Current Issue: Children's Books

Alley, Zoë B. THERE'S A PRINCESS IN THE PALACE August 1, 2010 - The Alley duo spread the joy of There’s a Wolf at the Door (2009) into another oversized and overstuffed (with giggles, that is) volume. Within a graphic-novel format, the tales of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, the Frog Prince and ... Full Review

Asch, Frank THE DAILY COMET August 1, 2010 - “Go to Work with a Parent” Day proves an eye-opening experience for a journalist’s fact-loving son in this distinctively illustrated venture from the creators of Mrs. Marlowe’s Mice (2007). Hayward’s contemptuous conviction that his Dad works for a total rag ... Full Review

Atinuke ANNA HIBISCUS August 1, 2010 - Linked short stories star Anna Hibiscus, who lives in a large house in a compound in “amazing Africa” with baby brothers Double and Trouble, parents and extended family. The first title in this appealing new series introduces Anna’s world. The ... Full Review

Auch, MJ GUITAR BOY August 1, 2010 - After his mother sustains a serious head injury, 14-year-old Travis faces enough challenges to leave a lesser kid in despair. His unsavory father, coping badly after the accident, loses his job, pulls the boy’s older sister out of school to ... Full Review

Baratz-Logsted, Lauren THE TWIN'S DAUGHTER August 1, 2010 - A Victorian-era girl struggles with confusion when her mother’s identical twin suddenly appears and joins her family. She struggles with horror when one of the twins becomes the victim of a grisly murder. But which twin has survived: her wealthy, ... Full Review

Barrett, Tracy KING OF ITHAKA August 1, 2010 - In this hero’s quest drawn from Homer’s Odyssey, Telemachos, only child of Odysseus, King of Ithaka, has waited 16 years for his wandering father to return from the Trojan wars while his dutiful mother, Penelopeia, fends off would-be suitors. When ... Full Review

Berman, Len THE 25 GREATEST BASEBALL PLAYERS OF ALL TIME August 1, 2010 - In no particular order and using no set criteria for his selections, veteran sportscaster Berman pays tribute to an arbitrary gallery of baseball stars—all familiar names and, except for the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, retired from play for decades. Repeatedly taking ... Full Review

Black, Holly ZOMBIES VS. UNICORNS August 1, 2010 - Forget vampires vs. werewolves; the hottest feud is between fans of the fiercely magical horses and the shambling, brain-eating undead. Adopting tones from humorous to haunting, tender to terrifying, and settings ranging from the fairy-tale past to modern suburbia to ... Full Review

Blackwood, Freya IVY LOVES TO GIVE August 1, 2010 - Ivy is a particularly generous toddler who is learning where things belong. Colorful and appealing watercolor-and-pencil illustrations on uncluttered creamy backgrounds show Ivy bestowing gifts on the family pets, with sweetly comical effect. Can a snail wear Daddy’s shoe? Do ... Full Review

Bolden, Tonya FINDING FAMILY August 1, 2010 - Set in 1905 Charleston, W.Va., this richly lyrical and historically persuasive coming-of-age story explores the ties that bind, break and renew an affluent African-American family. Narrator Delana, 12, lives with her aloof grandfather and his overprotective sister Tilley, who has ... Full Review

Buckingham, Royce THE DEAD BOYS August 1, 2010 - This new thriller adds a unique villain--a tree--the roster of deadly supernatural foes. This particular tree has been mutated by nuclear waste from a nearby plant and has learned that sucking the life from 12-year-old boys is an efficient and ... Full Review

Bunting, Eve WILL IT BE A BABY BROTHER? August 1, 2010 - Bunting, who’s known for her ability to artfully explore troubling issues, touches here on a lighter topic. A new baby is imminent, and Edward knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wants and will have a little brother, ... Full Review

Butler, Dori Hillestad THE CASE OF THE FIRE ALARM August 1, 2010 - The friendliest and smartest golden retriever on the planet is ready for his next detective mystery, exuberantly jumping in with all paws to discover who pulled the school fire alarm. Buddy, detective dog extraordinaire, is thrilled to become the "therapy ... Full Review

Carroll, James Christopher THE BOY AND THE MOON August 1, 2010 - Moonlit midnight revels nearly end in disaster until a small boy comes to the rescue. It’s midnight, and a boy with a teddy bear, a dog, a rabbit, an owl, a chicken, a toad and a flower gather in the ... Full Review

