Honey for a Child's Heart

Gladys Hunt is right: kids don't stumble on great books by themselves, they read the titles they're given. Most adults discover books the same way, which is why she's written guides to help families choose only the best stories for their children and teenagers (as well as one for Christian women, Honey for a Woman's Heart).

These aren't simply book lists. Both Honey for a Child's Heart and Honey for a Teen's Heart are divided into two parts: the first discusses the importance of reading, various genres (science fiction, poetry, animal stories, etc.), the question of censorship, the elements of a good book, etc.; the second part offers extended book lists to direct you to the right titles for your family.

Part I of both books is equal parts information and encouragement. While Hunt identifies the two levels of reading (for the story, and for the ideas) and the place literature holds in the formation of good character and critical thinking skills, she also talks about how much fun it is to read good books, especially together as a family.

In Part II Hunt presents extensive lists of books. Each title is organized by age-level, genre and author, with a brief synopsis for each one. Honey for a Teen's Heart is more oriented toward students on their way to college, so the reading level is pretty high, but there's nothing most high schoolers won't be able to handle (thought parents will want to know some of the titles include fairly mature content).

Neither of these books are intended simply as "suggested entertainment," lists of books kids will enjoy. There is an emphasis on enjoyment, but there's an equally strong emphasis on reading for instruction and development. Hunt chooses books that will both delight and stretch readers, helping them to think clearly about themselves, the world around them, and God.

There are also a lot of books: over a thousand in Honey for a Child's Heart, and 400 in Honey for a Teen's Heart. No one will be able to read all the titles listed here; these are intended as general guides, not rigid models. There's no real curriculum element here, either—Hunt wants families to read because they want to and understand the benefits of good books, not because they must.

We decided early on at Exodus Books that we wanted a strong selection of quality literature for children. Honey for a Child's Heart was the first book we turned to, and it proved an immeasurable help. Whether you're a parent who wants to find great books for your kiddos but don't know where to start, or a veteran who's run out of ideas, these are some of the best available guides to building a reading list and library, and knowing how to make the very best use of them.

