CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 22, 2011
"Riveting. (Nonfiction. 10-14)"
A terrible explosion devastated Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a neighboring town in 1917, causing local residents and others miles away to act heroically in response to an unprecedented catastrophe.
Read full book review >
CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 15, 2011
"Multilayered, compassionate and thought-provoking, a timely read on the sesquicentennial of America's Civil War. (Historical fantasy. 12 & up)"
It's 1960, but on the decayed Fairchild sugar plantation in rural Louisiana, vestiges of a grimmer past remain--the old cottage, overgrown garden maze, relations between white and black races.
Read full book review >
CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 10, 2011
"This is history at its best, an original and appealing way to mark the centennial of this familiar disaster. (author's note, source notes, bibliography) (Nonfiction.10-14)"
A memorial edition of an imagined magazine covers the construction and fateful voyage of the R.M.S.
Titanic, Queen of the Ocean, which sank in April 1912.
Read full book review >
CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 8, 2011
"Love conquers all in this big-hearted and heartbreaking story of Martha, Tug and their errant father who, in time, stops acting like a wild gibbon and finds his way home. (Fiction. 9-12)"
British author Mason has conjured a rarity indeed--a tremendously charming, unflinching account of a parent's downward spiral.
Read full book review >
CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 1, 2011
"Pure genius. (Picture book. 2-7)"
Judge's latest may be virtually wordless, but it packs a powerful visual punch that will stick with readers long after the final page is turned.
Read full book review >
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 13, 2011
"Sheer delight. (final art not seen) (Animal fantasy. 8-12)"
Problem novels, ghost stories, historical fiction--is there anything Newbery Medalist Peck cannot do? Apparently not.
Read full book review >
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 11, 2011
"Three true tales of adventure as grand and admirable in the telling as they were in the doing. (Graphic nonfiction. 10-13)"
With uncommon perception and a flair for visual drama, Phelan tracks three intrepid souls' solo journeys around the world.
Read full book review >
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 4, 2011
"An irresistible read: This book sings. (Fantasy. 8-12)"
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 3, 2011
"A marvelous, mystical romp that doesn't ignore reality. A hint of a possible sequel whets readers' appetite for more: Yes, please! (author's note) (Fantasy. 12 & up)"
Thirteen-year-old Sacha lives in New York City's Lower East Side at the turn of the 20th century. Or does he?
Read full book review >
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 3, 2011
"Just another superb outing from a fixed star twinkling in the children's-literature firmament. (Picture book. 3-6)"
In Pinkney's sumptuous elaboration of the familiar lullaby a chipmunk's nighttime odyssey takes on the same epic scope as his Caldecott winning
The Lion and the Mouse (2009).
Read full book review >
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 1, 2011
"A favorite ancient fable beautifully presented in the tradition of the finest picture books, this does not replace Jerry Pinkney's transcendent, Caldecott-winning The Lion & the Mouse but proudly takes its place beside it. (Picture book. 3 & up)"
A wee African grass mouse "receives top billing" (according to a concluding note) in this visually stunning retelling of Aesop's fable set amid the Aha Hills of Africa.
Read full book review >
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 1, 2011
"As in his earlier Redwoods, the child reader shares her reading, passing on the book to others. Real-life readers will be eager to do the same. (Informational picture book. 5-9)"
A book on coral reefs transforms the New York Public Library into a reef for its reader as she eagerly learns about those who make and dwell in those unique ecosystems, "cities of the sea."
Read full book review >
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 1, 2011
"Fresh and vintage at the same time; an accompanying CD would have made it perfect. (Picture book. 3-7)"
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 1, 2011
"Readers with great expectations will find them fully satisfied by this tongue-in-cheek romp through a historic public House that is the very opposite of Bleak. (Animal fantasy. 10-12)"
"He was the best of toms. He was the worst of toms." And for all his harsh early life and unnatural dietary preferences, ragged London alley cat Skilley gets to look at a queen, too.
Read full book review >
CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 27, 2011
"This intimate narrative makes the stories accessible to young readers and powerfully conveys how personal this history feels for many African-Americans. (Nonfiction. 10 & up)"
In an undertaking even more ambitious than the multiple-award-winning We Are the Ship (2008), Nelson tells the story of African-Americans and their often central place in American history.
Read full book review >
CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 19, 2011
"This outstanding, emotionally resonant effort will appeal to middle-grade readers. (Fiction. 8-12)"
CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 15, 2011
"Delicate and durable, visually sophisticated yet friendly: simply exquisite. (Picture book. 3-7)"
Breathtakingly beautiful meta-illustrations will draw many eyes to this tale of a curious chicken who spills some paint.
Read full book review >
CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 15, 2011
"A big, serious work of historical investigation and imagination; the tale has never before been told this well. (Historical fiction. 9-14) "
It was a secret everybody knew at Monticello: Thomas Jefferson was the father of Beverly, Harriet, Madison and Eston Hemings, and their mother was Sally Hemings, a slave owned by Jefferson.
Read full book review >
CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 13, 2011
"Characteristically provocative gothic comedy, with sublime undertones. (Autobiographical fiction. 11-13)"
An exhilarating summer marked by death, gore and fire sparks deep thoughts in a small-town lad not uncoincidentally named "Jack Gantos."
Read full book review >
CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 13, 2011
"Visually stunning, completely compelling, Wonderstruck demonstrates a mastery and maturity that proves that, yes, lightning can strike twice. (Historical fiction. 9 & up)"
