Wireless

Wireless by Charles Stross

This science fiction collection includes a variety of works spanning different time periods. I enjoyed the commentaries that were associated with the stories. The author praises the short story as a medium that allows earning money and receiving quick feedback. Alas, this was written before the influx of AI has caused issues in the field.

Stories included:

Missile Gap

Rogue Farm

A Colder War

MAXOS

Down on the Farm

Unwirer

Snowball's Chance

Trunk and Disorderly

Palimpeset

Shannon the Ocean Fairy

Shannon the Ocean Fairy (Rainbow Magic Special Edition) by Daisy Meadows

This is an extra long fairy book that has three "sections" that appear similar to normal fairy books. The girls get invited to a fairy luau, but then things start to go wrong. The tides are coming in to far and other weather is not doing what it is supposed to. The goblins have stolen three magic pearls that control the weather. The girls and Shannon travel under the sea to find the pearls and fix the weather. Before each time, the weather seems to get really bad in both the fairy and human world. They complete the quest go going to Hawaii where the last pearl is making big waves. It is a longer story with the goblins seemingly falling over quickly when the fairies arrive. 

Magic Tree House: Eve of the Emperor Penguin, Moonlight on the Magic Flute

Magic Tree House: Eve of the Emperor Penguin, Moonlight on the Magic Flute by Mary Pope Osborne

Eve of the Emperor Penguin

They go to Antartica and are about to go on an expedition up a tall mountain. However, the leaders discover they are kids and they need to be sent back to their parents. Instead they get into trouble and get trapped in an ice cave. They use magic to get out and communicate with penguins. The penguins offer a quite orphan to them. They offer this to Merlin to make him happy. This is not the best of stories in the series.

Moonlight on the Magic Flute

They go back to Austria to try to find an artist. They are sidetracked playing with a boy named Wolfie. I just want to nudge them to say "hey, that is probably Mozart!" Sure enough it was. Jack had a magic flute that he was able to play to help get them out of trouble. They later see that Mozart wrote a Magic Flute work named after it. This one was better than the penguin one.

Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal

Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal by Tristram Stuart

People in the world are starving, yet huge amounts of food go to waste. How can that be?  There are numerous competing priorities to lead to this predicament. Concerns about food safety often lead to overzealous one-size-fits-all regulations that lead to more waste. Economic concerns also lead to more waste. It is more economical to produce extra that is later discarded than to not have enough for what is desired by customers. There are also competing uses for food. Biofuels help reduce fossil-fuel carbon emissions, yet they often use the same crops used to produce food.

How do resolve food waste problems? The easiest is to start with separation of food waste from other waste. Composting food waste or using it for animal feed is much more efficient than sending it to the dump. However, it is even better to make sure that it is not wasted. Serving smaller portions and then letting people have more is an effective way to limit discards. This meshes with some cultural norms, but goes strongly against others.

The best use of food is as actual food. Grocery stores can mark down or give away food near the end of its shelf life. This ensures more food can be consumed rather than tossed. The author has experience "dumpster diving" for food. This can often be used to find good amounts of food. However, businesses have concerns about the mess it causes or the danger that could occur with bad food. Why not just give it away via a more legitimate means so that it does not go to waste? 

Sell by dates are also a big problem that needs to be addressed.  Some products may be unsafe after the date. Others may be fine to eat decades after the date. One size fits all is not good.

In the less developed world, there are different challenges. Many crops end up going to waste in the storage or transportation process. 

Waste is a huge problem. It is easy to describe, but hard to resolve.

Coral the Reef Fairy (The Earth Fairies #4)

Coral the Reef Fairy (The Earth Fairies #4) by Daisy Meadows

The original UK version of the series was the "green fairies", but the US is always a bit different. The girls are at a beach earth festival. They run into Coral who wants to get her wand back from the Goblins. The shrink to a small size and swimming in the ocean. They ask a Clown Fish if he has seen the goblins. The catch is that the clown fish really is a clown and can't stop telling jokes. Once they do get an answer from him, they are able to find the goblins. The goblins are playing around the reef, damaging it in the process. Tourists are also causing damage. (However, they are not so intentional and the fairies can do work to stop them.) The girls and fairy finally get the goblin to let go of the wand by pulling him to the jellyfish. Now all is well in fairyland. The does provide some information on how to care for coral, but other than that it is a fairly typical one for the series. 

Naomi the Netball Fairy

Naomi the Netball Fairy by Daisy Meadows

This is the British version of the book. In the US, it is Brittany the Basketball fairy. The Netball fairy is better. She has a special netball that helps people play well. The Goblins steal it and hope to win the netball championship. They are able to trick the goblins by casting a spell on the hoop so they miss their shots. Then the girl shows that she can make a few shots of their own. The goblins then take what they think is the "improved" magical netball and head back to goblin land. The bits and pieces of netball make this more interesting.

Cat

Cat by Matthew Van Fleet, photos by Brian Stanton

This big board book has a lot of pictures of cats doing cat things. The pictures look nice. the book however, fell apart and is making it to the recycling bin.

Floods (A True Book: Earth Science)

Floods (A True Book: Earth Science)

The book on floods starts with examples of floods in the midwest. It then goes to explain the cause of floods and follows up with other examples, such as Katrina in New Orleans. It felt detailed without being too long.

The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily

The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily by Nancy Goldstone

Why do authors write fictional romantic fantasy when the real life is so much better? Joanna I was a middle age queen of Naples. There were various machinations going on with her reign. The Hungarians all wanted a part and set her up with a husband. He was to be a "king in name only" without power to rule. Alas, his family was seeking to gain too much power. Then he mysteriously died. She was blamed even though others were found guilty. She had various other husbands and was pregnant multiple times, but never had a child that lived towards adulthood. Others tried to battle to take the kingdom. She was saved by the papal armies, but ultimately had her downfall by siding with the wrong Pope (against one that was formerly one of her subjects.) She was ultimately imprisoned and likely murdered. The author does a great job of dramatic narrative, making a history that is much more appealing than fictional novels.

