The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

3 stars A little bit cottagecore. A little bit romance. Plenty of magic. When introverted librarian Kiela is forced to flee the Great Library of Alyssium due to violent political upheaval, she sets out with Caz, a sentient spider plant, and a few crates of spellbooks to travel to her childhood home on an outer…

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Quiet Karima by Nidhi Chanani

3 stars “Without silence, there’s no music.” A sweet story celebrating sound and silence. Follow Karima as she goes about her day, taking in the sounds of the world. Though everyone calls her Quiet Karima, that is not all she is. Being quiet allows her to hear the music all around her and to create…

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Emilio Sloth’s Modern Manners by Renée Ahdieh

Illustrated by Alea Marley 3 stars A cute picture book that celebrates friendship, taking your time, and minding your manners. Follow Emilio Sloth on his journey to meet a friend for teatime. Along the way, he greets old friends and makes new ones, always polite and mindful of being on time. Goes through some polite…

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My New Life as a Cat Vol. 4 by Konomi Wagata

Translated by Molly Rabbitt 3 stars More humorous adventures with Nyao, the human-turned-cat, and his temporary human caretaker, Chika. In this volume, Nyao theorizes that if he does enough good deeds, he might regain his human form. Thus, he goes about town doing his best to help others. Features adorable cat adventures such as finding…

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Wildfire Rescue (Disaster Squad #1) by Rekha S. Rajan

Illustrated by Courtney Lovett 3 stars A fun read overall. Honestly, the setup was a little weird to me. A journalist and a doctor drive around the country in their RV with their two young children and their dog helping out with various natural disasters. It seemed odd that Jaden and Leela would go along…

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Bella Ballerina by Sharon M. Draper

Illustrated by Ebony Glenn 3 stars A cute, rhyming picture book following a young ballerina’s first recital. Gorgeous illustrations with lovely movement. I love that the dancers include both girls and boys with different skin tones and hair textures. At the back there is a glossary of the terms used in the book including different…

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The Trouble with Teachers (Angela Anaconda #1) by Barbara Calamari

3 stars I absolutely loved this show as a kid. I had no idea there were novelizations. This book adapts the episodes “You’re So Vain” and “The Substitute”. In the first, Angela Anaconda gets some unexpected attention after her poetry assignment is misinterpreted. Then Angela finds inspiration for her rainforest project with a substitute teacher…

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The Owl House: Hex-cellent Tales from The Boiling Isles

Adapted by Steve Behling 3 stars A TV adaptation that retells the episodes “I Was a Teenage Abomination” and “Adventures in the Elements”. Follow Luz as she encounters Hexside School and learns her first two spells. Nicely written. It was fun to revisit the characters in these pivotal episodes of The Owl House. Includes black-and-white…

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