Writing about humor is a good way to suck all the fun out of it, so please—feel free to skip straight to the booklist. Or as Platte F. Clarke advises in Bad Unicorn, “I recommend you close the book now and run away—preferably with screaming and arm flailing.” It’s got to be better than having to read about how literary devices like hyperbole (e.g., “screaming and arm flailing”) are examples of figurative language (Common Core State Standard 5.4) that can add to the complexity of a text (CCSS RL 10). Just don’t tell the kids.

We love giving funny books to children because we want them to enjoy reading. When they come back clamoring for more Pseudonymous Bosch, you may smile a satisfied smile. But you—and your old pal the Stinky Cheese Man—may be accomplishing more than you realize. Numerous academic studies conducted over the past decade indicate that there are more advantages to reading humorous literature than pure pleasure. Experiments have shown that the brain’s response to the unexpected—say, the purple dragon in Chloe and the Lion, or the polar bear sidekick in Timmy Failure—is to seek order. College students made to read Kafka performed twice as well on pattern recognition tests as their peers. Broken rules compel our brains to look for functioning ones.

Seems like Dr. Seuss was on to something when he said, “I like nonsense. It wakes up the brain cells.” If only he’d been grant-funded, he could have said that in an 80-page thesis instead of a nine-word off-the-cuff remark! Set their brains dancing with these recent funny books.

Picture Books with a Kick

AHLBERG, Allan. The Goldilocks Variations. illus. by Jessica Ahlberg. Candlewick. 2012. RTE $17.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6268-4.
PreS-Gr 3–The three bears are just the appetizer in this charmingly illustrated pop-up banquet. Goldilocks encounters a family of aliens, talking furniture, and “a grumpy-looking ‘grandma’ in a bed, six or seven other beds, and somebody or something banging away like billy-o at the back door.” By altering individual elements, Ahlberg reinforces the central idea.

BARNETT, Mac. Chloe and the Lion. illus. by Adam Rex. Hyperion/Disney. 2012. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-1334-8.
Gr 1-5–All Chloe wants is a ride on the merry-go-round, but her story is hijacked by a couple of unlikely characters. In a dispute about who’s in charge, the illustrator draws the writer into a gorilla suit, and the writer writes the illustrator into the lion’s belly. Use this book to teach point of view and the collaborative process.

EATON, Maxwell. The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Fishy Business. illus. by author. (The Flying Beaver Brothers Series). Knopf. 2012. RTE $12.99. ISBN 978-0-375-96448-0; pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86448-3.
Gr 1-5–A volcano has appeared overnight on Beaver Island. Oh no, it’s really a smokestack for a fish-stick factory run by duplicitous mackerel! This graphic novel is the second entry in a series that features simple cartoon art and razor-sharp comic timing, with an eco-friendly message.

HODGKINSON, Leigh. Goldilocks and Just One Bear. illus. by author. Candlewick/Nosy Crow. 2012. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6172-4.
K-Gr 3–A bear lost in the city tries out the porridge and the chairs in an empty apartment. When the owner turns out to be an all-grown-up Goldilocks, the two stories, old and new, come together in a comic fanfare. Retro-modern ink and watercolor art adds fun details.

KLASSEN, Jon. This Is Not My Hat. illus. by author. Candlewick. 2012. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5599-0.
K-Gr 3–The narrative tension between text and art is as crystalline as the water at the bottom of the sea is murky in this tale of underwater mischief. The little fish in the stolen hat is absolutely sure he is going to get away with his crime, but attentive children will holler, “Look behind you!”

SCHWARTZ, Corey Rosen. The Three Ninja Pigs. illus. by Dan Santat. Putnam. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-399-25514-4.
K-Gr 3–These porcine powerhouses are ready to rumble! With their arsenal of martial-arts skills, the Big Bad Wolf doesn’t stand a chance. Except–whoops! Pigs One and Two skipped a few lessons. Rhyming text and dynamic illustrations are a delight, and the glossary of Japanese words invites culture study tie-ins.

WILLEMS, Mo. Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs. illus. by author. HarperCollins. 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-210418-2.
K-Gr 3–In this signature retelling, Mama Dinosaur rubs her hands together while saying, “I SURE HOPE NO INNOCENT LITTLE SUCCULENT CHILD HAPPENS BY OUR UNLOCKED HOME WHILE WE ARE… uhhh… SOMEPLACE ELSE!” Children will automatically supply the classic version for comparison.

Funny Transitional Titles

ABBOTT, Tony. The Mysterious Talent Show Mystery. illus. by Colleen Madden. Bk. 4. (Goofballs Series). Egmont USA. 2013. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-1-60684-167-9; pap. $4.99. ISBN 978-1-60684-400-7.
Gr 2-4–Readers decipher clues while puns ricochet around the room as two young sleuths investigate strange happenings. Wordplay contributes complexity, while snappy dialogue-driven text keeps those pages turning. This series features short chapters and comic black-and-white drawings.

ADDERSON, Caroline. Jasper John Dooley: Left Behind. illus. by Ben Clanton. Bk. 2. (Jasper John Dooley Series). Kids Can. 2013. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-1-55453-579-8.
Gr 1-3–Jasper, introduced in Star of the Week (2012), feels a little puncture when his Nan leaves for vacation. And when he accidentally staples his snake story to his stomach, that deflated feeling just gets worse. Jasper’s grownups indulge him a bit, but not too much, in this sweet book about managing feelings.

COX, Judy. The Secret Chicken Society. illus. by Amanda Haley. Holiday House. 2012. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-0-823-42372-9; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-0-823-42765-9.
Gr 2-4–Few animals are as funny as a chicken, but that’s only one of the things Daniel discovers when he adopts five fuzzy chicks. Summery slapstick with a healthy dose of fun facts.

MONTIJO, Rhode. Gum Girl! Chews Your Destiny. illus. by author. Hyperion/Disney. July 2013. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-1-423-15740-3.
K-Gr 2–A freak combination of bubble gum and high voltage turns gum-loving Gabby into a sticky, stretchy superhero. A few Spanish words and puns keep the text popping, and artwork in bold geometric shapes gives the book a Powerpuff Girls-meet-Dora energy.

O’RYAN, Ray. Hello, Nebulon! illus. by Jack Colin. Bk. 1. (Galaxy Zack Series). S & S/Little Simon. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5387-6; pap. $4.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5386-9; ebook $4.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5388-3.
Gr 1-3–Zack is worried about moving to Nebulon–what if his new teacher has two heads? What if the pizza comes with bugs instead of pepperoni? Cartoony space-age illustrations depict Zack making a new friend, riding a hoverbike, and exploring his jazzy new house. First in a forthcoming series.

Middle-Grade Malarkey

AGUIRRE, Jorge. Giants Beware! illus. by Rafael Rosado. First Second. 2012. pap. $14.99. ISBN 978-1-596-43582-7.
Gr 2-6–Rambunctious Claudette, the daughter of the town blacksmith, sets off to kill the local giant with her best friend and brother in tow. Action and friendship, drawn in a clear, cheerful style, make this graphic novel a great choice for “Bone” (Scholastic) fans.

BEATY, Andrea. Dorko the Magnificent. Abrams/Amulet. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0638-7.
Gr 3-5–Botched magic tricks and an old lady with a specialty in Extreme Crankiness provide slapstick humor as young Robbie practices for his school’s talent show. Readers will root for Robbie, who works hard and remains optimistic despite setbacks.

BOYCE, Frank Cottrell. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again. illus. by Joe Berger. Candlewick. 2012. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5957-8; pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6353-7.
Gr 3-6–To keep Dad busy after he’s been laid off, Mum gets him an old camper van to fix. But when the family visits the junkyard looking for parts, they strike flying, floating automotive gold. An inventive and picturesque family story, as full of heart and humor as the original.

CARMAN, Patrick. Floors. Bk. 1. (Floors Series). Scholastic. 2011. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-25519-6; pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-545-46092-7.
Gr 4-6–Odd ducks of both the web-footed and human variety alternately help and hinder junior handyman Leo and his pal Remi as Leo attempts to discover the whereabouts of the Whippet Hotel’s owner before it’s too late. Fans of Pseudonymous Bosch will love this book and its sequel, 3 Below (2012). Audio version is available from Audible and Playaway.

CLARKE, Platte F. Bad Unicorn. S & S/Aladdin. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5012-7; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5014-1.
Gr 4-8–A familiar premise–underdog kid is the only one who can save the world–is put through a satirical shredder. What comes out is action and suspense with a hilarious Monty Pythonesque edge. Multiple points of view keep the plot humming.

GILMAN, Charles. Professor Gargoyle. Bk. 1. (Tales from Lovecraft Middle School Series). Quirk. 2012. Tr $13.99. ISBN 978-1-59474-591-1; pap. $13.99. ISBN 978-1-59474-592-8.
Gr 4-7–In this series kickoff, Robert is a nice kid just trying to navigate the pitfalls of a new school. It doesn’t take him long to realize, however, that the pitfalls of Lovecraft Middle School may involve actual pits. A wide variety of lusciously phantasmagorical vocabulary (“mesmerized,” “fetid,” “ventriloquist”) festoons the readable, peppy text. Audio version available from Listening Library.

MASS, Wendy. Pi in the Sky. Little, Brown. June 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-316-08916-6; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-23501-3.
Gr 5-8–Joss is bored with his simple job of delivering pies for the Supreme Overlord of the Universe (his dad). Soon, however, something goes badly wrong, and it is Joss’s responsibility to rebuild Earth. Entertaining, unexpected, and irreverent, and yet packed with information about elemental physics and the contents of the universe.

PASTIS, Stephan. Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made. Bk. 1. illus. by author. (Timmy Failure Series). Candlewick. 2013. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6358-2.
Gr 4-6–A self-proclaimed private detective with a magnificent lack of insight, Timmy and his polar bear sidekick “solve” “mysteries” in super-short, heavily illustrated chapters. This is the kind of pattern-violating humor that makes readers’ brains beg for mercy.

REX, Adam. Cold Cereal. (The Cold Cereal Saga). HarperCollins. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-206002-0; pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-0-06-206003-7; ebook $7.99. ISBN 978-0-06-206004-4.
Gr 5-8–Scott thinks he’s a little weird–until he meets Erno and Emily, their friend Biggs, who is very big indeed, and a leprechaun named Mick. This odd team must thwart the evil cereal company that is trying to take over the world. The equally excellent sequel is Unlucky Charms (2013). Audio version available from Listening Library.

SPRATT, R. A. The Adventures of Nanny Piggins. Bk. 1. illus. by Dan Santat. (Nanny Piggins Series). Little, Brown. 2010. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-316-06819-2; pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-316-06818-5; ebook $2.99. ISBN 978-0-316-23098-8.
Gr 1-6–Parents who hire Nanny Piggins should be aware that she loves trashy novels and cake, and her idea of fun is to drop things off the roof and watch them crash. Kids who like subversive humor will adore her. Nanny Piggins and the Wicked Plan (2013) is a sequel, with more to come.

Older Kids Love Laughs, Too

BEAUDOIN, Sean. The Infects. Candlewick. 2012. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5947-9; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6211-0.
Gr 9 Up–Nero’s bad week suddenly gets much worse when people start acting like zombies: lurching, drooling, and lusting after human flesh. It’s ruthlessly fast paced, loaded with pop-culture references, and splattered with gore, and the dialogue raises sarcasm–and profanity–to an art form. Audio version available from Brilliance Audio.

BENWAY, Robin. Also Known As. Walker. 2013. Tr. $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8027-3390-0; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8027-3391-7.
Gr 7 Up–Maggie is the new girl at a fancy New York City prep school, fresh off a safecracking gig in Iceland. Her current assignment is to infiltrate the family of a magazine publisher. There’s romance, swanky settings, and a brassy sidekick named Roux. Especially for fans of Meg Cabot’s “Airhead” series (Scholastic). Audio version available from Brilliance Audio.

EULBERG, Elizabeth. Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality. Scholastic. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-47699-7; ebook $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-52078-2.
Gr 7 Up–Lexi keeps a low profile while her seven-year-old sister, Mac, is a pageant queen. But one day, on a dare, she swaps her baggy jeans for skinny ones, curls her hair, and throws on a little makeup. Witty narration and fun dialogue are combined with intelligent thoughts about appearance and self-worth.

HERBACH, Geoff. I’m with Stupid. 2013. ISBN 978-1-4022-7791-7.
–––– . Nothing Special. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4022-6507-5; ISBN 978-1-4022-6508-2.
–––– . Stupid Fast. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4022-563-0; ISBN 978-1-4022-5631-8.ea vol: Sourcebooks/Fire. pap. $9.99. ebook $9.99.
Gr 7 Up–In this series, Felton Reinstein must come to grips with heartbreak, dysfunction, hope, and his own unexpected transformation from nebbish to gifted athlete. As in Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Little, Brown, 2007), Felton’s family problems and personal anxieties are deeply felt but leavened considerably by his wry, self-deprecating narration. Audio version for Stupid Fast available from Recorded Books.

STRAND, Jeff. A Bad Day for Voodoo. Sourcebooks/Fire. 2012. pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-1-4022-6680-5; ebook $8.99. ISBN 978-1-4022-6682-9.
Gr 7 Up–“My mom came home around six and asked me how my day went. I told her, leaving out the voodoo but leaving in Mr. Click’s leg and death.” By page 10, average Florida teen Tyler has inadvertently killed his history teacher, and then things really get weird. A laugh in every paragraph.

Nonfiction

COY, John. Hoop Genius: How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball. illus. by Joe Morse. Carolrhoda. 2013. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-6617-1; ebook $12.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-8723-7.
Gr 1-4–Calisthenics were boring, football and soccer, too rough. James Naismith therefore invented a game that relied on speed, accuracy, and no tackling. Muscular paintings in a muted but vibrant palette suit the historical subject without looking musty, while action panels feature a riot of elongated limbs.

GRIFFITHS, Andy. What Body Part Is That?: A Wacky Guide to the Funniest, Weirdest, and Most Disgustingest Parts of Your Body. illus. by Terry Denton. Feiwel & Friends. 2012. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-312-36790-9; ebbok $9.99. ISBN 978-1-466-82759-2.
Gr 3-7–Research has shown “bizarre elaboration” to have a significant positive effect on retention, especially of vocabulary. “Other easier-to-pronounce names for the esophagus are food funnel, nutrient hose, provisions pipe, chow spout, hamburger highway, taco tunnel, and sausage chute.” Readers will remember lots of anatomy and physiology facts once they’ve ingested this profusely illustrated, super-goofy fun fest.

HALE, Nathan. One Dead Spy: The Life, Times, and Last Words of Nathan Hale, America’s Most Famous Spy. ISBN 978-1-419-70396-6. ISBN 978-1-613-12372-0.
–––– . Big Bad Ironclad! A Civil War Steamship Showdown. ISBN 978-1-419-70395-9; ISBN 978-1-613-12371-3.ea vol: illus. by author. 2012. Abrams/Amulet. (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales Series). Tr $12.95. ebook $12.95.

Gr 3-8–One Dead Spy begins as Nathan Hale is about to be hanged. He was not a very good spy. But in the hands of Nathan Hale, the present-day graphic novelist, he makes an excellent narrator. American history is hilarious in these lively, rigorously researched, visually engaging stories.

LEVINE, Gail Carson. Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It: False Apology Poems. illus. by Matthew Cordell. HarperCollins. 2012. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-06-178725-6.
Gr 4-6–These spare, sly poems use inference to tell tall tales of deceit and betrayal among family members, friends, and fairy-tale characters. “I have shortened my nose with your saw/because honestly telling lies is so much fun./Forgive me I don’t care about becoming a real boy.”

LEWIS, J. Patrick. Edgar Allan Poe’s Pie: Math Puzzlers in Classic Poems. illus. by Michael Slack. Houghton Harcourt. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-51338-6.
Gr 4-6–Famous poems are adapted into math problems involving boxer shorts, pizza, termites, and more. I think that I shall never solve/A poem that makes my brain evolve/Word problems are made by fools like me/But only Patrick Lewis can make poems like these. Silly, colorful art adds appeal.

LONG, Ethan. The Wing Wing Brothers Math Spectacular! 2013. ISBN 978-0-8234-2604-1.
–––– . Up! Tall! and High! 2012. ISBN 978-0-8234-2320-0.ea vol: illus. by author. Holiday House. RTE $15.95.

PreK-Gr 1–What can you learn from a bird? The Wing Wing Brothers juggle pies and spin plates to demonstrate greater than, less than, and equal to along with addition and subtraction. And the birds of Up! fly, fall, and mount stilts to explain how up, tall, and high are similar but not identical. Cartoony art adds a friendly wink.

Paula Willey reviews children’s and teen books online at Pink Me

The question for educators: what types of instruction help students develop these skills? In an ideal world, it’s instruction that asks students to do something with information: the raison d’être of librarians.  So how do librarians insert themselves into the critical discussions taking place around these instructional shifts?

Professional development is a good place to start—in the best cases, across institutions. In 2011, the New York City Department of Education Office of Library Services formed a partnership with the City University of New York to do just that—to design a community of practice around the Common Core and the high-school-to-college transition.

Participants—teachers, college faculty, and librarians—began the work by identifying the challenges first-year college students face. These included different knowledge demands and task requirements (for example, secondary schools often require students’ reactions to texts as opposed to thinking about texts within the disciplines), the movement from assignments with built-in supports to independent work, and the increasing volume and complexity of readings. (An opportunity to express some of their frustrations allowed participants to build trust and, thereafter, to focus on instruction as the method to change student outcomes.)

A detailed agenda with clear goals kept everyone engaged and focused at each meeting. Five sessions were devoted to revising and aligning a high school curricular unit on Julia Alvarez’s How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (Algonquin, 1991) to the CCSS and college demands. An instructor introduced the unit and received feedback using a set protocol. A summary, which included the findings and listed next steps, was shared by a documentarian for further learning and reflection.

The Common Core prepares students for college by having them discover and apply critical approaches to complex texts to other primary texts and writing assignments. Participants commented on how this unit, focused on a novel, presented many opportunities to integrate informational texts similar to those a college faculty member used in his class. The librarians provided literary analysis from databases such as Contemporary Literary Criticism and Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism (both Gale) to incorporate into the unit, which reflected the types of well-structured arguments students will analyze and write in a first-year college course.

Participants suggested various pedagogical methods for integrating text excerpts from the articles. In this case, the group decided to create its own graphic organizer to model the critical reading approaches they wanted students to incorporate, including space for text excerpts, directions for identifying the author’s main points, and unfamiliar vocabulary. A second organizer posed questions to facilitate textual analysis. During the final session, participants structured the order of the texts for the unit and discussed how to use the same graphic organizers to address the increased complexity of the texts.

The Common Core challenges teachers to look beyond the novel or a textbook as the primary instructional source in favor of collections of texts. Students must build strong content knowledge by reading complex texts and developing the critical thinking skills involved in evaluating arguments and evidence. Participants left the workshop knowing that they can turn to librarians for support in identifying materials for instruction and developing assessments.

The Common Core provides no easy answers or ready-made lesson plans because it focuses on the tough task of making students think. This collaborative model is effective because it outlines a process articulating how librarians contribute to this essential work—collaborating across institutions and disciplines to align curriculum and instruction to students’ sense of wonder and curiosity—and to good old-fashioned inquiry.

Leanne Ellis is a library coordinator for the New York City School Library System, NYC Department of Education, Office of Library Services. To submit an On Common Core opinion piece, please contact Rebecca T. Miller at rmiller@mediasourceinc.com

Last year a group of concerned citizens got together and, a year later, we have a part-time certified librarian (we’d like him to be full-time) and the difference is huge. When we started the process of bringing the library back to life, I was fortunate to have experts say that without a librarian it wasn’t worth reopening—I can see how that is right. Our students come in with their classes, but also during lunch and other free periods to pick the materials they want to read, to get help with research, and to congregate with their peers. It’s wonderful! I’m going to share your article with our administration. Thank you for writing it.

Heather Albee-Scott
Parkside Media Center Project
Jackson, MI

As a former school librarian now in higher ed, I am glad to see the research-based argument that Rebecca Miller puts forth in her editorial, “The Cost of Cuts,” for more reading and fewer cuts to library services. Apparently, though, SLJ did not get the memo about the Rotted Common Core, which is designed to function as the testing delivery system for the education deformers who are addicted to the multi-billion dollar business of standardized testing. As long as high-stakes testing continues, so will the slashing of educational services by the modern day efficiency zealots in charge at ED. Librarians need to climb aboard the anti-testing train, for until high-stakes testing ends, no book is safe. In solidarity.

James Horn, Professor
School of Educational Leadership
Cambridge College, MA

Dino tails

I’m very pleased that School Library Journal reviewed my book, Dig Those Dinosaurs. I’d like to respond to the reviewer’s concern about the position of the Triceratops’ tails in the illustrations. As the reviewer notes, current scientific theory holds that Triceratops did not continually drag their tails behind them. However, this book was vetted by Carl Mehling from the American Museum of Natural History’s Division of Paleontology, who writes: “We have no good reason to believe that Triceratops never placed their tails on the ground. It is more than reasonable to state that we have very little idea about what long-extinct animals’ behaviors were like or what they were capable of.” Mr. Mehling disagrees with the reviewer’s comment that showing the tails down is “a major flaw” in the book.

Lori Haskins Houran
Author
Palm Beach, FL

Dewey in Michigan

This is a response to Anne Colvin’s letter that contradicts my statement that Dewey is not being taught in Michigan schools. I based my statement on several facts.

The state benchmarks that the state tests are based on do not include any about library skills that include the Dewey Decimal System. They did prior to the MEAP testing, but have not included these benchmarks in years. The state of Michigan doesn’t even require schools (including high schools) to have a library. Now that NCA Accreditation has become AdvancEd, librarians are not even required for schools or whole districts to be accredited. The state has cut school funding for years.

Who would be teaching Dewey Decimal in the schools that have no library or have a library but no librarian? I have been in Michigan for 25 years as both a public and a school librarian. My district didn’t teach it for many years until I was hired a decade ago. I am in a growing district and students who have moved here from other Michigan school districts have not had any lessons in Dewey. Almost every student I have had from another state knew about Dewey and other library lessons I am teaching. While the too few librarians remaining here try to do their best, most students in Michigan don’t learn about the Dewey Decimal System. Ask the public librarians if you don’t believe me.

Ann West LaPrise
Elementary Librarian
Huron School District
New Boston, MI

A maverick librarian?

I was appalled at reading the interview with Deven Black in Library Hotline. Why would anyone choose to interview and highlight this man? He is a failure as a teacher, which continues to promulgate the idea that school librarians are terrible teachers, probably do not like the kids, and go into the library to escape them. As I continued reading “How is being a librarian different from being a teacher?,” Mr. Black states students like him more, “I listen to them blow off steam about their teachers…” How completely unprofessional can you get? Did he or anyone at Library Hotline stop to think perhaps this is why he failed at teaching?

You are perpetuating the stereotypes. Those who can’t do, teach. And those who can’t teach move into the libraries? As more schools are dropping certified MLS librarians for aides in the library and cannot seem to understand the correlation between a well-stocked library run by a professional librarian and reading scores this interview can’t help.

As a side note, I was a successful classroom teacher in junior high, middle school, and high school for 25 years. I went back to school and earned my MLS in 1994 and worked for five years as youth Ssrvices manager for the Yuma County Library District before being hired as the Assistant Library Director in 2005. I substituted in school libraries from elementary school through high school. I’m not unfamiliar with what I speak.

Carla Peterson
Assistant Library Director
Yuma County Library District, AZ

I am a retired school librarian working part-time in a public library. I was horrified to see an interview with Deven Black highlighted in Library Hotline. Learning to be a school librarian by tweeting? This kind of training/entry into the school library field is abhorrent and I am very surprised that the interview was published.

