Author: Cerrie Burnell
Illustrator: Laura Ellen Anderson
Publisher: Sky Pony Press, 2018
Pages: 181
Genre: children's fantasy, ages 7-9
Obtained: advanced reading copy from publisher in exchange for an honest review
Summary: Harper and her friends travel to the Night Forest in search of the Ice Raven who is said to be able to "tame the fiercest heart" with its song.
Thoughts: I read this book with my ten year old son. We both kept thinking that we missed something and would have to go back in the story to see if we did. It was written as if we should already be familiar with the characters and places in the story. The many characters were introduced all at once and the story started by throwing the reader into a strange apartment building. This was the third book in the series. I began to think that this is one of those series where you have to start with the first book and read the series in order and that is why we kept getting confused.
After we were done with the book, I felt like there was a story, a good one, but it got lost in the jumble of characters. More than half way through the book, when the characters came back together after having been separated, the story was more present and clear. I wanted the book to either have some characters edited out to make it less confusing for younger children, or more character development and flow added for older children.
The illustrations were engaging. My son and I enjoyed examining the pictures, which did help us to keep the characters straight. We just marveled at the way the illustrator drew the Wild Conductor. We also loved the cover of the book, especially the colors.
This book was fairy-tale like and fanciful - what children love in a story. The author brought in magic, music, and beloved pets, making it even more attractive to children. The author seemed to have so much to tell, but knew the book would be too long for the targeted age group. This would have been a much better cartoon series than a book for seven to nine year old kids.
Company: Adagio Teas
Tea: Thai Chai
Obtained: purchased
I purchased the Chai Sampler from Adagio Teas. Each sample was packaged in a resealable bag. The bags were easy to open and kept the tea fresh. Today I tried Thai Chai. This tea was a mixture of black tea, cinnamon bark, ginger root, dried coconut, lemon grass, and natural coconut flavor. This made for an appealing looking tea with a wonderful scent. There were short, thin, black tea leaves, pieces of lemon grass that were about half an inch each, and chunks of all shapes, sizes, and colors. I put four teaspoons of leaves into my tea maker and added sixteen ounces of water. I let this brew for five minutes. The aroma of the cloudy, brown liquid was of cinnamon and ginger, but was not very strong like most chai teas. The taste was stronger, but again not as strong as some chai teas. It had a lemon and coconut taste mixed with spices. The lemon and coconut flavors were prominent at the beginning and the usual chai taste at the end. Although I just love the traditional chai tea, this was a pleasing tea. It was like chai gone to the tropics. If you like chai, lemon, and coconut, this is a must try. It sounds like an odd combination, but it works. This tea does have a high caffeine content.
I would recommend the Chai Sampler from Adagio Teas to someone that likes chai tea, or as a gift to a chai lover. I really enjoyed each one- Thai Chai, Masala Chai, Chocolate Chai, and Spiced Apple Chai. The Masala Chai was my favorite because it was moat like traditional chai, but variety is the spice of life and I really appreciated having the different options to choose from since I get bored having the same tea all the time.
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