Stack Overflow: 6 Books for May
On this roundup list, we celebrate my usual favorites: board books, books in translation, migrant stories, and even an early reader graphic novel that I enjoyed a bit too much.
Let's start with picture books:
Cristina Plays by Micaela Chirif (Author), Paula Ortiz (Illustrator), Lawrence Schimel (Translator)
Micaela Chirif is an award-winning Peruvian author of children's books and poetry, and I am glad that we are finally giving some space to widely recognized authors like her (it has taken far too long).
In this book, Cristina is playing with a doll house that has a rabbit doll. Cristina will soon exchange her place in the doll's house with her doll, in a vivid dream that displays her imagination, dwelling in a poetic way on what children feel when involved in representational play.
Cristina Plays is on sale since April 15, 2025.
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers Pages: 36/ Hardback
EAN/UPC: 9781459841178
Up next, the idea behind the book gives voice to dads:
Love, Dad: Inspiring Notes from Fathers to Kids by Andrew Gardner (Author), Joel Warsh (Author), David Cooper (Illustrator)
This illustrated take on parents' wishes is nice because it portrays a wide array of loving dads, something we don't get enough of:
When you grow up, I hope you…
…let your smile change the world …feel you are loved, in every cell of your body
…learn how to help those who need a hand
Eighteen fathers are asked to finish the sentence above, and the eighteen wishes have lot in common. They all wish for their offspring to do well, to be brave and kind, and to learn to help others.
As parents, we wish the best for our kids, always, but we rarely get to say it, we are busy barking orders, giving advice, and trying to survive. This letter anthology helps parents go past that.
Love, Dad is on sale since April 08, 2025.
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers Pages: 40/ Hardback
ISBN: 9780593572160
Up next, an early reader graphic novel (I didn't know those even existed!).
Pencil & Eraser: Lost and Frown! by Jenny Alvarado (Author)
This is the second adventure of a pencil and eraser BFFs. I have to say that the first one, Pencil & Eraser: We Have a Dull-Emma! was hilarious, especially if you are very young, first starting in the world of comics (the page layout is early reader friendly) and love corny jokes. If you are not into corny jokes, this book is definitely not for you.
The joke breaks that happen sporadically in the book are fabulously corny: What is a ninja's favorite juice? Fruit Punch! (You get the idea…). In the first novel, Pencil is dull and convinces Eraser to go on a sharpener-hunt throughout the school, having loads of adventures in the process.
In the second book, they fall out of their owner's bag on their way to karate, and have to navigate the town to get there, with a fun stop in the Arcade!
These two friends are fun, relatable, and you have to admit that eraser is the practical one of the pair, but she loves her partner's goofiness very much.
Pencil & Eraser: Lost and Frown! is on sale since May 06, 2025.
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers Hardback | Pages: 80
ISBN: 9780593699812
Now for a beautiful book about solidarity:
New Shoes for Leo by Lauren Agra Deedy (Author), Susan Gal (Illustrator)
Susan Gal has made something beautiful for this book, rendering it in a soft light that warms everything it touches. And it is a warm story. A young Cuban American boy must help fill a box for relatives on the island, an endeavor migrant families do for every country in the world: they send clothes, medicine, and knickknacks to poorer relatives on their country of origin, sometimes monthly, to help those who are having a harder time than them.
William's Mami and his Tía Ana ask him to help on a task for a young boy just about his age: find shoes for him to be shipped to Cuba. Cousin Leo, he will soon discover, has a lot in common with him. He also has freckles, loves baseball, and is loved very much by his close-knit family. But no one has the right size for him!
What can William do to fulfill his task?
William is about to learn a very important lesson about love and solidarity, just by fulfilling this apparently simple task.
New Shoes for Leo is on sale since March 04, 2025.
