Indianhead Federated Library System

The Indianhead Federated Library System presents

Starred Reviews

New and Notable Books for Young People

January 2006 * Eau Claire, WI

The books in this newsletter were given starred reviews by the following periodicals: School Library Journal (SLJ), Publisher's Weekly (PW), Horn Book (HB), Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA*) and Booklist (BL). 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.

*VOYA reviews are ranked 1-5 for quality (Q) and popularity (P)

Picture Books
Juvenile Fiction
Juvenile Non-fiction
YA Fiction
YA Non-fiction  
Audio
 Graphic Novels 

Picture Books

Cruise, Robin. Little Mama Forgets. Illus. by Stacey Dressen-McQueen. Farrar/Melanie Kroupa, $16 (0-374-34613-5)

(PreS-gr. 2) “…Little Mama, Lucy's grandmother, is losing her memory…still many things that joyously involve her grandmother in life…bittersweet…obvious love…artwork is outstanding…Mexican family…comes alive in pictures…Inspired by Mexican tiles…Children won't forget this.” (BL)

Cunnane, Kelly. For You Are a Kenyan Child. Illus. by Ana Juan. Atheneum/Schwartz, $16.95 (0-689-86194-X)

(preS-gr.2) “…glimpse of a rural Kenyan childhood…Lyrical prose…asks readers to imagine themselves as the young hero…words skip boisterously across the page in bold typeface…convey a nurturing environment…[pictures] seem ideally suited to this exotic yet homespun tale…” (PW, SLJ)

Haas, Irene. Bess and Bella. S&S/McElderry, $14.95 (1-4169-0013-6)

(preS-gr.2) “…dream-like narrative…bird, smartly dressed…drops from, the sky as lonely…Bess…tea party in the snow…invites her to share her…meager tea… Bella…pulls out a host of tiny suitcases from which she extracts…tablecloths… teapot… biscuits…suffuses both prose and pictures with a fairy-tale enchantment…” (PW)

Hennessy, B.G. The Boy Who Cried Wolf. illus. by Boris Kulikov. S&S, $15.95 (0-689-87433-2)
(PreS-gr. 2) “…well-known story with humorous verve…Renaissance Italian landscape…conversational style…brings the 16th-century peasant into present-day focus… depicts the wolves as a fearsome hydra, but the boy's punishment is not too severe…spread revealing that the resourceful sheep have clambered up a tree…” (PW)

Jeffers, Oliver. Lost and Found. Philomel, $15.99 (0-399-24503-0)

(PreS-up) “…boy…found a penguin at his door. Enticing, spare text and watercolor pictures…child's quest to help the sad-looking penguin find its way home… rowboat…set out to sea…sudden sadness after he sees the bird home…Youngsters will cheer the pals' inevitable reunion…heartwarming tale…” (PW)

Lee, Milly. Landed. Illus. by Yangsook Choi. Farrar/Frances Foster, $16 (0-374-34314-4)

(gr. 3-5) “…poignant…a Chinese immigrant boy trying to join his father in America…lengthy text…leaving the old country…detained on Angel Island, where he is interrogated for a month…told with quiet restraint…tension is always there…beautiful, full-page oil paintings…packed with feeling…” (BL)

McLeod, Bob. Superhero ABC. HarperCollins, $16.89 (0-06-074515-0)

(K-gr.3) “…roster of superheroes kids won't find in existing cartoons…Astro-Man, ‘Always Alert for an Alien Attack' despite his asthma…theme that is well-suited to the ABC format…each entry's alliterative annotation seems entirely in keeping with the genre's usual predilection for stylized, faintly hokey text…It will dazzle reluctant readers and disappear right off the shelves…” (BL)

Muntean, Michaela. Do Not Open This Book! illus. by Pascal Lemaitre. Scholastic, $16.99 ( 0-439-69839-1)
(PreS-gr3) “… curmudgeonly narrator…implores readers not to turn the pages … readers interrupt him in his woodshop… ladders, pylons and boxes of "dangerous words" and "nouns" … "The reason you weren't supposed to open this book is because it is not yet written”…provides the author with tiny sidekicks…who mimic his gestures and imply that he's harmless. …makes an excellent read-aloud, with abundant opportunities for hammy acting.” (PW)

