January 2009

The Indianhead Federated Library System presents

Starred Reviews

New and Notable Books for Young People

January 2009 * 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), 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.

Bilingual/Spanish Books

Bauer, Marion Dane. How Do I Love You? Illus. by Caroline Jayne Church. Scholastic/Cartwheel, $8.99 (978-0-545-07270-0)

(ages 3-5) “…board book…superior delivery…compares a parent’s love to the unchanging conditions of the natural world: ‘I love you as the bird/loves a song to sing…’ mixed-media collages…toddler…other humans are conspicuously absent…speaker… isn’t seen. The world seems hers alone.” (PW)

Brown, Ruth. The Tale of Two Mice. Candlewick, $16.99 (978-0-7636-4015-6)

(PreS-gr.2) “Richly detailed acrylic and watercolor illustrations with satisfying lift-the-flaps…gloomy mansion on a wintry day. Billy and Bo…venture out in search of food…kitchen…find some treats…but behind a door, a monster…It might take a few page turns, but sharp-eyed readers will spot what Billy is actually afraid of…a cat, stalking the mice through each room…deliciously detailed and creepy…Just when the visual suspense is at its peak, the feline stalker makes her move, popping up from the page…” (HB)

Ehrlich, Amy. The Girl Who Wanted to Dance. Illus. by Rebecca Walsh. Candlewick, $17.99 (978-0-7636-1345-7)

(gr. 1-5) “…haunting fairytale and a parable for families separated by divorce or death…lyrically rendered…art as a vehicle for transcending pain…Clara lives with her silent father and loving grandmother…When musicians come to the village, Clara cannot resist their lure and slips away to the forest to dance…comes close to joining them… father …recognizing his wife among the dancers…forgiving her for leaving…bittersweet ending barricades the story against didacticism…lush paintings of an idealized old world…” (PW)

Fern, Tracey E. Pippo the Fool. Illus. by Pau Estrada. Charlesbridge, $15.95 (978-1-570-916-557)

(gr. 1-3) “…fictionalized story of Renaissance architect and engineer Filippo Brunelleschi…dome of the Cathedral of Florence…contest…Pippo, a goldsmith known for his beautiful but useless oddities, is determined to win and shed his unwanted nickname…judges…decree that he must work in concert with his chief rival…Lorenzo… dismayed…timeless art…primary drama between Pippo and Lorenzo is played out with grade-school churlishness…afterword fleshes out…historical engineering details…” (BL)

Foley, Greg. Willoughby and the Lion. HarperCollins/Bowen, $17.99 (978-0-06-154750-8)

(PreS-gr.2) “…unique visual presentation…sumptuously produced, two-color book…Willoughby Smith has moved to a disappointing new home…flimsy black line on an expanse of white…sees a lion perched on a boulder. Rendered in metallic gold ink, the lion shines…lion promises Willoughby 10 wishes but adds, ‘Unless you wish for the most wonderful thing of all, I’ll be stuck on this rock forever…first nine wishes benefit himself…with every wish, the ratio of gold to gray increases…compositions…become more complex…The tenth wish, whispered to the lion, finally reverses the acquisitive sequence…” (PW)

Henkes, Kevin. Birds. Illustrated by Laura Dronzek. Greenwillow, $18.89 (978-0-061-363-054)

(PreS-K) “…delightful…bridges the space between concept books and longer narrative stories…unseen narrator hears birds singing…looks out to see birds that represent concepts, such as color, shape, size and number. The story becomes more sophisticated as it progresses…spare direct words have a lyrical magic…paintings… reflect the text’s plain elegance while carrying an exuberant energy all their own…will enchant preschool audiences again and again.” (BL)

Jocelyn, Marthe. Same Same. Illus. by Tom Slaughter. Tundra, $15.95 (978-0-88776-885-9)

(PreS-K) “…strikingly introduce the concept of classification…graphic cut-paper compositions command attention…apple…planet Earth…tambourine… ‘Round things,’ reads the caption. The next pages show the tambourine again, now with a guitar and a bird. This spread is captioned, ‘things that make music.’…everyday objects fall into many categories…concept is clear and delivery attractive…” (PW)