Published by Scholastic Press Hardback | Pages: 40
ISBN: 9781338770216
Now for a recently translated book:
Newborns. How Baby Animals Come Into the World by Paulina Jara (Author), Mercè Galí (Illustrator), Lawrence Schimel (Translator)
On this lengthy nonfiction book, there are 25 diverse ways to come into this world, from little tiny kangaroos that crawl to their mother's pouch being the size of a pea, and continue to grow there, to baby tadpoles, tiny newborn spiders and cougars, all of them unique and a testimony to the marvel of evolution.
Some gestation periods are days; some are years. Some babies are born ready to fend for themselves, while others rely on their parents for months.
The only thing I did not like where the illustrations. I feel that a quirkier, more detailed look at animal expressions and baby faces would have made the book more relatable to young readers.
Newborns is on sale since March 11, 2025
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers Hardback | Pages: 64
ISBN: 9781459840348
Finally, this book inspired Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki:
The Village Beyond the Mist by Sachiko Kashiwaba (Author), Miho Satake (Illustrator), Avery Fischer Udagawa (Translator)
This book, which inspired a famous Miyazaki movie, has little in common with the story portrayed in the film.
As a fan of Kashibawa's work, I would be doing her a disservice if I said that the story was not magical on itself, it truly is! She has an ability for magical tales as strong as Dianne Wayne Jones'.
When a young Lina is sent all by herself to a place called Misty Valley, she is in for an adventure. The village is connected to different places and times, the town is not on any map, and the headmistress of the house looks like the witch in Spirited Away , but the adventures are very different.
There is a magical bookstore that is in itself a gateway to all magical bookstores in the world, there is a Pastry Chef that deals with enchanted desserts, and there are centaurs, gnomes, and other types of quirky characters roaming about. Misty Valley is a place where you go when you need to learn something, and you would not be able to find it if you were not going to change by experiencing it.
After 50 years of being a beloved classic in Japan, I truly celebrate its translation into English.
The Village Beyond the Mist is available since May 27, 2025. Publisher: Yonder 160 Pages/ Hardback
EAN/UPC 9781632063922
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Geek Dad
5 days ago
- Geek Dad
Kickstarter Tabletop Alert: ‘Rewild: South America'
Build biomes and populate them with flora and fauna to rewind a damaged landscape. What Is Rewild: South America? Rewild: South America is a tile-laying, tableau-building game for 1 to 4 players, ages 10 and up, and takes about 45–60 minutes to play. It's currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, with a pledge level of 60 Swiss Francs (about $73USD) for a copy of the game. It involves building out a landscape, and then finding synergies between the various plants and animals that can be placed on the landscape. Rewild: South America was designed by Bruno Liguori Sia and published by Treeceratops, with illustrations by Keen Art, Joey Pool, and Johanna Tarkela. New to Kickstarter? Check out our crowdfunding primer. Rewild: South America components. (Prototype shown) Photo: Jonathan H. Liu Rewild: South America Components Note: My review is based on a prototype copy, so it is subject to change and may not reflect final component quality. Here's what comes in the box: Score board 4 Player boards 75 Biome tiles (shrublands, shrubland extensions, grasslands, rainforests) 55 Wildlife cards 26 Predation cards 28 Plant cards 28 Player Action cards 25 Expert Mode cards 4 Overview cards 11 Branch Animal meeples 18 Expert Mode Animal meeples 16 Player markers (4 per player) Start Player meeple 95 Animal markers (paw prints) 35 Minerals 35 Water 35 Seeds One of the first things about Rewild that caught my eye was the illustration style: the animals are done in a cartoon style with sharp outlines, set against backgrounds that have a softer look, giving it a Studio Ghibli vibe. With the recent proliferation of AI-generated images and videos using a similar style, I'm pleased to note that Treeceratops did not use any AI imagery in this game—these images are made by actual people. The illustrations of the various insects and animals that you'll be able to attract to your landscape are all beautifully illustrated, and the style helps the creatures really stand out on the cards. A selection of animal cards showing one of each category: insect, 3 sizes of herbivore, and 2 sizes of carnivore. (Prototype shown) Photo: Jonathan H. Liu There are several animal categories in the animal and predation decks, each with its own icon: insect, herbivore (small, medium, and large), predators, and apex predators—all but the insects are represented by an animal face icon. My only complaint with the icons is that the small herbivore icon and the predator icon are a similar size and profile, so it can be easy to mix them up at a glance. Treeceratops is a Swiss company with a focus on sustainability, and as such aims to limit the amount of plastic they use, and they also rely on FSC-certified or recycled materials when possible. The wooden tokens in the game come in paper envelopes rather than plastic bags, and all of the game components are cardboard, paper, and wood. The scoreboard is a large board that includes a scoring track around the outside edge, and then has clearly marked spaces for the three types of cards. My only complaint is that because you're constantly taking cards from the board, and then sliding cards to the right to refill, it can be quite easy to bump the scoring tokens out of place. Player board with some terrain tiles and cards added to the biomes. (Prototype shown) Photo: Jonathan H. Liu The player boards are square, filled with hexes, some with additional icons in them. Along the right side of the board there are some icons indicating the three biomes where you will place cards, as well as a reminder for what's needed to complete a biome. There's a regular side and an advanced side—they're mostly the same except for the completed biome bonus. Animal meeples for the advanced game. (Prototype shown) Photo: Jonathan H. Liu There's a variety of animal meeples, and it's a shame that the bulk of them are only used in the advanced game, because they're very cool. I suppose it's an incentive to play the game enough to move to the advanced mode! These animals can live in the trees! (Prototype shown) Photo: Jonathan H. Liu The meeples that are used in every game are the ones sitting on (or hanging from) branches. These have a small rectangular base, which slots into the top of the 3D cardboard trees. It's a clever design, and it's a lot of fun when you manage to make that happen during the game. How to Play Rewild: South America You can download a copy of the rulebook here. The Goal The goal of the game is to score the most points by building out your landscape and filling it with plants and animals. 2-player setup. (Prototype shown) Photo: Jonathan H. Liu Setup Give each player a player board, four player markers, and 7 action cards of their player color. Place one player marker Everyone also starts with 4 minerals, 4 water, and 1 seed. The player who most recently saw a wild animal takes the start player token. Set up the main board: shuffle each of the card decks separately, and place them on their indicated spaces, and then reveal cards to form the market (5 animals, 3 predation cards, and 3 plants). Place the rest of the components—animal markers, landscape tiles, trees, resources, and animal meeples—nearby as a supply. Gameplay On your turn, you must play an action card from your hand and use its effect; each card has 2 options except for the harvest card. Once you've played your action, you leave the card in front of you, turned so that the action you took is at the top—the landscape icons above the actions may be used for various effects during the game. Each player gets a set of these 7 action cards. (Prototype shown) Photo: Jonathan H. Liu Six of the cards have an option to add a specific landscape tile to your board, which costs minerals and water. Some of the hex spaces on your board show minerals or water—these are discounts for tiles placed on those locations. In addition, each shrubland provides a 1-mineral discount for tiles placed adjacent to it, and each grassland provides a 1-water discount. (Grasslands can be upgraded to wetlands, which provide a 2-water discount.) If you place a landscape tile on a star icon, you score points immediately, with rainforests scoring the most points and shrublands scoring the fewest. There are also actions that allow you to gain minerals, water, or seeds—each of these also discards a specific card from the market. Finally, there are actions that upgrade landscapes: Shrublands can be expanded by adding a single hex shrubland, grasslands are flipped over to the wetlands side, and rainforests gain a tree. (Each landscape can only be upgraded once.) The harvest card gives you 1 water, plus a number of seeds based on the landscape tiles on your board. Finally, it allows you to