Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey adult fantasy/romance This is #5 in the 500 Kingdoms Series 1.The Fairy Godmother (2004) 2.One Good Knight (2006) 3.Fortune's Fool (2007) 4.The Snow Queen (2008) 5.The Sleeping Beauty (2010) 6.Beauty and the Werewolf (June[17] 2011)

The tale starts off with a princess whose mother has died. Then it moves into Sleeping Beauty and Snow White mode. The princess flees to the woods and finds 7 dwarves. Later, she falls asleep due to poison and has to be resurrected by magic. A number of homeless, penniless princes woo her, hoping to be next in line to the throne of her wealthy kingdom. Throw in some Norse mythology, a few heroic challenges, and there is big fun! I recommend this series to women and their teenage daughters looking for a lighthearted read. The romance is mild and gentle. Generally there are longing looks and that is about it - not even kissing until the end. Some men and teen boys may find the adventure and fantasy appealing as well. The publisher is Luna Books, a division of Harlequin.

What's Wrong with My Hair?

What's Wrong with My Hair?
by
Satoshi Kitamura
children's fiction ages 2-7
board book

This book is silly, silly fun! A lion is getting ready for a party, but is having trouble managing his mane. With the help of a hairdressing giraffe he will be the life of the party. They try out all kinds of creative and elaborate styles, but which one will be the winner? Find out for yourself by reading this outrageous board book.

Extra bonus feature - you can try on the lion's hairstyles yourself by holding the book up to your face. I had fun with three children doing this. On the back cover is a suggestion for an art project.

I recommend this for storytimes, bedtimes, and as a gift for your favorite cosmetologist. It would be a good book to have in a hair salon waiting room.

Road to Oz: Twists, Turns, Bumps, and Triumphs in the Life of L. Frank Baum

Road to Oz: Twists, Turns, Bumps, and Triumphs in the Life of L. Frank Baum
by
Kathleen Krull and Kevin Hawkes
biography for children grades 2 - 5

L. Frank Baum was a dreamer and failed at quite a number of ventures before becoming one of the bestselling authors in American history with his series of Oz books.

I suppose this is an okay book for students writing reports, but I found nothing distinguishing about the writing. The illustrator, on the other hand, Kevin Hawkes did a great job with his illustrations. Some are single color (green ink) and others are full color. He must have studied the works of W. W. Denslow, the first Oz artist, but he does not reproduce Denslow's style exactly. I will read more Kevin Hawkes' children's books based on his treatment of this one.

I appreciate the list of Baum Oz Books in the back and the works cited.

If the reader is into Oz at all, I recommend watching "The Dreamer of Oz", a made for television movie with John Ritter as Baum.

I wonder why the author and publisher decided to name this book "The Road to Oz". There is a different book written by L. Frank Baum named "The Road to Oz" so these will forever be confusing to patrons looking in library catalogs by title.