- more picture books about outdoor play
- biographies of sports heroes
- heroines of historical fiction
- YA adventure stories on audio

Subscribers to the free monthly Notes from the Horn Book newsletter also receive its supplement Nonfiction Notes — sign up here. For more recommended books and author/illustrator interviews, see the newsletter archives.

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Many of the books in this issue of Notes implicitly enjoin us to look up from the page and head out into nature (or, as my mother would say, “put down that book and go out and play!”). As I write this, we’re just coming off of Screen-Free Week, an annual effort in which young people and adults alike are encouraged to turn off their TVs, computers, and game consoles in favor of non-virtual recreation. “Read a book instead!” has always been at the top of the list of approved alternatives — but what if your book is on a screen? As digital editions take an increasing piece of the publishing pie, we are all being challenged to rethink what we mean by “book” and “reading.” I can now go outside and take an entire library along with me in my pocket. I wonder what Screen-Free Week — not to mention my mother — would think about that?

Roger Sutton
Editor in Chief

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Elizabeth Wein’s Code Name Verity was among the best of last year’s young adult fiction, and this audio version does it justice. Here is the intimate story of two young women — unlikely best friends — in WWII: one is a British spy in a Nazi prison; the other is a pilot. One has a chance; the other is doomed. But which is which? Wein’s intricately plotted thriller receives a fine audio treatment, one that heightens the book’s considerable emotion and suspense. The contrast between the refined aristocratic accents of one of the women and the working-class accents of the other, through the use of two different narrators, Morven Christie and Lucy Gaskell, helps listeners follow the book’s intricate (but ultimately oh-so-rewarding) plot. (Bolinda Audio/Brilliance Audio, 14–17 years)

In another thriller, Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate’s futuristic sci-fi Eve & Adam, two genetically modified teens come together to fight the growing amorality of the biotech firm their parents founded years ago. Chapters alternate between the perspectives of Evening, daughter of the powerful and feared mogul Terra Spiker, and Solo, an orphan living at Spiker Biotech. Narrators Jenna Lamia and Holter Graham respectively read these parts, with Graham also taking on the role of Adam, Eve’s “perfect man,” whom she creates believing that her genetic engineering is only a computer simulation. The narrators handle all the intrigue, action, and philosophical issues raised as the teens take on the evil scientists and reshape a love triangle into a square. (Macmillan Audio, 14–17 years)

Sarah Drew excels in her narration of Pandemonium, the second book in Lauren Oliver’s dystopian trilogy, set in a society where love is a (surgically) preventable disease and those infected are exiled, imprisoned, or worse. Pandemonium opens where the first book, Delirium, left off, in the days immediately following Lena’s escape into the Wilds; the narrative then shifts back and forth between this early period and a present-day that sees her joining the Resistance in New York. Spoken chapter headers differentiate each shift in time and help immensely with listeners’ comprehension. Lena’s narrative crackles with passion and urgency, perfectly befitting a protagonist who realizes early on that if she wants to be a lover, she’ll have to be a fighter, too. (Listening Library, 14–17 years)

Garth Nix’s sci-fi coming-of-age adventure A Confusion of Princes balances highly inventive world-building with a true understanding of the adolescent male mindset. Khemri, raised as a Prince of the Empire, has a rude awakening when he realizes that in order to become Emperor he must enter a brutal and perilous contest with a host of other equally overconfident and entitled Princes. Then he realizes that if he wins the contest, he must sacrifice his humanity. Narrator Michael Goldstrom imbues Khemri with just the right combination of hubris, heart, and naiveté as he survives the treacherous attacks of other Princes, fights off pirates, engages in space battles, falls in love, and ultimately outwits the Empire. Cinematic, action-packed, and quite profound, A Confusion of Princes is a movie waiting to happen, but until then, this well-produced audio version will keep listeners engaged until the final, surprising twist. (Listening Library, 14–17 years)

