Mailbox Monday: Kickstarter Goodies

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. It's a fun focus on what books and book-related items you're getting in the mail each week. I always love to get mail (especially when it's literature), but since I'm stuck at home with a virus right now (yuck!), getting packages in the mail has been a highlight for me. So, what did I get, you ask? Well, I don't know how many of you have heard of Kickstarter, but it's an awesome site where you can back all sorts of projects people are working on around the world.  And I mean all sorts of projects. Anyway, I've supported a few book projects in the last few months, and my books from those campaigns are arriving! Here are the goods, in the order they arrived (unless mentioned otherwise, pictures taken from links given below):

Ladies of Literature: Volume 2

Curated and edited by Arielle Jovellanos and Janet Sung

ladiesofliterature.tumblr.com

Over a hundred artists joined together to make art based on their favorite female characters from books, and the result is breathtaking! Page after page of amazing female characters rendered in various, original art styles--and in the back, there's a description of the character and why they were chosen by the author. I just want to hang these pictures up all over the place (I might have to buy another copy just for that) and read every book in which these characters show up!

The Last Fairy Tale

Written by E.S. Lowell

Goodreads page

inkanddustpublishing.com

"Olivia Wickworth lives in Orphanage Nine, a refuge for the genetically-modified children living in the final days of a dying Earth. In what could be our near future, mankind has completed the widespread implementation of cellular computing - but with devastating unforeseen consequences. Just when all hope seems lost, Olivia enters Aeldyn, a land created thousands of years ago when man exiled magical creatures from Earth. Although Aeldyn seems like the world of Olivia’s dreams, it is not without its own darkness. There is evil in the land that threatens to corrupt Aeldyn just as Earth has been corrupted, and Olivia is the only one who can stop it. On her quest to defeat this evil, Olivia forges friendships, meets fantastic creatures, and rediscovers the lost art of magic. But can she save both Aeldyn and what is left of mankind?" That description is from the inside cover. I haven't read this one yet, but the characters and little pictures intrigue me. Also, look at how they sent it to me, all wrapped-up and wax-sealed with a little notebook, bookmark, and bracelet!:

Ellen and the Winter Wolves

Written by Jamin Still

jaminstill.com

May is here, and Winter is still in full swing where Ellen lives. Her father is a trader who travels by boat and hasn't been able to come home in the cold and ice. Ellen knows something is wrong. Following directions from a mysterious voice in her dreams and the howling of some distant wolves, she sets off on a quest to make things right. The artwork in this book is beautiful, and the Winter Wolves are chilling! Gabe loves Ellen's story and can't stop talking about those Wolves and Ellen's trek through the snow. This is a picture book, but the story is a bit long for the number of pictures, so I'd probably recommend it for a slightly older child. Gabe is three, and I had to bring him back a few times making the same sounds as the wolves and things like that. But it was well worth it! A beautiful, unexpected treasure. I hope to see more from this author.

I hope you all enjoyed this glimpse into my mailbox! There's only a week and a half before Christmas, so hopefully I'll get more fun things this week!