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The Indianhead Federated Library System presents

Starred Reviews

New and Notable Books for Young People

May 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), Booklist (BL), Hornbook (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.

Contents:

Picture Books
Juvenile Fiction
Juvenile Non-fiction

YA Fiction
YA Non-fiction

Audio
Picture Books in Spanish
Juvenile Fiction in Spanish
Juvenile Non-fiction in Spanish

Picture Books

Best, Cari. Sally Jean, The Bicycle Queen. Illus. by Christine Davenier. Farrar/Melanie Kroupa Bds., $16 (0-374-35386-2)

(K-gr. 2) “…Sally Jean…rides like a pro on her bike named Flash…eight … outgrown…parents can’t afford a new bike…junk collector…gives Sally Jean used parts…illustrations are light and airy…variety of emotions and delightful details…”(SLJ)

Chodos-Irvine, Margaret. Best Best Friends. Harcourt, $16 (0-15-205694-7)

(PreS-K) “…spot-on words…crisp, gaily patterned prints…unselfconscious affection and quicksilver shifts in mood that characterize preschool friendships…shows children working through conflict without adult intervention…” (BL)

Faller, Régis. The Adventures of Polo. Roaring Brook/Porter, $16.95 (78p) ISBN 1-59643-160-1
(PreS-gr.3) “With a sunny disposition and unshakeable confidence, Polo embarks upon physics-defying, wordless adventures…enviable island treehouse…balance on a tightrope…jets along on a cumulus puff … comics panels…often startled but never really frightened… gemlike colors…alternates series of panels with roomy full-page images… Readers will crack up at the pitched suspense and reassuring outcomes…” (PW)

George, Jean Craighead. Luck: The Story of a Sandhill Crane. Illus. by Wendell Minor. HarperCollins/Geringer, $16.99 (0-06-008201-1)

(PreS-gr.2 ) “…lilting narrative…stunning paintings…year-long-round-trip journey of a young sandhill crane…opens in a Texas marsh…over the Bering Strait to Siberia…find their way back…meticulous attention to detail…” (PW)

Goode, Diane. The Most Perfect Spot. HarperCollins, $17.89 (0-06-072698-9)

(PreS-gr.1) “Jack invites his mother on a picnic…something frightens a flock of ducks…startles Mama and Jack…fall in the lake… something spooks several horses…face one mishap after another…finally find the perfect spot for their picnic…small brown-and-white dog has followed them…Mama and Jack remain clueless…readers will clearly see that the pooch has been the source of the chaos…pleasant, old-fashioned flavor. A delightful tale.” (SLJ)

Kennedy, Edward. My Senator and Me: A Dog’s Eye View of Washington, D.C. illus. by David Small. Scholastic, $16.99 (0-439-65077-1)

(PreS-gr 3) “…suitably airy, often comical ink-and-watercolor illustrations… Text and art strike a wry note… ‘If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.’…breezy tour of Washington, D.C…amusing, informative account, certain to win the…hearts of dog-loving kids.” (PW)

Klise, Kate. Why Do You Cry? Not a Sob Story. Illus. by M. Sarah Klise. Holt, $16.95 (0-8050-7319-1)

(PreS-gr 2) “…gentle tale…explains how one never really outgrows tears…Little Rabbit, on the verge of his fifth birthday, believes, “I’m done with crying…”anyone else who cries is disinvited to his birthday party…soon discovers that this…will rule out not only all of his friends, but his mother, too…sidesteps preciousness…” (PW)

Pinkney, Jerry. The Little Red Hen. Dial, $16.99 (0-8037-2935-9)

(PreS-gr.4) “…lush, light-filled rendition of a folktale staple…in this version, the …Red Hen…stunning farmyard neighbors dwarf her…flatters each animal as she appeals to him…There’s a lot of heart in the details here…passage of time is subtly marked by the growth of the hen’s five chicks…glorious, generous paintings are a real gift…” (SLJ)

Prince, April Jones. What Do Wheels Do All Day? Illus. by Giles Laroche. Houghton, $16.00 (0-618-56307-5)

(PreS) “…short rhyming text…impressive bas-relief cut-paper collages…true star here is the art…emotional impact is clean, fresh and just plain happy…wide, single-scene spreads create their own staccato rhythm…” (HB)

Reiser, Lynn. Hardworking Puppies. Harcourt, $16.00 (0-15-205404-9)

(PreS) “…successfully combines a number of concepts…simple tale about ten puppies looking for work…mix of breeds and sizes…finds its calling…alternates pages of the diminishing pack…with richly painted pictures…showing each latest job finder happily at work…” (HB)

