Spotlight Review for Read Your World 2026

I’m happy to once again be a book reviewer on Read Your World/Multicultural Children’s Book Day! As part of this annual event, I was gifted a book to review, in order to provide my honest opinion. Read on to discover more. #ReadYourWorld #IDiscoverWorldMusic #PirouetteKids

I Discover World Music

Part of the I Discover Music Series of Books

from Pirouette Kids

Babies, toddlers, and even kiddos in early elementary school love interactive books, especially ones that offer something new. Pirouette Kids’ I Discover Music series of nicely-sized board books offer just that, with each featuring real music in a particular genre, including Folk, Blues, Classical, and Music From Around the World.

With bright and fun illustrations, an easy to access and press button on each spread (as well as an on/off button on the back of the book), durable construction, and music beyond the usual nursery rhymes found in many board books, this series is delightful. It’s also designed to help the youngest book lovers learn by enhancing memory and speech skills as well as pattern recognition, promoting fine motor development, encouraging active focus and listening, and offering a way to discover new sounds and cultures through new styles of music.

In the I Discover World Music book, the six songs included are La Cucaracha (Mexico), Here Come the Mothers (South Africa), Tumbalalaika (Eastern Europe), Tico Tico No Fuba (Brazil), Tingalayo (Jamaica), and La Vie en Rose (France). Each fifteen second clip is interpreted/sung in the style and spirit of that country, with words for each song shown on that spread for easy family sing-alongs. Artwork by Margarita Fomenko also reflects each song and country. In addition, a QR code is provided on the back of the book, allowing parent and child to go online to listen to the full songs.

Whether you choose one of the books in this series, or all four, these are nice additions to family, school, or public libraries for ages 6 months to 4 years. More information on the books as well as the benefits of music and reading for children can be found at the publisher’s website: http://www.pirouettekids.com.

Read Your World is in its 14th year! Read Your World was formerly known as Multicultural Children’s Book Day. Multicultural Children’s Book Day is still celebrated at the end of January but is now more than just a one-day holiday to celebrate diverse KidLit.

Read Your World is a 501(c)3 non-profit whose mission is to raise awareness about children’s books that celebrate diversity and inclusion, and to get more of these books into the hands of readers.

For more information, visit https://readyourworld.org/about/

Tanya Konerman’s Dec./Jan. Kidlit Newsletter

As the year comes to a close and a new one is about to begin, I’m looking to refill my well of creativity. Read on to find out more!

December 2025January 2026 newsletterDownload

31 Days of Horror: Weapons (2025; R; 128 mins.)

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into with this movie, but I’m so glad I gave it a chance. A great blend of horror, mystery, the supernatural, comedy, psychology…all backed up by fabulous acting, great storytelling, and tension throughout.

When an entire classroom of children–except for one child and the teacher–disappear one night at the same time, the town is quick to point fingers at the young teacher, calling her a witch. However, the teacher is just as confused and lost, trying to figure out where her beloved students went. As she begins to investigate, we learn a bit more before changing to another townperson’s perspective of events, with some overlap before the story continues on. Bit by bit, as this form of storytelling continues, we learn more details, yet it’s two steps forward, one step back, when what affected the missing children spreads out to others too. In the end, it’s a race against time and circumstances and otherly powers…who will figure out the answers and who will be too late?

Top Scare: Dream

Heartbeats: 3 3/4 out of 5

Gore Factor: 4 1/4 out of 5

Scare Factor: 3 1/2 out of 5

Recommended for: 15 and up due to gore, language

31 Days of Horror: Gremlins (1984; PG; 106 mins.)

I wanted a light horror movie to watch, one with heart and humor too. So when someone suggested Gremlins, I couldn’t resist. What a throwback to my teenage years! And yes, even though this is technically set during Christmas time, I still consider it a horror movie.

When Billy’s father gives him an exotic pet as a gift, Billy accidentally breaks three of the cardinal rules regarding the adorably furry, big-eyed creature: never put it in bright light, don’t let it near water, and don’t feed it after midnight. Soon, Gizmo replicates, and the new creatures that emerge from the slimy cocoons are not so cute. In fact, they are green, mean, death-inflicting Gremlins, and they are out to create havoc in the entire town, starting with Billy’s teacher, his mother, and then at a local restaurant/bar where Billy’s friend Kate works (this last mixing scenes of mischief and destruction with humorous pop-culture nods). Knowing their town is on the line, as well as Gizmo’s survival, Billy and Kate decide to finish off the Gremlins. Will they get them all before it’s too late?

