Explore Reviews

Incredible indie experience. Simple gameplay but really good in terms of crafting, brewing and combat. Life‑Sim Idle RPG style gameplay and updates seem to be regular. Give it a try.

Best game ever. Action, combat mechanics, story, characters all is good in this game. Go ahead and play it.

The story alone deserves ten stars. These men and women in the military are all heroes to me but the animal lovers among them who are overseas are even more so. I can't fathom having to leave a dog like Nubs because the military won't allow pets. I can understand pets get in the way, I can understand the thought process of not wanting the dog (or other animal) to take time and attention away from the matters at hand, you can even go out on a limb and say if that's allowed what about bringing a pet with you once you get orders? I understand all of this. But at the same time, would it be so very hard to try to help the men and women help the animals? Are they so worthless? Maybe, just maybe, by doing it would show others how to properly treat animals. Maybe, just maybe, it would save lives. Not to mention the untold happiness all around. The U.S. can waste money on reality t.v. and diamonds the size of Texas but we can foot the bill to fly a war dog to the U.S. Huh. I'm done ranting. I think. About this story, Brian and Nubs' story deserves far more than five stars. He should win a medal for doing his job and going above and beyond and saving this dog. The reason I didn't give this book - not 'this story', mind you - five stars is because I really didn't care for the layout. I loved, loved, loved, loved the actual photos. The one of Nubs' following Brian's truck as it leaves broke my heart. I'm very, very happy someone thought to include photos of Nubs' after he arrived in America and after Brian returned to him. I think with a book like this, the photos go a long way, especially for a child. Julia was able to look at these pictures and much more easily envision this happening. I watched her as she brought the pages closer to her face and really looked. Thought. And felt. The little side "emails" could have been left out IMO. They didn't add to the story in any way for us. There are a lot of photos of the two of them together and separate and the text is

2.5 - This was a weird one for us. I still don't know exactly what we think. I liked the middle of the book but the beginning and ending didn't work for me. What's strange is that the weirdness of a dolphin ride was too much for me. But the birds eggs wasn't. I'm more than willing to admit it makes no sense at all. It is what it is. The book begins with a description of Grandma and quickly goes to into her journey to Greenland on the dolphins back. That was a letdown for me and Julia, while she wasn't actually disappointed, definitely wasn't loving this part either. The family enters Grandma's room a year later, which hadn't been altered in any way, and they stumble upon a bird nest with three small eggs laying it in among Grandma's collection of birds nests. The eggs conveniently hatch just after the family finds them and the family is now the proud owners of three baby pigeons. There's no explanation as to how this could have happened, no open window, no one entering the room prior, etc. and the two young children, a brother and sister, look up at Grandma's stuffed pigeon. The family takes care of care of the birds and eventually the Mother calls in an expert and finds that these babies are are a thought-to-be extinct breed of passenger pigeon. The expert gets the family's permission to call in others to find out more about how this could have happened, what to do now, etc. and the family is all for for the benefit of science. The family gets hounded by reporters and have to explain their story to person after person. Mother confides that all of the babies are males, there is no way for them to reproduce to continue the species. Long story, a little shorter, Father opines the birds should be studied, Mother thinks the birds should be free. Brother and sister release the baby birds but not before they taped messages onto a leg of each baby. The last page of the book is a letter from dear, old, loopy Grandma. "Thank you for your pigeon messages, my

Everyone want to know what lesson I learned? I learned that it's okay to be a rude, snotty, obnoxious brat when you're a kid as long as you plan to be well mannered when you grow up. ***Can you hear my applause for Ziefert?*** This is in my top three of worst children's books EVER. The "story" (it doesn't even deserve that credit IMO) starts with two seemingly well behaved children sitting on a couch with their parents standing behind them. And then. The story says what the children will do when they grow up. As in, "I'll be so polite." and "I'll always say please." Mind, while they story is telling the reader what the kids will do as adults, the kids are shoving each other trying to take a bike. Stealing a helmet from the sibling. Answering the phone like a brat, barging in bathrooms announced, not waiting in line, not taking turns, losing tempers and yelling at people and sitting their lazy ass on a bus seat while an older woman with groceries stands in the aisle. The illustrations depict the kids slamming doors in people's faces (not maliciously but just ignoring anyone but themselves), blowing their nose over food on the dinner table, playing with their food, throwing food in the air to the dog, taking bowls while saying 'gimme that', burping at the dinner table, leaving without saying a word, saying rude things to people, need I go on? I think I've mentioned most of the behavior that if it coming from MY daughter would quickly result in punishment. I feel the need to say that anyone can ask anyone else who knows me about what kind of parent I am. I'm a great Mom. I'm a terrific Mom. Honestly, I'm one of the best Moms on this planet we live on. My daughter, who is almost 6, does not walk all over me. She has manners and she behaves. She knows nothing less will be tolerated. She has melt-downs. Who doesn't? And there is leeway for that of course. She has bad days, as do I, and those are taken into account to. But rude behavior and what is shown in this

