July 2007

The Indianhead Federated Library System presents

Starred Reviews

New and Notable Books for Young People

July 2007 * 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), Horn Book (HB), Voices for Youth Advocates (VOYA) 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.

Note: VOYA reviews rank books by Quality (Q) and Popularity (P), with 5 being the highest rating, 1 being the lowest. For your convenience, I have included this code with each VOYA review. Books receiving a 5Q or 5P are included in this edition.

Picture Books
Juvenile Fiction
Nonfiction
Teen Fiction
Recordings
Books in Spanish

Picture Books

Agee, Jon. Nothing. Hyperion, $16.99 (978-0-7868-3694-9)

(all ages) “Money for nothing?...wry story of desire and excess. Antiques dealer Otis has sold all his wares...Suzie Gump, ‘the richest lady in town,’ strolls in... ‘Now, what’s for sale?’... ‘Uh, nothing.’ Suzie writes a big fat check for it...stores pop up to sell designer, discount, and imported nothing...illustrations...possess a timeless air... “(PW)

Ajmera, Maya. Global Babies. Board Book. Charlesbridge, $6.95 (978-1-580-891-745)

(PreS) “Striking in its simplicity and effectiveness...colorful board book...clear photographs of babies in Guatemala, Thailand, Greenland, Mali, the U.S...form a broad, inclusive sense of community. Each page features a single child in a photo shown against a rich, solid background color...Attuned to its audience...just right for babies and toddlers.” (BL)

Atkins, Jeanine. Anne Hutchinson’s Way. Illus. by Michael Dooling. Farrar, $17 (0-374-30365-7)

(gr. 2-4) “..Anne Hutchinson arrives with her family...colony...1634 and begins preaching scripture...after finding herself in disagreement with the minister’s beliefs...issue of religious freedom...personal...through the eyes of Hutchinson’s young daughter, Susanna...things she sees, smells, hears...sense of sturdiness is everywhere... unwavering courage to stand strong for their beliefs...impressive artwork...photo-realistic style that makes the long-ago events seem close...” (BL)

Bean, Jonathan. At Night. Farrar, $15 (0-374-30446-7)

(PreS-K) “In a dark house, a girl lies awake while her family sleeps...rooftop garden...finally falls asleep under a starry sky...quiet story that mixes a touch of whimsy with a meditative sense of calm...spare sentences...quiet drama...peaceful, moonlit offering.” (BL)

Cronin, Doreen. Diary of a Fly. Illus. by Harry Bliss. HarperCollins/Colter, $15.99 (978-0-06-000156-8)

(PreS-gr. 3) “...heroine so delightful it would be criminal to swat her. Fly... chronicles her childhood...Tips on flying...combine with grade-school concerns ...fantasizes about being a superhero, though her friend Spider notes, ‘Superheroes bend steel with their bare hands. You eat horse manure with your feet.’...Worm...reassures Fly that ‘the world needs all kinds of heroes.’...spot-on humor and...uproarious ink-and watercolor panels...” (SLJ)

Kimmel, Elizabeth Cody. The Top Job. Illus. by Robert Neubecker. Dutton, $16.99 (978-1-525-477-891)

(K-gr.3) “On Career Day...students...share what their parents do for a living... jewelers...NASCAR drivers...intrepid narrator shares that her dad changes light bulbs... class ridicules...find out that he changed the Empire State Building’s ‘tippy top’ light bulb...pacing and rhythm of the text is impeccable...without being didactic ... integrates themes of standing up for yourself, responding to rudeness and bragging...stylized, cartoon-style illustrations...nicely extend the plot...” (BL)

Kulka, Joe. Wolf’s Coming! Carolrhoda, $15.95 (978-1-57505-930-3)

(PreS-gr.1) “Suspense builds from the very first page...simple rhyming text describes the various ways in which the denizens of the forest prepare for Wolf’s imminent arrival...impending doom...absurdly anthropomorphized creatures...ending will bring a huge sigh of comic relief...cartoonlike illustrations...pictures grow progressively darker, helping to create and sustain the intended mood.” (SLJ)

Ljungkvist, Laura. Follow the Line Through the House. Viking, $16.99 (978-0-670-06225-6)

