Thursday, September 29, 2011

New Graphic Novel

Hera: The Goddess and Her Glory - George O'Connor
Recounts the stories of the many heroes who sought and won the approval and patronage of Hera, the Queen of the Gods, including the story of Heracles.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

New YA Books

Jefferson's Sons - Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
A fictionalized look at the last twenty years of Thomas Jefferson's life at Monticello through the eyes of three of his slaves, two of whom were his sons by his slave, Sally Hemings.

Stay with Me - Paul Griffin
Fifteen-year-olds Mack, a high school drop-out but a genius with dogs, and Céce, who hopes to use her intelligence to avoid a life like her mother's, meet and fall in love at the restaurant where they both work, but when Mack lands in prison he pushes Céce away and only a one-eared pit-bull can keep them together.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

New YA Book

You Will Call me Drog - Sue Cowing
Unless eleven-year-old Parker can find a way to remove the sinister puppet that refuses to leave his hand, he will wind up in military school or worse but first he must stand up for himself to his best friend Wren, his mother, and his nearly-absent father.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

New Children's Books

Grandpa Green - Lane Smith
A child explores the ordinary life of his extraordinary great-grandfather, as expressed in his topiary garden.

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site - Sherri Duskey Rinker
At sunset, when their work is done for the day, a crane truck, a cement mixer, and other pieces of construction equipment make their way to their resting places and go to sleep.

The Twins' Blanket - Hyewon Yum
Two twin girls, who have always shared everything, sleep in separate beds with their own blankets for the first time.

Fort Mose - Glennette Tilley Turner
Follows the history of slavery from West Africa to America, recounts what daily life was like, and describes the founding of the Spanish colonies.

ZooZical - Judy Sierra
When the winter doldrums arrive at the zoo, a very small hippo and a young kangaroo decide to stage a "ZooZical," a show to display their singing, dancing, acrobatic, and other talents to the people of Springfield.

Mouse and Mole: A Perfect Halloween - Wong Herbert Yee
As Halloween approaches, Mouse helps her friend Mole get over his fear and enjoy the holiday.

Butterflies - Seymour Simon
Provides information about the physical characteristics and behaviors of butterflies.


Drawing from Memory - Allen Say
Caldecott medalist Allen Say chronicles his experiences as an artist during World War II, and describes his relationship with his mentor Noro Shinpei, Japan's leading cartoonist.

School for Bandits - Hannah Shaw
Ralph Raccoon is too polite so his parents send him to Bandit School to learn to behave like a properly bad raccoon.

A Zeal of Zebras - Woop Studios
An alphabet book featuring the imaginative use of collective nouns to identify the individual letters and describe different groups of animals.

Monday, September 19, 2011

New YA Books

Wildwood - Colin Meloy
When her baby brother is kidnapped by crows, seventh-grader Prue McKeel ventures into the forbidden Impassable Wilderness--a dangerous and magical forest in the middle of Portland, Oregon--and soon finds herself involved in a war among the various inhabitants.

The Girl Is Murder - Kathryn Miller Haines
In 1942 New York City, fifteen-year-old Iris grieves for her mother who committed suicide and for the loss of her life of privilege, and secretly helps her father with his detective business since he, having lost a leg at Pearl Harbor, struggles to make ends meet.

The Fox Inheritance - Mary E. Pearson
Two-hundred-sixty years after a terrible accident destroyed their bodies, sixteen-year-old Locke and seventeen-year-old Kara have been brought back to life in newly bioengineered bodies, with many questions about the world they find themselves in and more than two centuries of horrible memories of being trapped in a digital netherworld wondering what would become of them.

Lie - Caroline Bock
Told in several voices, a group of Long Island high school seniors conspire to protect eighteen-year-old Jimmy after he brutally assaults two Salvadoran immigrants, until they begin to see the moral implications of Jimmy's actions and the consequences of being loyal to a violent bully.

