For those of you too young to remember “spin-offs,” there was a time when television channels were filled with programs whose main character was “spun off” from another show. Happy Days begot Laverne and Shirley; All in the Family spawned Maude. The Disney-Hyperion Spring 2016 Preview had me remembering spin-offs.
Now we have Waylon of Sara Pennypacker and Marla Frazee’s “Clementine” series fame debuting in a book of his own entitled Waylon! One Awesome Thing (April). Waylon, a science nerd, is experiencing his own big bang of sorts at school.
Waylon is not the only preteen boy to show up on the Disney-Hyperion spring list. Eric Dinerstein’s What Elephants Know (May) has 12-year-old Nandu living in a Nepalese king’s hunting stable. He has a plan that involves a bull elephant, the king, and a tigress.
There’s also Xander, another middle school hero, who lives in southern California. In Momotaro: Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters (April) by Margaret Dilloway, he is thrust via a comic book into a world of weird monsters and disastrous storms. Finally, Shadow Magic (April) by Joshua Khan has young Thorn in a true fantasy realm, complete with giant bats, sorcery, and, of course, a damsel in distress.
Meanwhile, don’t judge Eliza Wass’s The Cresswell Plot (June) by its cover. This isn’t a teen mystery, but instead a story of six siblings who are under the control of a father who’s a religious fanatic. It approaches weighty issues, such as abuse and incest.
Another compelling YA book on the spring list is Holding Smoke (May) by Elle Cosimano. Smoke is in a youth detention center for the murder of his English teacher. The twist: the blue-eyed, ruddy teen has the ability to leave his body at night to gather information about the real killer.
Young readers will have a tough time choosing between Pigs and a Blanket (April) by James Burks—Henry and Henrietta pig have a Solomonic decision to make about sharing their green blanket—and Good Night Owl (April) by Greg Pizzoli, which finds the starring bird battling insomnia thanks to mysterious noises.
About Rocco Staino
