October of this year marks the 100th anniversary of the beloved classic, Winnie-the-Pooh. I grew up with Pooh stories and Milne’s poetry (my mom used to quote his poem about turning five pretty regularly).
Simon & Schuster sent me a really nice copy of the 100th Anniversary edition, which has a soft, flocked cover with a simple illustration of the bear himself. It’s a great size for little hands, and the cover has a great texture. The inside features the original illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard.
In honor of this new edition and 100 years of Winnie the Pooh, I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite quotes from Winnie-the-Pooh and The House Around Pooh Corner.
The quote that inspired this post, it turns out, isn’t from the book at all but from the Disney movie. I have a small frame with the quote inside that was on a table at my wedding. Between the time my partner proposed and we married, three of our grandparents passed away, and the remaining grandmother was too ill to attend the ceremony. We placed the quote on a table with photos of our grandparents.
6 Favorite Quotes from Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner
“I think we dream so we don’t have to be apart for so long. If we’re in each other’s dreams, we can be together all the time.” – A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” – A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
“You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” – A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” – A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
“Poetry and Hums aren’t things which you get, they’re things which get you. And all you can do is to go where they can find you.” – A. A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner
“Wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.” – A. A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner
Winnie-the-Pooh 100th Anniversary Edition (Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner) A. A. Milne Illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard Aladdin Books Published January 6, 2026
About Winnie-the-Pooh 100th Anniversary Edition (Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner)
Celebrate the 100th anniversary of everyone’s favorite bear-of-little-brain with this special bind-up edition of A. A. Milne’s classic novels Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner—featuring a flocked cover that’s soft to the touch.
The story of the honey-loving, bumbling bear Winnie-the-Pooh has been a staple in children’s libraries since its original publication in the 1900s. Venture into the Hundred Acre Wood and join sweet Pooh, understanding Christopher Robin, timid Piglet, downcast Eeyore, impatient Rabbit, loquacious Owl, loving Kanga and Roo, and bold Tigger on their exploits.
In each chapter, they have a new adventure, from searching for honey or celebrating birthdays to hunting Heffalumps or navigating a flood. Complete with the original black-and-white interior illustrations by Ernest Shepard, this edition is the perfect way to experience the children’s classic that has captured imaginations for the past century.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
What are your favorite quotes from childhood books?
Are there quotes from your favorite childhood books that immediately take you back to the moment you read them as a little kid? What books stand out in your memory as favorites? Leave a comment and let me know.
This cozy fantasy romance combines magic, college life, and first love into a sweetly brewed and delicious read about a girl roped into investigating a company’s dangerous product!
Dani Lionet is no stranger to working hard. But now she’s attending her dream university, and must manage classes, shifts at the local cafe, and maintaining her partial scholarship—all while trying to keep her unique ability under wraps. That way, no one else can take advantage of it like her parents used to.
So when a visiting professor calls Dani out on her ability, she’s terrified. Yet, it seems Professor Silva just wants to pay her to use it to help investigate a soon-to-be-released lucid dreaming product with horrible side effects. Dani is hesitant, but she needs the money, and it would help her new friend who was part of the product’s clinical trials. Meanwhile, she has a swoony distraction in Kass, her endearingly cute new regular at work.
But then Silva’s plan evolves into stealing the formula. Can Dani help with this “group project,” learn to embrace her ability, and get to know Kass? Or will it all fall apart?
My Review
I really enjoyed the magical college atmosphere of this book. It’s set in the real world, but with magical abilities and disciplines. The main characters attend a magical college, which I love as a concept. Dani also works at a coffee shop, which added even more cozy vibes.
My favorite thing about the book is how well all the different elements integrate into the story. Truthfully, I’d call the romance part of the book more of a subplot compared to the heist/group project that Dani and her friends commit to. I love that Dani’s romantic relationship doesn’t eclipse her other friendships. The story strikes a great balance, showing Dani falling head over heels while still anchoring her in other relationships, in part because she’s on this heist team and they have a tight deadline.
