Wild Wings, by Gill Lewis, illustrated by Yuta Onoda (
Atheneum, $15.99, ages 8-12, 304 pages, 2011). A girl no one cared to know works her way into a boy's heart and inspires him to watch over a magnificent bird they both loved and an injured girl half-way around the world. When Iona McNair arrives in town, 11-year-old Callum doesn't know what to think of her. His friend Rob calls her a thief for fishing in Callum's family's creek and blames her for something her mother may have stolen years ago. But Callum is drawn to Iona and the secret she wants to share, something no one has seen on his Scottish farm for a hundred years. Iona has spotted an osprey building an aerie in the farm's woods and soon he has attracted a mate. Knowing osprey are vulnerable, Callum keeps the secret from his friends Rob and Euan. But when the osprey's mate, Iris, gets tangled in fishing line, Iona and Callum can no longer keep the secret to themselves. Callum's father calls a biologist for help and after rescuing Iris, he cautions them about poachers. He also tags Iris with satellite telemetry so they can watch over her as she migrates back to Africa. But then one day Iona doesn't show up to meet Callum at their tree house and Callum's life is turned upside down. Iona has made Callum promise to look after Iris, but can he trust Rob and Euan to help him? In this wonderful story, a boy makes a pact that will change his life, the lives of his friends, a small fishing village in The Gambia and a 10-year-old girl who's hospitalized there. Tender and beautiful, this is a story to make eyes misty, but only briefly, before sweeping readers hearts back into the clouds.
Junonia, written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes (
Greenwillow, $15.99, ages 10-14, 192 pages, 2011) When Alice Rice arrives at Florida's Sanibel Island on a family vacation, she wants to do everything at once and can't decide where to start. Should she unpack or comb the beach for shells? (After all, this is the year she's determined to find a rare Junonia.) But the only place her legs want to go is to the cottages. She has to know who's there. For nine years, the same neighbors have returned to the island and celebrated her birthday. This is her 10th -- and she's hoping it will be special. But when she finds old Mr. And Mrs. Wishmeier, who've always been like grandparents, she begins to discover that things won't be quite the same. The Wishmeier's grandchildren (the older siblings Alice never had) can't make it, neither can artist Helen Blair (who always had the most wonderful gifts to give Alice) and her mother's friend Kate (Aunt Kate to Alice) isn't coming alone. She has a new boyfriend with a snippy daughter Mallory and now Alice's friend, ancient Mr. Barden, has hurt Alice's feelings. He's told her that Mallory's the prettiest little girl he's ever seen even though s
These stories will leave kids feeling great and ready to take on the world.
Young Fredle, by Cynthia Voigt, illustrated by Louise Yates (
Alfred A. Knopf, $16.99, ages 9-12, 240 pages, 2011) A brave kitchen mouse breaks the the most important rule of mice, to keep safe, and is tossed out of his nest behind a pantry wall and into the dangerous world outside. Living behind the lattice of a porch, he faces unthinkable perils: raptors that nose-dive from the sky, snakes that lurk in barns and a rowdy band of raccoons that take him captive. But he also makes delightful discoveries -- a world of colors never afforded him by the dim pantry, twinkling lights in the night sky, the taste of dew on a blade of grass and one morning, a bright peel of orange left as a gift. Newbery Medalist Voigt weaves a wondrous tale of a mouse who dares to do things differently. The great message here: you might be surprised at what you can accomplish when you need to do something or really want to. This is a book that leaves you wanting to yell out "Woo-Hah."
Bless This Mouse, written by Lois Lowry and illustrated by Eric Rohmann (
Houghton Mifflin, $15.99, ages 9-12, 160 pages, 2011) A pile of pink mouselets nesting in a mop in the sexton's closet?! This just won't do. With the annual Blessing of the Animals fast approaching, Hildegarde, the mouse mistress at St. Bartholomew's, is frantic. Father Murphy has been tolerant of mouse droppings in past, but he wouldn't think twice about calling the Great X, the exterminator, if parishioners spotted mice scurrying by the pews. The last time the Great X came, half of Hildegarde's colony was wiped out. But try as she might to clamp down on reproduction and visibility, the worst happens: the Altar Guild sees the mouselets playing hide-and-seek. Now their only hope is to flee to the graveyard and hunker down until the poison has passed. But will they find safety in at the church after fumigation? And is it fair that other animal get to be blessed on the feast day of St. Francis and not mice? A sweet and wonderful tale from a Newbery Medalist.