Layton, Neal. Oscar and Arabella and Ormsby. Hodder (IPG, dist.), $14.95 (978-0-340-88454-6)
(ages 5-7) “When a woolly rhino joins…a mammoth and a mastodon, trouble follows…so does comedy. Oscar does handstands to amuse Arabella; show-off Ormsby does handstands…while juggling, doing cartwheels…whistling a funny tune…scribbly pen illustrations…At first Arabella wears a deadpan expression…soon…stomps off unnoticed while the boys wrestle…hilarious send-up of machismo and rivalry…ending …totally down-to-earth.” (PW)

Liwska, Renata. Little Panda. Houghton, $12.95 (978-0-618-96627-1)
(PreS) “…story-within-a-story, Grandfather Panda tells his grandson…panda named Bao Bao plays with his mother, Lin Lin…climbing trees and falling out of them…One day, while Lin Lin is away searching for food, Bao Bao naps in a tree and wakes to find a tiger underneath, threatening him…climb higher…but the little tree is too slender and bends over when, the tiger close behind, he reaches the tippy top…skill at falling works in his favor…serene pencil illustrations…keep the story gentle enough for the youngest viewers…help viewers focus on characters…sure to please...” (HB)

Mortenson, Greg and Susan L. Roth. Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg & Three Cups of Tea. Illus. by Susan L. Roth. Dial, $16.99 (978-0-803-730-588)
(gr. 1-3) “…After getting lost while trying to climb the mountain K2, Greg Mortenson found himself in a Pakistani village…retell his remarkable story through the eyes of Pakistani children…becomes aware of children’s voices…decides to build them a school…picture-book narrative successfully compresses Mortenson’s story by focusing on the elements most important to children…collages portray the dramatic landscape and incredible undertaking...appended scrapbook of photographs, maps and additional information…” (BL)

Newbery, Linda. Posy. Illus. by Catherine Rayner. S&S Atheneum, $16.99 (978-1-4169-7112-2)
(PreS-K) “Posy is a ‘…whiskers wiper,/crayon swiper./Playful wrangler,/knitting tangler.’…watercolor pencil crayons, acrylic, and India inks…Color is used sparingly, allowing readers to focus on the striped and spotted feline…well suited for sharing one-on-one…playfulness of the text.” (SLJ)

Portis, Antoinette. A Penguin Story. HarperCollins, $18.89 (9789-0-06-145689-3)
(PreS-gr.2) “…Edna yearns for something different. Though her fellow penguins are content…bright orange research station, inhabited by orange-coated researchers… other penguins…are suitably impressed…stands atop an iceberg…wondering ‘what else could there be?’…gentle tribute to dreamers crackles with quiet humor…ability to convey emotion and character through the slightest change in Edna’s beady eyes and flippers is extraordinary…interplay of the text and pictures nears perfection.” (SLJ)

Rawlinson, Julia. Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms. Illus. by Tiphanie Beeke. Greenwillow, $17.99 (978-0-06-168855-3)
(PreS-gr.2) “…cute little fox Fletcher…discovers spring. Seeing blossoms swirling through the air…convinced that the snow has returned…sounds the alarm…All is quickly forgiven as they revel in the glories of the season…distinctly British lilt… should prove captivating for preschoolers…illustrations give each character a vivid personality…conjures up an irresistible forest…” (PW)

Snicket, Lemony. The Composer Is Dead. Music by Nathaniel Stookey, illus. by Carson Ellis. HarperCollins, $17.99 (978-0-06-123627-3)
(K and up) “…introduction to the instruments of the orchestra…picture book cum police procedural, with a murder investigation functioning as plot…witty wordplay…inspector…interrogating each section, beginning with the First Violins, ‘who have the trickier parts to play,’ followed by the Second Violins, ‘who are more fun at parties.’…Silhouettes of each instrument…accompanying CD features Snicket narrating and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra performing Stookey’s original score.” (PW)