Dani has an unusual magical gift, which she feels ashamed of early on in the story. As the book progresses, though, she learns to think about her ability differently. Her feelings were so relatable. How often do we have a weird talent that seems useless or embarrassing? It takes courage and effort to reframe how we feel about that stuff, and her journey with that was really cool.
I almost wish this book had come out in November, since the story wraps up at Christmas. It would have been a really fun one to read leading up to the holidays. That said, I think it works perfectly as a cozy story to read on a chilly day or evening while bundled up with a mug of coffee, tea, or hot cocoa.
If you’re looking for a wintry, magical heist in a college setting with a strong romance subplot, definitely put A Barista’s Guide to Love and Larceny on your reading list.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 15 up.
Profanity/Crude Language Content Strong profanity used infrequently.
Romance/Sexual Content Kissing.
Spiritual Content Some characters can do magic. One character has fae ancestry.
Violent Content Situations of peril. A few scenes show characters trapped in their nightmares, acting out what happens in their dreams.
Drug Content Teens drink alcohol at a bar and at a party.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
A poignant middle grade novel in verse about a Hmong girl losing and finding home in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. For fans of Jasmine Warga and Veera Hiranandani.
For eleven-year-old Gao Sheng, home is the lush, humid jungles and highlands of Laos. Home is where she can roll down the grassy hill with her younger siblings after her chores, walk to school, and pick ripe peaches from her family’s trees.
But home becomes impossible to hold onto when U.S. troops pull out of the Vietnam War. The communists will be searching for any American allies, like Gao Sheng’s father, a Hmong captain in the Royal Lao Army who fought alongside the Americans against the Vietnamese. If he’s caught, he’ll be killed.
As the adults frantically make plans – contacting family, preparing a route, and bundling up their silver and gold, Gao Sheng wonders if she will ever return to her beloved Laos and what’s to become of her family now. Gao Sheng only knows that a good daughter doesn’t ask questions or complain. A good daughter doesn’t let her family down. Even though sometimes, she wishes she could be just a kid rolling down a grassy hill again.
On foot, by taxi and finally in a canoe, Gao Sheng and her family make haste from the mountains to the capitol Vientiane and across the rushing Mekong River, to finally arrive at an overcrowded refugee camp in Thailand. As a year passes at the camp, Gao Sheng discovers how to rebuild home no matter where she is and finally find her voice.
Inspired by author V.T. Bidania’s family history, A Year Without a Home illuminates the long, difficult journey that many Hmong refugees faced after the Vietnam War.
My Review
My knowledge of the Vietnam War is pretty thin, so learning about the Hmong soldiers from Laos who helped the American forces was new to me. The story includes some of what happened in Laos in and around 1975, especially for the Hmong people, such as Gao Sheng and her family.
I love that the author showed Gao Sheng’s frustration with her family role. (As the oldest daughter, her job is to take care of the younger siblings and cousins, whereas her brother is allowed more unstructured play time. Her feelings were easy to understand, and I think they’ll resonate with young readers today as well. I also thought it was cool that she learned embroidery and felt a connection to her mom and aunties through that activity. It captured that in-between feeling of adolescence, where sometimes she wanted to be a kid and other times she wanted to do things considered more adult.
At the end of the book, the author shares her personal connection to the story. Her family had an experience similar to Gao Sheng’s when she was a baby. I liked how she incorporated her family’s history into the story.
A Year Without Home reminded me a little bit of Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. I think readers who enjoy realistic fiction in verse will like this one.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.
Profanity/Crude Language Content None.
Romance/Sexual Content Reference to cultural norms. A boy wants to speak with Gao Sheng, but it isn’t proper for them to speak directly, so his cousin passes the message to her.
Spiritual Content None.
