Ages 10-12
Eye Benders: The Science of Seeing and Believing by Clive Gifford
By Betsy Farquhar |
Eye Benders: The Science of Seeing and Believing by Clive Gifford. Ivy Press, 2013 (U.K.) and 2014 (U.S.A.). 64 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, 8-12 ...
Read More *Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey
By Megan Saben |
Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey. Viking, 1979, 191 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 8-10Maturity Level: 2 (ages 4-8) and up Centerburg Tales is set in ...
Read More Listen to the Birds: An Introduction to Classical Music by Ana Garhard
By Janie Cheaney |
Listen to the Birds, by Ana Garhard. The Secret Mountain, 2013, 48 pages each (CD included). Reading level: Picture Books, ages 9-12 Maturity Level: 3 ...
Read More *Somebody on This Bus is Going to Be Famous by (our very own) J. B. Cheaney
By Betsy Farquhar |
*Somebody on This Bus Is Going to Be Famous by J. B. Cheaney. Sourcebooks, 2014. 304 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades (8-12)Recommended For: Ages 10-12 Bottom ...
Read More The Night Gardener
By Janie Cheaney |
The Night Gardener, by Jonathan Auxier. Amulet, 2014, 350 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (age 10 and up) Teenage Mollie ...
Read More The Castle Behind Thorns
By Janie Cheaney |
The Castle Behind Thorns, by Merrie Haskell. HarperCollins, 2014, 341 pages. Reading level: Middle Grades, ages 11-12 Maturity level: 5 (ages 11 and up) Sand ...
Read More I Kill the Mockingbird
By Janie Cheaney |
I Kill the Mockingbird, by Paul Acampora. Roaring Brook Press, 2014, 177 pages. Reading level: Middle grades, ages 11-12 Maturity level: 4 (ages 11-12) and ...
Read More Almost Super by Marion Jensen
By Janie Cheaney |
Almost Super, by Marion Jensen. Harper, 2014, 251 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, Ages 8-12 Maturity Level: 3 (ages 8-10) Every four years, on February ...
Read More *The Warden and the Wolf King
By Janie Cheaney |
An epic finale to an epic fantasy series. *The Warden and the Wolf King,by Andrew Peterson. Rabbit Room Press, 2014, 519 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages ...
Read More *The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya by Jane Kelley
By Janie Cheaney |
*The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya, by Jane Kelley. Feiwel & Friends, 2013, 201 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, Ages 8-10 Maturity Level: 3 ...
Read More On the Blue Comet
By Janie Cheaney |
On the Blue Comet, by Rosemary Wells. Candlewick, 2010, 329 pages. I looked out the diner car window. We were just careening past a station ...
Read More SRC, Week 5: A Wrinkle in Time
By Megan Saben |
Other Summer Reading Challenge posts: Introduction, Week One: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Two: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Three: off Week ...
Read More Spy Catchers of Maple Hill
By Betsy Farquhar |
Spy Catchers of Maple Hill by Megan Frazer Blakemore. Bloomsbury, 2014. 320 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12Recommended for: ages 10-12 One-Sentence Summary: Young Hazel Kaplansky, ...
Read More Faithgirlz in Action: Two New Series
By Janie Cheaney |
Zondervan’s “Faithgirlz!” books are series novels aimed at middle-grade girls. These two “girlz” series fall prey to some common weaknesses of Christian fiction, but show ...
Read More Over the Moon and across the Pond
By Janie Cheaney |
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Over the Moon, by Frank Cottrell Boyce. Candlewick, 2014, 240 pages. Age/interest level: 9-13 The magical car seems to be flying ...
Read More Boys of Blur and Beowulf: Like Father, Like Son
By Betsy Farquhar |
It's not often that we are privileged to read literary gems from both father AND son. But that is indeed the case here; to make ...
Read More Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge
By Janie Cheaney |
Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge. Candlewick, 2003, 116 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Maturity Level: 5 (Ages 12-15) One-line Summary: Kevin, age 15, ...
Read More *The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
By Janie Cheaney |
*The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. Harcourt Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. 237 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grade, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (ages 10-12) and up Bottom ...
Read More Bible Review: The Family Reading Bible
By Janie Cheaney |
The Family Reading Bible: a Joyful Discovery: Explore God's Word Together, NIV. Zondervan, 2010, 2336 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: all ...
