The Matchstick Castle from Keir Graff
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The Matchstick Castle available now from Keir Graff.
From the Publisher:
Brian can think of a few places he'd rather spend his summer than with his aunt and uncle in Boring, Illinois. Jail, for example. Or an earplug factory. Anything would be better than doing summer school on a computer while his scientist dad is stationed at the South Pole. Boring lives up to its name until Brian and his cousin Nora have a fight, get lost, and discover a huge wooden house in the forest. With balconies, turrets, and windows seeming stuck on at random, it looks ready to fall over in the next stiff breeze. To the mad-cap eccentric family that lives inside, it's not just a home-it's a castle. Suddenly, summer gets a lot more exciting. With their new friends, Brian and Nora tangle with giant wasps, sharp-tusked wild boars, and a crazed bureaucrat intent on bringing the dangerously dilapidated old house down with a wrecking ball.
This sounds so fun! This book was selected as an Illinois Reads 2018 selection and I just got it in for my Youth Department. It was actually published last year and I'm glad I was able to add it my growing middle grades section. The cover is absolutely delightful and wouldn't it be amazing to wander through the woods and come across a castle that looks like that? And how does that boat end up on top? So many questions!
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