April 2008

The Indianhead Federated Library System presents

Starred Reviews

New and Notable Books for Young People

April 2008 * Eau Claire, WI

The books in this newsletter were given starred reviews by the following periodicals: School Library Journal (SLJ), Publisher’s Weekly (PW), Booklist (BL), and Criticas (CR). Library binding prices and ISBNs are noted. Quotations have been taken directly from the reviews. This selection tool has been created to assist IFLS library staff wade through the 5,000-5,500 children’s and young adult titles published each year. Librarians should consider which of the following books best fit their collection and clientele.

Content:

Picture Books
Juvenile Fiction
Non-fiction
YA Fiction
Video
Books in Spanish

Picture Books

Averbeck, Jim. In a Blue Room. Illus. by Tricia Tusa. Harcourt, $16 (978-0-15-205992-7)

(PreS-gr.2) “...prose and pictures partner each other effortlessly all the way to the last page...At first, Alice doesn’t look like a candidate for bed... pleasant mayhem of dolls and crayons...ritual things...tea to taste (‘ “Blue tea?” says Alice’)...quilt...bells...not blue, either...Alice protests, but she’s fading...rhythm of the words soothes...references to a blue room are a little odd: Alice’s walls are yellow...The lamp goes off and Alice’s room is transformed, bathed in the blue light of a full moon...Tusa appears to have breathed in...author Averbeck’s text and then breathed it out as pictures...final appearance of the blue room...will feel to children like a promise kept.” (PW)

Cocagne, Marie-Pascale. The Big Book for Little Hands. Illus. by Bridget Strevens-Marzo, trans. by Anna Shandro and Alice Thorp. Tate, $15.95 concealed spiral-bound (978-1-85437-753-1)

(PreS-gr.1) “...engagingly patterned, warmly colored pages rely on reader participation for completion...encourages readers to add to pictures in progress, reinforcing educational concepts at the same time...” (PW)

Esbaum, Jill. To the Big Top. Illus. by David Gordon. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $16.95 (978-0-374-39934-4)

(K-gr.3) “...turn-of-the-century days when a circus could take a small town by storm...Benny...and his friend Sam... junior roustabouts...moves the duo from backstage to the choice seats in the Big Top...handily captures the flavor of pre-electricity days... vintage vernacular...big scenes...bustle with a sense of sweep and heady pleasure.” (PW)

Giovanni, Nikki. The Grasshopper’s Song: An Aesop’s Fable Revisited. Illus. by Chris Raschka. Candlewick, $16.99 (978-0-7636-3021-8)

(all ages) ...revision of Aesop’s fable...Jimmy Grasshopper hires the firm of Robin, Robin, Robin and Wren to sue Nestor and Abigail Ant...trial...presided over by Judge Own and a jury of mammals, birds and insects...investigates complex issues... evocative, earth-tone watercolors...set the scenes in forest undergrowth...” (PW)

Gonzàlez, Lucìa. The Storyteller’s Candle/La velita de los cuentos. Children’s Book Press, $16.95 (978-0-89239-222-3)

(PreS-gr. 3) “Introducing Pura Belprè, the first Puerto Rican librarian hired by the New York Public Library system...warmhearted...bilingual...two children who are inspired by Belprè to enter a library for the very first time... chooses facts of interest to children...streamlines biographical details...focus on the characters...inviting oil and collage illustrations cleverly incorporate sepia-toned clippings from a January 6, 1930 New York Times...” (PW)

hooks, bell. Grump, Groan, Growl. Illus. by Chris Raschka. Hyperion, $16.99 (978-0-7868-0816-8)

(PreS-up) “...few words by ample emotion...demands a loud delivery...each of the three key words gets a noisy spread all to itself...loose India ink over airy, multicolored watercolor wash, scrawls a short-legged, leonine monster and its alter ego, an angry curly-haired child...words acknowledge how hard it is to avoid negativity...intensity and understanding...” (PW)

Kerby, Mona. Owney: The Mail-Pouch Pooch. Illus. by Lynne Barasch. Farrar/Frances Foster Bks., $16.95 (978-0-374-35685-9)

