No Such Thing As Monsters
Jenny L. Shannon-Garvey’s No Such Thing as Monsters is a lively children’s book about imagination, friendship, and the courage it takes to be kind. Alex McGarrigle is the sort of kid who can turn an ordinary afternoon into an adventure, especially with his shaggy dog, Diggity, at his side. After a familiar evening of family chatter, mac and cheese, and bedtime negotiations, Alex encounters Harry, a very large purple monster with orange spots, wings, and an unexpectedly gentle personality. Their meeting sends Alex into a world where a child’s wishes feel wonderfully possible. The story has an easy warmth from the start, thanks in part to Alex’s affectionate, teasing exchanges with his parents.
What makes Harry especially endearing is the gap between his enormous appearance and his tender feelings. He may be big enough to make the floor shake, but he’s also easily startled, eager to make friends, and wonderfully messy at mealtimes. His friendship with Alex brings plenty of comic moments involving pancakes, spaghetti, and other everyday adventures that get a lot more complicated when a monster joins in. There’s a playful rhythm to the dialogue, with exaggerated sound effects that practically invite an enthusiastic read-aloud performance. The book also gives its young characters room to feel embarrassed, disappointed, and uncertain, which helps the magical premise stay connected to recognizable childhood experiences.
Shannon-Garvey mixes loose, watercolor-like backgrounds with bold, expressive cartoon figures, creating a contrast that makes Harry stand out wherever he goes. His purple body, orange markings, and oversized features are delightfully memorable, while his wide eyes communicate emotions just as clearly as the words do. The pictures move comfortably between cozy interiors, leafy city parks, nighttime skies, and the colorful landscapes of Monsterland. I especially enjoyed the visual shift from the everyday world to the fanciful one, where yellow skies, unusual creatures, and bright colors make the possibilities feel endless. Some scenes stretch across a whole page, giving readers time to explore the little details.
Beneath the silliness, No Such Thing as Monsters takes children’s feelings seriously. When Alex encounters unkind behavior, the story opens up a natural conversation about bullying, self-worth, and what it means to stand up for someone else. His father’s reassurance and Harry’s loyal companionship show different ways kindness can sound and look. The longer, dialogue-rich passages make this a picture book well suited to sharing aloud, especially with children who enjoy settling into a full story and talking about it afterward. There’s also a gentle appreciation for imagination woven throughout, not simply as a source of fantastical creatures, but as a way of forming connections and seeing others with empathy. It’s a cheerful, bighearted read with plenty for families to discuss.
Pages: 48 | ASIN : B0DYWVDNHH
Real Estate Rebel
In Real Estate Rebel, Sybil James Ellis tells the extraordinary story of her rise through the male-dominated world of commercial real estate, where billion-dollar deals were negotiated by powerful men who rarely made room for women at the table. But Ellis’s memoir reaches far beyond boardrooms, skyscrapers, and corporate politics. It’s a deeply personal account of a woman determined to build a life on her own terms, despite the emotional wounds and societal expectations that shaped her early years. Growing up in the South under the authority of a domineering father, Ellis learned early how easily a woman’s confidence could be undermined. Her journey through difficult relationships, single motherhood, and a series of professional breakthroughs reveals the complicated relationship between personal survival and ambition. The result is an engaging memoir about discovering your worth, finding your voice, and refusing to surrender either one.
Ellis is outspoken, funny, opinionated, and refreshingly willing to admit when she’s made a spectacular mistake. Her storytelling has the easy, unfiltered quality of someone sharing unforgettable experiences over dinner, occasionally punctuating a particularly outrageous memory with a well-placed expletive. That candor makes even the more technical aspects of commercial real estate surprisingly entertaining. Readers get an insider’s view of high-stakes negotiations, corporate power struggles, and landmark property transactions, including the pursuit of Rockefeller Center. Ellis also offers fascinating glimpses into her professional relationship with billionaire investor Sam Zell, whose unconventional business philosophy and colorful personality helped shape her career. Their exchanges are among the book’s most memorable moments, illustrating the combination of instinct, preparation, nerve, and humor that defined her approach to dealmaking.