Chapman, Linda THE LAST PHOENIX August 1, 2010 - Stepsiblings Michael, Milly, Jason and Jess, from Be a Genie in Six Easy Steps (2009), embark on another magical encounter, this time to help a sassy phoenix named Fenella who is nearing the end of her life cycle. The children ... Full Review

Chatzky, Jean NOT YOUR PARENTS' MONEY BOOK August 1, 2010 - In her first book for young readers, personal-finance expert Chatzky offers straight talk on all things related to money—where it came from, how it’s made, how to earn it and how to save it, everything from gross domestic product to ... Full Review

Chayil, Eishes HUSH August 1, 2010 - Seventeen-year-old Gittel is preparing for marriage, and she hopes the shadchen, the matchmaker, picks a good husband. It's 2009 in this Hasidic Brooklyn neighborhood, where Yiddish is a first language and women work so men can study Torah all day. ... Full Review

Chou, Yih-Fen MIMI SAYS NO August 1, 2010 - In this twinned salute to toddler traditions, one entry swims and the other flounders. Mimi is a young animal drawn with black cartoony outlines, energetic expressions and postures of busy motion. Not surprisingly, her chorus is a favorite of two-year-olds ... Full Review

Colato Laínez, René FROM NORTH TO SOUTH/DEL NORTE AL SUR August 1, 2010 - After his mother is deported by U.S. immigration officials, José and his father go to visit her at Centro Madres Assunta in Tijuana, where she will stay with other women and children until she gets her papers and can return. ... Full Review

Cooper, Mark A. FLEDGLING August 1, 2010 - How does a boy turn into a hero? Growing up in Hong Kong, Jason never thought about it. Having lost his mother at birth, been neglected by his father and raised by a succession of nannies, Jason is drawn to ... Full Review

Culbertson, Kim SONGS FOR A TEENAGE NOMAD August 1, 2010 - Calle is attending her 12th school in eight years due to her mother’s history of picking bad boyfriends. Though she tries to keep herself separated from her peers, she ends up friendly with her new school’s drama kids. She also ... Full Review

Daneshvari, Gitty CLASS IS NOT DISMISSED! August 1, 2010 - The four phobia-afflicted friends who bonded in the Marx Brothers–style School of Fear (2009) face a worse threat than backsliding (though there’s plenty of that too) in this equally manic sequel. With solid mutual bonds generally hidden beneath layers of ... Full Review

Dylan, Bob MAN GAVE NAMES TO ALL THE ANIMALS August 1, 2010 - For this book-and-CD set, prolific artist and naturalist Arnosky has illustrated Dylan's catchy song about man naming animals--bear, cow, bull, pig, sheep and snake--with pencil-and-acrylic paintings of more than 170 animals in a series of peaceable kingdom images. Each double-page ... Full Review

Ellis, Deborah NO SAFE PLACE August 1, 2010 - Fifteen-year-old Abdul, an Iraqi Kurd, has escaped war-torn Baghdad and traveled for four months across six countries only to hit a dead-end in the Jungle in Calais, a community of migrants trying to survive in squalid shanties with winter coming. ... Full Review

Elya, Susan Middleton RUBIA AND THE THREE <i>OSOS</i> August 1, 2010 - The perennially popular "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" assumes a Spanish accent in this contemporary retelling. Framed in clever rhyming text, the familiar classic introduces Spanish words to change the flavor of the tale and humorously teach young readers basic ... Full Review

Emberley, Rebecca IF YOU'RE A MONSTER AND YOU KNOW IT August 1, 2010 - In this rollicking interpretation of “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” brightly colored, digitally created monsters à la Caldecott Medalist Ed Emberley's Big Scary Green one run amok, wriggling and roaring, stomping and twitching! The never-frightening creatures are rendered ... Full Review

Epstein, Adam J. THE FAMILIARS August 1, 2010 - The calculated invocation of too many tropes makes for a joyless fantasy debut. Aldwyn may be an orphaned alley cat with a mysterious past, but he has street smarts in abundance, so when young wizard-in-training Jack adopts him as his ... Full Review