(gr. 1-4) “Using actual events involving a stray dog...home and career...Post Office...1880s...fictionalized glimpse at a charming and capable canine...journey from hungry and homeless to beloved guardian of the mail trains...illustrations complement the narrative with period details...sure to develop a loyal following among lovers of dog stories.” (SLJ)

Jenkins, Emily. Skunkdog. Illus. by Pierre Pratt. FSG/Foster, $16.95 (978-0-374-37009-1)

(PreS-gr.3) “...author and illustrator are brilliantly simpatico. Enthusiastic, obedient, talented and even bilingual, Dumpling is beloved by her humans...nose is useless...no dog friends...How Dumpling finally gains a friend...touching tribute ...to the hunger for connection...thoughtful, urbane tone that never feels forced...marvelously expressive...like a valentine to all things doggie.” (PW) (SLJ)

McMullan, Kate and Jim. I’m Bad! HarperCollins/Cotler, $16.99 (978-0-06-122971-8)

(PreS-gr.3) “...green-and-blue T. rex with an attitude...fills the full-bleed, tropical spreads...proud bully...Despite his posturing, this T. rex is a little defensive...never catches anything...weepy tantrum...will love the joke of the tough guy who still needs his mother.” (PW)

O’Connor, Jane. Fancy Nancy’s Favorite Fancy Words: From Accessories to Zany. Illus. by Robin Preiss Glasser. HarperCollins, $12.99 (978-0-06-154923-6)

(PreS-gr. 2) “...ultimate girly-girl Fancy Nancy makes vocabulary glamorous in this A-Z compendium...generally helpful...rather than precocious...reflect Fancy Nancy’s special style...” (PW)

Steig, Jeanne. Fleas! Illus. by Britt Spencer. Philomel, $16.99 (978-0-399-24756-9)

(PreS-up) “...hilarious journey with a farmer named Quantz...ingeniously trades the fleas which he gets from the dog for an uncle who never stops talking, the uncle for a huge Limburger cheese, and so on until he ends up with the now flea-free red dog...intrepid hero looks like Ichabod Crane...” (PW)

Swanson, Susan Marie. The House in the Night. Illus. by Beth Krommes. Houghton, $16 (0-618-86244-7)

(PreS-K) “A young girl is given a golden key to a house...simple text...sometimes fantastical pleasures...bird...spirits the child through the starry sky to a wise-faced moon...art is spectacular...scratchboard decorated in droplets of gold...mesmerizing...will delight both parents and children.” (PW) (SLJ)

Teckentrup, Britta. Grumpy Cat. Boxer, $14.95 (978-1-9054-176-98)

(PreS) “The frowning, brown cat...sits alone, eats alone, and is considered grumpy...One stormy night a tiny, orange kitten shows up...ignores Cat’s glare, following him about...Cat climbs a tree to rid himself of his shadow, but Kittens stays right behind...slips. What’s a grumpy cat to do...characters are appealing...story is short and linear...ending is warm...highpoint is the art...can be enjoyed from a lap or the back of a room...format is focused...totally appealing.” (BL)

Juvenile Fiction

Cowley, Joy. Chicken Feathers. Illus. by David Elliot. Philomel, $15.99 (978-0-399-24791-0)

(gr. 3-5) “...charming, witty...question of whether Josh’s pet hen, Semolina, really does talk...important information to impart concerning a fox who has formed a gang to extort protection money from the hens...dozens of eggs a day...family can ill afford...Elizabeth confined to the hospital for three months awaiting the birth of a new baby...personality-laden pencil illustrations extend readers’ sense of...characters... Original, well-crafted and touching...begs to be read aloud—over and over again.” (SLJ)

Harper, Jessica. Uh-oh, Cleo. Illus. by Jon Berkeley. Putnam, $14.99 (978-0-399-246-715)