take all of your action cards back (including itself). After playing and resolving your action card, if it was not the harvest card, you may then attract a number of cards from the score board: up to 5 wildlife card, 1 predation card, and 1 plant card. The Gray Brocket takes up 4 hexes of shrubland or 3 hexes of grasslands, but cannot live in the rainforest or in a tree. (Prototype shown) Photo: Jonathan H. Liu Wildlife cards have an icon showing which landscape types the animal can live on, and how many hexes they occupy. If you have sufficient space in one of the terrain types, you may take the card and place it to the right of your board in the corresponding biome, and then place animal markers (the paw prints) in the hexes. Each hex on your board can only have one animal marker in it. Some animals can live in rainforests or trees—if so, then you find the matching meeple and use that instead. If you already have a tree, or if you upgrade the rainforest tile later to add a tree, then you can put the meeple into the tree, which frees up the rainforest ground space for another animal and also scores you 4 points. Predation cards also have icons showing which biome they belong to, but they also need specific types of prey in that biome. When played, you place the predation card on top of the prey animal, and score points immediately. (Note that this does not remove the animal markers from the board.) Plant cards cost seeds and have a variety of effects. (Prototype shown) Photo: Jonathan H. Liu Plant cards have a seed cost and show which biome they belong to—just pay the cost and place the card to the right of your board in that biome. Many cards have either a lightning bolt effect or an hourglass effect. Lightning bolt effects are immediate—usually scoring, but sometimes gaining resources. Hourglass effects are end-of-game scoring effects. If a card gets covered by a predation card, then it loses its effects and is mostly ignored except for effects that specifically refer to eaten animals. My forest biome has been completed and scores six points. (The insect has been covered by a predator.) (Prototype shown) Photo: Jonathan H. Liu You can complete a biome if it has at least one plant, one insect, one herbivore (any size), and one predator (either size). These count even if they have been eaten. The completed biome scores 6 points, and then you mark the completion bonus on your board with a player marker as a reminder that you've already scored it. Game End The game end is triggered if any of the following happens: A player has 8 visible (not eaten) animal cards showing A player has completely filled their board with landscape tiles The last wildlife card has been placed on the board. When this happens, complete the current round, and then play one more full round. All players then score any of their visible end-of-game scoring effects. The player with the highest score wins, with ties going to the player with the most completed biomes, and then the highest sum of rainforest tiles plus trees. Game Variants The solo game is run like a 2-player game, with an automated player. The automated player uses a set of action cards and a sort of flowchart that determines where it places tiles, which animals it will try to attract, and so on. Since it's a simplified bot that doesn't really have a way to react to what you're doing, it gets a score handicap of 1.5x (or 2x if you're playing on hard mode). The advanced game introduces the rest of the animal meeples and some new wildlife cards that get shuffled into their corresponding decks. The advanced animals have, in addition to the regular icons indicating the required landscape, an additional icon showing a particular terrain layout. If you can build that particular layout on your board, then you get the advanced animal meeple and bonus points. Two animals have found homes in the treetops. (Prototype shown) Photo: Jonathan H. Liu Why You Should Play Rewild: South America Rewild: South America combines the tile-laying and a card tableau in an interesting way. The bulk of your points come from the cards—most of the animals offer either immediate scoring or end-game scoring, and a few of the plants also score points. But in order to play those cards, you'll need to build out the tiles on your board to create the space for them, and that creates a different sort of puzzle about using the hex spaces efficiently, particularly taking advantage of the bonus icons. I like the way that it feels like you're building an ecosystem layer by layer. First it's the landscape itself: shrublands, grasslands, or rainforest. Then, once you have enough space, it attracts