I’ve got five books for you to chase down today, from middle grade adventure to adult paranormal to non-fiction art and photography, so saddle up, get your eye on your quarry and let’s hunt those tomes!
Tree Houses Reimagined: Luxurious Retreats for Tranquility and Play (Blue Forest & E. Ashley Rooney)
*We received a copy of Tree Houses Reimagined from the publisher via Netgalley*
Two Sentence Synopsis: 
Did you have (or yearn for) a treehouse as a kid? This book is a collection of imagination-expanding treehouses featuring child-like creativity and adult engineering.
Muster up the motivation because:
If you love to browse Pinterest or other sites for inspirational images, then this book will be one you’ll want to “pin” to your coffee table for easy access. The book features a diverse collection of actual treehouses from around the world (although mostly in the UK) that have been designed to reflect the imaginings of their owners. Some look like fantasy castles with turrets, while others are designed to blend into the environment. Quite a number feature those metal slippery slides of old that would take the skin off the back of your legs on a hot day. The images also show the interiors of many of the treehouses, noting their special features. It was quite fascinating to read about how the builders had to use special techniques to place the foundations of the treehouses without disturbing the root systems of the trees. It also includes lots of architectural drawings and floor plans of the featured houses. I really wanted (and expected) to love this book and hoped it would fire my imagination and provide me with a warm fuzzy feeling that these places truly exist, but instead I became more and more irritated by the fact that the majority of these treehouses are owned by rich people and therefore beyond the reach of the average person ever to attain. The further I read, the more bitter I became, until by the end I was angrily swiping the pages and thinking, “Keep your damn treehouses, Richie Rich!” If you are not as small minded and bitter an individual as I am, you’ll probably enjoy this tome.
Brand it with:
Up where we belong; hangin’ out; fun with timber
The Ferryman Institute (Colin Gigl)
*We received a copy of The Ferryman Institute from the publisher via Netgalley*
Two Sentence Synopsis: 
Charlie is a Ferryman – a guide charged with catching souls as they die and guiding them towards their individual afterlife – for over 200 years and has never failed on an assignment. When, during a fairly simple assignment he is faced with a hitherto unencountered choice, Charlie must decide whether to take the opportunity presented to him or carry on with the status quo.
Muster up the motivation because:
As “afterlife” stories go, this one is well-constructed with a deeply considered world. Unfortunately, I didn’t find it to have the pace and action to go with the deeply considered world and DNFed at 34%. While I found the first part of the story and the set-up of the institute and its patrons, and Charlie’s surprise choice, quite interesting, the author continually slowed down the action by introducing Charlie’s philosophical issues with his life as a Ferryman through extensive chunks of dialogue with his colleagues. I certainly feel like I was reading long enough to have covered far more than 34% of the story. The book flicks back and forth in time and place, opening with the events that lead to Charlie being presented with an unexpected choice, and then swapping between Charlie’s life at the institute and the events in Alice’s life that lead to her being moments from death, and a major factor in Charlie’s fate. For me, this was a slow-burner that I just wasn’t prepared to be patient with.
Brand it with:
Key in the door; decisions, decisions; change of career
The Adventures of Pipi the Pink Monkey (Carlo Collodi & Alessandro Gallenzi)
*We received a copy of The Adventures of Pipi the Pink Monkey from Bloomsbury Australia for review*
Ten Second Synopsis: 
Pipi lives with his monkey family in the jungle and happens to be pink. This isn’t the only thing that sets him apart though – Pipi is the most mischievous monkey you’ll ever meet!
