Reviews written by Connie Reid, Site Manager

Zahru is low in status because of her magic. She is a “whisperer” to animals, which isn’t highly prized. Her friend, Hen, is on a path to glory with her ability so as a last hurrah they devise a plan to allow Zahru to sneak into the palace and...

What I Loved: The first third of the book was a humorous juxtaposition of famous fairytales and silly situations. Jack doesn’t want to go on quests or rescue princesses like everyone else he knows. Then the sky opens up and a girl wearing a Princess of Punk t-shirt literally falls...

What I Liked: This fifth book in the Graceling Realm series starts seven weeks after the events in Winterkeep, where we came to know a little about Queen Bitterblue’s half-sister, Hava. We know that Hava’s grace is the ability to blend into her surroundings and that came in handy growing...

What I Loved: This book was about dragons and the world after their arrival destroyed everything and how you find your new normal. In many ways, this was more relatable than dragon books usually are to our real lives. Replace dragons with pandemic and there are many similarities. Noah’s family...

What I Loved: This story takes place in mythical Orisha, but with the inspiration and roots in West Africa it feels very rich and established in culture. Zelie Adebola is a diviner forged in the injustices that her family has endured for having magic in her blood in a kingdom...

What I Liked: This is one sour grape that holds grudges against everyone. The grape used to be kind, considerate, and patient until no one came to the biggest birthday party ever. Those feelings turned him sour and with that barrier in place, no one has any space to be...

What I Liked: The talents are on the loose and that makes everything a bit more unpredictable with the Smedrys. Bastille is in a coma from her battle at Mokia and it is Alcatraz’s mission to infiltrate the Highbrary (Library of Congress) to find a cure for Bastille and stop...

What I Liked: The fun rhyming led to a very engaging fast-paced alphabet read perfect for fans that love sharing Chicka Chicka Boom Boom with their class or own young children. The illustrations enhanced the text with wild and fun ABC kids getting ready for bed. The text didn’t always...

This is a great book for fans of Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake. This is a silly counting book that young children will enjoy spotting the crocodile on every page. It isn’t very hard to spot but I can imagine the joy and giggles they will have when they successfully...

What I Liked: Fans of Roald Dahl and illustrator Quentin Blake will enjoy the alphabet set in Dahl’s imaginative style. I was impressed with the letter G which had “Great big Giant” that featured both sounds that G can make. Then I reached level K which was a bit disappointing...

What I Liked: Fans of Madeline will enjoy this ABC concept board book. The illustrations are delightful and the text is simple so that even the youngest of readers can sit and enjoy it. It gives a word for each letter of the alphabet. This fast pace works very well...

What I Liked: This simple story of a young child getting ready to go outside and play on a cooler day is a very relatable everyday activity. The hat keeps being taken off and the child is helped to put it back on. As a parent, this happened many times....

What I Liked: Teddy and his family are on vacation with JJ McCracken’s family and business team to visit a bison ranch close to Yellowstone National Park. This allows a fresh new scene for calamity with an animal twist to follow Teddy. One of the ranchers comes to Teddy about...

What worked: Pinkalicious fans will enjoy this latest book. It’s the season of giving and everyone in her class has exchanged names. I appreciate that Pinkalicious crafts something for her friend when she sees her friend has spilled a drink on her clothes at lunch. The illustrations are bright and...

What I Loved: This book is wonderful for the preschool or ELL crowd learning to put words to their feelings. The illustrations were simple but relatable. These would be so easy to act out or mimic the facial expressions as you are learning. Pre-K kids know the basic happy, mad,...