From the May 2013 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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Is there a bigger baseball fan in the children’s book world than Matt Tavares? His sixth title on the sport, Becoming Babe Ruth, shines a light on George Herman “Babe” Ruth’s charitable side. At the turn of the twentieth century, young George’s delinquent ways land him at Saint Mary’s, a local industrial boarding school. There he meets Brother Matthias, whose majestic home runs in the schoolyard enthrall the boy. Years later when a fire destroys the school, Ruth shows that he hasn’t forgotten his roots. Tavares’s mixed-media illustrations expertly convey the Babe’s charm. (Candlewick, 4–7 years)

In 1936, two baseball players had something to prove. Was twenty-one-year-old Joe DiMaggio ready for the Major Leagues? Should Satchel Paige, pitching great in the Negro Leagues, be playing in the Majors? Something to Prove: The Great Satchel Paige vs. Rookie Joe DiMaggio by Robert Skead explores the game, between the Dick Bartell’s All Stars and the Satchel Paige All-Stars teams, that tested the men’s mettle. Skead portrays the larger issue of race and justice in America while superbly developing the game’s tension inning by inning. Floyd Cooper’s brown-toned illustrations nicely evoke the dreamy reminiscences of baseball legend. (Carolrhoda, 4–7 years)

Hoop Genius: How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball by John Coy begins with one James Naismith taking over an unruly gym class. He needs a game where “accuracy was more valuable than force,” and so basketball was concocted. Coy’s spare, precise language reflects the sport’s welcome order as well as its athletic appeal. Joe Morse’s kinetic paintings, at once dynamic and controlled, capture basketball’s combination of power and finesse. (Carolrhoda, 4–7 years)

In the 1930s, when airplanes were still new, young Betty Skelton played with toy planes when other girls played with dolls. Daredevil: The Daring Life of Betty Skelton details the life of the “First Lady of Firsts.” She was a record-breaking aerobatic pilot and auto racer; the first female boat jumper; and she even trained with the Mercury 7 astronauts. Author-illustrator Meghan McCarthy’s signature pictures, featuring bug-eyed characters and a vivid palette, accompany her soaring tale of a little girl with big dreams. (Wiseman/Simon, 4–7 years)

From the May 2013 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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1. Possible spoiler alert: At what point in the series did you think up this book’s Big Reveal (re: Jeffrey)?

Jeanne Birdsall: And how do I answer that without giving anything away? Here goes. While I was writing the first book I knew this would happen in a future book, but it wasn’t until I was writing the second book that I knew it would happen in this particular book, the third.

2. Is love in the cards for Aunt Claire? Or did I read too much into her friendship with Turron?

JB: No, you didn’t read too much into that friendship. Thanks for noticing. Was it the jigsaw puzzles of romantic places?

By the time Turron leaves Point Mouette he’s determined to see Aunt Claire again, and she’s hoping he’ll follow through. I can’t tell you any more than that. All will be revealed in the next book.

3. Your pastoral settings — in this case coastal Maine — are always so vividly described. How much is real and how much invented?

JB: My settings are a hodgepodge of real, imaginary, and (sometimes) places I’ve read about. (Arundel, the setting for the first book, borrowed a little of E. Nesbit’s The Enchanted Castle.) Point Mouette started out as a real place called Ocean Point, near Boothbay Harbor in Maine. I found it through dumb luck, seized on the little private beach and the long dock, then began to add and subtract. The golf course was an invention, and the pinewood came from ancient memories of my Girl Scout camp in Pennsylvania. I was forced to subtract a flying blue bug that I just couldn’t work into the story and a beautiful stone chapel I was dying to use. But I couldn’t have Dominic skateboarding on hallowed ground.

 4. Is there one Penderwick sister to whom you feel the greatest connection? Has that changed as the books have progressed?

