Erica Talks Books(and sometimes other things!)

Beautiful, magical, emotional, and deeply layered. I really loved this book.

Fascinating! This book is easy to read and understand. It is well illustrated. And most importantly, it was informative in a way that made me want to keep reading and learning.

There's a surprising amount of information in this book. It covers everything you could ever want to know when starting your first garden. There are also some fascinating tidbits to help inspire young gardeners and a couple gardening crafts to get them started.

This story is a beautiful love letter to food, Chinese culture, and to second chances.

An absolute delight. The characters in this book were wonderful—so quirky and unique. I loved them all (except the obnoxious Raymond), with my favorite being the hag, Odge.

Wow. What a great read. This book had magic and curses, mystery and suspense, tenderness and brutality, failures and successes, diversity and love. It was unpredictable. I was so wrong about who had cast the curse. And it was emotional. I was repeatedly in tears towards the end.

Very informative and surprisingly technical for a children's book. Everything was well illustrated and explained. And this book covers a broad spectrum of information about mushrooms—everything from their grown and composition to all the ways that mushrooms are used, both by nature and by humans.

Absolutely gorgeous. The art in this book is a marvel. It's magical and upliting—a true celebration of the seasons. Like the art, the story is also a beautiful reflection of the changing of the seasons. But the art. Have I mentioned how much I love the art?! It really is exceptional.

Funny and lighthearted, with many laugh-out-loud moments. The characters are all quirky and unique. There is a lot of action and grand adventures. There are war unicorns and dragons, imps and demons, magic and Perverts...errr, I mean Pervects.

A delightful continuation of the You Wish series. The main character is brave and kind, and this book really champions helping those in need. It is also a celebration of family and community.

Absolutely adorable. Great art, a quick compelling read, realistic dialogue, and relatable characters. This is a unique take on a genie story, told from the inside out. It had me smiling and giggling. I'm already eager for more. Lucky for me, the next book in the series will be released on June 3, 2025!

Vivid details, questionable characters, and lots of tension all made me feel fully immersed in Cruz's magical world of encantos. The whole book is rife with politics and intrigue, leading to a mysterious whodunit murder. I never did figure out who the killer was. My top contenders, while indeed suspicious in different ways, were innocent... Or were they?