Thursday 30 May 2013

May Review Mix #6 Children's, 7 years + part 1 (7/10, 9/10, 10/10, 10/10E)

An anime girl going crazy - not quite sure what's in the bottle

Evening all! I'm a bit bouncy as I'm now off work for a week! Hoping to get lots of editing & reading done - so long as my body cooperates. The jury's out on that for now...
Moving on to today's post - I've got a bunch of super fun books for 7 year olds (& older, obviously). Let's get started!

Spell Sisters Chloe the Storm Sister by Amber Castle, Children's, 7 years +, 10/10E 
 March 2013, Simon and Schuster, 160 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Content: some humour, lots of peril, very mild & sweet romance, tissues needed.

Summary from Simon and Schuster
When eleven-year-old Gwen ventures into the forest beyond her castle home she comes across the magical island of Avalon and her life changes forever. The lady of the lake, Nineve, asks Gwen to embark on a quest to protect the enchanted island of Avalon from the evil sorceress Morgana Le Fay. Morgana has imprisoned the eight Spell Sisters of Avalon throughout the kingdom and stolen their magical powers. It's up to Gwen, her best friend Flora and a very special horse named Moonlight to find the sisters and return them to Avalon before its magic is lost forever.
 
In the final adventure of the series Gwen and her cousin Flora are charged with the rescue of Chloe the magical sister who controls the weather and finally have to face Morgana Le Fay herself!

Nayuleska's thoughts 
WOW! I'd hoped the final book would be good, but this was an incredible showdown. I was taken aback (in a good way) by what Morgana did to ensure she prospered (or so she thought - ha!) I cried when it ended because I didn't want it to end, and it was just so beautiful. I expected the end to be positive (it was unlikely to be a Morgana victory) - it was, but it was very bittersweet because the girls had to say goodbye to their magical friends. Definitely make sure you have some tissues to hand! I hope there's a spin off series *looks hopeful* Please? 

The Sleepwalkers by Viviane Schwarz, 7/10 
April 2013, Walker Books, 96 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Content: mild to moderate perli. 

Summary from Walker 
When you are afraid to fall asleep, when all your dreams are nightmares, write us a letter, put it under your pillow, we will rescue you... It is almost time for the old and tired Sleepwalkers to return to the waking world. But before they go, they must conjure and train three new replacements. For who else will look after the Sleepwalking House and be there to answer the call of a child frozen stiff with fear, trapped in a nightmare? This is the story of the NEW Sleepwalkers... Filled with action and adventure, and all things that go bump in the night, three brave new heroes tackle the weird and the wild in this uplifting and reassuring story about pulling together as a team and having the confidence to stand up to your fears.

Nayuleska's thoughts 
I'm not sure exactly what I expected this book to be like, but it wasn't what I expected. It was weird in a bad way for me, but that could be a good weird for other readers. It was a bit freaky, and quite scary in parts.The world got topsty-turvy, strange creatures were created from ordinary objects...the plot was solid and definitely full of twists. Just not for me.  It possibly added to my fears rather than eased them!
(Not what I expected, pretty weird)

Ellie May is Totally Happy to Share Her Space in the Spotlight by Marianne Levy,  9/10 
No she isn't!!!!
 April 2013, Egmont, 224 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Content: lots of humour 

Summary from Egmont 
Dear Everybody,

I’m an incredibly famous film star! Everyone knows who I am, even Eskimos and people in France.
And I’ve just made friends with an amazingly beautiful model. In fact, she’s going to be in my next film!

Jeffrey’s worried I won’t like sharing the spotlight. But I’m sure it’ll be fine. After all, I always share my fudge cake.

Well, almost always, anyway...

Love,
Ellie May xxx

Nayuleska's thoughts
Ellie May is quite a girl - I found myself getting blown away by just how much she is convinced the world - no, the universe - revolves around her. She finds it hard when no one pays attention to her - she tries to make herself important - it was a bit painful to watch because she couldn't see how much a pain she was being. I felt sorry for her - although she does bounce back quickly so it's a happy ending!