My daughter introduced me to these series. On one of our trips to a bookstore, she asked me if I could get her a pocket version of Chicken Soup for the Soul. As my wife and her read it together, they both absolutely loved it and told me of how wonderful these books are. I have never read any Chicken Soup for the Soul books, but my 9 year old daughter, at that time, has been already exposed to them. On our recent trip to the bookstore, she was looking for something that she needed for school. I was in pocket books section looking for some of those Zen and Tao books. I have noticed that they carried a whole series of pocket Chicken Soup for the Soul books. I decided to grab one and surprise her with it. After my daughter read it, I wanted to check it out myself and both of us wrote a few words about it. My take on the book A little spoonful of Chicken Soup for Kids Soul is a wonderful book of a numerous stories. It is people of various ages, race groups and backgrounds sharing their experiences and stories of when they were small children. Some of the stories are sad, touching and tragic. Some of the stories are cute and funny. There are also some quotes as well, that relay the message of the information presented in the book and makes the child think about what the meaning is. There are even some celebrities who share their stories and experiences from where they were little kids. Shaq, the basketball player is one of a few of those people. I like the idea that they make the child see different views on the everyday situations in our lives. The books make the child analyze those situations and put some thought on how that relates to his or her personal experiences. My daughter enjoyed it and even gave me some explanation to why she liked it, why she thought this book was important for another child to read and even on how it effected her emotionally. My daughter's take on the book A little spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Kids Soul I've read a lot

I made the mistake of picking this up after midnight (not telling how far after midnight) to settle down a bit before bed. Four hours later (yes, I know, I'm actually kind of a slow reader--certainly compared to some) I finished the book with a sense of satisfaction that overrode the impending doom of waking in two hours to go to work. This book is aimed at a bit younger audience than I usually read (middle grade?). I love YA novels and wouldn't dream of disparaging a book based on its target market, so don't take that as limiting or a condemnation. I note it as a way of highlighting how very well-written and engaging the book is. The protagonist, Celie, is 11 and the writing is about that grade level as well. I imagine that kids around that age, and a few years on either side, will find it a natural read. But the book is also completely accessible to older audiences, and even (if you're like me) captivating. The central conceit of the novel, a magically sapient castle, is enchantingly drawn. Castle Glower, you see, chooses its own royalty. One royal council took a week of the butcher (I think. I don't have the book with me while writing this review) accidentally walking into their meetings before taking the hint and crowning him the next king. One heir found himself rejected because "he was a nincompoop." The current royal family--descendants of the former butcher--have come to truly love the castle and the youngest daughter, Celie, has developed a closer relationship to it than most. She has been working on her "atlas" for years and enjoys exploring new rooms and revising maps based on new additions and subtractions. The book starts light (I laughed once per page, on average. I know because I kept track). We get to know Celie as her parents are leaving to attend the graduation of their oldest son in a city somewhat distant (the castle hinted he'd be a better wizard than heir so the second-oldest is heir). It doesn't take long, however, for dire events to cat

I have three boys, ages 8, 8, and 9. I received "Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things" as an Advance Review Copy from NetGalley. Though my boys are getting older, and can read very well on their own, I love to read aloud, and they love to listen. It's special time that we sit and talk about the characters in the novels we read. While this is wonderful, it also stretches books out into a much longer experience than you would have reading it to yourself. This can be good for discussion, but so hard to do when you just want to know the answer to the mysteries! ;) Max Starling is the son of two actors/theater owners. Following in his parents' flamboyant footsteps, it is revealed that Max, himself, has great acting chops. The story opens up with Max's parents supposedly being offered temporary positions overseas as acting coaches, but something goes awry, and his parents disappear, with only an oddly-worded note left behind. This seems like it's going to be the great mystery of the novel, but it is sadly pushed out of the picture for most of the story. Max doesn't act like a 12-year-old. This was brushed off, by basically alluding that his parents were irresponsible, and he often had to fend for himself, even prior to them actually disappearing. Max tries to prove that he can be independent, by getting odd jobs to support himself. The only type of work he can find, is in finding things for other people. The majority of the story bounces back and forth between the 'cases' that he takes on, as a 'Solutioneer,' while the whole issue of his parents' disappearance is suspiciously absent. Max's Grammie explains it away, by saying that they might as well continue on with their lives, since the only thing they can do is wait until they hear more by way of newspaper or postcards (due to the fact that they're in the early 20th century). I felt that, while this was relevant, it almost came across like they really just didn't care. There were long stretches where the parents'

Read for the 2016 YA/MG Book Battle. This book about a girl with cerebral palsy learning to function outside her special school was fun to read, but slight compared to others of this year's Book Battle that are also about family and friendship (Binny in Secret and The Penderwicks in Spring particularly). Sarah Jane (Sal) has been living at a school for children with "motor handicaps" for many years, but her parents have decided she's finally capable of integrating into a public school. Once at home, Sal faces many challenges, not all of which derive from her condition, which was one of the things I liked about the book. Sal's cerebral palsy is treated with great sensitivity, but never used as the Big Issue in how others treat her except by one character, who is himself damaged and whose reactions to Sal come off more as his reactions to his own situation. Sal's friendships form the heart of the book. I liked the way she wasn't the only outsider, and how the Dutch girl Elsje reacted to Sal--again, not as a disabled person, but as a threat to her own friendships. Elsje's brother Piet was one of my favorite characters, not because he's likeable (he isn't) but because his situation, being an outsider, being physically damaged, made him compelling. The only character I didn't like was Sal's father, who kept sounding like the Professor on Gilligan's Island. He was just too wise to be real. I have to say I think in terms of how it handles disability, this book aged well, given how differently we think about disability fifty years later. It functions on one level as a guide to cerebral palsy without turning too much into a lecture, though it made me wonder how cerebral palsy is treated these days, whether Sal's experience still has meaning. But even though Sal struggles realistically with her disability, many of the other relationships felt too obvious: the antagonism of the other "new girl," Sal's older sister who is unrelentingly negative about Sal's capabilities, S