Falkner, Brian BRAIN JACK August 1, 2010 - A cyber-thriller that reads like a video game. Sam Wilson isn't out of high school yet, but he's on his way to becoming the most wanted hacker in the world--first for crashing the international computer grid (well, he didn't mean ... Full Review

Fletcher, Susan ANCIENT, STRANGE, AND LOVELY August 1, 2010 - In a time not so far from now but within the universe of the Dragon Chronicles, 14-year-old Bryn misses her scientist mom, who has disappeared in Alaska. Her dad has gone searching for her, leaving Bryn with her aunt and ... Full Review

Ford, Michael Thomas Z August 1, 2010 - Fifteen years after the zombie plague destroyed families and threatened the world, the ravenous creatures are once again confined to the video-game realm. Recruited by a shadowy live-action gaming group to battle against animatronic zombies, Josh is thrilled to show ... Full Review

Fosberry, Jennifer MY NAME IS NOT ISABELLA August 1, 2010 - The title phrase is what this purple-haired little girl says when her mother awakens her, because Isabella is Sally this morning, “the greatest, toughest astronaut who ever was!” When mother calls her “Sally” at breakfast, though, the girl announces that ... Full Review

Fraser, Mary Ann PET SHOP FOLLIES August 1, 2010 - Though nearly wordless, this cheery story is full of deeds. All the pet-shop animals mix and mingle in the front window anxiously awaiting customers, yet no one comes in. The clever hamster takes matters in hand and devises a brilliant ... Full Review

Freedman, Russell LAFAYETTE AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION August 1, 2010 - Against the wishes of father, family and nation, 19-year-old Gilbert de Lafayette bought a ship, escaped France and became the youngest general in the Continental Army, a teenager leaving a young wife and a huge personal fortune to pursue military ... Full Review

Funke, Cornelia RECKLESS August 1, 2010 - Funke deftly escorts readers on another fantasy adventure, this time to dark, enchanting Mirrorworld, a fairy-tale land inhabited by humans, faerie creatures and the Goyls, a warring stone race. Discovering a magical mirror with the evocative message, “The mirror will ... Full Review

Giles, Gail DARK SONG August 1, 2010 - The queen of YA thrillers does it again with another gripping page-turner in which love and danger meet. Always the good girl to her rebellious best friend, Ames leads a privileged life in Boulder, Colo., with private school, designer clothes ... Full Review

Graff, Lisa SOPHIE SIMON SOLVES THEM ALL August 1, 2010 - Wishes come true when third-grade genius Sophie Simon applies her intellectual skills to her classmates' problems with their parents' expectations and solves a problem of her own. Sophie wants a graphing calculator, Owen Luu wants a rabbit, Julia McGreevy wants ... Full Review

Grigsby, Susan IN THE GARDEN WITH DR. CARVER August 1, 2010 - Tadgell’s watercolors add both playful side business and accurate botanical illustration to this admiring child’s account of the famous scientist’s stopover in a rural community. George Washington Carver often spent weekends visiting settlements around Tuskegee with his "movable school" to ... Full Review

Guy, Ginger Foglesong ¡BRAVO! August 1, 2010 - Guy and Moreno (Siesta, 2005, etc.) continue this family’s familiar adventures with an imaginative outdoor romp. As the siblings investigate the world outside their doorstep, they gather various materials from their backyard. Sticks found by the tree, an umbrella propped ... Full Review

Hacohen, Dean TUCK ME IN! August 1, 2010 - “ 'It’s time for bed. Who needs to be tucked in?' / 'I do!' " says Baby Pig. Six more baby animals respond to the same question with the same answer: Zebra, Elephant, Alligator, Mouse, Hedgehog and Peacock. The story ... Full Review

Heide, Florence Parry DILLWEED'S REVENGE August 1, 2010 - Well-deserved woe unto adults who do Dillweed wrong! His parents are off voyaging, and he’s poetically jealous: “Dillweed liked to go places. He liked to have adventures. He liked to have a good time. His parents went places. His parents ... Full Review

Henry, April GIRL, STOLEN August 1, 2010 - This can't-put-it-down crime thriller unfolds through the viewpoints of both victim and criminal. Sixteen-year-old Cheyenne, blinded in an accident that killed her mother three years earlier, has pneumonia. As she sleeps in the back of her stepmother's car, Griffin steals ... Full Review

