Book Review: The Royal Box

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The Royal Box by Frances Parkinson Keyes

The Royal Box
by Frances Parkinson Keyes

3 out of 5 stars

A group of people are invited to the theater to welcome the new American Ambassador and his wife. They are able to secure the Royal Box and have refreshments with the principal actors between acts. Lady Laura Whitford and her daughter are escorted by an attaché with the American Embassy and a French count who are both interested in Lady Laura’s daughter. The Ambassador from a Middle Eastern country tries to take the American Ambassador aside to talk about oil deals and political unrest in his country. The Ambassador’s wife embarrasses herself with her crass manners and drinking. At the end of the night, one of them is dead and everyone is a suspect.

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Book Review: A Wish in the Dark

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A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

A Wish in the Dark
by Christina Soontornvat (Goodreads Author)

5 out of 5 stars

Pong was born in prison, and he escapes with a tattoo that marks him as a criminal. A kindly monk takes him and covers the mark with bracelets. Each bracelet represents a blessing. Pong hides in plain sight, joining the monks in their prayers and charitable deeds.
Nok, the daughter of the prison warden, is determined to prove herself by tracking down the escaped prisoner and bringing him to justice. However, she begins to realize that justice and the law might not always agree.

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Book Review: The Pie That Molly Grew

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The Pie That Molly Grew by Sue Heavenrich

The Pie That Molly Grew
by Sue Heavenrich

5 out of 5 stars

Molly plants a seed in the ground and it grows into a pumpkin vine. After many months, she has a ripe pumpkin to turn into pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving! At the back of the book, there are instructions and a recipe to make pumpkin pie from scratch. There is also information about pumpkins and how they flower and grow.

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Christmas Books from Nosy Crow

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Tis the Season by Richard Jones

Tis the Season: A Lift-the-Flap Advent Calendar Full of Christmas Poems
by Richard Jones (illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

This advent calendar book has a lift-the-flap surprise illustration for each day until Christmas as well as a poem to read each day. The poems are lovely selections from poets like Thomas Hardy, Christina Rossetti, Ogden Nash, and James Pierpont, as well as several that are the lyrics to traditional Christmas songs like Deck the Halls and Here We Come A-Wassailing.

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Picture Book Review: How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? (English and Spanish)

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¿Cómo baja Papá Noel por la chimenea? (Somos8) by Mac Barnett

¿Cómo baja Papá Noel por la chimenea? (Somos8) (Spanish Edition)
by Mac Barnett

5 out of 5 stars

Tal vez Papá Noel se encoge hasta quedar muy pequeño para poder pasar por la chimenea. Pero ¿se queda atascado alguna vez? ¿Se ensucia todo el traje con el hollín? Tal vez pueda aplanarse para deslizarse por debajo de la puerta. ¿Y qué pasa con los perros en las casas? Tal vez Papá Noel lleve golosinas para perros, para que no ladren. ¿Usa gafas de visión nocturna para ver a su alrededor en la oscuridad? Sea como sea, ¡estamos contentos de que Papá Noel venga en Navidad!

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Christmas Books from Candlewick

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Bunnies in a Sleigh by Philip Ardagh

Bunnies in a Sleigh: A Crazy Christmas Story! (Sunny Town Bunnies)
by Philip Ardagh, Ben Mantle (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

A group of bunnies descend on the North Pole, causing mayhem in Santa’s workshop. They tag along in the sleigh on Christmas Eve, helping Santa to deliver presents, making messes, and getting up to all kinds of wild shenanigans. They drink the milk and eat the cookies set out for Santa. They narrowly miss crashing the sleigh. They watch a movie in someone’s house, eat the Christmas candy, get soot all over the carpet, and climb the Christmas trees. These bunnies are crazy, but eventually all the presents have been delivered. Santa and the bunnies go back to the North Pole for a well-deserved snack.

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Christmas Books from Familius

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12 Little Elves Visit Georgia by Trish Madson

12 Little Elves Visit Georgia: A Christmas Counting Picture Book
by Trish Madson, Sadie Han (illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

Santa sends twelve little elves to Georgia to check if the kids are sleeping on Christmas Eve, but the elves get distracted exploring the Peach State. They visit the Georgia Aquarium, Anna Ruby Falls, and Jekyll Island. They put strings of twinkle lights on the state tree, the live oak, and they listen to the state bird, the brown thrasher, singing. The elves float on a raft down the Chattahoochee River, and see alligators at the Okefenokee Swamp. And of course, they have to sample the famous Georgia peaches!

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Picture Book Review: The Christmas Elephant

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The Christmas Elephant by Maria Antonia

The Christmas Elephant: a Nativity Story
by Maria Antonia (Goodreads Author), Laura Zarrin (Goodreads Author) (illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Ellie loves to dress up in her elephant costume, but she is disappointed that there weren’t any elephants at Bethlehem. Ellie’s big sister Piper insists that Ellie will have to change into a sheep costume if she wants to go on stage for the Christmas nativity play, but Ellie tries to sneak on stage with her elephant costume. She insists that elephants never forget, and she wants to be an elephant in the play. When the prop for Baby Jesus is misplaced, it’s up to Ellie to remember where it is and save the day!

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Book Review: Skyriders – The Sky King

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The Sky King by Polly Holyoke

The Sky King (Skyriders)
by Polly Holyoke (Goodreads Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars
In this second book, Kie is grieving for the losses her nation suffered during the chimerae war of the previous book. She has terrible nightmares of the people she saw killed in the war, and her greatest fear is that she will again be placed in a position to relay more orders that send skysteeds and their riders to their deaths in battle. When she is asked to accompany the prince on a diplomatic mission to the wild skysteeds, Kie is hopeful that they will be able to convince the king of the wild skysteeds to help them defend their land against the chimerae. However, Kie’s skysteed N’Rah disagrees with her. For the first time, they have a serious disagreement and they have to learn to navigate their delicate relationship in a new way.

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Book Review: Skyriders

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Skyriders by Polly Holyoke

Skyriders
by Polly Holyoke (Goodreads Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars

In a land where human riders can communicate telepathically with their pegasus steeds, one man has made a special study of how the ancient peoples fought off a scourge of monsters called chimerae. When the chimerae return, he entrusts a book full of his research to his niece, Kie. She and her stysteed, N’Rah, must take the book to the capital city and somehow convince the emperor to use these ancient battle techniques. Kie has been practicing using special weapons that her uncle taught her about, and she is hoping to demonstrate how effective they are against the monsters.

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