(K-gr.3) “...engaging early chapter book, eight-year-old Cleo Small relates the tale of ‘Stitches Saturday,’...When Cleo’s twin brother climbs up the toy shelves in their unit...unidentified flying object bonks Cleo on the head...give her a Stitches Saturday party, complete with food, dance, song, and her princess dress from Halloween...studded with observations, incidents, and conversations that reflect true-to-life sibling relationships...gentle humor...economy and finesse of the writing...Large type, spacious design, and appealing drawings...” (BL)

Horse, Harry. Little Rabbit’s New Baby. Peachtree, $15.95 (978-1-56145-431-0)

(PreS-gr.1) “Mama’s going to have a baby and Little Rabbit’s ecstatic because he thinks that he’ll finally have a playmate...mother gives birth to triplets, his excitement triples...soon begins to resent his siblings and is jealous...crawls under his bed to sulk... babies...begin to cry...nothing and no one can comfort them...sweet pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations...myriad intricately drawn details...humorous vignettes... delightful...” (SLJ)

Law, Ingrid. Savvy. Dial/Walden Media, $16.99 (978-0-8037-3306-0)

(gr. 4-6) “In Mississippi Beaumont’s family, turning 13 means your savvy kicks in...dad in a coma after a horrible car accident, Mississippi is convinced that her savvy will have something to do with waking people up...sneaks aboard a delivery bus she believes is heading toward her dad...When people around her have any type of ink...on their skin, she can’t help but read their minds...Readers, boys and girls alike, will see a bit of themselves in Mississippi...quest...to control her savvy...vibrant and cinematic novel that readers are going to love.” (PW)

Lemna, Don. When the Sergeant Came Marching Home. Illus. by Matt Colins. Holiday, $16.95 (978-0-823-420-834)

(gr. 4-7) “Donald, 10, is happy when his dad returns safely from the war in 1946...furious...moves the family to a farm in Montana...Running away to Hollywood seems the only solution...scrappy, first-person voice...reads like a memoir filled with wonderfully irreverent daily details of being raised on the prairies...Eventually...becomes comfortable on the farm...small, lovely black-and-white drawings...” (BL)

Levine, Gail Carson. Ever. HarperCollins, $16.99 (978-0-06-122962-6)

(gr. 5 and up) “...original mythological tale...romance, adventure and exploration of faith. Kezi is the only daughter of a wealthy, devout family in a vaguely ancient, vaguely Middle Eastern City...one god, Admat...Kezi’s mother falls deathly ill, her father vows to sacrifice the first person who congratulates him on his wife’s recovery, if only Admat will let her live...turns out to be Kezi...has 30 days...Meanwhile, Olus, the god of wind...has been watching...has fallen in love with Kezi...well-paced action...doubts... riveting journey...passion and profound pondering...” (PW)

Newbery, Linda. Lost Boy. Random/Ficklin, $15.99 (978-0-375-84574-1)

(gr. 3-7) “Matt Lanchester...small Welsh town, is out biking when he imagines a near-collision with a car, only to land next to a roadside memorial to a boy with his own initials...begins to experience the dead boy’s ghostly presence as he confronts several puzzles...missing son...turn-of-the-century legend...vehicular death of Martin Lloyd... imaginative melding of present-day concerns, good storytelling...will ensnare readers.” (PW)

Riordan, Rick. Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book Four: Battle of the Labyrinth. Hyperion, $17.99 (978-1-4231-0146-8)

(gr. 5 and up) “Percy Jackson’s fourth summer at Camp Half-Blood...high-octane clashes with dark forces...hip humor and drama...penultimate series installment...Percy, Annabeth and the satyr Grover furiously working to prevent former camp counselor Luke from resurrecting the Titan lord Kronos...Luke can breach Camp Half-Blood’s security through an exit from Daedalus’s Labyrinth...girl trouble...wry interplay between the real and the surreal...wit, rousing swordplay and breakneck pace...” (PW)

Rodman, Mary Ann. Jimmy’s Stars. Farrar, $16.95 (0-374-33703-9)