Holder, Nancy CRUSADE August 1, 2010 - This hefty series opener and literary bottom feeder offers a dizzying blend of dystopian teen romance, fangs and fur, the craft, voodoo and assorted religions and political philosophies. After centuries in hiding, vampires have declared themselves and are wrapping up ... Full Review

Hopkins, Ellen FALLOUT August 1, 2010 - Crank (2004) and Glass (2007) readers will relish this look at Kristina’s three oldest children, now teenagers, all conceived in the chaos of crystal-meth addiction. Hunter, 19, lives with Kristina’s parents, who adopted him years ago; Autumn, 17, lives with ... Full Review

Horowitz, Anthony BLOODY HOROWITZ August 1, 2010 - The creator of Alex Rider follows his two Horowitz Horror anthologies with a new collection of 14 bloody stories. A would-be writer seeking revenge for stolen ideas stalks and apparently kills author Darren Shan (is this wish fulfillment?). In the ... Full Review

Jinks, Catherine THE GENIUS WARS August 1, 2010 - Cyber-espionage takes both front seats in this conclusion to the outstanding Genius series. Though raised to be a criminal mastermind, 15-year-old Cadel rejects the role, desiring only a normal life with his new adoptive parents. No chance: Suddenly his fugitive ... Full Review

Jordan, Sophie FIRELIGHT August 1, 2010 - Dragon shapeshifters steam more than sparkle in this romantic fantasy. High schooler Jacinda is the treasure of her "draki" pride, the first firebreather in centuries. But after flouting the rules once too often, she is forced to flee to a ... Full Review

Jules, Jacqueline MIRIAM IN THE DESERT August 1, 2010 - Miriam, Moses’s sister, is featured in the fourth in Jules’s Bible series, offering encouragement and guidance to the Israelites as they continue their seemingly endless thirst- and hunger-filled journey through the desert following their escape from Egypt. Miriam’s belief in ... Full Review

Keller, Laurie BIRDY'S SMILE BOOK August 1, 2010 - To Birdy and her dog French Fry, smiles are a necessity and come in many forms. Birdy's monologue celebrating smiles is ingenuously childlike in its tendency to jump from thought to thought—"I can't see my grandpa's smile because his mustache ... Full Review

Klise, James LOVE DRUGGED August 1, 2010 - Only slowly accepting his homosexuality, 15-year-old Jamie Bates recoils when he encounters an odd gay student. Once Jamie learns of an untested drug, Rehomoline, that may control same-sex attraction, he begins taking doses, even though the side effects build. This ... Full Review

Komiya, Teruyuki LIFE-SIZE AQUARIUM August 1, 2010 - In this outsized companion to the equally imposing Life-Size Zoo (2009) and More Life-Size Zoo (2010), 35 marine creatures from a killer whale to a handful of three-quarter–inch cliones (a type of conch) pose against white backgrounds for sharp full- ... Full Review

Koontz, Dean TRIXIE & JINX August 1, 2010 - Trixie returns in a second picture-book outing (I, Trixie, Who Is Dog, 2009) that proves to be only slightly less problematic than its predecessor. Jinx the wiener dog is Trixie’s best friend. They do everything together, from playing video games ... Full Review

Korman, Gordon FRAMED August 1, 2010 - “The Man With The Plan,” Griffin Bing, and his 12-year-old fix-it clique have graduated to Cedarville Middle School, and the new principal is a total nightmare. A former high-school football coach, Dr. Egan (aka Dr. Evil) makes the whole school ... Full Review

Krause, Ute OSCAR AND THE VERY HUNGRY DRAGON August 1, 2010 - A terrifying beast meets its match in a resourceful boy. When the earth trembles, the villagers at the bottom of the hill know it's time to send the dragon a princess to eat. One day, unfortunately, no princess is available; ... Full Review

Krull, Kathleen KUBLA KHAN August 1, 2010 - The Emperor of Everything, indeed! Droll writing and detailed, almost encyclopedic, pen-and-watercolor illustrations make a perfect marriage for young readers trying to apprehend the totality of Kubla Khan’s personality, history and accomplishments. The vivid description of Kubla’s life as the ... Full Review

