TheRicanReader

This review expresses my own personal opinion.    As the title implies, this is a book about what a helicopter is, how they operate, flying a copter, and their many uses.   The book is geared towards elementary age kids. I picked it up for a 4-year-old who was patient enough to have me read through it, but I could tell it was clearly too advanced, although he stuck with it.    This is a straightforward read, technical in nature, not story telling. It is matter of fact writing, which is what you would want for a book that is geared towards an older kid. The explanations of what a helicopter is, its mechanical makeup, operations, the pilots, and uses are crisp, direct, and easy to understand, even for a 4-year-old.    The illustrations are photos of different helicopters, some with them in use, no drawings.    This is a book that talks, which offers the ability to have your child listen on their own as the book reads itself and they turn the pa...

The Cool Bean by Jory John, Illustrations by Pete Oswald    This review expresses my own personal opinion.  This is a good book for your 3-year-old to elementary school child as the story can apply to young and older readers alike.  This is another good book by the #1 New York Times Bestselling Team Jory John (Author) and Pete Oswald (Illustrator). Jory is a bestselling author and has won the E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor twice.    As a kid and teenager, and maybe even now, many of us wanted to be the cool kid at school or at least to hang around the cool kids. This is the story of The Cool Bean who attends Beanside Elementary School where three cool beans also go. These beans have a reputation of being cool, not only at school but also in the neighborhood, all over town, and beyond county lines. These are really “cooool” beans.    The central bean character used to hang out with the cool beans when they were younger, in the same pod, but as they go...

Rainbow Fish Finds His Way by Marcus Pfister The author's award-winning Rainbow Fish is back with another good adventure, this time Rainbow Fish gets lost in an undersea storm and his journey to get back home with the help of some friendly fish, who become his new friends.   The story is about friendship and kindness. It is a good book for 3-6 year-olds. The illustration is full of vibrate colors and well drawn sea life and landscape.  A good book for any time of day reading. Would suggest that if you have it as a bedtime story you give yourself a few extra minutes of reading time. While not a lengthy read, it is one that will take a few minutes to get through, especially as you stop to explain the story, discuss the messages within, and to fully immerse your little one in the story you'll want to stop and explain the fish and surrounding sea life and landscapes.  This is a Vox Books, Books that Talk! book, which has narration and the written word. You can simply let your...

Diversity and  differences - age, culture, race, these are the subtle messages here, that what makes us different, makes us alike. Khalil and Mr. Hagerty live in same house, Khalil and his family on the top floor and Mr. Hagerty on the first. Khalil's family is big and noisy and Mr. Hagerty apparently lives by himself downstairs and is a quiet elderly man. This is the story of a boy and an old man who create a friendship and bond through their mutual love of the outdoors, of exploration, finding treasures in the backyard. Their friendship looks beyond race, age, culture, it is centered in kindness and caring.  This is a good read for your 3 – 6-year-old as you can convey and explain messages of love, friendship and caring as you read it. The book is in a read-out loud format which offers the ability to have your child listen on their own as the book reads itself and they turn the pages, or you can read along, injecting your thoughts and lessons about mutual likes, caring, and ...

Thanks to University Press, for providing an advance reader’s copy of the eBook for review consideration. This review expresses my own personal opinion.    Over the past two years the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has become known around the world and this book gives us a glimpse into his life and why he has become the symbol of democratic freedom.    Many of us first heard of President Zelensky after a taped conversation between him and former President Trump came to light over financial aid to Ukraine, wherein it appeared that Trump was asking the newly elected president to do him a favor, provide dirt on then candidate President Joe Biden and his family. The conversation took place before the Russian evasion and while it was part of the impeachment hearings against Trump, it revealed little about Zelensky, a man who would soon become known to millions around the world.    University Press provides a nicely written book which gives us a glimps...

The Stoic Mindset by Mark Tuitert  Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin Press, St. Martin Essential, and Mark Tuitert for providing an advanced reader’s copy of this book.  This review expresses my own personal opinion. I have not been asked to post it by the author, the publishing companies or anyone connected with the book or author. The main focus of this book, by its title, is Stoicism, an ancient philosophy that originated around 300 B.C. in Greece and migrated to Rome. At its core, which the author seeks to get to, is how can one live well? What are the practical utilities that we can apply to our everyday life? Life as the Stoics saw and lived it, is full of challenges, adversity, sadness, death, opportunities, etc. These happenings of life, the Stoics knew we have no control over, and if that was the case, how could one face the ups and downs of life in a way that would lead to a calmer mindset, to be clear about one’s position in the Universe? Tuitert wants to share with u...

With the death of Steve Jobs in 2011 plenty of tech pundits and others, thought Apple was done for. Many said that without the vision, creativity, innovation and drive of Jobs, the company would soon be adrift. For those of you who were in that camp, you were partly wrong and partly right, and for those of us who had faith, we also were partly wrong and partly wright. For you see, while Apple may not be fully the company that Steve built, it is still one of the most admired companies on the planet and the most valued. This is the story of the two successors to Jobs, responsible for carrying on his legacy, good, bad, and indifferent. The book delves into the personalities, roles, and shifting power of the two most powerful leaders in Apple, Jony Ive, Apple’s Chief Design Officer, who Jobs called his “spiritual partner,” the creative genius who brought us the sleek looks we see in the iPod, MacBooks, iPhone, iPad, Watch, and even the state-of-the-art new Apple headquarters and Tim Cook, ...

Thank you, University Press, for providing an advanced copy of this short biography of a fast-becoming music icon. This review expresses my own personal opinion. I have not been asked to post it by the author, University Press, or anyone connected with the book or author.   This is a short read on this former One Direction boy band member who has become a global phenomenon. For the diehard fans and maybe those of us who have a couple of his albums (I confess, I do) this short biography will give you a glimpse into who Styles is, his humble beginnings, which includes parents who divorced when he was young, working in a bakery shop as a teenager where customers and his boss thought he was the nicest employee, joining and becoming lead singer for One Direction, auditioning in front of the dreaded Simon Cowell on X Factor UK, which was part of moving into his solo career, to acting in the blockbuster movie Dunkirk. With determination and tenacity, as well as not letting anyone define w...

    Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Flatiron Books for providing advanced copies of the eBook and audio book for review consideration.    This review expresses my own personal opinion. I have not been asked to post it by the author, his publishing company, or anyone connected with the book or author.   I decided to listen to the audio version narrated by Adam Lazarre-White, and so glad I did. More on this later. First, my take on the story.    Let me start by saying this book was a Goodreads Choice Awards nominee for Best Mystery & Thriller (2023), which got my vote. While it didn’t win, the mere fact it was nominated tells you this is a book to read.    For those of you who are fans of the series involving FBI Agent Aloysius Pendergast by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, former FBI, now independent criminal profiler, Alex Cross by James Patterson, and troubled former cop, now FBI consultant, Amos Decker by David Baldacci, com...

Thank you University Press for providing an advanced copy of this short biography of America’s 26th president. This review expresses my own personal opinion. I have not been asked to post it by the author, University Press, or anyone connected with the book or author.  This is a quick read about the life of Theodore Roosevelt, better known as TR or Teddy (a name he only let his mother call him), one of the most influential and groundbreaking presidents the country has known.  The book is a perfect summary for readers of presidential history.  University Press (UP) does a good job in distilling down this American trailblazer who persevered through early childhood sickness, he suffered from debilitating asthma, to become an avid hunter, explorer, adventurer, politician, statesman, conservationist, naturalist, and an unstoppable force in shaping the American political and social landscapes. As the writer points out, TR left behind a written legacy of 45 books, helped shaped ...