Shapiro, Zachary. We’re All in the Same Boat. Illus. by Jack E. Davis. Putnam, $16.99 (978-0-399-24393-6)
(PreS-gr.2) “For the first few days after they board the ark to escape the heavy rain, the animals enjoy the…voyage…as weeks pass, tempers start to flare…alphabetic litany of animals and their grievances begins…Finally, Noah calls a halt…remind the creatures that they have to get along…the next pass through the alphabet is much more congenial…Iguanas invite jaguars to jam…hilarious illustrations of the facial expressions … liveliness and humor…little relation to the familiar Bible tale…” (SLJ)

Staines, Bill. All God’s Critters. Illus. by Kadir Nelson. Simon & Schuster, $16.99 (978-0-689-86959-4)
(K-gr.3) “…high-spirited illustrations that have tons of kid appeal. Bow-tied dogs and cats sing alongside a Buddha-bellied hippopotamus, a frog…solid, rounded forms of favorite toys…large trim size invites singalongs…visual pacing reveals knowledge of how the song works in real life…gatefold opens to reveal the animals in kick-line formation and full-throated bliss…sheet music…” (PW)

Weber, Elka. The Yankee at the Seder. Illus. by Adam Gustavson. Tricycle, $16.99 (978-1-58246-256-1)
(gr. 2-4) “When his mother invites a Union Army corporal…to join the family for Passover, Jacob is aghast: they’re proud Virginia Confederates…only 24 hours have passed since Lee’s surrender…Haggadah commands Jews to welcome ‘all who are hungry…all who are in need’ to their seder tables…cinematic flair…timeless values of faith, civility and chicken soup…based on a historical incident…authentic…gift for dialogue…deserves great credit for not forcing her characters to hug and learn in the final pages…Sensitively written and beautifully illustrated.” (PW)

Juvenile Fiction

Beil, Michael. The Red Blazer Girls: The Ring of Rocamadour. Knopf, $18.99 (978-0-375-948-145)
(gr. 5-8) “…Narrator Sophie and her pals Margaret and Rebecca…Upper East Side…Ophie…has seen a ghostly face in the church window across the courtyard… woman is real and needs help…scavenger hunt wrapped in clues about religion, literature and math, with a museum-quality treasure at its end…mystery…incipient relationship with a boy friend who is morphing into a boyfriend…dialogue is fast and funny…clues are often solvable…a bunch of adult characters are stereotypes, they work in the context of the mystery…” (BL)

Bradford, Chris. Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (978-1-4231-1871-8)
(gr. 5 and up) “…fast-paced adventure set in medieval Japan, the first in the projected Young Samurai trilogy. Twelve-year-old Jack Fletcher…British merchant vessel…agile rigging monkey…after Japanese ninja murder the entire crew, including his father, Jack is left alone and injured to cope with strange customs and indecipherable language…powerful samurai adopts him…page-turner…intriguing bits of Japanese history and culture…and adventure novel to rank among the genre’s best…intricate and authentic descriptions of martial arts…earns the literary equivalent of a black belt.” (PW)

Catanese, P.W. Happenstance Found. S&S/Aladdin, $16.99 (978-1-4169-7519-9)
(gr. 3-7) “…first of the planned Books of Umber…wittily subverting genre tropes. Happenstance…wakes up in a cave with no memories of who he is or anything about the fantastic world in which he lives…Lord Umber…and his two companions… discover that Hap can see in the dark, leap many feet in the air, speak numerous languages and go without sleep…supernatural assassin…secrets from Umber’s own mysterious past…rich characterizations…well-choreographed action sequences… genuinely surprising twists at the end…” (PW)

Hannigan, Katherine. Emmaline and the Bunny. Illus. by the author. Greenwillow, $17.99 (978-0-061-626-555)
(gr. 1-3) “…quiet fantasy…Emmaline wants a bunny…lives on Shipshape Street in the town of Neatasapin. Enforcing the tidiness…insists that children be silent and spotless…Emmaline, a puddle splasher and silly-phrase shouter…is an anomaly…other kids won’t play with her…seeks out a wild bunny…in the process changes both her parents and her town…very short chapters…cunningly illustrated...sweet watercolors, reminiscent of Beatrix Potter’s works…fun wordplay…children will enjoy listening to the story—again and again.” (BL)