Top Scare: 80’s attire

Heartbeats: 1 out of 5

Gore Factor: 2 out of 5

Scare Factor: 1 out of 5

Recommended for: 11 or 12 and up for profanity, smoking

31 Days of Horror: Host (2020; NR; 57 mins.)

I was looking for a short horror/supernatural movie, and stumbled upon this Lockdown-era gem. Set in the online Zoom world we’ve all come to know so well, this surprisingly tense and creepy movie really got my heart rate going once the stage had been set.

When Haley hires a medium and gets five of her friends to join her for an online seance, the friends are mostly skeptical, ready to play drinking games and laugh it off. But when one friend goofs off and accidently invites an evil spirit into the group–one which can access each of their homes–and they lose contact with the medium, they can only watch as one by one each must battle to stay alive. Will anyone survive the literal meeting from hell? Will they be able to send the spirit back to where it came from? Or will the timer on Zoom–and their lives–run out first?

Top Scare: End of Movie

Heartbeats: 3 3/4 out of 5

Gore Factor: 2 3/4 out of 5

Scare Factor: 3 1/2 out of 5

Recommended for: 15 and up

31 Days of Horror: V/H/S (2012; R; 116 mins.)

As a fan of found-footage horror movies, I’ve wanted to watch this one for quite some time. My head is still spinning and I’m researching how to scrub my eyeballs as I type.

In this very shaky, under-lit gore-fest designed to appeal to young men, a group of this target audience who smashes, bashes, and harrasses while filming themselves to make money agrees to search an abandoned house in search of a VHS tape for a supposedly big payoff. Once they arrive, they split up after seeing that the home has various stashes of tapes: while some search here or there, one stays in a kind of media room to watch tapes to see if it’s the one they’re looking for. What follows are fifteen to twenty-minute mini stories which have all been taped over bits of other content on various VHS tapes. Each story features young folks, mostly men, behaving very badly (think misogyny to the nth degree, depravity, drugs, questionable sexual escapades, etc.) and paranormal happenings (with extreme blood/body parts and excessive nudity).

As the mini stories continue, we also are seeing things occur in the house around the group of guys. Of course, they are recording, and so it’s all caught on tape as well. When these occurrences begin to ramp up, so do the scares. Eventually, the mini stories, current timeline, and a past event connect via the VHS tapes, with a nicely done finale full of tension and fear. The question for viewers is: do you want to wade through the rest to get there?

Top Scare: On a video

Heartbeats: 3 1/2 out of 5

Gore Factor: 5 out of 5

Scare Factor: 3 3/4 out of 5

Recommended for: 17 or 18 and up, due to excessive gore, cussing, nudity, sex, and drugs

31 Days of Horror: Sinners (2025; R; 137 mins.)

Wow and wow and wow again. Sometimes there is a movie that is so incredibly well done that you want to watch it again just to revel in its perfection. That’s how I felt about Sinners, the long but worth it 1930s-era story of twin brothers who leave trouble behind in Chicago, returning to their southern hometown to open an R&B hall for dancing and drinking and gambling.

Taking place over the course of two days, the first half follows the brothers as they buy and fix up the old building, round up their music players (guitar, harmonica, etc.), spread the word in town, and kick off their opening night. But some unusual events soon converge to change the course of the night and the lives of all those involved in a way I never saw coming. With strong atmospheric storytelling; deep and dark historical, racial, and spiritual themes; and, eventually, true horror, this movie deserves a top spot in your 31 Days of Horror.

Top Scare: Door

Heartbeats: 3 out of 5

Gore Factor: 3 out of 5

Scare Factor: 2 3/4 out of 5

Recommended for: 16 or 17 and up

31 Days of Horror: Viral (2016; R; 85 mins.)

Watching a virus-themed movie that was made pre-Covid when it’s five years post-Covid, some of the wearing-masks-as-bras, quarantine-breaking-parties, and yay-no-school jokes land a bit differently. But, this is a teen flick, so I didn’t have super high hopes anyway.

