Fiona’s Luck: a Book Review

Posted in books & book reviews by Rosemary Lynn

With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, I’ve seen a few book recommendation lists that include Fiona’s Luck, which is written by Teresa Bateman and illustrated by Kelly Murphy.

I love seeing this book recommended at any time of year, however, because it is simply one of my very favorite picture books.

Both of my children love it, but of course it is my eldest, Fiona, who gets especially excited about it. My girls love to find their names in books or movies, as most children do, and that was what attracted me to Fiona’s Luck in the first place.

And I am so happy I decided to buy it.

Not only does it give me a chance to have fun playing around with my horrible Irish accent (which is possibly more entertaining to me than my kids), but it delivers a wonderful lesson in the form of a fun and engaging story.

Fiona is a young woman in Ireland, living in a time after the Leprechaun King has stolen all the luck that used to be floating freely around the country, and locked it away in a big wooden chest. He was upset that all of the luck floating around out there was getting attached to the Big Folk, and so he decided to keep it all for himself.

But he took ALL of the luck, every bit of it, and with no luck left floating around Ireland, a famine developed. The cows wouldn’t let down milk, the hens weren’t laying eggs, and the potatoes rotted in the ground.

Fiona uses her wits to trick everyone into thinking that she is in fact very lucky by pretending to harvest potatoes and be overloaded with baskets of eggs and buckets of milk.

Her ruse works, and the Leprechaun King magically transports her to his throne room to demand that she return the luck. Since she knows she is not lucky, she uses that to her advantage when he challenges her to tests of luck. And though she fails all of his tests, she wins something much greater: a little bit of the luck that he had locked away. And as it turns out, a little bit is enough.

Illustrations © Kelly Murphy

Amidst this tale of a woman who would rather have her “wits about her” than all the luck in the world, are gorgeously painted illustrations. While reading the story, there is so much for kids to look at, and so many beautiful details for their eyes to peruse (like tiny sparkles of luck or hidden leprechauns).

The mood of the story comes alive against the soft natural colors, with the gloomier parts reflected by more subdued shades, and the lighter moments highlighted by the playful twinkling of the luck. The friendly faces set against the sprawling Irish countryside makes for gorgeous viewing for adults and kids alike.

I highly recommend this book. You won’t regret sharing the brave and spirited Fiona with your own amazing kids!

Happy Reading!

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12Jan2015

The Garden of Empress Cassia {a book review}

Posted in books & book reviews, usborne by Rosemary Lynn

The Garden of Empress Cassia by Gabrielle Wang: a Book Review at RoamingRosie.com

As soon as I finished reading The Garden of Empress Cassia by Gabrielle Wang, I was seriously tempted to turn back to the first page and read it all over again.

I liked it that much.

But I had appointments to keep and a review to write, so my rereading will have to wait.

Before delving into the story, let’s get the basic description out of the way: it’s a chapter book of 112 pages that’s suggested for elementary to middle school children between the ages of 8 and 12. Of course, I’m in my thirties and really enjoyed it, so I’d say you could push that age limit out a bit, even if it is targeted to kids.

The story is about a Chinese-Australian named Mimi Lu. Her parents own an herbal shop and insist that Mimi be proud of her Chinese heritage, but Mimi just wishes she could blend in with everyone else. Wishes she could be “normal.” To make matters worse, her father doesn’t want her to pursue her love of art, and she’s being bullied at school.

Another prominent character is Mimi’s art teacher, Miss O’Dell. Miss O’Dell is an Irish-Australian that is a kind, calming, and somewhat enlightening presence throughout the story. She’s also the one who gives Mimi the gift of the magical pastels.

These pastels allow Mimi to draw the ancient garden of Empress Cassia, and the magic in them transports people into her drawings, much like the chalk drawings in Mary Poppins. The garden is a place of healing and inspiration, and it’s beautiful.

The reason we know the garden is so beautiful is because the imagery in the story is so vivid and alive. It’s really one of my favorite things about the book. The writing is so fluid and transportive that the scenes come to life in a natural way that leaves the reader feeling as though they’re experiencing what Mimi is experiencing.

But just in case you can’t quite imagine it for yourself without any help, there’s also a gorgeous illustration of a map of the garden in the back of the book.

My other favorite thing about this book is the strong moral story. It’s not shoved at you or anything, but it’s potent. First of all, Mimi is truly goodhearted. Even when the bully steals Mimi’s cherished gift, Mimi truly worries for the other girl’s safety. And when Mimi questions whether or not she’s actually a good person and deserving of the pastels, the wise old man in the tale helps her distinguish between someone who’s good but occasionally acts naughty and someone who is actually a bad person.

It even ends with showing that Mimi doesn’t really need the magic pastels to make magical pictures. As an artist, she already has this vibrant magic in her heart. And kind of like Dumbo learning he doesn’t need his feather to fly, it allows kids to see that maybe – just maybe – they already are special.

Overall, I feel Mimi is an excellent roll model, and I not only feel comfortable offering this book to my own children when they’re older (they’re in preschool now), I want to encourage it.