The Princess and the Frog: A Surprise Guest

The Princess and the Frog: A Surprise Guest by Natalie Amanda Leece, illustrated by Studio IBOIX and Walt Sturrock

Book is a spin off from a movie based on a book based on a fairy tale. Just about nothing here is related to the original tale. Instead, it is mostly a conflict between a jazz musician alligator and a dog. It is quite bad.

Geronimo Stilton: The Race Across America

The Race Across America (Geronimo Stilton, No. 37) by Geronimo Stilton, cover by Giuseppe Ferrario, illustrations by Danilo Brazzi, Francesco Castelli and Christian Aliprandi

Geronimo Stilton is a mouse that likes reading. Bike parts showing up in the mail. Then his friend tells him that they will be competing in the race across America. They go through a lot of training and decide that they will use it to support a children's hospital. they have challenges during the race, but enjoy the scenery and manage to barely win. The book is fun stylistically. It is halfway between a book and graphic novel. There is some narrative, but also plenty of small callout pictures and text.

The Wonky Donkey

The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith, illustrated by Katz Cowley

There is an official song that goes with wonky donkey, but I liked making up my own version. The chorus and the hehaws can be a lot of fun. After listening to the real version, I think my version was better. In the chorus, it keeps adding additional descriptors for the donkey that have fun sounds.

Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt

Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt: Judy Moody & Stink, Book 2 by Megan McDonald, illustrated by  Peter H. Reynolds

Judy Moody and Stink go with their family to an east coast island. The Island has a "treasure hunt" set up, where kids solves puzzles to get coins, with the winner receiving a special prize. Judy and Stink notice another pair of siblings that are on their tails. Judy and Stink win, but then decide to share the spoils with the other. The book tries to make some drama out of a simple puzzle solving story which feels like too much. However, the story itself is ok.

Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures #3: The Japanese Ninja Surprise

Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures #3: The Japanese Ninja Surprise created by Jeff Brown, written by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Macky Pamintuan

Stanley and his brother are excited to see their favorite ninja star. After some time, they discover that he really does not know martial arts, but is just an actor. When he gets kidnapped they help rescue him by folding up Stanley as origami. The kidnappers turned out to be fan. The ninja star decides to finally learn martial arts. It is a palatable derivative book. 

Giraffes (Amazing Animals)

Giraffes (Amazing Animals) by Valerie Bodden

Giraffes are tall and weigh as much as a small car. They get much of their water from their food. The book is a sort, illustrated introduction to the animals. It provides just enough depth in a short space to keep it interesting.

News For Dogs

News For Dogs by Lois Duncan

This sequel to Hotel for Dogs was written a few decades after the original. It has the kids and dogs progressing just a few months after the previous book, but is now set in more modern times with technology such as cell phones. The kids decide to create a newspaper about dogs. They find that the gossip attracts the most attention and sales. However, they do take things to far. They also "doctor" some items (such as making a meat loaf recipe more 'dog appropriate') They get in trouble for some of these actions. Their parents make them shut down the paper. Then they discover that dogs are being kidnapped and the owners are asked to leave ransom in library books. With their aunt they trace the perpetrators of the crime. The bully's cousin, who appears so nice on the surface,  is in town doing community service at the library to atone for previous fraud crimes. They use detective work to find the dogs and capture the bullies. The author of the book is known for crime books and has combined that interest with this late-career Hotel For Dogs sequel. It is engaging, though I cringed at some of the stupid things the kids did with their paper.

Peter Pan

Peter Pan by Disney Enterprises, Inc.

This is a small hardcover book credited to "Disney Enterprises" with no visible author and a $1 price on the back. I was not expecting much from it. On that scale, it did exceed expectations. It tells the story of Peter Pan. He fights Captain Hook (who ends up in a the mouth of a Crocodile at the end.) It is not bad, but it isn't good either.

The Everafter War: The Sisters Grimm, Book 7

The Everafter War: The Sisters Grimm, Book 7 by Michael Buckley

This book is aptly title. A war breaks out in the Everafter land. The Grimm Sisters parents are back. They also discover that their mother was pregnant. However, the baby continued growing while their parents were asleep. Some everafters use magic to birth the baby without mother knowing. They have kidnapped the baby to use for their means. They also find out that the Mirror is the leader of the Scarlet Hand. The Mirror wants to use the body of the baby to escape fairy tale land. This ties into the "book of all books" that has all tales. They can go in and change some of the outcomes. This seems like something that will be used in future books. This book feels more plot-heavy than previous ones.

Are You Ready to Play Outside?

Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems

Elephant and Piggie are excited to play outside. Then they are upset that it is raining. Elephant puts ear over piggie to let her be dry, but that is only a small scale reprieve. After they see some worms having fun, they realize it is possible to have fun in the rain. They have a ton of fun, then get upset that has stopped raining. Elephant sprays piggie to give her some "rain". It is relatable book dealing with the challenges of change.

Favorite Stories from Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa: Horse in the House

Favorite Stories from Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa: Horse in the House (Reader) by Erica Silverman (Author), Betsy Lewin (Illustrator)

A horse comes to visit the girl in the house. The horse wants to stay, but is disappointed there is no hay. Then the girl shows the horse the refrigerator and the horse wants to stay. However, the girl convinces the horse that there are many good things in the barn (such as the sun coming through the cracks.) The horse agrees to stay in the barn, but does say he wants to come back and visit. The book does have two chapters, but they go together as one story. The story has some funny parts, but isn't really memorable.