Silhouetted by the Blue - Traci L. Jones
After the death of her mother in an automobile accident, seventh-grader Serena, who has gotten the lead in her middle school play, is left to handle the day-to-day challenges of caring for herself and her younger brother when their father cannot pull himself out of his depression.

Witchlanders - Lena Coakley
After the prediction of Ryder's mother, once a great prophet and powerful witch, comes true and their village is destroyed by a deadly assassin, Ryder embarks on a quest that takes him into the mountains in search of the destroyer.

Sparrow Road - Sheila O'Connor
Twelve-year-old Raine spends the summer at a mysterious artists colony and discovers a secret about her past.

Americapedia: Taking the Dumb Out of Freedom - Jodi Lynn Anderson
Presents a blend of humor and a civic textbook to cover American politics, international relations, religion, and culture.

Now Playing: Stoner & Spaz II - Ron Koertge
High schooler Ben Bancroft, a budding filmmaker with Cerebral Palsy, struggles to understand his relationship with drug-addict Colleen while he explores a new friendship with A.J., who shares his obsession with movies and makes a good impression on Ben's grandmother.

Waterfall - Lisa T. Bergren
Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Bentarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives with their parents, famed Etruscan scholars, among the romantic hills. Stuck among the rubble of medieval castles in rural Tuscany on yet another hot, dusty archaeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds-- until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces. And thus does she come to be rescued by the knight-prince Marcello Falassi, who takes her back to his father's castle--a castle Gabi has seen in ruins in another life. Suddenly Gabi's summer in Italy is much, much more interesting. But what do you do when your knight in shining armor lives, literally, in a different world?

Cascade - Lisa T. Bergren
When Gabi and Lia return to medieval Italy with their mother, they find a heroes' welcome from the people of Siena and enemies that wish them dead.

People - Blexbolex
Explores, through brief text and illustrations, various sorts of people, the jobs they do, and the connections among them.


Dead End in Norvelt - Jack Gantos
In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.


City of Orphans - Avi
In 1893 New York, thirteen-year-old Maks, a newsboy, teams up with Willa, a homeless girl, to clear his older sister, Emma, from charges that she stole from the brand new Waldorf Hotel, where she works. Includes historical notes.

I'll Be There - Holly Goldberg Sloan
Raised by an unstable father who keeps constantly on the move, Sam Border has long been the voice of his younger brother, Riddle, but everything changes when Sam meets Emily Bell and, welcomed by her family, the brothers are faced with normalcy for the first time.

Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert - Marc Aronson
Provides a detailed account of rescue efforts to save thirty-three miners, who got trapped in a copper-gold mine in San Jose, Chile, examining the psychological, physical, and environmental factors influencing the course of the rescue, and describing the efforts of experts from around the world--drillers, astronauts, submarine specialists, and others--came together in response to the crisis.

Big Nate on a Roll - Lincoln Peirce
Middle-schooler Nate Wright vies against his rival, the "perfect" Artur, to win the grand prize of a customized skateboard in their scout troop contest.

Queen of Hearts - Martha Brooks
Shortly after her first kiss but before her sixteenth birthday in December, 1941, Marie Claire and her younger brother and sister are sent to a tuberculosis sanatorium near their Manitoba farm.

Addie on the Inside - James Howe
Outspoken thirteen-year-old Addie Carle learns about love, loss, and staying true to herself as she navigates seventh grade, enjoys a visit from her grandmother, fights with her boyfriend, and endures gossip and meanness from her former best friend.

New Children's Books

Dream Something Big - Dianna Hutts Aston
In Watts, California, over a period of many years, a man known to all as Uncle Sam spends his free time collecting broken bits of pottery, glass, and other scraps and turning them into a work of art.

Alicia Alonso: Prima Ballerina - Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
An illustrated overview of the life of Cuban prima ballerina Alicia Alonso, who was afflicted with an eye defect which caused her to be partially blind; presented in verse.

