Reviewed by Rachel McGrath for Readers' Favorite

Starry, Starry Night by Dianne Burns is a wonderful collection of black and white pictures of stars waiting to be filled with colour and unique imagination. Only recently I discovered the concept of adult colouring books and, to be honest, I’m not sure if it is a new idea or something that is being re-introduced. What I love about the concept is that anyone can get something out of it. As children, we would colour for hours, using a variety of colours and techniques to bring a picture to life. Bringing this notion to the adult world releases creativity and, in many respects, allows for us to bring out our inner child, taking us away from the worries of daily life, letting us enter a world that, as children, we perhaps took for granted.

Starry, Starry Night by Dianne Burns offers a variety of different objects, all with intricate patterns that will keep users entertained for hours. Whether it is a project you start and stop, or spend time on until a page is completely coloured and complete, the outcome is individual. For users, it is purely about what they want to achieve out of their own endeavors. The author makes a statement at the start to ‘de-stress your life one amazing star at a time,’ giving her audience permission to set themselves free. The addition of small quotes throughout is a gentle reminder of life, imagination, and the beauty of appreciating things we may take for granted. A highly recommended book for any adult to keep on their shelf for when they most need it; whether it is something used frequently or on rare occasions, I am positive this collection will come in handy.

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

Watercolour Toolbox: Essentials for Painting Success by Karen Richardson is a useful guide to all painters and those who are learning to paint. The book guides you step-by-step with useful strategies and demonstrations. It speaks about problems that painters face while painting and, apart from being helpful to novices, the book is also helpful to experienced painters. The book guides you in a sequential manner and speaks about everything that a painter would love to know to improve their techniques and skills. The book covers extensively the right usage of colors, brushes, and good textures for paintings.

The book has eight demonstrations by the author which is really educational and useful. It gives useful tips to improve your techniques and widen one's perspective on how to handle the complexities of art. The examples will tell you how to avoid or fix the challenges presented while using watercolors. The tips to keep in mind before you start with the painting are very helpful. It helps you in planning your picture and how to go about it methodically. The book also tells readers about the classic design guidelines and traditional painting methods which will help them improve their craft.

I will recommend this book to all artists and beginners. The most common painting challenges faced by painters and the simple solutions offered by the author will help one enjoy painting. This 65-page tutorial is very helpful when it comes to improving your style.

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

"Growing House Plants for the Beginner Enthusiast" by Cyril G. Bursell is a guide for any garden enthusiast. As the title suggests it is of better help to a beginner who is venturing into gardening. The author covers all the areas that a beginner would like to know. As always, a lot of questions run through one's mind before deciding to buy or do something. The author mentions that his purpose in writing the book was to make people aware of how to keep a plant alive. The book tells the reader about the type of plants that can be kept indoors and outdoors. I personally liked the chapters where the requirements for each plant are given making it easy for a garden enthusiast to follow.

I found the chapters on houseplant insects informative. Many a times I have heard garden enthusiasts complaining about pests destroying their plants and they don't exactly know what to do. The chapter extensively covers the type of pests that can attack your plant and what the remedies are to save your plants from such an attack. Plant diseases and the best type of plants that can be kept indoors are also discussed in the book. Plants that are poisonous for children, adults and pets are named. The symptoms that occur when in contact with those plants are also mentioned making it easy to understand. The topic is handled well with elan and simplicity. I thought the inclusion of a pictures of the indoor plants with the details is a very clever idea.

Reviewed by Kristie Ingerto for Readers' Favorite

Jo Ann Bender's "Story Cookbook" will stimulate your taste buds and have you wanting to plan a trip to the Lazy Bee. Filled with a wide variety of recipes that have a connection with her family ranch, Bender shares her love of cooking, visiting, and life in general with the reader. Each recipe has a memory or short tidbit shared along with the recipe; this gives it a "homey" touch. The recipes that are included in this book range from breakfast foods and appetizers to desserts. Creating the recipes in your own kitchen will be an experience. It will also be interesting to read the story that is included alongside the recipe and to decide how and where to serve the prepared food, as Bender states in her introduction, "Often the biggest decision for a meal is not the food but where to serve it."

I have really enjoyed reading through this book! It is filled with so many recipes - recipes that I have never heard of and others that are more familiar - but it has a few little twists to them. What makes this unique and more than "just another cookbook" is the personal stories that are included as an introduction to each recipe. It is evident from this book that Bender enjoys life and sharing her enjoyment through food, visiting with others and hosting people at her ranch to give them a taste of the country living that she loves so much. The directions to the ranch included at the beginning of the book will surely be tempting to anyone who opens this book because, after reading just a few pages, you will be wanting to experience not only the cooking at the ranch, but the life there.