Book Review: Games Wizards Play

Games Wizards Play by Diane Duane

Games Wizards Play (Young Wizards, #10)
by Diane Duane 

4 out of 5 stars

Kit and Nita are invited to be mentors to a young wizard presenting a new spell design at the Wizards Invitational Competition. But their mentee, Penn, is a flamboyant jerk and they find it difficult to be patient with him.
Dairine is mentoring a shy Indian wizard, Mehrnaz, who has a brilliant design for a spell to stop earthquakes, but Mehrnaz has very low self-esteem due to her overbearing family. Dairine encourages her to have self-confidence, but Dairine is distracted with her own problems trying to locate her missing friend, Roshaun.

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Picture Books from Tiger Tales

Don't Do It, Doug! by Maudie Powell-Tuck

Don’t Do It, Doug!
by Maudie Powell-Tuck, Duncan Beedie (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Doug is a mischievous hamster with poor impulse control… actually, no impulse control. He pushes the big red button. He pulls the lever with warnings on it. He shakes up a can of soda until it fizzes everywhere. He makes himself sick eating too many donuts. He pokes a beehive and gets stung. He yells to start the avalanche. He puts a pot of beans on his head. Dude. A pot of beans?

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Picture Books from Beaming Books

Attack Bunnies by Laura Gehl

Attack Bunnies
by Laura Gehl (Goodreads Author), Julia Patton (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

When a sneaky fox named Reynard moves into the forest neighborhood, the Attack Bunnies know just how to deal with him. They know he is after Mrs. Quail’s eggs, so they attack him with kind words and baked goods. It turns out that Reynard just needs some friends and a delicious picnic, and maybe an “attack” hug at the end of the day.

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Book Review: The Big Book of Pi

The Big Book of Pi by Jean-Baptiste Aubin

The Big Book of Pi: The Famous Number You Can Never Know
by Jean-Baptiste Aubin

3 out of 5 stars

This book takes a fun look at the math behind Pi and the history of mathematicians who first discovered the many decimal points of this amazing number! It’s explained in a simple way for children to understand, and written with a lot of cute jokes and witty anecdotes to keep readers engaged.

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Book Review: Trial and Error

Trial and Error by Robin    Newman

Trial and Error (Sawyer, the Critter Lawyer)
by Robin Newman (Goodreads Author)

5 out of 5 stars

A plucky ant named Sawyer starts up her own lawyer’s office, and takes cases from animals who are having legal trouble. A snail gets a speeding ticket for doing 100mph in a 5mph zone. A chicken gets a ticket for jaywalking after waiting three hours for the light to change. A hog is having trouble with his living arrangements with his brother. Two squirrels start fighting over who has the first claim to a big acorn. It’s up to Sawyer to find a solution either through mediation outside of court or by presenting evidence and testimony in court before Judge Wise Owl. Sawyer does her research, gathers the facts, and studies the laws to help each of her clients.

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Activity Book: Where’s Waldo Amazing Journeys

Where's Waldo? Amazing Journeys by Martin Handford

Where’s Waldo? Amazing Journeys: The Ultimate Maze Adventure!
by Martin Handford

5 out of 5 stars

In this activity book, you have to follow the mazes avoiding obstacles along the way, and find Waldo and his friends, and search for a checklist of items hidden in each scene. Waldo gets lost in mazes at the airport, the museum, the art gallery, the movie set, the chateau garden, underground caves, the candy factory, and even in outer space! Waldo finishes up his journey with a maze on the disco dance floor!

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Book Review: The Highly Sensitive Person

The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine N. Aron

The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You
by Elaine N. Aron

3 out of 5 stars

This book explores the personality trait of being highly sensitive and all the strengths and weaknesses that come with that trait. First, the book explains what high sensitivity actually is and what it isn’t, and then gives advice on how to navigate this unique ability.

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Book Review: The Death of a Maven

The Death of a Maven by Kathryn  Johnson

The Death of a Maven (The Haunted Farmhouse Mysteries, #1)
by Kathryn Johnson 

3 out of 5 stars

Verity’s friends gather at her farmhouse to comfort her on the anniversary of her husband’s death. When one of them is found dead the next day, the cops say suicide, but Verity thinks it must be murder. Verity and her friends begin to look into the victim’s death, determined to find some proof that she didn’t kill herself. The victim’s family asks Verity to help go through the deceased’s possessions and Verity begins reading the old journals that could contain the secret to her death. Verity discovers that her old farmhouse is also home to two ghosts who are unable to move on after hundreds of years. They watch over Verity and the dairy farm and eagerly join in the investigation.

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Book Review: The Mystery of the Yellow Hands

The Mystery of the Yellow Hands by Jake Thoene

The Mystery of the Yellow Hands (The Baker Street Mysteries)
by Jake Thoene, Luke Thoene

2.5 out of 5 stars

Sherlock Holmes hires Danny, Peachy, and Duff as the Baker Street Brigade to help track down a gang of kidnappers. The boys can’t seem to find any clues, but they keep looking around the docks and warehouses on the banks of the Thames. They befriend a policeman’s daughter, Clair Avery, and when she is also kidnapped, the boys are more desperate than ever to solve the case.

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Book Review: The Seeing Stone (Arthur #1)

The Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley-Holland

The Seeing Stone
by Kevin Crossley-Holland

1 out of 5 stars

Merlin gives a seeing stone to thirteen-year-old Arthur de Caldicot, and he sees a vision of young Arthur Pendragon pulling the sword from the stone and becoming king. As Arthur from 1199 watches the visions of King Arthur from hundreds of years before, he begins to realize that events in his own life are mirroring those of his previous self. And Merlin is there to guide and advise them both.

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