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THE SNOW THEATER

As this Japanese import opens, the two companions argue over the butterfly book they’re admiring. As they tussle, a page tears, and the friend skis home. The boy worriedly repairs the book (one of his father’s treasured possessions), then skis off himself, seeking to quell his discomfort. Negotiating a steep downhill trail, the boy overlooks […]

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THE LOVE AUDIT

Jasmine Morgan has gotten to where she is as a PR strategist because she’s good at her job, and, up until now, there’s been no sign of that changing. However, when she’s given a project involving the revitalization of a small Florida town, it’s made clear that she has competition in the form of her […]

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LOVE FINDS A WAY

Oscar, a bespectacled, round-bodied, long-legged bird with cartoonishly big eyes, is desperate to keep love away. He feels it coming on, so he makes preparations, putting up “No trespassing” signage and donning protective armor and camouflage. Finally, he gets a ferocious guard dog—a fuzzy little brown pup named Brutus. Brow furrowed, Brutus barks, growls, and […]

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VALENTINES ARE THE WORST!

Gilbert, a bald, mint-green goblin, is far too busy for Valentine’s Day. From bird-watching to goat yoga, his schedule is full. Besides, “Valentine’s Day is all about love and flowers and all that other mushy malarkey”—Gilbert doesn’t need it! He isn’t interested in those heart-shaped boxes of candy with their gross coconut surprises, and he’s […]

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SAVING THE WHALE

Addressing, like the other volumes in this series, “mission-ready” younger readers, Eason surveys threats ranging from modern whaling to climate change, abandoned fishing nets, and plastics pollution. She supplements an overview of conservation-related careers with vignettes featuring children who describe personal actions such as small-scale beach cleanups. Messy page design impedes the presentation; a jumble […]

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HANGING OUT WITH GRAM

Today, Mateo plans to spend the day with Gram, and what a day it will be! The youngster’s to-do list includes going to the park and the beach—“things that are exactly right for my sweet old Gram.” Looking fit in her red overalls and sporting dark hair with just a streak of gray, spry Gram […]

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FIELD GUIDE TO FALLING ILL

In this dynamic essay collection and winner of the Yale Nonfiction Book Prize, Gleason straddles the boundaries between being a clinical worker as well as a patient as he examines the interactions between modern health care and the biological vulnerabilities of the human body. For children, as evidenced in the opening piece “Inheritance,” illness and, […]

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OUT OF THE LOOP

Amie Teller has been stuck on the same Sept. 17th for two years: Waking up every morning to the same coffee shop that’s always out of blueberry bagels; witnessing the same argument between her friend David Lenski and their notoriously unpleasant neighbor, Savannah Harlow; surviving the same awkward “friend date” with her ex-girlfriend Ziya Mathur, […]

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THE SCIENCE OF SECOND CHANCES

There are any number of reasons why people prefer pat formulas—get tough on offenders, keep an eye out for broken windows—over science when addressing crime. Science is hard. Yet nonscientific outcomes are, as social scientists say, suboptimal. In the vein of Freakonomics, Doleac turns to scientific method to test a number hypotheses, arguing, “I…see a […]

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THE NATURE OF SHADOW

Lia arrives at Anhame, a crafthall for honing anar—the craft of people with “higher senses.” Lia is a fifth-level anar, meaning she has healing abilities. She can also see others’ inner soulforms, which represent people’s true nature (some take the shapes of animals). That alone puts her on the same level as Anhame’s masters, but […]