insects and herbivores, which in turn can attract carnivores. Since the game ends when you have 8 animals showing (or 9 in the advanced game), you can't just expand indiscriminately if you want a good score. I've sometimes taken the first animal that fits in a landscape spot, but then covered it later with a carnivore. If that first animal had an end-game score on it, I've just forfeited those points—better to take an animal with an immediate scoring bonus if you're planning to eat it later, because then you've already gotten the points. If you're not attracting predators, then you have a limited number of available spaces to place cards before the game ends, so you really want good combinations. There's a wide variety of end-game scoring conditions: you might score points for each medium-sized herbivore, or each tree, or each insect. There are also many animals that will give you points for landscape icons, which appear on the landscape tiles, on certain plant cards, and even on your action cards. For those, the timing of your action cards becomes important. For instance, if you'll score 1 point per shrubland icon, then not only do you want to maximize your shrublands (perhaps by upgrading them), you could get as many as 6 more shrubland icons from your action cards, but only if you take the correct actions and the cards are still out when the game ends. If you play them too early, you might end up taking a harvest action and putting them back in your hand. Wait too late, and the game might end before you've played them again. Each card is gorgeously illustrated. (Prototype shown) Photo: Jonathan H. Liu I mentioned the puzzle of building out your landscape tiles. There are bonus spaces on the board that can reduce the mineral or water cost of a tile, so you can use those to get some things built out quickly without having to spend actions to collect resources—for instance, you could use the 2-mineral discount to build a rainforest, since those provide more seeds when you harvest. However, there are only so many of the discount spaces, and rainforests do not provide resources for neighboring tiles. Shrublands and grasslands provide minerals and water, so if you build those up first, you can set up spaces that will be cheaper to build in the future. Having a good idea of how you want to lay things out will help you ensure that you'll have the right amount of space to play everything you need. Some of the spaces on your board have stars, which give points when you play a landscape tile on them, but you get more points for placing a rainforest than shrubland. The first time I played, I avoided building on them, thinking that I'd get around to placing forests on each one to maximize my score … but then ran out of time and ended up with several of them left empty by the end of the game. It's a tricky balance, deciding when it's time to cash in on the bonus points and when you can wait a little longer to build up to a rainforest. While there isn't any direct player interaction—you can't do anything to somebody else's board or tableau—you can try to scoop up plants or wildlife that are particularly advantageous to your opponents. For instance, in one game where I had a carnivore-heavy tableau, my opponent snagged the vulture, which awards points for each eaten animal. It wasn't worth as many points to him, but preventing me from getting it probably won him the game. Your action cards that claim resources also discard cards from the market; it's the rightmost card, so you don't get to choose just any card, but at the right time you could use it to dump a card before somebody else gets it. Rewild: South America has bits and pieces that remind me of some other games, but as a whole it's a new experience. You're managing both your action economy and your resources, and you're looking for things that will round out each of your biomes. I like both the board-based puzzle of the landscapes and the combo-building puzzle of the wildlife cards. And it doesn't hurt that the illustrations are so eye-catching! For more information or to make a pledge, visit the Rewild: South America Kickstarter page! Click here to see all our tabletop game reviews. To subscribe to GeekDad's tabletop gaming coverage, please copy this link and add it to your RSS reader. Disclosure: GeekDad received a prototype of this game for review purposes. Liked it? 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CTV News
7 days ago
- CTV News
Brazilian nuns become social media stars with dancing and beatboxing
Video Two Brazilian nuns have become online stars after showing off their dancing and beatboxing skills on television.