Sierra, Judy. Thelonius Monster’s Sky-High Fly Pie. Illus. by Edeard Koren. Knopf, $18.99 (0-375-93218-6)

(K-gr.3) “…an earnest monster chef intends to swallow ‘hundreds and thousands of succulent flies…creates a sticky crust, gathers flies, attaches them to the crust… resulting creation is a thing of beauty…words are carefully chosen…illustrations…are perfectly fused with the story...enormously appealing…layout is perfectly suited to the text and illustrations.” (SLJ)

Slater, Dashka. Baby Shoes. Illus. by Hiroe Nakata. Bloomsbury, $15.95 (1-58234-684-4)

(PreS) “…gleeful after choosing new white shoes at the store…toddler leads his pregnant mama on a merry chase…loping lines of rhymed couplets are interspersed with staccato sections…changing rhythm creates a pleasing pattern and gives listeners places to chime in…airy watercolor artwork…buoyant tone…” (BL)

Wells, Rosemary. Max’s ABC. Viking, $15.99 (0-670-06074-7)

(PreS-gr.2) “Escaping from their Ant farm, Max’s Ants head for the Birthday cake in his hand, Biting as they go…wonderfully childlike and comical Max-and-Ruby scenario…alphabet-driven sequence is fashioned into a satisfying story…Ruby is more sympathetic than usual…Max still manages to claim the final triumph…A handsome, clever charmer.” (HB)

Winter, Jeanette. Mama: A True Story, in Which a Baby Hippo Loses His Mama during a Tsunami, but Finds a New Home, and a New Mama. Harcourt, $16.00 (0-15-205495-2)

(PreS) “…uses only two words of text—mama and baby…inviting, richly colored illustrations…young hippo separated from his pod after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami…baby is rescued…wildlife park…imprints on a 130-year-old male tortoise… helpful author’s note at the end…hopeful offering.” (HB)

Juvenile Fiction

Abbott, Tony. Firegirl. Little, Brown, $15.99 (0-316-01171-1)
(gr. 3-7) “…stirring novel … Tom Bender…describes himself as a "sweaty, fat kid" …only friend is Jeff…imagines himself as a superhero … Jessica, who has been badly burned in a fire… None of the students attempts to get to know Jessica... girl poignantly opens up to him and he, in turn, shares his secret thoughts and superhero fantasies with her. … underscores the reward of reaching out … brief, but it leaves a big impact.” (PW)

Abrahams, Peter. Behind the Curtain (An Echo Falls Mystery). HarperCollins/Laura Geringer, $16.89 (0-06-073705-0)

(gr. 6-9) “…second entry…questions spring right from Ingrid Levin-Hill’s own life…older brother suddenly so much stronger…father…so tense…exceptional overlay of detail…particular stresses and the goofy occurances that mark Ingrid’s experiences as an eighth grader…has to set up her own sting…” (BL)

Anderson, M.T. The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen: M.T. Anderson’s Thrilling Tales. Illus. by Kurt Cyrus. Harcourt, $15 (0-15-205352-2)

(gr. 4-7) “…swell sequel to Whales on Stilts…Jasper Dash…Katie Mulligan… Lily Gefilte…Moose Tongue Lodge…supposed kidnapping…putative robbery… encounters with wolves, steep cliffs and oddball adults…hyperconvenient clues and red herrings (both figurative and literal)…” (BL)

Cooper, Susan. Victory. Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry, $16.95 (1-4169-1477-3)

(gr. 4-7) “Thirteen-year-old Molly…moved from present-day London to Connecticut…drawn to…[book]…unusual artifact secreted inside…second story…early 1800s, about an 11-year-old…Sam…captured…and taken to serve on HMS Victory… channeling Sam’s experiences…vivid historical tale…compelling modern story.” (BL)

Hardinge, Frances. Fly by Night. HarperCollins, $16.99 (0-06-087627-1)

(gr. 5 and up) “In a broken-down medieval kingdom where reading is forbidden, 12-year-old Mosca Mye is drawn to a traveling con artist…literate yet often silly tone that calls to mind Monty Python…wickedly complex…high-camp fantasy…setting is detailed and complex enough to inspire many sequels.” (PW)

Fisher, Catherine. Day of the Scarab: Book Three of the Oracle Prophecies. Greenwillow, $17.89 (0-06-057164-0)

(gr. 4-8) “Political intrigue and invented myth…richly textured, ancient Mediterranean/Egyptian world…Mirany…save her people…from the despotic General Argelin…Seth…goes undercover…in order to discover and thwart…fresh invention… multifaceted characters…vivid, complicated, and thoroughly engrossing… (HB)