Read More Bible Review: The Story Teen Edition
By Janie Cheaney |
The Story: Teen Edition. Zondervan, 2011, 498 pages (paperback). Reading Level: Middle Grades ages 10-13 Recommended for: ages 12-15 Bottom Line: This teen edition of ...
Read More Bible Review: The Jesus Bible (NIV)
By Janie Cheaney |
The NIV Jesus Bible, Zondervan, 2014, 1760 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-12 Bottom Line: This children's version of the NIV ...
Read More Bible Review: ESV Journal Bible
By Janie Cheaney |
ESV Journal Bible, Crossway, 2012 (latest edition), 1380 pages. Reading Level:Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 12 and up Bottom Line: Though limited in ...
Read More Adventuring with Wilder Good, Gannon & Wyatt, and a Giveaway!
By Janie Cheaney |
The Adventures of Wilder Good: Elk Hunt, by S. J. Dahlstron. Paul Dry Books, 2013, 101 pages. Age/interest level: 9-13. The title says it all: ...
Read More Ukraine: Lessons in Liberty and Compassion, Pt. 2
By Hayley Morell |
Last week, we began our Ukrainian series with a personal reflection from our executive assistant, Hayley. Having recently visited orphans in Ukraine, Hayley gave us insight ...
Read More Retro Reads: Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain
By Betsy Farquhar |
It's Retro Reads week with Lloyd Alexander! Today, we take a look back to Lloyd Alexander's marvelous Chronicles of Prydain, the first of which was ...
Read More Retro Reads: The Sword in the Stone
By Janie Cheaney |
This week we begin a series of occasional posts called Retro Reads: those modern-day classics you may have missed in your teen years or before ...
Read More Dragons and Time Fetches: More Middle-Grade Fantasy
By Janie Cheaney |
Handbook for Dragon Slayers, by Merrie Haskell. HarperCollins, 2013, 226 pages. Age/interest level: 10-up. When our story begins, Tilda, age 13, has no interest in ...
Read More Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy
By Betsy Farquhar |
This book is a "Best of the Best" pick from our Winter Book Fair. CLICK HERE to see more gift ideas! Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by ...
Read More Who Do Men Say That I Am?
By Janie Cheaney |
Christmas brings into focus the mystery of the incarnation, when God, in the person of Jesus Christ, took on human flesh in order to meet ...
Read More Pilgrim’s Progress adapted by Anna Trimiew
By Janie Cheaney |
Pilgrim’s Progress: John Bunyan’s Classic Story Adapted for Children, by Anna Trimiew, illustrated by Drew Rose. Great Commissions Press, 2013, 109 pages, including glossary and ...
Read More *Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed
By Janie Cheaney |
Twelve Kinds of Ice, by Ellen Bryan Obed, illustrated by Barbara McClintock. Houghton Mifflin, 2012, 64 pages. Reading level: Middle Grades, Ages 10-12 Maturity Level: ...
Read More Call of the Klondike: a True Gold Rush Adventure by David Meissner
By Janie Cheaney |
This middle grade history uses original letters and contemporary news accounts to recreate the drama of the Alaska Gold Rush. Call of the Klondike: a ...
Read More *Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
By Janie Cheaney |
The Snow Queen, by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. Harpers, 2013, 34 pages. Reading level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Maturity Level: All Bottom line: ...
Read More Classics in Comics
By Janie Cheaney |
We round out Picture-book month at Redeemed Reader with a look at some recent comic-book adaptations of enduring literary works--even though graphic novels, technically speaking, ...
Read More November 22, 1963
By Janie Cheaney |
Fifty years ago a president was violently assassinated. John F. Kennedy’s place in history is mostly emblematic: baby-boomers remember his ease and charm and clever ...
Read More *Jane, the Fox, and Me by Fanny Britt
By Janie Cheaney |
Jane, the Fox, and Me by Fanny Britt and Isobelle Arsenault (translated from the original French). Groundwood, 2014, 101 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ...
Read More Middle-Grade Losers, or, What Hath Greg Heffley Wrought?
By Janie Cheaney |
The Wimpy Kid phenomenon keeps on going, and so far has outlasted the dystopia phenomenon, the vampire phenomenon, and the zombie phenomenon. Volume 8 in ...
Read More Ghost Stories
By Janie Cheaney |
Do you believe in ghosts? I discount many of the ghost stories I hear, but can’t quit discount the whole phenomenon. That is, there is ...
Read More The Dogs of History
By Janie Cheaney |
Duke, by Kirby Larson. Scholastic, 2013, 229 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-12 Boy loves dog; boy loses dog. That’s what ...