Goliath the Rescue Horse by Pippa Funnell, 10/10 
5th May 2013, Orion Children's Books, 116 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Summary from Orion
Meet Tilly Redbrow, who doesn't just love horses - she lives, breathes and dreams them too!

At World Horse Welfare, Tilly meets neglected shire horse Goliath, and she's determined to help him find a new home.

Nayuleska's thoughts 
Horse rescue stories always involve incredible people, and Tilly is one of them. She may be little disobedient but that's because she has a huge heart and a natural talent for calming horses. I especially liked the diagram of horse as it was interesting to see what each area is called.

Buttons the Naughty Pony by Pippa Funnell, 10/10
July 2011, Orion Children's Books, 112 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Content: you'll need a tissue. 

Summary from Orion
Meet Tilly Redbrow, who doesn't just love horses - she lives, breathes and dreams them too!

Naughty pony Buttons is coming to Silver Shoe Farm because his owner, Tim, just doesn't know what to do with him. They need Tilly's help - and fast!

Nayuleska's thoughts
Tim loves Buttons to bits, but Buttons severe attitude problem hurts him so much he has to consider getting a different pony. Tilly is heartbroken at the thought of the pair being split up, so works hard to get Buttons behaving. She learns there are different ways of riding a horse, and Tim learns different doesn't mean boring, both important lessons. I love the bonds between pony and rider.

Because I have so many in this category to put up, there will be a part 2 post tomorrow! It's time for me to rest up. See you soon! 

All non-book pictures are taken from the internet, quotes are by me, Nayu.

"Night!"

Tuesday 28 May 2013

Nayu's News #75 Tasty Goop Scoop!

I'm not quite baking, but this is post involves being in the kitchen
Hi all! This is a short & sweet post. Recently I've been glancing at green smoothies online - they are sometimes green in colour (not always - some can be purple like below!) 
Yum yum! Not my picture ^o^

Basically they are smoothies which contain green veg. It's an easy way to get veg (& fruit) into you. Since I have to eat in small amounts, making sure I get all my essential nutrients in can be a bit tricky. A green smoothie is simple to do. I simply whizzed up the following: 

These never help you see in the dark - ever!
Carrots! I cut off both ends, then just chopped them into small chunks. Quantities are down to personal taste. I used up all the veg I had because I aim to make the green smoothie once a week, freeze it in portions and have it every day - that cuts down on how much energy I personally use from my body.

Crunchy & green!
 Celery! It's a tasty (if a little strong) green, one that's used in salad a lot.


Another green!
Cucumber! This adds a fresh taste to a smoothie - as well as being green ^o^ 

Sweet, juicy, yum!
Oranges! I love carrot and orange juice, so thought it a perfect base for my first green smoothie.

Can you guess what this is without looking at the next sentence for the answer?
I also added a bit of fresh ginger, which adds some zing to carrot and orange juice. 

I cut them up in small chunks and whizzed them with a hand blender to come up with....
This!
It's in one of my favourite cups ^o^ It looks a lot neater and cleaner than the photo I took during the process. I had made rather a mess...
Eeek!
I'm probably not using celery for a while, certainly not shoving it all in the same batch because it was overpowering. I chucked the entire amount of every ingredient (minus the ginger) in because then I know I've got a lot of veg in one glass.  It was surprisingly refreshing and tasty. 

I portioned it all in food bags and then froze them. They defrost perfectly fine, I just take one out (usually 2 portions per bag), put it in a container to stop any leaks wrecking the fridge, and leave it on the side or in the fridge over night/throughout the day. . 

"I'm going to freeze you!"
"Yay!"
This week I've getting oranges, carrots (again), broccoli & melon. I'm trying to figure out what combo I'll do - might try a variety rather than blending it all together as I rather like food in individual flavours rather than a mix up. Definitely orange, carrot & ginger with some broccoli, maybe some orange, carrot & ginger with melon, and then orange/carrot/ginger/broccoli/melon mix!

