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March is National Reading Month

ByMichael Thal

  March is National Reading Month and it’s up to moms and dads to instill a love of reading in their children. To encourage them to improve their reading skills and develop a fondness for books it’s strongly suggested you set some time aside a few times a week for family reading time. This means…

Summer Camp
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Summer Camp

ByMichael Thal

  In just a few months your sons and daughters will be off from school for the summer. Plan ahead and think about summer camp. What is the best way to go –sleep away or day camp? And how do you pick the best camp for your child? If this is your child’s first camping…

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Pop’s 6 Favorite Books of 2018

ByMichael Thal

In 2018 Pop read and reviewed 36 young adult novels. All of the books received 5 pops because they were thought provoking, imaginative, and the author’s writing style exemplary. Below you’ll find seven of his favorites plus his award-winning novel, Koolura and the Mayans. Title: Koolura and the Mayans   Author: Michael Thal Awards: 2018 eLit…

Print books vs e-books
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Print books vs e-books

ByMichael Thal

What are the differences between electronic books and print books? For starters electronic books, or e-books require a device like the Kindle, Nook, or iPad. A Kindle can cost from $80-$350 while a Nook could run from $139-$269. iPads are a bit more costly from $94-$1149. On all devices files are downloaded from the Internet…

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YA Fantasy into a Medieval World

ByMichael Thal

Elai Nelson and the Prophecy of the Child is book one of the Fire on the Clouds Trilogy. The novel begins when Elai’s home is broken into by two goons who kill his adoptive parents and attempt to kidnap him. But with the help of his talking toothbrush (you read that right) the sixteen-year old manages…

Growing up Deaf
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Growing up Deaf

ByMichael Thal

Audiologists acknowledge four levels of deafness—mild, moderate, severe, and profound. Author Cece Bell is severely to profoundly deaf. At the age of four she contracted meningitis, robbing her of most of her hearing. When she started public school, Cece was mainstreamed into a regular classroom. She knew she was different from the other kids due…

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Murder on the Seine

ByMichael Thal

Corporate trainer and amateur sleuth, Lysi Weston is on the road again with best friend Grace Wright. This time the duo are in Paris, France where they are assigned the task of presenting a model of their management training seminar to the American Chamber of Commerce in France in hopes of educating chauvinistic Francophiles on…

The Quest of the Empty Tomb: A Supernatural Mystery
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The Quest of the Empty Tomb: A Supernatural Mystery

ByMichael Thal

The Hunt for Xanadu recently received a 5 pops review from this blog. Elyse Salpeter’s second book in her Kelsey Porter Series, The Quest of the Empty Tomb, was also an exciting ride, but didn’t exactly live up to the high bar Salpeter’s first book established. In The Quest of the Empty Tomb, Salpeter brings back many…

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The Thirteenth Princess: A Gripping YA Fairytale

ByMichael Thal

History must have order and some symmetry of meaning so its students can process its content in an organized fashion. Consequently, history only records twelve princesses, a highly composite number, when in truth, there were thirteen of them. History also records those princesses going to sleep every night and waking up to find their slippers…