The Indianhead Federated Library System presents
Starred Reviews
New and Notable Books for Young People
January 2008 * 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.
Picture Books
Amato, Mary. The Chicken of the Family. Illus. by Delphine Durand. Putnam, $16.99 (978-0-399-24196-3)
(PreS and up) “Henrietta’s older sisters are such expert teasers that they’re able to convince her that she is really a chicken, obtained at birth from the local egg farm...runs away to the farm in search of her real family...farmer is nice...Even when the older sisters ‘fess up...Henrietta isn’t sure she wants to believe them...Seinfeldian storytelling is setoff brilliantly by...off-kilter, kid-like cartooning...” (PW)
Andersen, Hans Christian. The Ugly Duckling. Retold by Stephen Mitchell, illus. by Steven Johnson and Lou Fancher. Candlewick, $16.99 (978-0-7636-2159-9)
(K-gr. 4) “...beautifully illustrated retelling...minor changes in the text...maintains the integrity of the original...mixed-media illustrations...art combines painting with lace...stunning spread...impressively depict distinct and realistic-looking feathers... suffused with color...small images are interspersed with text...” (SLJ)
Carbone, Elisa. Night Running: How James Escaped with the Help of His Faithful Dog. Illus. by E.B. Lewis. Knopf/Borzoi, $19.99 (978-0-375-92247-3)
(gr. 2-4) “...skillful storytelling...heroics of a boy and his faithful hunting dog in search of freedom...1838...James Smith...hound is persistent...saves James’s life more than once...realistic watercolors bring James to life...author’s note gives additional facts about James Smith...vividly realized...based on a true story.” (SLJ)
Clement, Nathan. Drive. Front Street, $16.95 (978-1-59078-517-1)
(ages 2-8) “...day-in-the-life...trucker, as told through the eyes and succinct words of his young son...Daddy is a skilled, unfailingly polite...visual storytelling...sets this book apart...big, streamlined shapes; flat, bright colors; shiny...surfaces...Unusual and often cinematic perspectives...plunge readers into the action...” (PW)
Falwell, Cathryn. Scoot! HarperCollins, $17.89 (978-0-06-128883-8)
(PreS-gr. 2) “Extraordinary paper collages accompany a high-spirited romp at the pond...Strong, predictable rhymes bounce across the pages...Unusual, lively words extend vocabulary...photo of the author’s tree house from which she observes critters...additional information...Printing Textures page...engaging...for young children, but it could also inspire older readers to play with language and use vivid word pictures...” (SLJ)
Gravett, Emily. Monkey and Me. Simon & Schuster, $15.99 (978-1-4169-5457-6)
(PreS-gr.1) “...imagination and some creative contortions...catchy refrain sets up each scenario: ‘Monkey and me...We went to see...’ Readers can take a moment to guess which species the feisty...narrator...is miming...turn of the page shows the relevant animals at their antic best...pencil and watercolor...series of exuberant spot sketches... gives the pictures the momentum and spontaneity...step-by-step instruction for recreating at least some of the fun in their own home... “(PW)
Hamilton, Kersten. Red Truck. Illus. by Valeria Petrone. Viking, $15.99 (978-0-670-062-751)
(PreS-K) “One wintry day, a red tow truck’s driver receives a call that a school bus is stuck in slushy mud...intrepid rescuer speeds up a slope...Strong, flowing lines and highly simplified forms create a certain retro look in the digital artwork...well-crafted text spiced with sound effects...highly recommended for reading aloud to the truck-loving crowd...” (BL)
Sweet, Melissa. Tupelo Rides the Rails. Houghton, $17 (0-618-71714-5)
(K-gr.3) “Dogs, stars, tramps, and trains drive this tender...story...brave stray and her search for home...elemental outsider adventure: a small dog, Tupelo...rejected by everyone...hobo, Tex, feeds the dogs and helps them hop a train...reunited with Tex...beautifully detailed artwork...packed with feeling and story...” (BL)
Wheeler, Lisa. Jazz Baby. Illus. by R. Gregory Christie. Harcourt, $16 (978-0-15-202522-9)
(PreS) “To the contagious rhythm of the text, Baby and his extended family members be-bop and hip-hop and generally make jazzy music...Baby...passed from arm to arm, bouncing and bopping, smiling and waving, until worn out...stylized African Americans with happy, expressive faces...” (SLJ)
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Juvenile Fiction
Baker, Deirdre. Becca at Sea. Groundwood, $16.95 (978-0-88899-737-1)
(gr. 4-6) “...dozen linked episodes on her Gran’s small island off the coast of British Columbia, Becca averts many a mishap and disaster...saves the day with ingenuity, tact, and enough grace to beguile her family and readers alike...dialogue is true-to-life, witty, and intelligent. Each episode enriches the portrait of Becca’s memorable extended family with delightfully preposterous, yet insightful, detail.” (HB)