Will let you know (with photos) how the 2nd smoothie round goes!

"I think the oranges are calling me..." 

Monday 27 May 2013

What are YOU reading? #168




What are you reading on Monday? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey where you post books completed last week and plans for upcoming books. Jump over to her blog and see who else is participating.


Books I've read


Mariella Mystery Investigates A Cupcake Conundrum by Katie Pankhurst
Children's, 7 or 9 years +
(Awesome children's baking contest provides lots of drama for the Mystery Girls Club!)
10/10 E




Just the one book - being ill mucked up my reading schedule! Wait, I lie.  I read part of... 


Starstruck by Lauren Conrad
Young Adult
...but with a wide cast and the story flicking between the girls I was getting too confused so I abandoned it. 





Anime 


Chocolat & Vanilla aka Sugar Sugar Rune
Anime, French version
10/10
(The more I watch this, the more I like it - at first it was ok, but not my favourite. Now I definitely know I'll rewatch it!) 




Heidi
Anime, French version
10/10 E
(I finished it! It was ADORABLE at the end, especially when Clara/Claire learnt to walk. So glad Peter isn't evil in this version...) 




Winx Club: Le Secret du Royaume Perdue/The Secret of the Lost Kingdom
REWATCH! - Anime film, French version
10/10
(I confess to skipping the scenes which I find scary - which are quite a few in this film. It meant I wasn't scared!!! Which is a plus...) 




H20: Just Add Water Season 1
REWATCH! - Drama, English
10/10 E
(Yup, I'm back watching the fun mermaid Australian drama!)




Winx: Season 4
REWATCH! - Anime, French version
10/10 E
(There really is something about season 4 & 5 which is so  uplifting - perhaps it's how powerful the girls are, how much they are helping the wider community, their outfits - and the adorable magical animals!) 




Gwendoline
Anime, French version
10/10 E
(This super cute anime looks like I'll be crying a lot as Gwendoline gets closer to a sister who wants nothing to do with her, before being abused by a new stepmother...) 




Rozen Maiden
REWATCH! - Anime, English version (technically not as I haven't seen it in English before), 
10/10 E
(I confess even in English I totally adore all the dolls! I was still upset when Shinku stopped working for an episode - and that was with knowing what would happen!)




AKB0048
Anime, Japanese version
10/10 E
(Just like Winx this gets better each time I watch it - at the time of writing this meme I'm hoping to finish the series tonight!) 




Holby City
Drama, English
10/10
(It's heartbreaking having to watch one character's daughter go through cancer treatment...) 




Crafts

None this week, as I've either been resting from doing stuff, or trying to recover from being ill.



May Review Mix #4 Children's, 5 years +, 9/10, 10/10, 10/10E


Another day, another set of reviews! Today I'm looking at books for younger readers. Just because books are short doesn't mean they aren't as good as a longer book. There's next to no room for waffling, everything has to be direct, clear, and most of all FUN! 
A young reader getting stuck in a book.


Sticker Dolly Dressing: Parties and Shopping Girls, 9/10 
Hours of fun to be had!
 April 2013, Usborne, 48 pages (+ 28 of stickers), Paperback, Review copy 

Different reasons for having a party, party in the park, bowling party, party food, party outfits, farewell party, different types of clothes, sport wear, loads of stickers, 

Summary from Usborne  
These dolls love going to parties and on shopping trips, and need help getting ready! A bumper collection of the popular ‘Parties’ and ‘Shopping Girls’ Sticker Dolly Dressing books.

With a huge variety of scenes to choose, from a picnic in the park to shopping at a bustling street market.

With over 700 stickers to customise the dolls’ outfits and accessories, as well as fun extras including food and drink, toys and party games

Nayuleska's thoughts 
I love how timeless these stickers are - there's something exciting about picking out which outfit to give to each girl, then making sure it's on properly. I didn't mind that I don't know which outfit is for which girl - you know why? It doesn't matter! The book lost a grade as sometimes the stickers aren't that easy to remove, and I'm sure the intended age group may be a bit rougher than I am. 
 