When Emma and Stacey, along with their teacher/virus expert dad Michael, move to a new town (their mom is flying in soon), Emma is slowly making new friends. Annoying older sis Stacey, with an attitude the size of the surrounding cliffs, has already found a plus-one, CJ, and is trying to set Emma up with neighbor Evan. News reports suddenly surface of a mysterious China-based outbreak. Soon, Emma’s only friend is infected, and Michael heads to the airport to retrieve their mother, leaving the girls with two very important instructions: no fighting and no boys. Hmmm. I would have thought the virus expert teacher would have said something about staying inside and washing their hands.

When the town is quarantined almost immediately, the girls are on their own. But don’t fear: within hours, supplies are airlifted to each and every household, including masks, food, flares, and other essentials! However, the girls are bored, so of course they head out to a local party. Connections are made. Friendships (and more) blossom. Mask bras are worn. That is, until an infected teen begins ravaging everyone there and the girls, along with CJ and Evan, must escape. With nearly 1/2 the movie left, of course they do, but are we sure they’re all still, um, pure? No, not in that way. As in, uninfected?

As the neighbors are taken over by the worm-like “things” and the military seizes control of the area (even forcing the girls to strip down for a check at one point), the teens continue to make questionable decisions (that pesky un-developed frontal lobe!). Will they escape the virus? Will Emma and Evan ever kiss? Is Stacey destined to always be the worst big sister ever? Will their parents ever make it back from the airport? Tune in to find out…if you dare care.

Top Scare: Infected’s Sudden Appearance

Hearbeats: 1 1/2 out of 5

Gore Factor: 2 out of 5

Scare Factor: 1 1/2 out of 5

Recommended for: 15 and up

31 Days of Horror: Presence (2024; R; 84 mins.)

I enjoy slow-building, psychologically-bent paranormal tales, especially if they pick up speed and end with a big bang. This movie was defitinely slow-building, but in the end was not only paranormal lite, but the big bang lasted mere seconds. Such a disappointment.

When the Payne family moves to a new home for a fresh start after teenager Chloe’s friend dies, we slowly see the family’s life play out (the entire movie takes place inside the home from the ghost’s POV): mother Rebekah is a shady business woman and pushy mom; dad Chris is heartfelt and trying to be a good parent; older brother Tyler is a cocky athlete; and Chloe is distant, until she starts secretly hooking up with Tyler’s friend Ryan when no one else is at home. The presence residing in Chloe’s room soon reaches out to her before making itself known to the whole family. While the Paynes grapple with how to handle the “ghost” situation, we learn more about all these people, plus their motivations, intentions, things done in their pasts, and more, leading to a final thirty-second showdown and a ho-hum ending. This story had promise, but didn’t follow through with scares enough to be called a horror movie.

Top Scare: None

Heartbeats: 1/2 out of 5

Gore Factor: 1/2 out of 5

Scare Factor: 1/2 out of 5

Recommended for: 15 and up

31 Days of Horror: Until Dawn (2025; R; 103 mins)

I’m a sucker for time-loop movies (hello Groundhog Day!), so I wanted to give one a try in the horror genre. And coming from the director of Lights Out, I expected some good things. And while I didn’t LOVE the movie, I also didn’t hate it. It had some decent scares, but a bit too much gore for my taste.

After her sister Melanie disappears a year earlier, Clover and four of her friends take a road trip to the remote area where she was last seen. When they happen upon a visitor’s center that seems to not have been, well, visited, in a long time but still has electricity and the such, using teen logic, they start exploring. One of them discovers an unusual hourglass, one a notice board full of missing posters, and another a sign-in log with Melanie’s name written numerous times. Hmm. Might be time to get out while they can. But, very quickly they are gruesomely slaughtered one by one. Don’t worry…that was not a spoiler. Because they also quickly come alive again and remember what had happened.

As time moves forward, the group realizes they must avoid each progressively more violent slaughter long enough to not only learn more about how to find Melanie but also how to ultimately escape. They also realize this time loop has a “dead”-line in sight, that previous visitors who signed in never signed in more than 13 times.

Will they find Melanie? Will each friend survive each night to make it to dawn? Will they figure out the time loop? Will they escape this creepy visitor’s center and gruesome deaths? Time, and time again, will tell.