(PreS-gr. 2) “...explores the wilds of a refrigerator, a closet, a toolbox...exciting results...black line travels from page to page, forming the shapes of different objects as it goes...text asks a series of questions...” (HB)

Lyon, George Ella. Trucks Roll! Illus. by Craig Frazier. Jackson/Atheneum, $14.99 (978-1-4169-2435-7)

(PS) “Solid, up-to-date information about a major preschool enthusiasm...lively verse and a touch of whimsy. Trucks’ features are celebrated...diverse cargoes...massive, chunky trucks...plays with scale...graphically handsome addition to a popular genre.” (HB)

Martin, Bill Jr. Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? Illus. by Eric Carle. Holt, $16.95 (978-0-8050-8336-1)

(PS) “...appealingly cadenced story...sequence of animals, dramatically yet simply depicted in textured collage art...Creative action words and renderings of the various creatures in motion give the book a pleasing energy...endearing poignancy... lovely finale to an enduring series.” (PW)

Newgarden, Mark. Bow-Wow Bugs a Bug. Illus. by Morgan Montague Cash. Harcourt, $12.95 (978-0-15-205813-5)

(gr. 1-3) “Bow-Wow wakes up one morning, has a snack, and notices a small black bug...follows it...encounters more dogs and more bugs...clever circular plot is funny, quirky, and even suspensefully...simple, bold, expressive illustrations...ingenuity and humor of this book will be most appreciated by youngsters who have the patience and interest to examine and decode the pictures.” (SLJ)

O’Connor, Jane. Ready, Set, Skip! Illus. by Ann James. Viking, $15.99 (978-0-670-06216-4)

(PreS-K) “...cheerful...little girl who demonstrates for her sympathetic dog all the things that she can do... ‘But I can’t skip’...Her mother overhears her and ask if she can hop...with Mom’s help, from hopping to skipping is easy...Exuberant color and black line illustrations...convey the special camaraderie between girl and dog and mother and daughter...children who haven’t mastered a particular skill will be reassured and entertained...” (SLJ)

O’Malley, Kevin. Gimme Cracked Corn & I Will Share. Walker, $16.95 (978-0-8027-9684-4)

(K-gr.3) “...cornball book...Just about every pun imaginable about corn or chickens can be found in this story about Chicken’s search for a buried treasure of cracked corn...watercolor and ink illustrations provide at least half of the fun... expressions ... are priceless...verbal hijinks and rib-tickling artwork...” (PW)

Prelutsky, Jack. The Wizard. Illus. by Brandon Dorman. HarperCollins/Greenwillow, $17.89 (978-0-06-124077-5)

(K-gr. 3) “A creepy tower looms at the end of an ordinary neighborhood street...wicked and bored wizard...amuses himself by turning a bullfrog into a flea...circular transforming spells...ends with a sinister warning...vivid illustrations... spectacular...” (SLJ)

Rosenthal, Amy Krouse and Tom Lichetenheld. The OK Book. HarperCollins, $14.89 (978-0-06-115256-6)

(PreS-gr.2) “...paean to trying new things...tip the word “OK” over to create a childlike stick figure who is able to do many things, if not perfectly...simple graphic line drawings...Though clearly not a complete success at any single activity, OK is undeterred...illustrations use the simplest of lines to convey a world of emotion and meaning...” (SLJ)

Rylant, Cynthia. Walt Disney’s Cinderella. Illus. by Mary Blair. Disney Press, $16.99 (978-1-4231-0421-6), 64 pages.

(PreS-gr. 3) “...stunning artwork...one of the top artists at Walt Disney Studios...whimsical style and exuberant palette...conceptual paintings...created for Disney’s Cinderella (1950)...paired with an elegant retelling...Aficionados of the film will recognize the multi-turreted castle...Cinderella...not the honeyed version of the film...will find it’s way onto collectors’ shelves...” (PW)

Schwartz, Amy. Starring Miss Darlene. Porter/Roaring Brook, $16.95 (978-1-59643-230-7)

(K-gr.2) “Yearning for stardom, hippo Darlene takes a theater class. In Noah’s Ark, Darlene plays the flood...things go wrong...Darlene continues to mess up...Daily Weekly theater critic is...floored by her performances...nice lesson for young kids: you can make mistakes and still be a star.” (HB)(PW)

