Thursday, July 19, 2007

New YA Books

Elissa's Quest - Erica Verrillo
Thirteen-year-old Elissa knows nothing of her origins until her father comes and takes her to the Citadel of the evil Khan, in exchange for soldiers to protect the kingdom that will one day be hers, but upon discovering her power, she chooses to follow her own destiny.

M Is for Magic - Neil Gaiman
Eleven stories that involve strange and fantastical events.

The Looking Glass Wars - Frank Beddor
When she is cast out of Wonderland by her evil aunt Redd, young Alyss Heart finds herself living in Victorian Oxford as Alice Liddell and struggles to keep memories of her kingdom intact until she can return and claim her rightful throne.

Leonardo's Shadow - Christopher Grey
Fifteen-year-old Giacomo--servant to Leonardo da Vinci--helps his procrastinating master finish painting "The Last Supper" while also trying to find clues to his parentage and pursue his own career as an artist in late fifteenth-century Milan.

The Wednesday Wars - Gary D. Schmidt
During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker's classroom where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns much of value about the world he lives in.

Corby Flood - Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
While traveling with her family aboard the S.S. Euphonia, eight-year-old Corby Flood accidentally attracts the murderous attentions of five men, clad in bowler hats, called the Brotherhood of the Clowns as she investigates the mysterious singing coming from the ship's hold.

Hugo Pepper - Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
A boy, orphaned and raised in the Frozen North by reindeer herders, boards his birth parents' sled and sets its special compass to "Home," where he uncovers a plot that threatens his mermaid godmothers and other friends of his family.

Voyage of Slaves - Brian Jacques
Continuing their adventures through space and time, Ben and his faithful dog, Ned, find themselves in the Mediterranean region in 1703, befriended by a troupe of traveling entertainers and relentlessly pursued by ruthless Barbary slave traders.

The Off Season - Catherine Gilbert Murdock
High school junior D.J. staggers under the weight of caring for her badly injured brother, her responsibilities on the dairy farm, a changing relationship with her friend Brian, and her own athletic aspirations.

New Award Book

The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano - Margarita Engle
Juan Francisco Manzano was born in 1797 into the household of wealthy slaveowners in Cuba. He spent his early years at the side of his owner's wife, entertaining her friends. His poetry was his outlet, reflecting the beauty and cruelty of his world. Written in verse. Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Christian Education Resources

My First Message: A Devotional Bible for Kids - Eugene H. Peterson

New Picture Books

I Like Myself - Karen Beaumont
In rhyming text, a little girl expresses confidence and joy in her uniqueness, no matter her outward appearance.

At Ellis Island: A History in Many Voices - Louise Peacock
The experiences of people coming to the United States from many different lands are conveyed in the words of a contemporary young girl visiting Ellis Island and of a girl who immigrated in about 1910, as well as by quotes from early twentieth century immigrants and Ellis Island officials.

365 Penguins - Jean-Luc Fromental
When a box containing a penguin arrives anonymously on New Year's Day, a family of four is puzzled, but as they continue to receive one penguin each day their problems--and food budget, and storage issues--are multiplied.

Book in Spanish

El cerebro - Dana Meachen Rau
A closer look at how the brain, spinal cord and nerves work together to protect the body.

New Children's and Young Adult Books

Jenny Goes to Sea - Esther Averill
The little black cat named Jenny, along with her brothers and their owner Captain Tinker, sails around the world on a ship called the Sea Queen.

A Mango-Shaped Space - Wendy Mass
Afraid that she is crazy, thirteen-year-old Mia, who sees a special color with every letter, number, and sound, keeps this a secret until she becomes overwhelmed by school, changing relationships, and the death of her beloved cat, Mango.

My First Message: A Devotional Bible for Kids - Eugene H. Peterson

Mercy Watson Fights Crime
- Kate DiCamillo
Mercy the pig's love of buttered toast leads to the capture of a small thief who would rather be a cowboy.

A Swift Pure Cry - Siobhan Dowd
Coolbar, Ireland, is a village of secrets and Shell, caretaker to her younger brother and sister after the death of their mother and with the absence of their father, is not about to reveal hers until suspicion falls on the wrong person.

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos - R.L. LaFevers
Twelve-year-old Theo uses arcane knowledge and her own special talent when she encounters two secret societies, one sworn to protect the world from ancient Egyptian magic and one planning to harness it to bring chaos to the world, both of which want a valuable artifact stolen from the London museum for which her parents work.

The Ice Dragon - George R.R. Martin
Leaving in its wake desolate cold and frozen land, the legendary ice dragon has never been tamed until it meets Adara, a winter child who looks to the creature to help save her world from destruction.

The Game - Diana Wynne Jones
Sent to a boisterous family gathering in Ireland by her overly strict grandmother, orphaned Hayley feels out of place until her unruly cousins include her in a special game involving travel through the mythosphere, the place where all the world's stories can be found, and where some secrets of her past are revealed.

