Tag Archives: California

Laggie and Grillo: The Sea Glass Mystery by Phyllis Schwartz (Book Review)

Fifth grade poet Yoshi and her two curious critters, Laggie and Grillo are back!

Something mysterious washes up on their hometown beach in the beautiful surf town of Encinitas, California.

“Mommy and Laggie and Grillo and me,
trying to find our beloved sea glass by the sea.

Blue and green and turquoise and gold—
it’s a mystery tale that’s never been told.”

There are lots of twists and turns as they try to answer the question: Is it sea glass or a real gem?

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(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 


Yoshi and her two critter companions are back; this time, they are putting their detective hats on to solve a mystery of who the sea glass belongs to. Pirate? Explorer? Sailor in love or thief? Wager a guess and then read the story to discover who the owner of the heart-shaped sea glass is. 


Laggie and Grillo: The Sea Glass Mystery is a cute detective story, with many positive qualities. The story demonstrates the power of teamwork and determination. It also shows that help comes in all forms and from the unlikeliest characters, as was the case with the lizard and the cricket. In addition, the story incorporates interesting facts about the beach town of Encinitas, California, the story’s setting. Read the story to discover who wrote a VERY popular song about the wonderful waves at Swami’s Beach. Read the story to discover how to say, “small lizard” and “cricket” in Spanish and what Yoshi’s cat’s name, Ketzeleh, means in Yiddish. The book also features pages dedicated to the five jewels mentioned in the story and the Sea Glass Cookie recipe. If that wasn’t all, the author included a tune sung to an old sea shanty “Sailing, Sailing.” If you are like me and don’t know the old tune, I would advise looking it up so your family or class can sing “Laggie and Grillo’s Detective Victory Song” to the right beat.

Laggie and Grillo: The Sea Glass Mystery is a book worth reading time and time again. It’s interactive, educational, and visually very cute. Just wait until you see pirate Grillo! ADORABLE!! 

I recommend this book for readers ages 4-8! I also recommend reading the author’s other creations. Oh, I 100% recommend baking up a batch of the Sea Glass Cookies! Yuuuuummmmm! 


Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score:
❤️❤️❤️❤️1/2

(It will be rounded to 5 on Amazon and Goodreads.)

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Meet the Author

Phyllis Schwartz is a married mother of two, who, after a highly successful career in the TV news business, finally has the time to indulge in and focus on her “civilian” writing. Even as a kid, she kept a diary and wrote little stories and poems, a creative release that continued well into adulthood. She wrote news by day and poetry by night. And despite battling three different types of cancer over more than three decades, she is still filled with energy, joy, and optimism, and she looks forward to writing much more poetry and children’s books in the future. Her writing often centers on what she observes daily: including her friends, husband, and two children, as well as her garden and her beautiful beach town residence in dreamy Encinitas, all providing continued inspiration for her verse.

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FB/Insta: phyllischwartz_author

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The Shade Under the Mango Tree by Evy Journey (Book Spotlight)

Gold Medal, Contemporary Fiction
2021 Global Book Awards (formerly New York City Book Awards)

Finalist, Multicultural Fiction
2021 International Book Awards

 

Content Rating:  PG13 & M: There’s a suicide, reference to a past genocide, and reference to sex about to happen but no description of the sexual act.

 
After two heartbreaking losses, Luna wants adventure. Something and somewhere very different from the affluent, sheltered home in California and Hawaii where she grew up. An adventure in which she can also make some difference.

Lucien, a worldly, well-traveled young architect, finds a stranger’s journal at a café. Though he has qualms and pangs of guilt about reading it, they don’t stop him. His decision changes his life forever.

Months later, they meet at a bookstore. Fascinated by his stories and adventurous spirit, Luna goes on a Peace Corps stint to a rural rice-growing village in Cambodia. There, she finds a world steeped in ancient culture and the lasting ravages of a deadly history. Will she leave this world unscathed?

An epistolary tale of courage, resilience, and the bonds that bring diverse people together.

 
Buy the Book:
Amazon ~ B&N 
Kobo ~ Apple 

 
 
Buy the Book:
Amazon ~ B&N 
Kobo ~ Apple 
 
 
 
Meet the Author:
Picture

 
Evy Journey writes. Stories and blog posts. Novels that tend to cross genres. She’s also a wannabe artist and a flâneuse. Evy studied psychology (Ph.D. University of Illinois) so she spins tales about nuanced characters dealing with the problems and issues of contemporary life. She believes in love and its many faces. Though she has traveled to many places, she has one ungranted wish: To live in Paris where art is everywhere and people have honed aimless roaming to an art form. She visits and stays a few months.

Connect with the Author: website ~ facebook ~ pinterest ~ twitter

 

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