School Library Journal» HarperCollins/Harper

Pick of the Day: Perfectly Percy

SLJ — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:00:15 +0000

SCHMID, Paul. Perfectly Percy. illus. by author. 40p. HarperCollins/Harper. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-180436-6. LC 2011030447.
PreS-K–Percy is a porcupine with a problem. He loves balloons, but when he plays with them, they meet an unfortunate end. Big sister Pearl offers a creative, albeit “not very practical,” solution of sticking marshmallows onto his quills. Determined to find a better way, Percy “thought things all day. He thought thoughts through the night.” Inspiration strikes at breakfast, and the following page shows the prickly fellow sporting a cereal bowl on his head as he happily runs along with his favorite toy. The simple sentences are invitingly conversational in tone (“What’s a little porcupine to do?”). Schmid’s winsome charcoal and pastel illustrations show a charming, roly-poly character with dots for eyes and a tiny dash for a mouth. Percy’s features droop when he looks at his “trezr” chest full of deflated balloons, but a proud smile appears when he comes up with his own idea. A good choice for toddler storytimes.–Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada

Pick of the Day: Jinx

SLJ — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:00:13 +0000

BLACKWOOD, Sage. Jinx. 360p. HarperCollins/Harper. Jan. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-212990-1; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-212992-5.
Gr 4-8–“In the Urwald you grow up fast or not at all,” readers learn in the opening of this rich and fecund fantasy. Jinx is that staple of children’s literature: the scorned, ill-used orphan who proves to be so much more gifted and important than he ever imagined possible. He occupies a world that is simultaneously original and familiar, influenced by centuries of folklore, but newly envisioned and vividly created. This eldritch, primeval forest that Jinx has been warned to shun is, nevertheless, where he has been abandoned by his heartless stepfather. Blackwood has populated this magical place with convincingly conflicted wizards and witches who seem uncertain as to how much they should be using their skills to control events or the beings around them. Jinx is slow to recognize his own powers as he digs his bare toes into the earth of the forest and feels the pulsing heartbeat of its life, or finds that he can call up fire. He is even slower to divine the motives of the various people he encounters, including Elwyn and Reven–youths under mysterious curses of their own–who navigate the Urwald beside him. Readers will thrill to the journey with Jinx as he discovers and grows into himself. Though they will not feel abandoned at the edge of a cliff at the book’s end, they won’t be surprised–and will be delighted–if sequels are in the offing.–Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Library, NY

Pick of the Day: Dodger

SLJ — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 14:02:46 +0000

PRATCHETT, Terry. Dodger. 360p. HarperCollins/Harper. 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-200949-4; PLB $18.89. ISBN 978-0-06-200950-0; ebook $11.99. ISBN 978-0-06-219015-4.
Gr 8 Up–The master of humorous fantasy has taken to historical fiction like a London guttersnipe to a large helping of bangers and mash, albeit with a touch of the fantastical. Dodger is an inhabitant of the worst stews of London, who makes a meager living as a tosher, a treasure hunter in the sewers under the city. His fortune changes, literally overnight, when he rescues a damsel in distress and comes to the attention of the not-yet-famous newspaperman Charlie Dickens. Together they embark on a mission to thwart the evildoers bent on recapturing the girl. Dodger is a thoroughly likable young rogue whose exploits bring him into direct contact with some of the best-known names in Victorian England–Benjamin Disraeli, Sweeney Todd, Sir Robert Peel, and, of course, Queen Victoria herself, with whom he spends a memorable afternoon taking tea. Pratchett does a bang-up job of re-creating Old London for today’s audience, complete with pathos, humor, and truly nasty descriptions of the filth, stench, and danger, all narrated in Dodger’s unique voice.–Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK