Review: This is My World by Lonely Planet Kids

This is My World by Lonely Planet Kids was a delightful reading experience as 84 children from around the world tell us about their family, where they live, their hobbies and more. Each child enjoys a double page spread, and the eye-catching layouts include photos, flags, maps, fast facts and three adjectives they use to describe themselves.

Cleverly organised alphabetically by first name provides a stimulating criss-crossing of the globe instead of a dull trip alphabetically country by country. This also prevents readers from flipping pages to search for specific countries, although there is a handy index in the back.

Some of the entries are clearly written by the children while some have been helped by their parents, but all were informative, interesting and engaging. I loved learning new things along the way, for instance Noa (aged 10) lives in Japan and she says:

"I like this house because our living room is huge. There is a fireplace and horigotatsu (table-based heater) as well." Page 129

I didn't know what a horigotatsu was so put the book aside to find out and went down a lovely Japanese rabbit hole. They look super cosy and I really hope I get the chance to try one some day.

I was able to identify some similarities between the entries in that a lot of children fight with their siblings (who knew?), many have never seen snow and rabbits are a favourite animal for kids around the world.

According to the Foreward:

"To create this book, we reached out to cattle ranchers in the Australian outback, inhabitants of a fishing capital in Greenland, city dwellers living among skyscrapers in Nigeria and many more families!"

Sounds great but I'd really like to know exactly how they did that. How many children submitted a response and how were these 84 profiles chosen? Some of the children stated their parents were teachers and I found myself wondering if Lonely Planet reached out to schools as part of this project. Not that it's important, I'm just curious.

This is My World by Lonely Planet Kids is a great book suitable for readers young and old and I can highly recommend it.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

I received a copy of The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald as a mystery book at a GoodReads Melbourne catch up and it's been sitting on my TBR pile since 2018. The reason it's been collecting dust is because it's a romance story with a bookish theme and I don't really enjoy the romance genre. The reason it hasn't been 'moved on' to a friend or free little library is down to the fact that this is also a book about books. Needing a light and easy read recently, I finally picked it up and was pleasantly surprised to finish it.

Sara Lindqvist lives in Sweden and has a penpal by the name of Amy who lives in a small town called Broken Wheel in Iowa. Invited to visit and stay a few months to continue their shared love of books and reading, Sara takes the plunge only to discover upon arrival that Amy has passed away.

Translated from Swedish, what happens next forms the body of this charming story and the letters back and forth between Sara and Amy are scattered throughout the novel. The inevitable romance made itself known early on, together with several other - predictable - romantic entanglements. Sara's internal chatter (what could he possibly see in me?) grated on my nerves as I'd expect, but thankfully it was somewhat tempered by the setting up of a bookshop and re-energising of the town. The inhabitants of the small country town are stuck in their ways and some are entertainingly cliched.

Published in 2013, my favourite character by far was George and I enjoyed the character of Caroline even more so than Sara. Here Caroline reflects:

"She had never been able to help people like Amy could. Amy always seemed to know precisely what people wanted to hear. Caroline knew only what they should hear, and the two were very rarely the same thing." Page 24

Sara is seeking a sense of belonging and exploring what constitutes a family and readers will need to suspend their disbelief at the ending but I'm sure many will readily do so. Obviously life doesn't work like that but this is a tale offering escapism and a HEA; reinforcing the reason this genre rarely features in my reading line-up.

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald is about finding a sense of belonging and will appeal to bookworms who enjoy novels about books and bookshops with a generous dollop of romance.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

* Copy courtesy of NetGalley *

Ove is a cranky and seemingly bitter old man, missing his late wife and without purpose in his life. He's a stickler for the rules (no cars in the residential area), stubborn (won't turn the heaters up in winter because it's too expensive) and resolute about what is right and wrong. Oh, and he loves his SAAB.

Everything changes though when a family move in next door and Ove's routines are completely shattered when pregnant Parvaneh takes an immediate interest in him.

Ove is a practical man, and his gruffness and short temper are endearing (and sometimes funny), making it hard not to like him. Some of the stories from his past are amusing, some heartbreaking and it was interesting to watch events and people shape his character over the years. I especially liked the backstory between Ove and Rune (a neighbour, former-friend and fellow member of the Resident's Association).

A Man Called Ove is based in Sweden and translated - extremely well - into English.  Fellow reviewers have admitted that Ove's story brought them to tears, however I wasn't as deeply moved. I found A Man Called Ove an enjoyable read and think it will be popular with readers.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!