Top Scare: Underground

Heartbeats: 3 out of 5

Gore Factor: 4 1/2 out of 5

Scare Factor: 3 out of 5

Recommended for: 17 and up due to excessive gore

31 Days of Horror: Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre (2023; TV-MA; 12 Episodes)

Sometimes I’m looking for something completely different in my 31 Days of Horror, and boy, did I find it! My grown daughter introduced me to this adult animated series from the “horror manga maestro” Junji Ito, featuring some of his most bizarre tales. Bizarre, creepy, odd, disturbing…the list goes on.

For example, in “Hanging Balloon,” a beloved young idol is found hanging outside a building. Suicide? Murder? The fans and world are grieving, especially her boyfriend. When a local school girl hears rumors of the idol’s head floating in the sky as an apparition, she doesn’t believe it. But when the boyfriend, whom she knows, calls her and says yes, it’s true, come see, she does. There she witnesses the boyfriend climb a tree to be closer to the apparition, only to have a dangling rope with a noose on the end capture/kill him. Soon, the entire town is full of balloons floating with dangling nooses, each with the face of a townsperson it is meant to capture. The school girl hides, along with her friends and family, but how long can they hold out? Will they make it? Will she?

Besides creepy death balloons, other tales involve ice cream trucks, ancient burial sites, mold, tombstones, and many more topics, each turned into the twisted and macabre. In some, animated gore abounds. So if you are looking for something to watch in short bursts, while expanding your horror horizons, consider this unusual–but beautifully illlustrated–series from a master.

Top Scare: Different for each Episode

Heartbeats: Varies

Gore Factor: 3/5+

Scare Factor: Varies

Recommended for 16 and up

31 Days of Horror: Heretic (2024; R; 111 mins.)

Kickoff to 31 Days of Horror Note: If you are not a usual subscriber to this part of my blog, know that it is in its 16th year and runs through October. Never fear: your regularly scheduled content will return after 31 Days of Horror.

What a great premise for a horror movie: two young, impressionable, and somewhat naive girls serving as missionaries are at their last home for the day, sharing their Good News with someone who has even requested it. He’s affable, genuine, and welcoming, ushering them into his home with the promise of fresh-baked blueberry pie and his wife hoping to join them soon.

Things start slow, letting us get to know the girls–Sister Paxton and Sister Barnes–and Mr. Reed (played in a standout performance by Hugh Grant). What are we learning? We’re learning about their beliefs, doubts, and hopes, and much more. Time ticks on. Slowly, gently. As the conversation takes unusual turns, the tension begins to increase. Mr. Reed’s promised pie and wife are still in the wings, and the Sisters are ready to cut their losses. But not so fast. The girls soon learn all is not as it seems and the true nature of their visit begins to unravel before them. As a devious game begins, unease begins to rise exponentially. As do the religious lessons and metaphors and creepiness.

Now, you thought you were in a quiet horror movie, didn’t you? But, you see, Heretic soon switches gears, becoming something different altogether. Weird, yes. Dark, definitely. Probing, of course. All the while, still asking the big question: “What is the one true religion?”

Top Scare: In Basement

Heartbeats: 2 3/4 out of 5

Gore Factor: 2 3/4 out of 5

Scare Factor: 2 1/2 out of 5

Recommended for: 15 and up due to gore

Puzzle Review: White Mountain’s Bird Crochet

I was so excited to work this new 1,000-piece puzzle from White Mountain: I love birds, I love crochet, and I love brightly-colored collage puzzles! Plus, while this puzzle features birds, White Mountain has also recently released Crochet puzzles featuring flowers and Halloween-themed items as well…all in my wheelhouse.

With art by Jessica White, this collage-style puzzle features twenty-four birds in their respective habitats, each crocheted with colors that pop and charming details. Pieces are a nice size, with standard shapes. What I especially love about this puzzle is that the art is so vibrant, the crocheted pieces look almost 3-D; taken as a whole, the art feels almost textured.

I also liked the varying shades of border around each bird, making the pinks, blues, and yellows easier to tell apart when looking closely.

Overall, this puzzle is a nice challenge (but not so challenging as to frustrate) with wonderful artwork and a fun theme. I give it five out of five puzzle pieces.

 

Tanya Konerman’s April 2025 Kidlit Newsletter

No fooling, it’s hard to believe we’ve made it to April…read on for kidlit news and more!

April 2025 NewsletterDownload

March 2025 Author Newsletter

Spring is almost here and books are the answer. Answer to what? Read on to find out more!

March 2025 NewsletterDownload