Read More Lara’s Gift by Annemarie O’Brien
By Janie Cheaney |
Lara’s Gift, by Annemarie O’Brien. Knopf, 2013, 193pages, including appendix Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12, Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 10-15 Bottom ...
Read More How God Used a Thunderstorm by Joel R. Beeke and Diana Kleyn
By Megan Saben |
*How God Used a Thunderstorm and Other Devotional Stories by Joel R. Beeke and Diana Kleyn, illustrated by Jeff Anderson (Building on the Rock Series). ...
Read More Anselm: An Interview with Simonetta Carr
By emily |
Anselm of Canterbury (Christian Biographies for Young Readers) by Simonetta Carr. Reformation Heritage Books, 2013. 64 pgs. Ages 8-up. Simonetta Carr recently published Anselm of ...
Read More Scientific Fiction or Fictional Science? Three Genre-Busting Reads
By Betsy Farquhar |
Janie and Betsy team up once again to bring you reviews of three recent scientific fiction works! Janie does the first and Betsy the second ...
Read More More Favorite Science Books
By emily |
Welcome back to Science September at Redeemedreader! Last week, we heard from Janie on Science Biographies, as well as Betsy on some of her favorite ...
Read More Solving Mysteries with Science (and a disappointing collective biography)
By Megan Saben |
One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science! by Eric Yoder and Natalie Yoder. Science Naturally, 2013. When I was growing up, ...
Read More *Little Britches by Ralph Moody
By Megan Saben |
*Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers by Ralph Moody. Bison Books, 1991. 260 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10, ages 10-12 and upRecommended ...
Read More How to Skim a Book: The Lost Medallion by Bill Muir and Alex Kendrick
By emily |
To Skim or Not to Skim It's seven o'clock, and you remember you have a book review due in the morning. But alas, you haven't ...
Read More Two Books about China
By emily |
Little White Duck: A Childhood in China by Na Liu, Illustrated by Andres Vera Martinez. Graphic Universe TM, 2013. 96 pgs. Grades 4-7. When I ...
Read More *Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard by Annette Cate
By Janie Cheaney |
*Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard, by Annette le Blank Cate. Candlewick, 2013, 54 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 8-10 Recommended for: ...
Read More It’s Greek to Me!
By Hayley Morell |
This week in our Summer Reading Challenge, we're visiting Greece. So, thanks to our newest addition to the Redeemedreader family, Hayley Schoeppler, for leading us today ...
Read More Summer Reading Challenge, Week 6: The Lightning Thief
By Hayley Morell |
Welcome to Week 6 of our Summer Reading Challenge! If you’d like to see other posts in this series,
Read More One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotson
By Betsy Farquhar |
A lonely boy and a lonely girl team up to rescue their dog friends and end up each finding a true home in this feel-good ...
Read More Interesting Picture Book Biographies (Librarians’ List)
By Betsy Farquhar |
Many people think picture books should be left behind in the preschool years. Megan and I heartily disagree with that sentiment, and we invite you ...
Read More Mission Work for Kids: Sewing School and Crafts for Hope
By emily |
In our Summer Reading Challenge, we've just read the story of Nate Saint, one of the men who entered glory alongside Jim Elliot trying to ...
Read More Summer Reading Challenge, Wk 3: Nate Saint: Operation Auca
By emily |
Have you seen our new tab for the Summer Reading Challenge? In it, you'll find all the links to our Summer Reading Challenge--both the main ...
Read More Summer Reading Challenge, Week 2: The Middle of Somewhere by (our very own) J. B. Cheaney
By Betsy Farquhar |
If you're new to our Summer Reading Challenge, welcome! If you started our Around the World adventure last week with us, congratulations and let's continue ...
Read More Summer Reading Challenge, Week 1: Around the World by Matt Phelan
By emily |
***To find out more about this challenge, see our Summer Reading Challenge introduction. Other posts related to Matt Phelan's books include our Interview with John ...
Read More We Are the Ship by Kadir Nelson
By Betsy Farquhar |
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson. Jump at the Sun, 2008. 96 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages ...
Read More No Battlefield Like Home
By Janie Cheaney |
Chasing Jupiter, by Rachel Coker. Zondervan, 2012, 221 pages. Age/interest level: 12-up. Our story begins in small-town Georgia, 1969—but 16-year-old Scarlett’s world seems even smaller ...
