Great Chicken Recipes (pamphlet); Wellspring Press

 Great Chicken Recipes; Wellspring Press 

Reviewed By Rachel 

"Great Chicken Recipes is at first glance a very modest book-- really almost more of a pamphlet.  I picked it up and immediately noticed there is no author listed, only a publisher (Wellspring Press), and then a side note that states in lovely lowercase script "calligraphy by p. dutery", which initially made me go huh.  The book feels soft in your hands, as if made from some sort of specialty linen paper.  The cover art is a lovely watercolor assemblage of chicken dishes with the title "Great Chicken Recipes" displayed above.  This sort of food illustration always feels like it could be a cousin to traditional botanical illustration, and the calligraphy definitely adds to its vintage allure.  

Flipping through "Great Chicken Recipes", I quickly came to the realization that probably most of these recipes are not actually that great.   They are recipes reminiscent of a time where creamed canned soup was a pantry staple, and putting boiled chicken into a blender to make a guest-worthy dip was top notch innovative.   And while some recipes do look squarely decent (Chicken Cacciatore, pg 24),  I think "Great" might be a stretch.    

But maybe ironically the point of this cookbook is not its Great recipes.  I believe this book, which is lacking in authorship, much less the stamp of approval from some celebrity chef pushed by so many cookbooks today, is about the celebration of one thing (and it ain't chicken)..... it's Calligraphy.   

This is a book displaying a calligraphy artist's craft.   And it is beautiful. 

The chicken recipes are secondary; they are the vessel that allows the calligraphy to shine.  The inked letters make the recipes feel special, and because I love handling books like this, I might even try one of these recipes next week.  I'm still not sure about adding bits of chopped hard boiled egg to float in my chicken corn soup, but admittedly p. dutery's gorgeous lettering makes me feel as though there is something beautiful, timeless, and possibly even great in every ingredient.  

4 stars 

Dads are the Original Hipsters; by Brad Getty

Dads are the Original Hipsters; by Brad Getty

Reviewed by Uncle Mike

I picked up this book from the Blue Book Box because I was heading to the airport to fly back to Berkeley and I wanted something funny to read. “Dads are the Original Hipsters” features vintage snapshots of young 1970s men having fun and doing silly things. The text with each photo describes how “Your Dad” had fun and did silly things 30 years before you did. For example, above a snapshot of a bushy mustachioed “Dad” holding a large 1970s home movie camera, the caption reads “Your dad was a filmmaker before you were and has a movie starring your mom to prove it.”  The photo is silly and nostalgic, but I’m disappointed to report that the comment about “a movie starring your mom” is just about the funniest line in the book, and I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it’s not that funny. Unfortunately, while I enjoyed the photos, the text grew tiresome very quickly and became a sad, painful trudge with few laughs. It’s clear that Mr. Getty thought he could write humor, but in fact he could only apply the same repetitive formula page after page until he ran out of silly snapshots. As a dad myself who grew up in the 70s, I had high hopes for this book, but it will be going straight to a Berkeley neighborhood book box when I am home, and Seattle book box fans can be glad that I moved it 800 miles south of the Blue Book Box.

1.5 stars for funny photos but humorless captions. 

Fashion Kitty Versus The Fashion Queen; by Charise Mericle Harper

 Fashion Kitty Versus The Fashion Queen; by Charise Mericle Harper 

Reviewed by Eloise

This book is a graphic novel.  It was funny.  Like when a cat said "I'm even wearing pink underpants!!!!!" Or when all the cats marched to Cassandra's (a cat's) house and threw their black hats onto her lawn!!!!   Ha Ha!!!!  The main character is named Kiki but she is secretly. . . FASHION KITTY!!!!!!!!  Fashion Queen is not nice.  Her real name is Cassandra.  Grrrrrrrrr Cassandra!!  This book is fiction.  I liked it.  I give this book 4 stars.

4 stars

The Berenstien Bears Go Out For the Team; Stan and Jan Berenstien

 The Berenstien Bears Go Out For the Team; by Stan and Jan Berenstien

Reviewed by Violet

This book is one of very many books about the Bear family. In this one, Brother and Sister Bear try out for the Bear Country Club League baseball team, both making it in! 

First of all: What kind of names are "Sister" and "Brother" anyway? It's not like they're everyone's brother and sister, just to each other. Same goes for Mama and Papa Bear.

Second: Not completely sure what the lesson is here, except that baseball is "only a game" and they shouldn't get too caught up in it or feel too much pressure. I guess I can see how this would be helpful, but in my opinion some of the other Berenstien Bears books have better morals.

I rate this book 4 stars. I generally like Berenstein Bears books, but this one is definitely one of the lesser fun ones to read.

4 stars

Baby Animals; Baby Einstein Disney Press

 Baby Animals; by Baby Einstein Disney Press

Reviewed by Rachel 

We pulled this book out to review as sort of a joke.  But this baby book is legit not bad!  It's an ABC book that teaches you a bit about animals along the way, and introduces you to all of the baby versions of those animals.   Everyone in our house already knows their ABC's, so we will not be keeping this book, however it did teach us a thing or two!  For example, a baby newt (newt for N) is called an "eft"!  Whoa!  Also, did you know that some police use pigs (letter P) to sniff out clues? 

This book leaves me with a few questions that will require further in depth research.  For example, a caterpillar has sixteen legs, but butterflies only have six legs.  WHAT HAPPENS TO THE OTHER TEN LEGS????  Also, jellyfish have no eyes, ears, brains, or hearts.... so what exactly do they have?  Are they just globs of floating legs and stomachs?   So. Many. Questions.  

This book is just the beginning.   

3 stars 

 

Welcome to Our Book Box!

Welcome to the Blue Book Box Blog, a place where you can read reviews of what we find in our Little Free Library.  We will rate our findings as follows: 

5 stars: Fantastic!  Book is coming inside to live a happy life on our permanent bookshelf. 

4 stars: Very good!  This book is a good find and will make someone else very happy after we are finished reading it a few more times.    

3 stars: Not bad.  Book was ok, but is not for us.  Maybe you will enjoy it?   

2 stars: Not great.  I hope this doesn't remain in my book box for too long.   It's taking up space and my book box is small!  

1 star: Ick.  I'm embarrassed to have this in my book box.  Will be sneaking it into another book box asap.