Miniature Book Reviews // Cinderella, Animal Ark, and Return to Harmony

Hi guys! Today I’m just doing a few short reviews.

Cinderella, by Brittany Candau

I was super excited when I found this book version of the Disney movie Cinderella at the library, but I honestly expected a lot more. I was very disappointed in this one.

Things I liked:

• The cover. Because Ella and Kit.
• The overall quality of the book. The design was gorgeous, and it felt great.
• “Lavender’s blue, dilly dilly, lavender’s green…”

Things I didn’t like:

• The entire story paled in comparison to the movie. Without the movie, this book would be just another mediocre Cinderella story.
• The author told, instead of showed, the entire book. I don’t want you to tell me that Cinderella is uncomfortable, I want you to show me she’s uncomfortable.
• It read like an old fairy tale, with a few modern words interjected randomly (like “okay”) in a way that was somewhat jarring. Old fairy tales aren’t bad, but they were meant to be told, not read.
• Obviously, it didn’t have any of the beautiful imagery that made me love the movie.

Favorite quote:

“You must always remember this: Have courage, and be kind.”

Overall, the movie was much better. If I hadn’t watched the movie first, the book probably would have gotten two stars, but since it did remind me of how beautiful the movie was, I’m giving it three stars.

Animal Ark, by Joel Sartore and Kwame Alexander

I won this book in a giveaway from Dogobooks. For some reason I was under the impression that Animal Ark was a longer, more scientific book, but it’s a children’s picture book. My siblings and I all read it and enjoyed the pictures.

Things I liked:

• The photography was amazing!
• I loved the way the book was formatted.

Things that I didn’t like:

• Honestly, the poetry didn’t do much for me.
• The book is very environmental-ish,  listen-to-the-earth-ish, and glorifying “Nature” instead of God, which I really didn’t care for. A few quotes:

“Close your eyes tight. We are all made of light. Some of us even glow. We are secret siblings. Reflections of each other. Mysterious mirrors.”

a n d

“Nature is genius. This is our home.”

So yeah. Didn’t love that. At all. Three and a half stars, maybe?

On to the next book!

Return to Harmony, by Janette Oke and Davis Bunn

This was a birthday gift from a close friend. Return to Harmony was my first plunge into Janette Oke, and now I definitely want to read some of her other books.

Things I liked:

• The relationships! The characters! They were just all so precious and… *tries not to reveal spoilers*
• One of the plot twists surprised me, which is rare.
• I know I already said this, but… THE CHARACTERS. Bethan was so sweet. I loved how it didn’t show Bethan and Jodie’s goals in life (to get married and have a family, to go to college, not get married, and study science)  as being bad or good. They were just different, which I appreciated.
• The Christian elements and the SPOILER happily ever after sort of ending. END OF SPOILER. Just the kind I like best!

Things I didn’t like:

• Honestly, the only one I can think of is that Ms. Oke is occasionally a little wordy, which is just a preference thing.
• And there would be a huge spoiler here if it were up to me, but I shall spare you… Hey wait, it is up to me! So… MASSIVE SPOILER I really wanted Jodie and Dylan to get back together and they didn’t! 🙁 END OF MASSIVE SPOILER

All in all, a great read. Four and a half stars.

Have you read any of these books? Thoughts? Tell me anything and everything in the comments!