder cases in ten different states, all of them with astounding similarity. Living in a world...

Emma's Curious Quest by Rob Stark is a captivating and imaginative tale that combines elements of fantasy, adventure, and mystery. The story follows the journey of Emma, a young girl brimming with curiosity and vivid imagination, who stumbles upon a mysterious book that leads her...

This is Our Home: A Sustainability Story to Help You Start Your Own Eco-Friendly Journey by Trent Romer is a combined memoir and environmental study. It gives practical ideas to anyone who wants to become an environmentalist or just be a little more eco-friendly. It...

Harlan and the Bee: A Children's Book About Compassion and Sharing by Lena LaRue is a sweet story that teaches valuable life lessons. Harlan is a hummingbird that enjoys the sugar water feeder in the garden so much so that he doesn’t want to share...

Kimberly Brighton’s The Way to Cape May features four friends and their love stories. Delaney and Dalton are engaged to be married on June 17th. As a criminal defense attorney, Delaney’s latest case to exonerate an innocent man has kept her too busy to do...

When children walk into a church, they seek belonging and the love of God. Elrena Evans’ book, When I Go to Church, I Belong, depicts this loving atmosphere, particularly for children with special needs. The story begins with the Bible verse Matthew 19:14, in which...

Potty Talk is a short story by Valerie Allen that explores the little details that can make or break a relationship. While cleaning a restroom, Daine overhears two women talking about their divorces. One of the women, Iris, discloses that after leaving the courthouse, she...

Which breed of cattle produces milk or beef? Do some cattle just work on the farm without producing either? Your child can learn about cattle in Elizabeth Richards’ book H Is for Hereford: A Little Cattleman’s First ABC Book. Yes, Elizabeth teaches the alphabet by...

The Falcon, the Wolf, and the Hummingbird is a work of fiction in the historical fiction, adventure, and interpersonal drama subgenres. It is suitable for the general adult reading audience and was penned by author Martha Engber. This captivating tale, set in pre-colonial southern New...

Spooky Ooky Dance Party by Lisa Jacovsky is a fun children’s adventure story. It’s Hallowe’en, and all the hoomans are dressing up, ready to go trick and treating. Moon’s hoomans have dressed him up, but he doesn’t mind. Moon is special and Hallowe’en is the...