Sierra, Judy. Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf. Illus. by J. Otto Seibold. Knopf, $16.99 (978-0-375-83532-2)

(PreS-gr.3) “...install story-book characters in a retirement community...B.B. Wolf occupies a condo...While grouching about past-due notices that recall previous exploits...opens an invitation to a storybook tea at the public library...literary mainstays like Red Riding Hood...look aghast...anxiety is alleviated after too much tea makes B.B. unleash an enormous burp...expertly tweak the tension and the levity...” (PW)

Storace, Patricia. Sugar Cane: A Caribbean Rapunzel. Illus. by Raul Colòn. Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, $16.99 (0-7868-0791-1)

(K-gr. 3) “...tropical retelling, a young fisherman’s wife craves sugar cane...Madame Fate...claims the fisherman’s baby girl, Sugar Cane, on the child’s first birthday...cleaves close to the original’s basic elements...hopeful (and chaste) ending...poet’s command of rhythm, sound and imagery...images are as mesmerizing as the text...” (BL, SLJ)

Sturges, Philemon. How Do You Make a Baby Smile? Illus. by Bridget Strevens-Marzo. Harper-Collins, $16.99 (978-0-06-076072-4)

(Infant-PreS) “...simple but amusing text...high-spirited...will have babies giggling at every page turn...illustrations focus attention on large animal shapes...contain interesting details and textures that complement but never distract...animal mothers and fathers model simple baby games...interaction between the bright-eye-ed babies and parents will undoubtedly invite mimicry...” (PW)

Wild, Margaret. Piglet and Papa. Illus. by Stephen Michael King. Abrams, $14.95 (978-0-8109-1476-6)

(PreS) “...Piglet loves to play with her papa, but one day she chews his tail—hard—and he chases her out of the sty. Not sure if he really loves her anymore, she asks the other farm animals if they do, and receives reassurances from all...When Piglet is tired and goes home, Papa is waiting...exceptional...characters are all wonderfully drawn with humor and sensitivity...little pig’s emotions are beautifully portrayed...” (SLJ)

Willems, Mo. Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity. Hyperion, $16.99 (978-1-4231-0299-1)

(PreS-gr.1) “...sympathetic sequel...Trixie gains verbal dexterity and still treasures her rag doll, Knuffle Bunny...preschool’s show and tell...Trixie’s classmate...is clutching a bunny of her own...each girl accidentally brings home the wrong bunny, and a late-night exchange is needed to resolve the girls’ dilemma...comic-book-style panels...satisfying resolution...Not a word or image feels out of place.” (PW)

Juvenile Fiction

Alexander, Lloyd. The Golden Dreams of Carlo Chuchio. Holt, $17.95 (0-8050-8333-2)

(gr. 5-8) “Since his parents’ death, Carlo has worked for his uncle, a merchant...daydreaming...ships him off...travels across the sea to the Middle Eastern port...treasure...traveling companions...Against all advice, Carlo follows his dream, only to find it changing as he comes to know himself through the crucible of the journey...” (BL)

Avi. Iron Thunder. Hyperion, $14.99 (978-1-4231-0446-9)

(gr. 3-7) “...Brooklyn in 1862...Tom Carroll, 13, John Ericsson, a Swedish inventor, is trying to build an ironclad ship...Tom becomes Ericsson’s aide-de-camp...target of Secessionist spies...bribes escalate to threats...pressure to get the ship finished...spectacular clash with the Merrimac caps this intense and action-packed account of a battle that changed the course of naval warfare....” (PW)

Crowley, Suzanne. The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous. Greenwillow, $17.89 (978-0-06-123198-8)

(gr. 5-9) “...heart-stirring...thirteen-year-old Merilee Monroe...life revolves around keeping her ...Very Ordered Existence intact...increasingly difficult to maintain with mentally disabled, eight-year-old Biswick O’Conner following her everywhere... opens wide Merilee’s frenetic yet very astute mind...Secondary character development... is impressive...this book is marvelous...” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Draper, Sharon. Fire from the Rock. Dutton, $16.99 (978-0-525-47720-4)

(gr. 6-12) “...Little Rock, Arkansas...Sylvia...average eighth grade girl... integration...1957...Being one of the first black students...seems like an honor...danger ...lies ahead for the black students...hostility...reaches a boiling point...violence touches Sylvia’s family...escalates...vivid descriptions...” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Gaiman, Neil. M Is for Magic. HarperCollins, $16.99 (978-0-06-118642-4)