Changes for Felicity: A Winter Story - Valerie Tripp
The outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775 brings drastic changes to Felicity's life in Williamsburg, affecting both her family and her friendship with Elizabeth.

Changes for Addy: A Winter Story - Connie Rose Porter
With the end of the Civil War in 1865, Addy desperately hopes that her family will be reunited in freedom in Philadelphia, but the future may hold both happiness and heartache.

Happy Birthday, Addy! A Springtime Story - Connie Rose Porter
In the spring of 1865, Addy find inspiration from a new friend and chooses a birthday for herself as she and her parents try to shape a new life of freedom in Philadelphia despite the racial prejudice they encounter throughout the city.

Remembering Mrs. Rossi - Amy Hest
Although she loves her father, their home in New York City, and third-grade teacher Miss Meadows, Annie misses her mother who died recently. Eight-year-old Annie lives in a sunny apartment in Manhattan with her father, Professor Rossi. Life would be pretty good if only Annie didn't so achingly miss her mother. When Mrs. Rossi died suddenly, she left not only Annie but also a class full of students - who pour out their hearts in a scrapbook Annie will treasure forever. With tenderness and humor, Amy Hest reveals the struggles of a father and daughter as they forge a new life together.

Way Down Deep - Ruth White
In the West Virginia town of Way Down Deep in the 1950s, a foundling called Ruby June is happily living with Miss Arbutus at the local boarding house when suddenly, after the arrival of a family of outsiders, the mystery of Ruby's past begins to unravel.

A Friendship for Today
- Patricia C. McKissack
In 1954, when desegregation comes to Kirkland, Missouri, ten-year-old Rosemary faces many changes and challenges at school and at home as her parents separate.

Escape from the Carnivale: A Neverland Book - Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Little Scallop, a princess of the Mollusk tribe, longs to have a real adventure. So late one night, she and her mermaid friends sneak off to dive for pearls. They run into a fierce storm and a strange ship sailed by men who would love to capture a mermaid.

Rowan Hood Returns: The Final Chapter - Nancy Springer
When she finds out who murdered her mother, Celandine, Rowan Hood returns to her former home to seek revenge.

The God of Mischief - Paul Bajoria
The twins, Mog and Nick have to unearth the secrets of their past to escape the dangers they face in their present life.

The Wolf - Steven Herrick
Sixteen-year-old Lucy, living in the shadow of her violent father, experiences a night of tenderness, danger, and revelation as she and Jake, her fifteen-year-old neighbor, search for a legendary wolf in the Australian outback.

Scarlett - Cathy Cassidy
After being expelled from yet another school in London, twelve-year-old Scarlett is sent by her exasperated mother to live with her father, stepmother, and stepsister in Ireland, where, with the help of a mysterious boy, she eventually overcomes her anger and resentment and feels part of a family again.

The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel - Michael Scott
While working at pleasant but mundane summer jobs in San Francisco, fifteen-year-old twins, Sophie and Josh, suddenly find themselves caught up in the deadly, centuries-old struggle between rival alchemists, Nicholas Flamel and John Dee, over the possession of an ancient and powerful book holding the secret formulas for alchemy and everlasting life.

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life
- Wendy Mass
Just before his thirteenth birthday, Jeremy Fink receives a keyless locked box--set aside by his father before his death five years earlier--that purportedly contains the meaning of life.

Montmorency and the Assassins - Eleanor Updale
After twenty years as a gentleman, Montmorency is glad to be free of Scarper, his wretched alter-ego, but when a young friend is caught in the middle of a murderous political plot, Montmorency may have no choice but to call upon Scarper for help.

Twisted - Laurie Halse Anderson
After finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry father, seventeen-year-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go bad again, he must choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
- John Boyne
Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a place called "Out-With" in 1942, Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, befriends a boy in striped pajamas who lives behind a wire fence.

Steven Caney's Ultimate Building Book
- Steven Carney
Examines the history and construction of various types of structures, including bridges, skyscrapers, and domes; and provides instructions for related projects.

The Dangerous Book for Boys - Gonn Iggulden
For every boy from eight to eighty, covers essential boyhood skills such as building tree houses, learning how to fish, finding true north, and even answering the age-old question of what the big deal with girls is. In this digital age there is still a place for knots, skimming stones and stories of incredible courage. This book recaptures Sunday afternoons, stimulates curiosity, and makes for great father-son activities. The brothers Conn and Hal have put together a collection of all things that make being young, or young at heart, fun--building go-carts and electromagnets, identifying insects and spiders, and flying the world's best paper airplanes.

Ohio - Erin McHugh
Young readers are invited on a tour of the state considered to be America's "heartland," the state where more presidents were born than any other. Die-cut in the distinctive shape of Ohio, this book features lots of fun facts about Cleveland and Cincinnati, Lake Erie, and the hills and valleys of Appalachia. There's plenty of history, culture, folklore, plants, animals, sports, fairs, and more to be found within the covers of State Shapes Ohio-and plenty of fun, too.