Rita Fontinha
Reference Librarian
Milton Public Library, MA

Editor’s Note: The version of the interview in Library Hotline was a very brief excerpt from the lengthy interview that was published in School Library Journal’s newsletter, Extra Helping: “Middle School Maverick: NYC Librarian Deven Black on Partnerships, Principals, and Progress”

We’ve all endured “death by PowerPoint.” It’s a painful experience for the audience and probably not all that fun for the presenter either. To help my students deliver effective presentations—free of those deadly bullet points—I have my go-to applications.

First, a good presentation begins with a clearly outlined story. Even presentations that are strictly fact-based can have a narrative. I always have students write outlines for the stories their presentations are going to tell, and I offer them a choice of outlining tools, including Text2MindMap, Penultimate, and that reliable standby, Google Documents.

To get started with Text2MindMap, students type their outlines on the provided “canvas.” When they click “draw,” a mindmap appears, illustrating the connections between the topics they provided. If the visualization doesn’t match what the students think are the connected items, they can edit their outlines and generate another mindmap.

Penultimate, a free iPad app, allows you to use a stylus to handwrite and draw in digital notebooks. Students can drag and drop pages into any order at any time during the outlining process. For the student who likes the long-hand approach, Penultimate is a nice blending of analog and digital processes.

After the outlines are done, we can begin creating slides. Telling a story with the aid of a slideshow is best accomplished with high-quality imagery. High-resolution pictures won’t become pixelated when you expand them to fill the slide. If students don’t have their own pictures, they can search for public domain (PD) and Creative Commons licensed images. Pixabay is an outstanding place to find images in the public domain. The Flickr Commons is another recommended source of PD content.

A free, beautifully designed application, Haiku Deck is the best presentation tool currently available for the iPad. Haiku Deck helps you find Creative Commons licensed images for your presentations. Each time you add a slide to your set, the application provides an image search button alongside it. Enter a search term and Haiku Deck will suggest high resolution images for you to use. You can also upload your own images from your iPad or import them from Instagram and Facebook.

When it comes to presentation software, there are plenty of alternatives to PowerPoint or Keynote. There’s Google Slides, which in the last year has expanded its theme options. Like Google Docs, Google Slides is a collaborative tool that students can use to create a presentation as part of a group project. Another benefit of using Google Slides is that as a teacher I can attach comments to specific parts of student slide shows, whether its calling attention to spelling mistakes or praising an especially well-designed slide. Two other worthy applications in this category are Empressr and Slide Rocket.

Empressr is a Web service for creating and sharing high quality online slide presentations—with a couple of features differentiating it from its competitors. First, Empressr gives you the option of embedding video from multiple sources into your slide show. Next is the editor feature, which allows users to draw, create, or edit images inside their slides.

Slide Rocket is similar to Empressr, with some very nice features such as 3-D transitions and a collaboration feature that enables other users to co-create presentations. Slide Rocket makes it easy to include video, images, or third party plug-ins. There’s also an option to sign in with a Google Account, which is why Slide Rocket has become fairly popular in schools that use Google Apps. Students can log in using their Google credentials, work on their projects, and save their work without having to keep track of a separate username and password.

Before my students stand in front of their peers to share their presentations, there’s one last thing that I require. And that’s to share their speaker notes with me so that I can provide some guidance if the images they’ve selected don’t match the spoken message.

A well-designed slidedeck is key, with the potential of making a good presentation into a great one. Have your students try these tools to help them do their very best work.

Three Sources of Images for Student Presentations from School Library Journal on Vimeo.

Kids with Superpowers

MONTIJO, Rhode. Gum Girl! Chews Your Destiny. Bk. 1. illus. by author. Disney/Hyperion. June 2013. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-5740-3.
Gr 1-5–This is a fantasy adventure story with appealing graphic-novel type illustrations. The protagonist just happened to be a young Latina named Gabby Gomez. Spanish words and phrases are scattered throughout the story, but there are no other distinctly Latino cultural references. And I love it. Such a book recognizes a character’s cultural identity, but at the same time speaks to universally understood experiences of childhood. Gabby Gomez loves to chew gum, so much so that after having to use peanut butter to get gum out of her hair, her mother lays down the law: that there will be no more. On the way to school, Gabby finds one last piece of gum in her pocket and uses it to blow a huge bubble. When the bubble hits the power lines it turns Gabby into Gum Girl. “Now I AM gum!” Gabby realizes, and she learns that with her sticky superpower she can help fight crime. She also discovers that the can reverse the effect and become a normal girl again with peanut butter. As Gum Girl, she saves a plane that is going to crash because of a broken wing. As the story ends, she realizes that she has to find a way to tell her mother about her experiences, and readers learn that a villain is waiting in the wings. Kids who read this will definitely be looking forward to future adventures.

JULES, Jacqueline. Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Makes a Splash. Bk. 4. illus. by Miguel Benítez. Albert Whitman. 2012. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-0-8075-9485-8.
Gr 1-4–Freddie Ramos has special shoes that give him “Zapato Power,” which is the ability to run faster than a train. In this fourth volume in the series, Freddie gets his powerful shoes stuck on some gum on the sidewalk, while at the same time he tries to retrieve a lost wallet that he sees lying there. He retrieves the wallet but it is almost immediately stolen by the Girl on the Green Bike, whose name readers later learn is Erika. Freddie has to use his superpowers to get the wallet back and then return it to its owner, but things don’t quite work out as planned. Then his white backpack, with his special zapatos in it, goes missing, and Erika is immediately the suspect. She is also suspected of leaving sticky wads of purple gum all over the park. The resolution is satisfying, and carries with it a subtle message about being nonjudgmental. This is a great book to pair with Gum Girl–Gabby is the gum hero, and Erika the gum bully. This book also makes for a great read-aloud, with opportunities for audience participation. The other books in the series include Freddie Ramos Takes Off (2010), Freddie Ramos Springs into Action (2010), and Freddie Ramos Zooms to the Rescue (2011).

PILKEY, Dav. El capitán calzoncillos y el terrorífico retorno de cacapipí. tr. from English by Nuria Molinero. illus. by author. Scholastic en Español. 2012. pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-0-545-48870-9.
Gr 2-5–Given the superhero theme, who can resist this translation of Capitan Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers? Molinero definitely shares Pilkey’s wacky sense of humor as evidenced by the fact that “cacapipí” can be literally translated as “poop and pee,” which works perfectly as an alternative Spanish name for the aforementioned Tippy. The thoughtfulness of the translation extends all the way to the illustrated comic-book sequences, which maintain the kids’ handwritten typography, and even George and Harold’s (Jorge and Berto’s, in this case) misspellings of commonly used words. This humorous title, along with the translations of all the other “Captain Underpants” books, is a must for Spanish-language collections, and demonstrates that bodily function references cross all cultural boundaries.

Here are a couple of backlist titles that would work great paired with the two newer titles reviewed above.

SANDOVAL, Jaime Alfonso. Confidencias de un superhéroe. illus by Jazmín Velasco. Ediciones Castillo. 2001. ISBN 970-20-0180-3.
Gr 4-6–What kid wouldn’t want to be a superhero like Batman or Superman or Ant Man? Ten-year-old Paco Godínez is about to find out being in a comic book isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. When he unexpectedly receives a superhero outfit with an accompanying instruction manual, he becomes Capitán Matraca, hero of his village San Bartolo Chico, and sets out to save cats and old ladies in danger. Paco’s first-person narration of his experiences as a superhero is marvelously funny and entertaining, as he learns that exciting as it might be, the superhero life is not for him. Among his adventures are a tussle with Mutant Vegetables that threaten the end of the world and all humanity, and the extermination of all civilizations. The artwork adds to the already high kid appeal. This is one of those lesser-known gems that should be known better; a highly imaginative book that is recommended for all collections.

GARZA, Xavier. Maximilian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller. tr. by Luis Humberto Crosthwaite & Carla González Campos. illus. by author. Cinco Puntos. 2011. Tr $12.95. ISBN 978-1-933693-98-9.
Gr 4-6–Garza has made a career of Lucha Libre stories, and nobody does them better. With their costumes, and the masks that conceal their true identities, Lucha Libre wrestlers are the real superheroes of Mexico. Maximilian’s hero is a wrestler known as the Guardian Angel. When the he comes to San Antonio to wrestle, Maximilian is beside himself. What he doesn’t know is how learning the Guardian Angel’s true identity will change his life and that of his family. Full of magical realistic touches that are one of the hallmarks of Latino literature, this book is an irresistable combination of action and mystery.

Scary Stories and Poems

GANGES, Montse. Pequeño Coco. illus. by Imapla. (Primeros Lectores Series). Editorial Bam bú. 2009. pap. $7.95. ISBN 978-84-8343-037-8.
K-Gr 3–There was a time when Big Coco (read: bogeyman) would terrorize bad children, but ever since parents began telling their children that he would visit them if they misbehaved he’s been retired. Big Coco and his wife and son, Little Coco, have sequestered themselves in their deep dark cave, far away from the light of the sun. For his eighth birthday, Little Coco asks that his parents allow him to go to the outside world for just one afternoon. But when he emerges into the light, it is not what he had imagined it would be. First, no one pays any attention to him. Through encounters with a witch who calls herself The Cat Woman and a little girl named Mimí, Little Coco learns more about the human world than he ever expected, and whether he has what it takes to assume Big Coco’s job. This book is an excellent choice coming out of Spain that I would really like to see get into the hands of U.S. Spanish-speaking readers.

LUNA, James. A Mummy in Her Backpack/Una momia en su mochila. tr. by Gabriela Baeza Ventura. illus by Ted Dawson and Giovanni Mora. Piñata. 2012. pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-1-55885-756-8.
Gr 1-3–Luna is an elementary school teacher and he speaks directly to the sensibilities of younger elementary school-age kids. When Flor returns from a trip to Guanajuato, Mexico, she discovers that a mummy named Rafa from the museum she visited has hitched a ride. Rafa is anxious to see the United States, but since he was born in 1884, everything is new to him, and he marvels at electricity and technology. When Rafa discovers that it’s almost time for the Day of the Dead, he realizes that he needs to go back home. Flor and her friend are then challenged to find a way to get Rafa back to Mexico, which they are able to do with the help of an understanding school custodian. The publisher has done a nice job with the illustrations and design of this “flip-the-book-over-to-read-it-in-another-language” edition. This short story will appeal to readers in either language.

MARTÍNEZ, Carmen Gil. ¡Qué miedo! illus. by Isabel Riera. Ediciones Aljibe. 2010. pap $13.80. ISBN 978-84-4970-0644-6.
Gr 2-4–This is a selection of scary poems about characters like Vampire Romero, the Monster in the Closet, Akila the Mummy and the Teresa the Witch. The illustrations are fun and whimsical, so they aren’t too scary. There are also riddles and incantations or spells at the end. All of the poems are great to read aloud, with fun rhymes and clever wordplay. With its appealing cover and short length, this is the sort of book that will be constantly checked out, no matter the season.

HAYES, Joe. Ghost Fever/Mal de fantasma. illus. by Mona Pennypacker. tr. by author. Cinco Puntos. 2004. Tr $14.95. ISBN 978-0-938317-83-8; pap. $8.95. ISBN 978-1-933693-03-3.
Gr 4-6–Unlike some of Hayes’s other work, this book is one stand-alone story, presented bilingually, with the Spanish and English on the same page. The storyteller’s voice is its strongest asset: “This one happened way back in the 1950’s in Duston, Arizona, which is the town I grew up in.” Cole Cash is a shop owner in the community, who also makes money renting houses that are “across the tracks.” But there is one empty house that he probably shouldn’t have bought. Finally there is a taker, and when 14 year-old Elena moves in with her dad, she soon meets the ghost of one of the previous owners of the house, a young girl named Mariana Mendoza, who died in a tragic accident after stealing money from her parents for her quinceñera dress. After this encounter Elena comes down with a high fever and it’s up to her abuela to make things right. Luckily, her grandmother knows how to deal with ghosts.

Tim Wadham is the director of the City of Puyallup Public Library in Washington State. Email him at wadhambooks@gmail.com.

I recently sat in on a school board meeting, where members debated whether to move full-speed ahead on deploying an innovative technology plan or implement the program in stages.

My first thought was: If we hesitate, are we selling our students short? The board, in this case, adopted the program and decided to proceed quickly. But too often we hesitate when considering new strategies and products that could significantly help our students or teachers. If dotcoms were as tentative, would they be so successful?

At this year’s TEDxAustin—an annual event that brings together leaders in technology, science, and design—the theme was “Fear Less.” For librarians and educators, this might be our motto. Fear limits possibilities. It keeps us from venturing out on that limb, experimenting, and pushing the boundaries. In a fearful state, we focus on our limitations and the judgment of others, which hampers our ability to do what’s best for kids.

When our students graduate from high school, are they adequately prepared to take their place in the world? Being skilled in information literacy is paramount to navigating their personal and professional lives. So we must be fearless in advocating for our students’ needs.

Being widely connected professionally is an essential piece of fearless advocacy. Not only can we find courage and support from a network of educators, but we can also tap the “best of the best” in terms of our practice, resources, real-life experience, and relationships. Whether you build a network of local librarians, join an established online discussion group, or create your own on Twitter or on sites such as Teacher Librarian Virtual Cafe and Library 2.0 Ning, outside support can provide invaluable resources and strengthen your resolve. Use your networks and your “librarian powers” to curate reading lists that inspire fearlessness—titles such as Chip and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick (Random, 2007), Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point (Little, Brown, 2000), Tim Brown’s Change by Design (HarperBusiness, 2009), Curtis Carlson and William Wilmot’s Innovation (Crown, 2006), Chris Brogan and Julien Smith’s The Impact Equation (Portfolio, 2012), Guy Kawasaki’s Enchantment (Portfolio, 2011), and Carol Dweck’s Mindset (Random, 2006). Books are also powerful resources to reach for when you become discouraged.

As managers, we have a great deal of autonomy over what we bring into our library programs. We can introduce the first ereaders to our campuses, purchase some tablets and try them out with teachers and students, or press for a new local filtering policy. You’re bound to encounter obstacles along the way. So knowing how to maneuver school or district politics becomes an important skill. Again, maintain the focus on student need—this isn’t about the library per se—and understand that the decision makers have many constituencies to serve, not just the library (as important as it is to us).

Ask yourself (and your district), as Chris Lehmann, principal of Philadelphia’s Science Leadership Academy, suggests, “What’s the worst consequence of my best idea?” If the worst consequence is that someone might say “no,” then nothing ventured, nothing gained. Also consider: What’s the best possible consequence of your best idea?

Two years ago, I got permission to pilot a tablet program at my school library. We started with six iPads. It required lobbying, negotiating, and securing funds. And the best possible consequence of that idea? Our school board recently voted to fund a 1:1 program, providing iPads for every student in our district. It’s taken a village to get there, but change begins with an idea and a few people who are willing to bring it to fruition. It takes a little fearlessness.

Carolyn Foote is a “technolibrarian” at Westlake High School in Austin, TX. Fascinated by the intersection of libraries, technology, students, and creativity, she blogs at “Not So Distant Future.” 

Think I’m just a pathetic old librarian desperately in need of a new hobby? I challenge you to sign up for a free trial and not get hooked. This is unusually good courseware and real head-candy for infogeeks like me. In fact, it’s just about everything we try and teach condensed into a single convenient, Web-based and tablet-friendly can.

A pair of line-drawn cartoon characters lead students through the lessons in a way that’s breezy without being cheesy. One is an earnest ResearchReady student named Scott, the other an information-illiterate owl named Bubo who thinks he knows it all. Together, they cover topics like the differences between primary and secondary sources and between popular and scholarly ones. They talk about how search engines work, what “The Invisible Web” is and how research databases are different. They send students out to real-world sources and ask them to evaluate their purpose, usefulness, and credibility. They devote a solid chunk of time to covering Wikipedia in particular, and do so in a thorough and even-handed way, discussing its strengths and weaknesses, and teaching students to tap the history and references sections to evaluate Wikipedia articles on a case-by-case basis. Of course, learning to properly cite sources in order to provide evidence and avoid plagiarism is also stressed. In short, ResearchReady systematically covers all the research-related Common Core standards that school librarians and ELA teachers lie awake at night wondering how on Earth to address.

Launched in January 2012 and still in beta, ResearchReady features quickly evolving course management tools for tracking individual and class progress and understanding, plus it allows teachers to add, remove, or adjust lesson content. ResearchReady can be used in its entirety as linear courseware, or librarians and teachers can have their classes pop in randomly to reinforce just the skills they’ll need to undertake a given research task.

As mentioned, I’ve been a school librarian for a while now, and I once believed that I could cover an entire information literacy curriculum simply by co-teaching library research projects on a catch-as-catch-can basis. I’ve long since realized that I can’t reliably do that. That’s why I recommend ResearchReady as a practical prerequisite to provide high school students with a foundation of instruction and practice that imparts the knowledge and skills they’ll need to conduct effective and ethical, college-level research.

Because the standards require reading and rereading texts closely, the books must be engaging enough to keep students interested and substantial enough to merit close study. Our shelves have many books that suit those needs, such as those highlighted by this list. Each of these books is paired with a standard for a specific grade and meets the CC reading formula measures for that grade. All are multifaceted enough to lend themselves to other standards and a range of grades. And they’re only a small sample of the great nonfiction that finally has a chance to share center stage.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Barretta, Gene.Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin. illus. by author. Holt. 2006. ISBN 978-0-80507-917-3. Gr 2–5

Byrd, Robert. Electric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin. illus. by author. Dial. 2012. ISBN 978-0-8037-3749-5. Gr 4–7

Fritz, Jean. What’s the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? illus. by Margot Tomes. Putnam. 1976. ISBN 978-0-698-20365-5. Gr 3–5
Schroeder, Alan. Ben Franklin: His Wit and Wisdom from A to Z.illus. by John O’Brien. Holiday House. 2011. ISBN 978-0-82341-950-0. Gr 2–5
CC Standard RI.4.9 Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.

Ben Franklin wore so many hats that he merits many biographies. These illustrated books at different reading levels take a variety of approaches to his life and work. Barretta uses a “Now/Then” structure, focusing on Franklin’s inventions in his day and how they’re used now. Schroeder uses an alphabetical arrangement that mixes miscellaneous facts; the letter “B,” for example, covers Boston, bifocals, and balloon. The Fritz and Byrd biographies are chronological structures, but have different tones and levels of detail. Students can compare emphases and structures, perhaps using a graphic organizer, and also compare the varied illustration styles and what they add to each text.

Gibbons, Gail. Monarch Butterfly. Holiday House. 1989. PreS–Gr 2
Marsh, Laura F. Caterpillar to Butterfly.National Geographic. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4263-0920-5. PreS–Gr 2
CC Standard RI K.9 With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).

The amazing transformation from caterpillar to butterfly is conveyed in different ways by these two colorful books. Kindergarteners will be able to identify similarities in the information and differences in presentation such as photographs versus paintings. Both books use labels in the visuals to highlight body parts. The Marsh book has a table of contents, numbered chapters, a glossary, and tips for a butterfly garden. Gibbons’s book features a map of migration routes and explains how to raise a monarch butterfly.

Kudlinski, Kathleen V. Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs! illus. by S. D. Schindler. Dutton. 2005. ISBN 978-0-52546-978-0. Gr 2–4
CC Standard RI.4.8 Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text.

It was once believed that dinosaurs dragged their tails; now fossil finds indicate that they held their tails out straight. This upbeat book with humorous illustrations provides a valuable lesson in how science uses new findings and ideas to reevaluate accepted beliefs, comparing what scientists used to think about dinosaurs with what they think now. Students can make a chart listing each past belief, each new belief, and the evidence that prompted the change, and judge whether the evidence seems sufficient. The book explains that scientists still don’t have all the answers, often due to insufficient evidence, and they don’t always agree with one another in interpreting evidence. Students can look for language that indicates uncertainty, such as “there is no way to be sure.” Some students might like to compare this book to Kudlinski’s Boy, Were We Wrong about the Solar System! (Dutton, 2008) which has a similar structure.

Leedy, Loreen. Seeing Symmetry. illus. by author. Holiday House. 2012. ISBN 978-0-8234-2360-6. Gr 2–4
CC Standard RI.3.7 Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).

Bright computer-generated pictures use familiar objects like food, animals, and people to show examples of vertical, horizontal, and rotational symmetry. The simple text explains the concepts and introduces new vocabulary like line symmetry, mirror image, horizontal, vertical, and rotate, terms which will require going over more than once. Students can then seek out examples in school and at home to demonstrate their understanding of the types of symmetry. Teachers may also want to use the two craft activities given at the back of the book to reinforce the concepts.

Macaulay, David, and Sheila Keenan. Castle: How It Works. illus. by David Macaulay. Roaring Brook/David Macaulay Studio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-59643-744-9. Gr 1–3
CC Standard RI.2.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.

The master of architectural books turns his talents to a younger crowd with this easy reader that meets the CC need for texts on technical subjects. With a slight fictional story line, the appealing text and pictures introduce castle residents, parts of the building, and different weapons, using technical terms in context like siege and portcullis, which are also defined in the glossary. At certain points the voice is second person, such as, “You are deep within the castle.” Students can note where that’s used and what it adds. Another book in the series by the same authors is Jet Plane: How It Works, which has similar features and approach.

Mann, Elizabeth. Empire State Building. illus. by Alan Witschonke. Photos by Lewis Hine. Mikaya. 2003. ISBN 978-1-93141-406-7. Gr 4–8
CC Standard RI.5.3 Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in it.

The Empire State Building dazzled New York City when it was built in 1931. This engaging Orbis Pictus Honor Book employs cutaways and numbered diagrams to demonstrate how it was constructed. Students can analyze how the text and visuals, including paintings and historical photographs, convey the process, noting that building skyscrapers depended on technological advances such as the inventions of steel and the automatic elevator brake. Another central idea is that during the Great Depression the Empire State Building was an important symbol of hope to New Yorkers, who were proud of the height made possible only by those technological advances. Check out other books in the “Wonders of the World” series, too, which satisfy the CC call for technical content.

Pinkney, Andrea Davis. Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters. illus. by Stephen Alcorn. Harcourt. 2000. ISBN 978-0-15201-005-8. Gr 4–8
CC Standard RI.5.2 Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.

From Sojourner Truth, born around 1797, to Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, born in 1924, this collective biography introduces 10 remarkable black women. A striking full-page color portrait of each individual precedes about 10 pages of text that describe her life and accomplishments. Pinkney emphasizes the strength of the subjects and the importance of fighting for change. An author’s note, which could be read aloud, points to these themes and to her motivation in writing about them. Students can approach the book as a whole or focus on one chapter to explore the main ideas and identify details that illustrate the women’s contributions and their commitment to freedom.

Rappaport, Doreen. Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. illus. by Bryan Collier. Hyperion. 2001. ISBN 978-0-78680-714-7. K–Gr 3
CC Standard RI.1.2 Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.

The lyrical words and expansive pictures in this stunning award winner make it an excellent read-aloud. After listening to the book more than once or reading it independently, students can discuss its title and subtitle, which point to the main topic about the power of words in Dr. King’s life. As a class or in small groups, they can find details in the text, including the quotes in a colored typeface, that relate to the theme. Enrich the experience by listening to a clip from one of Dr. King’s speeches at Stanford’s MLK website.

MIDDLE SCHOOL/HIGH SCHOOL

Aronson, Marc and Marina Tamar Budhos. Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science. Clarion. 2010. ISBN 978-0-61857-492-6. Gr 8 Up
CC Standard RI.9-10.8 Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.

