The Running Bibliophile

Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3)  by Heather Vogel Frederick  is the third book in a middle grade book series that is being rereleased. Chaos erupts in this third installment as the daughters in the book club get themselves into trouble. Each of the girls have big changes in their lives:  Jess is going to boarding school; Megan's grandmother comes to live with her; Emma starts a campaign against school uniforms; Cassidy has a lot of unexpected change coming to her family. Will the mother daughter book club stay together? I'd like to thank NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Dear Pen Pal  by Heather Vogel Frederick with it's upcoming rerelease to the public. I always love a good book that involves books, even if its target audience is children between the ages of eight and twelve. It wasn't until I reached the end of the book that I realized that it...

Book Review: There Are No Dragons In This Book by Donna Lambo-Weidner There Are No Dragons In This Book by Donna Lambo-Weidner is a children’s picture book that encourages young readers to carefully examine each page to make sure there truly are no dragons hiding within the story. The expected publication date is March 5, 2024. I’d like to thank NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review. Going into this book, I was curious about how the story would play with the idea of searching for dragons, especially since interactive picture books can be a lot of fun for kids. Unfortunately, I found myself a bit disappointed overall. The story didn’t fully hold my attention, and it’s not one I would personally reach for when choosing a book to read aloud to a child. The pacing and narrative just didn’t quite work for me, and I didn’t feel particularly drawn into the experience as a reader. One aspect that stood out to me in a negative way was...

We All Stir The Pot To End Hunger! by Misty Lee Coolidge with Bobbie Bensur is a thoughtful children’s picture book set inside a food pantry in an unnamed city. Through simple, relatable storytelling, the book shows how people from all walks of life come together to support their community, whether by donating food, volunteering their time, or helping in any way they can. The message is clear and hopeful: everyone has something to contribute, and even small actions can make a big difference in the fight against hunger. I was thrilled when I was approved by NetGalley and Paw Prints Publishing to receive a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Although it was originally expected to be published on November 15, We All Stir The Pot To End Hunger! was officially released on November 29, 2022, and it was well worth the wait. This children’s book is filled with meaningful life lessons presented in a way that is easy for young readers to understand and connect with....

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2) by J.K. Rowling opens with Harry Potter stuck at the Dursleys’ house for the summer, where he is once again treated terribly and made to feel unwanted. Things take a strange turn when Harry receives an unexpected visitor: Dobby, a house-elf who dramatically warns him not to return to Hogwarts because terrible things will happen if he does. Of course, Harry ignores the warning and heads back to school, where everything quickly begins to unravel. Mishap after mishap follows, and before long students at Hogwarts start mysteriously being turned to stone, sending fear and suspicion through the school. Although Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was published in 1998, just after my nineteenth birthday, I don’t remember hearing much about it, or even the first book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, at the time. I vaguely recall kids and teens talking about how good the books were, but that was about it.  It wasn’t unt...

Whenever I shop at BJ’s Wholesale Club, I always make a point to stop by the book section. I can usually find something I’ve been wanting to read at a great discount compared to other stores. This time, though, I was disappointed to see the selection had shrunk from two tables down to just one. That said, I did have a nostalgic moment when I spotted The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn. I first discovered her books in middle school and quickly fell in love with her storytelling, so seeing one of her titles on the table felt like a blast from the past. Naturally, I had to pick it up. While I’m not exactly the target audience for this book, I’d still give it four out of five stars. I was able to predict the outcome fairly early on, but that didn’t take away too much from the experience. The story reminded me a bit of The Doll in the Garden: A Ghost Story , though it didn’t quite reach the same level of creepiness or suspense. Even so, it was well written ...