Steampunk Sunday: Her Majesty's Explorer, a steampunk bedtime story by Emilie Bush

Today will mark a departure for the blog as I will be reviewing a children's book for the first time!  And before the review, I want to thank Kevin D Steil at Airship Ambassador for bringing Emilie and me together; THANKS KEVIN!  :)

Emilie P Bush is the author of two previous novels, Chenda and the Airship Brofman and its follow up, The Gospel According to Verdu.  She is also the publisher behind Coal City Steam.

Emilie saw the absence of steampunk children's books as an untapped opportunity and has come up with a story that is sweet and dreamy-a perfect bedtime story and a great introduction for children to steampunk.

This IS a children's book after all, so the cog and gear elements are kid friendly but steampunk nonetheless and this gentle get-ready-for-bedtime story also boasts lovely illustrations by William Kevin Petty that turn children's books standbys like duckies, teddy bears and other cuddly animals into mechanical friends ready for dreamland!

HER MAJESTY'S EXPLORER...is a very cute book that reminded me of the books that were read to me as a child and I had a couple of "Aww..." moments as I walked down memory lane reliving those older books and characters, which I hadn't done for quite a while.  And this book is also a two-for-one package with the inclusion of a poem, "Three Cheers For Steampunk", that I loved because I am also a closet rubber duckie collector!  I am anxiously awaiting the Steamduck bedtime plush buddy, which I'm sure is coming soon!

If you have little ones that love to be read to before bedtime or are starting to read books on their own, or if your child is looking for some cuteness that is cog and gear rather than fur and feather, then HER MAJESTY'S EXPLORER: A STEAMPUNK BEDTIME STORY would make a great addition to your children's book collection.  A HUGE congratulations to both Emilie Bush and William Kevin Petty on their achievement here and I hope the adventures of St. John Murphy Alexander continue!

HER MAJESTY'S EXPLORER...comes out February 28!  For more info:
Her Majesty's Explorer on Amazon
Her Majesty's Explorer Launch Party on Facebook
Coal City Steam


(This is 1/6 books read for the Steampunk Reading Challenge 2012 hosted by Dark Faerie Tales )

Steampunk Sunday: Miscellany

Just some things I came across while perusing the internet this week, enjoy:

The Steampunk Scholar has updated his Top Ten Steampunk Books here and as always, it's a must read list for anyone interested in the genre...

The Airship Ambassador has a three part interview with Nick Valentino, author of Thomas Riley and Engine 316 upon his website...

I just saw this as well but it's from November 2010; at the Whitechapel forum, the brilliant Warren Ellis challenged people to come up with theater posters depicting films about a steampunked version of Batman.  There were alot of great entries...check them out!

Also, here is the transcript from the weekly SteampunkChat from May 20, 2011 where the topic was Wild West Steampunk; tune in every Friday to the #SteampunkChat on Twitter (6pm PST/9pm EST).

Good reading! 



Miscellany

Sorry for not posting for awhile; the dayjob and family functions have kept me from both posting and reading.  But things have settled down a little, so I'm trying to get back on track.

Also, with my 40th birthday fast approaching, I've been spring cleaning and organizing my "mental closets"; trying to jettison anything that keeps me from things I have to attend to.  I also decided to rename the blog and it is now going to be called "Benito Corral Reviews..." but it will still adhere to the mission statement I set forth for "Betwixt" in what I read and review here.

I also have plans to start a new feature here, "Steampunk Sundays" where I will post reviews of the steampunk books I'm reading and related items.  Keep in mind I am a complete newcomer to the genre but I am very taken with it and am diving into a reading list I've compiled based on devouring Steampunk Scholar's blog, SteampunkChat and recommendations from Airship Ambassador.  Hopefully this will be a weekly feature and I'm looking forward to lots of good reading!