“Only 4 percent of the slaves taken from Africa were brought to North America, which means that 96 percent went to the Caribbean, Brazil, and the rest of South America, mostly to work with sugar.” This surprising fact points to the authors’ contention that the enormous growth in the sugar trade in the 17th and 18th centuries was the major factor in slavery. They argue, too, that sugar was instrumental in spreading the idea of freedom, an idea that changed the world. Like other books by Aronson, this work prompts readers to question previous assumptions and delve into the arguments presented, and encourages them to think like historians.

Burgan, Michael. Breaker Boys: How a Photograph Helped End Child Labor. Compass Point. 2012. ISBN 978-0-7565-4510-9. Gr 6–9
CC Standard RI.6.5 Analyze how a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the ideas.

Photographs can change history. So contends this and other entries in the valuable “Captured History” series. Breaker Boys’ straightforward text focuses on a 1911 photograph by Lewis Hine of a group of boys who sorted coal at a Pennsylvania mine for 10 hours a day. The four chapters discuss coal mining, children in the mines, Hine and his work, and the slow changes in child labor laws. Students will be able to identify the structure as cause and effect, and analyze the role of the four chapters. They can also look for sentences and paragraphs that develop the idea of the political influence of photographs. To extend the topic, have students find more Hine photographs about child labor at the Library of Congress website or Flickr.com that can be used in presentations.

Burns, Loree Griffin. Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion. Houghton. 2007. ISBN 978-0-61858-131-3. Gr 6–9
CC Standard RI.7.3 Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events).

This fascinating photo-essay presents the work of an oceanographer who studies ocean currents by following the movement of debris like rubber ducks and hockey gloves spilled by container ships into the Pacific. Students can identify the central ideas about principles of ocean movement and issues around pollution, and trace their interaction through the text, noting how information about the scientist’s work and scientific methods are integrated with those ideas. Students can also consider how photographs, diagrams, and maps are crucial in developing the concepts. Other entries in the excellent “Scientists in the Field” series also lend themselves to use with Common Core.

Freedman, Russell. Who Was First? Discovering the Americas.Clarion. 2007. ISBN 978-0-618-66391-0. Gr 7 Up
CC Standard RI.11-12.5 Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.

In looking at beliefs about who first discovered America, Freedman starts with Christopher Columbus and moves backward in time to examine claims about earlier explorers. He shows that some claims don’t have adequate evidence, but also looks at one from an amateur historian that is now accepted. The book’s unusual structure makes it perfect for analysis to see if the reverse chronological organization is effective in making points about how historians evaluate new information and sometimes adjust their beliefs about the past. The chapter-by-chapter bibliographic essays are also models for research and documentation.

Hoose, Phillip. Moonbird : A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95. Farrar. 2012. ISBN 978-0-374-3046803. Gr 7 Up
CC Standard RI.9-10.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.

For the past 20 years, a bird nicknamed the Moonbird has flown annually from Patagonia to the Arctic and back, a round-trip of 18,000 miles. Unfortunately, the remarkable species of rufa Red Knots is diminishing in number for several reasons. Hoose brilliantly weaves together the Moonbird’s story, the threats to the species, and the international effort to save these birds. He engages readers with one bird’s amazing journey that’s dependent on a complicated web of ecological factors. Students can look carefully at the choice of words and content as well as Hoose’s background as an environmentalist to try to determine his purpose in writing the book and consider if that affects how a reader should approach the text.

Macaulay, David. Mosque.illus. by author. Houghton. 2003. ISBN 978-0-61824-034-0. Gr 7 Up
CC Standard RI.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.

Mosque explores in detail the building of a fictional mosque in the Ottoman Empire starting in 1595. Each generous spread combines sophisticated text with appealing large and small illustrations including maps, cutaways, diagrams, floor plans, and numbered step-by-step processes. Labels identify specific aspects of the building and introduce new vocabulary such as alem, pendentive, and dershane. The question addressed is how such a large structure was built so long ago. Students can consider the different and related roles text and art play in addressing that question and in presenting complex technical information. For a different media source on the same topic, listen to Macaulay’s NPR interview about Mosque.

Schlosser, Eric and Charles Wilson. Chew on This: Everything You Don’t Want to Know About Fast Food.Houghton. 2006. ISBN 978-0-61871-031-7. Gr 7–10
CC Standard RI.8.8 Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

Fast food—good or bad? In adapting Schlosser’s best seller Fast Food Nation, the authors thoughtfully added material relevant to teens about how fast food is marketed to young people and about teenagers who work in fast food restaurants. They point to problems with working conditions at the restaurants and with inhumane treatment of animals at companies that supply meat. They also argue that fast food harms the environment and consumers’ health. Students can consider whether the authors provide credible evidence for their arguments and if they acknowledge competing arguments about benefits of fast food such as convenience and low prices.

Stone, Tanya Lee. Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream.Candlewick. 2009. ISBN 978-0-76363-611-1. Gr 6 Up
CC Standard RI.8.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.

In the early 1960s, 13 women highly qualified to become astronauts were excluded by NASA from the Mercury space program. This appealing Sibert Award winner, notable for the author’s strong point of view, explores the reasons and biases behind the decision. Students can examine the text for language and other evidence that show Stone’s position on the topic and the people involved. For example, what words does she use to describe the women, some of whom she interviewed? How does she present opposing viewpoints that argued that women shouldn’t be included? One of the book’s main themes is that society minimized women’s abilities and restricted their opportunities. Students can consider how photographs and artifacts like advertisements are used to make that case, and if it’s presented fairly.

Kathleen Odean, chair of the 2002 Newbery Award Committee, presents workshops on new young adult books and Common Core nonfiction. She’s the author of Great Books for Girls (2002) and Great Books for Babies and Toddlers (2003, both Ballentine).On May 21, she will be moderating a free webcast on materials selection in light of the Common Core State Standards.

Illustration by Mark Tuchman

One option, championed by Jamie LaRue, director of Douglas County (CO) Libraries(DCL), is to pursue other sources of content. LaRue has struck deals with independent—meaning self-published—authors. DCL recently launched a deal to purchase titles from Smashwords, an aggregator and reseller of self-published content and so-called independent publishers, some of which offer hundreds of books on the site, while others publish just a couple titles. But the real problem is that most of the larger publishers and best-selling books on Smashwords deal in adult fiction—which is to say, erotica.

Even more troubling, in a recent interview by Publishers’ Weekly, LaRue was asked about DCL’s acquisition of children’s ebooks from Smashwords that were being made available with no review. “‘Can we vet every children’s book before we add it? I am not sure that we can,” LaRue responded, noting that he suspects DCL might “get stung once or twice.” This laissez faire approach simply will not cut it in school libraries. Truly inappropriate books in schools result in lawsuits, not minor stings.

I understand LaRue’s frustration and his desire to work actively toward a solution. Yet the maxim of quality over quantity certainly applies here. Publishers serve a critical role in the information ecosystem and are especially important for school libraries.

Unlike public and academic libraries, which have whole departments dedicated to new title acquisition, school librarians largely work alone. Even if we don’t always realize it, we rely on publishers to help with book selection. It’s the publishers who bear the cost of paying people to read the thousands of manuscripts submitted each year. Publishers pay for someone to then work with the selected authors to ensure that the books are accurate, grammatical, and appropriate in content and reading level for the intended audience. We’re left with the relatively easy task of having to select from the small percentage of books that make it through the established publishing houses each year. Our biggest challenge is that there always seem to be more books that we want than we can afford.

Imagine for a second if, instead of just having to consider among a few thousand vetted and professionally produced books, you had to wade through exponentially more choices? There are about 20,000 children’s and young adult books listed on Smashwords, but are any of them worth your time? The highest reviewed children’s book, Storm and the Magic Saddle, has 12 5-star reviews. But on deeper examination, I found only 10 actual reviews (two are duplicates), and only one of those reviewers has assessed any other books. There are also two reviews with no rating that question the accuracy of the information about horsemanship in the book as well as the age-appropriateness of the writing.

It all seems so, well, unprofessional. Given the publishers, aggregators, and professional review sources like SLJ that we’ve come to rely on, I just can’t believe that self-publishing is ever going to be the next big thing for libraries. Not when there are so many other great books still waiting to be read from the expert and established publishers with whom we already work.

Chart Designs by Mark Tuchman.

Igniting a love for reading is primarily what drives job satisfaction for librarians who work with teens. And satisfied they are—seven out of ten school media specialists and public librarians working directly with children and/or teens report they are either satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs. SLJ set out to learn more about the motivations and challenges in the profession in a recent national job satisfaction survey of just over 1,000 school and public librarians.

We asked librarians to identify the many rewards of their jobs and to pinpoint their top-most satisfaction. Connecting young people to reading and lifelong learning was by far their single biggest gratification. “I love when I am able to find a book for a student who is resisting reading, and that book changes their outlook on reading,” says Carrie Kausch, school librarian for Osbourn Park High School in Manassas, Virginia.

“There is very little that gives me as much satisfaction as hearing a student say, ‘I loved that book! What else can I read?’” adds Melanie Gibson, a private school librarian in Dallas, Texas. Clearly there is a lot of passion for the work at hand. Service is the priority, not prestige or income, when working in the library. “I love the meaningful investment I get to make on a daily basis in the lives of young people,” writes a high school librarian from rural Tennessee.

Another high school teacher-librarian from suburban Illinois gushes, “This job is a dream. I get to buy books, plan projects collaboratively, teach [technology] skills, talk to students about books, and throw parties for students in the form of library programs. What’s not to love?”

The library is a program, not a room

While the rewards for the job are many, there are also some drawbacks. Public librarians are more likely than their school counterparts to identify them as low salary and problems with management, coworkers, or even library users. On the flip side, lack of respect and recognition, inadequate library funding, and the expectation to perform nonlibrary-related tasks are especially irksome for school librarians.

School librarians feel less appreciated by those who hold the purse strings than do public librarians. Fewer than half feel they get the recognition or respect they deserve from their superintendent or school board. “It is a constant uphill fight for administration to understand, acknowledge, and support collaboration and information-fluency skills, and to get them to understand that the library is a program, not a room,” laments Stephanie Rosalia, a teacher-librarian in New York City.

Just over half of the public librarians surveyed express confidence that library administrators and local community leaders give them the appropriate respect and recognition.

Challenges to overcome

Regardless of where librarians work, their biggest on-the-job challenge is lack of time to get everything accomplished. “Performing nonlibrarian tasks such as emptying the book drop, shelving books, paging, and other technical tasks keeps me from doing things like outreach, marketing, and promotion of library services to the community,” writes one California public librarian.

Other shared hurdles include ever-present budgetary constraints and increased demand on the library with fewer resources (especially support staff). Managing unruly patrons also figures prominently as one of public librarians’ biggest challenges.

Future challenges anticipated by school librarians include adapting to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) proposals, meeting the needs brought by the Common Core State Standards initiative, and the ongoing transition to digital resources and tools. Steven Alcorta of California’s Sonoma County Library sums up the challenge for public librarians as, “changing technologies and the expectation that staff will be expert on all of them.”

Professional latecomers

It may be surprising to learn that about three-quarters of school media specialists and half of public librarians working with children chose librarianship as their second, and sometimes third, career. Most of these school media specialists were previously classroom teachers. Some had grown tired of the planning, testing, and grading associated with that profession. They desired more autonomy and the chance to be creative while still meeting education goals. When the library opportunity arose, they went for it.

For some, changing positions within a school resulted in an initial drop in respect from faculty and students alike. “I heard a lot of ‘Oh, you are not a teacher anymore,’” writes one elementary media specialist from suburban Illinois. “After much effort personally and professionally, I have turned our library into an extension of the classroom.”

Many transplanted school librarians acknowledge they had to work hard and grow into the position, but they are not disappointed. In fact, satisfaction levels for school librarians entering the profession later in their careers far exceed first-career librarians—by 15 percentage points. “I am much more suited to the multitasking of librarianship and love [the] connection I make with students and teachers,” a high school media specialist and former classroom teacher from Charleston, South Carolina, reveals.

Salary, security, and advancement

The median annual salary for a full-time children’s or youth services librarian working at a public library is $44,700. This is considerably less than the median school librarian salary of $57,000. School librarians with an MLS degree earn significantly more than those without an MLS (median of $58,400 versus $37,500).

Public librarians feel far more secure in their jobs overall than do school media specialists (82% of public librarians and 63% of school librarians feel either secure or very secure). But, insecurity is not widespread. Only one in ten school librarians reported that their jobs are either not too or not at all secure. There is a strong correlation between respondents feeling job insecurity and having low job satisfaction.

Prospects for advancement are low but tend not to impact satisfaction. About three-quarters of public and school librarians say their advancement opportunities are fair to poor. Despite this outlook, 88% would choose their careers again.

Nearly a third of public librarians and one-fifth of school librarians actively searched for a new job in the previous 12 months. Only a quarter of those looked for a position outside librarianship.

Satisfaction by school type

Librarians teaching at the middle or high school level reported higher satisfaction with their jobs than elementary school media specialists (73% and 72% very satisfied or satisfied, respectively, versus 65% very satisfied or satisfied). This is not necessarily correlated with pay—although secondary school librarians do generally make more. Instead, the data suggests that elementary librarian dissatisfaction is tied to being stretched too thin with little or no support staff.

Nearly one-quarter of media specialists working at the elementary school level divides his or her time between two or more locations (16% work in two locations, 7% work in three or more). Thirteen percent gained responsibility for an additional library within the last two years. This has resulted in more time spent managing/troubleshooting and less time interacting with children.

Working on a fixed schedule, where library media center hours are heavily scheduled and students visit as a class at a set time, is common at the elementary level—and it restricts librarians’ ability to collaborate with faculty, a key component of the job. “I have a full schedule of classes in which I am supposed to supplement what the teachers are doing, but I can’t plan with the teachers,” explains Karen Valentine a school librarian at Pleasant Ridge Elementary in North Carolina. “Their planning period is while the students are with me.”

Just over a quarter (29%) of elementary school librarians report that in the last year they were assigned mundane tasks that squander their expertise, compared to 17% of middle school and 20% of high school librarians. Having to perform duties such as administering tests or minding study halls leave elementary school librarians feeling underappreciated.

Overall, elementary school librarians are less likely than their secondary school counterparts to believe they get the recognition they deserve from classroom teachers and feel less secure in their jobs. Twenty-five percent have searched for a new job in the last year, as opposed to 20% of high school and 16% of middle school librarians.

Drive to be flexible and diverse

Carrie Cline, library director for McDonald County Library in rural Missouri, has some guidance to offer those entering the profession. “It’s nothing like you hear in college! You have to get along with parents, learn to entertain the children, even the ones who are misbehaving, and you can’t take yourself too seriously!” she urges.

The advice applies to librarians at any stage of their careers. “Be extremely flexible. The job description is a fluid one, and the face of librarianship is changing. You need to be able to change with it,” encourages Jennifer Powers, a teacher-librarian at St. John’s Episcopal School in Dallas.

“The more you can do, the more valuable you are,” adds Maggie Bokelman of Eagle View Middle School in Pennsylvania. “Be willing to be a technology specialist, an instructional coach, a research guide, and a reading motivator. I like the fact that our profession is changing, and that I have the opportunity to come up with new ideas and new ways of doing things. It’s an exciting time to be a librarian.”

Method: A job satisfaction survey invite and reminder were emailed to SLJ Extra Helping newsletter subscribers in October 2012. The survey link was also advertised in Extra Helping. Results are based on the responses of 713 U.S. school librarians and 294 U.S. public librarians working directly with children or teens. The data shown in total was weighted to represent national regional breakdowns obtained from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and National Center for Education Statistics.

Laura Girmscheid is research manager for School Library Journal and Library Journal.

Rourke eRead and Report

www.rourkeeducationalmedia.com

Rourke’s “eRead and Report” database provides one-stop shopping for schools and libraries seeking informational ebooks. Each title is not only Common Core compliant, but comes with student assessment functions as well, with test results immediately available to teachers. Purchase includes unlimited access for an entire building, with the material being accessible using PCs, Macs, tablets, and smartphones. Students can search the entire ebook collection to which their library subscribes, or teachers can assign particular books and observe student progress within the system.

Grade Level Grades K–12

Cost
The database offers 1,000 original ebooks that are sold outright with no management fees. The books are sold in bundles, with titles costing an average of $25 each. The bundles break down as follows: Science K-6: 264 titles, $6,600; Fiction K-6: 114 titles, $2,850; High Interest K-6: 112 titles, $2,800; Social Studies K-6: 137 titles, $3,425; and Grades 7-12: 327 titles, $10,585. To purchase all of the titles, the cost is $25,375. All prices are per building. Clients can also build their own collections, with a minimum of 100 books.

With the purchase of 100 or more “e-Read and Report” titles comes the option to upgrade by purchasing additional Rourke ebooks (not the “e-Read and Report” ones) for $11 each. There are over 1,800 titles to choose from; 93 Rourke interactive ebooks are also available for $29 each.

Overview There are three user functions: student, teacher, and administrator. Users at all levels have access to the ebook library. Material is searchable by title, subject, Dewey number, guided reading level, Accelerated Reader level, and by fiction or nonfiction. There are some young adult titles, but the majority of the books are for children in the K-6 range. Student, teachers, and administrators can use e-read and report on PCs, tablets, or smartphones. All functions are operated by clearly labeled, colorful tabs, or by using clearly labeled drop-down menus.

Book Content Content covers a wide range of reading levels and interests. The science collection includes books on animals, geography, hygiene, biology, and earth science. The social studies collection covers community, economy, history, and biographies. The High Interest section has material on sports and hobbies. Fiction titles include books that feature traditional fairy tales and modern-day stories about school and family life. The math collection offers titles on addition, subtraction, fractions, graphs, and measuring.

Some of the books for very young children are written so that they can be sung to the tune of a children’s song. Other titles for the very young are rebus stories.

There are a few quirks here, but nothing that should turn away prospective purchasers. In A Book of Animal Sounds, in a couple of places the text is split over two pages (the software is set up so that pages are viewed one at a time, except on mobile devices). This means that the wolves on page 4 say “hoooooww” while one on page 5 says ‘wl.’ Arms Are for Hugging reads in part, “Our brains are made for thinking. Our lungs are made for breathing. Stomachs are for eating. Hearts are for loving.” Is the book about organs or emotions?

All of the collections feature terrific illustrations. Some of the titles have full-color photographs, while others have bright, cartoony drawings. All text is in large, plain font.

For Students The student application is designed for individual use. After logging in, students read an ebook and take the “Report Placement Test” for it, which includes comprehension and vocabulary questions. The text of the ebook is available as needed. The results are available immediately for the teacher to see.

For Teachers and Administrators Statistics are formulated automatically and cover individual and group score averages on both vocabulary and comprehension portions of the test. For vocabulary, progress can be tracked on a month-by-month basis according to how well the student body tests on Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 vocabulary words. Comprehension progress can also be tracked monthly according to how well students test on asking questions, determining the importance of central ideas, making connections and inferences, summarizing complex concepts, interpreting text features, and visualizing. The results are defined pictorially through graphs and charts, making them easy to share with parents. In addition, test scores can be stored and tracked from year to year.

Teachers can assign specific titles to specific students or to small groups or classrooms. This allows students to work at their own pace. It’s also possible for educators to create placement tests for groups and individuals, and to keep track of what portion of each ebook is read, how many tests are taken for each title, and to monitor the popularity of each title.

Some of the teacher’s functions are designed to facilitate use of “e-Read and Report.” Included is a template for a letter to send to parents explaining the benefits of using the resource as well as how it works. Also, there are a few read-only spreadsheets. One breaks down the titles’ ATOS readability formula level, number of AR points, grade level interest, Guided Reading Level, Comparative Measure Level, and Dewey number. Another spreadsheet correlates title information to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Other spreadsheets provide title-specific information of tiered vocabulary words and Common Core correlation.

Verdict All in all, “e-Read and Report” is an attractive, useful, user-friendly product with great potential in schools and libraries.

Jennifer Prince (jennifer.prince@buncombe county.org) is a librarian at the Fairview branch of Buncombe County Public Libraries, NC, and an SLJ reviewer.

Antarctica. Linda Scher. Art Direction & Design by Joe Zeff Design. Kids Discover. 2013. iOS, requires 4.3 or later. Version 1.1. $2.99.
Gr 2-5–Kids learning about the continents are sure to appreciate this new production from Kids Discover. Jam packed with facts, figures, and stunning images (archival and contemporary), it’s both visually arresting and informative.

Separate sections delve into Antarctica’s geography, climate, and “cold critters,” expeditions to the frozen land (current and historical), and its importance to research scientists. There’s even an interview with a support staff member on her first trip to the McMurdo Station. Maps, quizzes, animations, and short video clips make it a valuable resource for a range of learners.

The app is user-friendly and navigation is easy from the visual table of contents to the discretely placed tabs and arrows. Images are crisp and bright. A five-question quiz culminates the story line. Children who choose incorrect answers are encouraged to try again and are rewarded with applause when they respond correctly.

One of the interactive highlights is the penguin egg that users can hatch by tapping the screen. Other in-app activities include a penguin word scramble and a cartoon figure to dress for the frigid environment (layers being key). A suggested extension activity involves making a glacier (with snow or shaved ice) in three quick steps. A short resource list of Web and print resources are appended.

All in all, an app that is sure to please parents and educators as well as youngsters.–Morgan Doane, Kent District Library, East Grand Rapids, MI

Rounds: Parker Penguin. Barry Tranter and Emma Tranter. Nosy Crow Ltd. 2012. iOS, requires 3.1.3 or later. Version 1.0.1. $4.99.
PreS-Gr 2–In this engaging app, a gregarious emperor penguin cheerily relates salient facts about his species and Antarctica. Readers first encounter Parker as a fledgling standing expectantly against the frigid backdrop of the South Pole, with snowflakes falling gently around him. Soft, lullaby-like music by award-winning composer Robin Beanland plays in the background and complements the crisp, wintery illustrations.

Viewers track the bird through various stages of his development as he glides and swims in his icy habitat, hunts food, avoids predators, meets his mate, Penelope, and helps hatch their chick, Percy. Per the “Rounds” series title, the life cycle story begins again with Percy, followed by his son, Peter.

The jocund narration is charmingly voiced by British child actors. In the “Read and Play” mode, words are highlighted as they are spoken; with the independent reading option, children can manage the length of time the text appears. In both modes, users tap pale blue dots that appear on the penguins and their surroundings to glean additional information about the animal’s habits and habitat.

Sweeping fingers across the screen will cause snowflakes to swirl; tilting the device propels Parker across the ice and into the water with a splash. Animation standouts include the lively penguin mating dance, and Parker’s age progression cleverly juxtaposed against the rising and setting of the sun. The app displays excellent sound design with realistic penguin vocalizations interspersed throughout the story.

Parker Penguin’s seamless presentation of nonfiction content in a captivating manner makes it an essential purchase for burgeoning digital collections.–Lalitha Nataraj, Escondido Public Library, Escondido, CA

Trucks. Byron Barton. illus. by author. Oceanhouse Media, Inc. 2012. iOS, requires 3.2 or later. Version 1.09. $1.99.
PreS-K–Dump trucks, delivery trucks, bucket trucks, and cement mixers—all sorts of oversize vehicles doing their jobs—rumble by cities and towns and through tunnels and over bridges in this app based on the book of the same title (Crowell, 1986). The vibrant colors and bold images outlined in black that generations of Barton’s fans have enthusiastically responded to are also here. In the app, kids can slide some of the trucks about and hear a range of background sounds from horns beeping to workers’ conversations.

