After the dog days of summer, the book industry is ready to wow readers with some of the best books of the year. We've culled through our starred reviews to choose five in children's and five in teens to pay special attention to and present them here.
CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 6, 2012
"A rare, rewarding, sumptuous exploration of artistic passion. (author's note) (Historical fantasy. 12 & up)"
Giulia is bright, curious and a gifted artist, born to a noble father and his humble mistress in 15th-century Renaissance Italy. Now her fate rests with her father's widow, who's sending Giulia to a Padua convent.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 23, 2012
"Simply brilliant. (Fantasy. 12 & up)"
Torture and treasure, treason and trust, and the triumph of true love: All come to fruition in the stirring conclusion to this epic fantasy series.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 9, 2012
"Read unhurried, in a lap, again and again. (Picture book. 4-7) "
This gem about canine siblings goes from peaceful routine to funny mayhem to erroneous bereavement--and relief.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 9, 2012
"Loud and clear, the creators show how tuning into everyday sounds can inspire music. Clap, clap, CLAP! (Picture Book. 3-7)"
Marsalis and Rogers, who collaborated on the scintillating
Jazz ABZ (2005), reunite for this sonic celebration for the younger crowd.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 9, 2012
"Irreverent humor and swashbuckling adventure collide in a fetching fantasy. (Fantasy. 10-14) "
Time travel, an Arctic ice shelf and frivolous elves converge in this second installment of The Books of Beginning.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 1, 2012
"Readers will learn much about the war in Afghanistan even as they cheer on this feisty protagonist. (author's note) (Fiction. 11 & up)"
In a follow-up that turns the Breadwinner Trilogy into a quartet, 15-year-old Parvana is imprisoned and interrogated as a suspected terrorist in Afghanistan.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 18, 2012
"The magic is entirely pragmatic; the impossible, extraordinarily true. (Fantasy. 13 & up)"
An ancient Welsh king may be buried in the Virginia countryside; three privileged boys hope to disinter him.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 15, 2012
"A remarkable achievement. (Picture book. 5-12)"
We are made of earth and water and air and stardust, and we are more related to animals and plants than we ever imagined.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 4, 2012
"Imaginative and utterly bewitching. (Graphic science fiction. 9-12)"
Lovable Zita returns in a charmingly dashing interplanetary adventure to save yet another doomed planet from impending peril.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 4, 2012
"A superb tale of an era and an effort that forever changed our world. (source notes, quotation notes, acknowledgments, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 10 & up)"
In late December 1938, German chemist Otto Hahn discovered that uranium atoms could be split, and just a few months later the race to build an atomic bomb was on.
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