Book Review: The Ring of Five

The Ring of Five by Eoin McNamee

The Ring of Five
by Eoin McNamee

3 out of 5 stars

Danny ends up at Wilsons Academy, a school for spies in another Lower World. They work to stop an army of Cherbs from invading the Upper World of humans. Danny makes friends among the spy cadets of the academy. Les is a thief with wings. Dixie can teleport anywhere she can see her way through. And Vandra has special healing powers. Together they learn all the skills they need to spy on the evil Ring of Five who control the Cherb army, but the most essential skill for any spy is the art of betrayal.

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Book Review: The Talisman

The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott Bart

The Talisman
by Sir Walter Scott

5 out of 5 stars

King Richard the Lionheart is on a Crusade to the Holy Land when he falls ill with a fever. A month-long truce is called between the armies, and Richard’s European allies use the time to plot against him. A poor Scottish knight, Sir Kenneth, goes on a short pilgrimage to visit the holy hermit of a nearby mountain range with secret messages from the European council to Saladin, the leader of the Muslim army. On the way Sir Kenneth meets a lone Arabian warrior, and after a brief skirmish, they agree to travel together as worthy opponents. Sir Kenneth arrives at the hermitage and sees a strange and holy sight that changes the destiny of his life.

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Book Review: The School for Good and Evil

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil, #1)
by Soman Chainani (Goodreads Author),Iacopo Bruno (Illustrator)

3 out of 5 stars

Sophie and Agatha are kidnapped and taken to the School for Good and Evil where villains and princesses are trained to follow their own fairy tales. Beautiful Sophie is put in the school for evil to train as a witch, and brooding Agatha is placed in the school for good to become a princess. At first, the girls think they must have been mistakenly placed in the wrong schools, but they gradually realize that the magic can see into their innermost hearts. The girls refuse to conform to the school’s training, insisting that good and evil can be friends, but are they right? Can Sophie and Agatha continue to be friends when everything in the fairy tale world is pushing them apart?

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Book Review: DragonLight

DragonLight by Donita K. Paul

DragonLight (DragonKeeper Chronicles, #5)
by Donita K. Paul

Kale and Bardon are excited to join their friends Regidor and Gilda on a quest to search for the lost meech dragon colony in the North. But they are dismayed to hear reports of a religious faction perverting the truth of God and forcing people to adhere to rigid rules, stealing their property, and infiltrating the government. When they are attacked by small black dragons, they know something deeper is happening, and an old legend might be awakening. As they continue to search for the meech dragon colony, they hope to find answers to these mysteries that will help to defeat their enemies.

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Book Review: Hide and Seek History: The Vikings

Hide and Seek History by Harriet Evans

Hide and Seek History: The Vikings: With More Than 80 Flaps!
by Harriet Evans (Author), Chaaya Prabhat (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

In this book we learn about the unique culture of the ancient Vikings. We learn how far they travelled to trade with other countries, how their government functioned, their roles in everyday life, and their famous prowess in battle. There are sections about religious rites, legendary Norse gods, their weapons and combat strategies, and their social structure.

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Book Review: How Do Hurricanes Have an Eye?

How Do Hurricanes Have an Eye? by Lisa Spencer

How Do Hurricanes Have an Eye?: A Book About Natural Disasters
by Lisa Spencer, Srimalie Bassani (illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

This book examines all different types of natural disasters, including hurricanes, tsunamis, tornados, earthquakes, floods, and drought. We learn how these disasters start and how they are named and rated in scales that measure their destructive forces.

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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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