Muster up the motivation because:
This is a re-branding of Collodi’s (of Pinocchio fame) Pipi stories which were originally published in the early 1880s. The tone of the stories exudes that old-fashioned feel, with the language reminiscent of Blyton or your standard fairy tale, with a dash of Roald Dahl. Pipi really is a naughty little monkey; a risk-taker who isn’t afraid to break the rules if doing so will satisfy his curiousity. Young readers will find plenty to giggle about in Pipi’s tricky adventures, and parents will be pleased to see that Pipi gets his comeuppance a few times, though it is never enough to put him off his next bout of mischief. There are small illustrations peppered throughout the text (by Axel Scheffler, no less!) but I would have liked to have seen more of these to make the book a little more accessible for youngsters. The final pages of the book include some easy-to-read information about Collodi’s life and works (including a hilarious letter from the author to his young fans about the importance of keeping your word), the characters in Pipi, and a quiz about the events of the book. If you are a fan of classic stories (or would like your mini-fleshlings to become so), this is a quality revision of the original tales, with added extras to entice the youngsters in.
Brand it with:
Monkey business; truth and fibs; classics reimagined
Fizzlebert Stump and the Great Supermarket Showdown (A.F. Harrold)
*We received a copy of Fizzlebert Stump from Bloomsbury Australia for review*
Two Sentence Synopsis: 
Fizzlebert (Fizz to his friends), member of a travelling circus, finds himself in an unexpected position when the circus is sold to a local supermarket. Will Fizz and his friends be able to use their special skills to serve the supermarket – or is there a way to return to the circus?
Muster up the motivation because:
Fizzlebert Stump delivers plenty of offbeat humour and general silliness and if you are a fan of the humorous stylings of folk like David Walliams, you should find plenty to enjoy here. I was quite relieved at the book unexpectedly beginning with Chapter Four, given that it made me feel like I had made progress before I had even started reading, but this is cleared up in due course and the book re-starts at Chapter One. Having not read the earlier five books in the series was not a problem thanks to the very thorough narrator (who interjects at regular intervals to take the reader off at a tangent) thoughtfully presenting a concise recap of important things to know about Fizz and the circus. Essentially, this story features a blackmail attempt that results in the circus folk being forced to work as cashiers, packers and night staff at Pinkbottle’s supermarket, with predictably ridiculous results. Luckily though, Fizz and his friend Alice are on the case and all ends well, provided you consider police officers being shanghaied into impromptu circus acts a satisfying ending. The book is peppered with black and white illustrations throughout, and the general presentation is designed to inspire fun and reflect the chaotic and quirky life of Fizz and his circus family. If you have a mini-fleshling who is at chapter book level and loves stories featuring silliness and slapstick, the Fizzlebert Stump series, and this offering in particular, could be a savvy choice.
Brand it with:
No business like show business; the daily grind; this place is a circus
Quest of the Sunfish: Escape to the Moon Islands #1 (Mardi McConnochie)
*We received a copy of Quest of the Sunfish from Allen & Unwin for review*
Two Sentence Synopsis: 
In a world suffering the effects of rising sea levels, Will and Annalie live a simple existence with their father Spinner. When Spinner must suddenly disappear to avoid capture by the Admiralty, Will and Annalie discover that there was more to their father than they could ever have imagined.
Muster up the motivation because:
This is an adventurous story set in a world that has adjusted to rising sea levels and the unexpected loss of livelihood and lifestyle. The book begins with an exciting scene in which Spinner has moments in which to escape from mysterious people coming to get him and Will is left in the dark as to what is happening and why. His sister, Annalie, ensconced at her fancy boarding school, is questioned by members of the Admiralty as to her father’s whereabouts, and it is obvious to both siblings that their father is in danger. Being a general fan of seafaring stories, I expected to enjoy this one but I ended up DNFing at page 77, after about ten chapters. I could see that the adventure part was about to get underway, but the pace was moving too slowly for my liking so I made the decision to leave the story there. The author has gone to a lot of trouble to set up the world and the characters, but I felt that there was too much “telling” rather than “showing” going on and I couldn’t conjure up any imagery of the world as I was reading to anchor me in the story. I suspect I could have enjoyed this more if I had no competing reads to compare it with, but after an interesting opening few chapters, this one didn’t measure up for me.
Brand it with:
Salty seadogs; environmental disaster; escape!
So, me hearties, which of these titles will you be rounding up today?
Until next time,
Bruce
The Bookshelf Gargoyle 