Getting Dressed Sticker Book: Weather and Seasons, 9/10 
Oodles of fun!
April 2013, Usborne, 16 pages (+ 8 of stickers), Paperback, Review copy 

Themes: rain, snow, windy, sunshine, sleet, fog, clouds, spring, summer, autumn winter, activity suggestions for each type of weather & season, large variety of clothes (for both boys & girls),

Summary from Usborne 
A fun way for little children to learn what clothes to wear for different activities throughout the year, from a sunny day at the beach to playing outside in the snow.

With over 160 stickers of clothes, accessories and fun extras to dress the children and complete the scenes.

Nayuleska's thoughts 
I was intrigued about this sticker book because I love anything to do with the weather (partially related to the fiction I write, and partly because it's such an integral part of our lives. I liked how the reader gets to learn what type of clothes to wear for each situation. Make sure you pay attention which page number the stickers refer to - I sleepily put the wrong clothes in the wrong scenario, which ended up being extremely funny! As with previous sticker books it lost a grade because sometimes the stickers weren't all that easy to get out.  
 
Tulsa and the Frog by Tony Ross, 10/10 E
I like her name!
2nd May 2013, Orion Children's Books, 54 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Themes: a not so ordinary girl with a definitely not ordinary frog, fairy tales, highly creative & active imagination, classical story characters, a story entering the real world, having fun, being yourself,  

Content: lots of humour

Summary from Orion
Tulsa dreams of a life as exciting as the girls in her story books. First she tries pretending to be Snow White, Pippi Longstocking and Rapunzel. Then one day, in an enchanted forest behind her house, she discovers a talking frog...

Nayulseka's thoughts
I didn't understand Tulsa's hatred of her name - it's so beautiful! I loved how engrossed she got in playing her favourite characters - she would only respond to that particular character's name, which her mum took in her stride. As for the frog, well, Tulsa proves she belongs with her favourite heroines. 
 
Algy's Amazing Adventures in the Jungle by Kaye Umansky, 10/10
 2nd May 2013, Orion Children's, 80 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Themes: moving house, feeling disorientated, having to make new friends, wanting to be left alone, a vivid imagination, discovering another world, finding out things are never as bad as they seem, avoiding dangerous creatures, teamwork saving the day, 

Content: mild peril, some humour

Summary from Orion

There are lots of things Algy doesn't like - top of the list is his own name. Algernon is just weird. Pugh sounds a bit like - well, never mind.

Other things on his list include: Girls, the Dark, and Having Adventures. So imagine Algy's surprise when he finds a jungle at the bottom of the garden of his new house! And imagine his irritation when his annoying next door neighbour, Cherry - yes, a GIRL - wants to come and explore it with him. She'll only giggle and whisper if he doesn't go with her. But will they ever make it home again?

Nayuleska's thoughts 
My favourite character was Cherry, not just because she has the same name as Cherry Jam in the show Strawberry Shortcake (they don't look alike) 
Cherry Jam - who like Cherry can trust in her new friends to help out.
 but because she's book smart, and after an incident has to rely on Algy to save them both. It was fun trying to guess  which item each creature might have been in the real world. 
Jump Up and Join In: Elephant's Birthday Bells by Carrie & David Grant, 9/10
3rd June 2013, Egmont, 24 pages, Paperback with CD, Review copy 

Themes: rhymes, music, learning different levels of music, learning to be quiet and dainty, trying your best 

Summary from Egmont
From the creators of hit CBeebies series Pop Shop comes a brand-new range of six energetic picture books, all about MAKING MUSIC!

Along with Meercat, Sheep, Giraffe and Polar Bear, meet Elephant, whose trumpeting is too loud for the family band, and Lion, who finds an edible solution to keeping in time.

Each book includes a CD with 7 tracks including a narration, a sing-along song and lesson plans written by Carrie and David. So what are you waiting for? JUMP UP and JOIN IN!