Read More Good Old Fashioned Adventure
By Janie Cheaney |
The False Prince (2012) and The Runaway King (2013), by Jennifer A. Nielson. Scholastic, about 350 pages each. Age/interest level: 10-up. When we first encounter ...
Read More Destiny, Rewritten by Kathryn Fitzmaurice
By Janie Cheaney |
Destiny, Rewritten, by Kathryn Fitzmaurice. HarperCollins, 2013, 335 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-12 (especially girls) Bottom Line: Destiny, Rewritten ...
Read More A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff
By Janie Cheaney |
A Tangle of Knots, by Lisa Graff. Philomel, 2013, 233 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-12 and up Bottom Line: ...
Read More Poetry Anthologies
By Megan Saben |
A good poetry anthology is like going to a friend's house with a basket, and being told, "Oh, you must read this one, and this one, and ...
Read More The Real Sherlock Holmes
By Janie Cheaney |
Arthur Conan Doyle published the first Sherlock Holmes story in a British periodical in 1887, to moderate interest. Three novels and fifty-odd short stories later, ...
Read More *Bible Review: NKJV Early Readers Bible
By Janie Cheaney |
*NKJV Early Readers Bible. Thomas Nelson, 2006, 1664 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-14 and up Bottom Line: This New ...
Read More Bible Review: NIV Faithgirlz! Bible
By Janie Cheaney |
NIV Faithgirlz! Bible. Zonderkidz, 2012, 1504 page. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-12 (especially girls!) Bottom Line: The Faithgirlz! Bible, geared ...
Read More Bible Review: NIV Boys Bible
By Janie Cheaney |
NIV Boys' Bible. Zonderkidz, 2012, 1504 pages. For ages 9-13. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-12 (obviously, boys) Bottom Line: The ...
Read More *Bible Review: ESV Children’s Bible
By Janie Cheaney |
*ESV Children’s Bible. Crossway, 2008, 1648 pages. Reading level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10. Recommended for: ages 6-10 Bottom Line: The ESV contains excellent study helps, ...
Read More *Bible Review: The HCSB Illustrated Study Bible
By Janie Cheaney |
*The HCSB Illustrated Study Bible for Kids. Boardman and Holman, 2007, 1104 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Bottom Line: ...
Read More New Nonfiction: Titanic, Moonbird, and Bodyguards
By Janie Cheaney |
These three books have nothing in common except their general category and the fact that the first two won honors in the ALA Youth Media ...
Read More The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus 3) by Rick Riordan
By Janie Cheaney |
The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus #3), by Rick Riordan. Hyperion, 2012, 608 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (ages ...
Read More Zeus, King of the Gods by George O’Connor
By Janie Cheaney |
Zeus, King of the Gods, (#1 in The Olympians graphic-novel series) by George O’Connor. First Second, 2012, 80 pages. Reading Level: Picture books (graphic novel), ...
Read More The Adventures of Achilles by Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden
By Janie Cheaney |
The Adventures of Achilles, by Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden, illustrated by Carole Henaff. Barefoot Books, 2012, 96 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages10-12 Maturity ...
Read More The Hard Work of Growing Up
By Janie Cheaney |
It’s what every child has to do, and they accomplish it with varying degrees of success. In a sense, "growing up" is the theme of ...
Read More Cake: Love, Chickens, and a Taste of Peculiar by Joyce Magnin
By Janie Cheaney |
Cake: Love, Chickens and a Taste of Peculiar, by Joyce Magnin. Zonderkidz, 2013, 221 pages. Age/interest level: 8-14. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10 Recommended ...
Read More Bliss by Katherine Littlewood
By Janie Cheaney |
Bliss, by Kathryn Littlewood. HarperCollins, 2012, 374 pages. Age/interest level: 10-14. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Bottom Line: Bliss mixes ...
Read More *Greek Myths by Marcia Williams
By emily |
*Greek Myths by Marcia Williams. Candlewick, 2011. Ages 4-up. Reading Level: Picture Books, Ages 4-8, Ages 8-10, Ages 10-12 Marcia Williams' Greek Myths is a ...
Read More The Real George Washington
By Janie Cheaney |
When did history get so complicated? Not too long ago, “The father of his country” was a monumental figure deserving nothing but praise. Now, depending ...
Read More Unstoppable by Tim Green
By Janie Cheaney |
A middle-grade boy's football ambitions crash against a cancer diagnosis in this frank tale by NFL star Tim Green. Unstoppable, by Tim Green. HarperCollins, 2012, ...