Hiaasen, Carl. Scat. Knopf/Borzoi, $19.99 (978-0-375-93486-5)
(gr. 5-8) “…edge-of-the seat eco-thriller. When their unpopular biology teacher goes missing in a suspicious fire during a field trip to the Black Vine Swamp, Nick and Marta don’t buy the…excuse for her absence…Eco-avengers; an endangered, hunted panther; illegal pipelines in the Everglades…gripping novel. From the first sentence, readers will be hooked…emotion and personal changes that Nick goes through …father’s injury in Iraq…well-written and smoothly plotted…fully realized characters…” (SLJ)

Wells, Rosemary. Lincoln and His Boys. Illus. by P.J. Lynch. Candlewick, $16.99 (978-0-7636-3723-1)
(gr. 3-7) “Inspired by a 200-word fragment written by one of Lincoln’s sons…perspectives of his youngest children, Willie and Tad. Nine years old when the book opens…Willie accompanies his father to Chicago…family vernacular will win readers quickly, as will Lincoln’s readiness to indulge his boys and let them him at work. Darkness enters gradually…Rarely does a biography so robustly engage the audience’s emotions…” (PW)

Non-fiction

Delannoy, Isabelle. Our Living Earth: A Story of People, Ecology, and Preservation. Photos by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Illus. by David Giraudon. Abrams, $24.95 (978-0-8109-7132-5)
(gr. 5 and up) “…magnificent aerial photographs from around the world…text is organized thematically, covering fresh water, biodiversity, oceans, land, cities, people, food and climate. Each category is divided into three to five subtopics…myriad challenges of sustainability…surprising information and images to ponder…overarching theme that social justice and environmental protection are inextricably related…dramatic oversize photographs…text and spot illustrations interpret the photographs…” (SLJ)

Florian, Douglas. Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings. S&S/Atheneum, $17.99 (978-1-4169-7978-4)
(gr. 1 and up) “…free-flowing, witty collection of poems and collages about dinosaurs…perhaps his best work ever…poems marry facts with a poet’s eye for detail… ‘Glossarysaurus’ at the end…humor…spontaneity of both illustrations and poems…will encourage aspiring paleontologists and poets…” (PW)

A Foot in the Mouth. Ed. by Paul B. Janeczko, illus. by Chris Raschka. Candlewick, $17.99 (978-0-7636-0663-3)
(gr. 3-7) “…poems…funny…some are familiar…Punchy collages…loose visual arrangements…ebullient choices…all the pieces have an edge…” (PW)

McGinty, Alice B. Darwin. Illus. by Mary Azarian. Houghton, $18 (978-0-61899-5318)
(gr. 1-4) “After tracing Charles Darwin’s youth and education…focuses on his five-year voyage aboard the HMS Beagle…returned to England and spend his life researching, reflecting, and writing about his discoveries…handsome woodcuts painted with watercolors. Quotes from Darwin’s journals and letters appear as pictures…Source notes are appended…interplay of clearly-written third-person text with Darwin’s own words and occasional quotes from his contemporaries creates a multifaceted view…introducing Darwin and his work to a surprisingly young group.” (BL)

Rosenwald, Laurie. All the Wrong People Have Self-Esteem: An Innappropriate Book for Young Ladies (or, Frankly, Anybody Else). Bloomsbury, $16.99 paper (978-1-59990-240-1)
(gr. 7 and up) “…tackles political correctness, the follies of prevailing wisdom and her favorite peeves…spread-size collages feature fonts on steroids, magazine cut-outs, photos and cartoons paired with witty diatribes and confessions…advice…all-purpose responses…Funny, fresh, and impossible not to read cover to cover.” (PW)

Scott, Elaine. Mars and the Search for Life. Clarion, $17 (978-0-618-76695-6)
(gr. 5-9) A well-researched examination of our fascinating relationship with the Red Planet…possibility of life…readable and informational text…history of our speculations…Deductions made from detailed photos and a variety of experiments conducted on the surface are discussed…practical steps…engineering feats…Color photos, illustrations, and diagrams liberally dot the oversize pages…Sidebars…clearly written, carefully constructed…” (SLJ)