Violent Content Gao Sheng hears rumors that people have been arrested and possibly tortured. In the refugee camp, her family hears stories of people who died in the airport bombing. Some families were robbed as they tried to escape Laos.
Drug Content None.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday
I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs with posts about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle.
2025 was a frustrating one for me as a book blogger, if I’m honest. Like, I read some amazing books. That was great. But I also faced some health challenges that left me feeling way behind schedule for most of the year. Not so great.
By the time I hit September/October, I was months behind, struggling to get caught up reading the books I’d promised publishers that I’d get to by release dates that had long since swept past me. I finally caught up in mid-December and finished the year reading a few 2026 titles. Better late than never, I guess!
I set my overall reading goal for 2025 at 200 books, which is very achievable for me, and I exceeded it by almost 50 books. So, overall, I think it was still a good year, reading-wise.
And, my family finished the year with everyone doing okay health-wise, which is also a huge win! I’ve enjoyed the look back at the past year. It has helped me understand some ways I need to pivot in 2026 so that I feel a little less pressure and a little more joy in my reading life.
Last year, I posted a recap with charts, which was kind of fun. I’ll post them here again. I thought about doing some side-by-side comparisons from this year to last year, but it got weird because I didn’t name the charts consistently, so I decided not to do that. I’ll still note some comparisons for my fellow chart/trend people.
Books I Read by Age Group
Perhaps predictably, my 2025 reading by age group is very similar to my 2024 numbers. Essentially, I read the exact same percentage of YA this past year and slightly more middle grade/slightly fewer adult books.
The bulk of my reading is still young adult literature. I feel pretty good about my selection process with young adult books, but I’d like to get better at finding and selecting middle grade titles. I still sort of stumble over those rather than deliberately campaign for review copies of certain titles. A better process might help me balance my reading between the two age groups.
Types of Books I Read in 2025
Most of what I read are full-length novels (167 books). I read a LOT more anthologies this year (21) compared to last year (1), which was interesting. I’m finding that I really enjoy that format and the chance to read short stories by new authors. I also read a few anthologies this year where the authors connected the stories in interesting ways. That was a lot of fun.
I still read a lot of nonfiction (45 books), which is great. Years ago, I set a goal to read at least one nonfiction title per month, so it’s really cool to see that number at almost 4 per month on average.
Some of the poetry books were part of my reading a poem a day goal, but some are novels in verse. Graphic novels are still a bit of a new thing for me. I found some illustrators that I love, and my daughter started reading middle grade graphic novels, so both of those bumped up my reading this year.
Frontlist vs. Backlist
This year, like last year, I read a lot more backlist titles than I thought. Some of this happens because one of the groups I review for runs a little behind, so I end up reading some 2024 releases in 2025. But most of this is me fitting in books from my TBR and catching up on titles I missed for whatever reason. This year, I read some incredible backlist titles, so I hope to share those in a separate “Best of 2025” list, since I don’t get to talk about those all that often.
I also surprised myself by reading five whole 2026 titles before the end of 2025. It felt great to catch up on the books I agreed to review for 2025 and move forward into 2026 before the year’s end.
Format Breakdown
My format choices for 2025 are very similar to 2024. Nearly half of my reading is ebooks or eARCs (pre-release copies from publishers). A fair number of the hardbacks are from publishers as well. A few send me finished copies, which is so cool.
A little more than a quarter of my total books read come from audiobooks, which I mostly listen to in the car. Most of those come from the library.
Genre Breakdown
This breakdown kind of surprises me. I didn’t realize how much fantasy as a genre dominates my reading. If you asked me what percentage of my reading is contemporary versus fantasy, I would have guessed it’s about 50/50. Ha! Not even close.
I’m also surprised that I read so few romances. I think this is in part because if a book had a romance subplot, I didn’t consider it a romance. Some of those are labeled fantasy or contemporary. So there are quite a few titles that had romance in them but aren’t categorized as romance.