Shannon, David. Good Boy, Fergus! Scholastic/Blue Sky, $15.99 (0-439-49027-8)
(PreS-gr.1) “…spunky…family dog … feline sighting sends Fergus into a frenzy … pepped-up pooch will not come back in…the unseen owner…true pushover… mixed-media illustrations…crackle with personality. …predominantly close-up perspective offers an immediacy that makes readers feel included in every second of the tail-wagging action…” (PW)

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Abbott, Tony. Kringle. Scholastic, $14.99 (0-439-74942-5)

(gr. 6-9) “…twelve-year-old Kringle…goblins…pursue him…Romans withdraw from Britain and Norse invaders approach, the goblins kidnap children to power…a war machine…Kringle enlists the help of elves…and even reindeer as he travels north to confront the evil menace…Santa far removed from the commercial cliché…will have wide appeal for fantasy lovers…should become a holiday family classic.” (VOYA 5Q4P)

DiCamillo, Kate. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Illus. by Bagram Ibatoulline. Candlewick, $18.99 (0-7636-2589-2)

(gr. 2-4) “…tucks important messages into this story… Edward Tulane is a china rabbit…thinks…highly…of himself…fall…into the sea…journey from watery grave… With every person who touches him, Edward's heart grows a little bit softer and a little bit bigger…beautiful…artwork…precisely rendered sepia-tone drawings and color plates…lyrical use of language…understanding of universal yearnings…” (BL)

Holub, Josef. An Innocent Soldier. Trans. from German by Michael Hofmann. Levine/Scholastic, $16.99 (0-439-62771)

(gr. 6 and up) “Dragged to a … ‘recruitment' center…naïve orphan farmhand Adam Feuchter, sixteen, joins Napoleon's Grande Armèe as …unwilling conscripts … disastrous 1812 Russian campaign…Adam is unmercifully bullied by his first sergeant… servant to Count Konrad Klara Lammersdorf …clear-eyed and often surprisingly humorous…brings the history vividly and authentically to life…excellent translation.”(HB) (VOYA 5Q4P) (2006 Batchelder Award)

Lin, Grace. The Year of the Dog. Little, Brown, $14.99 (0-316-06000-3)

(gr. 3-5) “…Told in a simple, direct voice, follows young Grace through the Year of the Dog…meets a new friend…enter the science fair, share a crush on the same boy, and enjoy special aspects of their heritage…charming ink drawings, some priceless… bolstered by anecdotes from Grace's parents, which connect Grace…to her Taiwanese heritage…” (BL)

Oppel, Kenneth. Skybreaker. Eos/HarperCollins, $17.89 (0-06-053228-9)

(gr. 6 and up) “…Matt Cruse finds life at the Airship Academy significantly anticlimactic…glimpses…ghost airship…sees a fast-track to the wealth he needs to woo Kate properly… manages to delve into its characters… breakneck flight through the skies…heart-stopping action scenes that will please even the most jaded of readers.” (HB)

Pratchett, Terry. Johnny and the Dead. HarperCollins, $16.89 (0-06-054189-X)

(gr. 6-9) “…twelve-year-old Brit Johnny Maxwell is back…started seeing the dead…friends think he is nuts…home life offers little help or comfort…appeared in Britain in 1993…second volume in the Johnny Maxwell trilogy is part creepy fantasy and part dryly hilarious adolescent adventure…” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Sachar, Louis. Small Steps. Delacorte, $18.99 (0-385-90333-2)

(gr. 5-8) “…Though Armpit is now 17, the tone of his experiences remains squarely middle-grade…proves an appealing, hapless character buffeted by others' schemes…bruisingly real challenges facing an African American teenager with a criminal history… Holes fans will be thrilled…” (BL)

Sage, Angie. Flyte. Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins, $18.89 (0-06-057735-5)

(gr. 6-9) “A year has passed since the Heaps have discovered that their seventh son, Septimus…brother Simon sees Septimus as a fraud…turns to Dark Magyk… delightful continuation of the Magykal capers begun [in Magyk series]…quick pace, humor, and clever cast of characters…” (VOYA 4Q5P)

Umansky, Kaye. The Silver Spoon of Solomon Snow. Candlewick, $14.99 (0-7636-2792-5)

(gr. 3-6) “…Solly…was left as an infant in a basket…entertaining farce… inspired by Dickens but with a strong whiff of Lemony Snicket…Solly acquires sidekicks as engaging as he is…adventures aplenty…satisfactorily resolved…comic and suspenseful romp…” (HB)

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Haney, Eric L. Inside Delta Force: The Story of America's Elite Counterterrorist Unit. Delacorte, $17.99 (0-385-90273-5)

