books about childhood – Equal Opportunity Reader

[REVIEW] Too Many Tamales, by Gary Soto, illustrated by Ed Martinez

(Buy it HERE.) **This book is also available in Spanish as ¡Qué montón de tamales! Thing I said approximately 337 times while reading this book: Awwww, my HEART! 🎄⠀Christmas is a great time to create, remember and celebrate childhood memories and this beautifully illustrated picture book is great for all three. Little Maria is feelingContinue reading “[REVIEW] Too Many Tamales, by Gary Soto, illustrated by Ed Martinez”

[REVIEW] The Brave, by James Bird

(Buy it HERE.) 13-year old Collin has an OCD-related condition that makes him compulsively count the letters in every word said to him and blurt it out. This has gotten him bullied out of every school in the area and his distant, alcoholic dad finally can’t take it anymore. He packs up Collin and hisContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Brave, by James Bird”

[REVIEW] A Bastard’s Degree In English, November St. Michael

(Buy it HERE.) 🍁⠀⠀3 things: ⠀⠀1) I haven’t been adulting particularly well lately. Spare a good thought in the direction of this reader when you can. ⠀⠀2) November is Native American Heritage Month and for the rest of the month I’ll be reading and reviewing indigenous writers and their work.⠀⠀3) But before that–what better thingContinue reading “[REVIEW] A Bastard’s Degree In English, November St. Michael”

[REVIEW] The Meaning of Mariah Carey, by Mariah Carey

(Buy it HERE.) 🎶⠀This isn’t the best book I’ve read all year, but it’s certainly the most surprising. I was expecting Mariah Carey(the glamorous award-winning diva) to fill a few frivolous pages with brand names, romantic liaisons and shady entertainment gossip with a few childhood anecdotes sprinkled in. What I was not expecting was MariahContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Meaning of Mariah Carey, by Mariah Carey”

[REVIEW] When My Name Was Keoko, By Linda Sue Park

(Buy it HERE.) This middle-grade book by Newbery-medal-winning Korean-American author Linda Sue Park explores an episode of history that seems curiously underexposed, if my own world history and Asian history classes in school are any indication. When My Name Is Keoko is set during the oppressive Japanese occupation of Korea in the 1940s. Pause forContinue reading “[REVIEW] When My Name Was Keoko, By Linda Sue Park”

The Ocean At The End Of The Lane,Neil Gaiman

(Buy it HERE.) This book is like a collaboration between Stephen King and Roald Dahl after a brief consultation with C.S. Lewis and H.P. Lovecraft. It’s weird and whimsical and dark and otherworldly and veddy, veddy British. It should be awesome but it’s mostly just…okay. It took me a long time to get into thisContinue reading “The Ocean At The End Of The Lane,Neil Gaiman”