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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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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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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