(gr. 6-9) “A living boy grows up among ghosts...elderly lady finds the Holy Grail and confronts...choices...Jack Horner seeks to solve Humpty Dumpty’s death in Nurseryland...assembles a number of ...previously published short stories...vary from scary to funny to melancholy...knows how to drop a reader into a world in one paragraph and keep the pages turning until the end...scary but not too scary or graphic.” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Kluger, Jeffrey. Nacky Patcher and the Curse of the Dry-Land Boats. Philomel, $18.99 (978-0-399-24604-3)

(gr. 5 and up) “...fully imagined fantasy...village of Yole... ‘Great Drying’ when locals drained the sea, (wrongly) suspecting that fertile land lay beneath it...greedy landowner...hardscrabble villagers...Nacky Patcher...come upon the wreckage of a ship in the dried-up sea...reverse the curse that has befallen Yole...reconstruct the ship...impossible odds...memorable characters aplenty...” (PW)

Kress, Adrienne. Alex and the Ironic Gentleman. Weinstein Books, $16.95 (978-1-60286-005-6)

(gr. 5 and up) “...Alex, who lives with her uncle...above their doorknob shop, is dreading the sixth grade...new teacher...descendent of a famous pirate, and soon three vicious men turn up in town, looking for a map to a fabled family treasure...Alex finds the map and escapes...ends up on the ship Ironic Gentleman...delightfully simple, observational prose style...inspired book should hold up to many re-readings.” (PW)

Lat. Town Boy. First Second/Roaring Brook, $16.95 (978-1-59643-331-1)

(gr. 6-9) GN “...continues the story...Kampung Boy...Mat has moved from the Malaysian countryside to the city Ipoh...late 1960s...befriended by Frankie...artistic ability...details ordinary teenage life...artwork...peppered with humorous images...will require pushing for readers beyond graphic novel enthusiasts.” (VOYA 5Q2P)

MacHale, D.J. Pendragon: The Pilgrims of Rayne. Simon & Schuster, $16.99 (978-1-4169-1416-7)

(gr. 6-12) “...eighth volume of the series...nonstop action, mind-boggling plot twists...Bobby and Courtney travel to First Earth to stop Mark...from inventing the robot killing machines that infect the future of all the worlds of Halla...new, darker Pendragon ... more violence...Courtney...finally gets to shine...ends on a twist so stunning...begging for volume nine.” (VOYA 5Q5P)

MacLachlan, Patricia. Edward’s Eyes. Atheneum, $15.99 (978-1-4169-2743-3)

(gr. 3-7) “From the start, it is clear that Edward is very special...older brother and narrator Jake...remarkably articulate...memorable portrait of a boy...asks to have Goodnight Moon read to him in French...never once strikes out while playing baseball ...somehow knows, when his mother becomes pregnant, that this sixth baby will be a girl...conclusion that is both unbearably sad and uplifting, delivered, like the whole, in perfect pitch.” (PW)

Pixley, Marcella. Freak. Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar Straus Giroux, $16 (978-0-374-32453-7)

(gr. 5-9) “Miriam studies the dictionary and writes poetry...seventh grade... watches the other girls dumb down, dress up, and fit in...becomes known as Freak... common and fairly predictable story...well-developed characters and the plot twist at the end...Miriam is heroic in the end, saving not only herself but also her greatest tormentor.” (VOYA 4Q5P)

Resau, Laura. Red Glass. Delacorte, $15.99 (978-0-385-73466-0)

(gr. 6-9) “...Sophie...suffers from panic attacks...comes out of herself by getting involved with ...illegal Mexican immigrant...mother’s great aunt...traveling...Mexico... Guatemala ... finds inner strength and confidence...characters...delightful...writing is...rich...” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Wein, Elizabeth E. The Lion Hunter: The Mark of Solomon, Book One. Viking, $16.99 (978-0-670-06163-1)

(gr. 5-8) “...using book one to ensnare...protagonist and leaving to book two the work of extracting him. On the day Telemakos’s sister is born, a moment of inattention in the lion pit leads to an attack that costs him his arm...becomes devoted to the newborn Athena...when Telemakos is sent...to be apprenticed in the court...Athena is sent with him...court is no refuge...Telemakos is placed in mortal jeopardy...vividly evoked setting ...web of loyalty and intrigue...book ends with Telemakos at the height of peril...” (HB)

