New from Philomel/Penguin: QUAKING by Kathryn Erskine. I am feeling like a proud godmother right now. I just received a package in the mail from Philomel. In it was a hardcover book, Quaking by Kathryn Erskine. This story placed third in the YA category in the 2005 W.I.N. Competition and it was published on June 21, under Patricia Lee Gauch's skilled editorial hand. It's brilliant, it's fresh, it's just incredible. I'm so, so happy for Kathryn - congratulations! - and thrilled to have been a small (tiny!) part of this book being published. Well done, Kathryn! I can hardly wait to see your next book! - Roxyanne Young
Summer Reading
Turtle Summer: A Journal for My Daughter
by Mary Alice Monroe, illustratedy by Barbara J. Bergwerf
Sylvan Dell Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9777423-5-6
Ages 3+
In her novel, Swimming Lessons, Mary Alice Monroe writes about a mother and daughter who spend a summer tending seaturtles. The mother in the novel creates a journal of their special summer for her daughter. This book is the journal depicted in the novel, complete with actual photos of loggerhead seaturtles, beautiful beaches, and the turtle team in action, plus illustrations and photos of artifacts from the summer - shells, sea stars, birds, flowers, and other treasures. I highly recommend this one for its artful depiction of seaturtle nesting, and the elegant text that goes along with it, the loving message from mother to child, to not only learn about nature, but to really appreciate it and be a part of it on a deep, personal level.
Kenya's Word
by Linda Trice, illustrated by Pamela Johnson Charlesbridge
ISBN: 1570918880
Ages 3+
Kenya has a lot of favorite things, and sometimes she's a little distracted in class, so she doesn't hear the teacher's instructions, but this little girl is as endearing as characters in books for emergent readers come, and younger children reading with a little help from an adult will identify with Kenya's quest to follow her teacher's instructions, especially after messing up twice. She really wants to find a special word, a describing word, and she pays close attention to the things she and her family do in the course of their day, trying out many wonderful words, but in the end, she chooses her favorite, best word of all. A nice addtion to classroom libraries, and sure to inspire a few lesson plans.
FOR OLDER KIDS...
Dreamquest: Tales of Slumberia
by Brent Hartinger Starscape: A Tom Doherty Associates Book
ISBN: 0765313979
Ages 10+
Julie Fray is a kid in a very common situation. Her parents fight all the time and are headed for divorce, and as the only child, she's being torn between them. It's affecting everything in her life, including her sleep. She's suffering nightmares where her parents are sucking her up with dueling vacuum cleaners, or carving her up on a dinner table - terrifying stuff. Hartinger gave us a real mind twister with his last book, Grand & Humble, and this one is going to send young adults on another serious mind trip as Julie wakes up inside her own dream - or rather, the studio where her dreams are filmed and broadcast into her sleeping head, and where the inhabitants don't think of her as a real person. Julie chooses not to ignore the man behind the curtain, to borrow from Baum, and instead goes on a quest to stop the nightmares and get her life back. This one has Hartinger's usual dry humor and clever dialog - he paints real characters, even immersed in a fantasy world. This one's for more advanced readers, and highly recommended.
Sandpiper
by Ellen Wittlinger Simon Pulse
ISBN: 1416936513
Ages 12+
With an opening scene that will make every parent of a tween-age girl cringe and look over at their baby and wonder, Ellen Wittlinger's Sandpiper is an authentic teenage girl who has made some bad decisions, survived, and is ready to move on with her life, only she lives in a pretty small town and a lot of her classmates know about those bad decisions, and a few of those people, a trio of boys in particular, aren't ready to let her forget. She's dealing with her single father who can't handle the fact that his baby girl is so obviously not a little girl anymore, her mother who is embarking on a new marriage of her own and a new stepdaughter to boot, and a younger sister who excels at pretty much everything Sandpiper does not. But there is The Walker, a mysterious boy who walks all over town, and for some strange reason, doesn't care about Sandpiper's past, and helps her claim a new, empowered identity, and a new future, and during a terrifying climax, helps save her from a very brutal reminder of just how far she's come. Extraordinary writing - powerful, emotional stuff. For more mature readers, 12 and up.