Kulka, Joe VACATION'S OVER! August 1, 2010 - They’re not extinct, after all—they’ve just been on an interstellar cruise for a few million years. And now they’re back, loaded down with tourist snapshots and dirty laundry, eager to slip back into their suburban routines. A purple brachiosaurus finds ... Full Review

Kunze, Lauren THE IVY August 1, 2010 - For Callie, getting into Harvard was easy, but fitting in is hard. The jeans-and-sweatshirts California girl finds herself thrust into a world of designer shoes and highly competitive extracurriculars. Guided by her chic roommates and new friends, Callie undergoes the ... Full Review

Lakritz, Deborah SAY HELLO, LILY August 1, 2010 - Shy Lily needs time to get used to all the new faces and people she is meeting at Shalom House, an assisted-living facility where her mother does volunteer work. Although Mrs. Seidel compliments Lily on her new shoes and Dr. ... Full Review

Landon, Kristen THE LIMIT August 1, 2010 - Fast paced and inventive, this dystopian thriller follows a math whiz who runs afoul of an intrusive government. In 13-year-old Matt's world, the government can place children in workhouses if a family spends over their debt limit. Matt's family scoffs ... Full Review

Lecesne, James VIRGIN TERRITORY August 1, 2010 - Since losing his mother at age six and moving with his distant father to Jupiter, Fla., to care for his Alzheimer's-afflicted grandmother, 15-year-old Dylan constantly feels the past weighing on him and a directionless future looming ahead. Everything changes when ... Full Review

Lipchenko, Oleg HUMPTY DUMPTY AND FRIENDS August 1, 2010 - The subtlety of the subtitle suggests an intended audience more of adults than children, which is entirely appropriate, due to the inventive, sophisticated artwork. Each verso has two rhymes interpreted in black-and-white spot art juxtaposed to a full-color recto that ... Full Review

London, Jonathan A PLANE GOES KA-ZOOM! August 1, 2010 - London’s rhymed text is easy to follow, easy to read and, importantly, easy to engage; like the subject, it lifts young readers and carries them off. “A plane could fly fast. / A plane could fly slow. / A plane ... Full Review

Lore, Pittacus I AM NUMBER FOUR August 1, 2010 - If it were a Golden Age comic, this tale of ridiculous science, space dogs and humanoid aliens with flashlights in their hands might not be bad. Alas... Number Four is a fugitive from the planet Lorien, which is sloppily described ... Full Review

Lupton, Hugh TALES OF MYSTERY AND MAGIC August 1, 2010 - A professional storyteller, Lupton retells seven stories in his repertoire from Chile, Greenland, India, Nigeria, North America, Russia and Scotland. The attractive page composition has spaciously placed text that rings with a storyteller's voice, while the digital collages use decorative ... Full Review

Maclear, Kyo SPORK August 1, 2010 - Children of mixed marriages are about to find an unlikely ally in their cutlery drawers. Spork stands out. With a spoon for a mum and a fork for a dad, Spork is simultaneously too round and too pointy to fit ... Full Review

Martin, Steve LATE FOR SCHOOL August 1, 2010 - “Woke up this morning / Clock said I was late for school / Teacher told me that’s not cool / Gotta put my shirt and pants on / Flew down the front stair / Wet my fingers and slicked my ... Full Review

McMullan, Kate FOUR EYES August 1, 2010 - Hooray! Bunny Pearl and mouse Wagner are back with a new installment of stories, jokes, friendship and eye tests. Yes, eye tests. Eagle-eyed new readers who spot a scientific diagram of the eye in the background while Wagner squints ferociously ... Full Review

McNeal, Laura DARK WATER August 1, 2010 - This debut solo effort after several collaborations with husband Tom McNeal (The Decoding of Lana Morris, 2007, etc.) stands out in the crowded coming-of-age field. The affecting narrative springs believably from the first-person thoughts of Pearl DeWitt as she recalls ... Full Review

Miller, Pat SQUIRREL'S NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION August 1, 2010 - Squirrel hopes to ring in the New Year with style. As librarian Bear explains, “When we begin a new year, we make a fresh start.” From soothing sick Skunk to teaching Porcupine comedy, Squirrel helps her fellow woodland animals master ... Full Review

Mills, Claudia ONE SQUARE INCH August 1, 2010 - In this poignant tale, two children try to cope with their mother’s bewildering descent into bipolar disorder by retreating into their own imagined world of a miniature kingdom, Inchland. Sixth grader Cooper relates his account of his mother’s disabling depression ... Full Review

