Looking for a really good children's picture book? One that children themselves will actually enjoy? Check out Looking for a Moose by Phyllis Root. It's rhythmic text and use of onomatopoeia (sound words) make this book a pleasure to read aloud as well as listen to. A group of children want to see a real moose, "a long-leggy moose- a branchy-antler, dinner-diving, bulgy-nose moose". They search through woods, swamp, bushes, and hillside. They get a little discouraged, but don't give up. Their efforts are rewarded in the end. Look sharp during their search, though. Some moose just don't want to be found until they're ready! Illustrator Randy Cecil has craftily hidden some moose (mooses?) throughout the book. A fun story, terrific oil illustrations!
The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages. Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...
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