Wednesday, January 26, 2011

New Graphic Format Book

The Odyssey: A Graphic Novel - Gareth Hinds
Retells, in graphic novel format, Homer's epic tale of Odysseus, the ancient Greek hero who encounters witches and other obstacles on his journey home after fighting in the Trojan War.

New Children's Books

A Nation's Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis - Matt de la Pena
An illustrated introduction to the life and accomplishments of professional boxer Joe Louis.


Madlenka, Soccer Star - Peter Sís
Madlenka plays soccer in her city neighborhood--with the mailbox, a dog, a parking meter, and some cats. Includes facts about the game, and translations for the word "soccer" in various languages.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

New YA Books


Get Real: What Kind of World Are You Buying? - Mara Rockliff
A consumer guide for tweens provides insight into a range of topics from truth about fast-food nutrition to the environmental costs of cheap products, and shares related counsel on how to make informed shopping decisions.

Mindblind - Jennifer Roy
Fourteen-year-old Nathaniel Clark, who has Asperger's Syndrome, tries to prove that he is a genius by writing songs for his rock band, so that he can become a member of the prestigious Aldus Institute, the premier organization for the profoundly gifted.

New Children's Books

Soar, Elinor! - Tami Lewis Brown
Elinor Smith, who first flew in a "flying machine" when she was six, earns her aviation license at the age of sixteen in 1928, and when male pilots and newspapermen mock her abilities, she performs the daring maneuver of flying under all four of New York City's East River bridges.

What about Bear? - Suzanne Bloom
When Fox joins Goose and Bear for playtime, one of them is left out and someone must figure out how all three of them can play together.



The Legend of the Golden Snail - Graeme Base
Wilbur loves the legend of the Golden Snail, an enchanted galleon, and vows to become its next master.

New Award Books

Harry & Hopper - Margaret Wild
One day when Harry comes home from school, his faithful companion Hopper isn't there to greet him, in a touching story about the process of healing after losing a beloved pet.  Kate Greenaway Medal

The Freak Observer - Blythe Woolston
 Suffering from a crippling case of post-traumatic stress disorder, sixteen-year-old Loa Lindgren tries to use her problem solving skills, sharpened in physics and computer programming, to cure herself.  William C. Morris Debut Award

Five Flavors of Dumb - Antony John
Eighteen-year-old Piper becomes the manager for her classmates' popular rock band, called Dumb, giving her the chance to prove her capabilities to her parents and others, if only she can get the band members to get along.  Schneider Family Book Award

90 Miles to Havana - Enrique Flores-Galbis
When unrest hits the streets of Havana, Cuba, Julian's parents must make the heartbreaking decision to send him and his two brothers away to Miami via the Pedro Pan operation. But when the boys get to Miami, they are thrust into a world where bullies seem to run rampant and it's not always clear how best to protect themselves.  Pura Belpre Author Award Honor book

Grandma's Gift - Eric Velasquez
The author describes Christmas at his grandmother's apartment in Spanish Harlem the year she introduced him to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Diego Velazquez's portrait of Juan de Pareja, which has had a profound and lasting effect on him.  Pura Belpre Illustrator Award

Me, Frida - Amy Novesky
Artist Frida Kahlo finds her own voice and style when her famous husband, Diego Rivera, is commissioned to paint a mural in San Francisco, California, in the 1930s and she finds herself exploring the city on her own.  Pura Belpre Illustrator Award Honor book

Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix - Gary Golio
Before he became one of the greatest guitar players of all time, Jimi Hendrix was a boy who loved to paint and listen to records, and who asked himself an unusual question: could someone paint pictures with sound?  Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor book



 

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

New Children's and YA Books; Award Books

Freddy! King of Flurb - Peter Hannan
Freddy, his jealous sister Babette, and their parents are abducted by slimy aliens and taken to the planet Flurb, where Freddy is made king, much to the dismay of Wizbad.

Lockdown - Walter Dean Myers
Teenage Reese, serving time at a juvenile detention facility, gets a lesson in making it through hard times from an unlikely friend with a harrowing past.  Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor book


The Pirate of Kindergarten - George Ella Lyon
Ginny's eyes play tricks on her, making her see everything double, but when she goes to vision screening at school and discovers that not everyone sees this way, she learns that her double vision can be cured.  Schneider Family Book Award

Just in Time, Abraham Lincoln - Patricia Polacco
When two brothers visit a museum in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, with their grandmother, they find themselves in a very realistic Civil War setting where they see the Antietam battlefield and meet historical figures from the aftermath of that momentous battle. Includes author's note on the Battle of Antietam.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

New Children's Books

Knuffle Bunny Free - Mo Willems
While traveling with her family to Holland to visit her grandparents, Trixie once again loses her beloved Knuffle Bunny.

Shadow - Suzy Lee
A little girl uses her imagination and a light bulb to go on an adventure in a dark attic.

Popville - Anouck Boisrobert
Successive pop up scenes show the progress as a rural area is built up into a busy city, in a book that encourages young readers to imagine how a city is built and what the people who live there would need.

Biblioburro - Jeanette Winter
After amassing piles of books, Luis, a voracious reader, dreams up a way to share his collection with 'faraway villages.' He starts with two burros--one for himself, one for books--and heads off. Tough terrain and menacing bandits challenge him along the way, but at last he reaches a remote town, where he holds a story hour and loans titles to eager kids before returning home to his wife and reading late into the night.

Three Little Kittens - Jerry Pinkney
Presents the classic tale of three youngsters who are careless with their mittens, but who turn out to be good little kittens after all.

Up & Down: A Bugs Concept Book - David Carter
Pop-up features show bugs going in all directions.

