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Showing posts from May, 2020

MIDDLE GRADE NARRATIVE NONFICTION : Into the Clouds by Tod Olson

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INTO THE CLOUDS The Race to Climb the World's Most Dangerous Mountain by Todd Olson Scholastic FOCUS, 2020 ISBN: 9781338207361 Source: ARC from Blue Slip Media Ages 9-14 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK A tale of survival and brotherhood atop one of the deadliest mountains on Earth. This fast-paced, three-part narrative takes readers on three expeditions over 15 years to K2, one of the deadliest mountains on Earth. Roped together, these teams of men face perilously high altitudes and battering storms in hopes of reaching the summit. As each expedition sets out, they carve new paths along icy slopes and unforgiving rock, creating camps on ledges so narrow they fear turning over in their sleep. But disaster strikes -- in 1939, four men never make it down the mountain. Fourteen years later, a man develops blood clots in his legs at 25,000 feet, leaving his team with no safe path off the mountain. Into the Clouds tells the stories of the men whose que...

MIDDLE GRADE REALISTIC FICTION : The Disaster Days by Rebecca Behrens

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THE DISASTER DAYS by Rebecca Behrens Sourcebooks Young Readers, 2019 ISBN: 978-1-4926-7331-6 Source: purchased Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Hannah Steele loves living on Pelling, a tiny island near Seattle. It's a little disconnected from the outside world, but she's always felt completely safe there. Which is why when she's asked one day to babysit after school, she thinks it's no big deal. Zoe and Oscar are her next-door neighbors, and Hannah just took a babysitting class that she's pretty sure makes her an expert. She isn't even worried that she left her inhaler at home. Then the shaking begins. The terrifying earthquake only lasts four minutes but it changes everything, damaging the house, knocking out the power, and making cell service nonexistent. Even worse, the ferry and the bridge connecting the kids to help―and their parents―are both blocked. Which means they're stranded and alone... With Hannah in ...

GRAPHIC NOVEL FICTION REVIEWS : Investigators by John Patrick Green & HILO: All the Pieces Fit by Judd Winick

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INV ESTIGATO RS by John Patrick Green First Second, 2020 ISBN: 9781250219954 Source: purchased Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK MANGO and BRASH are the INVESTIGATORS: sewer-loving agents of S.U.I.T.* and scourge of supervillains everywhere! With their Very Exciting Spy Technology and their tried-and-true, toilet-based travel techniques, the InvestiGators are undercover and on the case! And on their first mission together, they have not one but two mysteries to solve! Can Mango and Brash uncover the clues, crack their cases, and corral the crooks—or will the criminals wriggle out of their grasp? *Special Undercover Investigation Teams REVIEW In this amusing tale of mystery and mayhem, two alligators investigate the disappearance of a famous chef.  In the process they stumble across another crime involving the theft of a mysterious device called the Thingamabob.  Using secret passages through toilets and mustache disguises, Mango and Brash ...

MIDDLE GRADE REALISTIC FICTION : Don't Check Out This Book! by Kate Klise

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DO N' T CHECK OUT THIS BOOK! by Kate Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise Algonquin Young Readers, 2020 ISBN: 9781616209766 Source: purchased A ges 9-12 All opinions expressed are s olely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Is the sweet town of Appleton ripe for scandal? Consider the facts: Appleton Elementary School has a new librarian named Rita B. Danjerous. (Say it fast.) Principal Noah Memree barely remembers hiring her. Ten-year-old Reid Durr is staying up way too late reading a book from Ms. Danjerous's controversial "green dot" collection. The new school board president has mandated a student dress code that includes white gloves and bow ties available only at her shop. Sound strange? Fret not. Appleton's fifth-grade sleuths are following the money, embracing the punny, and determined to the get to the funniest, most rotten core of their town's juiciest scandal. Don't miss this seedy saga from the creators of the award-winning Thre...

MIDDLE GRADE FANTASY FICTION : Fire in the Star by Kamilla Benko

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FIRE IN THE STAR The Unicorn Quest #3 by Kamilla Benko Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2020 ISBN: 9781681192499 Source: publisher for review (Thanks!) Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK After a lifetime of being the younger sister--of letting Sophie fight her battles, of following her on countless Experiences and through a fireplace into a magical land--it's finally Claire Martinson's turn to lead. And she'll do anything to keep her big sister safe: resist the wraiths' cold shadows, experiment with new and dangerous magic, become a thief in disguise. When Claire discovers that "only a queen can defeat a queen," she knows she must steal and reforge the ancient Crown of Arden to stand a chance against the darkness that threatens the world and her family. Because Queen Estelle d'Astora, desperate to reclaim her power, will stop at nothing to gain the support of the four guilds--even if it means kill...