Read More On All Fronts: New Nonfiction of World War II
By Janie Cheaney |
My sister, who serves at a docent at a prisoner-of-war museum in Texas, says that her most eager listeners are pre-teen and teenage boys. When ...
Read More Kids–Try This at Home
By Janie Cheaney |
Got a novel idea? It’s easier than ever to get published, but if the imprint on the spine of your masterwork is Xlibris or iUniverse, ...
Read More 16th Century Travels: Jepp and Will Sparrow
By Janie Cheaney |
Jepp, Who Defied the Stars, by Katharine Marsh. Hyperion, 2012, 369 pages plus author note. Age/interest level: 12-up. Jepp’s diminutive size has always been a ...
Read More O Come, Emmanuel
By Janie Cheaney |
Every year advent takes me by surprise--otherwise I would have posted this last week! Family advent readers come down from the shelves this time of ...
Read More Spunky Siblings
By Janie Cheaney |
Brother-Sister duos are a staple in children’s publishing ever since the Bobbsey Twins—a way of stretching the appeal, I suppose. These new series try to ...
Read More The History of Faith: Wiliam Boekestein’s and Simonetta Carr’s New Books for Kids
By emily |
This week in our library month theme, Janie took us back to the 8th century in a review of Hand of Vengeance by Douglas Bond. ...
Read More Hand of Vengeance
By Janie Cheaney |
Tomorrow we have a real treat for you: two Christian dads, one a pastor and one a teacher, who both happen to write books for ...
Read More Christian Books for Burgeoning Readers
By emily |
This summer I've been on a mission to find books with specifically Christian content for my kids. We get plenty of great literature from the ...
Read More The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy
By Janie Cheaney |
The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, by Christopher Healy (drawings by Todd Harris). HarperCollins, 2012, 436 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended ...
Read More Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George
By Janie Cheaney |
Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George. Bloomsbury, 2012, 225 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12. Recommended for: Ages 8-14 Whenever Castle Glower ...
Read More Dystopia, Junior
By Janie Cheaney |
Dystopian fiction for middle-grades isn't new: Lois Lowry's The Giver is a classic of the genre. The success of The Hunger Games means similar titles ...
Read More Hard Science
By Janie Cheaney |
God particle, Higgs boson—it's been news since Independence Day (no relation to said holiday) and most of us scratch our heads. It’s too hot to ...
Read More *Mr. and Mrs. Bunny: Detectives Extraordinaire! by Mrs. Bunny, translated from the Rabbit by Polly Horvath
By Janie Cheaney |
*Mr. and Mrs. Bunny: Detectives Extraordinaire! by Mrs. Bunny, translated from the Rabbit by Polly Horvath, illustrated by Sophie Blackall. Schwartz & Wade, 2012, 248 ...
Read More May B by Caroline Starr Rose
By Janie Cheaney |
May B., by Caroline Starr Rose, Schwartz & Wade, 2012, 225 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, Ages 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 and up Bottom Line: ...
Read More Wonder
By Janie Cheaney |
Wonder, by R. J. Palacio. Knopf, 2012, 320 pages. Ages 8-up August (Augie) Pullman obviously doesn’t remember the day he was born, but in the ...
Read More The Poetry of Nature
By emily |
Contest: Do you have a favorite kids' poem? Would you or your kids like to write your own? Post your new or favorite poems in ...
Read More Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
By Janie Cheaney |
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George. Harper Collins, 1972 (paperback reissue 2003). 208 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Recommended for: Young adult, ...
Read More Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
By Janie Cheaney |
Gary Paulsen's classic survival novel Hatchet offers a realistic--as opposed to romantic-- view of nature and what it takes to survive in the wild. Hatchet ...
Read More Soldier Bear
By Janie Cheaney |
Soldier Bear, by Bibi Dumon Tak, illustrated by Philip Hopman. Translated by Laura Watkinson. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2011, 145 pages. Age/interest level: 9-12 World War ...
Read More Countdown by Deborah Wiles
By Janie Cheaney |
Countdown (the Sixties Trilogy) by Deborah wiles. Scholastic, 2010, 377 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (ages 10-12) and up Bottom ...
Read More Africa: A Literary Adventure and Podcast!
By emily |
This month my local public library is offering a marionette show of African folktales starring Anansi the spider. It's a unique way to celebrate Black ...
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