Colors: A Bugs Concept Book - David Carter
Pop-up and movable features show bugs of different colors.

Volcano Wakes Up! - Lisa Westberg Peters
Playful poems from five alternating viewpoints tell the story of an exciting day--from sunrise to moonrise--on a young, about-to-shout volcano.

Old Bear and His Cub - Olivier Dunrea
Although they love each other, Old Bear and his little Cub have a tug of war over which one knows best in a variety of situations.

Eight Winter Nights: A Family Hanukkah Book - Laura Krauss Melmed
Short verses describe symbols, foods, and family fun associated with the festival of Hanukkah. Includes facts about the history and traditions.

Everything But the Horse: A Childhood Memory - Holly Hobbie
When Holly's family moves from the city to a farm, she longs to get a horse for her birthday. Based on events in the author's childhood.

Suzy Goose and the Christmas Star - Petr Horáček
Suzy Goose tries again and again to get a star for the Christmas tree.

New YA Books

A Tale Dark & Grimm - Adam Gidwitz
Follows Hansel and Gretel as they walk out of their own story and into eight more tales, encountering such wicked creatures as witches, along with kindly strangers and other helpful folk. Based in part on the Grimms' fairy tales Faithful Johannes, Hansel and Gretel, The seven ravens, Brother and sister, The robber bridegroom, and The devil and his three golden hairs.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda - Tom Angleberger
Sixth-grader Tommy and his friends describe their interactions with a paper finger puppet of Yoda, worn by their weird classmate Dwight, as they try to figure out whether or not the puppet can really predict the future. Includes instructions for making Origami Yoda.

Gool - Maurice Gee
Sixteen years after Hari and Pearl defeated the tyrant Ottmar, their children Xantee and Lo face an even more dangerous foe which they must find and destroy if they are to save their father and the world they know.

I Shall Wear Midnight - Terry Pratchett
Fifteen-year-old Tiffany Aching, the witch of the Chalk, seeks her place amid a troublesome populace and tries to control the ill-behaved, six-inch-high Wee Free Men who follow her as she faces an ancient evil that agitates against witches. Possible conclusion to the Discworld series.

Beatle Meets Destiny - Gabrielle Williams
When superstitious eighteen-year-old John "Beatle" Lennon, who is dating the best friend of his twin sister, meets Destiny McCartney, their instant rapport and shared quirkiness make it seem that their fate is written in the stars.

Matched - Ally Condie
All her life, Cassia has never had a choice. The Society dictates everything: when and how to play, where to work, where to live, what to eat and wear, when to die, and most importantly to Cassia as she turns 17, who to marry. When she is Matched with her best friend Xander, things couldn't be more perfect. But why did her neighbor Ky's face show up on her match disk as well?

Crunch - Leslie Connor
The oldest Marriss brother, fourteen-year-old Dewey, attempts to be the "embodiment of responsibility" as he juggles the management of the family's bicycle repair business while sharing the household and farm duties with his siblings after a sudden energy crisis strands their parents far from home.

The Scorch Trials - James Dashner
After surviving horrific conditions in the Maze, Thomas is entrapped, along with nineteen other boys, in a scientific experiment designed to observe their responses and gather data believed to be essential for the survival of the human race.

Revolution - Jennifer Donnelly

An angry, grieving seventeen-year-old musician facing expulsion from her prestigious Brooklyn private school travels to Paris to complete a school assignment and uncovers a diary written during the French revolution by a young actress attempting to help a tortured, imprisoned little boy--Louis Charles, the lost king of France

New Graphic Novel

The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan
After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, twelve-year-old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods like himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods. Adapted from the novel Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book One: The Lightning Thief.

New Nonfiction Books

The Notorious Benedict Arnold - Steve Sheinkin
An introduction to the life of Benedict Arnold that highlights not only the traitorous actions that made him legendary, but also his heroic involvement in the American Revolution.

The Crossing: How George Washington Saved the American Revolution - Jim Murphy
A narrative prose that details George Washington's transformation from a farmer to a military general and describes how he led the Americans against the British.

Frederick Douglass: A Noble Life - David A. Adler
When, in 1879, a bust in his likeness was placed at the University of Rochester, Frederick Douglass wrote: "Incidents of this character do much amaze me. It is not, however, the height to which I have risen, but the depth from which I have come that amazes me." This biography tells the story of his ascent from slavery.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

New Children's and YA Books

The Wild Man (sequel to Joe Rat) - Mark Barratt
In Victorian England, Joe Rat has escaped the clutches of the criminal mastermind, Mother, and is trying to make an honest living in a better part of London, but when a rich philanthropist tracks down a man claiming to be Joe's missing father--a British army deserter--he must determine where his loyalties lie.



Sapphique (sequel to Incarceron)- Catherine Fisher
After his escape from the sentient prison, Incarceron, Finn finds that the Realm is not at all what he expected, and he does not know whether he is to be its king, how to free his imprisoned friends, or how to stop Incarceron's quest to be free of its own nature.


Good Night, Chickie - Emile Jadoul
Mother Hen reassures Chickie, and Chickie's bunny, that she is nearby and keeping watch over them at bedtime.

The Seven Seas - Ellen Jackson
During a geography lesson, a child takes an imaginary journey to each of the seven seas, including the Brown Sea which is made of chocolate, and the Pink Sea which has flamingos.

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword - Barry Deutsch
Eleven-year-old Mirka Herschberg dreams of fighting dragons and spends her days honing her skills, even though there are no dragons in her Orthodox Jewish community, but when she accepts a challenge from a mysterious witch, Mirka just might win her dragon-fighting sword after all.