Book Review: All the Ice Cream in the Land by Emmy Kastner

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All the Ice Cream in the Land  by Emmy Kastner  is about a princess, the kingdom she lives in, and her loyal subjects. Full of twists and turns, children will surely delight in this story about ice cream. When I saw the title and cover art of this kid's book, it made me instantly think of my childhood and how I would've loved a book like this one. A huge shout out and thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for approving my request to read this book. I received a copy for free in exchange for my honest review. The storyline is very easy to follow, making it especially suitable for toddlers, preschoolers, and early readers, particularly children between the ages of two and six. Its straightforward narrative and clear structure make it an excellent choice for read-aloud sessions at home, bedtime stories, or classroom story time. While there is limited character development, which is typical for a picture book format, the princess is still an intere...
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Book Review: More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Scary Stories, #2) by Alvin Schwartz

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more scary stories to tell in the dark alvin schwartz
Since Halloween is right around the corner, I decided to reread a favorite book from my childhood . . . More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Scary Stories, #2), which is a collection of stories from folklore and retold by Alvin Schwartz.

I first read this book and the other two books in the trilogy, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Scary Stories, #1) and Scary Stories 3:  More Tales to Chill Your Bones (Scary Stories, #3), in middle school, and I had fond memories of them. I also remember being terribly spooked after reading them, especially by the grotesque illustrations. If memory serves correctly, our teachers weren't thrilled with students reading them.

My favorite stories in this edition are Something Was Wrong and The Wreck. I also enjoyed A Ghost in the Mirror. These were the spookiest of the stories. The latter story made a friend and I try to summon "Bloody Mary", and we completely freaked ourselves out. So, this was a great read for nostalgia reasons.

With that being said, I was terribly disappointed in More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark because it wasn't nearly as good, or as spooky, as I remembered. But, I am an adult now, and I'm not really the target audience for this book. It would likely scare its target audience of kids between the ages of eight years and twelve years because I do remember being creeped out by it when I read it in middle school.

The adult in me gives this book three out of five stars. My middle school self would have likely have given it five out of five stars.

 

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