Blume, Lesley M. M. Tennyson. Knopf, $15.99 (978-0-375-34703-5)
(gr. 3-7) “...eccentric characters and mysterious events...lush novel set during the Depression...mother runs away from their remote home...11-year-old Tennyson and her younger sister are sent to...dangerously dilapidated estate...Tennyson begins dreaming of disturbing, real-life scenes that occurred...when it was a grand Louisiana plantation and also during the Civil War...hypnotic montage of poetic images, turning stereotypes into archetypes...abruptness and abstraction of the ending...may disappoint the target audience...” (PW)
Dowd, Siobhan. The London Eye Mystery. Random/David Fickling, $18.99 (0-375-94976-3)
(gr. 5-8) “...Ted and his older sister, Kat...cousin, Salim, wait...to ride the London Eye, and observation wheel...stranger from the front of the line offers one free ticket, and since Salim is the visitor...he takes it. Ted and Kate see him enter the capsule...but to their shock, he doesn’t exit with his fellow riders...much more than a taut mystery...Ted... complex young hero...seemingly Asperger’s Syndrome...After several long days have passed with no sign of Salim, Ted must use the skills he has and overcome some of his personal challenges to find his cousin. Everything rings true here...A page-turner with heft. (BL) (PW)
Martin, Patricia. Lulu Atlantis and the Quest for True Blue Love. Illus. by Marc Boutavant. Random/Schwarz & Wade, $15.99 (978-0-375-84016-6)
(gr. 2-6) “Lulu Atlantis...baby brother and a dad off saving extinct animals... confides her troubles to her best friend, Harry. So what if Harry is a talking spider in a top hat whom no one else can see...four linked stories...leave Lulu with the realization that she is already enmeshed in everyday scrumptious love...flavorful storytelling... scenarios are whimsical; the emotions run true.” (PW)
Springer, Nancy. The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets: An Enola Holmes Mystery. Philomel, $14.99 (978-0-399-24518-3)
(gr. 5-8) “It is March, 1889, in London...Enola...evading her brothers...to avoid boarding school...has been...pursuing her ‘life’s calling’ as a ... ‘finder of the lost’... finding the missing Dr. Watson...using her knowledge of the ‘language of flowers,’ Enola deduces that the bouquet suggests revenge...one dangerous situation to another. Enola is a delightful character...sharp wit...wry voice...descriptions...are vivid, the mystery is intriguing...” (SLJ)
GN Sturm, James and Rich Tommaso. Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow. Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, $16.99 (978-0-7868-3900-1)
(gr. 5 and up) “...far more than a conventional biography or baseball book, this graphic novel reveals the sport as an agent of hope in the Jim Crow South...fictional African-American sharecropper who turns to Negro League baseball to support his family...hits a pitch off of Satchel Paige...cut short by injury...sends his son to school...two white land-owning brothers mercilessly beat the boy...story culminates with Paige’s team coming to play against the all-white...largely understated, with stark exceptions...” (PW)
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Juvenile Non-fiction
Frost, Helen. Monarch and Milkweed. Illus. by Leonid Gore. Atheneum, $17.99 (1-4169-0085-3)
(PreS-gr. 2) “...shows the interconnected life cycles of the monarch butterfly and the milkweed plant...milkweed shoot...northward migration of a monarch...lovely maps showing monarch-butterfly migration rounds...every aspect of this pleasing book contributes to the whole...fine sense of form and use of texture...spare, poetic...” (BL)(SLJ)
Kerley, Barbara. What to Do about Alice? Illus. by Edwin Fotheringham. Scholastic, $16.99 (0-439-92231-3)
(K-gr.3) “Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt...daughter of Theodore Roosevelt...had a joie de vivre...energy exhibited itself...tramping around Washington, DC...taking off on around-the-world adventures...text has the same rambunctious spirit as its subject, grabbing readers from the first line...Children will be impressed with the way Alice took control of her life...large format...plenty of room for spectacular art...There are a few flaws...would have benefited from a time line, and quotes are barely sourced...” (BL)
Lewis, J. Patrick. The Brothers’ War: Civil War Voices in Verse. National Geographic, $17.95 (978-1-4263-0036-3)
