Vickie JohnstoneRezensionen

I don’t normally read children’s books (!), but as I was given an opportunity to review this, I decided a little light entertainment wouldn’t come amiss. And entertain it did.
This is a delightful story and the author’s imagined Cat City was great fun. The cats’ names were cute and cosy and life, as humans know it, was cleverly cat-adapted – milk from the drinks machine, catpads (best equivalent of electronic communication!) and fish-flavoured biscuits.
You don’t have to like cats to enjoy this story – the plot centres around getting to the bottom of catnapping (by cats, of course) – the mix of characters and how they are portrayed often makes you forget that they are feline, from the members of the crime investigating cat force, to the wily perpetrators.
Whilst the story ends well (I’m not giving anything away here, it’s a children’s book, it has to end well!) you are left just a tad high and dry, but, thankfully, you are reliably informed that the story is ‘to be continued’……..thank goodness, or I shall worry about Amy and James….
My grandson is only 4 months old, but I can’t wait till he is older, when I shall look forward to reading this to him very much.

I wasn't impressed with these poems. They were confusing at times and fairly unrememberable. I didn't hate them, they just could have used polishing.

Author's guest post at my blog:
http://bookfare.blogspot.com/2016/03/foodfic-please-welcome-vickie-johnstone.htm...

Vickie Johnstone writes sensual, beautiful images, and this short collection includes many of her free-flowing explorations. “They are not about me, but filled with imaginary characters and places,” she says. I appreciate the humble voice of the author, reflecting upon her work in her introductory note, “It isn’t great poetry, but I try!” Clearly, her talent shows in every piece. When she dares reveal more of herself in her writing, her artistry will reach a peak.

Here are a few glimpses of her work. From the poem, We live in the echoes:

Where the Fool laughs his last
Is a time we’ll never see
For he plays so beautifully
Daring to step beyond himself
Embracing all there is to see
With such wide open arms

Vickie Johnstone writes many of these poems in the third person narrative, expressed in the midst of a magical, fairytale world. Here is an excerpt from Dreamers:

She dreams the dreams she yearns to live
Ascending the high, jagged mountain reaches
Descending the bleakest, deepest chasms
She rides the unicorn, outpacing green forests

Even when she writes in a first person narrative, she remains the observer of her world, a visitor somewhat removed from events, contemplating upon what she sees:

Painted canvases I visit
Now I’m not chained
To any one place
Travelling free as a bird
I measure my life in two suitcases

And here is an excerpt from a great poem, Lost and found:

Give me back the thing you stole
Don’t pretend that you’ve forgotten
When this was once the key to all
Nothing fades like trust broken

This is a fine collection by a promising young poetess, and I am looking forward to read more of her work.

Four stars.

With the crusty, irregular surface of pizza, and its various toppings—olives, tomatoes, mushrooms and a sprinkle of oregano—I wonder how come no one before has come up with this notion, the crazy notion of a murder mystery bubbling with humor, with Pizza and Pepperoni People who are zombies.

I find it so wonderful that the author, Vickie Johnstone (whose poetry I love) fashioned this particular story for a particular young reader, 14 year old Gage, and for the particular taste—no pun intended—of that reader. It shows such care and the result is delightful for all of us.

The story is fast-paced, constructed in brisk chapters, full of entertaining action in every one of its munchy twists and turns, and features delightful dialog. I think you would imagine yourself playing different roles, as the dialog brings it is as close as you get to a play.

Five stars.