I read more mystery/suspense/thriller books than I thought, and fewer horror novels. Horror is a relatively new interest for me, too, but it seems to be something I enjoy, especially if it is thoughtful and not too gory.
Goals Recap
I’m a little discouraged about my reading challenge results this year. Not because I expected to read more backlist titles, but because I kind of filled out the prompts in reverse (trying to find a prompt that fit a backlist title I’d read rather than choosing a title based on a prompt). It’s fine– the reading challenge police are not on their way or anything. It simply wasn’t a very satisfying way for me to tackle my backlist reading this year.
Read Harder 2025 Challenge
This year, I completed 20 out of 24 reading prompts for Book Riot’s Read Harder 2025 challenge. One of the reasons I like this challenge, alongside the Beat the Backlist Challenge, is that it allows you to count books that release in 2025. The whole point is to challenge yourself to read more inclusively. The challenge has helped me recognize some holes in my reading choices. That’s a direction I intend to continue, whether or not I continue the challenge.
Beat the Backlist 2025 Challenge
I managed to satisfy 46 out of 52 reading prompts this year for Austine Decker’s Beat the Backlist challenge. A few of those prompts never had a chance. One was for reading a book that was over 600 pages. I am just not a person who can read long books like that. I start to sweat when we get over 350 pages. Needless to say, I skipped right over that one!
I’m not unhappy with 46 completed prompts, though. I liked reading through the list of prompts and thinking of books from my TBR that would satisfy a particular prompt, even if I didn’t end up reading that book for the challenge.
Poetry and Classics
One of my goals this year was to read one poem per day. This came from a suggestion in Why We Read by Shannon Reed. She struggled to read poetry and felt bad about it, but discovered that one poem per day was a really sustainable pace for her. I tried this method this year, and though I took a bit of a break this fall, it was very successful for me. This year, I managed to read several poetry anthologies, and I found some poets that I really enjoy.
On the classics front, my experience was less satisfying. I wanted to read The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, but picked it up at the wrong time. Between the news and the intensity of some of the scenes in the book, I had to put it down. I want to give it a try again once I’m in a better headspace, though. I reread The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi and finished Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume for the first time. I also reread Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor.
Community Goals
I continued meeting up with KidLit Bloggers this year and sharing middle grade reviews on Mondays with the crew at Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays. Both of those things have been a lot of fun. A few of the KidLit bloggers and I now do a quarterly book club. Right now, we’re reading Song of a Blackbird by Maria van Lieshout for discussion in January.
In 2025, I only posted two Top Ten Tuesday lists, which is so sad. I love doing those lists, but I struggle to do them when I’m behind on posting reviews. It always feels like I should catch up on those reviews before working on other things, but I’m not sure how true that is. I want to revamp my process for next year to allow me some space to prioritize lists. They’re such a great way to draw attention to underhyped books, and they’re a lot of fun to put together. Lists are also a great way to feature books that I want to read, but realistically may not get to before that publication date.
Process Goals
My goal this year was to take more breaks and feel less guilty. This was very challenging in 2025 because I was far behind my predicted calendar schedule. The good news is that once I realized that catching up was a long-term strategy, not something I could do in a week or two, I was able to let go of some of the guilt and move forward the best I could.
I do not feel satisfied with the amount of space I left myself for mood reading or taking breaks. This is still very much a work in progress for me. I’ve got some ideas for how to change this up in 2026 that I’m excited about.
Did you meet your reading goals for 2025?
Did you start the year with any reading goals? How do you think you did at meeting them? Whether or not you set any goals, leave a comment and let me know about your reading experience this year. I hope you have a safe, happy New Year, and a 2026 filled with wonderful literary adventures!
Bree Paulsen’s brave little protagonist, Garlic, is back in this charmingly illustrated standalone companion to Garlic and the Vampire, serving up another tale of friendship, magic, and self-discovery. Give both books to readers who fell in love with Tidesong or Witch Boy!