Bad Girls Club
by Judy Gregerson Blooming Tree Press
ISBN: 1933831014
"No one loves bad girls, Destiny. You of all people should know that!" Just a hint of the emotional trauma inflicted on teenage Destiny, the anchor holding her family together in the face of her mother's mental illness, her father's ignoring it, and her five-year-old sister's growing up as the brunt of it. Gregerson's first novel is sure to garner lots of attention. Des is all that is keeping young Cassidy alive and her mother's illness and the dark shadows hautning her house at bay, but she's got a support system in her best friend, Chloe, and her grandmother, Gina, who comes to help for a short time. Upon seeing Destiny's too-thin frame and dark circles under her eyes, who says she's fine when her grandmother asks, her grandmother replies that fine is relative. "It's all about what you get used to." Destiny's gotten used to a lot, and it's all here, poured out in powerful language describing the ongoing hell that mental illness can bring to a family, but here, too, is a portrait of incredible strength and perseverence in a young woman pushed to her limits in order to survive. Recommended for mature readers 12+ due to some frightening scenes of domestic violence.
Great Books for Your Classroom Library
Great Books for Your Classroom Library
In Arctic Waters
by Laura Crawford, illustrated by Ben Hodson Sylvan Dell Publishing
ISBN: 97809768823-4-3
The Arctic may be the farthest thing from your mind this summer, but this introductory look at Arctic animals would be a nice addition to a home or classroom library. Crawford's simple, repetitive rhyming text is kid-friendly and Hodson's illustrations show these animals in rich tones with fairly realistic features (minus the smiling faces). The animals are shown sort of in the food chain, but no one gets eaten here. In the back of the book, as is present in all Sylvan Dell titles, are fact sheets on each animal in a section called "For Creative Minds," that includes copyable cut-out images for kids to build their own mix-and-match creatures. A very "cool" intro to Arctic animals! Recommended for K - 2 classrooms.
River Friendly, River Wild
by Jane Kurtz, illustrated by Neil Brennan Aladdin Paperbacks/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 1416934871
This is one of the most exquisitely rendered stories I've seen in a long, long time. Kurtz's poetry is beautiful and tells a story that will grip young readers by the heartstrings and not let go until the very last page. Brennan's art is perfectly matched to Kurtz's subtle storytelling. Each image captures the deeper emotion of the event, not just the "what" in what is happening, but also the who, and the how and the where-do-we-go-from-here. This one is highly recommended, especially for educators who are looking for curriculum supplements when doing units on ecosytems (rivers) and how man and nature affect each other.
Non-Fiction Books for Schools
HEART OF THE BEAST: EIGHT GREAT GORILLA STORIES
by Nancy Roe Pimm ISBN: 1581960549
Darby Creek Publishing
You're probably already familiar with Koko, the famous signing gorilla with the pet kitten, but have you heard of Colo, the first-ever gorilla born in captivity, a brave little survivor who was kept alive after an early delivery by a caring zookeeper? Her story is here, as is that of Snowflake, an albino gorilla; Bongo and Bridgette, a gorilla lovematch, Dotty Mashavu, a baby who was adopted and raised by zookeepers mimicking gorilla behavior; and tons of gorilla facts and anecdotes of gorillas in the wild and in captivity. There's a special profile of Dian Fossey, too. Pimm's love of animals really comes through in her descriptions of these gorillas and their caretakers. The photos presented help put a real face on these amazing creatures. The book is capped off with a wonderful resource list for further reading and research. This one is a must-have for any school or home library that serves children who love animals.
Hot Series for Young Readers - 02/07
Let's face it, wouldn't you really rather be cuddled up with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate right about now? We've got some great new books to help keep you toasty through the cold weeks ahead!