Shange, Ntozake. Coretta Scott. Illus. by Kadir Nelson. Amistad/Katherine Tegan, $18.89 (978-0-061-253-652)
(K-gr.3) “Unflinching verse and elegant imagery…powerful, evocative, picture-book portrait of Coretta Scott King…childhood to her marriage with Martin Luther King, Jr…final page...linear, prose biography, adding context to…more abstract references in the poetry…facts…humanity…paintings are luminous and reverent…indelible, emotional expression of the strength, beauty, and joy of one woman’s character.” (BL) (SLJ)

Silvey, Anita. I’ll Pass for Your Comrade: Women Soldiers in the Civil War. Clarion, $17 (978-0-618-57491-9)
(gr. 5-9) “…unsung heroes of the Civil War: women who risked their reputations and lives to fight as soldiers…excerpts from first-person accounts…abundant vintage photographs and etchings…explores the motives, adventures and day-to-day struggles… highly accessible language…enough background…put into context pre-Victorian restrictions on women…engrossing, intelligently wrought account of 19^th-century feminists making their mark.” (PW)

Swanson, James L. Chasing Lincoln’s Killer: The Search for John Wilkes Booth. Scholastic, $16.99 (978-0-439-90354-7)
(gr. 7 and up) “…YA version of Swanson’s bestselling Manhunt, this account of Lincoln’s assassination and the 12-day search for his killer reads like a historical thriller…Every bit of dialogue is said to come from original sources, adding a chill to the already disturbing conspiracy…gives even the well-known murder scene…enough dramatic flourish to make the subject seem fresh…reveals the depth of divisions…disorder within the government…Abundant period photographs and documents enhance the book’s immediacy.” (PW) (SLJ)

Talbott, Hudson. River of Dreams: The Story of the Hudson River. Putnam, $17.99 (978-0-399-24521-3)
(gr. 1-3) “…presents a staggering amount of information about the Hudson River without ever overwhelming or confusing readers…watercolor spreads, unified by the image of the river flowing across each one, traces the Hudson’s role in the colonization of New York…Revolution…Erie Canal…railroads…environmental degradation…rebirth… image of the river often doubles as a timeline…literary and artistic history…” (PW)

Turck, Mary C. Freedom Song: Young Voices and the Struggle for Civil Rights. With CD. Chicago Review, pb, $18.95 (978-1-55652-773-9)
(gr. 7 and up) “…unique focus adds a new and captivating facet to the subject…music was the universal link that bound together the young and old, black and white…information about factual events…how the evolution of the music captured the mood and sentiment of the time…field hollers, spirituals, gospel, and protest music… clear, black and white photos…accompanying CD allows students to internalize the words and their emotional impact as they listen…”(SLJ)

YA Fiction

Caletti, Deb. The Secret Life of Prince Charming. Simon & Schuster, $16.99 (978-1-4169-5940-3)
(gr. 7 and up) “…detonates a few stereotypes about love…17-year—old…Quinn, raised by a mother whose favorite lecture is ‘All Men Are Assholes,’…loyal to her father…whose self-centeredness harms the women he woos…discovers that her father has stolen objects prized by each of his loves and wives, she determines to return them to their rightful owners…half-sister…embark on a road trip…everyone learns lessons in love…large dose of wit…multidimensional personalities…” (PW)

Fantaskey, Beth. Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side. Harcourt, $17 (978-0-15-206384-9)
(gr. 9 and up) “…Down-to-earth mathlete Jessica…completely horrified when…Romanian named Lucius Vladescu shows up on her doorstep, claiming that he and she are vampire royalty betrothed to each other since infancy…adoptive parents verify…playing up absurdities without laughing at them…Jessica’s laidback parents serve as foils for imperious Lucius…first-rate comedy…romance sizzles…plot develops ingeniously and suspensefully and the satire rings.” (PW)

