Showing posts with label murphy and the magical hat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label murphy and the magical hat. Show all posts

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Murphy and the Magical Hat


Murphy and the Magical Hat

By: Kate David
Illustrated by: Helen Turner
Published by: Outskirts Press
Publication Date: January 2012
ISBN: 978-1432785826
Reviewed by: Ellen Feld
Review Date: November 3, 2013

Gosh darn it! It’s raining outside and Murphy is bored. So, so bored. She just woke up from her nap and was all excited about playing outside. Now what will Murphy do? In this adorable story about playtime, a young girl learns how to use her imagination. And what fun it can be to let your imagination carry you to all sorts of exciting places!

Disappointed at the weather conditions, Murphy sadly makes her way to her mother’s room. Thankfully, Moms always seem to know what to do and Murphy’s mother is no exception. She leads her daughter to a trunk at the end of the bed and reaches in...what will she pull out? Murphy watches excitedly...and is overjoyed to see a magical hat.

Murphy's mother shows her daughter the hat and explains, “Your Nana gave me this magical hat for days just like today. All I had to do was put it on and I could go anywhere I imagined!” Murphy eagerly takes the hat and climbs onto her mother’s bed. With a smile on her face, she thinks about where she wants to go, closes her eyes and then...opens them to discover...I’m not going to give away the story, but I will say that the magical hat takes Murphy to a wonderful place full of warmth, sunshine, and the neatest carousel with brightly painted horses that you’ve ever seen.

Murphy and the Magical Hat is the ideal story for rainy days, or any day for that matter. The story is original, very upbeat, the text flows nicely (there’s even a short poem about the horses on the carousel), and the illustrations mesh perfectly with this tale written for the very young. No doubt your child will want to read this book over and over, and then see where her imagination will take her.

Quill says: A wonderful story that encourages children to use their imaginations. As the text on the back cover asks, “Where will your imagination take you?” Read this book and discover the possibilities.





Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Books In For Review

Here's a sample of the books that have just come in for review.  Check them out and then stop by our site in a few weeks to read the reviews.  Enjoy!




Ashes to Ashes: The Scribing of Ishitar (Volume 2) by Carrie F. Shepherd Exiled from the Sixty Realms at the end of the Second Revolution, Iykva, one of the demons sent to propagate a new mortal race, longs for equality between his people and those of the exiled angels. Believing the key to this equality lies within the blood of his enemy, he strikes war on the first born of the race of the elves. Caught up in his parents' game to claim the ultimate power, Ishitar dismisses this mortal war as unimportant to his strategy of placing his own pawn upon his father's throne. Will the cost that he eventually pays for his ignorance be worth what little advantage he has gained on the kings' board?

The Holdout by Laurel Osterkamp Robin wanted to win The Holdout, a cutthroat reality TV show, so she gave it her all, challenge after challenge. Then she fell for Grant, with his irresistible eyes and heartbreaking life story. But Grant was only using Robin as they competed for a million dollars. Once home, Robin wants to hide from the humiliation as episodes of The Holdout are aired, and she worries her family was right all along; she's not a survivor. Or maybe she'll have the last laugh Besides, Robin now has jury duty. And as she forges ahead, confronting her demons about bravery, justice, and romance, Robin will come to decide which is more important: the courage to stand alone, or the strength to love again. Laurel Osterkamp's award winning novels have been hailed as funny, intelligent, snarky and poignant. She is the author of four novels and two novellas, including the November Surprise series, which, like The Holdout, features the Bricker family. Laurel was recently on a federal jury, and she loves watching Survivor.

One-Woman Farm: My Life Shared with Sheep, Pigs, Chickens, Goats, and a Fine Fiddle by Jenna Woginrich Jenna Woginrich’s inspiring journey from city cubicle to rural homestead has captivated readers of her blog and previous books. Now, in One-Woman Farm, Woginrich shares the joys, sorrows, trials, epiphanies, and blessings she discovers during a year spent farming on her own land, finding deep fulfillment in the practical tasks and timeless rituals of the agricultural life.

Death Overdue: Librarian Mystery series by Mary Lou Kirwin Ropes, revolvers, daggers, arsenic...They are the classic, go-to murder weapons, from Christie to Clue. But death by bookcase? With one good shove, a crafty killer can keep investigators guessing: did it fall or was it pushed? That’s what sassy Midwestern librarian Karen Nash must determine—and if so, who did the pushing—when an avalanche of books and splintered wood fatally flattens Sally Burroughs, the ex-girlfriend of Karen’s squeeze, London B&B proprietor Caldwell Perkins, who appears the most likely suspect for murder. In the library. With the bookcase. And maybe he has grounds? Just as he and his librarian love are making a go of opening their dream bookstore (that’s bookshop, in British English), Sally pops up years after abandoning him, to demand her share of the B&B’s sale. To Karen’s orderly mind, sorting her jumbled feelings about uprooting her life in Minnesota and taking a chance on Caldwell is much like sorting his four-thousand-three-hundred-and-twenty-four precious volumes: everything has its place. A little research reveals that more than one person may have had Sally issues, and Karen must prove that Caldwell is obsessed with books, not revenge. But will her hunt for a killer turn up too little, too late?

Murphy and the Magical Hat by Kate David When a rainy day threatens to spoil a little girl's plans to play outside, her disappointment quickly disappears when her Mother shares a magical hat with her. This magical hat has the power to whisk little Murphy away to where she most wants to go. Explore the power of imagination with Murphy as it turns her disappointment into joy!

A Very Fuddles Christmas by Frans Vischer The way Fuddles, the overly indulged feline, sees the world, it’s better to receive than give! And what better gift for Fuddles than Christmas? One winter day, he wakes up to the smells and sights of the holiday: a juicy turkey dinner, sweet gingerbread, and a tree decorated with shiny, glittering toys—all for him! But when Fuddles tries to climb the tree, his family chases him away. He runs outside to escape, smack into cold and ice and snow! Will Fuddles ever make it back home in time to celebrate the merriest time of the year?