Book Review: Orson and the World's Loudest Library by Laura Gehl

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Orson and the World's Loudest Library by Laura Gehl is about a boy named Orson and how the library is one of his favorite places to read. However, on a particular day, it's super noisy. NetGalley and Astra Publishing House approved my request to read this book, which I am extremely thankful about. They provided me with an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Orson and the World's Loudest Library for free in exchange for my honest review. I love that Laura Gehl used this book to teach a lesson that libraries are used for more than reading and research. They now are more of a community center that offers all sorts of activities including book clubs. The story was well written along with being beautifully illustrated. This children's book is geared towards kids between the ages of four and eight and grade levels of preschool through third grade. The expected publication date is April 15, 2025 and is thirty-two pages in length. Five out of five stars is what I rated Orson and the...
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Book Review: More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Scary Stories, #2) by Alvin Schwartz

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more scary stories to tell in the dark alvin schwartz
Since Halloween is right around the corner, I decided to reread a favorite book from my childhood . . . More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Scary Stories, #2), which is a collection of stories from folklore and retold by Alvin Schwartz.

I first read this book and the other two books in the trilogy, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Scary Stories, #1) and Scary Stories 3:  More Tales to Chill Your Bones (Scary Stories, #3), in middle school, and I had fond memories of them. I also remember being terribly spooked after reading them, especially by the grotesque illustrations. If memory serves correctly, our teachers weren't thrilled with students reading them.

My favorite stories in this edition are Something Was Wrong and The Wreck. I also enjoyed A Ghost in the Mirror. These were the spookiest of the stories. The latter story made a friend and I try to summon "Bloody Mary", and we completely freaked ourselves out. So, this was a great read for nostalgia reasons.

With that being said, I was terribly disappointed in More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark because it wasn't nearly as good, or as spooky, as I remembered. But, I am an adult now, and I'm not really the target audience for this book. It would likely scare its target audience of kids between the ages of eight years and twelve years because I do remember being creeped out by it when I read it in middle school.

The adult in me gives this book three out of five stars. My middle school self would have likely have given it five out of five stars.

 

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