Dragonology Field Guide to Dragons
by Dr. Ernest Drake, $24.99.

This book contains a field guide to dragons and 12 easily assembled dragon models. Our 8 year old tester thought the models would be too difficult to put together but she was able to to them all herself. She loved the challenge and the accomplishment that this book afforded her. "The puzzles are really fun, they are really cool to create and the directions are awesome. Also, there is a lot of really interesting fictional information about dragons. It's a pretty good book and I'd recommend it for kids who can read and like dragons."

Dragonology Code Writing Kit
by Dr. Ernest Drake
$9.99.

This lovely writing set carries on the theme of the Dragonology series. It contains writing paper, envelopes, post cards (with wonderful pictures of dragons on them) and stickers. For a child who enjoys letter writing it is a beautifully presented set. The set also includes an "ancient dragon script" (the Anglo Saxon rune alphabet) and several phrases to be deciphered. These present a fun challenge for all to decipher. Our tester summed it up best: "Wow, this is really cool".

Picture Bracelets
List Price: $12.95
Age Range: 8+ 
This book is a fabulous craft activity too!  Our 5-year-old tester and her grandmother made two bracelets.  The 5-year-old enjoyed it so much that the next day she switched all her pictures.  The book comes with two bracelets, twelve droplets and tons of little round stickers.  You can even get more supplies when you run out.  Our tester tried the pictures that are provided in the book, but her grandmother said she's thinking about cutting out small family pictures for the next one!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter #4)

Retail Price: $8.99

About the Book:  You have in your hands the pivotal fourth novel in the seven part tale of Harry Potter's training as a wizard and his coming of age. Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the International Quidditch Cup with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys. He wants to dream about Cho Chang, his crush (and maybe do more than dream). He wants to find out about the mysterious event that's supposed to take place at the Hogwarts this year, an event involving two other rival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn't happened in a hundred years. He wants to be a normal, fourteen year old wizard. Unfortunately for Harry Potter, he's not normal - even by wizarding standards.

And in his case, different can be deadly.

Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes

Retail Price: $15.95

About the Book: Sammy's softball team is in contention for the Junior Slugger’s Cup, and all she wants to do is hunker down behind home plate and catch strikes. But Heather Acosta brings new meaning to the term “foul ball” as she schemes to get Sammy kicked off the team. And Sammy is thrown a wild pitch by a frantic girl in the mall. She begs Sammy to watch something for her and then dashes off before Sammy realizes that the bag she’s left holding contains a baby! Now there are some pitches that you shouldn’t even try to catch, but Sammy’s a take-it-in-the-chest-protector kind of player. So when the girl doesn’t return for her baby, Sammy decides to go find her. And her search leads her into situations that are just not covered in a softball playbook.

Retail Price: $15.95

About the Book:  Unfortunately, Roy's first acquaintance in Florida is Dana Matherson, a well-known bully. Then again, if Dana hadn't been sinking his thumbs into Roy's temples and mashing his face against the school-bus window, Roy might never have spotted the running boy. And the running boy is intriguing: he was running away from the school bus, carried no books, and -- here's the odd part -- wore no shoes. Sensing a mystery, Roy sets himself on the boy's trail. The chase introduces him to potty-trained alligators, a fake-fart champion, some burrowing owls, a renegade eco-avenger, and several extremely poisonous snakes with unnaturally sparkling tails.

Roy has most definitely arrived in Carl Hiaasen's Florida.

Retail Price: $6.99

About the Book: When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll.

Left for Dead: A Young Man's Search for Justice for the USS Indianapolis - Recommended Age Range: 9 and up

Retail Price: $15.95

About the Book: Hunter Scott, an 11-year-old boy in Pensacola, Florida, was watching the movie Jaws, listening to Captain Quint tell the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis at the end of World War II. “Eleven hundred men went into the water. Very first light, the sharks come cruising. . . .” Hunter had a simple question: Was this a true story?

The story of the USS Indianapolis, the worst naval disaster in American history, is indeed true. So is the story of the shameful court-martial of the ship’s captain, shameful because the loss of the ship was not his fault, and the Navy knew it. Hunter Scott became the catalyst for the survivors’ efforts to clear their captain’s name and set the record straight. This is the story of the ship, her brave sailors, their wronged captain, and a young man’s crusade to right an old injustice.

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