JB: I go back and forth between Skye and Batty, depending on which of them is struggling the most. (I connect with struggle.) Batty had a relatively easy time of it at Point Mouette, but Skye…didn’t. So right now I’m still feeling pretty Skye-ish. As I get deeper into the fourth book I’ll reconnect with Batty, who has lots to work out in that one.

5. Each of the books is a satisfying stand-alone while also being very much part of a whole. Can you share clues about further Penderwick adventures?

JB: The fourth, which I’m working on now, will take place five-and-a-half years after the end of the third book, which means that the three older sisters will be teenagers. However, to keep the book middle grade, everything that happens will be seen through the eyes of Batty and Ben, who will be eleven and eight respectively. Thus, two writing challenges: to portray the life of teenagers without getting inside their minds and to channel an eight-year-old boy, which I certainly never was. Challenges aside, it’s going to be fun to write about Rosalind, Skye, and Jane as teenagers. Jane will finally get her hands on all the books she hasn’t been allowed to read all these years, including Proust, which she’s reading (slowly) in the original French.

From the June 2011 issue of Notes from the Horn Book. For more on Notes — and to sign up — click here.

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Sugar by Jewell Parker Rhodes is the story of a spirited ten-year-old African American girl who works on a Louisiana sugarcane plantation (and hates her namesake). Sugar’s mother died two years ago, and families are leaving the Reconstruction south for a better life up north; except for her secret friendship with plantation owner’s son Billy, she feels increasingly alone. When a group of Chinese sugarcane workers arrives, it’s outgoing Sugar who reaches out and unites two very different communities. Rhodes brings Sugar’s experiences — and the Mississippi River setting — vividly to life with spare, evocative language. (Little, Brown, 8–12 years)

In Kirkpatrick Hill’s Bo at Ballard Creek, we meet a little girl who lives with her papas (yes, that’s plural) in an almost-worked-out gold-rush town in 1920s Alaska. Papa Jack and Papa Arvid explain to Bo that her mother was a “good-time girl” who unceremoniously dropped baby Bo into Arvid’s arms and left town. Reminiscent of Little House in the Big Woods, this cheerful episodic story follows Bo through the course of a year. The simple pen-and-ink drawings further the Wilder resemblance, but LeUyen Pham’s are more sophisticated, befitting the era and situations. (Holt, 8–12 years)

Devoted readers anxious to know what happened to Montana homesteader Hattie after Newbery Honor–winning Hattie Big Sky get their wish in Kirby Larson’s big-city sequel, Hattie Ever After. Hattie follows a traveling vaudeville troupe to San Francisco to pursue her dream of becoming a reporter. Larson’s excellent research makes the early twentieth century come alive: Hattie experiences an earthquake, flies in an airplane, and interviews President Woodrow Wilson. Fans will be gratified by the protagonist’s transformation from a “country mouse” into a confident, independent young woman. (Delacorte, 10–14 years)

In One Came Home by Amy Timberlake, thirteen-year-old Georgie Burkhardt is content with her life in Placid, Wisconsin. When older sister Agatha is found dead (but unrecognizable) at the side of the road, Georgie is certain that there has been a mistake. With her sister’s unwelcome suitor Billy McCabe, Georgie sets off to find her sister, or, at least, to find out how she died. The adversarial relationship between Georgie and Billy provides superb comic relief in this gripping, gritty 1870s–set story. (Knopf, 10–14 years)

From the May 2013 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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In David Martin’s Peep and Ducky, two bird pals meet in the park for an idyllic play date. Peep and Ducky romp in a mud puddle, have snacks, take a pee break (side by side on their port-a-potties), fight over a bucket until it breaks, apologize, and dig in the sand. The simple and repetitive rhyming text is great fun to read aloud; the springlike pastel colors of David Walker’s illustrations fill in the chubby figures with a comfortable solidity. (Candlewick, 1–4 years)