Users tap different items on the screen to trigger labels to appear, such as “tree” or “road”—a useful feature for emergent readers. With the sound option switched “on,” the story is also narrated and words are highlighted as they are read. Large, directional arrows turn the pages and a home button on each screen will return viewers to the main menu. This app is sure to be a hit with the young truck-loving set.–Kari Allen, National Writing Project in New Hampshire, Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH

Odd Duck (Castellucci). ©2013 by Sara Varon

Preschool to Grade 4

ARNOSKY, Jim. Shimmer & Splash. illus. by author. Sterling. p. 90.

CASTELLUCCI, Cecil. Odd Duck. illus. by Sara Varon. First Second. May 2013. p. 68.

COUDRAY, Philippe. Benjamin Bear in Bright Ideas! illus. by author. Toon Bks. p. 138.

FLEMING, Candace. Papa’s Mechanical Fish. illus. byBoris Kulikov. Farrar/Margaret Ferguson. June 2013. p. 72.

LOOK, Lenore. Brush of the Gods. illus. by Meilo So. Random/Schwartz & Wade. June 2013. p. 80.

MCGINTY, Alice B. Gandhi. illus. by Thomas Gonzalez. Amazon. p. 92.

MORSTAD, Julie. How To. illus. by author. Simply Read Books. May 2013. p. 83.

PIZZOLI, Greg. The Watermelon Seed. illus. by author. Hyperion/Disney. May 2013. p. 84.

STRINGER, Lauren. When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky. illus. by author. Houghton Harcourt. p. 96.

GRADES 5 & UP

ANGUS, Sam. Soldier Dog. Feiwel & Friends. p. 100.

CHARLTON-TRUJILLO, e.E. Fat Angie. Candlewick. p. 104.

CRUMP, Marty. The Mystery of Darwin’s Frog. illus. by Steve Jenkins. Boyds Mills. p. 133.

FREEDMAN, Russell.Becoming Ben Franklin.Holiday House. p. 133.

GEWIRTZ, Adina Rishe. Zebra Forest. Candlewick. p. 110.

LA VALLEY, Josanne. The Vine Basket. Clarion. p. 115.

LYNCH, Chris. Pieces. S & S. p. 118.

MARINO, Nan. Hiding Out at the Pancake Palace. Roaring Brook. p. 120.

MORIARTY, Jaclyn. A Corner of White. Bk. 1. (The Colors of Madeleine Series). Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. p. 120.

PAXMANN, Christine. From Mud Huts to Skyscrapers. tr. from German by Cynthia Hall. illus. by Anne Ibelings. Prestel. p. 136.

RUBIN, Susan Goldman. Diego Rivera. Abrams. p. 137.

TREVAYNE, Emma. Coda. Running Pr. Teens. May 2013. p. 129.

ADULT BOOKS 4 TEENS BLOG

MODAN, Rutu. The Property. tr. from Hebrew by Jessica Chen. Drawn & Quarterly. June 2013. (Mar. 20, 2013, post)

KRUEGER, William Kent. Ordinary Grace. S & S/Atria. (Mar. 21, 2013, post)

OZEKI, Ruth. A Tale for the Time Being. Viking. (Apr. 8, 2013, post)

Multimedia

DVD

Julian Bond: Reflections from the Frontlines of the Civil Rights Movement. Filmakers Library. p. 51.

An Original DUCKumentary (Nature Series). PBS Dist. p.50.

AUDIO

Last Dragonslayer: The Chronicles of Kazam, Book 1. By Jasper Fforde. Brilliance Audio. p.53.

Maggot Moon. By Sally Gardner. Brilliance Audio. p. 54.

Shadow on the Mountain. By Margi Preus. Recorded Books. p. 56.

What Came from the Stars. By Gary Schmidt. Recorded Books. p. 58.

Yellow Star. By Jennifer Roy. Brilliance Audio. p. 58.

In my heart, I will always be a children’s librarian.

Speaking at the New York Public Library about the heart and soul of our profession is both an honor and a delight for me personally.

Today we are talking about power and leadership. Everyone here is a leader. As librarians, we don’t always recognize our power, our influence.

However, one thing we do know is the power of the book to stir the imagination. For those of us in this industry, we know that the book is a work of art. The power of books is profound. What we don’t always realize or acknowledge is the power of the librarian. That power starts in the children’s room. When we connect children with books, ideas, and experiences, we are introducing them to the world.

No matter where you grew up, most likely you’ve had the experience of building a tree house, fort, tent, or tunnel to make a space that you owned. Recently, our five-year-old grandson, Owen, spent a snowy day with my husband, transforming a room into a tunnel room. Owen decided that he wanted to take a nap in one of the tunnel spaces, bringing in a pillow and a blanket to keep warm. The idea of making that magical space is a common one. Years ago at the Denver Public Library, we did focus groups with children when we were designing the new central library. When asked what kind of space they wanted, children talked about two types: one was collaborative, and the other resembled our tunnel or tree house. One young girl drew a picture of her preferred space. It resembled a submarine bubble, complete with a lamp for reading and a little table for snacks.

I suspect we all built such a favorite space as kids. What did yours look like? What did you do in that space, and how did it make you feel?

When I was a kid, I loved to climb trees, perching on a branch either to read or to daydream. I would look out over the horizon and invent a plan, a scenario, and a world. This was my version of a tree house. It was a place where I was in charge, where I had the power to invent my life. In my world, anything was possible.

Maurice Sendak’s Really Rosie captures that feeling of power that resonates with many of us. Rosie and the characters from The Nutshell Library live on Avenue P in Brooklyn, New York. They are bored on a hot summer afternoon, and Rosie decides to create a movie where she is the star:

Yes, my name is Rosie
I am a star
I’m famous
And wonderful
Everybody loves me
And wants to be me.

That feeling of being a leader, of being in charge, relates to that sense of power we all felt when we were in our own space, tree house or not. I want you to summon that feeling of being in charge, of being a leader. Take a moment to center yourself. I’d like you to think of yourself as that leader, the person who can make anything happen, and decide on one thing that you would like to accomplish in your work world. You can think big or think small. Now, write a note to yourself of something you want to accomplish for your library when you return from this leadership day. Whatever your goal, hold yourself accountable for this. When you are finished, on the outside date it one month away from today and make sure you review this goal then.

Years and years ago, I made a list of 10 things that I wanted to accomplish when I was the children’s manager of the Denver Public Library. I don’t know how I found the courage, but I asked to see the director, Rick Ashton. We talked about my list and he said to me, “This is going to take you 10 years,” and he was right. It took all of us 10 years, but we accomplished everything and more. The key to this exercise is viewing yourself as a leader with the power to make things happen. It always starts with an idea, a dream, a vision.

Empowerment

Let’s talk about that feeling of power. Empowerment comes from that daydreaming place we might correlate with our special space that could be a tree house, and if libraries were tree houses, then that feeling starts with a small interaction at the library. We might not realize how our work affects the lives of people. Introducing ideas, connecting the dots, creating pathways, opening the door to the world is like being an architect of dreams.

“From Awareness to Funding,” an OCLC study published in 2008 and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, revealed that there were a number of key factors in why voters support funding for libraries. These include interacting with librarians who are passionate about their work and having a transformative experience at the library. Right now libraries are positioned more closely with the data/research experience; however, the transformative experiences of listening to music, reading a poem, or viewing a piece of art are powerful indicators that create strong positive connections with our community and their tendency to vote for increased funding.

With the rise of the Internet and ebooks, libraries are having a bit of an identity crisis. Over 100 years ago, John Cotton Dana focused on a key purpose that still holds true today. “The public library is the center of public happiness first, of public education next,” he said. He believed that libraries were about creating happiness and learning.

Dana began his career in Denver in 1889 at the first Denver Public Library, which started as a joint school-public library. His views were in many ways revolutionary in librarianship. He believed that the 19th-century library was a warehouse, an ornamental building that hoarded books and strove to keep them from the general public. That old-time library was simply a storehouse of treasures with the librarian as the chief preservation officer. Books were to be protected and used carefully only by a select few.

The 20th-century library, the progressive library, he posited, would throw its doors open to all and encourage them to come in and join in the building of a community cultural center. He set out to make the library into a democratic institution and is responsible for many innovations that are now standard library services. He ended closed stacks, made it easier to get a library card, and expanded hours. Later, when he was the director of the Newark Library and Museum, he believed in checking out pieces of art—a definite heresy.

Most librarians in that era saw children as an uncomfortable fit for libraries. Their exuberance and lack of sophistication made them undesirable. Dana saw children as full members of the community, and welcomed them with open arms. He created one of the first children’s rooms in a public library, complete with appropriate furniture, art, and flowers. He believed that the children’s room should be uplifting and inspirational. If an attendant in the children’s room interfered with children’s learning or access to ideas, he believed it was better not to have an attendant at all. It was better for children to have unfettered access to reading material. Once children outgrew the children’s room, Dana believed they should be allowed to jump into the world of adult reading.

Dream come true: The Anythink approach enables patrons to play, create,
and participate on many levels—outside and inside, hands-off and hands-on.
Photos courtesy of Anythink Libraries.

Places of discovery

Libraries should be a place of discovery. Winnie the Pooh’s “100 Aker Wood” is a terrific first road map. Creating a sense of discovery and open access has been central in designing the Denver Public Library’s central children’s library, and our Anythink libraries. The library should be a place of discovery and joy. Learning is an exploration and an adventure. Breaking down barriers and making the library experience delightful is another key goal.

We have taken Dana’s ideas a step further, eliminating fines and dumping Dewey. We created a library that was all about the customer experience from when a person walks through the doors. I think people should experience a metaphorical hug when they enter the library.

At Anythink, we take great care to incorporate natural elements in our spaces to enhance this experience. We wanted to have tree houses to instill that iconic sense of imagination, that symbolism of discovery, of self-actualization. Tree houses, however, proved to be a challenge with building codes, so we integrated trees to create inspiring natural spaces. As much as we wanted to bring the outdoors in, we’ve extended the learning and discovery out to our exterior spaces.

Our first “Explore Outdoors” garden (left) opened last fall at the Anythink Wright Farms library. There children of all ages spend time interacting with nature. Planting gardens, making music, staging theater, and playing with an old-fashioned water pump all give families simple tools to explore, interact, and imagine. Research shows that people who spend time in nature lead healthier lives and feel a sense of responsibility for and connection to nature.

Experiences are learning opportunities

When we began planning our libraries, our team and library board chose what we call the experience model to help guide the vision for the district. Using the OCLC research, our goal was to foster those small transformations. The key role of the library is to create an experience, an interaction with content or an idea. Sometimes these experiences are quite simple and fun, like a community valentine, for example, where customers simply wrote what they loved on a Post-It note and added their contributions to build a wall-size love letter.

Sometimes this interaction is a little more sophisticated. With the Jelly Roll Morton exhibit, people could learn about Jelly Roll, listen to his music, learn to play a Jelly Roll Morton song on the xylophone, and check out additional materials on the topic. Anythink’s goal is to create these little marketing, learning, creative moments where people can interact with content. We call them experience zones.

Last year we expanded this concept in an exhibit of Thomas Locker’s work. You might be familiar with some of his beautiful picture books. Fulcrum Publishing loaned the library 12 pieces from this American landscape painter’s collection. Over months, the staff created experiences that included listening to sounds of nature, painting classes, a river quilt for children to interact with a river (even fishing), and an opportunity to hear Thomas Locker’s son talk about growing up with a master artist who spent his life looking at nature with intensity and translating it to canvas.

Our customers were surprised and delighted. One wrote, “…to visit Wright Farms recently and by chance encounter this exhibit, I find it hard to express the surprise and delight and awe I experienced. Wow! I return often now to re-immerse myself in this richness before it is taken down.”

This exhibit is just one example of how our staff creates learning opportunities for our community. We create connections. We create opportunities to know the world.

The MIT Media Lab’s Seymour Papert talks about literacy in The Children’s Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer (Basic Books, 1993). “Letteracy” is the mechanical skill of reading words made up of letters. Papert suggests that we substitute the term “literacy” for ways of knowing. Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Friere asks us not to confuse “reading the word” with “reading the world.”

“Becoming literate means thinking differently than one did previously, seeing the world differently,” Papert writes in The Children’s Machine.

Libraries are about exploring and knowing the world. Libraries are about helping people to live their most abundant lives.

One of the most popular learning opportunities at Anythink has been an embryology experience zone at most of our branches during the past two years. Watching baby chicks hatch is both mesmerizing and educational. Staff, children, and adults have fallen in love with this educational exhibit. People photograph the chicks, name the chicks, blog about the chicks. Then we return them to the 4-H club, and they give them to young people to raise.

There is a significant interest in urban farming in Denver, and zoning now allows people to raise chickens, bees, and goats in the city. One staff member became so engaged in the chick project that she decided to raise chickens on her own. Using library resources, she learned how to build a chicken coop; purchased five hens; began feeding, caring for, and watching her chickens grow; and then started gathering their eggs. She says this project has changed her life.

Anythink has two community gardens and is adding a third this season. This project connects the library with local experts and the community. We have worked with Denver Urban Gardens, whose mission is “growing community, one garden at a time.” The gardens are on Anythink property, but the community makes all the decisions about the gardens. Not only do people grow healthy vegetables, they also get to know their neighbors and come to rely upon each other for advice, taking turns watering each other’s gardens when they are on vacation.

Everyone is creative

“Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning,” wrote the author Diane Ackerman. People who work with children are familiar with creating opportunities for children to learn through play. Adults need a little more nudging. At Anythink, we have expanded this philosophy to the entire community by creating experiences for them to learn through play as well.

Creativity and innovation are two of the most important assets to success, but as a culture, we have few places that actively nurture creativity. Josh Linkner, author of Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity (Jossey-Bass, 2011),talks about research on creativity. When children enter kindergarten, 98 percent think of themselves as creative, he asserts. When they graduate from high school, only two percent label themselves as creative.

At Anythink, we believe that everyone is creative. We support the creativity of our community and our staff. Libraries are places filled with ideas and curiosity. We are a perfect organization to foster creativity.

At Anythink, we hire people who are creative, optimistic problem solvers. We nurture and grow our team on a continuous basis. We have regular staff training days that support our culture and expand the talents of all of our staff. This year’s TechFest training day expanded our sense of creativity and our digital skills. Teams of 10 worked with mentors and, within about four hours, each created a digital product ranging from videos, podcasts, and even an ebook. One example is a short video titled “Fifty Shades of Yellow or Death by Bananas.” Another example is the stop animation team that created a series of animations. See below for videos.

Death by Bananna-42

Tech Fest Stop animation

This experience set the staff thirsting to learn more and gave them self-confidence; it’s amazing what happens when you are given a challenge, the right mentor, and a set of creative tools.

Our skills as a team are growing and our own knowledge is expanding. We now describe our library as a participatory library, borrowing ideas from Nina Simon’s The Participatory Museum (Museum 2.0, 2010). She defines a participatory cultural organization as “a place where visitors can create, share and connect with each other around content.” This is a very different library from the one that is centered on the object or the book. This is a library that focuses on growing the capacity of its citizens and its staff. This is a library that has the power to change the world.

Library as studio

We have branded this concept The Studio. It takes the shape of a teen digital learning lab with a recording studio, a green screen with film and editing equipment, and spaces for gaming and collaboration. As part of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation-IMLS YouMedia grant, we are researching, learning, and exploring how we can support expanded digital learning with teens. The grant calls it “geeking out.” We are working with local artists in residence to mentor our teens.

When Anythink staff returned from a first visit to the Chicago Public Library where they got to see the YOUmedia project in action, they stormed into my office with their key insight: the project wasn’t about the computer equipment. It was about creating an environment where teens could grow sustained relationships with mentors, and over time develop an interest or talent. Through writing poetry and performing at poetry slams or making short movies, the teens discovered that the library was a relevant partner in their lives. Amy Eshleman, creator of the YOUmedia project, notes, it “gives libraries an opportunity to own the learning space in a unique way.”

At Anythink this project starts with our teens, but it is our intention to grow it into an intergenerational experience.

The Studio at Anythink Brighton is a makerspace that includes LEGO-robotics, a 3-D printer, a photography studio, and a textile arts center.

Children’s librarians are superheroes

We are reminded daily that the success of our libraries is closely anchored to the contributions and interdependency of our community and our staff. At Anythink Brighton, the team suggested the idea for a makerspace, wrote a LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) grant, and had the initial project up and running within 90 days of the award of the grant. The manager of the branch, Dara Schmidt, is a former children’s librarian from LA County.

At Anythink Wright Farms, branch manager Suzanne McGowan is a former children’s librarian as well. Our Studio guide Mo Yang has recently evolved his role as a teen guide. He is leading the coordination of our artists in residence, connecting with talented community members who want to share their skills with the teens.

Children’s work has always been centered in transformative experiences. Children’s librarians not only influence children in their formative years, they open doors for curious minds. Our future depends upon the children’s room. Our power lies in creating learning spaces, influencing lives, and creating community. Our children are our gifts to the world, and the way we care for them says everything about our values as a culture.

You may not realize it, but you have the power to transform the lives of children, the library, and the community. You have the power to open doors, to nurture ideas and imagination. You have the power to change the shape of our world. You are the architects of dreams.

Pam Sandlian Smith is director, Anythink Libraries, CO. This article was excerpted from her keynote speech at SLJ’s first Public Library Leadership Think Tank, held April 5, 2013, in New York City.

Her libraries are like the best children’s rooms extended to every corner of the library, and even out the door—Anythink’s Wright Farms library features a new “Explore Outdoors” garden to the delight of adults and kids alike. This extension of the principles of the children’s room is a natural for Sandlian Smith, who began her career in children’s services at the Denver Public Library. Her perspective may just define the library of the future.

“Creativity and innovation are two of the most important assets to success, but as a culture, we have few places that actively nurture creativity,” Sandlian Smith told attendees at SLJ’s Public Library Leadership Think Tank. Focusing on that gap, she’s transforming Anythink into what she calls a “participatory library.”

From “Playing for Keeps”
Photo by B.Mayer

This is informed by the thinking of the first Denver Public Library director and legendary librarian John Cotton Dana. He defined the library as “the center of public happiness first, of public education next.” How to get happier? At Anythink, this is addressed at every level: organizational structure, buildings, and programs, all inherently playful and designed to foster creativity among patrons of all ages.

Play, of course, is important in learning. “Genuine inquiry is fundamentally and inescapably playful,” writes Barbara Fister, a professor and librarian at Gustavus Adolphus College, in “Playing for Keeps.” And it’s not just for kids. Grown-ups, too, she adds, “need play to promote innovation and discovery.” Hence, retaining the ability to play as we think is essential.

John Hunter at
SLJ‘s Public Library Think Tank.
Photo credit: Matt Carr/Getty Images.

Taking play seriously can mean playing serious games. Just ask John Hunter. A teacher in Virginia’s Albemarle County Public Schools, Hunter is the creator of the World Peace Game, a complex role-playing enterprise that puts kids in charge of forging peace despite all kinds of social, economic, political, and environmental challenges. What he’s found out about kids along the way is incredible and is shared in his new book World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements.

This resonates for me as I reflect on recent acts of violence and the enraged responses in the media and culture that fuel the cycle of negativity. Hunter fosters compassion instead. This inspiring teacher gives his students the tools to approach problems creatively, to work together to resolve an incidence of bullying, to witness the impact of bad and good choices as they reverberate through the interlocking aspects of the game.

What we play at most is what we practice; it’s what we master.

Librarians and educators like these—who create space to explore ideas, build skills to execute on creative impulses, and encourage a complex worldview—inspire us all to be happier human beings. I’d like to think that happy and more creative people will forge a path to a more peaceful future, locally and globally.

I’m going to go and play now, and I hope you will, too. Our futures might just depend on it.

Rebecca T. Miller
Editor-in-Chief
rmiller@mediasourceinc.com

Elementary and Middle School

BALDACCI, David. Day of Doom. Bk. 6. 270p. (The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers). Scholastic. 2013. PLB $12.99. ISBN 978-0-545-29844-5. LC 2012948468. Gr 3-6

BRANFORD, Anna. Violet Mackerel’s Personal Space . illus. by Elanna Allen. 116p. S & S/Atheneum. Sept. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-3591-9; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-3592-6; ebook $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-3593-3. LC 2012025783. Gr 1-3

BRUEL, Nick. Bad Kitty School Daze. illus. by author. 160p. Roaring Brook/A Neal Porter Bk. 2013. PLB $13.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-670-1. LC 2012015359. Gr 3-5

COTLER, Steve. Cheesie Mack Is Ru–nning Like Crazy . Bk. 3. illus. by Douglas Holgate. 240p. Random.June 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97713-7; PLB $18.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97714-4; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97715-1. LC 2012017978. Gr 3-6

DELANEY, Joseph. Slither. Bk. 11. illus. by Patrick Arrasmith. 398p. (The Last Apprentice Series). HarperCollins/Greenwillow. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-219234-9. LC 2012042032. Gr 5-8

HOLUB, Joan & Suzanne Williams. Hades and the Helm of Darkness . Bk. 3. illus. by Craig Phillips. 128p. (Heroes in Training Series). S & S/Aladdin. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5725-6; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5267-1; ebook $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5268-8. LC 2012942890. Gr 2-4

HOLUB, Joan & Suzanne Williams. Pheme the Gossip . 272p. (Goddess Girls Series). S & S/Aladdin. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-6138-3; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4937-4; ebook $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4938-1. LC 2013930969. Gr 3-6

HUNTER, Erin. The Sun Trail. Bk. 1. illus. by Wayne McLoughlin. 312p. (Warriors: Dawn of the Clans Series).HarperCollins/Harper. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-206346-5; PLB $17.89. ISBN 978-0-06-206347-2. Gr 4 Up

JOBLING, Curtis. Storm of Sharks. Bk. 5. 454p. (Wereworld Series). Viking. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-670-78558-2. Gr 6-8

KENYON, Sherrilyn. Inferno. Bk. 4. 464p. (Chronicles of Nick Series). St. Martin’s/Griffin. 2013. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-1-250-00283-9; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-250-02340-7. Gr 7-10

KIRBY, Stan. Captain Awesome and the Ultimate Spelling Bee. Bk. 7. illus. by George O’Connor. 128p. S & S/Little Simon. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5156-8; pap. $4.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5156-8. LC 2011046177. Gr 1-3

KOWITT, H. N. Jinx of the Loser . Bk. 3. illus. by author. 224p. (The Loser List Series). Scholastic. May 2013.Tr $9.99. ISBN 978-0-545-50794-3; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-545-53955-5. Gr 4-7

MULL, Brandon. Chasing the Prophecy. Bk. 3. 512p. (Beyonders Series). S & S/Aladdin. 2013. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-9796-2; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-9800-6. LC 2012035223. Gr 5-8

SMITH, Clete Barrett. Aliens in Disguise . illus. by Christian Slade. 240p. (The Intergalactic Bed and Breakfast Series). Hyperion/Disney. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-6598-9. LC 2012019758. Gr 3-6

STINE, R.L. How I Met My Monster. Bk. 3. 140p. (Goosebumps Most Wanted Series). Scholastic. 2013. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-545-41800-3; ebook $6.99. ISBN 978-0-545-51017-2. Gr 3-5

TASHJIAN, Janet. My Life as a Cartoonist . illus. by Jake Tashjian. 288p. Holt. May 2013. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-8050-9609-5. Gr 4-7

PEIRCE, Lincoln. Big Nate: Game On! illus. by author. 224p. Andrews McMeel. 2013. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4494-2777-1. LC 2012952339. Gr 2-4

PENNYPACKER, Sara. Clementine and the Spring Trip. Bk. 6. illus. by Marla Frazee. 160p. Hyperion/Disney.2013. RTE $14.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-2357-6. LC 2011052991. Gr 2-4