This tale is about following your dreams and passions, about being strong and confident in the face of meanness and adversity, and about embracing who you are.

The Garden of Empress Cassia is a story you shouldn’t miss.

Awards for The Garden of Empress Cassia

CBCA Notable Children’s Book of the Year
Aurealis Award Winner
Shortlist, Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards
USBBY Outstanding International Booklist

Click here for a sneak peak of the first 2 chapters!

Unfortunately, you can no longer purchase the U.S. edition from my Usborne Books & More website, but you can still (yay!) find copies of the book on Amazon.

Similar books, with recommended ages ranging from 8 to 12:

Happy Reading!

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1Jan2015

Hello Sun {eBook}

Posted in books & book reviews, my books, writing by Rosemary Lynn

Hello Sun is my newest picture book, and I’m so excited to share it with you!

This is a simple text with words that flow and rhyme as you journey from the morning to the night. With your Little Ones on your lap, you can greet the morning sun, the flowers and bugs and birds, and the stars and moon together.

It’s a great book for bedtime because of the soothing rhythmic text and the bold, striking illustrations. It’s something I enjoy sharing with my toddler and preschooler, and it’s fun for them, too. They can interact with the text {like by waving goodnight to the sun} but it’s meant to be read slowly, to help induce a calm before bedtime. It’s also great to read to babies, who will especially appreciate the bold colors.

I had some fun with paper textures while making the artwork, and the words themselves were inspired by my kids. My 4yo and 2yo always greet the moon and sun {“Hello, Moon!!!”}, and so this was a story that mimics our own daily paths through life.

You can get the ebook on Amazon and you can see all of my picture books there, too.

I’ve also posted about my picture book Alice’s African Alphabet Adventure.

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook for updates on my books, but also to see our latest glitter-covered crafts and sprinkle-covered food! :)

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19Jun2014

The Library Gingerbread Man {Book Review}

Posted in books & book reviews by Rosemary Lynn

When my daughter came across The Library Gingerbread Man by Dotti Enderle, I suspected I would love it.

And I did.

I probably should have been a librarian.

Sigh… not the point.

Anyway, the book is really cute and clever, placing the familiar story of the Gingerbread Man into the setting of a library.

I like how the author incorporates the dewey decimal system into the story. For example, some of the characters that try to catch the Gingerbread Man are a word wizard who pops out of a thesaurus in 423.1 and a robot with stilted commands who emerges from a science fiction book in 629.892.

He meets more and more characters until he finally runs into a hungry fox. But he doesn’t get eaten, because the librarian saves the day.

My girls absolutely loved chanting, “Run, run, as fast as you can. You can’t catch me I’m the Gingerbread Man!”

My 4yo is still singing it. (I guess we haven’t read a bunch of Gingerbread Man stories before now.)

The Library Gingerbread Man by Dotti Enderle {Book Review}

The only complaint I had was that the text got a little lengthy once the cookie started reciting who he was running away from (I ran away from the librarian and the word wizard and the robot…).

Once I skipped over most of those descriptions and stuck to the basic “you can’t catch me,” but then I decided to test their reactions to reading out each of the characters he was running from. My girls seemed to like it when I read the full text. Maybe because it made the story last longer. I’m not sure, but I decided to go with it. I use a fun voice, though, to keep it from getting tedious, if only for me.

Anyway, we enjoyed The Library Gingerbread Man, and I recommend it to anyone who loves books.

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29Dec2013

Roaming Rosie Reads Harry the Dirty Dog

Posted in roaming rosie reads by Rosemary Lynn

Harry likes to get dirty and he hates taking baths. Typical ~~man~~ dog. :)

Anyway, this is a much requested book in our household. Both of my girls love reading about Harry. We have a few other Harry books, but the original is our favorite.

And, I just found out there’s a stuffed version of Harry:

How cute is that?

27Dec2013

Roaming Rosie Reads Franklin in the Dark

Posted in roaming rosie reads by Rosemary Lynn

Franklin is my favorite turtle. :)

I read this book with my girls all the time. The rhythm is fantastic, so it’s especially great at bedtime.

It’s about being brave, it’s about problem solving, and it’s about family. A great combination. But mostly, kids just find it fun and entertaining. Can’t beat that. :)

Franklin recently celebrated his 25th anniversary. You can find him here.

Enjoy!

26Dec2013

Roaming Rosie Reads Moongame

Posted in roaming rosie reads by Rosemary Lynn

My girls and I love Frank Asch.

His books are magical. Entertaining but subtly profound: teaching life lessons and practical thinking in a way that children enjoy.

And I enjoy reading them.

Anyway, this particular book takes place at night, so the illustrations are a little dark (although that may just be because I’m reading an ancient copy). The pictures are beautiful but a little hard to make out in the video, thus Moongame is one that I certainly recommend following along with a copy of your own. Although (like all the others I’ve read) it’s still a great story to share with your kids – even if you don’t have the book yet.

But if you’d like the book, you can find it here.

Enjoy!