Wilson, Jacqueline. Candyfloss. Illus. by Nick Sharratt. Roaring Brook/Brodie, $14.95 (978-1-59643-241-3)

(gr. 4-7) “...Flora Barnes splits her week between her mother, who has remarried a successful executive, and her father whose situation is less rosy...stepfather accepts a temporary transfer to Australia... best friend...has become materialistic and judgmental... chooses to stay with her dad...standing at school suffers...father is losing his shop... possibility of homelessness becomes real...many compelling, sometimes gritty, elements ... emotional tenderness...fully dimensional characters...full page of...comic-strip-style panels opens each chapter...” (PW)

Nonfiction

Calmenson, Stephanie. May I Pet Your Dog? The How-to Guide for Kids Meeting Dogs (and Dogs Meeting Kids). Illus. by Jan Oremerod. Clairon, $9.95 (978-0-618-51034-4)

(PreS-gr. 3) “Dachshund Harry leads the youngest readers through every step of kid-meets-dog etiquette...how to pet a dog...how dogs have different temperaments... illustrations are as simple and patient as the text...The already dog-savvy will appreciate the respect this book gives to their skill...will allow them to pass along wither wisdom to shyer friends...direct address from dog to child; grownups are relegated to holding the leash.” (HB)

Davies, Nicola. White Owl, Barn Owl. Illus. by Michael Foreman. Candlewick, $978-0-7636-3364-6)

(PreS-gr.3) “Simple facts about the hunting and nesting habits of barn owls...story of two humans who put a nesting box for them high in a tree...insets of information...Well-chosen design elements move both fiction and fact along with clarity and ease...artwork includes lovely watercolor and pastel paintings...Brief explanations of feathers and flight...will be enjoyed widely for personal reading and teaching...” (SLJ)

Grandits, John. Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems. Clarion, $15 (978-0-618-56860-4), pap. $5.95 (978-0-618-85132-4)

(gr. 5-9) “needs of poetry-phobic readers in mind...first poem...cleverly placed on the front cover...Jessie...uses artful arrangements of text...54 different typefaces...Jessie writes poems to her cat...quick to form strong opinions, she’s smart enough to revise them...” (SLJ)

Grogan, John. Marley: A Dog Like No Other. Photos by the author. Collins, $17.89 (978-0-06-124034-8)

(gr 5-8) “...adapted for young readers from...Marley and Me...love story...tiny puppy...zest for life...Marley becomes a large, drooling loose cannon on four legs...terrified of storms...wreaks havoc in the house...contains only stories that deal with Marley and little about the other aspects of his owners’ lives...lot of laughs...tender moments...heart-wrenching chapters that deal with Marley’s illness and death...” (SLJ)

Jenkins, Steve. Living Color. Houghton, $17 (978-0-618-70897-0)

(PreS-gr.3) “...amazing lifelike paper collage...animal color and the many functions it serves...diverse assortment of wildlife...Grouped by color, more than 60 animals are realistically depicted...Eye-catching layouts...Short paragraphs beside each creature explain the reason for its hue...Concluding pages provide facts about the animals’ sizes, diets and habitats....easy-to-understand language and gorgeous illustrations...” (PW)

Rumford, James, reteller. Beowolf: A Hero’s Tale Retold. Houghton, $17 (978-0-618-57637-7)

(gr. 4-8) “...epic Anglo-Saxon poem...hero’s three fights to the death...has survived since 800 CE, however, because of what it has to say about the nature and value of friendship, character, leadership, loyalty and glory...superb on all counts...vigorous, evocative prose...pen-and-ink watercolor illustrations...even manages to hint a the poem’s emotional depths in his concise retelling...” (HB)

Shivack, Nadia. Inside Out: Portrait of an Eating Disorder. S&S/Atheneum/Ginee Seo Bks, $17.99 (978-0-689-85216-9)