(gr. 5-8) “Eleven-year-old Ellie worships older brother Jimmy...draft deferment ends because Pop has recovered from an accident and is able to return to work...Jimmy ships off to join other soldiers in 1943...normal rhythms of her day remain unchanged... yearning for her brother colors everything...resists happy endings, but finds beauty in every emotional nuance as Ellie hurtles between self-pity, denial, and even rage...lively spirit of working-class Pittsburgh...” (BL)

Yep, Laurence with Kathleen S. Yep. The Dragon’s Child: A Story of Angel Island. HarperCollins, $15.99 (978-06-027692-8)

(gr. 3-7) “...short novel about a father and son’s journey from rural China to San Francisco in 1922...nine-year-old narrator...describes his shy reintroduction to his own father...who has returned to his family’s village in China...slowly learns hard truths... impressive clothes have been rented...works as a houseboy...use of the boy’s perspective enables the reader to experience a spectrum of emotions...in tandem with learning historical facts...” (PW)

Non-fiction

Abramson, Andra Serlin. Heavy Equipment Up Close. Sterling, $9.95 (978-1-4027-479-93)

(gr. 2-4) “...odd-size...vehicle-themed Up Close series...packed with full-color photographs on pages measuring about 10 ½ x 14 inches...eye-popping gatefolds... preschoolers will enjoy the photos...children who can read...or sit still...will get the most out of the book’s terrific mix of fun technical vocabulary and trivia ripe for sharing. Meticulous about indicating scale...At times, the supersize photos seem slightly distorted or fuzzy, but few readers will object...” (BL)

Brighton, Catherine. Keep Your Eye on the Kid: The Early Years of Buster Keaton. Roaring Brook/Flash Point, $16.95 (978-1-59643-158-4)

(K-gr. 3) “...follows the great silent actor and filmmaker Buster Keaton from his birth to vaudeville parents to his early 30s...itinerant, rough-and-tumble showbiz life...attended only one day of school...tough-talking first-person narration has the cadence of someone who was treated as an adult almost from birth...detailed images...dreamy grace to even the most slapstick moments...Readers will...itch to see Keaton’s movies...” (PW)

Gardner, Martin. Optical Illusions Play Pack. Illus. by Gilbert Ford. Sterling, $14.95 concealed spiral-bound (978-1-4027-3338-3)

(gr. 5 and up) “...Packaged with 40-some punch-out puzzle pieces...asks readers to test and create visual puzzles, from the very simple...to the more sophisticated...to visual tricks that look like pure magic...kids can experience what they would otherwise simply observe...genuinely curious to master explanation...” (PW)

George, Jean Craighead. The Wolves Are Back. Illus. by Wendell Minor. Dutton, $16.99 (978-0-525-479-475)

(gr. 3-5) “In 1995, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone Park...follows one wolf’s growth from pup to adult, the emphasis...is on how their presence has changed the ecosystem and returned its natural balance...rhythmic, informative prose...finely detailed illustrations...spectacularly rendered animals...highly effective and enjoyable explanation of how the presence of one animal can profoundly affect an ecosystem...” (BL)

Rappaport, Doreen. Lady Liberty: A Biography. Illus. by Matt Tavares. Candlewick, $17.99 (978-0-763-625-306)

(gr. 2-5) “...Statue of Liberty...conception and construction in France...efforts to raise funds...preparations for her arrival...celebration culminating in her unveiling in 1886...free-verse poems representing the reflections of individuals...first-person narratives effectively convey the personal significance the statue has had for many people...monumental in effect...illustrations...dramatic vertical foldout page showing Lady Liberty at her unveiling...source bibliography...unique portrayal of an iconic statue.” (BL)

Stokes, John A. with Losi Wolfe and Herman Viola. Students on Strike: Jim Crow, Civil Rights, Brown, and Me. National Geographic, $23.90 (978-1-4263-0154-4)

(gr. 6-10) “In 1951, a group of high school students in Prince Edward County, VA, went on strike to protest the substandard conditions in their segregated school...plaintiffs...one of the five that were part of the 1954 Brown decision...In 1959, Prince Edward County closed its schools rather than comply with desegregation orders...Fear of retribution and lingering bitterness has kept the strike leaders silent, but Stokes...has decided that the story...needed to be told...photos and maps...inspiring story...almost completely unreported part...important choice for all collections.” (SLJ)