WARNER, Gertrude Chandler. The Boardwalk Mystery . Bk. 131. 128p. (The Boxcar Children Series). Albert Whitman. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-8075-0802-2; pap. $5.99. 978-0-8075-0803-9. LC 2012020161. Gr 2- 5

WEST, Jacqueline. The Strangers. Bk. 4. illus. by Poly Bernatene. 320p. (The Books of Elsewhere Series).Dial. July 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8037-3690-0. LC 2012040004. Gr 4-6

High School

BERRY, Kit. Shaman of Stonewylde. Bk. 5. 550p. (The Stonewylde Series). Gollancz. June 2013. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-575-09894-7. Gr 9 Up

BURCH, Heather. Avenger. Bk. 3. 304p. (A Halflings Novel). Zondervan. 2013. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-0-310-72824-5. Gr 7-10

CALONITA, Jen. The Grass Is Always Greener . Bk. 3. 304p. (A Belles Novel). Little, Brown/Poppy. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-316-09110-7. LC 2012032534. Gr 8-11

CAREY, Anna. Rise. 320p. (An Eve Novel). HarperCollins/Harper. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-204857-8.LC 2012025327. Gr 9 Up

CARTER, Ally. Perfect Scoundrels. 336p. (A Heist Society Novel). Hyperion/Disney. 2013. RTE $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-6600-9. LC 2012032405. Gr 7-10

CARTER, Nikki. Get Over It. 248p. (A Fab Life Novel). Kensington/KTeen. June 2013. pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-0-7582-7271-3; ebook $8.99. ISBN 978-0-7582-8917-9. Gr 7 Up

CHANDLER, Elizabeth. Everafter. 272p. (A Kissed by an Angel Novel). S & S/Simon Pulse. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-0918-7; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-0922-4. Gr 8 Up

CLARE, Cassandra. Clockwork Princess . Bk. 3. 570p. (The Infernal Devices Series). S & S/McElderry. 2013. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-7590-8; ebook $11.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-3135-5. Gr 9 Up

DUFF, Hilary with Elise Allen. True. 290p. (An Elixir Novel). S & S. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-0857-9; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-0861-6. LC 2012034274. Gr 9 Up

HOCKING, Amanda. Tidal. 352p. (A Watersong Novel). St. Martin’s/Griffin. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-250-00811-4; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4299-5656-7. Gr 7-10

HOROWITZ, Anthony. Oblivion . Bk. 5. 590p. (The Gatekeepers Series). Scholastic. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-439-68004-2. Gr 9 Up

KEMMERER, Brigid. Spirit. 368p. (The Elemental Series). Kensington/KTeen. June 2013. pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-0-7582-7283-6. Gr 9 Up

MEAD, Richelle. The Indigo Spell . 402p. (A Bloodlines Novel). Penguin/Razorbill. 2013. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-1-59514-319-8. Gr 9 Up

NOËL, Alyson. Mystic. Bk. 3. 320p. (The Soul Seekers Series). St. Martin’s/Griffin. May 2013. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-312-66488-6; pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-312-57567-0; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-250-02078-9. Gr 8 Up

PORTER, Sarah. The Twice Lost. 480p. (The Lost Voices Trilogy). Houghton Harcourt. July 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-48252-1. Gr 6-9

SHAN, Darren. Zomb-B City . Bk. 3. illus. by Warren Pleece. 176p. (Zom-B Series). Little, Brown. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-316-21436-0. LC 2012040156. Gr 7-10

SIMONE, Ni-Ni & Amir Abrams. Get Ready for War . Bk. 2. 423p. (Hollywood High Series). Kensington/KTeen.2013. pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-0-7582-7355-0. Gr 9 Up

SMITH, L.J. & Aubrey Clark. The Temptation. 288p. (The Secret Circle Series). HarperCollins/HarperTeen.2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-213047-1. LC 2012955883. Gr 9 Up

WHITLEY, David. The Canticle of Whispers. Bk. 3. 400p. (The Agora Trilogy). Roaring Brook. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-615-2; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-845-3. LC 2012013789. Gr 7-10

DANZIGER-RUSSELL, Jacqueline. Girls and Their Comics: Finding a Female Voice in Comic Book Narrative.248p. bibliog. illus. index. notes. reprods. Scarecrow. 2012. Tr $60. ISBN 978-0-8108-8375-8. LC 2012014543.
This academic study resulted from the author’s research at London’s University of Roehampton and National Centre for Research in Children’s Literature. The initial chapter provides an overview of the format and then continues with a brief history of women’s literature from Victorian “Penny Dreadfuls” to early female cartoon characters such as Sheena, Wonder Woman, and Veronica. The concept of visual literacy as taught through picture books serves as a point of comparison; Danziger-Russell defines visual literacy and explains why picture books are important in developing this skill and how it relates to comic-book elements. That relationship serves as the basis for an extensive analysis of Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki’s Skim(Groundwood, 2008), Ted Naihef’s “Courtney Crumrin” series (Oni Press), and Trina Robbins and Anne Timmons’s “Go Girl” series (Dark Horse). Various types of graphic-novel narratives are defined, with examples from several picture books and comics. One chapter is devoted to the appeal of manga for female readers and includes a history of manga, American interest in Japanese comics, and the influence of manga on American comics. There is also a brief discussion of Web comics and an in-depth analysis of three graphic novels: Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (Pantheon, 2003), Brian Talbot’s The Tale of One Bad Rat (Dark Horse, 1994), and Vera Brosgol’s Anya’s Ghost (First Second, 2011). With the exception of manga, the author effectively uses an ample selection of images from a variety of comics to illustrate salient points. This title may serve as a supplemental resource, particularly for those who are less familiar with the comic narrative.–Barbara M. Moon, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

FASICK, Adele M. & Leslie Edmonds Holt. Managing Children’s Services in Libraries. 4th ed. 225p. bibliog. charts. diags. further reading. websites. Libraries Unlimited. 2012. pap. $50. ISBN 978-1-61069-100-0. LC 2012032470.
The fourth edition has been updated to reflect the fast-paced changes that have occurred in children’s services since the last one was published five years ago. The authors identify the challenges and changes that have occurred in each of the six different sections and include school and special libraries as well as public libraries. All of the topics one might expect to find are covered: collection development, budgeting, facilities and space planning, outreach, marketing, and intellectual freedom. But they have all been updated to include either the new developments in technology or the fiscal realities of the day. This edition expands on some topics such as strategic planning and evaluation of services and includes a new section on getting to know today’s children by describing their changing habits in information-seeking and reading. It gives a more outward view to the community, and not just managing services at the building level. The book includes lists of expanded reading at the end of each chapter. It is designed to serve as a textbook for courses in library services to children or for new librarians needing a guide to their current positions.–Renee McGrath, Nassau Library System, NY

PLUMB, Daria. Commando Classics: A Field Manual for Helping Teens Understand (and Maybe Even Enjoy) Classic Literature. 285p. bibliog. charts. further reading. index. websites. VOYA. 2012. pap. $50. ISBN 978-1-61751-008-3. LC 2012935468.
Plumb asserts that many students hate reading the classics because they view them as irrelevant and inaccessible. Despite this roadblock, she has found a way to get at-risk teens to enjoy literature. Using the “commando” approach involves getting students hooked on the plot. This strategy allows her to get them interested in the story without immediately getting bogged down in teaching literary elements. Once she has them interested, she is then more successful at teaching the required elements. She makes the plot accessible to students through the use of supplemental materials such as graphic novels, picture books, television programs, movies, poems, songs, folklore and legends, websites, and biographies, to name a few. She developed text sets that encompass specific titles for supplemental materials built around a central literary work or theme. These themes are multicultural, gender-inclusive, and racially diverse. She discusses in detail how the materials are integrated into her units on mythology and folklore, American literature, British literature, and Shakespeare. Each chapter includes an “arsenal” that consists of the aforementioned text sets, assignments, graphic organizers, worksheets, guiding questions, writing prompts, and other materials, making this book equally useful for beginning or veteran teachers. Special attention is paid to school and public librarians in the “Commando Librarians” call-out sections, giving ideas for displays, programming, and collaboration. Similar to Sarah Herz’s From Hinton to Hamlet (Greenwood, 2005), but more extensive it its coverage.–Wendy M. Scalfaro, G. Ray Bodley High School, Fulton, NY

ALICE, Alex. Siegfried. Vol. 1. illus. by author. 144p. photos. Archaia. 2012. Tr $24.95. ISBN 978-1-9363-9345-9.
Gr 6 Up–After the death of his parents, Siegfried is raised by Mimé, a dwarf who has been ordered to raise him but not teach him about the gods. Siegfried therefore grows up wild and in a tumultuous relationship with a nearby wolf pack, the alpha male of which considers him alien or enemy. As he grows to adulthood, he is destined to take the steps necessary to help Odin steal gold from the dragon Fafnir, but first he must reforge the broken sword of his parents that is his secret legacy. The first of three volumes freely adapting the source material of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, Alice’s version actually follows Wagner’s lead of altering the myth to suit his needs. For those unfamiliar with the story cycle, the book could feel derivative of disparate works, as its presentation here echoes both Tolkien and Kipling, even though its source predates most literature. The illustration is lush and dramatic, with powerful shifts in perspective and storytelling technique. However, the amount of story told is actually quite slim, and half of the book is back matter, featuring interviews with the artist about his relationship with the source material and his work on a possible film adaptation. Bold and attractive, it remains odd that such a small sliver of the epic work is presented here, when all three volumes are available in Europe. For greater fidelity, compare this to P. Craig Russell’s adaptation (Dark Horse, 2002).–Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH

ALLISON, Rachel Hope. I’m Not a Plastic Bag. illus. by author. 88p. charts. photos. Archaia. 2012. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-1-936393-54-1.
Gr 3-6–Who would have thought that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch could evoke readers’ sympathy? Allison personifies the floating accumulation of trash into a being filled with loneliness and longing. Among the plastic bags, bottles, and other debris, a used tire and windblown umbrella appear as eyes. Shifts in the floating morass open “mouths” that reveal words such as “come in” or “hello,” the story’s only text. Extensions from the edges of the garbage monster appear as overgrown hands, sometimes reaching down to a giant squid and other times pointing to the various messages. Meanwhile, more trash arrives from sea and sky, including the carcass of an albatross, dead after ingesting plastic. The puzzling ending has the entire mass rising skyward, followed by the monster’s face shining in the night sky. The images themselves are arresting, providing multiple perspectives from above, below, and on the surface of the floating mass of trash. Allison’s work might serve as a discussion starter to lead in to the information pages about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, endangered species, and ways individuals can help reduce ocean pollution. Environmentalist Jeff Corwin’s introduction explains the problem’s magnitude. Loree Burns’s Tracking Trash(Houghton, 2007) explains how scientists study ocean currents and the movement of debris and includes photos of garbage patches. Ted Kooser’s Bag in the Wind (Candlewick, 2010) combines text and illustrations to follow the multiple owners and uses of a single plastic bag.–Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato

CHEN, Wei Dong. Heroes and Chaos. Vol. 1. illus. by Xiao Long Liang. 176p. (Three Kingdoms Series). maps. JR*Comics. 2013. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-89-94208-89-3; PLB $29.27. ISBN 978-89-94208-90-9.
Gr 5-9–Lots of information and lots of fight scenes are packed into this compact book, which will definitely be educational for readers, if a little overwhelming in terms of the scope of this adventure. Based on the 14th-century novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the story focuses on three brothers, Bei Liu, Yu Guan, and Fei Zhang, who turn the tide of some of China’s most epic battles. The line between literature and history is not always a clear one–the story is based on a novel, but the novel was based on history, so Western readers may be confused about which parts of the story are fact or fiction. Heroes and Chaos reads in part like a textbook, with an overview of the story and maps at the beginning of each chapter, followed by the next portion of the story told in graphic-novel form. The illustrations are colorful and filled with action, using an eye-catching mix of panel shapes and sizes that will help readers follow the story. This is definitely an ambitious series, comprising 20 volumes, and it will probably be most useful for educators looking for ways to make Asian history and culture come alive.–Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library

 COUDRAY, Philippe. Benjamin Bear in Bright Ideas! illus. by author. 32p. Toon Bks. 2013. RTE $12.95. ISBN 978-1-9351-7922-1. LC 2012022895.
K-Gr 2–Each page is a new comic-book adventure with hilarious Benjamin Bear, his companion Rabbit, and many other forest friends. Kids will laugh out loud at Benjamin as he solves problems in zany, often misguided, ways. Sure to get a giggle: Rabbit bets him that he can’t bring him a squirrel so Benjamin uproots the whole tree and carries it to his friend. The artwork was created using India ink and colored digitally to excellent effect; the animals’ expressions are perfectly rendered and the pictures are sometimes the whole story, in a couple of wordless comics. A funny, smart little book that is definitely interesting enough to hold the attention of reluctant readers.–Alison Donnelly, Collinsville Memorial Public Library, IL

DE BONNEVAL, Gwen. William and the Lost Spirit. tr. from French by Anne & Owen Smith. illus. by Matthieu Bonhomme. 160p. Graphic Universe/Lerner. 2013. PLB $30.60. ISBN 978-0-7613-8567-7; pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-0807-4; ebook $22.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-0979-8. LC 2012008115.
Gr 7 Up–At first glance, the action-packed cover illustration of a boy and a goat riding a gryphon, escaping from a fierce green monster, seems at odds with the peaceful-sounding title. But in fact, the spirit of the art captures the spirit of the book. As William sets out to find his father (who might be dead, or lost, or both), he is joined by a knight, a troubadour, and a very unusual goat. Soon he enters a mysterious world that is populated with an amazing cast of characters, including Prester John, dog-faced men, and headless people whose faces are on their chests. The story is enhanced by Bonhomme’s realistic illustrations that mix sepia tones with flashes of brilliant color, and his skillful interpretations of the magical creatures that populate this world will help to fix those creatures in readers’ memories. The book is most remarkable in its layers–it is a magical adventure story, it is the story of a boy trying to find his father, and it is the story of a boy who learns difficult lessons and matures while on his journey. Many teens will be intrigued by this title because of the eye-catching cover and illustrations, and thoughtful readers will be captivated by William and grow with him as he explores his world.–Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library

FRENCH, Renée. Barry’s Best Buddy. illus. by author. 32p. Toon Bks. 2013. RTE $12.95. ISBN 978-1-9351-7921-4. LC 2012022896.
K-Gr 2–When an excited Polarhog wakes Barry up from his peaceful slumber in his boring gray house, promising a surprise, Barry is not impressed. The two friends meander through the woods and past the hat shop, where Polarhog is determined to find the perfect hat for his bird buddy. Throughout the story, ants are seen carrying all kinds of objects that leave a trail for young readers to find Barry’s surprise. This funny story has plenty of jokes to keep reluctant readers’ interest. A few higher vocabulary words like “tragedy,” “bliss,” and “decorate” are sprinkled throughout and add to the richness of this excellent little comic book. The whimsical artwork adds subtle humor to the story. Barry’s expression when he is wearing his hat is perfectly captured, and the tear in his eye when his surprise is finally revealed is poignant and sweet.–Alison Donnelly, Collinsville Memorial Public Library, IL

GULLEDGE, Laura Lee. Will & Whit. illus. by author. 192p. Abrams/Amulet. 2013. pap. $12.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0546-5.
Gr 7 Up–Sixteen-year-old Will is afraid of the dark, so she creates light. More specifically, she creates things that emit light: lamps. Since her parents died in a car accident about a year earlier, she’s busied herself with her craft in addition to helping her aunt with the family business, Foxxden Antiques. When a storm comes to town (the titular Whit) and causes a blackout, Will is forced to deal with her greatest fear without the benefit of her most important coping mechanism. How she chooses to do so enables her to redefine herself with courage and hope in the light of her tragic loss. The most striking feature about Gulledge’s second graphic novel is the organic nature of the layouts. Action and dialogue flow smoothly from panel to panel, barely acknowledging their confines. Thick, sumptuous lines separate characters from richly detailed backgrounds, and this is all done in black and white. Gulledge populates her story with unique and likable characters who relate easily and naturally to one another. Will and Whit is a big step up from Page by Paige (Abrams, 2011), showing a little more narrative range and, perhaps, a taste of things to come.–J. M. Poole, Webster Public Library, NY

NAGPAL, Saraswati. Draupadi: Fire-Born Princess. illus. by Manu. 112p. (Campfire Mythology Series).Campfire. 2013. pap. $12.99. ISBN 978-93-80741-09-3.
Gr 6-8–Draupadi was a legendary Indian princess marked for a tragic and powerful destiny at a time when gods and mortals existed on Earth together. With the help of her friend Krishna, she navigates a marriage to five husbands, a fight to keep control of her kingdom, a 13-year exile, and, finally, a terrible battle between her husbands and their cousins. The colorful illustrations are drawn with bold lines in a stiff, though realistic style. The story is full of jealousy, passion, and violence, but the formal, portentous language and the details of Draupadi’s intricate family tree may discourage some readers. A family tree at the beginning, explanatory notes throughout the text, and additional information at the end help with comprehension. This informative and unique graphic novel should help to balance collections that have an emphasis on Western mythology.–Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY

OTTAVIANI, Jim. Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas. illus. by Maris Wicks. 144p. bibliog. First Second. June 2013. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-865-1.
Gr 7 Up–This engaging graphic novel (part story, part group biography) introduces readers to three unique women whose different personalities and lives intersected because of their love of primates. They would never have met without the guidance of Louis Leakey, an anthropologist who believed that women were better at studying animals in their native environment because they were more patient and perceptive than men. Over a period of several years, he recruited and inspired these women to study chimpanzees, mountain gorillas, and orangutans. The book jumps back and forth among the different narrators, so that each of the women and even Leakey are sharing their views about their work and about one another. In the afterword, Ottaviani explains how he and Wicks wanted to create a story rather than a textbook, and so they combined the facts with some imaginative fictionalizing. While this might not be the best resource for homework assignments, it is an enjoyable and informative read. The illustrations are lively and cartoonish, using a natural palette of browns and greens to tell the story. Overall, the graphic-novel format makes what could be a dry subject more appealing for young people. The story of how each of these women loved primates and lived among them to study their behavior is compelling, and might inspire a whole new generation of scientists to follow in their footsteps.–Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library

TEITELBAUM, Michael & Lewis Helfand. Martin Luther King Jr.: Let Freedom Ring. illus. by Naresh Kumar. 88p. (Campfire Heroes Series). chron. Campfire. 2013. pap. $11.99. ISBN 978-93-80028-69-9.
Gr 5-9–This book covers most of the high points of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and explains his role in shaping American history. However, some information has been omitted, such as the fact that he was not “Martin Luther” at birth but was given that name as a child when his father renamed both of them at the same time. Kumar’s photorealistic illustrations are colorful, but his use of shadowing is sometimes excessive to the point of being distracting. The book would be most useful for reluctant readers who would like to learn more about King’s life and understand why he is considered a hero. A foldout time line called “From Chains to Freedom: Black Emancipation in America” runs from slavery in the 1600s to the beginning of Barack Obama’s presidency in 2009.–Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library

High School

CASTRÉE, Geneviève. Susceptible. illus. by author. 80p. Drawn & Quarterly. 2013. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-1-77046-088-1.
Gr 9 Up–Susceptible is, in many ways, a challenging book. Readers who look at the front cover may take a longer pause than usual before opening it, as they face down the eyes of a child glaring out at them from underneath her unkempt bangs. The story itself is told using tiny cramped script, forcing readers to tightly focus on the small but powerful words. The character of Goglu has the potential to both attract and repel readers; they can sympathize with her problems dealing with the adults in her life while feeling disappointed with the way she turns to drugs as a coping mechanism. Both the story and the artwork will appeal to fans of Lynda Barry’s Marlys comics–Susceptible also tells the story of a dysfunctional family and introduces many different characters with unappealing appearances and who engage in ugly actions. The black-and-white watercolor illustrations seem simple at first, but the more readers explore this story the more they will start to appreciate the use of shadowing, the unframed empty spaces, and the word balloons that surround and bend around the characters like living things. Long after they have finished reading this book, teens will find themselves thinking about Goglu and the choices she made.–Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library

DE LA CRUZ, Melissa. Blue Bloods: The Graphic Novel. illus. by Alina Urusov. 112p. Hyperion/Disney. 2013.RTE $19.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-3446-6; pap. $11.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-3447-3. LC 2011053237.
Gr 8 Up–The first volume in this popular vampire series is now available in graphic format. The story begins with a flashback to a handwritten 1620 diary, chronicling the arrival of vampires with Myles Standish and the early Mayflower colonists. It quickly segues to a contemporary club scene in New York City. Readers meet 15-year-old Schuyler and her classmates from an elite prep school, as well as Bliss, newly arrived from Texas. The girls begin to experience unusual symptoms, including blue veins that form intricate patterns just below the surface of the skin. Schuyler discovers that she and her glamorous young friends are Blue Bloods, a form of fallen angels or vampires. She learns that something is hunting them, even killing some of them, and she is determined to stop their annihilation, even if she must contend with the vampire hierarchy. Graphic devices help readers keep track of the frequently changing scenes and multiple characters. Small black boxes with white lettering provide introductions to the numerous characters, and boxes shaded in pale blue give time and location information. Occasionally the artist uses changes in color palette to signal scene changes. The numerous abrupt changes create a reading experience that is often disjointed, constantly fluctuating among the various characters’ story lines. Realistic art highlights the glamorous lifestyle of these upper-class young “immortals,” and the graphic images of blue-blood veins are particularly effective.–Barbara M. Moon, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

KOUGA, Yun. Loveless. Vol. 1 & 2. tr. from Japanese by Ray Yoshimoto. illus. by author. 438p. Viz Media.2012. pap. $14.99. ISBN 978-1-4215-4990-3.
Gr 10 Up–After the death of his brother, 12-year-old Ritsuka meets a mysterious college student, Soubi, who claims he will protect him from Septimal Moon. Soubi is devoted to Ritsuka and expresses his love of the younger boy through gifts, acts of ritual devotion, and combat matches where the two are psychically linked as “fighter” and “sacrifice.” This bond overwhelms all other relationships, including the nascent friendship between Ritsuka and bubbly blond Yukio, and Soubi and fellow artist Kio. Children and virgins are drawn with cat ears, while adults are not. This helps fetishize Ritsuka as a pet–the psychic combat literally manifests a collar and chains on him–while also muddling the dominance-tinged way in which Soubi feels obligated to help Ritsuka. Kio goes so far as to call him Ritsuka’s slave. Soubi is further positioned as both a brother figure and a parent substitute, making the lingering sexual tension between the two convoluted in a manner more messy than complex. However, the author illustrates emotional interplay between the two in such a way that readers are meant to think that this is a meeting of soul mates. Other characters play the critical surrogate and express discomfort with the relationship, but their concerns are brushed aside as irrelevant compared to the repeated drawings of Ritsuka and Soubi yearning for each other. This is nothing so much as a jagged piece of emotional wish-fulfillment and sadomasochism disguised as a combat series.–Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH

SHINJO, Mayu. Demon Love Spell. Vol. 1. tr. from Japanese by Fetsuchiro Miyaki. illus. by author. 200p. (Shojobeat Series). Viz Media. 2012. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4215-4945-3.
Gr 10 Up–Miko’s family has the ability to see ghosts and demons. Her powers first manifest themselves when she discovers Kagura, a demon at her school who has been breaking the hearts of her friends while feeding off their sexual energy. Kagura’s presence unearths other, more powerful demons, and Miko must decide if she can trust him to help her fight them. Full of spells, romance, goofy humor, and haunting supernatural sequences, this book has high appeal. Uncluttered panels and clean, bold illustrations heighten the story’s drama. Fans of manga romance should appreciate Kagura’s angular, androgynous good looks, and the love-hate relationship between him and Miko. Though the subject matter is spicy, this is quite clean, consisting mostly of cheeky innuendos and a few abstract dream sequences in which sex is insinuated but not graphically depicted.–Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY

SMITH, Cynthia Leitich. Eternal: Zachary’s Story. illus. by Ming Doyle. 160p. Candlewick. 2013. pap. $19.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5119-0. LC 2012942385.
Gr 9 Up–Whereas Smith’s novel Eternal (Candlewick, 2009) focuses on the character of Miranda and her introduction into the culture of the vampires, called “Eternals,” this graphic-novel companion depicts the same set of events from the perspective of Zachary, Miranda’s depowered guardian angel. Given this forced perspective, the plot and pacing are often confusing because they require knowledge of events that occur in the novel. That this story is formatted as a graphic novel only serves to emphasize these issues, as passages of time are often inexplicable, secondary character motivations are impossible to decipher, and backstory is nonexistent. Doyle’s illustrations are the standout feature here. Her black-and-white ink work is detailed and uses shading to provide clear depth. Furthermore, the framing of each illustration helps to provide a cinematic feel, especially through the use of extreme close-up to highlight facial expressions and character reactions. Overall, this graphic novel cannot break free of its shortcomings and often seems to cram as many supernatural tropes into as few pages as possible. Purchase if students are looking for this specific title after reading the novel.–Ryan F. Paulsen, New Rochelle High School, NY

 CHARLTON-TRUJILLO, e.E. Fat Angie. 264p. Candlewick. 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6119-9. LC 2012942623.
Gr 9 Up–A father who abandoned the family. A couldn’t-be-bothered mother. An adopted brother who is a criminal in the making. A high school full of peers who relentlessly tease her following a failed suicide attempt at a basketball game. And the only person who really understands her–her older sister–is being held hostage in Iraq and is believed to be dead by everyone except Angie. This is Angie’s life. Then a gorgeous, punk-rock chick with a mysterious past, KC Romance, begins taking an interest in her. While the teen toys with the idea that she may be “gay-girl gay,” she also begins to channel her pain and uncertainty by making her sister, a former state champion, proud by trying out for the varsity basketball team. Not only does Angie make the team, but she also leads it to a pivotal win. She returns home from the game to discover that her sister’s body has been found. An explosive confrontation with her mother following the burial leads her to begin to see her otherwise-cold mother through a new lens. The author ends the story with no resolution in Angie’s relationships with her mother and KC, leading readers to forge their own conclusions. The voice of a dry and direct third-person narrator works in a story laden with heavy topics, including war, death, suicide, cutting, bullying, and homosexuality.–Nicole Knott, Watertown High School, CT

 GEWIRTZ, Adina Rishe. Zebra Forest. 200p. Candlewick. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6041-3; ebook $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6568-5. LC 2012947251.
Gr 5-8–It’s almost summer and 11-year-old Annie Morgan has a small list of things she hopes to accomplish during her vacation: grow tall, have an adventure, and meet her father. Sadly, the last wish is impossible given her father’s death in a brutal fight many years before. Annie and her younger brother, Rew, live with their caring, but mentally unstable, grandmother in the backwoods of Sunshine. The siblings pass the time in the “Zebra Forest” of birches and oaks behind their house, weaving elaborate fantasies of their dad as a pirate or secret agent. When a prison escapee barges into their house and holds them hostage, the siblings are shocked to discover that the interloper is their presumed-dead father, Andrew Snow. Gran’s fragile state renders her incapable of helping the children process this revelation. Rew lashes out against his captor, refusing to believe that this man is his dad. Annie is torn between siding with her brother and her desire to know their father. Gewirtz veers away from melodrama, deftly capturing nuances of family dynamics in spare prose. Another notable element is the thematic parallel with Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, which the children read throughout the story. Despite Zebra Forest’s slow start, audiences will appreciate this novel’s multilayered characters and touching message of hope and forgiveness.–Lalitha Nataraj, Escondido Public Library, CA

 LA VALLEY, Josanne. The Vine Basket. 256p. Clarion. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-84801-3; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-84805-1.
Gr 5-9–Present-day East Turkestan is the setting for this compelling novel of a Uyghur girl’s struggle to hold on to hope in the midst of poverty and oppression. Mehrigul, 14, has been forced by her embittered father to leave school and work on their farm, filling the role of her older brother, who has left the family to seek a better life. She must assume the responsibilities of her depressed and powerless mother; show respect for her father, who drinks and gambles away their meager earnings; and face the growing threat that she will be sent to work in a factory in southern China. On market day, an American woman offers a large sum of money to purchase a grapevine basket Mehrigul has made and asks her to make more, and the teen recognizes that her life could change. With the help and emotional support of her beloved grandfather and the drive to assure that her younger sister stays in school, Mehrigul begins making the baskets, slowly discovering her own talent and creativity, only to be thwarted by seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The vivid and authentic sense of place, custom, and politics serves as an effective vehicle for the skillfully characterized, emotionally charged story. Mehrigul’s dawning awareness of what it means to be an artist as well as her anger, frustration, and fear are palpable, conveying a true sense of the iron will underlying her submissiveness. The realistic and satisfying resolution will resonate with readers, even as they learn the fascinating details of an unfamiliar culture. An endnote and afterword provide valuable historical background. An absorbing read and an excellent choice for expanding global understanding.–Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

 LYNCH, Chris. Pieces. 168p. S & S. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-2703-7; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5311-1. LC 2011042049.
Gr 9 Up–It has been three years since the events recorded in Iceman (HarperCollins, 1994), Lynch’s novel about 14-year-old Eric, a tough and angry hockey player who struggles to understand his feelings and his place in his family. In those years, Eric has given up the sport and, more significantly, his older brother has died after a diving accident. At the start of Pieces, Eric is attempting to process his feelings, especially now that bits and pieces of Duane have been transplanted and live on in the bodies of strangers. Eric initiates a meeting with three of the recipients: a sweet teen named Phil, who benefits from Duane’s inner-ear bones; the “überhot” Malinda, a young mom who received Duane’s kidney; and the antagonistic and heavy-drinking Barry, who lives thanks to Duane’s liver. Eric is both comforted and shocked by the trio, but, along with Duane’s former girlfriend, Martha, the five quickly become embroiled in one another’s lives, and Eric and Martha find the freedom to grieve and move forward. Lynch is known for his gritty novels with flawed protagonists. He does not disappoint here, once again giving readers characters with emotional and psychological complexity. A long time coming, this sequel is a sophisticated, extended look at a teen’s maturation and growth through a series of dynamic life changes.–Jennifer Miskec, Longwood University, Farmville, VA

 MARINO, Nan. Hiding Out at the Pancake Palace. 248p. Roaring Brook. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-753-1; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-859-0.
Gr 5-8–Internationally known, super-famous Elvis Ruby gets stage fright and freezes up in front of millions of people, on live TV. Where can he hide? Marino deposits the 11-year-old in the Pinelands of New Jersey at a family friend’s small breakfast diner, where he hopes to get the anonymity he needs and a break from the relentless paparazzi who follow his every move. Elvis cuts his trademark locks, dyes his hair a mousy brown, and goes incognito as Aaron. However, when you have that sparkle in your eyes and that pizzazz in your personality, incognito can be a difficult place to be. And a chance meeting with a girl named Cecilia threatens to disrupt the very calm that Aaron needs. Family legend has it that on the night she was born, the trees sang. Cecilia is desperate to hear that song again, to know that it really happened, and that even the nonmusical people of the world really do have a song hidden within their soul. Can Aaron help her regain hers at the same time that she inadvertently helps him regain his, without blowing his cover? Marino has written a timely and expertly executed novel about what it means to discover yourself. Aaron and Cecilia are both likable and flawed at the same time. Their desire to find themselves as they stumble through the shadows of the trees late at night is a wonderful metaphor for adolescence. Put this book in the hands of both the girls who follow every moment of the latest teen celebrity’s life and the quiet boys and girls who stand on the sidelines, listening for their song.–Lisa Kropp, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

 MORIARTY, Jaclyn. A Corner of White. Bk. 1. 372p. (The Colors of Madeleine Series). Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-39736-0; ebook $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-51021-9. LC 2012016582.
Gr 6-9–In this lovely fantasy, two stories run parallel. Fourteen-year-old Madeleine lives in Cambridge, England, where she is adjusting to life without her dad. Elliot lives in the Kingdom of Cello, where his search for his dad is postponed by the deplorable state of crops at home. If it were not for the tiny portal in a parking meter, Madeleine and Elliot would not have started writing letters back and forth. The story is told through the teens’ communications and an omniscient narrator. This mix allows readers to know Madeleine and Elliot and their problems intimately, but it also gives them an aerial view of events, helps them meet the richly drawn secondary characters, and allows them to see the ingenious way in which the protagonists’ lives ultimately combine. Attacks by “Colors,” “living organisms: a kind of rogue subclass of the colors that we see when we look at a red apple or blue sky” keep the townspeople on edge, and Elliot wonders if his dad were killed during one of them. Mysteries abound. Is Madeleine’s mom’s strange behavior due to her inability to cope with poverty, or is something else going on? Why doesn’t Madeleine’s dad answer her letter, and is she somehow to blame for his absence? Ultimately, this is a story of two teenagers helping each other figure out their places in their respective worlds.–Jennifer Prince, Buncombe County Public Libraries, NC

 TREVAYNE, Emma. Coda. 314p. Running Pr. Teens. May 2013. pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-0-7624-4728-2. LC 2012945893.
Gr 8 Up–Music is Anthem’s life–and it might be his death. In a society controlled by the Corporation, music is digitally enhanced so it acts like a drug. It’s used to kill pain and to heal the sick but it’s also used to control the citizenry and keep them dependent on the Corp, making them addicts and killing many at a young age. As a conduit, a person whose body is used to power the Corp’s grid, Anthem, 18, has a short life expectancy and a miserable existence. His only joys are his twin siblings, whom he cares for in light of his mother’s absence and his father’s illness, and the illegal, “unencoded” music he makes with his band in an abandoned cellar. When it becomes clear that the Corp is taking encoding to dangerous new levels and is closing in on the renegade musicians, Anthem must risk everything to bring change to his society and free his beloved music. The story hums with tension. Plot twists and lots of action make for a riveting read with a believable and likable protagonist. The music seems almost alive, as if it were itself a character. The plot is marred only by an almost total lack of backstory (how did this dystopian society get to this state?) and a heavy-handed message (freedom is good, and mind control is bad). Band geeks, garage musicians, and teens told to “turn that garbage down” will clamor for this one.–Anthony C. Doyle, Livingston High School Library, CA

 CRUMP, Marty. The Mystery of Darwin’s Frog. illus. by Steve Jenkins. 40p. bibliog. chron. further reading. glossary. index. maps. photos. websites. Boyds Mills. 2013. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-1-59078-864-6.
Gr 5-7–Most frog species give parenting the go-bye after egg-laying and fertilization, but a select number of these amphibious hoppers take their nurturing skills seriously. One of these “caring” species is Rhinoderma darwinii, an inch-long frog discovered by Charles Darwin in Chile in 1834, while on his expedition aboard theBeagle. Other scientists investigated little Rhinoderma from time to time over the years, discovering that the males slurp up their almost-hatched or newly hatched tadpoles, brood them in their vocal sacs, and perhaps even feed them with substances released by the lining of the sac. Crump entered the Rhinoderma arena of investigation after years of work on other South American frog species, and in clear, readable prose she describes the earlier investigations of this intriguing frog and records her own efforts to document how it lives in the wild. She discusses her findings and goes on to present the problems facing not only Darwin’s frogs, but also frogs in general–loss of habitat, pollution, and the assault of the lethal Bd fungus. The book is aglow with clear color photos and some great artwork. Team this with Laurence Pringle’s fine Frogs! Strange and Wonderful (Boyds Mills, 2012), Nic Bishop’s colorful Frogs (Scholastic, 2008), and Mark W. Moffett’s eye-catching Face to Face with Frogs (National Geographic, 2008) for a fascinating unit, or, for more advanced frog lovers, with Sandra Markle’s sterling The Case of the Vanishing Golden Frogs (Millbrook, 2012) and Pamela Turner’s superb The Frog Scientist (Houghton, 2009). Eye-catching and thought-provoking.–Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

 FREEDMAN, Russell. Becoming Ben Franklin: How a Candle-Maker’s Son Helped Light the Flame of Liberty.96p. bibliog. chron. illus. index. notes. reprods. Holiday House. 2013. RTE $24.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2374-3.LC 2012002971.
Gr 4-8–There are numerous excellent children’s books about Benjamin Franklin, including Robert Byrd’sElectric Ben (Dial, 2012), Rosalyn Schanzer’s How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning (HarperCollins, 2002), and Candace Fleming’s Ben Franklin’s Almanac (S & S, 2003). Freedman, however, is a master at taking primary sources and turning them into engaging narratives that draw readers into the subject. While the three earlier books are highly visual presentations, this treatment is more about the text. Numerous paintings and engravings are included, but they are not the main event. Tracing Franklin’s life chronologically, the author chose episodes that reflect how the young man, disgruntled with being his brother’s apprentice, made a life for himself, and how he became the figure who is revered today. By describing the obstacles Franklin overcame in establishing his print shop in Philadelphia, Freedman delineates a clear path between his subject’s early ambition and his ease with people to his success in business and then to his later roles as a diplomat, revolutionary, and public servant. Biographers make decisions about what to leave out as much as what to put in, but Freedman is consistent in connecting his discussion to primary sources. The result is an account that examines the whole of Franklin’s remarkable life but does not overwhelm readers.–Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher’s School, Richmond, VA

 PAXMANN, Christine. From Mud Huts to Skyscrapers: Architecture for Children. tr. from German by Cynthia Hall. illus. by Anne Ibelings. 64p. chron. glossary. Prestel. 2013. RTE $19.95. ISBN 978-3-7913-7113-9.
Gr 4-6–Budding architects are likely to spend hours poring over the gorgeous drawings and fascinating trivia in this large-format title. Beginning with the first man-made huts 400,000 years ago, the book takes readers on a journey through time, exploring well-known structures such as the pyramids, Hagia Sophia, Versailles, and the Guggenheim Museum. Each spread is dedicated to a single building; in addition to a detailed illustration of the structure, it also includes information about the architect, the architectural style, and/or definitions of particular details. For example, readers learn that Westminster Palace was made from limestone, which is easy to carve into elaborate, decorative formations, but it is also highly susceptible to air-pollution damage. Readers also learn about porticos, Doric columns, and other assorted aspects of a building’s facade. The bullet-point style of the writing and detailed artwork invite browsing and repeated viewings; readers will also be inspired to look up photos of the actual buildings depicted in the illustrations. The back matter includes a detailed time line and an excellent glossary; the latter is especially important as there are a lot of unfamiliar terms here for young researchers. This title will pair nicely with David Macaulay’sCastle (1977) and Cathedral (1973, both Houghton Mifflin), as well as Andrea Beaty’s Iggy Peck, Architect (Abrams, 2007). –Laura Lutz, Pratt Institute, New York City

 RUBIN, Susan Goldman. Diego Rivera: An Artist for the People. 56p. bibliog. glossary. index. notes. photos. reprods. Abrams. 2013. RTE $21.95. ISBN 978-0-8109-8411-0. LC 2012010022.
Gr 5-8–Rivera’s life is presented through the lens of his art, making his love of Mexico and traditional Mexican art palpable and his search for his own artistic style an intriguing journey. The stunning illustrations include images of Rivera’s murals, his “cartoon” drawings, reproductions of art that he found influential, and photographs. The design, with scrollwork along the top and bottom and an unusual placement of page numbers, exudes style. The text is clearly written, straightforward, and attention-grabbing, with a good number of quotes interspersed throughout. Rivera’s weaknesses and failures, such as his womanizing and the Rockefeller controversy, are presented honestly and without judgment–just the facts as they are known. Thoughtful sections about Mexican history as represented in Rivera’s artwork and his artistic influences conclude the volume. Overall this is a classy, visually pleasing and interesting read.–Heather Acerro, Rochester Public Library, MN

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The following titles are reviewed in the May print issue. Visit Book Verdict for the full reviews.

Fiction

AGRESTI, Aimee. Infatuate. Bk. 2. 402p. (A Gilded Wings Novel). Houghton Harcourt. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-547-62615-4; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0-544-03479-2.

ALMOND, David. Mouse Bird Snake Wolf. illus. by Dave McKean. 80p. Candlewick. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5912-7. LC 20122950556.

ANDERSON, R. J. Quicksilver. 318p. Carolrhoda Lab. 2013. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-8799-2; ebook $12.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-0949-1. LC 2012024062.

APPELHANS, Lenore. Level 2. 270p. S & S. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4185-9.

ARMSTRONG, Kelley. The Rising. Bk. 3. 406p. (Darkness Rising Series). HarperCollins/Harper. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-179708-8. LC 2012025325.

ASHTON, Brodi. Everbound. Bk. 2. 358p. (Everneath Trilogy). HarperCollins/Balzer & Bray. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-207116-3; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-207118-7.

BAUCOM, Ian. Through the Skylight. illus. by Justin Gerard. 390p. S & S/Atheneum. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-1777-9; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-6079-9. LC 2012010642.

BELL, Sophie. The Ultra Violets. Bk. 1. illus. by Chris Battle. 300p. Penguin/Razorbill. 2013. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-1-59514-603-8.

BERK, Ari. Mistle Child. Bk. 2. 352p. (The Undertaken Trilogy). S & S. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-9117-5; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-3916-0. LC 2012002977.

BLUNDELL, Judy. A City Tossed and Broken: The Diary of Minnie Bonner. 224p. (Dear America Series). photos. Scholastic. 2013. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-545-31022-2. LC 2012014742.

BLYTHE, Carolita. Revenge of a Not-So-Pretty Girl. 336p. Delacorte. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74286-3; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-99081-6; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97845-5.

BOWMAN, Erin. Taken. 360p. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-211726-7; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-211728-1.

BRENNAN, Marie. A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent. 336p. Tor. 2013. Tr $25.99. ISBN 978-0-7653-3196-0; ebook $12.99. ISBN 978-1-4299-5631-4.

BRODY, Jessica. Unremembered. Bk. 1. 302p. (The Unremembered Trilogy). Farrar. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-374-37991-9; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-374-37992-6.

BROWN, Anne Greenwood. Deep Betrayal. 336p. Delacorte. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74203-0; PLB $20.99. ISBN 978-0-375-99037-3; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98909-4. LC 2012030598.

BRYCE, Celia. Anthem for Jackson Dawes. 230p. Bloomsbury. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-59990-975-2.

CAMPBELL, L. A. Cartboy and the Time Capsule. illus. by author. 208p. Tor/Starscape. 2013. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-7653-3317-9; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4668-0201-8.

CLARK, Platte F. Bad Unicorn. 426p. S & S/Aladdin. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5012-7; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5014-1.

COKER, Rachel. Chasing Jupiter. 224p. Zondervan. 2012. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-310-73293-8; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-310-73298-3.

COLFER, Chris. Struck by Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal. 260p. Little, Brown. 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-316-23295-1; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-23292-0.

CROWDER, Melanie. Parched. 160p. Houghton Harcourt. June 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-547-97651-8; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-97588-7.

DAHL, Elisabeth. Genie Wishes. illus. by author. 272p. Amulet/Abrams. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0526-7. LC 2012033161.

DERTING, Kimberly. The Essence. Bk. 2. 352p. (A Pledge Novel). S & S/McElderry. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4559-8; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4561-1.

DOKTORSKI, Jennifer Salvato. How My Summer Went Up in Flames. 320p. S & S/Simon Pulse. May 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5940-3; pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5939-7; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5941-0.

DRAPER, Sharon M. Panic. 262p. S & S/Atheneum. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-0896-8; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-0898-2.

DRIZA, Debra. Mila 2.0. Bk. 1. 470p. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-209036-2; ebook $11.99. ISBN 978-0-06-209038-6. LC 2012005248.

FERRIS, Jean. Thrice Upon a Marigold: A Royal Kidnapping Caper. 256p. Houghton Harcourt. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-73846-8; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-86873-8.

FISH, Thomas & Jillian Ober. Lucky Dogs, Lost Hats, and Dating Don’ts: Hi-Lo Stories About Real Life. 214p. photos. Woodbine. 2012. pap. $21.95. ISBN 978-1-60613-156-5. LC 2012025409.

FROLEY, Margaux. Escape Theory. 270p. (A Keaton School Novel). SohoTeen. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-61695-127-6; ebook $17.99. ISBN 978-1-61695-128-3.

FUSCO, Kimberly Newton. Beholding Bee. 336p. Knopf. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86836-8; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-96836-5; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-89886-0. LC 2012005091.

GIBSEN, Cole. Senshi. 392p. Flux. 2013. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-7387-3261-9.

GILMAN, Charles. The Slither Sisters. Bk. 2. illus. by Eugene Smith. 172p. (Tales from Lovecraft Middle School Series). Quirk. 2013. Tr $13.99. ISBN 978-1-59474-593-5; ebook $13.99. ISBN 978-1-59474-594-2.

GRAY, Laurie. Maybe I Will. 212p. Luminis. 2013. RTE $26.95. ISBN 978-1-935462-71-2; pap. $14.95. ISBN 978-1-935462-70-5; ebook $9.95. ISBN 978-1-935462-72-9.

GRIFFIN, Claire J. Nowhere to Run. 111p. Namelos. 2013. Tr $18.95. ISBN 978-1-60898-144-1; pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-1-60898-145-8; ebook $8.95. ISBN 978-1-60898-146-5. LC 2012951212.

GRIFFITHS, Andy. The 13-Story Treehouse. Bk. 1. illus. by Terry Denton. 240p. Feiwel & Friends. 2013. Tr $13.99. ISBN 978-1-250-02690-3; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-250-04239-2.

GRINDSTAFF, Kit. The Flame in the Mist. 450p. Random. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74290-0; PLB $20.99. ISBN 978-0-375-99083-0; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97914-8.

HASSAN, Michael. Crash and Burn. 536p. HarperCollins/Balzer & Bray. 2013. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-06-211290-3; ebook $11.99. ISBN 978-0-06-211292-7.

HEATH, Jack. Money Run. 246p. Scholastic. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-51266-4.

HOLT, Christopher. The Vanishing. Bk. 1. illus. by Greg Call. 372p. (The Last Dogs Series). Little, Brown.2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-316-20005-9; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-21587-9; pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-316-20004-2. LC 2012001550.

HOWARD, A. G. Splintered. 372p. Abrams/Amulet. 2013. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0428-4; ebook $17.95. ISBN 978-1-6131-2379-9. LC 2012011538.

HUB, Ulrich. Meet at the Ark at Eight. tr. from German by Helena Ragg-Kirkby. illus. by Jörg Mühle. 72p.Eerdmans. 2012. RTE $12. ISBN 978-0-8028-5410-0. LC 2012001411.

JAHN-CLOUGH, Lisa. Nothing but Blue. 214p. Houghton Harcourt. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-618-95961-7.

JOSEPH, Lynn. Flowers in the Sky. 256p. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-029794-7; pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-223642-5.

KADE, J. V. Bot Wars. 356p. Dial. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8037-3860-7. LC 2012017682.

KIRBY, Jessi. Golden. 276p. S & S. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5216-9; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5225-1. LC 2012042216.

KORMAN, Gordon. Hideout. 276p. Scholastic. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-44866-6; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-52018-8.

KOTECKI, Nathan. The Suburban Strange. Bk. 1. 358p. Houghton Harcourt. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-72996-1; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-73111-7. LC 2011048209.

KRAUS, Daniel. Scowler. 290p. Delacorte. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74309-9; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-99094-6; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-307-98087-8. LC 2012005363.