(gr. 9 and up) “...personal narrative and graphic-novel-style depiction of ...eating disorder...disturbing, revealing, and ultimately enlightening. Chronicled on napkins, notebook paper, or whatever scrap was available, Nadia’s story unfolds as she endures it...starting at age 14...speaks to the victims...inner turmoil, possible causes and pain...facts about the illness...specific Websites...list of resources for intervention... occasionally hard to decipher, readers will be motivated to stick with them as they decode the messages...harrowing honesty...” (SLJ)

Teen Fiction

Abdel-Fattah, Randa. Does My Head Look Big in This? Scholastic/Orchard, $16.99 (0-439-91947-9)

(gr. 7-10) “...Amal is an Australian-born, Muslim-Palestinian ‘whacked with some seriously confusing identity hyphens.’...16...loves shopping...Sex and the City...also wants to wear the hijab...confronts insults...refused a part-time job...open-minded observant physician parents support her and so do her friends...hilarious...and sometimes heartbreaking...without heavy preaching, the issues of faith and culture are part of the story...funny, touching contemporary narrative will grab teens...” (BL)

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Illus. by Ellen Forney. Little, Brown, $16.99 (978-0-316-01368-0)

(gr. 7-12) “Nerdy, fourteen-year-old Arnold Spirit lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation...teacher suggests that Arnold transfer to a school off the reservation...Arnold attempts to bridge Indian and white cultures...portrayal of reservation life...great lineup of supporting characters, is realistic and fantastical and funny and tragic—all at the same time...engaging...gain insight into American Indian culture and politics...” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Bildner, Phil. Busted. Simon & Schuster, $15.99 (978-1-4169-2424-1)

(gr. 9-12) “...intertwined stories...Several couples plot...school ski trip...get drunk and have sex...student devises a painstaking gambling system to place bets on who gets kicked out of class...adult characters...completely gray. It is the dark side of high school...complex, controversial, and utterly captivating.” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Brande, Robin. Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature. Knopf, $18.99 (978-0-375-94349-2)

(gr. 7-12) “Mena...ostracized by her Christian church...Now high school holds stares...cruel comments...assigned lab partner...enthusiastic science geek...endeavors to enlighten Mena. When Ms. Shepherd teaches evolution...Mean begins to question her religious education...lessons in constitutional law, scientific method, and biblical lore...informs as it entertains, piques curiosity, has broad appeal...” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Cabot, Meg. Pants on Fire. HarperCollins, $17.89 (978-0-06-088016-3)

(gr. 7-12) “Katie...small, quirky town of Eastport, Rhode Island...having what she thinks is the best summer of her life...gorgeous boyfriend Seth...Eric to make out with on the sly...Enter Tommy...nerdy friend from eighth grade...left town four years ago after he exposed members of the football team for cheating on their SATs...enjoyable, formulaic, beach read...ending is predictable but satisfying...Teen girls will...eat it up and ask for more.” (VOYA 3Q5P)

Crutcher, Chris. Deadline. Greenwillow, $16.99 (978-0-06-085089-0)

(gr. 9 and up) “Ben Wolf, 18, goes in for a routine sports physical...aggressive form of leukemia and a year to live...decides to do nothing...chooses not to tell anyone...thrilling last year of Ben’s life, in which the 123-pounder ditches track for football...issues crammed into this one include alcoholism, child molestation...teenage motherhood...narrative never drowns in a sea of woe...parses the dilemmas his secret produces...Ben’s voice often sounds distinctly like the author’s, but here’s predicting readers will not care one whit...entertaining, thought-provoking tearjerker.” (PW) (VOYA 5Q4P)

Doyle, Brian. Pure Spring. Groundwood, $16.95 (978-0-88899-774-6)

(gr. 6-12) “Set in the early 1950s...sequel to Boy O’Boy...fifteen-year-old Martin O’Boy...to get a job as a driver’s assistant...pretends to be sixteen...blackmailed into helping the driver, Randy, cheat customers...lovely shapes his characters...Martin’s guardian Grandpa Rip...literate, smart and funny...dementia...come to terms with his parents’ deaths in a car accident...institutionalization of his mentally handicapped twin brother...comedic scenes...balancing tragedy and pain...gentle affectionate touch...” (HB)

Gipi. Notes for a War Story. First Second/Roaring Brook, $16.95 trade pb (978-1-59643-261-1)

