Letters in Charcoal
by Irene Vasco, Juan Palomino (Illustrator)
A young girl grows up in a poor village in Colombia. There is only one person in the entire village who knows how to read, and this girl barters with them to learn the alphabet. She studies to learn to read, so that she can read letters that arrive for her family. She makes alphabet letters from charcoal or chalk, deciphering their meaning and sharing her knowledge with the other children in the village.
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Tree Whispers (The Child’s Play Library)
by Mandy Ross, Juliana Oakley (Illustrator)
This book of poems offers a refreshing look at trees and how much they contribute to our world. There are beautiful poems about the rings of a tree, the roots of a tree, and different rare types of trees like the joshua tree or baobab tree. There is a poem about forest bathing and another about birds’ nests. There are poems for oak trees, jacarandas, willows, sycamores, and fruit trees.
There is also an emphasis on protecting the trees that provide homes for so many animal species.
Merlina and the Magical Mishap
by Daniela Drescher
Merlina and her friend Igor the Dragon are preparing for the pumpkin harvest. They have already made apple and pear jams, and the next item will be the pumpkins for pies and breads. While picking pumpkins, Igor gets a sharp thorn in his foot claw. He cries for help, asking Merlina to use her magic to disappear the thorn. Merlina casts a spell, but it goes wrong, changing the thorn to a toadstool that grows out of Igor’s toe! The next spell Merlina casts accidentally changes the toadstool into a large green leaf! Can Merlina find a solution for getting the thorn/toadstool/leaf off her friend’s toe?
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The Little Mermaid
by Hans Christian Andersen (Original Author),Ashly Lovett (Author / Illustrator)
5 out of 5 stars
The Little Mermaid awaits the day when she will be old enough to swim to the surface and observe the world above the sea. Her older siblings are each allowed to see the surface when they reach their 18th birthday, and finally it is her turn. She rescues a prince from drowning, but he never knows that she was the one who saved his life. She makes a deal with the sea witch to exchange her voice for a potion that will give her human legs, but each time she takes a step she feels as though she is stepping on broken glass.
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Welsh Monsters & Mythical Beasts: A Guide to the Legendary Creatures from Celtic-Welsh Myth and Legend
by C.C.J.Ellis (Goodreads Author)
If you ever wondered about the mystic legends of Welsh monsters and faeries, you will learn all about them in this book! There are separate sections for types of dragons, strange beasts, elves and faeries, and ghostly spirits. Some of the legends are similar to ones everyone across the world is familiar with, such as dragons or griffins, but some are uniquely Welsh like Cath Palug (Palug’s Cat). Some creatures are benevolent like the Bwbachod (House Faeries), some are merely mischievous like the Llamhigyn y Dwr (Water Leaper frog), but others are dangerous and deadly like the Gwyllgi (Twilight Dog).
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The Count of Monte Cristo
by Alexandre Dumas
Edmond Dantes is wrongfully imprisoned when he is betrayed by three men. Fernand, his rival for the beautiful Mercedes, denounces Dantes to the government as a Bonapartist spy. Danglar, his rival for the promotion on board their ship, pens the letter to the local police and delivers it with evidence of secret letters in Dantes’ possession. And the judge, Villefort, suppresses the true evidence and denies Dantes a fair trial. Years later, Dantes escapes prison and begins to plot his revenge.
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Book Buddies: Dazzle Makes a Wish
by Cynthia Lord,Stephanie Graegin (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator)
5 out of 5 stars
Dazzle the Unicorn has always wished for a home of his own, a place to belong with a family. However, he is a library toy, and different children check out toys from the library every week. He doesn’t really belong to anyone. But when Dazzle visits Maya’s house, he discovers that maybe he belongs to a special family after all.
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Shermy and Shake, the Not-So-Nice Neighbor
by Kirby Larson (Goodreads Author),Shinji Fujioka (Illustrator)
3 out of 5 stars
Shermy is not happy when a disruptive neighbor moves in. Shake is self-centered and rude. He’s not a bully or purposefully mean, but he just doesn’t realize how his actions affect others. Shermy likes to have things orderly and quiet, but Shake is loud and chaotic. Can these two find some common ground and become friends?
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This collection of short stories combines some of my favorite Agatha Christie characters; Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and Parker Pyne. There are also stories from Tommy and Tuppence, Harley Quin, and Inspector Evans.
I enjoyed some of these, especially the Poirot stories, but others fell flat. I do not usually enjoy Tommy and Tuppence because they annoy me, and their mysteries in this collection were very obvious. However, some of the other stories were incredibly clever and interesting!
Following Prince Caspian: Further Encounters with the Lion of Narnia
by Thomas Williams (Goodreads Author)
Do you ever feel like you are lost, longing for something more meaningful? So did Prince Caspian. He ran away from the Telmarine culture that was so dangerous to him, and plunged headlong into adventure with the Narnians so that he could find a more meaningful life with Aslan. The Chronicles of Narnia invites us to consider spiritual truths that lead us to a closer relationship with God. This little book draws parallels between Caspian’s story and our own spiritual journeys.
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Luminous Libro 