LAIDLAW, S. J. An Infidel in Paradise. 312p. Tundra. 2013. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-1-77049-304-9; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-1-77049-305-6. LC 2012938139.

LAWRENCE, Caroline. P.K. Pinkerton & the Petrified Man. Bk. 2. 308p. glossary. Putnam. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-399-25634-9.

LAZEBNIK, Claire. The Trouble with Flirting. 314p. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2013. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-192127-8; ebook $8.99. ISBN 978-0-06-220304-5.

LEAVITT, Lindsey. Going Vintage. 312p. Bloomsbury. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-59990-787-1.

LECESNE, James. Trevor: The Story That Inspired the Trevor Project. illus. by author. 112p. websites. Seven Stories. 2012. Tr $14.95. ISBN 978-1-60980-420-6. LC 2012016377.

LECK, James. The Further Adventures of Jack Lime. 160p. Kids Can. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-55453-740-2.

LITTLEWOOD, Kathryn. A Dash of Magic. Bk. 2. illus. by Erin McGuire. 356p. (A Bliss Novel).HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen. 2013. ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-06-208431-6; Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-208429-3. LC 2012025502.

LONDON, Kelli. Reality Check. Bk. 2. 262p. (Charly’s Epic Fiascos Series). Kensington/KTeen. 2013. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-7582-8697-0; ebook $8.99. ISBN 978-0-7582-8698-7.

LUBAR, David. Hyde and Shriek. illus. by Marcos Calo Bermúdez. 136p. (A Monsterrific Tale). Tor/Starscape.2013. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-0-7653-3081-9; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4299-9312-8.

LUBAR, David. The Vanishing Vampire. illus. by Marcos Calo Bermúdez. 144p. (A Monsterrific Tale).Tor/Starscape. May 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7653-3077-2; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4299-9306-7.

LYNCH, Janet Nichols. My Beautiful Hippie. 192p. Holiday House. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2603-4.LC 2012016563.

MCDANIEL, Lurlene. The Year of Luminous Love. 364p. Delacorte. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74171-2; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-99020-5; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98675-8.

MCGOWAN, Keith. The Witch’s Curse. illus. by Yoko Tanaka. 296p. Holt/Christy Ottaviano. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8050-9324-7; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-8050-9750-4.

MCHUGH, PT. Keeper of the Black Stones. Bk. 1. 369p. (Stone Ends Series). Glass House Pr. 2013. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-9816768-0-7; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-9816768-1-4.

MCINNES , Nicole. Brianna on the Brink. 176p. Holiday House. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2741-3.

MCKINLAY, Meg. Below. 224p. Candlewick. May 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6126-7; ebook $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6380-3.

MARCHETTA, Melina. Quintana of Charyn. Bk. 3. 516p. (The Lumatere Chronicles Series). Candlewick. 2013. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5835-9; ebook $18.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6360-5.

MESSNER, Kate. Hide and Seek. 256p. photos. Scholastic. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-41975-8; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-53367-6. LC 2012027028.

MEYER, Kai. Arcadia Burns. tr. from German by Anthea Bell. 424p. HarperCollins/Balzer & Bray. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-200608-0; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-06-209297-7. LC 2012019041.

MONT, Eve Marie. A Touch of Scarlet. Bk. 2. 294p. (Unbound Series). Kensington/KTeen. 2013. pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-0-7582-6949-2.

MORRIS, Paula. Unbroken: A Ruined Novel. 304p. Scholastic/Point. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-41641-2. LC 2012013461.

MORRISON, Patricia. Shadow Girl. 218p. Tundra. 2013. pap. $10.95. ISBN 978-1-77049-290-5; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-77049-368-1. LC 2012938138.

MOSKOWITZ, Hannah. Teeth. 246p. S & S/Simon Pulse. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-6532-9; pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4946-6; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4947-3.

MOSS, Marissa. Home Sweet Rome. illus. by author. 180p. (Mira’s Diary Series). bibliog.Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky. 2013. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-1-4022-66096.

MOULD, Chris. Pip and the Twilight Seekers. Bk. 2. illus. by author. 182p. (A Spindlewood Tale). Albert Whitman. 2013. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-8075-6553-7. LC 2012013751.

OLSEN, Sylvia. Molly’s Promise. 126p. (Orca Young Readers Series). Orca. 2013. pap. $7.95. ISBN 978-1-4598-0277-3. LC 2012952947.

OSTERWEIL, Adam. Cooper and the Enchanted Metal Detector. 243p. further reading. Namelos. May 2013. Tr $18.95. ISBN 978-1-60898-149-6; pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-1-60898-150-2. LC 2012938164.

PASTIS, Stephan. Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made. Bk. 1. illus. by author. 304p. Candlewick. 2013. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6050-5; ebook $14.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6358-2.

PATTERSON, James & Lisa Papademetriou. My Brother Is a Big, Fat Liar. illus. by Neil Swaab. 304p. (Middle School Series). Little, Brown. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-316-20754-6.

PATTERSON, Valerie O. Operation Oleander. 188p. Clarion. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-24437-2; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-53421-3. LC 2012023166.

PIERSON, D. C. Crap Kingdom. 368p. Viking. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-670-01432-3; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-1-101-58972-4. LC 2012015578.

REICHS, Kathy & Brendan Reichs. Code. Bk. 3. 408p. (A Virals Novel). Putnam. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-59514-412-6; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-1-10160-858-6.

RIBAR, Lindsay. The Art of Wishing. 320p. Dial. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-8037-3827-0.

ROSENBERG, Madelyn. Canary in the Coal Mine. 144p. Holiday House. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2600-3.

ROSENBLUM, Gregg. Revolution 19. 272p. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-212595-8; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-212598-9. LC 2012025328.

RUSH, Jennifer. Altered. 324p. Little, Brown. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-316-19708-3; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-21449-0. LC 2012007545.

SAYRES, Meghan Nuttall. Night Letter. illus. by Rashin Kheiriyeh. 281p. further reading. Nortia. 2013. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-9848359-0-4. LC 2012942442.

SHAW, Liane. The Color of Silence. 264p. Second Story. 2013. pap. $11.95. ISBN 978-1-926920-93-1.

SHIMKO, Bonnie. You Know What You Have to Do. 240p. Amazon. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4778-1642-4.

SHUKERT, Rachel. Starstruck. 338p. Delacorte. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74108-8; PLB $20.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98984-1; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98425-9.

SHURTLIFF, Liesl. Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin. 264p. Knopf. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97793-9; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97794-6; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97795-3.

SILBERBERG, Alan. The Awesome, Almost 100% True Adventures of Matt & Craz. illus. by author. 336p. S & S/Aladdin. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-9432-9.

SINGER, Nicky. Under Shifting Glass. 310p. Chronicle. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4521-0921-3. LC 2012004942.

SKILTON, Sarah. Bruised. 274p. Abrams/Amulet. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0387-4. LC 2012042801.

SMITH, Andrew. Winger. illus. by Sam Bosma. 440p. S & S. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4492-8; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4494-2. LC 2011052750.

SMITH, Jennifer E. This Is What Happy Looks Like. 402p. Little, Brown/Poppy. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-316-21282-3; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-21283-0.

ST. CROW, Lili. Nameless: A Tale of Beauty and Madness. 328p. Penguin/Razorbill. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-59514-357-0.

STANISZEWSKI, Anna. My Epic Fairy Tale Fail. 216p. Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky. 2013. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-1-4022-7930-0.

STELLA, Leslie. Permanent Record. 288p. Amazon. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4778-1639-4; ebook $7.99. ISBN 978-1-4778-6639-9.

SUTHERLAND, Tui T. The Lost Heir. Bk. 2. 296p. (Wings of Fire Series). Scholastic. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-34919-2; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0545-47010-0.

SUTHERLAND, Tui T. & Kari Sutherland. The Menagerie. Bk. 1. 272p. HarperCollins/Harper. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-078064-7; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-220290-1.

THARP, Tim. Mojo. 290p. Knopf. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86445-2; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-96445-9; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-89580-7.

VACCO, Corina. My Chemical Mountain. 186p. Delacorte. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74242-9; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-99057-1; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97504-1.

VAUGHAN, M. M. The Ability. illus. by Iacapo Bruno. 336p. S & S/McElderry. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5200-8; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5202-2.

VAWTER, Vince. Paperboy. 224p. Delacorte. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74244-3; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-99058-8; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97505-8. LC 2012030546.

WEYN, Suzanne. Dr. Frankenstein’s Daughters. 256p. Scholastic. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-42533-9.LC 2012033039.

WHELAN, Gloria. All My Noble Dreams and Then What Happens. 256p. glossary. S & S/Paula Wiseman Bks.2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4976-3; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4977-0.

WHITE, Kiersten. Mind Games. 242p. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-213531-5; ebook $11.99. ISBN 978-0-06-213533-9. LC 2012004292.

WILLIAMS, Katie. Absent. 184p. Chronicle. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8118-7150-1. LC 2012033600.

WINDHAM, Ryder with Jason Fry. Battle Mountain. Bk. 2. 260p. (Transformers Classified Series). Little, Brown.2012. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-0-316-18874-6.

WOLFSON, Jill. Furious. 326p. Holt. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-8050-8283-8; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-8050-9756-6.

YOUNG, Suzanne. The Program. 146p. S & S/Simon Pulse. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4580-2; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4582-6.

Nonfiction

ARETHA, David. Brown v. Board of Education. 128p. (The Civil Rights Movement Series). bibliog. chron. further reading. illus. index. notes. photos. reprods. websites. Morgan Reynolds. 2013. PLB $28.95. ISBN 978-1-59935-370-8. LC 2012035348.

ARLON, Penelope & Tony Gordon-Harris. Rainforest. 80p. (Discover More Series). charts. glossary. index. maps. photos. Scholastic. 2013. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-545-49562-2.

BAUSUM, Ann. Our Country’s Presidents: All You Need to Know About the Presidents, from George Washington to Barack Obama. 224p. bibliog. charts. chron. further reading. illus. index. photos. reprods. websites. National Geographic. 2013. Tr $24.95. ISBN 978-1-4263-1089-8.

BENOIT, Peter. The Attack on Pearl Harbor. ISBN 978-0-531-23601-7; ISBN 978-0-531-21959-1. LC 2012030352.
–––– . The Vietnam War. ISBN 978-0-531-23608-6; ISBN 978-0-531-21966-9. LC 2012034326.
ea vol: 64p. (Cornerstones of Freedom Series). chron. further reading. glossary. illus. index. maps. photos. Children’s Press. 2013. PLB $30; pap $8.95.

BROADWATER, Robert P. Ulysses S. Grant: A Biography. 209p. ISBN 978-0-313-39255-9; ISBN 978-0-313-39256-6.

MELTON, Brian C. Robert E. Lee: A Biography. 162p. chron. ISBN 978-0-313-38436-3; ISBN 978-0-313-38437-0.
ea vol: (Greenwood Biographies Series). bibliog. index. photos. reprods. websites. Greenwood. 2012. PLB $37.; ebook $37.

BUKSZPAN, David. Is That a Word?: From AA to ZZZ, the Weird and Wonderful Language of SCRABBLE®.illus. by Dave Hopkins. 176p. bibliog. further reading. Chronicle. 2012. RTE $18.95. ISBN 978-1-4521-0824-7.

CALLERY, Sean. World War II. 112p. (Discover More Series). charts. chron. glossary. illus. index. maps. photos. reprods. Scholastic. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-545-47975-2.

CARSON, Mary Kay. What Was Your Dream, Dr. King?: And Other Questions About Martin Luther King Jr. illus. by Jim Madsen. ISBN 978-1-4027-9622-7; ISBN 978-1-4027-9045-4.

SANDLER, Martin W. Why Did the Whole World Go to War?: And Other Questions About World War II. illus. by Robert Barrett. ISBN 978-1-4027-9621-0; ISBN 978-1-4027-9044-7.
ea vol: 32p. (Good Question! Series). chron. maps. photos. websites. Sterling. 2013. PLB $12.95; pap. $5.95.

CLARK, Willow. The True Story of the Civil War. ISBN 978-1-4488-9693-6; ISBN 978-1-4488-9932-6. LC 2012033062.
–––– . The True Story of the Declaration of Independence. ISBN 978-1-4488-9691-2; ISBN 978-1-4488-9930-2. LC 2012029969.
–––– . The True Story of the Emancipation Proclamation. ISBN 978-1-4488-9695-0; ISBN 978-1-4488-9934-0. LC 2012034154.
ea vol: 24p. (What Really Happened? Series). further reading. glossary. index. photos. reprods. websites. Rosen/PowerKids Pr. 2013. PLB $22.60; ebook $22.60.

DAKERS, Diane. Elie Wiesel: Holocaust Survivor and Messenger for Humanity. 112p. (Crabtree Groundbreaking Biographies Series). chron. further reading. glossary. illus. index. photos. reprods. websites.Crabtree. 2012. PLB $33.27. ISBN 978-0-7787-2552-7. LC 2012008273.

FREY, Marc & Todd Davis. The New Big Book of U.S. Presidents: Fascinating Facts About Each and Every President, Including an American History Timeline. 56p. chron. glossary. photos. reprods. Running Pr. Kids.2013. Tr $13.95. ISBN 978-0-7624-4880-7. LC 2012949645.

GARLAND, Sherry. Voices of Pearl Harbor. illus. by Layne Johnson. 40p. bibliog. further reading. glossary. maps. Pelican. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4556-1609-1; ebook $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4556-1610-7. LC 2012035072.

HARTZLER, Aaron. Rapture Practice: A True Story. 390p. Little, Brown. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-316-09465-8; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-21571-8. LC 2012028746.

HENDERSON, Harry. The Digital Age. ISBN 978-1-60152-482-9. LC 2012026168.

KALLEN, Stuart A. Elizabethan England. ISBN 978-1-60152-484-3. LC 2012026174.

WOOG, Adam. Pearl Harbor. ISBN 978-1-60152-486-7. LC 2012027684.
ea vol: 96p. (Understanding World History Series). chron. diags. further reading. illus. index. maps. notes. photos. reprods. websites. ReferencePoint. 2013. PLB $27.95.

HUNTER, Ryan Ann. In Disguise! 176p. bibliog. illus. maps. notes. S & S/Aladdin. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-58270-383-1; pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-1-58270-382-4; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-6726-2.

HYDE, Natalie. Understanding Mesoamerican Myths. ISBN 978-0-7787-4525-9. LC 2012040536.

KOPP, Megan. Understanding Native American Myths. ISBN 978-0-7787-4526-6.

WILLIAMS, Brian. Understanding Norse Myths. ISBN 978-0-7787-4527-3.
ea vol: 48p. chron. further reading. glossary. illus. index. maps. photos. reprods. websites. (Myths Understood Series). Crabtree. 2013. PLB $30.60.

JACKSON, Tom. Introducing the Periodic Table. 32p. (Why Chemistry Matters Series). charts. diags. further reading. glossary. illus. index. photos. websites. Crabtree. 2012. PLB $26.60. ISBN 978-0-7787-4230-2; pap. $8.95. ISBN 978-0-7787-4234-0.

JONES, Patrick. The Main Event: The Moves and Muscle of Pro Wrestling. 64p. (Spectacular Sports Series). further reading. glossary. index. photos. websites. Millbrook. 2012. PLB $31.93. ISBN 978-0-7613-8635-3; ebook $23.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-0131-0. LC 2011046180.

LATHAM, Donna. Backyard Biology: Investigate Habitats Outside Your Door with 25 Projects. illus. by Beth Hetland. 128p. (Build It Yourself Series). diags. glossary. illus. index. websites. Nomad. 2013. Tr $21.95. ISBN 978-1-61930-152-8; pap. $15.95. ISBN 978-1-61930-151-1.

LOSURE, Mary. Wild Boy: The Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron. illus. by Timothy Basil Ering. 176p. bibliog. index. notes. Candlewick. 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5669-0. LC 2012943644.

MARSH, Carole. Business Ethics & Etiquette for Students: You Must Know These! 75p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-635-10555-4; ISBN 978-0-635-10520-2.
––––. Job Tracks: and How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Go! 130p. index. ISBN 978-0-635-10552-3; ISBN 978-0-635-10517-2.
––––. Work Words: Job/Business/Career Words & Terms You Neet to Know! 60p. ISBN 978-0-635-10556-1; ISBN 978-0-635-10521-9.
ea vol: (Careers Curriculum Series). photos. Gallopade. 2012. pap. $19.99; PLB $29.99.

MASON, Adrienne. Planet Ark: Preserving Earth’s Biodiversity. illus. by Margot Thompson. 32p. (CitizenKid Series). glossary. index. Kids Can. 2013. Tr $18.95. ISBN 978-1-55453-753-2.

NEWLAND, Sonya. Extinction! 48p. (Chrome Series). chron. further reading. glossary. illus. index. maps. photos. websites. Crabtree. 2013. PLB $30.60. ISBN 978-0-7787-7925-4.

REEF, Catherine. Leonard Bernstein and American Music. 128p. (Modern Music Masters Series). bibliog. chron. illus. index. notes. photos. websites. Morgan Reynolds. May 2013. PLB $28.95. ISBN 978-1-59935-125-4. LC 2010042593.

ROSEN, Michael J. Let’s Build a Playground. photos by Ellen Kelson and Jennifer Cecil. 32p. (A KaBOOM! Book). Candlewick. 2013. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5532-7. LC 2012943649.

SILVER, Maya & Marc Silver. My Parent Has Cancer and It Really Sucks: Real-Life Advice from Real-Life Teens. 260p. further reading. websites. Sourcebooks/Fire. 2013. pap. $14.99. ISBN 978-1-4022-7307-0.

SIMON, Seymour. Seymour Simon’s Extreme Oceans. 60p. index. photos. Chronicle. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4521-0833-9. LC 2012012590.

SONNEBORN, Liz. France. 144p. (Enchantment of the World Series). charts. chron. further reading. illus. index. maps. photos. reprods. Children’s Press. 2013. PLB $40. ISBN 978-0-531-25600-8. LC 2012047113.

WILSON, Donna. Donna Wilson’s Creative Creatures: Make-and-Do Crafty Creatures for Kids. illus. by author. 48p. photos. Kingfisher. 2013. PLB $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7534-6947-7.

Shimmer & Splash (Arnosky) ©2013 by Jim Arnosky

 CASTELLUCCI, Cecil. Odd Duck. illus. by Sara Varon. 96p. First Second. May 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-557-5.
Gr 2-4–Theodora, a duck with a yen for lavender hats, stargazing, and staying north for the winter, prefers her solitary life slightly outside the duck community. She is dismayed by the grubby, flamboyant appearance of Chad when he moves in next door and populates his yard with art installations. But worst of all, he also chooses to remain at home throughout the snowy season. A story about first impressions, tolerance, and friendship, the narrative takes some time to fully click, but when it does there are many sweet touches to be found in the relationship between these odd ducks. Mostly eschewing panels and only occasionally using word balloons, this charming picture book cum early chapter book cum graphic novel has soft, clear pastel tones, strong lines, and lots of whimsical detail. Warm and with solid insight into the nature of quirk, this title will amuse most readers, and it may be a welcome balm for those who feel a bit different.–Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH

 FLEMING, Candace. Papa’s Mechanical Fish. illus. by Boris Kulikov. 32p. bibliog. Farrar/Margaret Ferguson.June 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-374-39908-5.
Gr 2-4–This picture book is a fictional account based on events in the life of eccentric inventor Lodner Phillips as told from the perspective of his daughter, Virena. Papa theorizes and tinkers but never succeeds. Finally, while the family is dropping lines from a pier into Lake Michigan, his daughter asks, “have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a fish?” Immediately the man dashes back to his workshop and soon produces one of the world’s earliest submarines, the Whitefish. Children will delight in the way Virena is the catalyst for her father’s successive improvements to his primitive vessel as she continues to ask questions: about how fish move through water, stay dry, and know where they are going. Kulikov’s luminous, playful, detailed illustrations on full-bleed spreads incorporate a variety of perspectives, including close-up views of fish and of Papa underwater and cutaway diagrams of his creations. An afterword is included. The exuberant and inquisitive tone of this book is sure to entertain curious children.–Anne Barreca, New York Public Library

 LOOK, Lenore. Brush of the Gods. illus. by Meilo So. 40p. Random/Schwartz & Wade. June 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-375-87001-9. LC 2012006442.
K-Gr 3–Young Wu Daozi tries to please his calligraphy teacher, but his brush drips out squiggles and twists and dots, his lines turn into trees, his hooks catch fish, and “his dots burst into eyes, then pigs, and monkeys.” Wu Daozi paints on walls in temples and teahouses, and even the great wall surrounding the city. His work becomes known and admired throughout China. One day he paints a butterfly so beautiful and delicate that it appears to be real. When the wind blows, the wing moves, just a little, and the butterfly suddenly flits off. Soon everything he creates either flutters, gallops, or rolls away. No one believes that his paintings come to life, except the children. Then one day, the emperor asks Daozi if he would create a masterpiece on a wall of the palace. Stunning ink, watercolor, and pencil artwork brings to life ancient China and the beautiful children who remained faithful to Daozi. Highly detailed and vibrantly colored, the illustrations render Daozi’s paintings with brilliance. Children will appreciate the imaginative aspect of the text as well as the inspiring story of a boy who follows his dreams. Inviting and appealing, this title serves as a great addition to a unit on ancient China or Chinese Art.–Carol Connor, Cincinnati Public Schools, OH

 MORSTAD, Julie. How To. illus. by author. 36p. Simply Read Books. May 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-897476-57-4.
PreS-Gr 1–A treatise on “how-tos,” including how to go fast, how to see the wind, and how to be brave. More imaginative selections include how to wash your face (look up in the rain), how to watch where you’re going (follow the movements of your shadow), and how to wonder (gaze at the night sky). Morstad’s spare text and whimsical fine-line drawings with pastel enhancements portray children encountering new experiences enriched with whimsy and quiet wit. This guide will engage and delight youngsters. Ideal for one-on-one sharing, it will be read again and again.–Carol Connor, Cincinnati Public Schools, OH

 PIZZOLI, Greg. The Watermelon Seed. illus. by author. 40p. Hyperion/Disney. May 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-7101-0.
PreS-Gr 1–Children will love this hilarious book. Crocodile has devoured watermelon since babyhood and eats it every chance he gets. One day, however, he swallows a seed. This sends him into a panic. Will it grow inside him and come out of his ears? Will he grow larger and turn pink? The poor crocodile is so worried until he burps up the seed. He vows to never eat watermelon again, but will he be able to resist? The illustrations of the reptile’s fear about what might happen to him are very funny and the oversize font on those pages reinforces the emotion in the story. The artwork was created by screen print in pink, green, black, and brown. This simplicity allows readers to fully appreciate the changes in the croc’s facial expressions, which artfully contribute to the humor. The story has broad appeal, making it a great first purchase.–Amy Shepherd, St. Anne’s Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

 ARNOSKY, Jim. Shimmer & Splash: The Sparkling World of Sea Life. illus. by author. 40p. further reading. Sterling. 2013. Tr $14.95. ISBN 978-1-4027-8623-5. LC 2012012863.
Gr 2-5–Arnosky has been directing his painterly eye and literary hand to  the natural world for many years, ranging from artful works on raccoons in a cornfield to taloned raptors in the ether. Here he turns his considerable talents to life in the sea in the style of previous works such as Thunder Birds: Nature’s Flying Predators (2011) and Slither and Crawl: Eye to Eye with Reptiles (2009, both Sterling). With foldout pages and many life-size illustrations, this overview is less tightly focused, touching on sea life from coral reefs to sailfish, from sea jellies to fiddler crabs, all depicted in a burst of shimmering blues and greens with splashes of yellow. The informative and lucid text is larded with personal experiences as Arnosky wades, kayaks, boats, and fishes in the “sparkling” world of water he so obviously enjoys. Soft pencil sketches ranging from coral species to sharks’ tails slip along the outer margins of the pages of text, a gentle counterpoint to the exuberant, colorful acrylics. Informative, to be sure, and eminently readable, this dynamic title will be an explosive visual feast for many children.–Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

 MCGINTY, Alice B. Gandhi: A March to the Sea. illus. by Thomas Gonzalez. 32p. bibliog. maps. notes.Amazon. 2013. RTE $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4778-1644-8; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4778-6644-3.
Gr 1-4–This lyrical picture book tells the story of Gandhi’s role in the 1930 Salt March, a peaceful protest of the British-imposed taxation of salt in India. Gandhi and 78 others walked more than 200 miles to gather salt for use and sale in direct violation of a British law that they felt was unjust. The flowing text describes how the marchers faced soldiers, were encouraged by villagers along the way, and how Gandhi’s consistent and gentle confidence kept them on the right path. Stunning mixed-media artwork portrays the journey in brilliant hues with a soft touch. Gandhi’s familiar figure is included in every painting, in unique and inspiring ways; sometimes just his feet, or close-ups of his face, but most often silhouetted against the dramatic landscape of India. While this book shares only a small part of Gandhi’s legacy, it is a key moment in India’s fight for independence, an excellent example of his life and work, and an intriguing introduction to the man. Demi’sGandhi (S & S, 2001) may provide more detail and a broader scope, but this gorgeous, thoughtful account should be in every biography collection.–Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA

 STRINGER, Lauren. When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky: Two Artists, Their Ballet, and One Extraordinary Riot.illus. by author. 32p. bibliog. photos. Houghton Harcourt. 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-90725-3. LC 2012025330.
K-Gr 3–Composed with much alliterative, musical language, and onomatopoeia, this narrative flows beautifully, telling the story of the friendship and collaboration between composer Igor Stravinsky and dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. Focusing on the changes to their work and personal styles that resulted from their meeting to the culmination of their efforts, the ballet The Rite of Spring, the story conveys their composition process in a lively, upbeat fashion, with a percussive vocabulary. This book would be the perfect accompaniment in music lessons exploring the 100th anniversary of the famous work, and may inspire young musicians to create their own and definitely different work. Children may be surprised to learn about the commotion the composition caused, and the riotous ballet is sure to catch their attention. Vibrantly colored illustrations, inspired by Matisse and Picasso, of the musical notes, instruments, and dancers depicted, enhance the tone of the story and complement the text well. A detailed note from the author, complete with photographs, provides interesting background information about Stravinsky, Nijinsky, and The Rite of Spring.–Alison Donnelly, Collinsville Memorial Public Library, IL

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The following titles are reviewed in the May print issue. Visit Book Verdict for the full reviews.