(gr. 7-12) GN “In a nameless, war-torn, European country, three young men fall under the spell of Felix, a charismatic opportunist...engage in petty crime and profiteering, gradually escalating to violence...powerful...deceptively crude, black-and-white panels to portray a world sliding into chaos...will surprise and challenge readers.” (VOYA 4Q5P)

Harazin, S.A. Blood Brothers. Delacorte, $15.99 (978-0-385-73364-9)

(gr. 7-12) “Clay Gardener, respected hospital employee...small-town Georgia, the summer after high school graduation... shadow of his best friend... Socioeconomic disparities permeate, but sex and partying surface realistically...portrait of a teen who wants desperately to study medicine, but even community college tuition seems well out of reach...amazingly ordinary...wonderfully engaging...Settings and characters are extremely well drawn...compellingly serious...self-deprecating humor...” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Higgins, F.E. The Black Book of Secrets. Fiewel & Friends/Holtzbrinck, $14.95 (978-0-312-36844-9)

(gr. 7-12) “Raised by his drunken, avaricious parents to be a pickpocket, Ludlow Fitch manages to run away on the night that Ma and Pa try to sell his teeth...escapes to...mountain village...intriguing blend of adventure and historical fiction spiced with a light touch of the fantastic... ‘Secret Pawnbroker’...job as apprentice...villagers sell their secrets...colorful characters...clever plot twists...climax is both excellent and surprising... first in a series...” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Myers, Walter Dean. What They Found: Love on 145^th Street. Random/Wendy Lamb, $18.99 (978-0-375-937-095)

(gr. 7-11) “...fast, funny talk...stirring contemporary stories...grim view of being ‘poor and black’, whether on the streets of Harlem, in prison, or on the war front in Afghanistan...harsh realism...teens’ tender connections are heartbreaking...lighter moments...Hope lies in what the book title says, finding love and community.” (BL)

Patterson, James. Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. Little, Brown, $16.99 (978-0-316-15560-1)

(gr. 6-12) “The winged mutants return...third installment...still on the run from the evil scientists...who created them...now want to destroy them...Itex has a plan to obliterate half the world’s population as well as all of the early-model mutants... compelled to interfere...more depth than the previous two books...environmental damage, ethics...gender...chapters are short, taut, and filled with action...leaves it open for another installment.”(VOYA 3Q5P)

Sargent, Pamela. Farseed. Tor, $17.95 (978-0-765-31427-7)

(gr. 6-12) “...second book in a trilogy...more than twenty years after...Earthseed... more than twenty years have passed...human colonists...splitting into two settlements... larger group...has lost contact with the more adventurous people who traveled south to the ocean...Things have not gone well...three strangers who have come from the original colony...thoughtful planetary adventure...” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Sharenow, Robert. My Mother the Cheerleader. HarperTeen, $17.89 (0-06-114897-0)

(gr. 7-10) “When her mother pulls Louise, 13, out of class to protest the forced court-ordered integration of her school in New Orleans in 1960, Louise never gives the political issues a thought...her mother is one of those jeering “Cheerleaders.”...New York editor...quiet outrage makes Louise begin to raise doubts and questions...Klan goes after him...stirring secrets drive the plot...” (BL)

Tan, Shaun. The Arrival. Scholastic/Levine, $19.99 (978-0-439-89529-3)

(gr. 7 and up) GN “...haunting, wordless sequence about a lonely emigrant in a bewildering city... sublime imagination...a man’s poignant departure from his wife and daughter...strange visuals reveal this is not our everyday world. Shadowy dragon tails trawl the sky of the man’s homeland...documents are stamped with cryptic symbols... bizarre technologies...no written explanations...fully grasp the man’s confusion...empathy for other exiles...gradually, his melancholy gives way to optimism and community... flawlessly developing nuances of human feeling...enigmatic setting...compassionately describes an immigrant’s dilemma...” (PW)(VOYA 5Q3P)

Wild, Kate. Fight Game. The Chicken House/Scholastic, $16.99 (978-0-439-87175-4)

(gr. 6-12) “...Gypsy fighter Freedom Smith...torn between two men playing opposite ends of the morality spectrum...goes undercover...whole universe of complete figures...Readers see these characters and want to know more...voice blending science fiction espionage and Grimm fairy tale...pulsates with raw energy...sequel is forthcoming...” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Wittlinger, Ellen. Parrotfish. Simon & Schuster, $16.99 (978-1-4169-1622-2)