Avatar, the Last Airbender - The Lost Scrolls: Earth, The Lost Scrolls: Air, The Lost Scrolls: Fire, The Lost Scrolls: Water
by Michael Teitelbaum, illustrated by Shane L. Johnson
based on the screenplays by Matt Hubbard and John O'Bryan
Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon Earth ISBN: 1-416918779 Air ISBN: 1416918795
Ages 6+
If you're a fan of metaphysics, martial arts, and good, old-fashioned good vs. evil adventure featuring a team of talented, skilled young people - one of whom is Aang, the Avatar, the last surviving airbender, and the world's only hope for real peace - facing off against the power-hungry Fire Kingdom and their Machiavellian princess, then this series is for you, both in print and on TV. In this world, there are four nations, representing the four elements: Fire, Earth, Air, and Water. Each tribe's powers emanate from their element, and each uses a different kind of martial arts in their bending techniques (how they manipulate that element). These books tell all about the people of the four Kingdoms and how they bend their natural elements to defend themselves, the history of the Kingdoms, a bit about the real ancient martial art on which their form of bending is based, and a story from one of the TV episodes. I love watching this show with my daughter, and even though she's something of a reluctant reader, she's first in line for these books when checking out new fiction at the school library. The story installments are entertaining and build on each other into a true saga. This whole series is a superb addition to any home or classroom library. Highly recommended for kids ages 6 - 12.
Tom Swift, Young Inventor: Rocket Racers, Book 4
by Victor Appleton Aladdin
ISBN: 141693488X
Ages 8 - 12
Tom Swift is back and updated for a whole new generation. Ideal for kids who like to invent things themselves and really dig knowing how things work, these books take readers into the worlds where people really do build their own planes and robots and vie against other inventors in competitions. Naturally, at these competition, there's a criminal element and it's up to Tom and his friends to solve the mystery and save the day, all amid real world science and technology. Very cool stuff.
TMNT
Adapted by Steve Murphy
Based on the screenplay by Kevin Munroe
Simon Spotlight
ISBN: 141694057X
Ages 8+
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back for a movie, so of course the novel is out, too. In this story, the brothers have been living apart for some time as Leonardo has been off doing some advanced training in the South American rain forest, Raphael has become a motorcycle-riding vigilante called the Nightwatcher, and Donatello and Michaelangelo are making a living dressing up as "Cowabunga Carl" and entertaining at kids' birthday parties. Leonardo has quite the challenge ahead of him if he's going to bring his brothers back together as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and get them into crimefighting shape before whatever this sinister thing going on in New York City takes over completely (and this is a big sinister - stars move, weather patterns change - it's big). Lots of teenage attitude in this renaissance of one of the most popular character teams of the 90s. Casey Jones and April O'Neill are back, but she's ditched her yellow new reporter jumpsuit for a more sleek, ninja look herself. This one is sure to be a hit with kids ages 8 - 12.
GREAT NON-FICTION FROM CAPSTONE
Disgusting Animals and Disgusting Bugs
by Connie Colwell Miller Blazers Books/Capstone
ISBN: 073686797X (Animals), 0736867988 (Bugs)
Ages 8+
Capitalizing on the eight-year-old's rite of passage of being fascinated with all things gross, Capstone's new imprint, Blazers Books, presents a series of Disgusting titles all about the truly grimace-inducing characteristics of animals, insects, foods, jobs, places, and plants. (Is anyone in your house a fan of the Discovery Channel series, Dirty Jobs? Yeah, they'll love these.) These books are written for emerging readers, rich with full-color photography and clever cartoon illustration, complete with a Gross-O-Meter so the reader can rate the disgustingness of that page's featured critter, these books also provide a glossary and a list of resources for further reading, you know, for the kid who just can't get enough of stinkslime-spitting fulmar chicks, or hagfish that - eeeuuu - dig their way into dead animals and...really...eat their way out.
Warning: Don't read these books if you've eaten recently. In Disgusting Animals, Miller's closing pages show a happy pig in mud, and this statement: "Animals throw up. They spit. They spray stuff out of their behinds. But all of these disgusting behaviors help animals survive." And then, under the photo of the pig, "Pigs eat almost anything, including cattle poop. And humans eat pigs!" Mmmm. Pork chops for dinner?
High interest, low reading level make this a great series for reading support through all elementary grades.
