The Penderwicks at Last by Jeanne Birdsall Intermediate Knopf 294 pp. 5/18 978-0-385-75566-5 $16.99 Library ed. 978-0-385-75567-2 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-0-385-75568-9 $10.99 The Penderwick series finale (most recently The Penderwicks in Spring, rev. 3/15) is a summertime reverie set at the real-but-still-magical-seeming Arundel estate where it all began fifteen years before. Preparations are underway to […]
Review of Rebound
July 5, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Rebound by Kwame Alexander; illus. by Dawud Anyabwile Intermediate, Middle School Houghton 414 pp. 4/18 978-0-544-86813-7 $16.99 In this prequel to Alexander’s Newbery Medal–winning The Crossover (rev. 5/14), it’s the summer of 1988, and twelve-year-old Charlie Bell would rather roller-skate with his two best friends or escape into the pages of his beloved Fantastic Four […]
Review of Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word
July 4, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word by Sarah Jane Marsh; illus. by Edwin Fotheringham Primary, Intermediate Disney-Hyperion 80 pp. g 5/18 978-1-4847-8144-9 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-368-02251-4 $10.99 Corset maker. Sailor. Tax collector. Husband. Thomas Paine fails at all these pursuits. But what he can do is write and persuade, and when in 1774 he immigrates […]
Review of Water Land: Land and Water Forms Around the World
June 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Water Land: Land and Water Forms Around the World by Christy Hale; illus. by the author Primary, Intermediate Porter/Roaring Brook 32 pp. 5/18 978-1-250-15244-2 $17.99 Die-cuts serve both useful and playful purpose in this introduction to Earth’s various meetings of water and landforms. A boy idyllically fishes on a small pond while a girl plays […]
Summer adventures
June 12, 2018 by Leave a Comment
These four entertaining, summertime-set novels (including one graphic novel) will have readers channeling their inner sleuths to find buried treasure, getting an insider’s look at an (un)orthodox summer camp, revisiting a beloved family one last time, and gaining a deeper appreciation for the little things that can make a family trip so memorable. Author Jeanne […]
Review of Secret Sisters of the Salty Sea
June 12, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Secret Sisters of the Salty Sea by Lynne Rae Perkins; illus. by the author Intermediate Greenwillow 227 pp. g 5/18 978-0-06-249966-0 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-249968-4 $9.99 Midway through this episodic tale of a family beach vacation, main character Alix and her mother visit a craft store. They are both charmed by the model train scenery, […]
Review of The Creativity Project
June 6, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The Creativity Project edited by Colby Sharp Intermediate Little, Brown 278 pp. 3/18 978-0-316-50781-3 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-316-50778-3 $9.99 It’s a good premise. Forty-four contemporary children’s book people each contribute a writing prompt. Then each one responds to someone else’s prompt. The result is a combination anthology and inspiring craft manual. It’s diverse all ’round, […]
Review of Be Prepared
June 5, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol; illus. by the author; color by Alec Longstreth Intermediate First Second/Roaring Brook 256 pp. 4/18 978-1-62672-444-0 $22.99 Paper ed. 978-1-62672-445-7 $12.99 “This book is a true story. And also made up.” Brosgol’s (Anya’s Ghost, rev. 7/11; Leave Me Alone, rev. 9/16) fictionalized graphic memoir captures the ups and downs (let’s […]
Review of Champion: The Comeback of the American Chestnut Tree
May 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Champion: The Comeback of the American Chestnut Tree by Sally M. Walker Intermediate, Middle School Holt 136 pp. 3/18 978-1-250-12523-1 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-250-12524-8 $9.99 The American chestnut tree once dotted the landscape in the eastern United States, but a mysterious blight began to wipe the trees out in the early twentieth century due to […]
Review of March Forward, Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine
May 16, 2018 by Leave a Comment
March Forward, Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine by Melba Pattillo Beals; illus. by Frank Morrison Intermediate, Middle School Houghton 214 pp. 1/18 978-1-328-88212-7 $16.99 Beals, author of the adult memoir Warriors Don’t Cry, received the Congressional Gold Medal for her bravery in helping to integrate Central High School in 1957 as one […]