The emotional heart of Real Estate Rebel lies in the connection Ellis draws between her professional achievements and her complicated personal life. She writes openly about sexual violence, domestic abuse, motherhood, relationships, and the lingering effects of childhood trauma. These experiences give the memoir considerable emotional weight, especially as Ellis examines how her private insecurities sometimes followed her into rooms where she commanded enormous professional respect. Her reflections on workplace discrimination also provide a revealing portrait of an era when women routinely encountered barriers that their male colleagues barely noticed. Particularly compelling is her growing commitment to mentoring other women and creating opportunities for them within the industry. At times, Ellis’s enthusiastic attention to financial details and corporate personalities slows the narrative’s momentum, but those details also establish the scale of her accomplishments and the fascinating business culture in which she operated. Her willingness to examine her own contradictions gives the story its authenticity.
Real Estate Rebel will especially appeal to women navigating ambitious careers, particularly those working in traditionally male-dominated industries. Aspiring entrepreneurs, business leaders, and real estate professionals will appreciate the practical insights into negotiation, relationship-building, calculated risk-taking, and earning respect in competitive environments. Readers who enjoy candid memoirs about complicated families, personal reinvention, and the intersection of career and identity will also find plenty to connect with. Ellis’s story carries particular significance for women who’ve struggled to balance professional ambitions with motherhood, romantic relationships, and expectations about how women should behave. Her experiences are sometimes painful, frequently hilarious, and consistently revealing. What stays with the reader is her fierce determination to make her own decisions, even when those decisions come with considerable consequences. With its lively storytelling, emotional honesty, and remarkable behind-the-scenes perspective on American commercial real estate, Real Estate Rebel is a memorable account of a woman who learned to trust her instincts, claim her place, and speak for herself.
Pages: 256 | ASIN : B0H63858KG
So You Want To Be A Hedge Fund Manager
Linda Soules has found a wonderfully engaging way to introduce young readers to a profession most adults don’t fully understand. In So You Want to Be a Hedge Fund Manager, she takes the complicated world of investing and turns it into an accessible, surprisingly entertaining learning experience. This children’s book invites curious minds to explore what hedge fund managers actually do, how they make decisions, and why their work matters. Soules writes with a friendly, conversational voice that makes readers feel like they’re getting an inside look at a fascinating career. From the opening pages, she connects financial concepts to familiar experiences, including trading baseball cards, running lemonade stands, and making choices about money. It’s an inviting approach that encourages children to discover how investing works while introducing the importance of curiosity, responsibility, and thoughtful decision-making.
The book does a fantastic job of explaining financial ideas. Stocks, bonds, diversification, short selling, and investment risk become much easier to understand through relatable comparisons and everyday situations. Soules also introduces the people who work together at hedge funds, showing how research, teamwork, communication, and careful planning contribute to their success. Particularly engaging are the sections exploring a typical workday, the surprising aspects of the profession, and the personal qualities that help someone succeed. The writing has a lively sense of humor, with playful examples involving pizza, candy, and even toy robots. These details make the subject feel approachable while giving children plenty of interesting information to share with friends and family.
The illustrations bring tremendous personality to this picture book. Warm colors, expressive characters, and thoughtfully detailed settings create a welcoming visual experience throughout its pages. Cozy offices, busy meeting rooms, cheerful family scenes, and imaginative representations of financial concepts help readers connect with the information. I especially enjoyed the illustrations that turn unfamiliar ideas into recognizable situations, including investors sharing a pie and a bull and bear facing each other across a table. There’s a wonderful variety to the artwork, too, with scenes moving between professional environments, homes, gardens, and historical settings. The images complement the explanations beautifully, giving children visual connections to ideas that might otherwise seem complicated. They also make the book enjoyable to browse, encouraging readers to linger over the pages and notice little details.
I think what makes So You Want to Be a Hedge Fund Manager appealing is its emphasis on the human side of finance. Soules highlights honesty, humility, discipline, independent thinking, and the responsibility involved in managing other people’s money. She also introduces real professionals, interesting historical facts, useful vocabulary, and practical activities that encourage children to keep learning. The book offers plenty of opportunities for conversations between children, parents, and teachers about money, careers, and making good decisions. With its inviting illustrations, informative writing, and thoughtful encouragement of intellectual curiosity, this is a picture book that can spark a genuine interest in finance. Young readers who enjoy puzzles, numbers, problem-solving, or discovering unusual careers will find plenty to appreciate, and adults may learn a few things along the way.
Pages: 47 | ASIN : B0HP8SXDS6
So You Want To Be A Nurse
I absolutely loved So You Want to Be a Nurse by Linda Soules. This children’s book captures so much of what makes nursing a meaningful and rewarding profession. From the very beginning, I appreciated how the author introduces young readers to the everyday responsibilities of nurses while emphasizing the compassion, quick thinking, and dedication that go into caring for patients. Nursing involves so much more than giving medications and checking vital signs, and Soules does a wonderful job of showing just how much knowledge, skill, and heart the profession requires. I especially enjoyed how she explains the importance of noticing small changes in patients and speaking up when something doesn’t seem right. Those are things nurses do every day, and seeing them explained in a way children can understand made me smile.
One of my favorite things about this picture book is how thoroughly it explores the nursing profession. Readers get to discover the many places nurses work, the equipment they use, and the different roles they can pursue. I loved the sections about nursing history, famous nurses, and the qualities that make someone good at the job. The author also includes some of the physically and emotionally demanding parts of nursing, which I appreciated because they’re such an important part of understanding the profession. The little details about busy shifts, teamwork, patient relationships, and even the unusual things nurses encounter felt especially familiar to me. I found myself nodding along and remembering experiences from my own nursing career.
The illustrations are colorful, detailed, and filled with warmth, bringing the different nursing environments and patient interactions to life. I particularly enjoyed the scenes showing nurses comforting patients, working alongside other healthcare professionals, and caring for people of different ages. The facial expressions and body language communicate kindness and reassurance, which are such important parts of nursing. The illustrations also feature nurses from different backgrounds, helping children see that nursing is a profession where many different people can make a difference. I think young readers will enjoy examining the pictures while learning about hospital rooms, medical equipment, and the people who work in healthcare.
What really won me over was how this book encourages children to recognize the caring qualities they may already have. The sections offering practical ways to explore nursing, along with the glossary and additional resources, make it especially engaging for curious young readers. I loved that Soules connects everyday acts of kindness, observation, and listening with the skills nurses develop throughout their careers. As someone who knows firsthand how meaningful it is to help people through difficult moments, I found the book genuinely touching. So You Want to Be a Nurse would be a wonderful addition to a classroom, school library, or home bookshelf, especially for children interested in healthcare. I’d happily recommend it to young readers and the adults who want to encourage their curiosity about nursing.
Pages: 44 | ASIN : B0HP77V6SX
Directive Detectives: The Salem Directive: File 002
G. Savo’s The Salem Directive, the second book in the Directive Detectives series, is an engaging middle-grade historical mystery that turns a visit to Salem, Massachusetts, into an adventure filled with discovery, friendship, and some fascinating history. Twelve-year-old Maddy Torres and her friends Evelyn Wagner, Darnel Thomas, and Jin Cho are back, following another mysterious file from the hidden room they’ve discovered inside the Boston Public Library. This time, their investigation takes them into the history of the 1692 Salem witch trials. Armed with cryptic instructions, old documents, maps, and plenty of curiosity, the four friends explore a city where Halloween attractions share the streets with centuries-old landmarks. What makes the premise especially appealing is how each clue encourages the detectives to question familiar stories and look more closely at the people and places behind them. It’s a historical mystery that makes learning feel like an adventure readers can experience alongside the characters.
One of the book’s strengths is its portrayal of the four young detectives and their friendship. Each brings something different to the investigation. Maddy is thoughtful and observant, Evelyn has a talent for spotting patterns, Darnel is passionate about history, and Jin approaches almost everything with technological curiosity, a healthy appetite, and a wonderfully entertaining sense of humor. Their conversations are full of playful teasing, friendly disagreements, and the kind of comfortable familiarity that makes their friendship believable. Jin’s reactions to Salem’s Halloween festivities and his ongoing commentary about practically everything provide some particularly funny moments. Savo also gives the characters room to think independently, question one another, and occasionally admit they’re wrong. Their different personalities make the teamwork interesting, especially when a clue requires several perspectives to understand. This sense of camaraderie gives the middle grade mystery a welcoming atmosphere and makes spending time with these characters enjoyable.
Savo brings Salem to life through its crowded autumn streets, historic buildings, museums, memorials, and quieter locations connected to the witch trials. Readers follow the detectives to places such as the Witch House, the site of the original courthouse, and the Rebecca Nurse Homestead. Along the way, the story introduces historical figures, examines surviving records, and explores how misconceptions can become accepted versions of history. The attention given to Rebecca Nurse is particularly meaningful, encouraging readers to consider the everyday lives of people whose names are remembered primarily because of tragic events. Savo handles difficult historical subjects with sensitivity while keeping the material accessible to younger readers. The black-and-white illustrations add another appealing dimension, helping readers picture the locations and atmosphere of the investigation. The combination of real historical sites, intriguing clues, and thoughtful questions gives this historical fiction adventure a strong educational element without losing its conversational charm.
What I liked most about The Salem Directive was its emphasis on curiosity, empathy, and the responsibility that comes with understanding history. The mystery unfolds through conversations, research, and discoveries that gradually change how the characters see the past. There’s a reflective quality to the storytelling, and its measured pace allows important historical details and emotional moments to receive the attention they deserve. I especially appreciated the idea that history is something each generation can examine, question, and help preserve. The connection between the young detectives and those who worked on the files before them adds a meaningful sense of continuity to the series. Savo has created a thoughtful blend of children’s historical fiction, educational adventure, and middle grade mystery that invites readers to keep asking questions long after the final page. For young readers who enjoy history, detective stories, and adventures shared among friends, The Salem Directive offers an entertaining journey through Salem and an encouraging reminder that every person has a story worth understanding.
Pages: 368 | ASIN : B0HL9J9LFK
Charlie & Ink
In Charlie & Ink, author Kelle James delivers a moving coming-of-age novel about survival, unexpected friendship, and the healing power of love. Fifteen-year-old Charlie has spent her childhood enduring an abusive father, learning to protect herself through vigilance, defiance, and emotional distance. When she finally escapes, a chance encounter with a troubled teenage boy named Leo leads her to Rita, a compassionate woman living in Slab City, an unconventional desert community in Southern California. What begins as a desperate search for safety becomes a journey toward belonging and self-discovery. James establishes the gravity of Charlie’s circumstances immediately, creating a compelling contrast between the violence of her former home and the eccentric, welcoming world she gradually encounters. The novel explores how a young person accustomed to cruelty learns to recognize kindness, accept affection, and imagine a future shaped by her own choices.
Charlie is a particularly engaging narrator, with a voice that combines sharp humor, adolescent irreverence, and startling emotional vulnerability. Her observations are frequently funny, even when she’s navigating frightening or unfamiliar situations. James uses this humor effectively, giving Charlie a distinctive personality beyond the trauma she’s experienced. Her relationships with Rita and Leo develop through everyday interactions, from shared meals and playful arguments to moments of genuine tenderness. Rita’s patient generosity provides a steady emotional foundation, while Leo’s struggles with addiction introduce another perspective on suffering and recovery. The supporting characters are equally memorable, particularly the spirited women of Slab City, whose peculiar habits and fiercely protective instincts give the community its character. Their individual personalities contribute to the novel’s central exploration of chosen family, demonstrating how friendship and responsibility can grow among people whose lives have followed very different paths.
I enjoyed the story’s use of symbolism, particularly through the Japanese art of kintsugi, which involves repairing broken pottery with gold. Rita introduces Charlie to the practice with an explanation that captures the book’s emotional philosophy: “When something breaks, you don’t hide the damage. You embrace it.” The image of a damaged object becoming beautiful through careful restoration parallels Charlie’s developing understanding of her own worth. Equally significant is Ink, an orphaned baby crow Charlie rescues and raises. Their relationship brings warmth, comedy, and a compelling examination of trust, attachment, and freedom. As Charlie learns to care for a vulnerable creature, she discovers capacities for tenderness and responsibility that her upbringing had given her little opportunity to express. James makes these ideas accessible through concrete experiences, allowing the repaired pottery, the growing bird, and the desert landscape to carry much of the novel’s emotional meaning.
James also creates a vivid sense of place, presenting Slab City through its blistering heat, improvised homes, unusual artwork, and colorful residents. The setting feels inseparable from Charlie’s transformation, offering a community where unconventional lives and personal histories coexist. The novel’s brisk pacing and conversational prose make it accessible, while its treatment of domestic abuse, addiction, grief, and emotional recovery gives the story considerable weight. At times, the dialogue states the book’s themes quite explicitly, reflecting its earnest, affirming approach to storytelling. Its strongest passages, however, emerge from small gestures of care, moments when an offered meal, a gentle touch, or an act of protection communicates more than any explanation could. Charlie & Ink is an emotionally generous novel about the courage required to trust others and the profound influence of being treated with dignity. Through Charlie’s spirited narration and her growing connections with those around her, James presents a hopeful and affecting portrait of resilience, compassion, and the human need for a place to call home.