Garlic loves spending time with Witch Agnes, Carrot, and her new friend, the Count, who has proven to be a delightful neighbor to the village of vegetable people rather than a scary vampire. But despite Agnes’s best attempts to home-brew a vegetarian blood substitute for Count, the ingredient she needs most can only be found at the Magic Market, far from the valley.
Before she knows it, with a broomstick in hand, Garlic is nervously preparing for a journey.
But Garlic is experiencing another change too–finger by finger, she appears to be turning human. Witch Agnes assures her that this is normal for her garden magic, but Garlic isn’t so sure that she’s ready for such a big change. After all, changes are scary…and what if she doesn’t want to be human after all?
My Review
It’s been a while since I read Garlic and the Vampire, but I loved the sweet setting of the story and the way that it explored anxiety. Paulsen brings the same tender exploration to this novel, too.
At the beginning, Garlic notices a change to her hands. She now has five fingers on each hand, where she used to have four. She worries about what this means. As she learns more, we get to see some backstory and learn how the witch brought the vegetables in her garden to life and what will happen to them next.
Garlic also continues to help her friend Count, whom familiar readers will remember from Garlic and the Vampire. The two head out on a brief adventure, offering Garlic even more new experiences. (Her favorite.)
I love the coziness of the story world and the gentle storytelling. The characters are so cute, too. Garlic has other anthropomorphized garden friends, like Carrot and Celery. There’s a little hint of romance, but it is a minor note in the overall story.
I got this book from the library last summer for my littlest to read, and she quite enjoyed it. She ended up reading it to me, which was an excellent bonus. I think fans of K. O’Neill or The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught will enjoy this one.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.
Profanity/Crude Language Content None.
Romance/Sexual Content Brief reference to a romance between two characters.
Spiritual Content A witch used magic to turn vegetables from her garden into veggie-people. She makes potions for other people in the village to help them with various problems.
Violent Content Garlic gets lost in the woods and feels anxious about her problems.
Drug Content None.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from my local public library. All opinions are my own.
About This is Not a Test: The Definitive Edition with Please Remain Calm
It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High, but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self.
To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed, and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live.
But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways, and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside.
When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?
My Review
This is Not a Test is one of the only Courtney Summers novels I hadn’t yet read. (The only one I still haven’t gotten to at this point is Fall for Anything.) This version includes both This is Not a Test and Please Remain Calm, a novella from the love interest’s perspective that takes place after This is Not a Test.
This book was so intense that I literally read it in one session. The threat of zombies is everpresent, but that’s not the only threat the characters face. The tension between members of the survivors Sloane hides with just keeps going up. One group blames a person for the deaths of others. The group disagrees on how to treat a new survivor discovered within the compound. Sloane herself begins the story intending to end her life, so she is a danger to herself for quite a stretch of the narrative.
Throughout the story, Sloane thinks about her missing sister and her father, who abused her. I had a theory about where that thread of the story was going, but I was wrong. I do appreciate that the author wraps up the unanswered questions there in a way that allows Sloane to move on. I also like that she finds a connection to Rhys, a boy from the group of survivors she was with in the school.
As you’d expect from a Courtney Summers novel, this story is sharp, smart, and deeply moving. I don’t even know if I blinked through some of the chapters. I didn’t want to miss a single second.
If you’re looking for a zombie story packed with social commentary and exploring the connection between sisters and girl friends, definitely do not miss this one.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 16 up.
Profanity/Crude Language Content Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.
Romance/Sexual Content Kissing. Vague reference to someone walking in on a couple having sex. A couple starts making out, intending to have sex.
Spiritual Content None.
Violent Content Mentions of and brief descriptions of domestic violence and child abuse. Suicidal ideation and a vague attempt. One scene shows a character ending their life. Several scenes show zombies attacking one another and anyone still alive. Some members of the group blame another group member for the deaths of others. One person essentially sends others into a fatal situation, hoping it allows the others to escape.
Drug Content Teens drink alcohol.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
