CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 10, 2012
"Like Blume, Hiranandani resists simplistic, tidy solutions. Each excels in charting the fluctuating discomfort zones of adolescent identity with affectionate humor. (Fiction. 9-13)"
Four decades separate Sonia Nadhamuni and Judy Blume's Margaret Simon, but these feisty, funny offspring of Jewish interfaith marriages are sisters under the skin.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 5, 2012
"This engaging story, with its emphasis on the impact of friendship and on finding one's voice when it is most important to be heard, will no doubt appeal to a broad range of readers and inspire many interesting conversations. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)"
The remarkable story of the Little Rock Nine is familiar to many, but what happened next? In this quietly powerful page-turner, Levine focuses her attention on the events that unfolded in Little Rock the year after the integration of the city's public schools.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 3, 2012
"In any consideration of noteworthy lives, Baker stands tall and sparkles as a determined, brave and singular woman of color. (author's note) (Picture book/biography. 5-10)"
The African-American singer and dancer was idolized in France because of her extraordinary talent as a stage performer and scorned in the United States because of her color.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 3, 2012
"This primer on friendship wrapped in hijinks is paced for maximum pleasure. (Picture book. 3-7)"
In this variant of "The City Mouse and the Country Mouse," two dragons learn to appreciate each other's talents and milieus.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 2, 2012
"Many bedtime books featuring animal sounds exist, but few are executed with such skill; this one has the potential to become a classic. (Picture book. 1-4)"
That picture-book master for the very young, Caldecott Honoree Tafuri (
Have You Seen My Duckling?, 1985), proves the barnyard a fertile setting in her latest offering.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 1, 2012
"Inspirational pairings of art and verse to read and recite in tribute to those who walked that perilous road. (Picture book/poetry. 12 & up)"
One slave is the poetic voice for those who toil on a cotton plantation and look to the North Star, following the Underground Railroad to freedom.
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