Let's Look at Animal Bottoms
by Wendy Perkins Pebble Plus/Captsone
ISBN: 0-736867155
Ages 3 - 8
I love the cover of this book. If that baby elephant butt doesn't grab a young reader's attention, I don't know what will. But it's the easy, engaging text and beautiful color photos of personality that will keep them reading. Wendy Perkins is one of my two favorite writers when it comes to animals. She's a walking zoology encyclopedia with a genuine love of teaching and young children, and it shows on every page in her simple, easy-to-read text that says exactly what a new reader would want to know about animal bottoms in this latest in the Let's Look at Animal Parts Series (see also, Noses, Feet, Teeth, etc.). These books support science standards, too, and major kudos for Captone's choice of wildlife photography to support the text. There are some truly amazing photos here - who knew a groundhog could have so much personality? And the closeup of the bee releasing its stinger...ouch!
The Life Cycle of a Bean
by Linda Tagliaferro Pebble Plus/Capstone
ISBN: 07368-67104
Ages 3 - 8
Is there a Kindergarten class in the country that doesn't do that sprout-a-bean-in-a-wet- paper-towel-inside-a-plastic-baggie experiment every spring? But what happens to a bean when it's planted in the ground? How big can that vine really grow? Do beans have flowers? How many beans in a pod? And what is the difference between a sprout and a stem? Gorgeous, full-color illustrations enhance every page, and a Read More list includes more books on beans and plants, and Capstone's FactHound invites kids to join him online to do more research at FactHound.com.
Why Isn't Pluto a Planet?
by Steve Kortenkamp
First Facts/Capstone
ISBN: 0-736867538
Ages 5+
Where there's a question a lot of us are still trying to figure out. This book explains it in terms that first graders (and their parents!) can understand, and follows it up with color photos and loads of information about the characteristics of the eight known planets in our solar system, including the things that some have and others don't, like atmosphere (Mercury doesn't have one), rings (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune all have rings, the rest don't), moons (Mercury and Venus don't have any, but Jupiter has more than 60!), and so on. Oh, and why isn't Pluto a planet anymore? Page 11.
The planetary photography is really impressive, but the picture that struck me most was the one of sunrise on Mars, with one of the Rovers in profile. It looks as if it could have been taken in the Arizona desert, and made me wonder how far off we really are from colonizing our nearest neighbor, and then if our concept of time would change, because a day on Mars is just a bit longer than a day on Earth, although not much. But what about farther out, and what about cultures from other worlds coming here, and what about our deepspace travelers in the not-too-distant future...will they continue to mark time in 24-hour cycles when there is no daytime or nighttime outside the spaceship's windows? It's all dark. Hmmmm...
I really love that Capstone offers their young readers so many "keep learning" resources. What great devotion to quality books, and quality life-long learning.
For Upcoming Women's History Month
We the People: Women of Colonial America
by Jana Voelka Studelska
Compass Point Books
ISBN: 0736524571
Things that might surprise you about life for women in Colonial America (or I should say, that surprised me): Pocohontas's real name was Matoaka; Jamestown was initially settled in 1607 by a ship full of men and boys only, 105 of them - women didn't arrive until a year later, but most of them died from disease, starvation, or the harsh environment; by 1619, the colonists needed more women if the community was to survive and thrive, and the first bride ship bringing 150 young women arrived and the women were sold to their new husbands for 120 pounds of tobacco (the Africans who were brought on a different ship the same year were sold as indentured servants and earned their freedom in seven years, along with tools and clothes to start a new life) - all but 35 of the brides had died eight years later; the Bible was often the only school textbook; girls were taught arithmetic so they could manage their household chores, but teaching them to write was considered a waste of time. Thank goodness not everyone followed those rules! The book goes on to tell about Anne Bradstreet, who had been educated in England and could read and write, and whose poetry of the New World was published back in England, making her the first published American author, and Lady Deborah Moody, a wealthy widow who had her own opinions on religious freedom and, not happy with life in the restrictive Puritan colonies, set out to start her own, which she called Gravesend, which is in Brooklyn, New York, and you can still see the system of roads and property that Lady Moody established in 1645. Very cool book.