Series older kids will be clamoring for.
The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid and
The Throne of Fire, by Rick Riordan. (
Disney-Hyperion, $18.99 each, ages 9-12, 528-464 pages, 2011) When siblings Carter, 14, and Sadie, 12, unite after years of living apart, they seem to have nothing in common until their archaeologist father, Dr. Julius Kane, disappears inside the British Museum and the siblings are thrust headlong into an epic adventure. While taking the siblings on a private tour of the museum, Dr. Kane blows up the Rosetta Stone and releases a vengeful Egyptian god who entombs him. Carter and Sadie barely escape and as they set off to rescue their father, they discover secrets of their family heritage. The siblings learn they are descendants of the pharaohs and have magical powers that could stop the gods of chaos and save humanity. This fast-paced, often funny new adventure trilogy by the author of the blockbuster
Percy Jackson and the Olympians books is an easy read that they won't want to put down.
Pathfinder, by Orson Scott Card (
Simon Pulse, $18.99, ages 12 and up, 672 pages, 2010). From the best-selling author of
Ender's Game comes a fascinating series that moves between two complex story lines: one about 13-year-old Rigg, who has a special ability to see the paths of people's pasts, and Ram Odin, a human pilot of a colony ship from Earth. Reader's are first introduced to Rigg, while trapping with his father, a stern taskmaster who grills his son on questions of logic and the unforeseen. His father wants Rigg to be prepared for anything, though Rigg doesn't know why, and he has warned Rigg never to tell anyone about his gift as a pathfinder. But then his father suddenly dies and Rigg discovers he has a sister that his father never told him about. He sets off with a childhood friend Umbo, who has a special ability to bend time, to find her and uncover his past. Along the way they meet characters who aren't always who they seem and Rig becomes caught between a faction that wants him crowned and another that wants him dead. In alternating chapters, Card follows Ram's voyage into the unknown with a robot trained in space-folding technology. Thought-provoking, just the thing for teens looking for a smart read.
Here are four more that will have them hooked:
0 Comments on I Need the Next One! as of 1/1/1900
If Rocks Could Sing: A Discovered Alphabet, written and illustrated by Leslie McGuirk (
Tricycle Press, $15.99, all ages, 48 pages, 2011).
If rocks could sing? I think this proves they already do. Not only that, they play, swim and haunt about. An adorable thing to behold, McGuirk's clever book shows rocks shaped like every letter of the alphabet and some of the sweet things those words represent. On one page, two big-nosed rocks sit on a seesaw for
U is for Up and on another, blobs of rock with hollow eyes and mouths fly against a black backdrop for
G is Ghosts. Collected on a stretch of Florida coastline over more than 10 years, the rocks are so graphic you'd think McGuirk altered them in Photoshop, but you'll have to take her word for it: these are nature-made. Readers will be so smitten by the pictures in this book, they'll want to hunt for their own rock creatures and may even beg you to let them sleep with them at night.
This Plus That,
Life's Little Equations, written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Jen Corace (
Harper, $16.99, ages 4-8, 40 pages, 2011) What happens when readers add two things together? Amazing compromises that delight and sometimes a few mistakes, but always something they can learn from. In this charming book by the creators
Little Pea,
Little Hoot and
Little OInk, readers discover the possibilities of combining things and how, good or bad, equations make life what it is. Sometimes life is wondrous: when they add one somersault to another and get dizzy or add a smile to a hand wave and make a new friend. And sometimes it can be icky. When they make mistakes, like adding mumbling to toe staring and get the opposite of polite. But even then, there's always a way to make it better: handshake + "how are you" = polite. But sometimes sad stuff just happens: like when two things they like take something they love away: balloon + wind = lost. This clever, gentle book helps kids appreciate -- and accept -- the consequences of actions, and life's twists and turns.
Apple Pie ABC, written and illustrated by Alison Murray (
Disney-Hyperion, $16.99, ages 2-6, 32 pages, 2011) He
.jpeg?picon=3103)
By: Jenny Miller,
on 6/14/2011
Blog:
Where The Best Books Are!