Foxlee, Karen. The Anatomy of Wings. Knopf, $19.99 (978-0-375-95643-0)
(gr. 8-12) “Set in a small Australian town in the early 1980s…young girl’s grief after the death of her older sister. Months before Beth’s fatal fall, 10-year-old Jennifer’s beautiful singing voice disappears. When and why it ‘got stuck’ forms a central mystery that unifies Jennifer’s narrative…Each clue leads back to events from the tumultuous year before Beth died…sensitive, original story…story works as memory does, with skips, gaps and sudden piercing moments…heart-stopping accuracy and sly symbolism…” (BL)

Jinks, Catherine. The Reformed Vampire Support Group. Harcourt, $17 (978-0-15-206609-3)
(gr. 7 and up) “…vampires…ragtag bunch: anemic, whiny, unattractive, they feed on guinea pigs…Nina, the narrator, is in her 50s, but was ‘infected’ at 15 and chafes at being treated like an adolescent…delicious details…suspense and adventure of the sinister yet daffy variety…plot twists…ramp up the giddiness…” (PW)

Myers, Walter Dean. Dope Sick. HarperTeen/Amistad, $16.99 (978-0-06-121477-6)
(gr. 9 and up) “…harsh realism and a dose of the fantastic…inner-city teen in the jaws of a crisis: 17-year-old Lil J is holed up in an abandoned building, believed to have shot an undercover cop in a drug bust…stopped by Kelly…Kelly’s TV not only plays scenes from Lil J’s life but projects what will happen if he sticks with his current plan: suicide…revisits pivotal moments and wrestles with his fate…street-style lingo…note of well-earned hope… will leave readers with plenty to think about.” (PW)

Rich, Naomi. Alis. Viking, $17.99 (978-0-670-01125-4)
(gr. 7 and up) “…ironically named Freeborne, a strict religious community, 14-year-old Alis is told she must marry the 40-year-old minister…Readers will feel her terror…Deciding to join her run-away brother in ‘the city’…lands in disastrous circumstances…Devastated…returns to Freeborne—and the minister…rich plot continues to thicken…put on trial for a crime she has not committed…moral complexities …sympathetic portrayal…will have audiences firmly gripped.” (PW)

Smith, Sheri L. Flygirl. Putnam, $16.99 (978-0-399-247-095)
(gr. 7-10) “…World War II…1941, black high-school graduate Ida Mae Jones… longs to fight for her country...Her late dad taught her to fly…determined to join up… slights against women are constant, as is racial prejudice…Ida Mae is so light-skinned that she can pass as white, which means leaving her family and friends and creating a new identity…bonds with some fellow trainees…flies for her country…details about navigation are exciting…loneliness, shame, and fear…unforgettable climax… afterword fills in the history of the WASP…” (BL)

Stoffels, Karlijn. Heartsinger. Trans. from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson. Scholastic/Levine, $16.99 (978-0-545-06929-8)
(gr. 7 and up) “…two remarkable musicians are born…Mee, the singer of dirges, can see inside a person’s soul; Mitou, an accordion player, is the finest ‘merrymaker.’ …mannered language of fairy tales…Mee and Mitou each encounter individuals in need of their respective services…stories, cleverly interlinked…timeless themes of love, loss and rejuvenation…prose can be overwrought…but characters…have a ferocity that belies the possibly precious tone…imaginative details.” (PW)

Stork, Francisco X. Marcelo in the Real World. Scholastic/Levine, $17.99 (978-0-545-05474-4)
(gr. 9 and up) “Artfully crafted characters…Marcelo Sandoval, a 17-year-old with an Asperger’s-like condition…job caring for ponies…exit his comfort zone when his high-powered father steers Marcelo to work in his law firm’s mailroom… characteristically flat inflections and frequently forgetting to use the first person…harbors an obsession with religion…hears internal music…navigates the unfamiliar realm of… office politics with the ingenuity of a child…ethical dilemmas…integrity of his characterizations...intensifying…psychological and emotional stakes…” (PW)

