Book Review: Mouse House

Mouse House by Rumer Godden

Mouse House
by Rumer Godden, Adrienne Adams (Illustrations)

4 out of 5 stars

Mary received a little toy Mouse House with toy mice to play with. But she is disappointed that they are not real mice. They just sit there. They don’t run and scamper like a real mouse would do. Meanwhile in the basement, a family of mice are cramped in their flowerpot home. There are so many children that they can’t all fit! Bonnie, the littlest mouse, goes searching for a new place to sleep. She explores the upstairs and discovers the Mouse House. Bonnie falls asleep in the toy bed, but in the morning, Mary discovers her!

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Book Review: The Secrets of Hartwood Hall

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall
by Katie Lumsden (Goodreads Author)

3 out of 5 stars

Margaret takes a job as governess at the mysterious Hartwood Hall estate. She is perplexed by the strange atmosphere at the Hall, but enjoys teaching her young student, Louis Eversham, an intelligent and sweet little boy. Mrs. Eversham seems like a kind employer, but there are rumors in the village that the house is haunted and that Mrs. Eversham made a deal with the devil. Margaret is too wise to listen to foolish gossip, but she has seen some strange things at Hartwood Hall; figures in the dark woods, a lighted candle in the abandoned section of the house, a warm cup of tea left in the summer house where no one has been. Margaret expresses her fears to Paul, the gardener, and the two begin a forbidden romance. Paul assures her that Hartwood Hall is safe, but Margaret has her doubts. Could there be something suspicious going on at Hartwood Hall?

(Content Warnings for Profanity, Violence, Sexual Content)

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Book Review: The Rogue Crew

The Rogue Crew by Brian Jacques

The Rogue Crew (Redwall, #22)
by Brian Jacques, Sean Rubin (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

In this last book of the Redwall series, a nasty crew of vermin pirates are heading for Redwall to plunder and kill. The hares of Salamandastron have seen the pirates traveling up the coast and are in pursuit, hoping to intercept them before they can reach Redwall. They call on the Rogue Crew of sea otters from the North Coast to help them in their mission.

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Book Review: Maybe You Should Give Up

Maybe You Should Give Up by Byron  Morrison

Maybe You Should Give Up: 7 Ways to Get Out of Your Own Way and Take Control of Your Life
by Byron Morrison (Goodreads Author)

4.5 of 5 stars

What is stopping you from having the life you truly want? Maybe it’s time to give up on fear and doubt, and actually live your life! This book teaches you to stop reacting, and control how you respond instead. You will learn how to overcome the inner obstacles that are stopping you from achieving your dreams.
The chapters include giving up on being reactive, giving up on fear, giving up on short-term thinking, giving up on comparing yourself to others, and giving up on being so hard on yourself.

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Book Review: Summer Brain Quest Series

Summer Brain Quest Series

by Workman Publishing

5 out of 5 stars

These books have colorful activity pages for children to review their knowledge before going into the next grade. It comes with a summer progress map, where you can use the enclosed stickers to mark your progress when you complete a page or activity. There are bonus questions and extra outside activities that will earn you special achievement stickers too! Once the book is complete, you get an award certificate.

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Series Review: Brain Quest Workbook Series

Brain Quest Workbook Series

by Workman Publishing

5 out of 5 stars

These books have colorful activity pages for children to review their knowledge of spelling, reading, math, and science. Once the book is complete, you get an award certificate. There is a whole page of fun stickers that you can place on the progress poster to keep track of when you finish each chapter!

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Picture Book Review: Norton and the Borrowing Bear

Norton and the Borrowing Bear by Gabriel Evans

Norton and the Borrowing Bear
by Gabriel Evans (Goodreads Author)

5 of 5 stars

Norton has a new neighbor, Bear. They become friends, and Bear asks to borrow a few items… and then a few more items. He borrows Norton’s fuzzy slippers, his teapot, his yoga mat, and even his favorite chair! Norton is too polite to tell Bear that he is getting stressed with all this borrowing. But finally Norton snaps, and yells at Bear for being so inconsiderate. Bear feels guilty for borrowing too many things, and asks to borrow one last thing… Norton himself, for some friend time together.

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Picture Book Review: Cat’s Seasons

Cat's Seasons by Airlie Anderson

Cat’s Seasons (Child’s Play Library)
by Airlie Anderson

5 of 5 stars

Cat and her kittens go through the seasons, absorbing the colors of each change in the weather. In the summer, they turn yellow as the warm sun. In the fall they jump in a pile of leaves, and the kittens turn every color of orange, red, and brown. In the winter, the kittens are blue with the cold. In the spring, they have green fur with pink flowery blossoms on their backs. A storm turns them grey as the clouds, until a rainbow appears and they are every color!

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Picture Book Review: The Fearless Little Farm Boy

The Fearless Little Farm Boy by Astrid Lindgren

The Fearless Little Farm Boy
by Astrid Lindgren, Marit Tornqvist (Illustrator), Polly Lawson (Translator)

5 of 5 stars

Goran the bull has decided to be angry and snort and charge at the farmer. He will not calm down. He roars and stalks around in the barnyard. The farmer cannot get into the barn to milk the cows. The situation goes on for hours, until the entire village has come to see the wild bull. While they are discussing how best to deal with Goran, a little boy sweetly calls to the bull. Goran stops to listen to the boy’s whispering voice. He meekly walks over and allows himself to be petted. The tiny boy holds onto the big bull’s nose ring, and gently leads him into the stall in the barn. The village are all astonished, and the boy gets a reward for his courage.

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Picture Book Review: Happy

Happy by Mies van Hout

Happy
by Mies van Hout

5 of 5 stars

Each page of this book features a fish who embodies an emotion. There are startled fish, bored fish, angry fish, delighted fish, and jealous fish. Each one is drawn in a different color, with very expressive body language and facial expressions. The curious fish is drawn with yellow scales with wide eyes. The nervous fish has wavy lines and a wobbly frown. The amazed fish is bright orange with a mouth wide open in astonishment! The sad fish is a deep blue with sleepy eyes and drooping fins. The furious fish is shouting in vibrant red and purple. Whether proud, loving, or confused, these fish reflect strong emotions!

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