Hello!

I hope you’re able to make time to read as we slip into the final month of 2023.

Before getting into my reading list, I have some recommendations for you now that I’ve finished
the books from November’s list.

The Adventures of a South Pole Pig by Chris Kurtz.

Loved it! It was the most charming book I’ve read in a very long time.

Perfect for 8-10- or 11-year-olds.

One reviewer said, “Move over Wilbur and Babe, there’s a new pig in town.”

I totally agree.

The Animal Rescue Agency: Case File Little Claws by Eliot Schrefer.

For some reason, I didn’t expect to enjoy this, but I absolutely did.

It’s book one of a chapter-book series about a detective fox named Esquire and her chicken partner, Mr. Pepper.

“When an animal truly needs help, there’s only one place to turn: The Animal Rescue Agency.”

Perfect for 7-10- or 11-year-olds.

One Time by Sharon Creech.

A lovely story about imagination, words, friendship, and acceptance.

A perfect middle-grade story for 8–12-year-olds.

To Catch a Thief by Martha Brockenbrough.

A story about Amelia MacGuffin who is not a detective and has no self-confidence.

But she forces herself to solve Urchin Beach’s mystery of a missing staff which, if never found, may cause her family to lose everything, including a stray dog that the family has fallen in love with.

Perfect for 8–12-year-olds.

The Magic Words: Writing great books for children and young adults by Cheryl B. Klein.

If you want to write books, this is a must-read.

I’ve only read as far as the fourth chapter because it has so much good, actionable advice that I have to put it down, do the things, then pick it back up again.

I’ll continue to read it this month.

Here’s what else I’ll be reading.

Sisterhood of Sleuths by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman.

This book has Nancy Drew vibes.

I’m reading it for its caper plot.

The Last Enchantments by Charles Finch.

I got this book when I met some of my very dear friends in Davis, California, and we spent time in a wonderful used bookstore (Logos Books on 2nd St.).

This isn’t a children’s book.

But it’s important to read outside your writing genre…and, you know, all work and no play.

It takes place in Oxford in England.

That’s about the only hook I need sometimes.

I’ll probably read more, but I don’t want to over-promise and under-deliver.

Until next week,

~ Gail

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