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The Girl in the Tower by Lisa Schroeder (2016)

3/22/2017

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By Piranha T.

The Girl in the Tower begins with the evil witch Bogdona having enchanted the entire kingdom to think she is their queen. But she still is not content, and will never be happy until she possesses great beauty. So Bogdana begins to collect the two rare ingredients for the only known spell: a hummingbird’s feather and a dark hair from a girl with lavender eyes between the age of 11 and 12. To this end, she traps Violet—a young baby with lavender eyes and dark hair—and Violet’s mother in a tower so that, when Violet comes of age, the false queen can become beautiful.

Almost eleven years later Violet is still trapped in the tower, going outside only into a hidden garden, where she and the hummingbirds the witch has also gathered for the spell become great friends. But then Bogdana takes Violet to the castle to become a princess, at the same time banishing Violet’s mother, and Violet is left in new territory with no friends. However, with the help of a young servant named Harry, she discovers Bogdana is an evil witch—a fact that Bogdana has kept a secret from everyone—and that Violet herself must defeat the witch so the kingdom can go to its rightful rulers and beauty will never belong to the false queen.

I liked The Girl in the Tower because it was a sweet story with likable characters and adventure. Violet was a great main character, being quite brave and kind. It also had a nice happy ending, which I always enjoy. I recommend The Girl in the Tower to readers ages seven and up, because although evil, Bogdana was not very terrifying.

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Chomp     By Carl Hiaasen (2012)

3/8/2017

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By Radical Reader
Guest Contributor

This book is about an animal wrangler named Mickey Cray and his son, Wahoo. They are hired to work on a TV show. But Mickey doesn't get along with the star of the show. This causes problems they need to work out as the story goes on.

I liked this book because it had an amazing story. I'd recommend this book to ages 7 and up because there are some scary parts

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Annie Pitts, Artichoke  By Diane deGroat (1992)

3/6/2017

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By Piranha T.

Annie Pitts dreams of being a famous actress, so when her class puts on a nutrition play, she decides she will be the star. But on a class trip to the grocery store, Annie launches a dead fish at her arch-nemesis and classmate, Matthew, and because of this she gets the least appetizing role in the whole play—the artichoke. Despite this, she still hopes to make a marvelous debut—and when the play does come around, people pay more attention to her then she would have hoped—or imagined.
​
I discovered Annie Pitts, Artichoke while doing advance research for a recent (and great!) interview with author & illustrator Diane deGroat. Previously, I had been familiar with her writing from her picture books about Gilbert the opossum (when I was younger!) Annie Pitts, Artichoke was for slightly younger readers than we typically are reviewing on this blog at present, but I still found it – and deGroat’s two subsequent books about Annie – quite amusing. (Other titles in the series are Annie Pitts, Swamp Monster and Annie Pitts, Burger Kid.) I recommend Annie Pitts, Artichoke to readers aged 7-9.
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Raymie Nightingale By Kate DiCamillo (2016)

3/5/2017

1 Comment

 
By Radical Reader, age 9
Guest Contributor

The story is about a girl named Raymie whose father left her family.
She makes a plan to enter a pageant so her dad will see her in the paper and want to come home. Along the way she makes friends with two girls, one who wants to enter the pageant and one who wants to sabotage it.

I liked this book because it was really sweet. It did have some sad
parts too. It all worked out in the end but not in the way you might think. I loved this book, I would recommend it to anybody looking for a sweet story.
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The Series of Unfortunate Events #9 The Carnivorous Carnival By Lemony Snicket (2002)

3/4/2017

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By Radical Reader, Age 9, Massachusetts
Guest Writer

In this book of the series the Baudelaire children face mortal peril (again) at the hand of Count Olaf. They dress themselves up in disguises to fit in at the house of freaks in a carnival. They make some interesting friends along the way. But they're not safe yet. They still have to make sure they don't get eaten by hungry lions!

I liked this book because it had an amazing adventure. It's a little scary but in the end it leaves you wanting to read more. I recommend this book to ages 8 and up only because it's slightly scary.
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    Book Reviews By & For Kids

    Everyone knows that Rapunzel spent her early years locked up in a tower. We’d like to think she read plenty of books to while away the time, and that she’d appreciate our own favorites.

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