When Do I Love you? by Maria Cabrol

Different animal mamas and papas tell their child how much he/she is loved.  From a lizard who is loved in a blizzard to a moose in a caboose the meaningful text combined with adorable and fun illustrations make this a great gift item.  It's a board book so will appeal to the younger child yet the texts are four lines long with rhymes to delight the preschooler.  The first two lines are the catchy, fun and fanciful phrases.  The last two lines have the deeper emotional impact of showing a child how much they are valued and adored.  This is a very sweet, very loved filled little book.

I received this book from the publishers and was not required to write a positive review.

We Hope for Better Things by Erin Bartels

This book absolutely will not disappoint!  The story travels from present day to 1960s to 1860s as it reveals family secrets.  Present day journalist Elizabeth Balsam is given an unusual assignment that intrigues her.  Little does she suspect that it will lead to unearthing deeply kept family secrets and to solving a mystery that's fifty years old.  Written in a first person narrative this book is verbally scrumptious and you will not want to put it down.  Vivid, heart rending stories from the civil rights movement will stun and shock you.  Then as the reader travels down the road back to the Civil War days the unrest, terror and uncertainty of the times will feel very real.  Elizabeth is an endearing and multi-faceted character that deserves exploring through the pages of the book.  Through these characters the hard choices those trying to make an end to slavery and racial injustice faced come to life.  And one must ask the question what would I do for love?

I received this book from the publishers but was not required to write a positive review.