(gr. 6-12) “…A retired command sergeant major…writes about his personal experience as a member of the inaugural Delta Force unit…special unit whose existence and mission remains to this day shrouded in mystery…selection…training…story is riveting with scenes so vividly described that the book is difficult to put down… exclusive insider's perspective without…gratuitous violence…” (VOYA 4Q5P)

Hurston, Zora Neale. The Six Fools. Adapted by Joyce Carol Thomas, illus. by Ann Tanksley. Harper Collins, $15.99 (0-06-000646-3)

(gr. 1-5) “…adaptation keeps the humor fresh and lively…inspired illustrations… young man proposes to a young woman who, when fetching cider to celebrate, starts daydreaming…parents soon join her…young man finds them sitting in a pool of cider… ‘going traveling for a year, and if I find three fools as big as you, I'll come back and we'll get married'…” (PW, SLJ)

Jackson, Donna M. ER Vets: Live in an Animal Emergency Room. Houghton, $18 (0-618-43663-4)

(gr. 5-8) “…plentiful, excellent-quality photographs…highly visual book offers a behind-the-scenes look at an emergency animal hospital…examples of X-rays and action shots of surgeries…section on grief counseling for families… well-researched and well-written…” (SLJ)

Kuklin, Susan. Families. Photos by author. Hyperion, $15.99 (0-78680822-5)

(K-gr.4) “…interviews with the children from 15 different families…mixed-race, immigrant, gay, lesbian, and divorced…single parents…families for whom religion is a focal point…focus on youngsters' feelings about being part of their family…voices are natural…come across as individuals, not just representative of a particular lifestyle or ethnic group…attractive to browsers…excellent impetus for discussing relationships and diversity in America.” (SLJ)

McCully, Emily Arnold. Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor. FSG, $16 (0-374-34810-3)

(gr. 2 and up) “…lucid narrative and crisp period illustrations…Born in 1838, young Mattie is inspired by…toolbox…first inventions…will certainly intrigue readers…sketches McCully recreates…offer welcome insight…emphasizes Knight's remarkable persistence… motivate youngsters to explore their own creativity.” (PW)

Myers, Walter Dean and Bill Miles. The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Meets Courage. HarperCollins, $17.89 (0-06-001137-8)

(gr. 6-9) “…battles fought on American soil with blacks helping defend … resistance in America at the thought of black units fighting in the war as equal men… heroic deeds of the 369 th Infantry Regiment…Harlem Hellfighters…flows like a novel … will attract reluctant readers. Primary sources…making history come alive…” (VOYA 5Q2P)

Oppenheim, Joanne. Dear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration during World War II and a Librarian Who Made a Difference. Scholastic Nonfiction, $22.99 (0-439-56992-3)

(gr. 7-10) “…World War II injustices endured by Japanese Americans…San Diego children's librarian Clara Breed…letters written to Breed by her incarcerated Japanese patrons…responses to Breed's faithful missives and care packages containing books and other gifts…letters and interviews…weaves them into a broader account, amplified by photos, archival materials…reparation hearings…readable, wide-ranging endnotes…exhaustive bibliography…” (BL) (VOYA 5Q3P)

Osborne, Mary Pope. Pompeii: Lost & Found. Illus. by Bonnie Christensen. Knopf, $18.99 (0-375-92889-8)

(gr. 3-5) “…straightforward text focuses on the life at Pompeii at the time of the volcano's eruption…daily activities…large illustration…occupies most of each spread… distinctive, haunting frescos are reminiscent of the art found throughout the site…will serve as an enticing introduction to this legendary city…” (SLJ)

This Little Piggy. Ed. by Jane Yolen. Illus. by Will Hillenbrand. Musical arrangements by Adam Stemple. Candlewick, $19.99 (0-7636-1348-7)

(PreS) “…children's rhymes and songs, lap games and finger plays…assured presentation…is likely to emerge as the most authoritative…more than 60 interactive chants, rhymes and songs…gorgeously crafted package…instructions to parents appear in smaller type…zestful, pig-themed illustrations….range from the tried and true…to the rarely seen…accompanying CD provides jaunty interpretations…” (BL)

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Bondoux, Anne-Laure. The Killer's Tears. Tr. by Y. Maudet. Delacorte, $17.99 (0-385-90314-6)