Pages: 79
Hero Journey
Malanoche’s Curse follows two teenage sleuths who investigate a devastating drought and eerie supernatural events, and wind up uncovering an ancient curse threatening their Texas hometown. How does this installment in the series build upon the characters, relationships, and adventures established in the earlier Arthur and Marya mysteries?
I think that from the very beginning my intent was that the Arthur and Marya mysteries would be a trilogy. The events and key characters in the first book reappear in the second, and now the third. This is really one story told in three parts. In a sense, I think, it is Arthur and Marya’s hero journey.
How did you develop the supernatural forces at the center of your story, and what inspired their connection to the town’s history?
I knew from the beginning of this process that these kids were going to have to face some adversity. That’s what a hero journey is about. And not just ordinary adversity, because I also knew that their adversity would involve magic and would place them squarely in the timeless battle between good and evil. Even though they don’t understand it at first, they have been chosen to do some pretty amazing things in the name of “good,” while their adversaries tend to be people or creatures who are at least imbued with all sorts of magical qualities and abilities.
As for their connection to Coronado Springs, several factors come into play. First, I knew before I started that the story would be set in my favorite part of Texas. But beyond that, because magical events are featured so prominently in the story, I figured that the city itself should have a role to play. Thus, Dr. Chomsky reminds the kids that many worlds exist beyond the one we can see and feel. Sometimes, those worlds intersect our world at a particular, special place, and Coronado Springs is one of those special places. He also reminds them that only special people can experience that intersection, and they, Arthur and Marya, are among those special people.
How does Malanoche’s Curse explore how historical events and traditions can continue to influence the present?
Well, that’s really at the core of the story because it was an event that occurred in 1890 that set the entire story in motion. The event was the cruel treatment of a native American family by the white people in Coronado Springs. It was an event that some never forgot, and an event that stoked an ongoing desire for revenge. As William Faulkner said, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
What do you hope readers take away from the story’s emphasis on courage, curiosity, and questioning appearances?
That’s a good question because it goes to one of the things I hoped to achieve in all three of these books: encouraging the young reader to look around, to be aware of the magic all around him. That, of course, is easier said than done, but it was very much in the forefront of my mind as I was writing. In fact, it was probably the primary motivating force behind the trilogy. I wrote the first book for my Grandson on his ninth birthday, and I knew from the beginning that what I hoped to impart to him was that magic does exist, but one must be open to it.
Social Expectations
The Tuba of the Somme follows three unforgettable Yorkshire women navigating a world shaped by war, class divisions, rigid social expectations, and men who frequently make life more difficult than necessary. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The world as it is today, because so little has changed in the last hundred years – plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
What inspired you to explore love and companionship through relationships that challenge the social expectations of their time?
The relationship between Mary and Rose, which challenges the social expectations of their time, still challenges the social ‘norms’ in many countries today. Even in societies considered progressive and free. It was important to me to show their relationship, and the constraints placed upon it, in a way which many people would recognise from their experiences today.
What role does satire play in your examination of human vanity, hypocrisy, and the contradictions of social respectability?
A very important role. These days, real life often goes beyond satire, and each year brings us examples of powerful and ‘important’ people bending the world to their will, doing things which a few years ago would have been unthinkable. The use of satire in this novel serves to remind us that what used to be beyond credible belief can very quickly become a lived existence for many if those in power go unchallenged.
When readers finish The Tuba of the Somme, what is the most important message you hope stays with them about war, love, human folly, and the courage to live according to one’s own desires?
That it is always possible to live life on your own terms if you are prepared to accept the consequences of your choices. We lived then, and live now, in a world where men make the rules, but it is possible to live by your own rules, and noone has to follow rules that go against what’s right.
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Marvel as three formidable Yorkshire women navigate a man’s world of violence and war, while dealing with both their own men and the lethal, mysterious, treacherous tuba.
It’s the early 20th Century. Edith’s husband comes home from war, bringing his experiences in the trenches with him, and before long Edith has an unwanted suitor parked in her parlour. Rose and Mary find each other after years apart, but Mary is married and working-class, and Rose is a middle-class widow. Life would be simpler if men would just leave them alone, but life is never that straightforward.
Especially when there’s a psychopathic brass tuba on the loose, intent on mischief, mayhem and murder. The tuba had a moment of glory on the first day of the Somme, but it can’t leave things be now. Which means, sooner or later, peace-loving Edith, Rose and Mary are going to have to do something about it.