CTV News
26-05-2025
- CTV News
No more samba on the strand? Rio de Janeiro to limit live music on the beaches
RIO DE JANEIRO — RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — If you have been to Rio de Janeiro' beaches, this probably sounds familiar: samba music drifting from a nearby kiosk, caipirinha cocktails sold by hawkers, chairs sprawled across the sand. Now that may become harder to find, unless the vendors have the right permits. Mayor Eduardo Paes issued a decree in mid-May establishing new rules for the city's waterfront saying he wants to preserve urban order, public safety and the environment, as well as promote peaceful relations between tourists and residents. The new measures are due to come into force on June 1, and they outlaw food and drink sales, chair rentals, loudspeakers and even live music in kiosks without official permits. Also, beach huts will only be allowed to have a number rather than the often-creative names many are currently known by. Some have welcomed the move to tackle what they perceive as chaotic activity on the beach, but others say the decree threatens Rio's dynamic beach culture and the livelihoods of many musicians and local vendors who may find it difficult or impossible to get permits. The move to regulate music on Rio's beachfronts has particularly struck a nerve. 'It's difficult to imagine Rio de Janeiro without bossa nova, without samba on the beach,' said Julio Trindade, who works as a DJ in the kiosks. 'While the world sings the Girl from Ipanema, we won't be able to play it on the beach.' The restrictions on music amounts to 'silencing the soul of the waterfront. It compromises the spirit of a democratic, musical, vibrant, and authentic Rio,' Orla Rio, a concessionaire who manages more than 300 kiosks, said in a statement. Can this be stopped or changed? Some are seeking ways to stop the implementation of the decree or at least modify it to allow live music without a permit. But so far to little avail. The nonprofit Brazilian Institute of Citizenship, which defends social and consumer rights, filed a lawsuit last week requesting the suspension of the articles restricting live music, claiming that the measure compromises the free exercise of economic activity. A judge ruled that the group is not a legitimate party to present a complaint, and the nonprofit is appealing the decision. Also last week, Rio's municipal assembly discussed a bill that aims to regulate the use of the coastline, including beaches and boardwalks. It backs some aspects of the decree such as restricting amplified music on the sand but not the requirement that kiosks have permits for live musicians. The proposal still needs to formally be voted on, and it's not clear if that will happen before June 1. If approved, the bill will take precedence over the decree. Economic activity on Rio's beaches, excluding kiosks, bars and restaurants, generates an estimated 4 billion reais (around $710 million) annually, according to a 2022 report by Rio's City Hall. Millions of foreigners and locals hit Rio's beaches every year and many indulge in sweet corn, grilled cheese or even a bikini or electronic devices sold by vendors on the sprawling sands. Local councilwoman Dani Balbi lashed out against the bill on social media. 'What's the point of holding big events with international artists and neglecting the people who create culture every day in the city?' she said last week on Instagram, in reference to the huge concerts by Lady Gaga earlier this month and Madonna last year. 'Forcing stallholders to remove the name of their businesses and replace it with numbers compromises the brand identity and the loyalty of customers, who use that location as a reference,' Balbi added. Anger, fear and sadness News of the decree seeking to crack down on unregistered hawkers provoked ripples of anger and fear among peddlers. 'It's tragic,' said Juan Marcos, a 24-year-old who sells prawns on sticks on Copacabana beach and lives in a nearby favela, or low-income urban community. 'We rush around madly, all to bring a little income into the house. What are we going to do now?' City Hall doesn't give enough permits to hawkers on the beach, said Maria de Lourdes do Carmo, 50, who heads the United Street Vendors' Movement — known by its acronym MUCA. 'We need authorizations, but they're not given,' said Lourdes do Carmo, who is known as Maria of the Street Vendors. The city government did not respond to a request for the number of authorizations given last year. Following the outcry, the city government emphasized that some rules were already in place in a May 21 statement. The town hall added that it is talking to all affected parties to understand their demands and is considering adjustments. Maria Lucia Silva, a 65-year-old resident of Copacabana who was walking back from the seafront with a pink beach chair under her arm, said she had been expecting City Hall to act. 'Copacabana is a neighborhood for elderly people (… ). Nobody pays a very high property tax or absurd rents to have such a huge mess,' Silva said, slamming the noise and pollution on the beach. For Rebecca Thompson, 53, who hails from Wales and was again visiting Rio after a five-week trip last year, the frenzy is part of the charm. 'There's vibrancy, there's energy. For me, there's always been a strong sense of community and acceptance. I think it would be very sad if that were to go,' she said. Eléonore Hughes, The Associated Press
