"Wrapped in the chiaroscuro of film noir, kids will forget they are learning to read, focusing instead on the comic bits, persistence, and vulnerability of an endearing hero. (Early reader. 4-9)"
In five chapters spanning almost 200 pages, Selznick—here working with husband Serlin—manages to do for the early reader what he accomplished with the picture book: reinvent it.
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"Time, grief, forgiveness, and love intersect in epic theater celebrating mysteries of the heart and spirit. (notes) (Fiction. 10 & up)"
In the final volume of a trilogy connected by theme, structural innovation, and exquisite visual storytelling, Selznick challenges readers to see.
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"Marketing froth, mostly, but with tidbits for budding fans of cinema's history. (place, movie and website lists, thumbnail biographies of cast and crew) (Nonfiction. 10-13)"
Timed just to precede the scheduled release of the film version of Selznick's Caldecott-winner, a chubby compendium of stills interspersed with background notes and interviews.
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"Fade to black and cue the applause! (notes, film credits) (Fiction. 9-12)"
From Selznick's ever-generative mind comes a uniquely inventive story told in text, sequential art and period photographs and film.
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"With its indelible mingling of wit, action, characterization, and art, this stands alone, but will especially thrill expectant fans of the original Doll People. (Fiction. 7-11)"
In the further adventures of best friends Tiffany Funcraft and Annabelle Doll, the two are accidentally carried to a strange home in a school backpack.
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"A bravura performance. (notable dates, discography) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)"
Ryan and Selznick (Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride, 1999, etc.) reunite for another magical collaboration, this time presenting Marian Anderson to a young audience.
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"Indeed, it 'grabs hold of yourheart and never lets go.' (Fiction. 10-12)"
A world-class charmer, Clements (The Janitor's Boy, 2000, etc.) woos aspiring young authors—as well as grown up publishers, editors, agents, parents, teachers, and even reviewers—with this tongue-in-cheek tale of a 12-year-old novelist's triumphant debut.
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"A small disappointment is the final painting, to which readers will turn eagerly, and which depicts the father, not in his trademark 'best black suit,' but in far less dapper attire. (Fiction. 6-10)"
This big-hearted, Depression-era, American fairy tale seems to come alive out of a former generation like a well-worn family yarn.
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Selznick (Barnyard Prayers, p. 120, etc.) illustrates this beguiling tale of a monster-mad lad with a mix of lurid film stills and masterfully rendered, dramatically under-lit portraits in pencil.
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"The whole is fabulously illustrated by Selznick, whose pictures have a shapely richness that captures not only the sturdy tubbiness of the modern dolls, but the fragile rigidity of the Victorian ones. (Fiction. 8-12)"
Little girls are in for a marvelous treat in this delicious fantasy that captures many of the rituals, fancies, and habits of girlhood with sweetness and honesty, while imparting gentle lessons about risk, self-fulfillment, and dealing with difference.
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"Without exaggerating, Selznick's black-and-white drawings convey a character who could easily pass as a woman or a man, further enhancing this credible and entertaining depiction of an interesting and little-known person. (Fiction. 8-12)"
A fictionalized account of the true story of Charlotte Parkhurst, opening with the death of her parents when she was two years old, and covering, subsequently, her life in an orphanage, her decision to run away dressed as a boy, and her career as a stagecoach driver.
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"A pleasant journey, with repetitive, not singsong, narration. (Picture book. 5-7)"
`` `Who'll offer me a ride?/Who'll carry me far and wide?' '' A lad sets out, hoping for a lift, but after misadventures with a giant trout, a gull, and other creatures, decides that his own two feet are best.
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"With comically realistic black-and-white illustrations by Selznick (The Robot King, 1995, etc.), this is a captivating tale—one to press upon children, and one they'll be passing among themselves. (Fiction. 8-12)"
Nicholas is a bright boy who likes to make trouble at school, creatively.
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"The Robot King, with its mannequin's head and packed, indistinct body half-hidden beneath a long velvet jacket, cuts an oddly elegant figure, and the human faces are rendered with a sad, composed beauty. (Fiction. 9-12)"
From the author of The Houdini Box (1991), a haunting, enigmatic tale of two lonely children who create something wonderful.
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"A historical note is appended. (Fiction/Young Reader. 6-10)"
A fervent admirer of Houdini, ten-year-old Victor tries to emulate his feats, but to no avail: getting out of locked trunks and holding his breath for 5000 seconds are beyond his powers.
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