Viva Cisco - Patrick Shannon

Who knew a parrot could be such an adventurous sport and...well, a pain?

In three tales of attempted stardom, attempted detective work and successful heroism, Topopootl's own Cisco the Parrot keeps his friends on their toes. In the first, he decides to take up flamenco dancing, wrestling and high-altitude flight - none of which work too well with a parrot's wings. The second story, he finds his calling (sort of) in detective work, helping Topopootl find the mysterious thief nabbing its residents' prized possessions. In the third tale, a Topopootl festival in honor of the town's surrounding skunks peaks Cisco's interest, and he sets out to find the festival's origins, ending up with a task much bigger than he expected.

Cisco and his furry (and not so furry) friends are written with great, human-esque personalities, all with great senses of humor and wit. Cisco is funniest of all, reminding the reader of a friend or colleague who is always going out of their way, no matter how goofy they appear to be, to add some adventure and excitement to their life. A joy to read, Viva Cisco will be a laugh-out-loud funny book for anyone who likes a few crazy animals in their stories.

No, Never! - Sally O. Lee

An adorable tale with a great lesson, "No, Never!" follows Daisy the dalmatian as she learns the significance of responsibility and how it'll help her achieve her dreams.

Like almost every kid, Daisy is not happy about doing chores and homework, seeing no benefit in it other than to burden their day and distract from playtime. She consistently declares she will not take a bath (I'm sure resulting in some odor issues), not wash the dishes or eat her veggies, believing that all of these things are just obstacles standing in her way from becoming the world's best author and the next Lance Armdog. But her mother clarifies the importance of her current chores, those of which will teach her the skills and responsibility she will need to achieve those things and so much more. Basically, no one wants a stinky bicycle rider.

The story and illustrations are beyond adorable and extremely colorful, providing entertainment for kids and the adults reading to them. The lesson is even better, and something any generation can learn from. A great addition to the kid's bookshelf.

The Adventures of Snip in Oregon - Betty S. Moir

This pooch is just dog-gone talkative, he is!

Betty S. Moir creatively and adorably tells the numerous tales of the Moir family pet, Snip, including the regular table meals and comfy belly rubs. Each short story tells of another adventure Snip is involved in, including helping rescue one of the family's children, ridding the farm of a pesky raccoon, and critiquing one of the kid's driving. Yes, Moir even gives Snip a voice, and my! does he have a lot to say!

Not a sad tale one exists in the book, accompanied by family photos and adorable illustrations by Yumi V. Vong, which accurately recreate the story and puts a crystal-clear picture in your mind of what's going on. You can easily picture this lovable, happy-go-lucky canine defensively barking at a ready-to-aim skunk or sneaking around the farm in search of squirrel invaders. Snip is the accurate portrayal of at least one family pet in everyone's childhood, the dog (or cat...or fish, if you prefer) that, in unintentional ways, seemed almost human. Being one of those people who has been lucky enough to have two dogs who have been just that way, I found this story adorable, well-written, and a must for all pet-lovers and their kids.

Dangerously Innocent - Nesrine Joseph

I assure you, the tiger on the cover has nothing to do with the book, plot, or really anything. It's a pretty picture, but this book is not about a tiger. Or even mentions a tiger. But even a tiger-less book can be good.

Dangerously Innocent starts out with the beheading of the husband of Jo-Beth Eaton as they're preparing to head to dinner. This mysterious murder, in which only the husband Mitch's head is left on the scene, is one of many similarly executed incidents, involving a strange variety of body parts. (Tongues, hearts and hands galore!) All victims are male, but little or no connection to one another. Or do they?

A chat with a mouthy neighbor leads detectives Rochelle Trevelyan and Luther James on the hunt of their lives, one with progressively cold leads that together may cost the cops their careers...and their loved ones. As the detectives get ever closer to the killers, they make themselves more and more vulnerable to the life-altering repurcussions that follow.

If you like those detective, true-crime stories, you might find this to be an enjoyably quick and fulfilling read. The unveiling of the killers and the events that follow are unexpected and a bit misplaced in an almost desperate attempt to put some sexual tension and eroticism into the story, but it doesn't really work out that well. Sure, there's some heat between the detectives, even with Luther's snarky attitude and Rochelle's griping lover in the way, but not much is indicated between the pair romantically besides their constant presence around each other. (They're literally partners in crime, after all - that's to be expected.)