Lisle, Janet Taylor. Black Duck. Philomel/Slueth, $15.99 (0-399-23963-4)

(gr. 5 and up) “…rumrunner…boats used during Prohibiition to smuggle outlawed liquor…Readers will likely look past the awkward frame story…spring of 1929…Ruben…come across a man’s body washed up on the beach…when the police arrive, the body has vanished…gripping tale of families and friendships stretched to the breaking point…readers will eagerly turn the pages…” (PW) (SLJ)

Lubar, David. Punished! Darby Creek, dist. by Lerner, $15.95 (1-58196-042-5)

(gr. 3-5) “Logan…sorry that he crashed into Professor Wordsworth…strange old man…said that Logan should be ‘punished.’…starts speaking in puns—really awful puns…only one way to break the spell…three days to collect seven oxymorons, seven anagrams, and seven palindromes…excellent classroom read-aloud…emphasis on problem-solving…short text and lively cover art…” (SLJ)

Roberts, Ken. Thumb on a Diamond. Illus. by Leanne Franson. Groundwood, $15.95 (0-88899-629-2) paper, $6.95 (0-88899-705-1)

(gr. 1-5) “…town of New Aukland, on the coast of British Columbia…population 138, no roads, and accessible only by water…pet lion and a boy who greets visitors by showing them his amputated thumb…middle-schoolers…decide that their best chance for a trip to…Vancouver is to learn…baseball in order to be eligible for the state championships…country-mice-in-the-city theme is very funny…never resorts to bumpkin jokes…”(HB)

Juvenile Non-fiction

Bausum, Ann. Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement. National Geographic, $28.90 (0-7922-4174-6)

(gr. 5-9) “…young people…risked great personal danger…freedom rides during the Civil Rights Movement…two young men of disparate backgrounds…chapters …compare and contrast their families, childhoods, and teenage years…Dramatic black-and-white photographs…narrative style, fresh, engrossing, and at times heart-stopping…vivid detail…will draw readers in and keep them captivated…” (SLJ)

Carson, Mary Kay. Exploring the Solar System. Chicago Review, paper, $17.95 (1-55652-593-1)

(gr. 5-8) “…traces the history of human exploration of the solar system…. Pre-history-1900…1900-1960…successive sections … decade-by-decade…sturdy binding…excellent color photos and clear drawings and diagrams…fast facts…detailed time line…highly readable…exceptionally inviting…” (BL)

Fradin, Judith Bloom and Dennis Brindell Fradin. 5,000 Miles to Freedom: Ellen and William Craft’s Flight from Slavery. National Geographic, $29.90 (0-7922-7886-0)

(gr. 5-9) “In 1848, light-skinned Ellen Craft…assumed the identity of ‘Mr. William Johnson’ and, escorted by his black slave, William, traveled by railroad and boat to reach the North…couple…decided to travel to England…In 1869…returned to the United States, opening a school and operating a farm in Georgia…lively, well-written volume…exciting, page-turner style…sure to hold readers’ attention… photographs… enhance the text…primary sources…important and well-organized…” (SLJ)

Hatkoff, Isabella, Craig Hatkoff & Paula Kahumbu. Owen & Mzee: The True Story of A Remarkable Friendship. Photos by Peter Greste. Scholastic, $16.99 (0-439-82973-9)

(K-gr.5) “…extraordinary friendship between a baby hippo…and a 130-year-old giant tortoise… pod of hippos near the Sabuki River in Kenya…600-pound baby’s displacement…during the 2004 tsunami…witness the challenging rescue… knowledgeable staff at an animal sanctuary…photographs…capture the pair… together …contentment and peace are palpable…touching story of the power of a surprising friendship to mitigate the experience of loss…full of heart and hope…” (SLJ)

McClafferty, Carla Killough. Something Out of Nothing: Marie Curie and Radium. Farrar, $18 (0-374-38036-8)

(gr. 5-7) “…profile of the driven scientist…educated in her native Poland at a ‘Floating University’ that operated in defiance of harsh Russian policies…moved to Paris…dedicated her life to pure research and enlisted her father-in-law to care for her children…follows her career to its final…days….Archival photos…engrossing study…” (SLJ)

Marcus, Leonard S., ed. & comp. The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy. Candlewick, $19.99 (0-7636-2625-2)

(gr. 5 and up) “Using well-focused questions, Marcus interviewed 13 master writers of the genre…wellsprings…writing habits…effects of the times…uncovered fascinating revelations about where writers’ ideas come from…homage to J.R.R. Tolkein…elicits pity quotes…lively and highly readable…advice to would-be writers…elegantly designed…” (SLJ)

