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18 STEAM Books with Crafts & Experiments
When my library re-opened after the COVID shutdown, we looked for ways to provide programming for kids without having too many people together in the same area. We started providing Grab-and-Go kits for families – simple crafts and science experiments with most of the materials needed to complete the project.…
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Top Ten Tuesday: Sibling Relationships In Middle Grade
As the oldest of four, this was an extra special Top Ten Tuesday topic this week. My siblings and I are pretty close even though we live spread out across the country. Today, I wanted to create a book list of titles in middle grade that show a variety of…
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9 Crafty Characters in Middle Grade Books
At our library, we’ve found that our middle school students (grades 5-8) really enjoy the opportunity to craft for fun. It’s not tied to a school project or even a specific product. We pull out a bunch of the craft supplies we have lying around and let the kids craft,…
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Cats & Dogs Picture Books
It’s the age-old question,”What do you like more cats or dogs?” Well, with today’s book lists (that’s right two!), you don’t have to choose! Whether you love those sweet, but saucy little cats or the lovable and energetic dogs, you’ll find everything you’re looking for right here with these cats…
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Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Defied My Expectations
All of these middle grade books surprised me in the best way possible! They are all books that defied my expectations when I read them, in that I liked them more than I expected to. Many on the list lean toward the fantasy and science fiction genres. Both genres, which…
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12 Best Books for Teacher Gifts
Celebrate the special people who make a huge impact on their students with these 12 best books for teacher gifts. As a child of two educators myself, I know the hard work and dedication it takes to be a good teacher and it’s not for the faint of heart, that’s…
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Top Ten Tuesday: Water
I’ve been doing Top Ten Tuesday for years and this is probably one of my most favorite topics ever! I love being around water – I’m not even picky, a creek, river, pond, lake, ocean, I’ll take whatever I can get! Water really grounds me and destresses me in a…
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12 Best Books for Graduation
Yes, this post should have gone live way back in May or even April, but since I didn’t get anything together at that point, I thought I’d still try and post something that can be a helpful gift guide for the next graduation season. It’s probably not surprising that books…
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18 Middle Grade Books Featuring Cats
I’m going to start with a statement that might seem a little sacrilege as a librarian – I am much more a dog person than a cat person. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy cats and will always give pets to any of my friends’ cats, but personally,…
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Top Ten Tuesday: Middle Grade Inspired by Folk & Fairy Tales
With a genre freebie this week, it took me a minute to figure out which direction I wanted to go in. I’ve recently created lists based on some of my favorite genres – historical fiction and mysteries. So I wanted to give you something different. And while fantasy and science…
