Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




Best Children's Books of 2012: Fiction (page 3)


Cover art for SADIE AND RATZ
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 27, 2012
by Sonya Hartnett, illustrated by Ann James

"A real slice of family life, the sweet with the bitter. (Fiction. 5-8)"
Sadie and Ratz, Hannah's menacing hands, help her to handle her sibling rivalry in this piercingly intelligent foray into chapter books by much-awarded teen author Hartnett. Read full book review >
Cover art for SUMMER OF THE GYPSY MOTHS
CHILDREN'S
Released: April 24, 2012

"A suspenseful, surprising novel of friendship and family from the creator of the popular Clementine series. (Fiction. 9-12)"
Desperate times call for desperate measures indeed when, one summer afternoon on Cape Cod, 11-year-old Stella finds her sole caretaker, her great-aunt Louise, dead in her chair. Read full book review >
Cover art for NOW
CHILDREN'S
Released: June 5, 2012
Kirkus Star NOW

"A fine, taut novel full of understanding. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 9-12)"
Once and Then (2010, 2011) blend into Now in today's Australia as Dr. Felix Salinger, 80, relates his childhood and shows his present to his 11-year-old granddaughter, narrator Zelda. Read full book review >
Cover art for HADES
CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 31, 2012
by George O'Connor, illustrated by George O'Connor

"An outstanding addition to a first-rate series. (notes, study questions, resource lists) (Graphic mythology. 8-14)"
A tempestuous mother-daughter relationship makes up the centerpiece of O'Connor's latest carefully researched and simultaneously fresh and funny Olympian portrait. Read full book review >
Cover art for SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS
CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 28, 2012

"Schlitz's prose is perfect in every stitch, and readers will savor each word. (Historical fantasy. 9-13)"
Two orphans, a witch and a girl who laughs at death: Each shares the lens of protagonist in Newbery winner Schlitz's fully satisfying gothic novel. Read full book review >
Cover art for IN A GLASS GRIMMLY
CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 27, 2012

"Not so much a set of retellings as a creative romp through traditional and tradition-based story-scapes, compulsively readable and just as read-out-loudable. (source note) (Fantasy. 11-14)"
The author of A Tale Dark and Grimm (2010) starts over--sending young Jack and Jill on a fresh quest for self-knowledge through trials and incidents drawn (stolen, according to the author) from a diverse array of European folk and fairy tales. Read full book review >