CHILDREN'S
Released: June 1, 2010
"Never telling and always showing, this spooky yet utterly grounded story features pitch-perfect prose, suspense and redemption. (Historical fantasy. 10-14)"
Langrish blends medieval Catholicism and old folk beliefs seamlessly with the supernatural.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 25, 2010
"Sweet, funny and superb. (Historical fiction. 9-13)"
Eleven-year-old Turtle falls in with the Diaper Gang—her boy cousins Beans, Kermit and Buddy and their friends Ira and Pork Chop—when she is packed off to stay in her mother's hometown of Key West because her housekeeper mother has a new job with a woman who doesn't like kids.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 25, 2010
"This gentle, ultimately warm story acknowledges the care and reciprocity behind all good friendships: Much like Amos's watch, they must be wound regularly to remain true. (Picture book. 2-6)"
Amos McGee, an elderly zookeeper, enjoys a clockwork life (one teaspoonful of sugar for oatmeal, two for tea and the number five bus to work) until the sniffles force him to stay in bed and miss his daily visits with animal friends.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 18, 2010
"Beautiful and evocative—an absolute "keeper." (author's note) (Fiction. 8-10)"
On a day when everything goes wrong, a little girl relies on the magic of the blue moon to turn things around.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 11, 2010
Holt infuses the American pioneer landscape with a hint of magical realism in this intimate and epic coming-of-age tale.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 1, 2010
"A truly extraordinary page-turner that embraces life's big and small aspects with humor and a healthy respect for its profound contradictions. (Historical fiction. 11 & up)"
It seems unfair to 11-year-old Georgie Mason that in Indiana's summer heat she can't go swimming or even to the movies for fear of catching polio.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 1, 2010
"Absolutely marvelous. (Fiction. 7-10)"
Third grader Justin Case gets this nickname thanks to his amazing ability to worry about everything.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 1, 2010
"Charming and original. (Fiction. 10-14)"
Readers are thrust immediately into the trials and tribulations of 14-year-old Dewey Mariss and his family.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 1, 2010
"A simply glorious barn and farm opus. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-9)"
Only someone who's walked the walk and driven the tractor—and is immensely creative besides—could take readers on such an accurate, realistic and fascinating alphabetic farmland journey.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 1, 2010
"This simple, honest presentation deserves room on the shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)"
CHILDREN'S
Released: May 1, 2010
"Wonderful. (Scientists in the Field Series) (map, fundraising plug, acknowledgments, index) (Nonfiction. 9-13)"
Under the careful supervision of forest rangers and volunteers on an island off the New Zealand coast, the nearly extinct, flightless Kakapo parrot is the object of an intensive rescue effort described by this experienced writer-photographer team.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: April 27, 2010
"They, too, will imagine themselves growing up to follow their dreams. (historical note) (Picture book/biography. 4-9)"
It's not often that someone is born both a great scientist and a great artist, especially if that someone is a girl in the middle of the 17th century.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: April 27, 2010
"Simply gorgeous. (Picture book. 3-6)"
CHILDREN'S
Released: April 5, 2010
"Peas out. (Picture book. 3-7)"
A passel of industrious peas narrates inventive, alphabetically arranged avocations: "We are peas—alphabet peas! / We work and play in the ABCs."