(gr. 9-12) “…haunting, provocative blend of allegory, gritty social commentary, and magic realism…thief and murderer…kills a farmer and his wife and settles into their home on the desolate tip of Chile…[with their] small son, Paolo… symbolism occasionally feels too purposeful…language is both visceral and poetic…filled with challenging ideas and potent language…” (BL, PW)

Chima, Cinda Williams. The Warrior Heir. Hyperion, $16.99 (0-7868-3916-3)

(gr. 6-12) “Jack is a typical 16-year-old…when he skips his medicine one day…Jack is much stronger and faster…Only now there are wizards coming out of the woodwork…Jack is a warrior expected to duel to the death…Original, well-drawn characters…richly portrays the mounting tension…resolution is clean but not idealized …leaves room for a sequel.” (VOYA 5Q5P)

Draper, Sharon M. Copper Sun. S&S/Atheneum, $16.95 (0-689-82181-6)

(gr. 8 and up) “…action-packed, multifaceted, character-rich story…slave trade and plantation life…perseverance, resourcefulness, and triumph of the human spirit. Amari is a 15-year-old Ashanti girl…slavers arrive…slaughter her family…Middle Passage…cruel white stereotypes abound…will gain a deeper knowledge…” (SLJ)

Dunkle, Clare B. In the Coils of the Snake. Holt, $16.95 (0-8050-7747-2)

(gr. 7-10) “…satisfying conclusion to the Hollow Kingdom trilogy…examines relations between the tough, practical goblins and the sensitive, graceful elves…plot rich in cultural misunderstandings…captives heighten tensions…races toward a climatic clash…romance…tends to mix strangely with themes of imprisonment…fully imagined history…distinctive, intriguingly disquieting vision.” (BL)

Geras, Adèle. Ithaka. Harcourt, $17 (0-15-205603-3)

(gr. 9 and up) “…sequel to Troy …fashioning multi-dimensional characters from mythological figures…accessible to a 21 st -century audience…aftermath of the Trojan War…14-year-old Klymene, faithful servant to Queen Penelope…suitors, convinced that Odysseus is dead, invade the court…Klymene's faith and courage are repeatedly tested…Gods and Goddesses…play a key role in determining…fates…fresh, thought-provoking twist to the classic tale.” (PW) (VOYA 5Q3P)

Horniman, Joanne. Secret Scribbled Notebooks. Allen & Unwin, $7.95 trade pb (1-74114-406-X)

(gr. 7-12) “…In Katie's search for romantic love, she discovers that all of the other forms of love…are as satisfying…beautiful book…whispers rather than shouts…” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Lopez, Jack. In the Break. Little, Brown, $16.99 (0-316-00874-5)

(gr. 7-12) “…captivating novel…about surfing, adolescence, friendship and loyalty…ideal…for young adults of both genders.” (VOYA 4Q5P)

Okorafor-Mbachu, Nnedi. Zahra the Windseeker. Houghton Mifflin, $16 (0-618-34090-4)

(gr. 7-12) “…people of Ooni…fear Zahrah's appearance…reminds them of…the Windseekers…friend Dari…is bitten by a war snake…outstanding…beautifully written…” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Peters, Julie Ann. Between Mom and Jo. Little, Brown, $16.99 (0-316-73906-5)

(gr. 6-12) “Fourteen-year-old Nick…story of his life with his two lesbian mothers…finds nothing unusual about being raised by two moms until he enters kindergarten…perfectly structured and exquisitely written…does not hide anything… many librarians will self-censor the book…But the novel needs to be read…” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Reinhardt, Dana. A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life . Random/Lamb, $15.95 (0-385-90940-3)
(gr. 7 and up) “…Simone Turner-Bloom, 16, has always known she was adopted …it comes as a shock when Rivka calls to suggest that the two of them meet… unprepared for the profound impact the reunion has on her life…learns of her Orthodox Jewish roots …this intimate story celebrates family love and promotes tolerance of diverse beliefs…” (PW)

Ruby, Laura. The Wall and the Wing. HarperCollins, $17.89 (0-06-075256-4)

(gr. 6-12) “…far-out adventure in an alternative New York City, where people fly and sewer rats worship kitties…flips reality on its side…characters are both colorful and kooky…plot's hairpin curves…off-center, comic-book-like world. Witty and ironic…over-the-top mystery adventure.” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Shulman, Polly. Enthusiasm. Putnam, $15.99 (0-399-24389-5)