Young Phoebe scores a toy truck (yay!) at the same time she acquires a baby sister (boo!) in Tricia Springstubb’s Phoebe and Digger. When her harried mother finally takes Phoebe and the (not-always-adorable) little baby to the park, Phoebe and Digger have a blast. A scaredy-cat “crybaby boy” lands her in time-out, and, later, a bully snatches Digger up, but in the end Phoebe learns that, in a family, it doesn’t have to be every girl for herself. Jeff Newman’s mixed-media illustrations play up the tale’s small moments and big emotions. (Candlewick, 3–6 years)

Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle is Chris Raschka’s straightforward account of one young girl’s perseverance and triumph over her two-wheeled vehicle. A grandfatherly figure’s encouragement makes up the second-person text (“And now you’ll never forget how”). Raschka’s loose watercolor images bespeak protection, urging, assistance, and commiseration (after a fall). While the title’s “everyone” may be a bit of an exaggeration, it reflects this book’s infectious optimism. (Schwartz & Wade/Random, 3–6 years)

From spring planting to winterization, George Ancona’s full-color photographs in It’s Our Garden: From Seeds to Harvest in a School Garden chronicle a year in the life of a garden at an elementary school in Santa Fe. Students are shown composting soil, watering plants, raising butterflies, and sampling the edible delights. Ancona’s no-nonsense prose style is perfectly suited for newly independent readers. (Candlewick, 5–8 years)

From the May 2013 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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- more poetry picture books
- primary and intermediate animal nonfiction
- middle-grade fantasy adventures
- YA books exploring love in all its forms

Subscribers to our monthly Notes from the Horn Book newsletter also receive its quarterly supplement Nonfiction Notes — sign up (for free!) here. Browse the newsletter archives for more recommended books and author/illustrator interviews.

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The main characters of Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park meet on the bus at the start of sophomore year. Eleanor is the new girl in town, an ostracized, bullied “big girl”; Park is a skinny half-Korean townie who tries to stay out of the spotlight. Their slowly evolving but intense relationship is authentic in its awkwardness — and life-changing for them both. Rowell imbues the novel with rich character development, a spot-on depiction of the 1986 Omaha setting, and powerful descriptive passages. It’s an honest, heart-wrenching portrayal of imperfect but unforgettable love. (14–17 years, St. Martin’s Griffin)

At the start of This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith, sixteen-year-old Ellie strikes up a snappy, flirty email friendship with someone who turns out to be teen movie star Graham Larkin. As a result, Graham decides to spend the summer filming his next movie in Ellie’s small town. In person, they feel an instant attraction; however, their relationship faces challenges and disapproval from both sides. This wish-fulfillment fantasy features likable protagonists with undeniable chemistry. The thoughtful narration, from both Ellie and Graham’s perspectives, is slow and unhurried, just like its sleepy small-town setting. (14–17 years, Little Brown/Poppy)

Sixteen-year-old Mallory, star of Lindsey Leavitt’s Going Vintage, is shocked to learn that her boyfriend is emotionally cheating on her with a “cyber wife.” As a result, Mallory decides to go on a technology fast. A to-do list her grandmother made at age sixteen, in 1962, provides the perfect inspiration for a simpler life — with surprising and often hilarious results. Mallory’s experiences will help readers cope with their own breakups and undoubtedly make them think about their tethers to smartphones and social media. (14–17 years, Bloomsbury)

In Sophia Bennett’s The Look, fifteen-year-old Londoner Ted (short for Edwina) is tall, awkward, and clueless about clothes, but has nevertheless been scouted by a top modeling agency. Meanwhile, her vivacious older sister, Ava, is diagnosed with lymphoma. Readers get an inside look at the modeling industry through Ted’s earnest, naive eyes, including some tricky romantic entanglements. Equally compelling is Bennett’s sympathetic portrait of a family coping with a serious illness and getting through it with love and humor. (14–17 years, Scholastic/Chicken House)

From the April 2013 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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Roger Sutton
Editor in Chief

From the April 2013 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

The post From the editor – April 2013 appeared first on The Horn Book.