Stone, Tanya Lee. Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote. Illus. by Rebecca Gibbon. Holt, $16.95 (0-8050-7903-3)

(gr. 1-3) “...pithy introduction that links the life of women in the early nineteenth century with that of readers today...short, incisive biography covering some of the high points of Stanton’s life...short text bites...brevity leaves some holes...child-pleasing artwork features characters a bit reminiscent of clothespin dolls...make the history accessible.” (BL)

Page, Robin and Steve Jenkins. Sisters & Brothers: Sibling Relationships in the Animal World. Illus. by Steve Jenkins. Houghton, $16 (978-061-8375-967)

(gr. 2-4) “...riveting picture book...packed with amazing facts about how young animals nurture one another or compete for survival and leave home...crisp, gorgeous cut-and-torn-paper collages...female African elephants...young grizzlies...termite brothers and sisters...Readers will love sharing this...wealth of fascinating science, which is expanded in the detailed back matter...” (BL)

YA Fiction

Benway, Robin. Audrey, Wait! Razorbill, $16.99 (978-1-59514-191-0)

(gr. 7 and up) “When Audrey breaks up with her musician boyfriend, Evan, he is inspired to write a song about it...top of the music charts...makes Audrey the target of paparazzi and gossip magazines...tries to hide from fame...Audrey’s phenomenal celebrity seems unlikely but she herself feels completely believable...both sympathetic and funny...showcasing...characters’ wit as well as their sincere concern for one another...” (PW)

Cornish, D.M. Lamplighter. Putnam, $19.99 (978-0-399-246-395)

(gr. 7-10) “second book of the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy...Rossamund Bookchild, a lamplighter prentice in the Emperor’s service...skills with potives and restoratives earn him a role as dispenser of healing draughts and repellents... Threnody...member of a feared society of female monster hunters...foisted on the lamplighters for training...face...bizarre monsters...treachery...setting, characterizations, and relationship...well limned...suspense is palpable...glossary more than 100 pages long...” (BL)

Gardner, Sally. The Red Necklace. Dial, $16.99 (978-0-803-731-004)

(gr. 9-12) “A Gypsy boy, Yann, and the dwarf who raised him...Parisian theater...revolution is beginning to boil...finely crafted tale that crosses years and crisscrosses countries...sweeps readers into a turbulent time, dissecting eighteenth-century French society and the evolution of the revolution, from a yearning for liberty to a chaotic bloodbath...heart-stopper.”(BL)

Goldring, Julia. The Diamond of Drury Lane. Roaring Brook, $12.50 (1-59643-351-5)

(gr. 7-10) “The Drury Theater, where she was abandoned as a baby, is the only home Catherine Royal has ever known...diamond somewhere...vows to help keep it safe... many cliff-hangers...varied, sharply drawn cast that populates the Covent Garden area of early eighteenth century London...offers a view of London readers can grasp with all their senses...” (BL)

Jinks, Catherine. Genius Squad. Harcourt, $17 (978-0-15-205985-9)

(gr. 7 and up) “...Evil Genius...sequel...gripping, devilish and wonderfully dark...another imaginative and just slightly less villainous cast of characters...to tempt Cadel’s vulnerable conscience...new gang of superhuman brainiacs...fresh twists and eyebrow-raising...over-the-top antics...stunning climax.” (PW)

Kluger, Steve. My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park. Dial, $16.99 (978-0-8037-3227-8)

(gr. 8-11) “Three bright and funny Brookline, MA eleventh graders look back on their most excellent year—ninth grade...alternating chapters...life-affirming coming of age story....instant messages, emails, memos, diary entries, and letters to celebrity divas and to a deceased mom...T.C. Keller...in love with baseball and Alejandra...She and Augie Hwong...gay...passionate about the stage and screen...Augie and T.C. have been “brothers” since they were six...rich and humorous novel for older readers...quirky and charming...involving without being over-the-top...” (SLJ)