(gr. 7-10) “…wry, engaging narrative…Julie relates the trials and rewards of her firm friendship with Ashleigh…Ashleigh has taken up one craze after another…and dragged her best friend along …sophomore year… she takes ownership of Julie's favorite book, Pride and Prejudice , and she sets her determined sights on the boy Julie secretly adores…captures the agony and the irony…” (BL)

Stone, Tanya Lee. A Bad Boy Can Be Good For a Girl. Random/Wendy Lamb Bks., $16.99 (0-385-90946-2)

(gr. 9 and up) “Three girls succumb to the charms of one sexy high school senior and emerge wiser…energetic novel in verse…language is realistic and frank…while not graphic, it is filled with descriptions of the teens and their sexuality…will be passed from girl to girl to girl.” (SLJ)

Trueman, Terry. No Right Turn. HarperCollins, $16.89 (0-06-057492-5)

(gr. 6-12) “When Jordan was 13 years old, his father killed himself…Jordan was the only other person in the house…Three years later…has given up most of his friends…neighbor Don…Corvette…begins sneaking out in the ‘Vette…told in a dynamic, cut-the-crap narrative…fast, compelling read…” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Tullson, Diane. Red Sea. Orca, $7.95, trade pb. (1-55143-331-1)

(gr. 7-12) “…Fourteen-year-old Libby, her mother, and her stepfather…will join a convoy of sailboats making the passage through the Red Sea…miss the convoy and are sailing alone when modern pirates attack them. Her stepfather is killed, her mother is incapacitated…seemingly fantastic plot is…believable…sure to become… a favorite of adventure readers.” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Updale, Eleanor. Montmorency and the Assassins. Scholastic, $16.99 (0-439-68343-2)

(gr. 7-12) “…Victorian spy adventurer…trip to Italy in search of some stolen scientific specimens…Montmorency and his pals…get …caught up in a nest of nasty Italian anarchists…no lollygagging as this story bounces along…” (VOYA 5Q4P)

Van Pelt, James. The Last of the O-Forms. Fairwood Press, $17.99 (0-9746573-5-2)

(gr. 7-12) “…fifteen short stories…incorporates horror, fantasy, and science fiction…something to please fans of the various fantastic genres…unique ideas, unusual situations, and plot twists…speculative fiction at its best…” (VOYA 5Q2P)

Whitcomb, Laura. A Certain Slant of Light. Graphia/Houghton Mifflin, $8.99 trade pb (0-618-58532-X)

(gr. 9-12) “For 130 years, Helen haunted a series of hosts…haunted Mr. Brown in his classroom…James is a soldier…inhabiting Billy…connection between Helen and James is immediate and overwhelming…compelling, supernatural love story…” (VOYA 5Q4P)

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I Just Hope It's Lethal: Poems of Sadness, Madness and Joy. Liz Rosenberg and Deena November, Eds. Houghton Mifflin, $7.99 trade pb (0-618-56452-7)

(gr. 9-12) “…unique collection of poetry…collection of work inspired by sadness, madness, and joy…poet's interpretation of war, injustice, and cruelty…Brief biographies of each poet…” (VOYA 5Q4P)

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Blues Journey. By Walter Dean Myers. Read by Richard Allen. 30 min. Live Oak, CS and hardcover, $25.95 (1-59519-429-0); CD and hardcover, $28.95 (1-59519-433-9)

(gr. 5-8) “…Allen's soulful reading of Myers' poetic picture book is magnificent…accompanying music…reflect different periods of blues music…variety of instruments…alternates between reading and singing…emotional narrator…” (BL)

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Barnes, Bill and Gene Ambaum. Library Mascot Cage Match. Overdue Media, $14.95 (0-9740353-2-7)

(gr. 9 to adult) “…misadventures of the Mallville Public Library staff and patrons…bizarre, yet familiar cringe-inducing scenarios…humor is aimed at librarians…”(VOYA 5Q4P)

Ottaviani, Jim. Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards: A Tale of Edward Drinker Cope, Othniel Charles Marsh and the Gilded Age of Paleontology. Art by Big Time Attic. G.T. Labs, $22.95 (0-9660106-6-3)

(gr. 9 to adult) “…recounts the real-life adventures of archrivals Cope and Marsh…raced…to hunt…the most dinosaur fossils and make scientific discoveries… notes at the back of the book, indicating what is fiction and what is fact…sepia tones reinforce the old-fashioned sense…could…use this book as a supplemental text…also just fun to read for its ‘stranger than fiction' story.” (VOYA 5Q4P)

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