My Little Cities: London, Paris, San Francisco & New York - Giveaway!

Jennifer Adams who wrote the BabyLit books has come out with a new series of board books for children called My Little Cities.

My Little Cities takes us to London, Paris, San Francisco and New York.

My Little Cities, San Francisco

Rhyming prose and bright colors celebrate the unique architecture and features of San Fransisco. We recognize the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island,  a Dragon Dance in Chinatown and a Pride Parade by City Hall, sea lions at Pier 39, cable cars and colorful Victorian townhouses.  The board book captures and celebrates people's  different styles, ethnicities, and identities with a sense of joy.  The end of the book gives factual descriptions of the different places and items featured (Lombard Street, the Ferry Building, Chinatown, City Hall, Pier 39, Cliff House, the Painted Ladies, Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge).

My Little Cities, New York

• Age Range: 2 - 5 years
• Grade Level: Preschool - Kindergarten

• ISBN-10: 1452153884 - Board Book $9.99
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; Brdbk edition (April 11, 2017), 22 pages.

Using simple, lyrical language and modern illustrations, Jennifer Adams shows us the extremes you find in New York City.  She brings us to the top of the Empire State Building and to the stone lions in front of the New York Public Library, to the bustle of the subway and captures the adventure of seeing the Statue of Liberty on a NYC ferry.  We join an appreciative audience at a Broadway play and glow under the bright lights of Times Square. Adams captures the range of places and adventures that one can have in New York as one explores the City from Central Park to Yankee Stadium, to Coney Island and the Brooklyn Bridge whether by subway or ferry or yellow cab or by foot. The end of the book gives factual descriptions of the different places and items featured (Empire State Building, New York Public Library, the New York Subway, the Statue of Liberty, Broadway, Times Square, Central Park, Yankee Stadium, Coney Island, and the Brooklyn Bridge).

GIVEAWAY The publisher, Chronicle Books, has offered to sponsor a giveaway of the set of My Little Cities books.  To join, please just comment which of the 4 books you are most interested in and why you'd like the set of books.  Thanks!

The contest is limited to US residents. One entry per household.  Contest ends on November 20, 2017.

About the Author and Illustrator:
Jennifer Adams is well-known for her cherished BabyLit board book series. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Greg Pizzoli won the Geisel Medal for his first book, The Watermelon Seed, and his subsequent books have continued to garner much commercial and critical acclaim. He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Casualty of War by Charles Todd

Casualty of War by Charles Todd

• Series: Bess Crawford Mysteries (Book 9)
• ISBN 9780062678782 Hardcover $26.99

• Publisher: William Morrow (September 26, 2017), 384 pages.

The blurb:
Though the Great War is nearing its end, the fighting rages on. While waiting for transport back to her post, battlefield nurse Bess Crawford meets Captain Alan Travis from the island of Barbados. Later, when he’s brought into her forward aid station disoriented from a head wound, Bess is alarmed that he believes his distant English cousin, Lieutenant James Travis, shot him. Then the Captain is brought back to the aid station with a more severe wound, once more angrily denouncing the Lieutenant as a killer. But when it appears that James Travis couldn’t have shot him, the Captain’s sanity is questioned. Still, Bess wonders how such an experienced officer could be so wrong. On leave in England, Bess finds the Captain strapped to his bed in a clinic for brain injuries. Horrified by his condition, Bess and Sergeant Major Simon Brandon travel to James Travis’s home in Suffolk, to learn more about the baffling relationship between these two cousins. Her search will lead this smart, capable, and compassionate young woman into unexpected danger, and bring her face to face with the visible and invisible wounds of war that not even the much-longed for peace can heal.

Review:

Charles Todd's Bess Crawford mysteries are among my favorite escapist fiction. Set during World War I, we follow young Bess Crawford to France and England as she nurses British soldiers at the fighting front.  She is the only child of Colonel Crawford, a highly respected officer long assigned to the Indian subcontinent.  Raised amongst soldiers and outside of England, Bess is tough but mild mannered. Practical, loyal and unflappable, Bess has a strong sense of duty and justice.  She is alert to unusual events and often finds herself drawn to investigate small anomalies that hint at larger mysteries or unfair treatment. 

In A Casualty of War, the latest Bess Crawford Mystery,  Bess encounters Lieutenant Travers, an Englishman from Barbados who shares tales of his home and during that brief time, the war is held at bay.  When Travers returns with a serious head wound and the belief that he was fired upon by a British officer, things become complicated.  Travers is an unlikely candidate for shell shock, in fact he is adamant that he must return to the Front to keep the shooter from harming any of his men.  Travers intends to find his attacker and have him removed from the Front.  But after Travers survives a second deadly attack, his statements against the possible attacker lead to others to question his sanity.  

Relying on her impressions of Lieutenant Travers before his attacks, Bess Crawford refuses to dismiss Lieutenant Travers’ as shellshocked and unreliable.  Instead, she seeks to find out the truth behind the attacks and to see if he has relatives in England that might help.  

The visit to Travers’ relatives is a strange affair and Bess Crawford finds herself in the middle of a dangerous search.  With Simon’s help, their unflagging determination and well coordinated teamwork, Bess and Simon save a good man from a bad fate. 

About the Authors:

Charles and Caroline Todd are a mother-and-son writing team who live on the east coast of the United States. Caroline has a BA in English Literature and History, and a Masters in International Relations. Charles has a BA in Communication Studies with an emphasis on Business Management, and a culinary arts degree that means he can boil more than water. Caroline has been married (to the same man) for umpteen years, and Charles is divorced.