Mortensen, Lori COME SEE THE EARTH TURN August 1, 2010 - Slow in school but gifted as a craftsman, in 1851 Foucault was the first to find a way to demonstrate the earth’s spin on its axis, using a pendulum. Mortensen invites young readers into this French scientist’s life with a ... Full Review

Murphy, Jill DEAR HOUND August 1, 2010 - Alfie, an adolescent deerhound who's been left with a dog-sitter, is spooked by an encounter with an electric fence. He runs off into heavily forested Hawkland Heath, where the distraught animal is befriended by a pair of kindly foxes. Although ... Full Review

Musgrove, Marianne LUCY THE GOOD August 1, 2010 - Lucy is her own worst enemy. When she’s frustrated, her anger erupts in gigantic shrieks. She wakes up every day fully intending to be good, only to find herself in trouble again. Some of Lucy’s problems arise from misunderstandings, but ... Full Review

Ness, Patrick MONSTERS OF MEN August 1, 2010 - The momentum of Ness’s breakneck science-fiction trilogy slows noticeably in this voluminous conclusion that is told in three voices: Todd’s, Viola’s and native Spackle 1017’s. At the end of Book Two, the two opposing human factions led by the Mayor ... Full Review

Newton, Teddy DAY & NIGHT August 1, 2010 - The writer and director of the wonderful Pixar animated short attached to Toy Story 3 shows here why he should stick to films. For this print version he uses stills for illustrations and has kept the general plot—Night and Day ... Full Review

Numeroff, Laura OTIS & SYDNEY AND THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER August 1, 2010 - When party planning goes awry, will it come between best friends? Cuddly bear-cub pals Otis and Sydney love dressing in silly clothes, jumping on a trampoline and playing music together. Every year, each throws a birthday party for the other. ... Full Review

O’Brien, Johnny DAY OF DELIVERANCE August 1, 2010 - Jack Christie and his hulking sidekick, Angus (introduced in Day of the Assassins, 2009), take another trip into the past as agents of VIGIL, this time to scotch a scheme by the megalomaniac Pendleshape and his Revisionists to support the ... Full Review

Pal, Erika AZAD'S CAMEL August 1, 2010 - A kidnapped orphan races away to freedom. In an Arabian village, a little boy named Azad, who lives with his poor elderly uncle, fetches water for tea and tends to the goat before running off to play with his friends. ... Full Review

Pancheri, Jan BROTHER WILLIAM'S YEAR August 1, 2010 - Pancheri has been the gardener at Westminster Abbey in London for five years, and she draws on her experience to create a visual and verbal treat. The endpapers lay out the monastery's buildings, cloisters, grounds and gardens. Brother William takes ... Full Review

Pien, Lark MR. ELEPHANTER August 1, 2010 - A day in the life of Mr. Elephanter is a slice from the bygone, when the scale and pace of life didn’t require medication. Mr. Elephanter, clearly a mild and loving soul, works at the elephantery, tending a small tribe ... Full Review

Pike, Christopher THE SECRET OF KA August 1, 2010 - Fifteen-year-old Sara Sashee Wilcox developed a major crush on Amesh Demir moments before she tried to take a package from him in the lobby of a Turkish hotel. He later agrees to escort her to her father’s construction site, where ... Full Review

Postgate, Daniel LOVE STINKS August 1, 2010 - Love stinks when you’re the smelliest mutt in town and you’ve fallen for pristine, purebred poodle Peachy Snugglekins, who happens to be owned by your nemesis, Great Aunt Bleach! That’s exactly what happens to our hero in this companion to ... Full Review

Resau, Laura THE RUBY NOTEBOOK August 1, 2010 - Thoughtful, intense Zeeta and her free-spirited mother return in this follow-up to The Indigo Notebook (2009). Perennial travelers, the two have now settled in the atmospheric city of Aix-en-Provence. Zeeta eagerly anticipates the arrival of her boyfriend Wendell from Colorado, ... Full Review

Riley, James HALF UPON A TIME August 1, 2010 - This fractured fairy tale features a hip contemporary voice but relies too heavily on relayed history. Opening with a line that captures both context and fabulously sardonic attitude--“Once upon a time, Jack wouldn’t have been caught dead in a princess ... Full Review

