Blog Tour: Don't Push the Button

Don't Push the Button! by Bill Cotter

Meet Larry. He's the owner of the book and he has one rule, "Don't push the button!"

Interactive books have become quite popular of late. If you're familiar with the popular book Press Here by Hervé Tullet, you'll enjoy this title as well. Instead of dots, readers interact with a friendly purple monster and a mysterious red button.

I love that Larry welcomes the reader to his book. He also openly shares his dilemma of if he (or we) should or shouldn't push the button. A bit reminiscent of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, but Larry plays along with the reader.

Cotter created a great book that will appeal to the reader whether child or adult. The monsters are not fierce, but friendly. The artwork is crisp and clean. The font is fun and readable. A fun addition to the interactive book list.

Reviewed from a NetGalley copy. Thank you, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky!

Conference!

This past week I had the pleasure to visit the state library conference. I was looking forward to it all year because the planners wanted to revamp the usual setup and do something amazing and memorable. I think they were highly successful!

The theme was Play Create Innovate. They offered multiple areas to be creative around the conference as well as offering several thoughtful sessions to inspire librarians to be movers, shakers, and makers. I was fortunate to attend all week - Tuesday through Friday. (Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting me attend, home library!) I would love to share all the awesome that went down in GB, but that might take a while, so I'll share the highlights.

Tuesday Early Literacy Pre-Conference with Jim Gill and Ms. Anna - AMAZING! Jim Gill's energy is fantastic and hearing his music live was mesmerizing. Ms. Anna shared all kinds of "flannels" she uses during storytime. Flannels included props, puppets, early literacy activities, and actual flannels.

Wednesday first full day of the State Library Conference - Time to Learn! I opted to go to workshops that focused on outreach to Latinos, American Sign Language in the library, toy lending libraries, and STEM for littles.

Thursday second full day of the State Library Conference - Connections! Conferences are about making connections and Thursday was that day for me. The morning opened with business meetings from sections and roundtables. It was so good to see my Outreach Services team! After the Keynote about UK's Idea Store, children's librarians gathered for Guerilla Storytime. Amazing! Nerve racking! You should do it!! It was such a great, spontaneous way to meet and learn from friends. From there it was classes on makerspaces, creating a professional playground, the concept of digital badges, then working the Idea Store Way.

Friday the third and final day of the State Library Conference - Goodbye, So Long! The final conference day is so bittersweet. I'm looking forward to returning to life's routine and regular sleep, but it's hard to leave the library bubble. I've met amazing people, gathered awesome ideas, and found a new lease on library life!

What's the last conference you attended? What inspired you most?

Review: The Governess of Highland Hall

The Governess Of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky


The Foster family were missionaries in India, before they returned to England. Doctor Foster needed to recover from an illness, Mother cared for Father, and Julia sought employment to support her parents. She found a position as a governess to Sir William Ransey's two young children and two older cousins. As Julia seeks to find her place in England, she keeps in mind that as soon as her Father recovers, she plans to return to England. (More information available here, as well as an excerpt!)

I loved the cover of this novel - brooding clouds, a large English home in the background with a young woman looking away from it all. My favorite English time period is the Victorian era, so the turn of the century is slightly out of my comfort zone. I was also uncertain about the missionary aspect - would it be too preachy? would the character be out a place?

The Governess of Highland Hall was a wonderful read! Julia's work as a missionary wasn't heavy handed but placed lovingly about the storyline. The faith integration felt very natural, Julia lived out her faith and talked about it simply and honestly. I really enjoyed her faith talk with Sir Ramsey. Yes, there were a romantic story lines woven throughout the story, but gently stated with life's difficulties thrown in as well. Those story lines were predicable for me, but there were plenty of small twists along the way to differentiate it against other faith fiction or inspirational romance.

I was surprised to see that The Governess of Highland Hall was the first book in the series, Edwardian Brides. This story is a wonderful standalone piece, so I am intrigued about what the next installment will feature!

Time Period: Edwardian, 1911
Location: England

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.