Ten Little Caterpillars - Bill Martin, Jr.
Illustrations and rhyming text follow ten caterpillars as one wriggles up a flower stem, another sails across a garden pool, and one reaches an apple leaf, where something amazing happens.

An Annoying ABC - Barbara Bottner
When Adelaide annoys Bailey, their entire preschool class gets upset, one child after another, until Zelda zaps Adelaide and a round of apologies begins.

Cows to the Rescue - John Himmelman
After helping the Greenstalk family get to the county fair, the cows busy themselves finding solutions to many other problems that arise during the day.

A Bad Kitty Christmas - Nick Bruel
After destroying all of the gifts and decorations at home, Bad Kitty escapes from the car on Christmas Eve and finds a new friend, who helps her learn the true meaning of Christmas.

A Ball for Daisy - Chris Raschka
A wordless picture book showing the fun a dog has with her ball, and what happens when it is lost.

Friday, September 16, 2011

New Games

Clue: The Classic Edition
Players collect clues to solve mysteries about crimes. For 3-6 players, ages 8 and up. Game time approximately 45-60 minutes.

Monday, September 12, 2011

New Nonfiction Books

Carnival in Latin America/Caranaval en Latinoamérica - Kerrie Logan Hollihan
In the days leading up to Lent, cities around the world come alive for carnival. Parades of costumed revelers and elaborate floats fill the streets, and people, young and old, dance to the sound of samba and calypso.

The Horrors of Andersonville - Catherine Gourley
This fact-based book documents Andersonville, a Civil War prison camp in Georgia, where thousands of Union prisoners died in the last fourteen months of the war. The text contains profanity and graphic descriptions of violence.

Who Will Shout If Not Us?: Student Activists and the Tiananmen Square Protest, China, 1989 - Ann Kerns
In the spring of 1989, university students in Beijing grabbed world headlines with a courageous stand against decades of Communist authoritarian rule in China. Thousands and then millions of students and workers from all over China gathered on the city's Tiananmen Square to support demands for democracy, clean government, and increased personal freedoms.

Goal!: The Fire and Fury of Soccer's Greatest Moment - Mark Stewart
A look at some of the most famous goals in soccer history and those who scored them.

Score!: The Action and Artistry of Hockey's Magnificent Moment - Mark Stewart
Discusses the history of ice hockey and focuses on the rules and technique of scoring goals.

The Rise and Fall of Senator Joe McCarthy - James Cross Giblin
Who was the real Joe McCarthy? Was he an American hero who alerted the country to the threat of Communist subversion or a demagogue who played cynically on the nation's fears?

Thursday, September 8, 2011

New YA Books

Most Wanted - Kate Thompson
In first century Rome, in the turmoil after a rumor circulates that mad Emperor "Littleboots" is dead, young Marcus brings home a horse that the emperor had proclaimed a consul and his family decides they must treat it as an honored guest.

Prisoners in the Palace - Michaela MacColl
Recently orphaned and destitute, seventeen-year-old Liza Hastings earns a position as a lady's maid to sixteen-year-old Princess Victoria at Kensington Palace in 1836, the year before Victoria becomes Queen of England.

New YA Series Books

Torn - Margaret Peterson Haddix
Time travelers Jonah and Katherine arrive in 1611 to rescue missing child John Hudson, son of the explorer Henry Hudson, but just as the mutiny on the Discovery is supposed to start, Jonah and Katherine's knowledge of history is tested once again, and they fear that more is at stake than just one boy's life. Author's note includes facts about Henry Hudson's explorations.

The Warlock - Michael Scott
Fifteen-year-old Josh has chosen to side neither with his twin sister Sophie nor with the Alchemyst, Nicholas Flamel, but rather to fight alongside Dr. John Dee and the mysterious Virginia Dare, while the immortal Machiavelli and Billy the Kid follow the Elders' plans to set loose the monsters of Alcatraz on San Francisco and trigger the end of the human race.