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Dealing with the aftermath of an accidental shooting, Donny Bailey Seagraves’  Gone From These Woods is a meditation on grief, anger and loss.  11-year-old Daniel has a troubled relationship with his alcoholic father so he finds companionship and a father-figure in his fun-loving uncle Clay.  When Clay gives Daniel his grandfather’s .410 rifle and proposes rabbit hunting, Daniel has mixed feelings: he wants to spend time with Clay but he has a secret aversion to hunting and killing.  With a rabbit in his sights, Daniel is unable to take his shot; but in the moment after the rabbit runs, Daniel’s life is shattered when Uncle Clay goes down.Read More →

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If B.B.W. weren’t the toughest, fiercest wolf on the block, he’d be a pirate sailing the 7 seas, living a life of fun, adventure and causing trouble!  Which is why his pick this week for a fun book & puppet combo is Margaret Mahy’s The Horrendous Hullabaloo and the Scarlett Macaw puppet.  When Peregrine the Pirate isn’t out at sea, he loves to attend pirate parties and he has fun, fun, fun! The Three P’s like this story too since Peregrine’s Aunt and his parrot, who aren’t invited to the pirate parties, decide to have a party of their own. When all the parrot’s friendsRead More →

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At the start of their junior year at Georgia O’Keefe School for the Arts (aka Fashion High), Chloe, Mackenzie, Isabel and Erika are best friends. But over the couse of the year their friendship is seriously tested as each girl faces a variety of personal challenges and has to make hard choices about who she is, what she wants, and what’s important to her.    The story is told through Chloe’s illustrated journal as she looks back over a year that has altered the rules of their friendships and their social standing at school. Trying to make sense of everything that’s happened, the story chronicles the trust,Read More →

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“Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away!” – Oh, The Places You’ll Go! Dr. Seuss’s Oh, The Places You’ll Go! 2010 College Scholarship Program for high school seniors. Essay Question:  Dr. Seuss’s Oh, The Places You’ll Go! delivers an important message about the chances and the troubles that life presents.  Thinking about the book, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!, what kinds of opportunities and challenges do you think your education will present in the future? 1st Place Winner will receive $5,000 to put towards a college of their choice. Applicants must be 12th grade high school students graduatingRead More →

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In: Supernatural & Horror (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
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Andromeda Kleinis a misfit.  Stringy hair, boy body, oily skin, brittle bones and faulty hearing are just the start. Socially awkward, shy, sarcastic, and uncomfortable in crowds, Andromeda Klein finds solice in the intricacies and minutiae of Renaissance magic, occultism and Tarot and the quiet halls of her deserted local library branch (“the International House of Bookcakes”).  She has no real friends at school and is the subject of frequent teasing and bullying, no boyfriend to speak of and little hope of attracting one, and a dad who is bi-polar and a mom obsessed with online role play.  Andromeda Klein’s only real friend and partnerRead More →

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The four 12-year-olds who are enrolled in the summer program at the highly secretive, highly selective School of Fear have got some real issues:Madeline lives in abject terror of spiders and bugs; Theo is petrified by the thought of either himself or anyone in his family dying; Lulu’s claustrophobia overwhelms her and everyone around her; and sports star Garrison breaks out into an uncontrollable sweat at the thought of coming in contact with water.  Their parents, at wits end, all seek help from the School of Fear, reputed to be able to cure the most overwhelming, life debilitating fears in its students. Maddie, Theo, LuluRead More →

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Pat Lowery Collins’ The Fattening Hut is a lyrical novel, told in vivid and eloquent free verse, that hauntingly explores the ramifications of a ceremonial rite of passage in a tropical island culture. Our narrator, a smart, imaginative and free-spirited girl named Helen, is in her father’s fattening hut.  The fattening hut is where all early-teen girls of the tribe go to put on a lot of weight in preparation for their arranged marriages.  Helen prefers her own way to live – exploring the island with her childhood friend, being free to run and play and explore – and she doesn’t believe she’s ready to be marriedRead More →

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This week the Three P’s recommend Jane & The Magician as a great story about a brave knight, Jane, and her Dragon, who go on a quest through the kingdom to find the Missing Magician.  The Magician has been up to some mischief, making a terrible storm, full of lightning & thunder and gallons & gallons of rain.  His great storm is flooding the kingdom, and it’s up to Jane and her dragon to convince the Magician to make things right. BBW recommends this awesome new dragon puppet from Folkmanis as a perfect accompaniment to this great adventure story.  Who doesn’t love the teeth on this guy?Read More →