Nayuleska's thoughts
A song book isn't my usual kind of read, but I fell in love with the elephant so I read it to see what she was like. It is a cute book, with repetitive rhymes that children will find easy to pick up. I didn't listen to the CD, but I think it's good that it accompanies the book because then readers can do it all on their own, even if they can't read/understand the story. 

Angel Wings: New Friends by Michelle Misra, 9/10 
April 2013, Simon and Schuster, 114 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Themes: angels, boarding school, mean girls, being nervous, breaking the rules, awesome angelic items, kind and strict teachers, trying to do the best for your friends, getting into trouble, 

Content: mild peril, lots of humour 

Summary from Simon and Schuster
Ella might seem like your everyday girl, but she's anything but! She's a trainee angel at the Guardian Angel Academy. But Ella is more impetuous than your average angel, and can't help getting herself into all sorts of trouble. Luckily for Ella, help is on hand in the shape of her friends Poppy, Tilly and Jess - who try their best to keep her out of mischief, and away from their dreaded classmate Primrose!
 
Join Ella as she sets off on an adventure to Rainbow's End, a magical place and home to the Forgotten Flower. Will Ella's penchant for trouble prevent her from earning her wings and becoming an Archangel?

Nayuleska's thoughts 
I adored the floating beds the girls had in their dorms - it's such a cool idea! (If only I didn't have a fear of heights...) This is a super cute series, with sweet elements (such as the reward system) which were inventive and had me wishing I go to the academy.  

That's it for today - hope there are a few that have grabbed your interest. Keep reading! 
I think she's the best girl to finish this post with!

Sunday 26 May 2013

Competition winners for The Drummer Girl by Bridget Tyler

Is this yours?
(As usual quotes in pictures are by me, the pictures themselves are taken from the internet)

I'd better quit saying how much I love finding out the winners of a competition or the start of this post will be the same every time. So, imagine that I say it each time! Because I really do love it.
"It's just so exciting!"
This competition was for one UK resident to win a copy of The Drummer Girl alongside some make-up. 
Remember, you will win some of this, not all!

It is with great pleasure to announce the winner is of the make-up and book is...

TheMileLongBookS! 

Now, ordinarily I'd be announcing the international winners (two of them). However, for some reason I had 0 entries (most of you must have the book already). So I used the UK entries and the people who are getting one of my copies of The Drummer Girl (one proof & one final copy) are...

A Reading Daydreamer! 

Katastic! 

Many congratulations to you all. I'll be in touch very shortly to discuss sending on the prizes. Fear not for those who didn't win/didn't fancy this book - there are more competitions going on! 

For younger readers you can win a copy of Joe and the Hidden Horseshoe by Victoria Eveleigh, Children's, 7 years +, 10/10 E, Ends June 3rd. 


For those interested in Paranormal Romance/Urban fantasy then you'll be interested in the competition to win a copy of Immortal Eclipse by Sherry Soule, ending 31st May. 


More competitions will be coming up in June, so keep an  eye out for them! 
"Nayu is starting to set up the forms for you to fill in on the upcoming competitions" Holo the wolf goddess from the anime Spice and Wolf



Thursday 23 May 2013

Nayu's News #74 Tasty goop, announcement to competition winners & other stuff

2
"Reviews will be here tomorrow!"
Hi everyone! I'm feeling a bit hyper as I've spent some time this afternoon adding song videos from the anime AKB0048 to a playlist I have. ^o^
Kanata (left) & Mimori of AKB0048
It's an anime that never fails to cheer me up!
Mimori is currently one of my favourite characters

Now, the tasty goop part of this post is on hold until the weekend. 
Mine doesn't look this green...
I want to chat about the green smoothie I made, but my tablet isn't letting me access my camera (where the pics are), so you'll just have to be mystified until the weekend ^o^
"Heehee, I'm not telling!"

