books

Book Review: The Thirteenth Child

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Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede

Thirteenth Child (Frontier Magic, #1)
by  Patricia C. Wrede (Goodreads Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars

Eff is a twin and the thirteenth child in her family. Her twin brother, Lan, is supposed to have great good luck and magical power because he is the seventh son and their father is also a seventh son, making Lan a double-seventh son, a powerful combination in magical numerology. But the thirteenth child is supposed to be a curse and full of bad luck and evil tendencies. Eff is discriminated against by the magical community, but her family and her twin brother stick up for her. When the family moves to the very edge of the frontier in the American West, Lan and Eff will face challenges and their magic will be tested to the utmost.

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Book Review: Learn to Draw Manga

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Learn to Draw Manga by Kritzelpixel

Learn to Draw Manga: A Fun and Easy How-to Draw Guide for All Ages
by Kritzel pixel

5 out of 5 stars

This book includes chapters on drawing faces, bodies, and how to use references for your drawing, as well as a chapter about the principles of manga story-telling. The introduction gives practical advice about setting up, including what types of pencils or markers to use, what kind of paper to use or how to draw digitally. There are lots of warm-up exercises to train your motor skills, as well as basic form studies.

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Book Review: The Princess in Black and the Kitty Catastrophe

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The Princess in Black and the Kitty Catastrophe by Shannon Hale

The Princess in Black and the Kitty Catastrophe
by  Shannon Hale (Goodreads Author), Dean Hale, LeUyen Pham (illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Duchess Wigtower is fed up with her new kitten. It claws and scratches and destroys everything in sight. The Duchess leaves the kitten at the doorstep of Princess Magnolia, and the princess tries to make the kitten comfortable and happy. Princess Magnolia must disguise herself as the Princess in Black to battle against an evil monster who is threatening the goats. While she is away, the kitten gets bored and starts scratching at the wallpaper and clawing the pillows and tearing the curtains. Can the princess discover why the kitten and monster are both behaving so badly, and find a way to stop them?

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Picture Book Review: Mr. Fox’s Game of NO!

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Mr. Fox's Game of No! by David LaRochelle

Mr. Fox’s Game of No!
by  David LaRochelle (Goodreads Author), Mike Wohnoutka (Goodreads Author) (illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Mr. Fox has a game to play with the reader. Whenever he asks a question, you must say NO! No matter what it is, you have to say NO. Even if he offers you a big ice cream sundae, you have to say NO! Even if he invites you to a beach party with baby dolphins, you have to say NO.
Are you stronger than a baby? Do you like pizza? Do you live on planet Earth? NO!
Hopefully you can make it to the end of the book, without saying yes to any questions.

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Picture Book Review: Red Rover, Red Rover, Send a Vowel Over (Familius)

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Red Rover, Red Rover, Send a Vowel Over by Kimberlee Gard

Red Rover, Red Rover, Send a Vowel Over: A Picture Book about Vowel Sounds (Language Is Fun)
by Kimberlee Gard (Goodreads Author), Sandie Sonke (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

The vowels are nervous to join in the alphabet games on the playground. They know they are different from the consonants and they don’t want to be teased. But Y encourages the vowels to join in and celebrate their differences. After all, consonants can’t make any words without a vowel to help!

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Book Review: Jackaby

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Jackaby by William Ritter

Jackaby (Jackaby, #1)
by William Ritter (Goodreads Author)

5 out of 5 stars

Abigail Rook comes to a new city looking for adventure and finds a job as an assistant to free-lance detective Jackaby. Jackaby has a rare gift as a seer. He can see magical residue and detect magical creatures that are otherwise invisible. He tries to assist the police in a murder investigation, but the police chief doesn’t believe in supernatural nonsense. Miss Rook tags along in the investigation, and she is intrigued by a young policeman named Charlie. The case becomes more and more dangerous until it is evident that they are tracking a serial killer with magical abilities of some kind.

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Book Review: Climbing the Stairs

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Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman

Climbing the Stairs
by Padma Venkatraman (Goodreads Author)

2.5 out of 5 stars


Vidya is 15 years old during WWII, and she worries that her family will arrange a marriage for her before she can finish school or go to college like she dreams. All around her, the world is in turmoil as British-occupied India fights on all sides, not only against Germany and Japan, but against the racism and political unrest in their own country. Vidya learns that not all British are racist, but also that the Indian people can be racist against their own people in the caste system.

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Book Review: The House of a Thousand Candles

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The House of a Thousand Candles by Meredith Nicholson

The House of a Thousand Candles
by Meredith Nicholson

4 out of 5 stars

If he wants to inherit his grandfather’s estate, John Glenarm must stay at a country house in Indiana for at least a year without leaving. His grandfather did not approve of his grandson’s wandering ways, so he devised this clause in the will to force his grandson to put down some roots. On his first night in the country house, John is shot at through the open window of the dining room. This begins an adventure that includes espionage, fugitives, hidden treasure, and a family secret that will change John’s entire life. In the middle of all the mystery is Marian Devereux, who will inherit the entire estate if John fails to stay in the country for the entire year.

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Book Review: The Songs of Jesus

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The Songs of Jesus by Timothy J. Keller

The Songs of Jesus: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms
by Timothy J. Keller, Kathy Keller

4.75 stars out of 5 stars

This devotional book gives you a small portion of the psalms to read each day, so that you can read the entire books of Psalms in one year. Each psalm includes a prayer that you can pray and a few paragraphs explaining something about the psalm and connecting it to the New Testament.

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Book Review: The Hermit of Far End

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The Hermit of Far End by Margaret Pedler

The Hermit of Far End
by Margaret Pedler

5 out of 5 stars

Sara is left alone when her adopted uncle dies, but she befriends his cousin, Elizabeth, and her son, Tim. Tim promptly falls in love with Sara, but she feels only friendship for him. So she goes away to make her own way in life in a small seaside town where she rents rooms in the household of the local doctor. She learns that there is a wealthy man, Garth Trent, living in a big house on the cliffs who lives the life of a hermit, never entering into the social events of the neighborhood.

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