Fiction

AIN, Beth. Starring Jules: (As Herself). illus. by Anne Keenan Higgins. 146p. Scholastic. 2013. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-0-545-44352-4; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-545-52047-8. LC 2012017678.

ALLEN, Jonathan . I’m Not Reading! 32p. Boxer Bks . 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-907967-44-3 .

AMARA, Phil. The Treehouse Heroes & the Forgotten Beast. illus. by Alina Chau. 36p. Immedium. 2012. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-1-59702-034-3. LC 2011052803.

ANDREASEN, Dan. Saturday with Daddy. illus. by author. 32p. Holt/Christy Ottaviano. May 2013. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-8050-8687-4. LC 2012019267.

ARNOLD, Tedd. Dirty Gert. illus. by author. 32p. Holiday House. 2013. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2404-7.LC 2012006578.

BAILEY, Mark & Michael Oatman. Tiny Pie. illus. by Edward Hemingway. 32p. Running Press Kids. May 2013.Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-0-7624-4482-3. LC 2012946110.

BALSLEY, Tilda & Ellen Fischer. Grover and Big Bird’s Passover Celebration. ISBN 978-0-7613-8491-5; ISBN 978-0-7613-8492-2; ISBN 978-1-4677-0995-8. LC 2012009496.
–––– . It’s a Mitzvah, Grover! ISBN 978-0-7613-7562-3; ISBN 978-0-7613-7563-0; ISBN 978-1-4677-0992-7.LC 2012009497 .
ea vol: illus. by Tom Leigh. 24p. (Shalom Sesame Series). Kar-Ben. 2013. RTE $16.95; pap. $6.95; ebook $12.95.

BANKS, Kate. Please, Papa. illus. by Gabi Swiatkowska. 32p. Farrar/Frances Foster. May 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-374-36002-3.

BARNETT, Mac. Count the Monkeys. illus. by Kevin Cornell. 32p. Hyperion/Disney. June 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-6065-6. LC 2012020299.

BONWILL, Ann. The Frazzle Family Finds a Way. illus. by Stephen Gammell. 32p. Holiday House. 2013. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2405-4. LC 2011041929.

CAPUCILLI, Alyssa Satin. Katy Duck and the Tip-Top Tap Shoes. illus. by Henry Cole. ISBN 978-1-4424-5246-6; ISBN 978-1-4424-5245-9; ISBN 978-1-4424-5247-3. LC 2011052608.

DUNGY, Tony & Lauren Dungy. The Missing Cupcake Mystery. illus. by Vanessa Brantley Newton. ISBN 978-1-4424-5464-4; ISBN 978-1-4424-5463-7; ISBN 978-1-4424-5465-1. LC 2012024152.

WILEY, Melissa. Inch and Roly and the Very Small Hiding Place. illus. by Ag Jatkowska. ISBN 978-1-4424-5281-7; ISBN 978-1-4424-5279-4; ISBN 978-1-4424-5282-4. LC 2012006107.
ea vol: 24p. (Ready-to-Read Series). S & S/Spotlight. 2013. Tr $15.99; pap. $3.99; ebook $3.99.

CHORAO, Kay. Bad Boy, Good Boy. illus. by author. 32p. Abrams. May 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0520-5. LC 2012011249.

CLEMENT, Nathan. Speed. illus. by author. 32p. Boyds Mills. 2013. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-1-59078-937-7.

COLE, Dylan. The Otherworldly Adventures of Tyler Washburn: The New Kid. illus. by Ahmed Aldoori. 48p.Design Studio Press. 2012. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-1-9334-9277-3. LC 2012931961.

COLLODI, Carlo. Pinocchio. tr. from Italian by Geoffrey Brock. illus. by Fulvio Testa. 184p. New York Review of Books. 2012. RTE $24.95. ISBN 978-1-59017-588-0. LC 2012004946.

DAHL, Michael. Goodnight Baseball. illus. by Christina Forshay. 32p. (Sports Illustrated Kids Series).Capstone. 2013. RTE $14.95. ISBN 978-1-62370-000-3; PLB $20.99. ISBN 978-1-40487-979-9.

DAVIES, Matt. Ben Rides On. illus. by author. 32p. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-794-4. LC 2012013101.

DEMPSEY, Sheena. Bye-Bye Baby Brother! illus. by author. 32p. Candlewick. 2013. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6241-7. LC 2012942659.

DOCHERTY, Thomas. Wash-a-Bye Bear. illus. by author. 32p. Candlewick/Templar. May 2013. RTE $14.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6486-2. LC 2012942675.

DOKEY, Cameron. Zack’s Story. Bk. 1. illus. by Craig Orback. 128p. (Boys Camp Series). Sky Pony. May 2013. Tr $12.95. ISBN 978-1-62087-528-5. LC 2012041023.

FALWELL, Cathryn. Rainbow Stew. illus. by author. 32p. Lee & Low. 2013. RTE $17.95. ISBN 978-1-60060-847-6. LC 2012027279.

FITCH, Sheree. Night Sky Wheel Ride. illus. by Yayo. 32p. Tradewind. 2013. PLB $16.95. ISBN 978-1-896580-67-8.

FLORENCE, Tyler. Tyler Makes Spaghetti! illus. by Craig Frazier. 40p. HarperCollins/Harper. May 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-204756-4.

GEISERT, Arthur. Thunderstorm. illus. by author. 32p. Enchanted Lion. May 2013. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-59270-133-9. LC 2012952191.

GERVAY, Susanne. I Am Jack. illus. by Cathy Wilcox. 144p. Kane Miller. 2013. pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-1-61067-128-6. LC 2012931763.

GÉSER, Gretchen. One Bright Ring. illus. by author. 32p. Holt. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8050-9279-0. LC 2012021080.

GIBSON, Ginger Foglesong. Tiptoe Joe. illus. by Laura Rankin. 32p. HarperCollins/Greenwillow. May 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-177203-0. LC 201201586.

GRANT, Joyce. Gabby. illus. by Jan Dolby. 32p. Fitzhenry & Whiteside. 2013. RTE $18.95. ISBN 978-1-55455-250-4.

HARRINGTON, Tim. This Little Piggy. illus. by author. 32p. HarperCollins/Balzer & Bray. May 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-06-221808-7.

HARRISON, David L. A Perfect Home for a Family. illus. by Roberta Angaramo. 32p. Holiday House. 2013.RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2338-5. LC 2010039385.

HARTT-SUSSMAN, Heather. Nana’s Summer Surprise. illus. by Georgia Graham. 32p. Tundra. 2013. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-77049-324-7; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-1-77049-394-0. LC 2012934220.

HILLERT, Margaret. Dear Dragon’s Fun with Shapes. ISBN 978-1-59953-544-9. LC 2012012628.
––––. Up, Up, Up, Dear Dragon. ISBN 978-1-59953-545-6. LC 2012012629.
––––. Where Is Dear Dragon? ISBN 978-1-59953-546-3. LC 2012012630.
ea vol: illus. by David Schimmell. 32p. (Dear Dragon Series). Norwood. 2013. PLB $21.27.

JAMES, Helen Foster & Virginia Shin-mui Loh. Paper Son: Lee’s Journey to America. illus. by Wilson Ong. 40p. (Tales of Young Americans Series). Sleeping Bear. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-58536-833-4. LC 2012033691.

JAMES, Simon. Nurse Clementine. illus. by author. 40p. Candlewick. 2013. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6382-7. LC 2012942668.

JENKINS, Emily. Water in the Park: A Book About Water & the Times of the Day. illus. by Stephanie Graegin. 40p. Random/Schwartz & Wade. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-87002-6; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-97002-3; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98718-2. LC 2011050243.

JOOSSE, Barbara. Hooray Parade. illus. by Hyewon Yum. 40p. Viking. June 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-670-01334-0. LC 2012028655.

KIMMELMAN, Leslie. Sam and Charlie: (and Sam Too!). illus. by Stefano Tambellini. 48p. Albert Whitman.2013. Tr $13.99. ISBN 978-0-8075-7213-9. LC 2012014113.

KONTIS, Althea. The Wonderland Alphabet: Alice’s Adventures Through the ABC’s and What She Found There. illus. by Janet K. Lee. 28p. Archaia. 2012. BD $11.95. ISBN 978-1-9363-9386-2.

KULLING, Monica. Mister Dash and the Cupcake Calamity. illus. by Esperança Melo. 32p. Tundra. 2013. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-77049-396-4; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-1-77049-402-2. LC 2012934219.

LANGEN, Annette. The Angry Little Knight. tr. from German by David Henry Wilson. illus. by Katja Gehrmann. 32p. NorthSouth. 2013. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-0-7358-4110-9.

LATTER, Jill. Mama Hen’s Big Day! tr. from German by Rebecca K. Morrison. illus. by author. 32p. NorthSouth.2013. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-0-7358-4109-3.

LLOYD, Jennifer. Murilla Gorilla: Jungle Detective. illus. by Jacqui Lee. 40p. Simply Read Books. May 2013.RTE $9.95. ISBN 978-1-927018-15-6.

LONDNER, Renee. Stones for Grandpa. illus. by Martha Avilés. 24p. Kar-Ben. 2013. RTE $17.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-7495-4; pap. $7.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-7496-1; ebook $6.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-0991-0. LC 2012009500.

MACK, Jeff. Clueless McGee and the Inflatable Pants. Bk. 2. illus. by author. 254p. (Clueless McGee Series).Philomel. June 2013. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-399-25750-6. LC 2012035569.

MACLEAR, Kyo. Mr. Flux. illus. by Matte Stephens. 32p. Kids Can. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-55453-781-5.

MARCHON, Benoit. Spoonful! tr. from French. illus. by Soledad Bravi. 38p. Houghton Harcourt. 2013. BD $7.99. ISBN 978-0-547-89313-6.

MICHALAK, Jamie. Joe and Sparky Go to School. illus. by Frank Remkiewicz. 48p. Candlewick. June 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6278-3. LC 2012943657.

MILNE, Christopher. The Day Our Teacher Went Mad: And Other Naughty Stories for Good Boys and Girls.illus. by Simon Swingler. 88p. Trafalgar Square. 2013. pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-1-921690-36-5.

MOON, Emily Kate. Joone. illus. by author. 32p. Dial. June 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8037-3744-0. LC 2012017536.

MORITZ, Dianne. 1, 2, 3… By the Sea: A Counting Book. illus. by Hazel Mitchell. 36p. Kane Miller. 2013.pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-1-935279-94-5. LC 2012935080.

MORRIS, Jackie. I Am Cat. illus. by author. 28p. Frances Lincoln. May 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-84780-135-7.

NASTANLIEVA, Vanya. The New Arrival. illus. by author. 36p. Simply Read Books. 2013. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-1-927018-13-2.

OSTROVE, Karen. Rise and Shine: A Challah-Day Tale. illus. by Kimberley Scott. 24p. Kar-Ben. 2013. RTE $17.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-7499-2; pap. $7.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-7500-5; ebook $6.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-0997-2. LC 2012009499.

PARASKEVAS, Michael. Taffy Saltwater’s Yummy Summer Day. illus. by author. 40p. Random. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97892-9; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-97130-3; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98125-8. LC 2012039109.

PAVÓN, Mar. Clucky and the Magic Kettle. tr. from Spanish by Jon Brokenbrow. illus. by Mónica Carretero. 30p. Cuento de Luz. 2013. RTE $15.95. ISBN 978-84-15619-44-4.

PLOURDE, Lynn. You’re Wearing That to School?! illus. by Sue Cornelison. 32p. Hyperion/Disney. June 2013.RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-5510-2. LC 2011031614.

RAY, Mary Lyn. Boom!: Big, Big Thunder & One Small Dog. illus. by Steven Salerno. 40p. Hyperion/Disney.June 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-6238-4.

REX, Michael. Toilet Paper Mummy: A Stepping Stone Book. Bk. 1. illus. by author. 128p. (Icky Ricky Series).Random. May 2013. pap. $4.99. ISBN 978-0-307-93167-2; PLB $15.99. ISBN 978-0-375-97101-3; ebook $4.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97538-6. LC 2012025090.

RUZZIER, Sergio. Bear and Bee. illus. by author. 48p. Hyperion/Disney. 2013. RTE $14.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-5957-5. LC 2011032426.

SAY, Allen. The Favorite Daughter. illus. by author. 32p. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. June 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-17662-0. LC 2012026830.

SCHMID, Paul. Oliver and His Alligator. illus. by author. 40p. Hyperion/Disney. June 2013. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-7437-0. LC 2012020298.

STAMPLER, Ann Redisch. The Cats on Ben Yehuda Street. illus. by Francesca Carabelli. 32p. Kar-Ben. 2013.RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-8123-5; pap. $7.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-8124-2; ebook $6.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-0988-0. LC 2012009503.

STEWIG, John Warren. Nobody Asked the Pea. illus. by Cornelius Van Wright. 32p. Holiday House. 2013. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2224-1. LC 2011024048.

STILEMAN, Kali. Snack Time for Confetti. illus. by author. 32p. Tiger Tales. 2013. PLB $12.95. ISBN 978-1-58925-127-4.

TEAGUE, Mark. The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf. illus. by author. 48p. Orchard/Scholastic.May 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-439-91501-4.

TORREY, Richard. A Baseball Story. illus. by author. 32p. Kane Miller. 2013. PLB $10.99. ISBN 978-1-61067-054-8. LC 2010943438.

TOWNSEND, Michael. Cute & Cuter. illus. by author. 40p. Knopf. June 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-375-85718-8; PLB $18.99. ISBN 978-0-375-95718-5; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97448-8.

VAN HOUT, Mies. Friends. tr. from Dutch. illus. by author. 32p. Lemniscaat. 2013. RTE $17.95. ISBN 978-1-9359-5423-1.

VERNICK, Audrey. Bogart and Vinnie: A Completely Made-Up Story of True Friendship. illus. by Henry Cole. 40p. Walker. June 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8027-2822-7; PLB $17.89. ISBN 978-0-8027-2823-4. LC 2012027335.

WEULERSSE, Odile. Nasreddine. tr. from French by Kathleen Merz. illus. by Rébecca Dautremer. 32p.Eerdmans. 2013. Tr $17. ISBN 978-0-8028-5416-2.

WHELAN, Gloria. In Andal’s House. illus. by Amanda Hall. 40p. (Tales of the World Series). glossary.Sleeping Bear. 2013. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-58536-603-3.

WILBUR, Helen L. Finnegan and Fox: The Ten-Foot Cop. illus. by John Manders. 32p. Sleeping Bear. 2013.Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-58536-784-9. LC 2012033576.

WINTERS, Kari-Lynn. Gift Days. illus. by Stephen Taylor. 32p. glossary. photos. websites. Fitzhenry & Whiteside. 2012. PLB $18.95. ISBN 978-1-55455-192-7.

ZOBOLI, Giovanna. I Wish I Had…. tr. from Italian by Lesie Mathews. illus. by Simona Mulazzani. 28p.Eerdmans. 2013. RTE $16. ISBN 978-0-8028-5415-5. LC 2012025507.

Nonfiction

ADLER, David A. Millions, Billions, & Trillions: Understanding Big Numbers. illus. by Edward Miller. 32p. Holiday House. 2013. RTE $17.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2403-0. LC 2011044752.

ALLEN, Nancy Kelly. Barreling Over Niagara Falls. illus. by Lisa Fields. 40p. Pelican. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4556-1766-1; ebook $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4556-1767-8. LC 2012029021.

ANGUTINNGURNIQ, Jose. The Giant Bear: An Inuit Folktale. illus. by Eva Widermann. 32p. glossary. Inhabit Media. 2013. RTE $13.95. ISBN 978-1-92709-503-4.

BURKE, Johanna. A Kangaroo Mob. ISBN 978-1-4339-8199-9; ISBN 978-1-4339-8202-6. LC 2012018980.

GAMBINO, Karlie. A Float of Crocodiles. ISBN 978-1-4339-8194-4; ISBN 978-1-4339-8197-5. LC 2012018266.

JAMES, Lincoln. A Prickle of Porcupines. ISBN 978-1-4339-8219-4; ISBN 978-14339-8222-4.

LEIGH, Autumn. A Penguin Colony. ISBN 978-1-4339-8209-5; ISBN 978-1-4339-8212-5. LC 2012021891.
ea vol: 24p. (Animal Groups Series). further reading. glossary. index. photos. websites. Gareth Stevens. 2013. PLB $22.60; ebook $22.60.

DE LAS CASAS, Dianne. The Little “Read” Hen. illus. by Holly Stone-Barker. 32p. Pelican. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4556-1702-9. LC 2012004160.

ESZTERHAS, Suzi. Orangutan. ISBN 978-1-84780-316-0.
––––. Sea Otter. ISBN 978-1-84780-300-9.
ea vol: photos by author. 28p. (Eye on the Wild Series). websites. Frances Lincoln. 2013. Tr $15.99.

FLATT, Lizann. Sorting Through Spring. Bk. 2. illus. by Ashley Barron. 32p. (Math in Nature Series). Owlkids.2013. Tr $14.95. ISBN 978-1-926973-59-3. LC 2012945652.

GREGORY, Josh. The Superstorm: Hurricane Sandy. 48p. (A True Book Series). chron. further reading. glossary. illus. index. maps. photos. websites. Children’s Press. 2013. PLB $29. ISBN 978-0-531-23750-2; pap. $6.95. ISBN 978-0-531-23751-9.

HEILIGMAN, Deborah. The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdös. illus. by LeUyen Pham. 48p. notes. Roaring Brook. June 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-307-6.

JORDAN-FENTON, Christy & Margaret Pokiak-Fenton. When I Was Eight. illus. by Gabrielle Grimard. 32p.Annick. 2013. PLB $21.95. ISBN 978-1-55451-491-5; pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-1-55451-490-8.

KRULL, Kathleen & Paul Brewer. The Beatles Were Fab: (And They Were Funny). illus. by Stacy Innerst. 40p. bibliog. chron. Houghton Harcourt. May 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-50991-4.

LAW, Jessica, adapter. A Hole in the Bottom of the Sea. illus. by Jill McDonald. 24p. score. w/cd. Barefoot. June 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-84686861-0; pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-1-84686862-7.

MANZIONE, Lisa. Let’s Visit Istanbul! illus. by Kristine Lucco. 35p. (The Adventures of Bella & Harry Series). maps. Bella & Harry. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-937616-09-0.

MEDDAUGH, Susan. Funny Bone Jokes and Riddles. 24p. (Martha Speaks Series). illus. Houghton Harcourt.2013. pap. $3.99. ISBN 978-0-547-86579-9; Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-547-86577-5.

NOVESKY, Amy. Mister and Lady Day: Billie Holiday and the Dog Who Loved Her. illus. by Vanessa Brantley Newton. 32p. bibliog. Houghton Harcourt. June 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-15-205806-7.

PEEL, Yana, ed. Faces for Baby: Twelve More Works by Famous Artists to Explore with Your Child. 12p. reprods.Candlewick. 2013. RTE $21.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6433-6. LC 2012942621.

QUAN, Elizabeth. Beyond the Moongate: True Stories of 1920s China. illus. by author. 40p. photos. Tundra.2013. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-1-77049-383-4. LC 2012934216.

ROTNER, Shelley & Sheila M. Kelly. Yummy!: Good Food Makes Me Strong! 32p. diags. Holiday House. 2013.RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2426-9. LC 2012016564.

SCHMIDT, Amy. Dog-Gone School. 40p. photos by Ron Schmidt. Random. July 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86974-7; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-96974-4; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98538-6.

SETO, Loretta. Mooncakes. illus. by Renné Benoit. 32p. Orca. 2013. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-1-4598-0107-3. LC 2012952944.

SOUHAMI, Jessica, reteller. Foxy! illus. by reteller. 28p. Frances Lincoln. May 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-84780-218-7.

SPELLMAN, David with Lisa Lutz. How to Negotiate Everything. illus. by Jaime Temairik. 32p. S & S. May 2013.Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5119-3; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5120-9. LC 2011038386.

STEWART, Melissa. A Place for Turtles. illus. by Higgins Bond. 32p. (A Place for… Series). bibliog. maps. websites. Peachtree. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-56145-693-2.

STIEFEL, Chana. Chickens on the Family Farm. ISBN 978-0-7660-4204-9; ISBN 978-1-4644-0351-4. LC 2012028800.
––––. Goats on the Family Farm. ISBN 978-0-7660-4206-3; ISBN 978-1-4644-0355-2. LC 2012028802.
––––. Turkeys on the Family Farm. ISBN 978-0-7660-4207-0; ISBN 978-1-4644-0357-6. LC 2012028806.
ea vol: 24p. (Animals on the Family Farm Series). diags. further reading. glossary. index. photos. websites. Enslow Elementary. 2013. PLB $21.26; pap. $6.95.

VAN LIESHOUT, Maria. Flight 1-2-3. illus. by author. 40p. Chronicle. 2013. RTE $14.99. ISBN 978-1-45211-6624.