Who didn’t like Aven Green, the armless main character from The Insignificant Life of a Cactus? Author Dusti Bowling has created an Aven Green early chapter book series (Union Square Kids) featuring the loveable spunky girl in third grade. Just as the teenaged Aven, her eight-year-old counterpart is self-confident, determined, and out-spoken. Even though she

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Fairy Tale Comics, edited by Chris Duffy (First Second, 2013) collects a variety of drawing styles and author’s voices into this anthology of 17 different favorite fairy tales. Most of the tales are retellings that young children will be familiar with. A few are more unfamiliar, coming from traditions other than the Brothers Grimm. This

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Two years ago, I wrote about how much I enjoyed the first of the Precious Ramotswe Mysteries, a new series by Alexander McCall-Smith sharing the childhood mysteries featuring Precious Ramotswe, the future Ladies’ Detective. I enjoyed the second and third in the series as well. Simple mysteries give the young children reading a chance to feel

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