Robbins, Trina THE DRAINED BRAINS CAPER August 1, 2010 - Thirteen-year-old Megan Yamamura is new in Chicagoland. She had a bit of trouble in her last school when she accidentally set off the sprinkler system (burning a haiku written to a boy who wasn't worth it). Now she attends the ... Full Review

Robertson, M.P. FOOD CHAIN August 1, 2010 - A hapless goldfish becomes an undersea victim. Staring in fascination at his goldfish in its bowl, a "naughty little boy" hatches an "evil plan." He dumps the fish into the toilet bowl, and, lickety-split, the little fish lands in the ... Full Review

Ross, Tony I WANT MY LIGHT ON! August 1, 2010 - This long-running British series (the first Little Princess book was published in 1986) has been adapted for television there. In this installment, her dad (in a jacket and tie, wearing his crown) has read her a story and is about ... Full Review

Sherry, Maureen WALLS WITHIN WALLS August 1, 2010 - Myriad mysteries and long-lost treasure await the Smithfork children when they move from Brooklyn into an eccentric, historic apartment on the Upper East Side of New York City. Lonely and uncomfortable at first in this new environment, they find adventure ... Full Review

Silberberg, Alan MILO August 1, 2010 - Seventh grader Milo Cruikshank narrates and illustrates an up-and-down year in yet another new school. He works his way through a crush and finds both friends who share his interests and an adult he can talk to about the ways ... Full Review

Skofield, James DETECTIVE DINOSAUR UNDERCOVER August 1, 2010 - Detective Dinosaur, showcased in his third entry in the I Can Read! series, is the same charming numbskull readers have come to love. This book is broken up into three chapters, each of which is a “case” for the detective ... Full Review

Sobol, Richard THE LIFE OF RICE August 1, 2010 - Many rice farmers all over Thailand still plant and harvest by hand, with the help of family members and such animals as water buffalo and elephants. For this second in the Traveling Photographer series, Sobol goes from Uganda (Breakfast in ... Full Review

Solomon, Sharon CATHY WILLIAMS, BUFFALO SOLDIER August 1, 2010 - Not discovered and discharged until two years into her enlistment and later denied a pension despite obvious disabilities, Cathy—or “Cathay,” as most surviving records have it—Williams was the first documented African-American woman to serve as a Buffalo Soldier, as soldiers ... Full Review

Solow, Jennifer THE ARISTOBRATS August 1, 2010 - Parker and her best friends Kiki, Ikea and Plum are looking forward to starting eighth grade at the top of the populadder at their exclusive prep school. Then they’re saddled with the task of producing the school webcast, a job ... Full Review

Spires, Ashley BINKY TO THE RESCUE August 1, 2010 - Intrepid Space Cat Binky returns with another thrilling and dangerous adventure! While keeping his humans safe from invading aliens (i.e., insects), Binky falls from a window into OUTER SPACE! (aka the backyard). Thank goodness he has his Space Cat Exploration ... Full Review

Stanley, Diane SAVING SKY August 1, 2010 - In Stanley’s latest, the post-9/11 future has taken a dark turn. The war on terror has gone on for years, causing food rationing and an oil shortage. Terrorists have ramped up attacks on U.S. soil, and the constant red-alert days ... Full Review

Stewart, Paul THE IMMORTALS August 1, 2010 - Stewart and Riddell cap their Edge Chronicles with a large-scale grand tour and cast reunion. Several generations after the events in Freeglader (2004), young orphan Nate Quarter is forced to flee for his life from a murderous mine supervisor—which becomes ... Full Review

Stine, R.L. FEAR August 1, 2010 - Thirteen highly suspenseful short stories, well selected by none other than R. L. Stine, who contributes the first tale, have the power to attract and delight many stouthearted young readers. The man behind the Goosebumps and Fear Street megaseries enlists ... Full Review

Sylvester, Kevin SPLINTERS August 1, 2010 - Hockey is Cindy Winters's love, and she's very good at it. Her parents are too poor to pay league fees, but Cindy does odd jobs to earn the money. Her mother's old equipment, though, makes her a laughingstock to the ... Full Review