(gr. 5-9) “...heartrending collection of original poems paired with photographs by Civil War photographers makes real what statistics about war cannot...poignantly and lyrically...elegant design...handsomely frames the text and the photographs...introduction, detailed photo captions and back matter ground readers in the historical context...poems and photos recreate the emotional reality...exemplary work.” (PW)
Nelson, Kadir. We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball. Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, $18.99 (978-0-7868-0832-8)
(gr. 3 and up) “...history of the Negro Leagues...sumptuous volume that no baseball fan should be without...folksy vernacular...insider account of segregated baseball...favorite players...muscular paintings...suggest the seriousness...and the circumstances...soars as a tribute to the individuals...” (PW)(SLJ)
Paterson, Katherine. The Light of the World: The Life of Jesus for Children. Illus. by Francois Roca. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, $17.99 (0-545-01172-8)
(K-gr.3) “...snowy-white text pages have a paragraph or so of text, facing...striking, framed painting....judicious editor...conveying much in short bursts of words...incisive text...deftly moves throughout the story of Jesus’ life and death...best-known parables...paintings...beautifully support the text, although one...barely resembled what it is supposed to represent...Jesus is seen only in the distance...” (BL)
Rhodes-Courter, Ashley. Three Little Words: A Memoir. S&S/Atheneum, $17.99 (978-1-4169-4806-3)
(gr. 9 and up) “...engrossing memoir, college senior...chronicles her hard-scrabble childhood in foster care...string of unsuitable—and sometimes nightmarish—placements for her and her younger half-brother, Luke...matter-of-fact tone...laced with bitterness... pointedly criticizes the manner in which she was repeatedly uprooted... ineptitude of social workers...intelligent, open-minded conclusions about her traumatic childhood... plenty of wrenching moments...drawing attention to the children who currently share the plight that she herself overcame.” (PW)
Schulman, Janet. Pale Male: Citizen Hawk of New York City. Illus. by Meilo So. Knopf/Borzoi, $19.99 (978-0-375-94558-8)
(gr. 3-6) “...first red-tailed hawk to take up residence in New York City’s Central Park...supplies many details missing from the earlier versions...more accurate and leisurely story...illustrations play up the conflict between the upscale building’s residents...and the growing number of New Yorkers who rallied to force them to allow the birds to nest again...evocative water colors...perfectly capture the power and grace of the majestic raptors...” (SLJ)
Weatherford, Carole Boston. I, Matthew Henson: Polar Explorer. Illus. by Eric Velasquez. Walker, $17.85 (978-0-8027-9689-9)
(gr. 2-5) “...picture-book account...13-year-old orphan signed on as cabin boy...no one would hire a black crewman...met Robert Peary...seven trips to the Arctic between 1891 and 1909...extreme hardships...save Peary’s life twice, befriend the Inuit...lead the team to their destination when faulty instruments had failed them...sparse, poetic language...first person...author’s note provides more biographical information... pastel illustrations...Powerful words and images...” (SLJ)
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YA Fiction
Doyle, Marissa. Bewitching Season. Holt, $16.95 (0-8050-8251-4)
(gr. 7-10) “Twins Persephone and Penelope...coming-out season. Pen is excited ...Persephone would rather be home studying magic with their beloved governess, Ally ...Ally disappears...girls must harness their magical skills amidst the swirl of balls and presentations...wonderfully crafted...utterly satisfying...mystery of Ally’s whereabouts mingles with a plot to control the throne...patina of magic...never overwhelms, leaving the story in the world of reality rather than in the realm of fantasy...delightful mélange of characters...” (BL)
Lockhart, E. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. Hyperion, $16.99 (0-7868-3818-3)
(gr. 7-12) “In the summer between her freshman and sophomore years, Frankie...transforms from a ‘scrawny, awkward child’...to a curvy beauty...return to Alabaster Prep, her elite boarding school, she attracts the attention of gorgeous Matthew...member of the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, an all-male...secret society...excluded...Frankie engineers he own guerilla membership by assuming a false online identity...filled with wordplay...clever satire about the capers of the entitled...mystery...expertly timed comedy also has deep undercurrents...gender and power, individuals and institutions...” (BL) (PW)
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Audio
Bloody Jack. By L. A. Meyer. Read by Katherine Kellgren. Listen and Live, CD 8 hrs (978-1593-16094-4)