Matthews, John. Pirates. S&S/Atheneum, $19.95 (1-4169-2734-4)

(gr. 1-7) “…scrapbook-style…comprehensive read…historical primer…explanations of pirates’ ships flags…layout carefully balances an informative text with photographic and cross-hatch images…several ‘documents,’ complete with faux-waxed seal stickers…treasure to be appreciated by both young and old.” (PW)

Morrison, Taylor. Wildfire. Houghton/Walter Lorraine Bks., $17 (0-618-50900-3)

(gr. 4-8) “Fascinating overview of the people involved infighting wildfires and the techniques and equipment they use…Detailed paintings aid in explaining how firefighters work…pages are packed with visual and textual information…thorough glossary…” (SLJ)

Rampersad, Arnold and David Roessel, eds. Langston Hughes. Illus. by Benny Andrews. (Poetry for Young People Series). Sterling, $14.95 (1-4027-1845-4)

(gr. 4 and up) “…charming collection of 26 poems…vibrantly illustrated…four-page introduction tells about Hughes’s life, setting the context for the poems that follow. Each selection includes a brief introduction, many recounting Hughes’s own thoughts about it…welcome introduction…sufficient detail to make it useful and enjoyable for older students…” (SLJ)

Singer, Marilyn. What Stinks? Darby Creek, $17.95 (1-58196-035-2)

(gr. 4-6) “…uproarious, fact-filled…Each double-page spread is packed with color photos and information about the ways various animals and plants use stinky substances…illustrations and silly puns…wealth of fascinating, quite complex information about biology…photos are amazing…” (BL)

Thimmesh, Catherine. Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon. Houghton, $19.95 (0-618-50757-4)

(gr. 3 and up) “…behind-the-scenes look at the first Apollo moon landing…back story of the organizations and hundreds of thousands of people who made the 1969 mission possible…computer whiz…who helped…computer glitches during…landing …seamstresses who sewed the spacesuits… chronologically…conversational tone… explains tough topics…” (PW)

YA Fiction

Ehrenhaft, Daniel. Drawing a Blank: or, How I Tried to Solve a Mystery, End a Fued, and Land the Girl of My Dreams. Illus. by Trevor Ristow. HarperCollins, $15.99 (0-06-075252-1)

(gr. 8-11) “…intersperses chapters of first-person narrative with episoldes of…a superhero comic strip drawn by the narrator…Carlton…New England prep school… phone message from his father’s kidnappers…engaging character…highly entertaining and sometimes enlightening…” (BL)

Garden, Nancy. Endgame. Harcourt, $16 (0-15-205416-2)

(gr. 8 and up) “Fifteen-year-old Gray Wilton…waiting for his murder trial… defense lawyer slowly uncovers the gradual escalation of physical and emotional bullying…like watching a train wreck in slow motion…ending provides an emotional punch that is difficult to forget…hard-hitting and eloquent…emotional depth…”(SLJ)

Hautman, Pete. Rash. S&S, $15.95 (0-689-86801-4)

(gr. 7 and up) “…explores the modernday tension between safety and freedom…intelligent and darkly comic satire set 70 years in the future…Bo Marsten…even minor infractions result in prison terms…sentenced to work in a pizza factory….sharply observed—and frightening…thought-provoking and highly entertaining dystopian fantasy…certain to spark discussion…” (PW)

Korman, Gordon. Born to Rock. Hyperion, $15.99 (0-7868-0920-5)

(gr. 7 and up) “…Young Republican …Leo is on the verge of graduating from high school…early acceptance to Harvard…learns the identity of his birth father…King Maggot…signs on as a roadie for his aging father’s comeback tour…mostly PG tour of duty…irresistible…well-crafted plot…bountiful humor…” (PW)

YA Non-fiction

Dunn, John M. The Relocation of the North American Indian. (World History Series). Gale/Lucent, $31.20 (1-59018-656-7)

(gr. 9 and up) “…well-balanced, readable…relationship between Native Americans and European settlers…U.S. government…solidly researched…Appropriate quotes from various periods…frequent illustrations…excellent explanatory captions… writing style is marvelous…vocabulary is expressive but not difficult…” (SLJ)

Audio

King Dork. By Frank Portman, read by Lincoln Hoppe. Listening Library, unabridged, 10 CDs, 12 hours, $48 (0-7393-3113-2)

(gr. 9 and up) “…witty, biting…born to be an audiobook…nails the brainy, cynical…Tom…Portman…performing five original acoustic songs penned by Tom…to close the recording…sharp and often hilarious observations…will have listeners entranced…bonus interview with the author…” (PW)

Roberts, Justin. Meltdown! Carpet Square Records (Sony/Red Music, dist. 212-741-8861), CD, $15.98.

