Book Review: Moth in a Fancy Cardigan

Moth in a Fancy Cardigan by Charlotte Lance

Moth in a Fancy Cardigan
by Charlotte Lance, David Booth

4 out of 5 stars

Gary is a gray moth. His family are all gray moths. They wear gray clothing. They live in a gray house. They blend into the background. Gary is used to people overlooking him. He wishes he could be more like the colorful butterflies at his school. They are flashy and fancy with their glittering cardigans. Everyone notices the butterflies.

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Book Review: Nick and Tesla and the High Voltage Danger Lab

Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Danger Lab by Bob Pflugfelder

Nick and Tesla’s High-Voltage Danger Lab: A Mystery with Electromagnets, Burglar Alarms, and Other Gadgets You Can Build Yourself (Nick and Tesla, #1)
by Bob Pflugfelder, Steve Hockensmith (Goodreads Author)

4 out of 5 stars

Nick and Tesla are twins staying with their scientist uncle for the summer. Their parents are supposedly traveling in a remote area of the Middle East to experiment with crop irrigation, but Nick and Tesla begin to suspect that something else is going on. A black SUV has been following them around, and there is something strange going on at the old mansion in their neighborhood. Thankfully Nick and Tesla enjoy inventing and experimenting with gadgets, so they use their creativity to find a solution to almost any problem.

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Book Review: The Magician’s Elephant

The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

The Magician’s Elephant
by Kate DiCamillo (Goodreads Author), Yoko Tanaka (Illustrator)

3 out of 5 stars

Peter asks a fortune teller if his sister is still alive somewhere and how he can find her. They were separated when they were orphans, and now Peter is searching for her. The fortune teller tells him to follow the elephant and he will his sister. A magician is conjuring up a bouquet of lilies when an elephant mysteriously appears instead of the flowers. The strange appearance of the elephant sets events in motion that lead Peter to his family.

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Book Review: Elf Dog and Owl Head

Elf Dog and Owl Head by M.T. Anderson

Elf Dog and Owl Head
by M.T. Anderson, Junyi Wu (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Clay is tired of being stuck at home during the pandemic, tired of online school, and tired of being trapped in the house with his annoying family. He goes out exploring the woods behind his home and he encounters an elf-hound who has gotten separated from the elven hunt. The elves have all gone back underground to their magic kingdom, and Elphinore is left alone in the world aboveground. The elf-dog leads Clay along secret paths in the woods that lead to magic places, where Clay sees a community of owl-head people. Clay is dealing with mysterious lands and dangerous magical folk and is bound to get into serious trouble, but Elphinore will always be by his side to protect him.

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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: 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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