Meldrum, Christina. Madapple. Knopf, $19.99 (978-0-375-951-763)

(gr. 9-12) “Aslaug lives in isolation...mother, Maren...Then Maren dies and Aslaug makes her way to the nearby Maine town...finds her aunt Sara and teenage cousins Susanne and Rune...Maren proclaimed Aslaug a virgin birth...then Aslaug finds herself pregnant, and divine intervention is once more a possibility. Plot summary does little justice to this haunting book...mysticism...plunges deeply into the nature of reality...uses language in a particularly arresting way...mixes faith and science with a solid mystery...” (BL)

Myers, Walter Dean. Sunrise Over Fallujah. Scholastic, $17.99 (978-0-439-91624-0)

(gr. 7 and up) “...will allow American teens to grapple intelligently and thoughtfully with the war in Iraq. Robin Perry, nephew of the soldier central to... Vietnam novel Fallen Angels...joined up...Massing in Kuwait... exposes Robin’s ambivalent feelings and doubts...recreates the climate of the earliest days of the war... comrades...conform to type....representatives of characters familiar to war movies and genre fiction...conventions are helpful: they ground the reader...characters realize they are in the middle of many wars, none of which they understand...complexities...rank-and-file...slowly drawn into covert or morally dubious engagement...forceful bid for [readers’] hearts and minds” (PW) (SLJ)

Reinhardt, Dana. How to Build a House. Random/Lamb, $15.99 (978-0-375-84453-9)

(gr. 7 and up) “...artfully parallels the construction of a house with the reconstruction of a broken family...intimate and intelligently wrought...Shaken by the recent divorce of her father and stepmother and separation from stepsister and best friend Tess, Harper Evans jumps at the chance to participate in a summer program...she and other high school students will build a new house for a family whose home was destroyed by a tornado...falls in love with Teddy, one of the house’s intended residents... meticulously crafted book...” (SLJ)

Venkatraman, Padma. Climbing the Stairs. Putnam, $16.99 (978-0-399-247-460)

(gr. 6-9) “Growing up in a progressive family in Bombay during World War II, 15-year-old Vidya hopes that college is her future...father is severely injured in a riot...move to Madras to join her grandfather’s traditional household...Vidya’s powerful aunt disdains the newcomers...escapes upstairs to her grandfather’s library...meets a young man who seems to understand...intricate and convincing backdrop of a conservative Brahmin home in a time of change...author’s note...striking cover art...” (BL)

Video

Max’s Words. 10 min. Weston Woods, VHS,$60 (978-0-545-042-871); DVD, $59.95 (978-0-545-042-857)

(K-gr.3) “Wide-eyed Max comes from a family of collectors...Max decides he will collect words...Words spill off his desk and onto the floor...When Max rearranges words, he creates sentences and stories...Kate Banks’ story...Boris Kulikov’s exaggerated illustrations...animation meshes perfectly with the original illustrations...Lively background music...” (BL)

Rosa. 14 min. Weston Woods, VHS, $60 (978-0-545-042-581); DVD, $59.95 (978-0-545-042-574)

(gr. 3-5) “Nikki Giovanni impressively narrates this iconographic adaptation of her picture-book biography of Rosa Parks...cameras pan Bryan Colliers... illustrations are slightly rearranged, and vintage photos of Parks, Emmett Till, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr...added...reads the passionate text with authority...” (BL)

Books in Spanish

Henkes, Kevin. El gran dìa de Lilly. tr. by María Candelaria Posada. U.S.: Greenwillow & Rayo: HarperCollins, $16.99 (978-0-06-136316-0)

(K-Gr 3) “When her teacher, Mr. Slinger, announces that he is getting married, Lily is certain that she will be the flower girl... Her parents try to warn her that Mr. Slinger may have a little niece who deserves the job... deeply humorous and satisfying story. The translation sparkles, catching both the spirit and inflection of the English original; and Lily’s highly individual personality comes through undiluted. A must-have for any collection serving a young Hispanic population, this volume continues the publisher’s immense success in producing high-quality translations.” (CR)