Wolff, Virginia Euwer. This Full House. HarperTeen/Bowen, $17.99 (978-0-06-158304-9)
(gr. 9 and up) “…final episode of verse trilogy…LaVaughn’s good heart and tenacity…highly selective program for underprivileged girls planning on careers in medical science…acutely aware of others’ struggles: her friend Annie gets pregnant…regrets spurning brilliant Patrick…Dr. Moore…has a blistering secret in her past. Struggling to ‘act according to your conscience/even when you don’t want to.’…murky ethical waters…steady sympathetic characterizations more than compensate for the unlikely plot twist…” (PW)

Bilingual/Spanish Books

Cupiano, Ina. Quinito, Day and Night/Quinito, dìa y noche. Illus. by Josè Ramirez. Children’s Book Press, $16.95 (978-0-89239-226-1)
(PreS-gr. 2) “…describes, in both English and Spanish, his family, friends, and activities in terms of opposites…opposites words are boldface…naïve-style paintings…are both comforting and energy-packed, and read well from a distance. Full of images and words that will engage preschoolers, and brief enough to be read in both languages at storytime…” (HB)

Riddell, Chris. Ottoline y la gata amarilla. (Ottoline and the Yellow Cat) tr. by Elena Gallo Krahe. illus. by author. Spain: Edelvives, dist. by Baker & Taylor, $14.95 (978-84-263-6832-4).
(Gr 3-5) “While her parents are off traveling the world collecting “interesting things,” Ottoline Brown lives in an elaborate apartment in Big City with her best friend, guardian, and accomplice…Mr. Monroe…is a silent creature from Norway who resembles Cousin Itt from the Addams Family. Ottoline solves a mystery…detailed line drawings … add humor, depth, and momentum to the narrative. …real emotion. …equal ratio of text to illustrations makes this a good choice for reluctant readers, although there is some challenging vocabulary… exceptional illustrations…” (CR)

Riddell, Chris. Ottoline va al colegio. (Ottoline Goes to School) tr. by Elena Gallo Krahe. illus. by author. Spain: Edelvives, dist by Baker & Taylor. 2008. 172p. ISBN 978-84-263-6833-1. $14.95.
(Gr 3-5) “…Ottoline series…young girl whose parents are loving and adventuresome, but perpetually absent… Ottoline has a faithful friend…cross between Cousin Itt from the Addams family and a faithful sheepdog… many noteworthy characters …Ottoline meets Cecilia Forbes-Lawrence III and her faithful pet horse …convinces Ottoline that she should come to her school for special and talented children. … Ottoline is frustrated…no special talents, unlike the rest of the students, who can arrange flowers while hanging upside down on a trapeze or make origami figures out of curtains… ghostly apparition begins leaving strange…solves the mystery along with finding her special talent…lighthearted tale and whimsical illustrations …extremely funny …” (CR)

Audio

Camp Lisa. CD. Approx. 37 min. Redeye, $14.99.
(gr. 1-5) “…sweet, folksy voice, Lisa Loeb croons 13 original and traditional songs highlighting the summer camp experience…traditional chants (some with hand claps)…pop rock…bluegrass…traditional folk songs. Beautiful, close harmonies as good as any popular top 10 hit…exceptional vocals and musicianship…” (SLJ)

The Graveyard Book. By Neil Gaiman. Read by the author. 8 hrs. Recorded Books, CS, $56.75 (978-1-436-158-794), CD, $77.75 (978-143-615-8848)
(gr. 6-10) “…perfect choice to read his gothic tale of murder, revenge, lost loves and friendship…baby finds his way to a graveyard…cared for my Mr. and Mrs. Owens…makes Bod…sound bewildered, petulant, resigned, or indignant, and the befuddled Owenses never lose their loving tones…pacing and cadence are mirrored by mood-setting music…banjo player Bèla Fleck’s arrangement of ‘Danse Macabre’…sets the mood. Through changes in tone, pitch and accent… varies the characters…” (BL)

Seer of Shadows. By Avi. Read by Stephen Boyer. (unabr.) 5 cassettes or 5 CDs, 5:45 hours. Recorded Books. Cassette, $33.75 (978-1-4361-3725-6); CD, $46.75 (978-1-4361-3730-0)
(gr. 5-7) “…young man…New York City in 1872…apprenticed to an unscrupulous and prejudiced photographer…ably realized …captures the initial innocence of Horace Carpetine…growing awareness and skepticism…captures the moods of all the characters and the tension of the tale…will haunt listeners long after it is over.” (SLJ)