You'll find a good number of the books listed in Hunt's guides below. We're constantly working on expanding this section, so if you don't see a book she recommends let us know and we'll do our best to bring it in. As your kids make their way through these titles, be sure to discuss with them often, as the goal of reading is growth, not simply knowledge or fun. Gladys Hunt is a capable and enthusiastic guide, and we offer her books without reservation.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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Abraham Lincoln
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
75th Anniversary Edition from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Caldecott Medal winner
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$17.95
America's Paul Revere
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from Sandpiper Books
Biography for 2nd-6th grade
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And Now Miguel
by Joseph Krumgold
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1954 Newbery Medal winner
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Archives of Anthropos series
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from InterVarsity Press
Christian Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
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Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
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Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
2001 Newbery Honor Book
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Benjamin Franklin
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Prydain Chronicles #2
by Lloyd Alexander
from Henry Holt and Company
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1966 Newbery Honor Book
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$8.99
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Fairy Tales for 3rd-8th grade
$16.95
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Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
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$8.99
Borrowers
Borrowers Series #1
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Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
1952 Carnegie Medal
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$9.99
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Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1962 Newbery Medal winner
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Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
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2000 Newbery Medal winner
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By the Shores of Silver Lake
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
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1940 Newbery Honor Book
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$8.49
Calico Captive
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from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
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Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
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from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
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Castle in the Attic
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$7.99
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Prydain Chronicles #3
by Lloyd Alexander
from Henry Holt and Company
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by Ian Fleming
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Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
by Ian Fleming
Reprint from Candlewick Press
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by Lloyd Alexander
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Columbus
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from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$17.95
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by Rhoda Blumberg
from HarperCollins
Historical Non-Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1986 Newbery Honor Book
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Daniel Boone
by Daniel Boone
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Biography for 4th-8th grade
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Eleanor Roosevelt
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
Biography for 4th-6th grade
1994 Newbery Honor Book
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Ella Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
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$9.99
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by Patricia Maclachlan
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
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Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
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$7.64
Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
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Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
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$11.89
First Four Years
Little House Series #9
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
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Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
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$7.64
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Melendy Quartet #2
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$12.99
Frindle
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$7.99
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1979 Newbery Honor Book
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Green Fairy Book
by Andrew Lang, editor
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Fairy Tales for 3rd-8th grade
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Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
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$8.99
Hiding Place
by Corrie Ten Boom
35th Anniversary Edition from Chosen Books
Biography for 6th-10th grade
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$16.99
High King
Prydain Chronicles #5
by Lloyd Alexander
from Henry Holt and Company
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
1969 Newbery Medal winner
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$7.99
Hobbit
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$15.99
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$72.00
Honey For a Child's Heart
by Gladys Hunt
5th edition from Zondervan
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$21.99
Honey For a Child's Heart (old)
by Gladys Hunt
4th edition from Zondervan
for All ages
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$12.00
Horse and His Boy
Chronicles of Narnia Book 3
by Lewis, C. S.
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
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I Am David
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Kavik the Wolf Dog
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King's Fifth
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$15.99
Lassie Come-Home
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$8.99
Let the Circle Be Unbroken
by Mildred R. Taylor
Reissue from Puffin Books
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$9.99
Little House in the Big Woods
Little House Series #1
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Little House on the Prairie
Little House Series #2
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
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$8.49
Little Men
by Louisa May Alcott
Reprint from Little, Brown & Company
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Little Pilgrim's Progress
by Helen Taylor
from Moody Press
Allegorical and Moral Stories for 4th-6th grade
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Little Prince
by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
from Harvest House
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Little Prince
by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
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Little Town on the Prairie
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
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1942 Newbery Honor Book
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$8.49
Little Town on the Prairie
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
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$8.49
Little White Horse
by Elizabeth Goudge
from Puffin Books
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1946 Carnegie Medal
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$8.99
Long Winter
Little House Series #6
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1941 Newbery Honor Book
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$8.49
Long Winter
Little House Series #6
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1941 Newbery Honor Book
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$11.89
Mariel of Redwall
Redwall #4
by Brian Jacques
from Firebird Press
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
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$10.99
Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins Series #1
by P. L. Travers
from Harcourt
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
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$9.99
Mattimeo
by Brian Jacques
from Firebird Press
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$10.99
Minn of the Mississippi
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
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$12.99
Mossflower
by Brian Jacques
from Firebird Press
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$10.99
My Friend Flicka
by Mary O'Hara
from HarperCollins
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
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$16.99
Officer Buckle and Gloria
by Peggy Rathman
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
1996 Caldecott Medal winner
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
On the Banks of Plum Creek
Little House Series #4
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Full Color Collector's Edition from HarperCollins
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1938 Newbery Honor Book
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$8.49
Otis Spofford
by Beverly Cleary
from HarperCollins
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$7.99
Otto of the Silver Hand
by Howard Pyle
from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
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$12.95
Our Only May Amelia
by Jennifer L. Holm
from HarperCollins
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Paddle-to-the-Sea
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
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1942 Caldecott Honor Book
in BFB Holling Geography (Location: HISCUR-BFG)
$13.99
Pagoo
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic fiction for 3rd-8th grade
in BFB Holling Geography (Location: HISCUR-BFG)
$12.99
Prince Caspian
Chronicles of Narnia Book 4
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.99
Pushcart War
by Jean Merrill
50th Anniversary Edition from New York Review of Books
Satire for 6th-9th grade
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$12.99
Ramona's World
by Beverly Cleary
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Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Dover Evergreen Classics
by Kate Douglas Wiggin
from Dover Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
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$5.99
Red Fairy Book
by Andrew Lang, editor
from Dover Publications
Fairy Tales for 3rd-8th grade
$19.95
Redwall Set (Trade Paperbacks)
by Brian Jacques
from Firebird Press
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Road to Memphis
by Mildred Taylor
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1991 Coretta Scott King Award
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Saturdays
Melendy Quartet #1
by Elizabeth Enright
Reissue from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
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$8.99
School Story
by Andrew Clements
from Atheneum
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$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World
by Jennifer Armstrong
1st Pbk. Ed from Crown Publishers
for 4th-8th grade
1999 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$13.99
Shipwrecked!
by Rhoda Blumberg
from HarperCollins
Biography for 4th-6th grade
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$8.99 $5.50 (2 in stock)
Silver Chair
Chronicles of Narnia Book 6
by C. S. Lewis, illustrated by Pauline Baynes
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Sing Down the Moon
by Scott O'Dell
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 6th-8th grade
1971 Newbery Honor Book
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$7.99
Smoky the Cowhorse
by Will James
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 5th-8th grade
1927 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.99
Spiderweb for Two
Melendy Quartet #4
by Elizabeth Enright
from Square Fish Publishing
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in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99
Star of Light
by Patricia St. John
from Moody Press
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
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$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Star-Spangled Banner
by Peter Spier
from Yearling
American History for 2nd-6th grade
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$10.99
Swallows and Amazons
Swallows and Amazons #1
by Arthur Ransome
from David R. Godine
Family stories/boating for 5th-9th grade
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Sword Song
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Sunburst Book
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.99
Tanglewoods' Secret
by Patricia St. John
2nd edition from Moody Press
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Taran Wanderer
Prydain Chronicles #4
by Lloyd Alexander
from Henry Holt and Company
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Thee, Hannah!
by Marguerite de Angeli
from Herald Press
Realistic Fiction for
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$19.99
Then There Were Five
Melendy Quartet #3
by Elizabeth Enright
from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$14.99
These Happy Golden Years
Little House Series #8
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1944 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
They Loved to Laugh
by Kathryn Worth
from Bethlehem Books
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$14.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Treasures of the Snow (adapted)
by Patricia St. John, adapted by Mary Mills
2nd edition from Moody Press
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
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$9.99
Tuck Everlasting
by Natalie Babbitt
from Square Fish Publishing
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
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$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Tucker's Countryside
by George Selden & Garth Williams
from Square Fish Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
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