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
2011,
Poem in Your Pocket,
Summer Books for Kids,
Legends of the Sea,
poems on the go,
books to help kids write,
create-a-story kit,
Storyworld,
Fairy Magic,
Add a tag
Storyworld: Create-A-Story Kits, created by John and Caitlin Matthews (
Templar, $12.99, ages 9-12, 24 cards, 2011) Just the thing to help imaginations take flight, these clever kits immerse young writers in a make-believe place with a supply of ideas. Each kits contains 28 cards with prompts and pictures to create their own story. One side of a card gives a description of people, places, creatures or special objects that might inhabit that particular make-believe world, and the other provides a detailed picture of things they might find. Since its debut in 2010, four more kits have come out, each a delight and available for a bit less, $9.99 each. In
Legends of the Sea, readers are asked to imagine what happened to a haunted wreck with a ghostly crew and to think about what kind adventures would await a lucky sea horse who loves to play jokes. All of the kits come with a booklet detailing various games kids can play by themselves, with friends or parents. Also part of the series,
Fairy Magic, Tales from the Haunted House and
Christmas Tales.
Poem in Your Pocket for Young Poets, published in conjunction with The Academy of American Poets and selected by Bruno Navasky (
Amulet Books, $12.95, ages 9-12, 232 pages, 2011) This charming little book by poetry teacher Navasky invites young writers to carry poems wherever they go. A poem, Navasky writes, is like "a little bird safe in its nest, it needs to stick its head up, needs a breath of fresh air now and then. It needs to play." So, he suggest, "carry it with you," but keep it safe in a pocket and once in a while "let it fly." Inside readers find a tablet of 100 removable poems by classic and contemporary poets, from Emily Dickinson to Naomi Shihab Nye. At their whim, readers can tear out any poem to read to themselves or share with others. The tablet is organized by 10 themes, each with inviting titles. Among them: "The Sweet Earth" about nature, "Where You Never Were" about the imagination, "There is Rain in Me" about the imagination and "They Loved Paperclips" about everyday things.
Zita the Spacegirl, by Ben Hatke (
First Second, $10.99 pbk, ages 9-12, 192 pages, 2011) In this zany fun graphic novel, a brave girl named Zita launches herself into another dimension to save her pal Joseph after she unwittingly lets a tentacled creature from another world enter Earth and snatch him away. Unless Zita and her band of cohorts (a giant mouse, blob, battle orb, robot and earthling named Piper) can get to Joseph in time, he'll be sacrificed by Scriptorians, a doomsday cult, to save their planet. Great fun and a sure way to keep your child glued to a book all the way to the last page. Hatke is the author-illustrator of the graphic gems the
Flight series and
Flight Explorer.
The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition), by Jeff Kinney (
Amulet Books, $12.95, ages 9-12, 224 pages, 2011) Zoo-Wee-Mama! For fans of
The Wimpy Kid who have everything (i.e. all six titles of the phenomenally popular series), this is the book to have: a journal about their own amazing childhood. Inside fans are invited to write down how incredibly smart and witty they are, they get a chance to finish their own Zoo-We-Mama comic strips and make up their own, and they get to pour through more of Rowley's classics in full-color. But just so parents understand, this is NOT a diary. No feelings allowed. Just lots of silly stuff: like the survey of all the nutty things they've ever done, answers to questions only Greg could think of -- like "How many steps does it take you to jump into bed after you turn off the lights?" and our youngest boys' (age 7 and 9) favorite page: an outline of a brain with lobes of varying sizes to write down what's inside. Stuff like soccer, food, sleep and purple?
Make It!, created by Jane Bull (
DK Publishing, $12.99, ages 4-8, 64 pages, 2011) After one look inside this eye-catching craft book, kids will be rummaging through recycling bins. And just think! You won't have to buy much of anything for them to get started! At the beginning, Bull rallies crafters, "Starve your garbage can!" and collect all those scraps. A spiraling circling shows it all: from bottle tops to junk mail, old baking tins to tights. Even parents will be surprised at how adorable scraps can look when strung, crimped, glued, woven, twisted and sewn in just the right way. Among the highlights: woolly friends from matchless mittens, a robot from a tin pan and foil, and a seat cushion from bubble wrap and candy wrappers. I've never seen our boys jump into projects so fast. (Just a bit of advice: introduce this one early in the week before the recycling truck comes. Or use it as a motivator to clear out scraps from rooms.)
