February 2021 - Page 2 of 14

Teddy Bear of the Year
by Vikki VanSickle (Author) and Sydney Hanson (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Ollie is a regular bear with a regular job. He listens to his girl’s stories about her days, he snuggles her to sleep and he is there waiting when she gets home from school. Just your typical teddy bear stuff. So when he is whisked away to the annual teddy bears’ picnic, he feels insignificant compared to the other bears who do daring and daunting things: sleepovers, hospital stays–even a night in the lost and found!

Snippet:
“I see you know your ABCs,”
The Snug said.

Ollie was confused, “ABCs?”
he asked.

“ABCs: Always Be Cuddling.
Teddy Bear 101.”‘

Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

The Mutant Mushroom Takeover (A Maggie and Nate Mystery)
by Summer Rachel Short (Author)

Booktalk: Ever since Magnolia Stone’s scientist dad left Shady Pines to find a new job, Maggie’s been stuck in her gramma’s mobile home with her grumpy older brother, Ezra. Now she’s on a mission to put her family back together by winning the Vitaccino Junior Naturalist Merit Award.

When Maggie and her best friend, Nate, a wannabe YouTube star and alien conspiracy theorist, scout out a rare bioluminescent fungus, Maggie is certain she’s a shoo-in to win. But after animals around town start sprouting unusual growths and Ezra develops a bluish glow and hacking cough, Maggie wonders what they’ve really stumbled onto.

As things in Shady Pines become stranger and more dangerous, and conversations with her dad get complicated, Maggie must use her scientific smarts and Nate’s impressive knowledge of all things spooky to put things back in order and prevent these peculiar glowing mushrooms from taking over their home.

Snippet: I rummage up athlete’s foot spray and a tube of ringworm cream. They both say “antifungal” right on the container, so I’m counting that as a win.

I tug on Grandma’s dishwashing gloves, grab my supplies, and head behind the trailer. My bagged mushroom samples have all quit glowing, but still look fleshy and alive.