Overall, a good, solid read, but it could use more tweaks and fewer body parts.

Zombie Haiku by Ryan Mecum

A book about zombie written in bite sized chunks. It's just as simple as three simple lines of five syllables, then seven, and finally five more. It's powerful little morsels of story telling. "Zombie Haiku" is both a unique concept and a brilliantly fresh take on an horror genre mainstay. It's such a good idea that I wish that I had come up with it first, and it's such a good execution of the idea that I searched bookstores all over town until I finally got a copy of my own.

It takes 139 pages to tell this story. Most of the pages have two or three and sometimes four haiku. A few are filled with hand scrawled text. This is a story that was written into a poetry journal by a man after a plague has turned most everyone into zombies. The poetry journal belonged to someone else that had undergone "the change". It only takes one sitting to read this book from cover to cover. Of all the things that haunt me after reading this story, the weirdest has to be that it was written by a youth pastor at a Presbyterian church in Cincinnati, Ohio.

To be sure, "Zombie Haiku" will never be put on display beside ANY of the masters of Japanese literature. Seriously, how many of those ancient masters would have paired brains and artificial hips in verse, much less an entree?

Some, if not most, of the "haiku" in this book aren't even formal haiku, but 100% of these haiku-shaped stanzas are punchy, provocative, or funny. What's more is - all of them taste great and are less filling. If you want a smile, bite into this book today!

North from Calcutta - Duane Evans

Nuclear bomb? Check. Evil leader bent on instigating war? Check. Beautiful woman? Check. Optimistic overweight sidekick? Uh...check.

North from Calcutta follows Tarek Durrani, a Pakistani intelligence officer, to London, Bangladesh, Dubai, the Himalayas, and a few other places in attempt to stop a plot to cause a world-changing war between Pakistan and India, as well as save the woman he's hopelessly fallen in love with. Seems like a typical action/adventure, 'save-the-world-before-it's-too-late' kind of tale, but it's really not.

While meeting with architect Advani (his last name; his first is way too long to even attempt to spell) about the plans of a dam named Farakka Barrage built north of Calcutta (hence the book's name), he meets Advani's beautiful daughter Sahar and falls head over heels. But after obtaining the plans he needs for Farakka Barrage, Durrani learns of a plot to blow the dam and pin it on Pakistan. Worse still, a commencement ceremony at Farakka Barrage is to take place with both Advani and his daughter present, putting them as well as hundreds of others in the possible line of fire. It's no wonder Durrani call on his connected, jolly and plump sidekick Habibi to help in stopping the plot's execution.

To be Evans' first novel, he writes like a veteran. Could definitely be owed to his own personal experience as a CIA operative, but even still, he uses all the right words to describe the situation in just enough detail to keep the reader enthralled and begging for more. I'd recommend the writers of 24 pick this guy up - he could make for some amazing scripts for season 8!

Also posted at http://thebookbunny.blogspot.com/.

The Sneakiest Pirates/The Heroes of Googly Woogly - Dalton James

In an adorably-illustrated set of tales following Pete and his father James, seven-year-old author and illustrator Dalton James paints a brilliant picture of adventure and fantasy in his two books, The Sneakiest Pirates and The Heroes of Googly Woogly.

In the first, Pete and James set out to sea to find the buried treasure of pirate Peg Leg Chuck and keep it out of the hands of the king. The father-son team quietly snatch the treasure as Peg Leg and the king are demolishing each other's ships; with their newfound wealth, James and Pete decide to leave the sea-faring careers of pirates and become rock stars.

Googly Woogly picks up where Pirates left off, this time following the pair in their desire to become astronauts. With a space refrigerator packed full of sweets, the pair jet off in a spaceship and arrive at Googly Woogly, a rectangular planet home to the SooDos and the SooDonts. In an effort to aid the SooDos, an alien race that helps the sick and unfortunate, Pete and James use their arsenal of gum to trap the SooDonts that are stealing the SooDos' spaceships. When given a trophy (shaped like wads of gum) made out of a mysterious substance (besilium ore), the pair decide to head back to Earth and become scientists to study it.

I may be nineteen years old, but I loved these books and can't wait for the next installment! James explores a world full of opportunities an imagination only as big as Googly Woogly could fathom. An excellent, out-of-this-world read for kids and adults alike.