How to Cook: Delicious Dishes Perfect for Teen Cooks (
DK Publishing, $17.99, ages 12 and up, 128 pages, 2011) If I could rename this book, it would be: How to Get Your Kids to Make You Dinner. This hip, fun cookbook delivers all that it promises: step-by-step recipes, top tips and fail-safe techniques, and it speaks to what teens want most in food (while going easy on the grease, sugar and processed ingredients). The first chapter, "Fast Food," gives 15 delish dishes, from hot tortilla soup and Huevos rancheros to potato rosti (crispy patties of grated potatoes). The moment our 12-year-old son glanced inside this section, he was jotting down a shopping list of ingredients. That night we dined on falafel and even our grade school boys cleaned their plates. Now my husband keeps asking our oldest son, "Could you make that again?" Our son is not only anxious to do just that, but he's already adjusted the recipe. A nice chutney, he says, would taste great on top. Yum. I know my husband and I are ready. But from the looks of the next recipes, my husband and I might have to duke it out for the menu. I say, cannelloni; my husband's set on lamb kabobs. Oh, please, choose mine! Teens don't have to be Food Network fans to love this book; all it takes is opening the book and having a salivary gland. The biggest selling points, according to my son? The variety of dishes, the gourmet taste and the fact he didn't have start over. It all came together on the first try.
By: Jenny Miller,
on 6/14/2011
Blog:
Where The Best Books Are!
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
2011,
Summer Books for Kids,
Look A Book,
Where's Waldo postcards,
Strawberry Moshi,
brain busters,
Klutz Guide to Galaxy,
placemat doodles,
Klutz drawing,
National Geographic Kids Almanac,
Add a tag
National Geographic Kids Almanac 2012, (
National Geographic, $13.99, ages 9-12, 342 pages, 2011) For any child who likes to yell, "Guess What?!," then share something cool, this is the book to have. As graphic and entertaining as
National Geographic Kids magazine, this hand-size encyclopedia tells kids just about everything they ever wanted to know. Like, for instance, that the smallest bone in their body is smaller than a grain of rice or that in India kids pour dyed water and powder over their bodies to say goodbye to winter. Chapters include
Going Green,
Amazing Animals,
Super Science and
Awesome Adventures. There's even a chapter filled with boredom-busting games, jokes, puzzles and more. This isn't just a book of facts, it also encourage kids to get involved. On a page about endangered lions, they scan a digital code with a Smart Phone to learn how to help save lions and on another page, they tour of a house dialed out with all the latest eco-technology. Watch the hours slip by, Mom and Dad, but perk up those ears. Something tells me, you'll be hearing it all over the car seat.
The Phenomenal Postcard Book, Where's Waldo, illustrated by Martin Handford. (
Candlewick, $9.99, ages 5-9, 30 postcards, 2011). This clever little tablet encourages two things at once: practice with letter writing and a game to pass time while traveling. On each cover is a picture search from one of Waldo's journeys and on the back below where kids write is a checklist with a handful of items to find. But just a tip, before sending any of the cards, have the kids do the stamp search from the back page. Hanford shows nine stamps he's snuck into some of the postcard pictures. Could one be hanging on the museum wall of "The Great Picture Exhibition" or escaping slime-spewing dragons in "Bright Lights and Night Frights"? (both from
Where's Waldo? The Wonder Book.) Looks like this might take awhile. Maybe, if we're lucky, just long enough to wait for our connecting flight. Fans will delight in seeing some of their favorite scenes from eight Where's Waldo? books and once again searching out the elusive Waldo in red-and-white striped shirt, bobble hat and glasses.
0 Comments on Books to Bring on a Trip as of 6/14/2011 9:43:00 AM
Planes, trains and cars, oh my!
All that time sitting on the way to and from vacation, and kids can go bonkers (and make their parents tense in the process).
If you're like me, before every trip starts you slip out of the house in search of the perfect activities to tote along and surprise them with at just the right moments.
First, they've got to be things that grab their attention from the get-go, i.e. elicit a squeal when you pull them out, or from the older guys, an approving, "Hey cool, Mom."
Second, they have to be interesting enough to keep the kids from asking "Are we there yet?" before we're even close to our destination (or at least until the fasten seat belt sign is turned off).
Third, they have to be compact (they must easily fit into my kids' hands or laps, and slide into a shoulder bag).
And lastly, wouldn't it be great if they fed their brains too -- spurred their creativity or got them thinking in a new way?
To help make your travel time slip by (and keep peace in the backseat), I've pulled together my top book picks for summer traveling.
Each was selected for it's clever premise, ease of reading and/or how quickly it jettisons readers into an adventure (or their imagination.)
I am only slightly obsessed with children's literature; therefore, I am thrilled to discover your blog! I am enjoying it and can't wait to browse all your older posts. Thank you for all the effort.