(all ages) “…sunny collection of original compositions…Kid-friendly images wrapped up in some thought-provoking ideas…cool, universal edginess…consistently infectious quality…sure to have heads bopping in the car…”(PW)

Picture Books in Spanish

Irving, John. El ruido que hace alguien cuando no quiere hacer ruido. (A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound) tr. by Victoria Alonso Blanco. illus. by Tatjana Hauptmann. Spain/U.S.: Tusquets, $16.95 ( 84-8310-447-4).
(PreS-Gr 2) “Tom wakes at night convinced he has heard a monster, one without arms or legs, but hairy and quiet…is reassured by his father’s assertion that the sound is only a mouse in the walls that can be easily frightened away with a knock…Full of fatherly love and a child’s trust…dreamy, deep, quiet night atmosphere…dark-toned, moody illustrations …provide plenty of room for imagination… “ (CR)

Jeffers, Oliver. Perdido y encontrado. (Lost and Found) tr. by Jorge Luján. Mexico/U.S.: Fondo de Cultura Económica, dist. by Lectorum, $9.99 (968-16-7759-5)
(K-Gr 1) “…Oliver finds a penguin …take him back to the South Pole in his rowboat…Oliver leaves a sad penguin on the shore…realizes that the penguin is lonely. …breathtaking illustrations…” (CR)

Serrano, Esteban. Leonidas y su perro Luis (Leonidas and His Dog Luis) illus. by Lucía Spotorno. Spain: Nicanitas, dist. by IPG, $14.95 (84-933955-0-1).

(PreS) “A whimsical, energetic, and poetic picture book. While at the park, Leo (short for Leonidas) sees a bouncing box. Inside it, he finds a little, spotted dog, and the two of them play tag, laugh, and roll around…brief, rhyming text and large, childlike illustrations …”(CR)

Juvenile Fiction in Spanish

Esteban, Angel. El grumete de Colón (Columbus’s Cabin Boy) Spain: Everest, dist. by Lectorum, pap. $10.95 (84-241-1298-9).

(Gr 4-6) “When his father dies… Blas Tascón goes to live with the Franciscan monks near the Spanish port of Palos. One day, Christopher Columbus …asks him to join … the Santa María as his personal cabin boy. …All the facts…based on Columbus’s diaries and on texts by Spanish historian and missionary Fray Bartolomé de las Casas. …airbrushed paintings that are pieces of art. Their texture and symmetry help create different moods throughout the novel.” (CR)

Sierra i Fabra, Jordi. Kafka y la muñeca viajera (Kafka and the Traveling Doll) illus. by Pep Montserratt. Spain: Ediciones Siruela (Las Tres Edades) , $28.95(84-7844-985-9).
(Gr 4-8) “A middle-aged, ailing Franz Kafka encounters young Elsi sobbing uncontrollably in Berlin’s Steglitz Park because she has lost her doll…attempts to console Elsi by assuring her that her lost doll has simply gone on a trip…forces Kafka to produce daily written correspondence from Brígida (the doll) to Elsi for three weeks… Rich vocabulary and use of metaphor will challenge young readers. Sparse, opaque illustrations…”(CR)

Pullman, Philip. El Conde Karlstein (Count Karlstein) tr. by Isabel de Miguel Serra. illus. by Diana Bryn. Spain/U.S.: Umbriel: Urano Pub, $13.95 (84-95618-88-5)
(gr. 6-9) “…Hildi, a kindhearted, teenage maidservant at Castle Karlstein… orphans Lucy and Charlotte; their evil uncle Count Karlstein; and Zamiel, the terrifying Demon Huntsman with his ghostly hounds. When Hildi hears that Count Karlstein plans to offer up his two young nieces to Zamiel on All Soul’s Eve as part of an old bargain, it’s up to her and her brother, Peter, to rescue the girls….” (CR)

Juvenile Non-fiction in Spanish

Cuentos y leyendas hispanoamericanos (Stories and Legends from Spanish America). Ana Garralòn, ed. illus. by various. Spain: Anaya, $36.95 (84-667-4700-1)

(Gr 4-6) “… large-format book gathers folk tales from all over Latin America… narrated in a conversational and often humorous language…illustrated with captivating, full-page color plates of original artwork…stories of fools and tricksters, talking animals, wonders, and origins. …subtitle for each story provides its place of origin and footnotes explain words that might be unfamiliar outside the region. …must-have for all public libraries with Spanish collections and a sound purchase for those looking to build appealing collections with a limited budget…” (CR)