Tamar. By Mal Peet. Read by Anton Lesser and Anna Maxwell Martin. 10 CDs, 12:09 hours. Candlewick Audio, $50 (978-0-7636-4121-4)
(gr. 9 and up) “…deftly weaves suspense and painful emotion…set in World War II Holland and late 20^th century England. When her grandfather commits suicide, 15-year-old Tamar is left an odd collection of objects…uncover a dark family secret that began in the Dutch countryside during the waning days of the Nazi occupation… Narrators … keep the tension palpable…convey the tale’s complex human dilemmas… gripping, well-crafted…” (SLJ)

Video

Addicted to Plastic. Video or DVD. 85 min. Produced by Cryptic Moth Prods., dist. by Bullfrog Films, $295 video (1-59458-794-9) DVD (1-59458-795-7)
(gr. 10 and up) “…documentary…two-year journey…across the globe to 12 countries on 5 continents following the trail of plastic…statistics are profound…visuals are mind-boggling…Animation reviews the history of the manufacture of plastic…investigate recycling programs…new technology and innovations…scientists, business people…interviewed and contrasting views are presented...essential addition for environmental collections.” (SLJ)

ASL Tales: The Princess and the Pea. 13 minutes. ASL Tales, DVD and book, $24.95.
(K-gr.3) “…American Sign Language…performance artist Pinky Aiello exuberantly telling a nontraditional version…frontal shots of Aiello telling the tale. Images from the book quickly precede her signing of the respective page…voice-over narration reads the accompanying narrative…incorporates mime and gestures to enhance the telling…glossary…unique and entertaining way to introduce both deaf and hearing children to an ASL performance of a delightful story.” (BL)

Hooray for Fish! (Candlewick Storybook Animations Series). DVD/CD (dual disk). 5:26 min with hardcover book, activity pack. Candlewick, $14.99 (978-0-7636-3441-4)
(PreS-K) “Little Fish swims in the sea and describes the other fish…concept or a rhyming adjective. Based on the book…by Lucy Cousins…perfectly captures…bold, vibrant illustrations…narration…is spot-on, offering a variety of tones and pitches for the creatures. Water-inspired music composed by Lester Barnes…simply smashing.” (SLJ)

March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World. DVD, 18 min. Weston Woods, $59.95 (978-0-545-10645-0); CD, $12.95 (978-0-545-10685-6); CD with hardcover book, $29.95 (978-0-545-10689-4)
(gr. 2-7) “Christine King Farris recalls her brother, Martin Luther King, Jr….focusing on the 1963 March on Washington…Lynn Whitfield reads…with great emotion and exuberance…original music and occasional sound effects…realistic illustrations and historical photographs…bringing the march to life…” (SLJ)

Super WHY!: The Three Little Pigs & Jack and the Beanstalk. DVD. Approx. 50 minutes. Out of the Blue Enterprises, dist. by PBS Home Video, $14.99 (0-7936-9405-1)
(PreS-K) “…delightfully animated…highlights two fairy tales while emphasizing the alphabet, spelling, and reading. Super WHY is Whyatt, the leader of the Super Readers…who live in Storybook Village…For each problem, they identify a fairy tale that relates to it and enter the story to discover how the fairy tale character found a solution to a similar problem…Interactive elements invite viewer participation. Early literacy skills are emphasized…must-have for early learning collections.” (SLJ)

CD-ROM

Crazy Machines 2. Win. 98 and later. Viva Media, $19.99 (1-934723-08-8)
(gr. 4 and up) “…users can travel the world building wacky contraptions, solving puzzles, and sharing ideas with an online community…hours of creative play…physics, logic, and imagination to build Rube Goldberg-style contraptions…opportunity to collaborate with users around the world…hundreds of new levels to complete…graphics are fun…sound effects are cool…zoom in, pan, and rotate the display…numerous ways to get help….physics was never this much fun before.” (SLJ)