Joey Madia, New Mystics Reviews

(Odyssey Books, 2021). ISBN: 978-1922311153 What a fifteen-month journey it’s been. I have detailed the sociopolitical dog and pony show and all its many components in recent reviews of books about a dystopian future, so I won’t take the space to reiterate them here. Unless you are living in a cave at the top of some mountain—which would make it impossible to read this review—you know what they are. As I wrote in those reviews, what seemed before March 2020 to be distant, to be able to be pushed away with a bit of Hope and dash of Belief that Humankind can get its act together, is closer than ever. This, in turn, means that dystopian writers—at least the talented ones—are giving us a handbook, a not-so-distant early warning, about what is almost assuredly to come. Court of the Grandchildren certainly meets these criteria. Well written, with a variety of modes of information delivery that made it an excellent candidate for a stage play (which the authors took advantage of with a vi

 (www.malvevonhassell.com, 2020). ISBN: 978-1-73710-110-9 With a classic beginning—"Once upon a time, there was a young turtle called Oliver”—this book for young listeners and readers is a journey of discovery and self-confidence written with a subtle energy that sets it squarely in the realm of the Coming of Age story. Illustrated by Marie Amelie Marquaire in soft pastels that perfectly complement the tone of the text, Turtle Crossing tells a tale of changes, challenges, and triumphs as our hero, Oliver, navigates his life with his mother and father. Inquisitive and adventurous, Oliver is happy to learn what his parents, Ma and Pa Turtle, have to teach him, while finding simple pleasures in activities like his daily search for strawberries. As many children face—often numerous times—Ma and Pa one day decide that what is best for the family is for them to move. As any of us are when faced with the uncertainty of change, Oliver is upset, despite his parents’ best efforts to ca

 (2021). ISBN: 9798720143657 What if a shooting star sprinkled stardust on ten little frogs, sitting on a log, and each one got their wish? This is the premise of this delightful homage to the “10 Little…” stories on which so many of us grew up. They combine repetition (which allows for reader participation), math, fun adventures, and a little bit of mystery—all core elements of the best books for children. What I love most about 10 Little Frogs is that it lends itself to creative dramatics, a subfield of theatre focusing on bringing books to life with young audiences. As a creative dramatist for the past thirty years, this is exactly the kind of book that I love. One by one, as the frogs leave their log to live their wish, the audience—through the full-paged illustrations about which I will talk more soon—gets to see a different adventure or bit of creative expression. There is outdoor adventure (swimming, dog-walking, snake rodeo-riding, picnicking, sky diving, rose-smelling), c