Girls' Volleyball: Setting Up Success
by Heather E. Schwartz
Snap Books/Capstone
ISBN: 0736868267
Sports are good for girls. That's all there is to it. Thank heaven for Title IX. In this book, Schwartz teaches the fundamentals of the game of volleyball, including positions and techniques for hitting better shots, and she includes profiles of women volleyball players like Gabrielle Reese, who encourages strong, tall girls to "stand up straight." There are also quotes from players, like one from a U.S. Olypic Volleyball Team member exclaiming about what a great experience the Games were. Lots of photos and a few drawings illustrate this book, but the best thing about it is the message: strong women grow from strong girls, and strong girls play. Pick your game, but play.
Heroes Don't Run: A Novel of the Pacific War
by Harry Mazer
Aladdin Paperbacks/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 1416933948
This is the third in Mazer's trilogy of WWII novels featuring Adam Pelko, whose father was killed at Pearl Harbor, and whose best friend and his family have been intered at Manzanar with other Japanese Americans. In this book, Adam enlists in the Marines against his mother's wishes, and gets sent to boot camp and then on to Okinawa, where his romanticized ideas about the glories of war come face to face with the harsh reality of combat. I live in a military town (San Diego), and I have mixed feelings about the current war with Iraq, and I'm terrified of escalations with other mideast countries. I am also the granddaughter of a WWII Navy pilot and sister to an airman currently serving the country, so I have some understanding of the heart and soul it takes to make that kind of commitment. This book helped me see this very commitment at a deeper level, and it has made me that much prouder of my brother, of my grandfather, and of all the men and women serving in the US Armed Forces, especially those in harm's way. There are passages here that may raise some people's eyebrows - at barely 18, Adam smokes, drinks, and fantasizes about a girl who left her lipstick on a cigarette butt in a nightclub before he shipped out of San Diego, but while reading I just pictured my grandfather as a fresh-faced teenager out of Texas farm country, thrust into the very grown up world of a professional soldier. Mazer's book is going to open some eyes, and some hearts, and maybe even some minds.
Sports Books for Spring
Sports Books for Spring
TAE KWON DO!
by Terry Pierce, illustrated by Todd Bonita
Random House Step Into Reading, Level 1
ISBN: 0375934480
This is a great book for all those young white belt readers out there. Pierce's simple language is perfectly complimented by Bonita's simple, kid-friendly artwork. The focus here is on what the students in a tae kwon do class do, told in easy-to-read rhyme. Those kids who are just getting confident reading books on their own will enjoy this one. It moves with energy and Bonita represents the different forms with accuracy, although I'm not sure about some of the belt colors. (There aren't any camouflage belts at my daughter's martial arts studio, but maybe there are in other parts of the country.) Highly recommended for school and classroom libraries, and a nice addition to the guest area of your favorite martial arts studio where younger siblings may be waiting.
Louis Sockalexis: Native American Baseball Pioneer
by Bill Wise, illustrated by Bill Farnsworth Lee & Low Books
ISBN: 978-1-58430-269-8
In June, 1897, Louis Sockalexis made history as the first Native American to ever play professional baseball, with the Cleveland Spiders team, against the New York Giants. He took the field to taunting Indian war cries, but performed with grace and dignity in the face of hatred that might have made any other man leave the field all together, and knocked the ball farther than anyone else had ever done, right out of the park. This book includes his backstory, too, of course, and beautiful, warm illustrations that capture the period of the story well. Highly recommended for sports fans of all ages.
New from Philomel/Penguin: QUAKING by Kathryn Erskine. I am feeling like a proud godmother right now. I just received a package in the mail from Philomel. In it was a hardcover book, Quaking by Kathryn Erskine. This story placed third in the YA category in the 2005 W.I.N. Competition and it was published on June 21, under Patricia Lee Gauch's skilled editorial hand. It's brilliant, it's fresh, it's just incredible. I'm so, so happy for Kathryn - congratulations! - and thrilled to have been a small (tiny!) part of this book being published. Well done, Kathryn! I can hardly wait to see your next book! - Roxyanne Young
