Sunday book reviews, ready, now? “A Mastery of Monsters” and more
Photo by Nancy Rawley/use with permission only, please and thank you
I really do love books, can you tell? I’ve been writing reviews here for years now. It’s kind of funny, the years and books just keep rolling along. More coffee, please. Presenting… more new releases, just in time for the winter holidays.
All of the books included in this post were sent to me free for review purposes. Disclaimer here. Thank you for reading and see you next time! WM
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- Simon & Schuster Kids has come out with a cool paperback collection of Christmas books for kids. The covers are engaging, the art jumps off the front. And the stories inside are as good as ever. Classic, really. (Smiles.) It’s like I used to tell my students, “You don’t have to love books as much as I do, that’d be weird. But if you love them even half as much as I do? That would be enough.” Srsly these kids don’t want to read. Maybe they’ll be won over by this new “vintage” set that includes “The Nutcracker,” “A Christmas Carol” and “Twelve Classics of Christmas,” including works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Brothers Grimm and other writers. Happy gift-giving, folks. Think inside the box. (2025, ages 8 and up, $7.99 per title.)
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- My early Christmas gift arrived in the shape of the 100th anniversary edition of A.A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh and the House at Pooh Corner.” I can’t find this exact version online, I’m sure you will, though. So that’s a link to a super cute Piglet and Pooh “rain puddle print” umbrella that you may like. (I’m all, hey, Wacky Mommy is a gift guide now.) The cover is beautiful, yellow and black, soft and fuzzy like Pooh. I’m in love with this edition, it’s perfect. It was originally released in 1926, followed by the release of “The House at Pooh Corner” in 1928. This book contains both titles, with original artwork by Ernest H. Shepard. His line drawings contain so much detail and warmth. (Aladdin, all ages, 361 pages, $10.99.)
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- “Keeping the Light: A Story About Letting Your Light Shine,” is a new book from Ali Gilkeson, with lively and bright pictures by Lee Wildish. I like this little guy, Fynn, he makes the day happier. “He lives with his family in a lighthouse by the sea. (I mean, all lighthouses are by the sea or near a body of water. I’ve never seen a lighthouse in the middle of a city or at the end of a cul-de-sac. Have you?” the author begins.) And a fine story it is. (Waterbrook/Multnomah/Penguin Random House, ages 3 and up, $14.99.) (I reviewed Gilkeson’s last title, “My Lighthouse: A Story of Finding Your Way Home,” last year.)
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- And now for “Little Monsters,” a playful spoof by Maire Roche, wherein the March sisters from Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” became, yep. Monsters. Not sure how I feel about this twist, but I know the kids will get a kick out of it, so there you go. It’s not scheduled for release until next summer, so we have some time to puzzle it over. Oh-ho! Roche’s other new title, “Bromantasy,” a “cozy, queer fantasy” about young people and love, is scheduled to hit the shelves in May. Ahhhhh… this is a whimsical, creative author. Thanks, Maire. (Aladdin Books/Simon & Schuster.)
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- Speaking of monsters and magic… (see how nicely I segued there?) “A Mastery of Monsters,” by Liselle Sambury, is out now. This is the first book in what’s being described as a “dark academia fantasy series” for teens. August’s mother has gone missing, and now her brother, right before his sophomore year. She knows something is wrong and vows to find the truth and save her family. Great read. (Margaret M. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster, 2025, high school and older, 580 pages, $24.99.) Sambury is a Trinidadian Canadian author whose works covers a lot of genres, including fantasy, horro and sci-fi. Rock it.
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