(gr. 7-12) “...Angela has always felt like a boy inside...junior year of high school...crops hair, dons male attire...wishes to be called Grady. Parents and siblings react with disbelief and distress...Bullied, teased, and mocked at school...two unexpected allies. Kira...most gorgeous and popular senior...Weird and geeky Sebastian, writing a report on gender changing in parrotfish...wonderfully wacky characters and scenes... snaps and crackles with wit...touches the spirit of the sensitive reader...” (VOYA 5Q3P)

Recordings

Wolves! Folk Stories Featuring Our Best Friend’s Wild Cousin. Read by Tim Jennings and Leanne Ponder. 45 min. Eastern Coyote Productions, CD, $12 (978-0-979-355-417)

(Gr.4-8) “Ancient tales...traditional Celtic music...vivid vocal tapestry...tandem storytelling and atmospheric harp and concertina background music...three world stories...humorous to touching to dramatic...skillful pacing...thoroughly satisfying, family-friendly audio.” (BL)

Books in Spanish

Gonzales Bertrand, Diane. La carrera de Ricardo/Ricardo’s Race. tr. by Rocío Viegas-Barros. illus. by Anthony Accardo. U.S.: Piñata Books: Arte Público Press, $15.95 (1-55885-481-9).
(gr. 3 and up) “...moving biography...Ricardo Romo...early childhood through his university years and back to his hometown where he became the president of the University of Texas ... discovered that he loved to run...won an athletic scholarship at the University of Texas... illustrations...simple line drawings filled in with vibrant colors, and the last page presents Romo’s chronology...” (CR)

Iggulden, Hal & Gon Iggulden. El libro peligroso para los chicos. (The Dangerous Book for Boys) tr. by Corriente, A., Corriente, F., Pino Moreno, M., Vazquez, R. Spain: Paidos, $56.95 (978-84-493-2024-8)
(gr. 3 and up) “...fabulous encyclopedia-like volume ...topics likely to intrigue young adventurous minds...accessible language...traditional font and old-feel illustrations...give this volume the look of a treasured antique passed on to younger generations... translated edition has been adapted to include topics and stories that fit the tradition of Hispanic culture, like the origin of some Spanish words and the most common trees found in Spain and Latin America...much of the content will appeal to readers of both genders....” (CR)

Junakoviæ, Svjetlan. Gran libro de los retratos de animales. (Great Book of Animal Portraits) Spain: OQO Editora, $30.95 (849657380-X).

(gr. 5 and up) “...large picture book is artistically distinguished. The 26 portraits provide slightly absurd takes on masterpieces dating from the early Renaissance to the early 19th century, with animals taking the place of the original human subjects ... engaging... sly commentary that often touches on the subject’s human foibles... There is... no attribution. This is a bit troublesome for the curious nonscholar... the lack of information may well send readers to art history books...” (CR)

Vargas, Gaby, and Jordi Rosado. Quiúbole con ... tu cuerpo, el ligue, tu imagen, el sexo, las drogas y todo lo demás: Un libro para niñas, chavas, chicas o como quieras llamarles …(What’s Going on with … A Book for Young Women) Mexico/U.S.: Aguilar: Santillana, pap. $17.95 (970-770-228-1)
Vargas, Gaby, and Jordi Rosado. Quiúbole con ... tu cuerpo, el ligue, tus cuates, el sexo, tu familia, las drogas y todo lo demás: Manual de supervivencia para hombres.
(What’s Going on with … Your Body, Your Relationships, Your Friends, Sex, Your Family, Drugs and Everything Else: A Survival Manual for Men) Mexico/U.S.: Aguilar: Santillana, pap. $19.95 ( 970-770-409-8).

(gr.7 and up) “...both volumes speak frankly about topics that adolescents are eager to learn about. Vargas, a well-know Mexican author, and Rosado, who hosts radio shows for teenagers, explore the world of adolescence in an informative yet often-entertaining manner...encourage readers to take full responsibility for their actions and to establish a dialog with their parents...conversational tone, the text includes colloquial Mexican expressions and a number of accessible English-language words... detailed index, contact information for key organizations (though most offices are located in Mexico City), and a list of helpful websites...” (CR)