children’s book

Book Review: The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good

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The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good by Kirsty Applebaum

The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good
by Kirsty Applebaum (Goodreads Author)

3 out of 5 stars

When Fran goes to visit her aunt and uncle, she discovers that they can’t remember their own daughter, Fran’s cousin Imogen. Imogen has completely disappeared without a trace, and no one remembers her but Fran. There is a mystery surrounding the hidden garden behind the estate, and Fran begins to investigate. Imogen’s diary says that she went to the garden on the day of her disappearance. Fran recruits the girl next door, Bex, to help her find the hidden garden and find out what happened to Imogen.

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Book Review: Escape Room, Game Zero

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Escape Room by Christopher Edge

Escape Room: Game Zero
by Christopher Edge (Goodreads Author)

3 out of 5 stars

Eden is confused when she receives an invitation to join the escape room game online, but she has not been given a VR headset to join the game. She is surrounded by a strange murmuration of birds, and just finds herself inside the game. She meets Ted, who does have a headset, so he assumes that Eden must be an NPC since she doesn’t have one. Ted is on a mission to find three keys and unlock the world. Their first puzzle is in a massive forest where they must find a song. They move through various gates that lead them further and further into the game, where they are confronted with impossible puzzles that could lead to life-threatening danger or… escape.

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Book Review: Escape Room

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Escape Room by Christopher Edge

Escape Room
by Christopher Edge

4 out of 5 stars

Ami is excited to join the Escape Room game with the other kids assigned as her teammates. When they enter the game, they are told to find the Answer and save the world. Their first puzzle is in a dusty attic filled with antique technology. They move through various rooms, confronted with impossible puzzles in a massive library, a Mayan tomb, a derelict shopping mall, and a spaceship. In every room, there are mysterious clues that could lead to life-threatening danger or… escape.

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Book Review: Dungeon Runners: Fang Attack

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Dungeon Runners by Kieran Larwood

Dungeon Runners: Fang Attack (Volume 4)
by  Kieran Larwood (Goodreads Author), Joe Todd-Stanton (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

Kit is a half-gnome and half-dwarf, who has entered the Dungeon Runners league. His teammates are a sea hag and a vegan vampire. Kit is supposed to be the fighter in their group, but he keeps dropping his magic sword in training. Everyone laughs, thinking that this team is too small and too young to survive the dangerous competition. In this fourth book of the series, they travel to the vampire’s home island, where Kit’s friend Thorn is terrified that the other vampires will find out that he is vegan. Can they survive the puzzles and monsters of the dungeon, and avoid being eaten by a crowd of vampires?

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Book Review: Dungeon Runners: Ocean Chase

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Dungeon Runners by Kieran Larwood

Dungeon Runners: Ocean Chase (Volume 3)
by Kieran Larwood (Goodreads Author), Joe Todd-Stanton (illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

Kit is a half-gnome and half-dwarf, who has entered the Dungeon Runners league. His teammates are a sea hag and a vegan vampire. Kit is supposed to be the fighter in their group, but he keeps dropping his magic sword in training. Everyone laughs, thinking that this team is too small and too young to survive the dangerous competition. In this third book of the series, they go into an underwater dungeon, and Kit is very nervous because he can’t swim! But they find that some of the other dungeon runner teams are friendly, and they might have some unexpected allies.

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Book Review: Dungeon Runners: Sky Battles

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Dungeon Runners by Kieran Larwood

Dungeon Runners: Sky Battles (Dungeon Runners, #2)
by Kieran Larwood (Goodreads Author), Joe Todd-Stanton (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

Kit is a half-gnome and half-dwarf, who has entered the Dungeon Runners league. His teammates are a sea hag who can only do one spell, and a vegan vampire. Kit is supposed to be the fighter in their group, but he only has a useless wooden sword. Everyone laughs, thinking that this team is too small and too young to survive the dangerous competition, but Kit and his trusty friends discover that the Dungeon hides more surprises than anyone bargained for. In this second book of the series, they compete in their first real dungeon located high in the mountains, and they have to use some wily cleverness to make it through alive.

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Three Book Reviews from Nosy Crow

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Princess Minna by Kirsty Applebaum

Princess Minna: The Giant Beanstalk
by Kirsty Applebaum (Goodreads Author),Sahar Haghgoo (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Princess Minna is called to defend the town from a giant who keeps stealing noisy animals. Princess Minna follows the giant up the beanstalk and brings the animals back, but the giant just keeps stealing more noisy animals, looking for an animal that can sing beautifully. Princess Minna will have to be very clever and kind if she can find a solution and help the giant!

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Picture Book Review: The Book Machine

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The Book Machine by Laurie Duersch

The Book Machine: A Story About the Magic of Books
by Laurie Duersch (Goodreads Author), Susanna Covelli

5 out of 5 stars

A little boy doesn’t have enough books, even though he has whole stacks of books to read. So he builds a Book Machine to create new books. He puts together all kinds of doodads and thingamabobs into a big elaborate machine and waits for it to spit out some books. But the machine doesn’t work! He will have to rely on a very different kind of machine to have the imagination to create new stories!

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Book Review: America’s Founding Myths

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America's Founding Myths...And What REALLY Happened by Christy Mihaly

America’s Founding Myths…And What REALLY Happened
by Christy Mihaly (Goodreads Author), Marta Sevilla (Illustrator)

This book examines myths that some people believe about American history and tries to set the record straight. Unfortunately, it fails miserably.

The topics include the New World being discovered by Christopher Columbus, Pocahontas and John Smith, the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, Paul Revere’s ride, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and women and Native Americans and Black Americans fighting in the Revolutionary War.

This book has so many problems. The text is clearly trying to undermine American history and deconstruct American heritage. The author uses half-truths to reframe history and misrepresent what happened.

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Book Review: Dungeon Runners Level 1: Hero Trial

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Hero Trial by Kieran Larwood

Hero Trial (Dungeon Runners #1)
by Kieran Larwood (Goodreads Author), Joe Todd-Stanton (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

Kit is half-gnome and half-dwarf, making his whole family “gnorfs” – a small race of people in this magical land. In fact, only one gnorf in history has ever entered the dangerous Dungeon Runner games, but Kit is determined to put together a team and try to complete the trials so that he can compete. His teammates are a sea hag who can only do one spell, and a vegan vampire. Kit is supposed to be the fighter in their group, but he only has a useless wooden sword. Everyone laughs, thinking that this team is too small and too young to survive the dangerous competition, but Kit and his new friends discover that the Dungeon hides more surprises than anyone bargained for.

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