Teckentrup, Britta LITTLE WOLF'S SONG August 1, 2010 - It distresses Little Wolf that he can't howl. Mommy and Daddy and all his brothers and sisters have distinctive howls; it's a beautiful song when they all howl together. But all he can manage is a small squeak, earning him ... Full Review

Tellegen, Toon FAR AWAY ACROSS THE SEA August 1, 2010 - In 19 more ineffable vignettes, Tellegen’s cast of woodland creatures write letters to themselves (“Dear Squirrel, I don’t know how I’m doing. Do you?”); touch on various metaphysical topics from whether a forgotten secret is still a secret to the ... Full Review

Thompson, Kate THE WHITE HORSE TRICK August 1, 2010 - Starting at the ending and ending at the beginning, Thompson's latest Liddy-family romp in Tír na n’Óg (The Last of the High Kings, 2008, etc.) lives up to the highest expectations and brings back familiar friends from both worlds, from ... Full Review

Toscano, Charles PAPA’S PASTRIES August 1, 2010 - The golden rule gets the spotlight in this tale of selflessness. To provide for their large family, Miguel and his father travel from town to town to sell delicious pastries. Each town welcomes the duo’s arrival through song and dance, ... Full Review

Viorst, Judith LULU AND THE BRONTOSAURUS August 1, 2010 - Viorst, better known within the children's-book world for picture books than novels, flexes her muscles and introduces readers to delightfully obnoxious, fit-throwing Lulu, a spoiled only child prone to indulging in over-the-top temper tantrums to get what she wants. And ... Full Review

Walliams, David MR. STINK August 1, 2010 - A reeking vagrant instills homey togetherness in a family ruled by a domineering mother in this uneven production from the team behind The Boy in the Dress (2009). Sure that Mr. Stink’s intriguing combination of gentle, refined speech and eye-watering ... Full Review

Watkins, Angela Farris MY UNCLE MARTIN'S BIG HEART August 1, 2010 - Martin Luther King's niece offers a child's-eye tribute to her famous uncle, whom she remembers as warm and loving, a man with a loud voice who enjoyed a good laugh. The author was not yet four when King was assassinated ... Full Review

Weatherford, Carole Boston MICHELLE OBAMA August 1, 2010 - The author and illustrator of Obama: Only in America (2010) offer a companion life of the First Lady, showing the values of her childhood family and summarizing her schooling and her current role. Barrett’s realistic oil paintings, done on canvas ... Full Review

Wells, Robert E. WHY DO ELEPHANTS NEED THE SUN? August 1, 2010 - Simple explanations of photosynthesis, the water cycle, gravity, nuclear fusion and sun energy are linked together by the answer to the title question: Elephants need the sun for food, water, oxygen and their earth-bound place in space. In Wells’s latest ... Full Review

Wells, Rosemary ON THE BLUE COMET August 1, 2010 - Time travel hurts. Eleven-year-old Oscar Ogilvie, Jr., first discovers this when he--dodging bullets in an armed robbery--belly-dives into a model train layout at the First National Bank of Cairo, Ill., on Christmas Eve 1931 and, miraculously, finds himself aboard a ... Full Review

Wells, Rosemary MAX & RUBY'S BEDTIME BOOK August 1, 2010 - This short-story collection from the steady hand of Wells displays the mischievous sweetness of the Max and Ruby stories with their candy-heart coloring, but each could have used a few more pages to bring the stories fully around. The first ... Full Review

Willis, Jeanne THAT'S NOT FUNNY! August 1, 2010 - Hyena gets a taste of his own mischievous medicine. Just for fun, he places a banana peel in Giraffe's path and, sure enough, Giraffe slips and skids into a tree. This knocks loose a coconut that falls right on Hippo's ... Full Review

Woon, Yvonne DEAD BEAUTIFUL August 1, 2010 - Anyone who reads knows that vampires are in. But this hefty novel takes a new and unconventional look at the undead, focusing on story and interesting characters and leaving gore and mayhem hidden in the background. Renée Winters is a ... Full Review

Yovanoff, Brenna THE REPLACEMENT August 1, 2010 - Mackie's nauseated by the scent of blood, is burned by cold iron and would die if he entered a church. None of this helps him avoid notice in his hometown, where close-mouthed neighbors hang horseshoes and leave milk in the ... Full Review