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CHILDREN'S
Released: April 1, 2010
"Lovely. (glossary) (Picture book/poetry. 8 & up)"
Sidman delights with another gorgeous collection of poems celebrating the natural world, this time focusing on species remarkable for their ability to adapt and thrive in an often-harsh world.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: April 1, 2010
"A skewed amalgam of Wayside Stories and Wimpy Kid that is sure to please fans of both. (Origami Yoda instructions) (Fiction. 8-12)"
Sixth grader Tommy has a dilemma: He doesn't know whether to trust the advice of Origami Yoda, who dispenses wisdom from his perch on the finger of mega-nerd Dwight.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: April 1, 2010
"Simply enchanting. (Picture book. 3-5)"
CHILDREN'S
Released: April 1, 2010
"Middle graders will close this and ask right away for Detective Pants's next caper. (animal facts) (Graphic mystery. 8-12)"
There is skullduggery afoot at Mr. Venezi's Pets & Stuff: Someone keeps stealing his sandwich, which he puts outside the koala cage every day.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: April 1, 2010
"A brief selection of Neruda's poems (in translation), a bibliography and an author's note enrich an inviting and already splendid, beautifully presented work. (Historical fiction. 9-13)"
Ryan's fictional evocation of the boy who would become Pablo Neruda is rich, resonant and enchanting.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: April 1, 2010
"Completely spectacular. (Picture book. 7 & up)"
This engaging picture book delivers a pleasurable story, dazzling artwork and a fascinating introduction to Dadaism.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: April 1, 2010
"A gem. (author's note, bibliography) (Historical fiction. 10-14)"
CHILDREN'S
Released: April 1, 2010
"A resonant shot to the heart—Gleitzman delivers a sharp sense of what it must have been like to be a child during the Holocaust, forced to grow up far too quickly. (Historical fiction. 12 & up)"
When his Jewish parents place young Felix in an orphanage in war-torn Poland, they tell him that they must leave to fix their book business.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: April 1, 2010
"It's hard to choose; both are winners. (Picture book. 3-6)"
With two boys at a toy chest, one clutching a shark and the other a train, thus begins the most unlikeliest of competitions.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 16, 2010
"An immensely powerful experience that needs to be read with an adult. (Poetry/nonfiction. 10 & up)"
Writing for modern readers about the Holocaust is fraught, and when children are the intended audience, the difficulties can be insurmountable.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 9, 2010
"The author has turned an ordinary (and overdone) topic into something extraordinary. (Picture book. 2-6)"
Like many young boys, this book's protagonist marries an active imagination to a love of trucks.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 9, 2010
"This book is rich in detail of both the essential normalcy and the difficulties of a young person with cerebral palsy. (Fiction. 10 & up)"
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2010
"Just plain perfect. (Picture book. 3-7)"
A little girl enjoys helping her mother in her garden, but she knows if she had a garden, it would be something else entirely: no weeds, ever-blooming multicolored flowers with hues she can change with just a thought, chocolate rabbits instead of pests and so on.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2010
In a story based on the author's childhood experiences, two cousins, Charlie and Carlitos, exchange letters.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2010
"A mesmerizing and seamless celebration of language, imagery and perspective. (note on the form) (Poetry. 8-12)"
A collection of masterful fairy-tale–inspired reversos—a poetic form invented by the author, in which each poem is presented forward and backward.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2010
"Charming and spirited. (Picture book. 3-5)"
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2010
A neglected pup raps a bravado-laced memoir that chronicles his life on the street and gradual embrace of hip-hop culture.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Feb. 23, 2010
"Through confident brushwork, done in a stylized '50s modern aesthetic, the artist's images reveal sports' deep truths about acceptance, a willingness to try and the intergenerational connections they bring. (Picture book. 4-8)"
CHILDREN'S
Released: Feb. 23, 2010
"It's the best beginning since The Bad Beginning (1999) and will leave readers howling for the next episode. (High melodrama. 10-12)"
Fresh from the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, 15-year-old Penelope Lumley reports to remote but palatial Ashton Place and discovers just why the advertisement for a governess indicated a strong preference for "Experience with Animals."
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Feb. 20, 2010
"A standout book for its thorough research and comprehensive look at the incident that led to the 1964 passage of civil-rights legislation. (further reading, author's note, source notes, picture credits) (Nonfiction. 10 & up)"
Brimner focuses on the 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and successfully illuminates in chronological order the events, social tensions and political reverberations of that terror-filled time.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Feb. 1, 2010
"The depiction of the time is well done, and while the girls are caught up in the difficulties of adults, their resilience is celebrated and energetically told with writing that snaps off the page. (Historical fiction. 9-12)"
A flight from New York to Oakland, Calif., to spend the summer of 1968 with the mother who abandoned Delphine and her two sisters was the easy part.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Feb. 1, 2010
"Stay tuned. (Fantasy. 8-11)"
"Vague notions of heroism entered his mind, and then paused, confused by their surroundings."
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 1, 2010
"Scenes of baffled wee white bunnies spinning on delicate cycle, popping out of vacuum bags and holding their powder-puff tails add to the overall whimsy, hapless humor and total charm. (dust jacket opens into poster) (Picture book. 3-5)"
Three tiny tales feature two goats whose domestic activities wreak havoc on six bunnies until a resourceful bear saves the day.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 1, 2010
"Great fun. (Fiction. 11-13)"
Three children and their inventor dad on the run from government agents, international superspies AND corporate baddies are finally forced to take a stand in this picaresque debut.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 1, 2010
"A heartwarming tribute to both the writing life in general and the well-loved humorist—oops, sorry Susy… "Pholosopher!" (author's note, how to write a biography, time line, sources) (Picture book/biography. 8-11)"
From 1885 to '86, Mark Twain's 13-year-old daughter Susy Clemens wrote a 130-page biography of her father out of indignation: Her dear Papa was no mere humorist!
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