(gr. 6-9) “Living on the streets of London with a gang of street urchins, orphan Mary...poses as a boy...calls herself Jacky Faber and signs on as a lowly ship’s boy... flexible British accent easily captures the seafaring atmosphere and Jacky’s emotions as she tries to hide her true identity...consistently maintains Jacky’s Cockney accent, Irish... brogue...Caribbean lilt...Nautical music...adds to the mood...Kellgren’s impressive singing of a ballad...” (BL)
Jazz. By Walter Dean Myers. Read by James Williams and Vaneese Thomas. Live Oak, CD, $28.95 (978-143-0100-225)
(K-gr.5) “...superb read-along...dares listeners to keep their feet still as jumpin’ rhythms and lively riffs fill the air with energy. Narrators and vocalists...catchy lyrics telling the story of jazz through the ages...poems are either read or sung; background music performed by a jazz ensemble adds to the mood...concluding glossary and time line are read slowly and clearly...comes with a hardcover book.” (BL)
Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party. By Ying Chang Compestine. Read by Jodi Long. Listening Library, 5 hours, CD, $38 (978-0739-36161-0)
(gr. 5-9) “...autobiographical novel chronicles four years in the life of Ling, the daughter of bourgeois parents, during China’s Cultural Revolution...comfortable life in Wuhan slowly crumbles...somehow Ling’s spirit survives...compelling reader...slight Chinese accent to portray the adults, but she voices Ling in an American accent...adds dimension...characters’ sensitive vocal interpretation...gracefully written story ....” (BL)
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Books in Spanish
Funke, Cornelia. Dos brujitas salvajes (Two Little Wild Witches). tr. by Rosa Pilar Blanco. illus. by author. Spain: Siruela, dist. by Anaya, $25.95 ( 978-84-9841-125-6).
(gr. 3-7) “... gripping fantasy about two young girls that want to become witches. Rosana and Liliana ... dress for their parts on Walpurgis Night... the witches’ Sabbath... to their surprise, they summoned a real witch, Frieda....only good magic... good luck, folk remedies, and goodwill. A large toad that can turn into a young lady travels with her. ...humorous ink drawings that flesh out the ridiculous characters in the story...” (CR)
Iturralde, Edna. Cuando callaron las armas (When Guns Went Silent). illus. by Olga Lucía Aldana. Colombia/U.S.: Norma (pap), $9.95 (978-958-45-0249-0)
(gr 5-8) “...12 powerful stories expose readers to daily life in war-torn countries... Each tale is culturally unique and yet similar in the way fear, trauma, and loss affect young lives...elucidates the underlying reasons for national conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Sudan, Liberia, Rwanda, Chechnya, Sri Lanka, Northern Ireland, the Basque “country” in Spain, Israel and Palestine, and her native Colombia... reality of war in dreadful tales...appendix further details the present state of affairs, and the black-and-white illustrations add artistic imagery to most stories. A must-read...” (CR)
Rodríguez, Mónica. Los Caminos de Piedelagua (The Paths of Piedelagua) Spain: Everest, dist. by Lectorum Pub., $11.50 (978-84-441-4070-4).
(gr. 7-12) “As Ané nears her 12th birthday, her parents reveal to her that her “grandpa” is not her biological grandfather... family trip to Piedelagua to meet this obscure relative ...Frail and blind, Martín is bad-tempered and foul-mouthed...he is said to have murdered someone many years ago. When Ané hears screams late at night ... also glimpses his humane side when she catches him unaware and observes him crying...Little by little, she discovers the true story behind the alleged murder and some important family secrets that help her better understand, and ultimately love, her grandfather. This captivating, well-written book reads like a mystery novel, uses believable dialog and beautifully descriptive prose; and it also throws in a potential teen love-interest...” (CR)
Buchanan, Andrea and Miriam Peskowitz. El libro aventurado para las chicas (The Daring Book for Girls) tr. by Magdalena Horguin. illus. by Alexis Seabrook. U.S.: Rayo: HarperCollins, $26.95 (978-0-06-156290-7)
(gr. 3 and up) “... introduces girls to a world where they, too, can be adventurous. The activities, many of which will need adult supervision, range from the simple to the complex, and the information covers things to make, sports to know, biographies of interesting famous women like Mata Hari and Cleopatra, and many other facts that may captivate girls...includes facts about history, from the ancient world to the 20th century, science, and geography; all of which are illustrated with ink drawings... extensive bibliography...” (CR)
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