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Popular Books
book cover That's Not My Dinosaur
by: Fiona Watt
ISBN: 9780746041918

book cover Goodnight moon
by: Margaret Wise Brown
ISBN: 9780060275044

book cover 101 Bible Stories for Toddlers
by: Carolyn Larsen
ISBN: 9781869209278

book cover That's Not My Donkey
by: Fiona Watt
ISBN: 9781409523048

book cover You’re my little Cookie Monster
Book Reviews
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Frida Kahlo And Her Animalitos
by Monica Brown
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It's wonderfully illustrated, but not much of a biography. I'm not keen on biographies that make statements about the subject's interior life, or on books about artists that never show examples of the artists work. (Or in general, on books that compare women to animals, even though I get it's meant to be a positive bridge.)

Georgia O'keeffe
by Mike Venezia
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Not amazing, but a solid simple biography. I appreciate that he does minimal imagining of thoughts and feelings and has excellent examples of her work.

Order Of The Majestic
by Matt Myklusch
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There's nothing exactly wrong with it, just wasn't thrilled either. Another white boy savior of the world fantasy with backup characters from 19th century vaguely 'exotic' localities and spellings. Somehow extraordinary long but also very rushed feeling. I do like the introduction of possible interplay between science and magic, wish that'd been more than a last nod. (If you know the cultural refs-Star Wars, Harry Potter, the MCU, you're going to know exactly what's going to happen blow by blow for the ending.)

The Okay Witch
by Emma Steinkellner
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I thought it was awfully cute. The pace is a little off, sometimes slow and sometimes galloping, but overall it's charming with a nice message of being yourself with a dash of reclaiming and acknowledging the brokenness of the past. The mayor's heel turn from basically one panel to the next was sudden, I mean, closure is good, but still could have used a bit more there. (I also kind of wish there'd be some kind of acknowledgement of the role of patriarchy in the prosecution of witches beyond the obvious of it being male descendants, but yeah...)

Smash! Exploring the Mysteries of the Universe with the Large Hadron Collider
by Sara Latta
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Graphic format is good for this, but I think given how slim the story framework was I think a straight up comic with more visuals on the concepts and not bothering with the comic book inspiration parts might have worked better. (Also should I worry that I don't really get subatomic physics even when it's in a comic format and aimed at teens?)

Lucky Stars Mr. Wolf's Class #3
by Aron Nels Steinke
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I'll have to chat with younger readers when I can, missing the appeal on this one. (And the whole mouths being in the wrong place drove me nuts to the point of interrupting the flow of the story.)

Facts Vs. Opinions Vs. Robots
by Michael Rex
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I loved this book. It manages to be engaging while teaching the differences between facts and opinons. And tests and repeats the information without getting didactic. So even if it doesn't sink in right away, at least they're vaguely familiar concepts now. *Plus, he shows the whole sometimes we need to wait for additional information to make the call if something is fact or opinion.

Dragons And Marshmallows Zoey And Sassafras
by Asia Citro
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Very cute. I enjoyed the fact that it uses magical creatures to teach science. Yay for a good example of changing one variable at a time. I always have trouble convincing kids on that one in my programs! I also liked addressing the anxiety of her mom being away for the first time and the worries of sudden responsibilities. Even if touched on lightly, this seemed pretty honest about feeling different types of worry, and a little bit on thinking about what you can control is a nice touch. (And even if it wasn't subtle, did stick in what something wants to eat vs what it SHOULD eat, I'd have gone for the marshmallows too.)

The Clever Boy and the Terrible, Dangerous Animal
by Idries Shah
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Based on a Sufi folktale, a silly version of the don't be scared of something just because it's unfamiliar. Messagey, but silly and colorful, and that's always a good message to emphasize.

Out Of This World The Surreal Art Of Leonora Carrington
by Michelle Markel
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It drives me nuts when artist biographies don't show any works by the artist. I feel like the biography aspect of this was well written, but just again, the art and lack thereof. The illustrations were lovely and held true to the surrealist aspect, but still. And stylistically they owe more to Peter Max than Leonora Carrington...
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