Goodbye 2014 - Welcome 2015 Sale at Birdhouse Books

Hi vintage friends!  Just a short note to let you know that I am running a huge sale at my eBay store through midnight on Sunday, January 4.  This is a real "clear the shelves" sale with everything marked 25% - 50% off.  You'll find vintage children's books, vintage Christmas cards and ornaments, vintage Valentines, Roadside Americana postcards, cookbooks, and more.  I hope you'll stop by and shop!   Just click here to visit:  Birdhouse Books.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!  Looking forward to chatting life, books, all things vintage, and Downton Abbey here in the New Year!

Book Review: Reindeer Dust - Kate Dwyer and Joanne Lew-Vriethoff

Reindeer Dust is a picture book for children written by Kate Dwyer and illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff.  This Christmas story is about Santa's reindeer, who are tired from work one year.   A smart little boy named William comes up with a recipe for reindeer dust to attract and feed the reindeer.

The book includes a poem for children to read on Christmas Eve, and a recipe for reindeer dust.  (It contains brown sugar, oats, and bran.)

The story is told in rhyme, and it would make a fun read aloud for preschool age children.   The illustrations are charming with a retro inspired flare and an appealing color palette of seafoam green with pastels and red.

I think this book (and the reindeer dust activity!) would make a fun annual tradition.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Fiddler on the Roof (50th Anniversary Reissue)

Fiddler on the Roof was reissued in book format (Crown Publishers) in 2014 in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Broadway play.  The play, based on Sholem Aleichem's stories, has a book by Joseph Stein, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick.

Fiddler on the Roof tells the story of Tevye and his family, living in Anatevka, Russia, in 1905.  Tevye delivers milk in the village.  He has a sharp-tongued wife, Golde, and five daughters.  The three oldest daughters are young women who are interested in romance and matrimony, although they have ambivalent feelings about matchmaking.  This is seen in the song "Matchmaker, Matchmaker."  The town matchmaker suggests that Tevye's oldest daughter, Tzeitel, should marry the village butcher, Lazar.  Tzeitel has other ideas about this match, since she is in love with a tailor that she has known since childhood, Motel.  

After Tzeitel finds her match, her sister Hodel falls in love with a young man who is political named Perchik, a tutor to the girls in the family.  Then sister Chava falls in love with Fyedka, a young man who is not Jewish.  Each romance takes the family further from the tradition they grew up with.

As the play moves on, there is more political unrest, and Jews are being forced to leave their homes and villages.  As Tevye's family prepares to move, a fiddler plays a song.  Life with family and love and traditions will go on, but it will be different.

I grew up in a family that loved musicals - both movies and plays.  I have heard the soundtrack to this play many times and enjoyed the 1971 movie starring Chaim Topol, but I had never read the play.  I really enjoyed reading the lyrics to the songs I grew up listening to and reading the story with its humor, warmth, and gravity.

I heartily recommend this play to anyone who loves theater.  I am sure that I will enjoy rereading it again in the future.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Aoléon The Martian Girl by Brent LeVasseur

 

Aoléon The Martian Girl: A Science Fiction and Fantasy Saga - Part 1: First Contact is a middle grade level children's book written and illustrated by Brent LeVasseur.  It is science fiction - fantasy genre.  From the cover of the book readers know they are in for a fun adventure.  The bold and colorful design hints at the fun that awaits readers!

The book is 94 pages with chapters entitled:  Dreams, First Contact, Flying Cows, Situation Room, Martian Megalopolis. 

The novel opens with a young boy named Gilbert Sullivan waking up from a bad dream.  He lives on a farm in Nebraska, and always dreams vividly before crop circles are found in his area.  When he wishes to travel far away, past the moon, he gets his wish in an unexpected way.

Gilbert is watching from a telescope in his bedroom with his cat Xena when he sees an unusual light.  He goes outside to explore and the adventure begins as he meets a Martian girl named Aoléon.  They are chased by Gilbert's neighbor, Farmer Johnson, and his basset hound, Tripod.  However, Gilbert and Aoléon escape and take off in a flying saucer above a field of levitating cows.  

Young readers will enjoy Gilbert and Aoléon's adventurous travels traveling above earth, chased by an officer from the U.S. Air Force.

They end up traveling to Aoléon's home planet of Mars.  The descriptions and pictures of Mars are fascinating.  Gilbert's experiences on the distant planet are sure to intrigue young readers and encourage them to read on.  There are five exciting books in this series!

The illustrations throughout this book are exceptional.  They are plentiful, and the design is bold and fresh, sure to draw a young reader into the story.

The storytelling is fast paced, with engaging characters that children will enjoy.  The book has a great blend of description and dialogue, ideal for a reluctant reader or any child who likes fast-paced science fiction.

Buy the Book:

Pre-order your copy today!

Buy The Martian Girl Song!

Another World - Single
Featuring Élan Noelle
Download on iTunes

About​ the Author:

Mr. LeVasseur enjoys crafting good stories based on lovable characters designed to translate well to multiple media formats such as books, games, movies, and toys. He lives in New York when he is not commuting between Southern California and Olympus Mons, Mars. His hobbies include writing, 3D animation, musical composition, and intergalactic space travel. He also enjoys various sports such as skiing, running, and exospheric skydiving.

Connect with Brent: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Aoléon: The Martian Girl 

​I received this book from iRead Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.