Announcement

This is nothing major, but since gremlins have overtaken the email which I use for my blog, I need to say to those competition winners awaiting prizes from this week that I've got to post them  next week, rather than tomorrow. Apologies, but being ill stuffed my schedule for doing things. Certain tasks always have priority, and they've munched up my energy allowance. 
"I hate energy stealing germ gremlins."
 I'll try and send them on Tuesday for you.

Other stuff

This is the anime/manga news I was bouncing around Twitter about earlier today. This morning I started my day searching a variety of topics, all close to my heart. By accident I saw an anime/manga drawing related to those topics, which got me thinking I might be able to find more of the same.
"It's a secret!"
No, I'm not telling you just yet - I'm drawing this out!

So off I went to search on the topic, and oh boy I found a huge online database with the artwork on. I'll stop teasing and show you what I've been jumping up and down about.
"Tada!"  
"Whoohoo!"
This is so me! I honestly didn't realise/had forgotten/hadn't looked/hadn't thought that there would be anime/manga muslim girl images. Yay! Here's another, because you know how much I love my manga pics.
Pretty flower & pretty coat with matching hijab (headscarf)
I'll be using one or two occasionally in posts from now on. When it's Ramadan this year I will be using them along with photos of real objects/scenes instead of my usual anime pics like this one.
Holo from the anime Spice and Wolf
Ramadan is a really special time for me, it's a good chance for spiritual reflection and this year I want my blog to reflect that.
Have you stopped to think how many butterflies you've seen this Spring?
I'm hoping to schedule in 4 posts (1 a week) giving an insight as to what Ramadan entails (it's not all about food!) I will also not be reviewing books with romance in during Ramadan (or reading them). I will be looking at issues which I feel are important, and I hope you find them interesting :) There will still be humour in the posts, I'll just be toning the excitement and bouncing about a little. 
"Smiling helps make the world a happier place!"
There's no need to go diving for your diaries to jot this down - I will do an official post explaining all this nearer the time. It means I'll have to be organised and let publicists know if there's going to be a little delay on me reading/reviewing their book during most of July and the start of August. Me remembering could be a bit tricky...let me go make a note of that in my new blogging diary! 
"What's that?"
For those of you who aren't on Twitter, thanks to GMR of Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers who puts together my weekly What Are You Reading? memes and is an awesome blogging friend, I now have a separate diary (and an additional notebook) for blogging. It means I can see at a glance each month when I've got tour dates/competitions, and I can put more details in the daily boxes in the week to view pages. 
"What? I'm reviewing that book next week? I need to read it!"
Besides putting books in order on my bookshelf, I wanted to have something where I could list not only the books I have for review, but the ones I'll be getting as soon as they're available because I've requested them. I thought about using an index card system 
Pretty colours!
 ...but it ended up a bit too energy consuming for me. I refused to give up! 
"There must be a way..."

I thought about using a spreadsheet, with various columns including book title & author, date of publication, whether it was for a tour, if it was an ebook (they're the ones I really need to keep track of, as I can't see them on my bookshelf)...but that wasn't quite what I was after.  
"Nope, that's not right."
 Yet again, I did not give up!
"I know there is a method that is perfect for me - I just don't know what!"
I realised that I needed something simple. If a file is on my laptop (which I can then send to my tablet), I know I won't always update it at the same time. I've tried it in the past and it flopped into nothing. 

"Wait a minute, I've got an idea!"
I'm going for good old pen and paper! 
"Right, next book is...."
On the left page I'm putting details of Children's books, and on the right pages I'm putting Young Adult/New Adult/Adult books. Those which I don't yet have in my possession but which I have requested have REQ beside them, so I know they aren't with me. When they arrive I'll then cross out the REQ

I think that's all my news for today - I'm debating the benefits/disadvantages of watching more AKB0048 tonight. I suspect I'll be watching it because I really want to! 
Chieri (blue hair) & Mimori (pink hair) as elected members in AKB0048
Have a good evening, whatever you're up to! 
My Muse is feeling mischievous like Holo in the anime Spice and Wolf