Posted in Intermediate, Middle Grade, Non-fiction, Non-Fiction

Our Moon gives us a new look at an old friend

our moonOur Moon: New Discoveries About Earth’s Closest Companion, by Elaine Scott (Feb. 2016, Clarion Books), $18.99, ISBN: 9780547483948

Recommended for ages 10-13

You may have heard the old myth about the man in the moon, or even that the moon was made of green cheese. Did you hear about a Chinese princess named Chang-o or a rabbit, though? Those ancient Chinese stories are only the beginning of what I learned from Elaine Scott’s Our Moon: New Discoveries About Earth’s Closest Companion.

 

Our Moon is a great biography about our one and only satellite, Luna. The Moon. We get her all of her numbers: size, speed, temperature; we learn in depth about her phases, and her origin story. Ms. Scott gives us a history of lunar research and exploration, from the Turkish philosopher Anaxagoras’ ideas about moonlight being a reflection of the sun’s light back in the 5th century B.C.E. to the modern lunar landings and space travel. The book is loaded with photographs and quick facts that make for easy reading. A glossary breaks down terms used in the book, and there are resources for further reading, both on- and offline.

This is the book I’d have wanted in my astronomy library when I was a kid. It’s a great library purchase and a great home library purchase. Our Moon will be available in February, 2016, but you can pre-order it from Amazon.

Elaine Scott is an award-winning nonfiction author of children’s books. Her author website includes information about her books, honors, and school visits.

Posted in Realistic Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Dumplin’ – Finally, a healthy, body-positive teen!

dumplinDumplin’, by Julie Murphy (Sept. 2015, Balzer & Bray), $17.99, ISBN: 9780062327185

Recommended for ages 13+

Willowdean Dickson is a fat girl. That’s not an insult, by the way – she’ll tell you she’s a fat girl, but she’s not bothered about it. She wishes everyone else would get a grip, though, especially her mom, who also coordinates the local annual beauty pageant, which is THE event of the year.

Will, as she likes to be called, is mourning the death of her Aunt Lucy, who was like a second mother to her. Lucy, who was morbidly obese, died in her early 30s from a massive heart attack, so that’s not helping keep Will’s mom – who calls her Dumplin’ – off her case.

The thing is, she’s confident. But when her co-worker, the gorgeous new kid, Bo, takes notice of her, she feels different. She can just imagine what everyone will say about her if they see her and Bo together, and that really stresses her out. To get back some of her confidence and pay tribute to Lucy, Will decides to enter her the big beauty pageant, which spurs a few girls at school to join her. Girls that would never have had the guts to try before. Now, Will finds herself at odds with her best friend, Ellen, and the unofficial leader of this revolution. Dolly Parton, save us!

Told in the first person in Willowdean’s voice, Dumplin’ is brilliant. Will is sarcastic and self-assured, and really, really hates this lack of confidence that hits her just as the gorgeous guy takes notice of her. There’s Dolly Parton, making out under the Texas stars, and drag queens, along with a heroine that everyone should aspire to. Crank up Jolene, sit back, and enjoy this book.

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade, Uncategorized

LEGO DC Superheroes: Justice League Vs. Bizarro League!

justice leagueJustice League vs. Bizarro League (LEGO DC Super Heroes: Chapter Book #1), by JE Bright (Aug. 2015, Scholastic), $4.99, ISBN: 9780545867986

Recommended for ages 7-10

These new LEGO chapter books from Scholastic are great! First, we had the LEGO Elves, now we’ve got LEGO DC Superheroes. The kids in my libraries are going to lose their minds; when I started bringing in the Capstone chapter books, they flew off my shelves. Now, combining superheroes and LEGO? I will be doubling up on these in my book order for sure!

In this first DC Super Heroes chapter book, Bizarro’s home planet, Bizarro World, is under threat from Darkseid. He seeks out the Justice League for help, and creates his own “Bizarro League” of superheroes just like himself! The writing is light, fast-paced, and funny, and the characters are LEGO characters, with mentions of blocks and building throughout, so kids will know that they’re enjoying a LEGO adventure. There’s full-color art for the kids to enjoy, and if you’re feeling particularly generous, there’s also a companion DVD.

 

Posted in Non-Fiction

Coco and the Little Black Dress is an inspirational story

coco and the black dressCoco and the Little Black Dress, by Annemarie Van Haeringen (Sept. 2015, North South Books), $16.95, ISBN: 9780735842397

Recommended for ages 6-10

Raised in an orphanage, Coco Chanel may have started life off in a decidedly life, but she learned life skills and developed a drive for success that propelled her to the heights of high fashion. Coco and the Little Black Dress tells the story of Coco Chanel’s rise to fame, beginning with learning how to sew, embroider, knit, mend, and crochet at the orphanage. She befriended the wealthy and powerful as she got older, and decided to change to outlandish and uncomfortable clothing the women wore. Starting with a pair of jodphurs for herself, she began making beautiful hats and comfortable, loosely fitted knits for women, freeing them from corsets. She created a perfume that smelled “like a beautiful woman” and finally, her crowning achievement: the little black dress – “the magic dress that shows how beautiful a woman is.”

It’s always a relief to see a biography for younger children about a strong female figure, and Coco Chanel certainly fits the bill. She was a self-made woman who gave women the ability to be free of uncomfortable clothing, to embrace their figures. The endpapers lead us right into Coco’s story, providing an early dress design at the beginning and a finished black dress to leave us with.

Author Annemarie van Haeringen is a three-time Golden Brush Award winner; Coco and the Little Black Dress, previously published in German, won the silver in 2014.

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade

LEGO Chapter Books are here! Join the LEGO Elves in the Quest for the Keys!

9780545852807_177e4Quest for the Keys (LEGO Elves Chapter Book #1), by Stacia Deutsch (Aug. 2015, Scholastic), $5.99, ISBN: 9780545852807

Recommended for ages 7-10

LEGO’s got chapter books now! This new series, tied in with the LEGO Elves toy line, introduces us to Emily Jones, a young girl mourning her grandmother’s passing. As she walks through her garden, where she and her grandmother spent many happy days, she crosses a secret portal into the world of Elvendale… and she can’t find a way out! Four elemental elves befriend her and undertake a quest to get Emily home, but there are riddles and magic to unravel along the way – and Emily will learn secrets about her grandmother that she could never have imagined!

This is a perfect book for burgeoning readers that are ready to make the move from Easy Reader to early chapter books. There’s just enough magic and mystery to introduce readers to fantasy, and cheerful teal illustrations, along with pages decorated with garden ivy, to give readers a fun, enchanted experience. I think this one will fly off my shelves. Quest for the Keys will be a great funtime reading to bring new fantasy fans into the fold, and keep them waiting for more.

Author Stacia Deutsch has written over 100 novels for kids and young adults, including the upcoming tie-in to Hotel Transylvania 2 and the Rotten Apples series book, Mean Ghouls. Find out more about her books at her author website.

Posted in Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Finding Forever – Secrets, Lies, and the Search for Eternal Youth

finding foreverFinding Forever, by Ken Baker (Sept. 2015, Running Press), $9.95, ISBN: 978-0-7624-5594-2

Recommended for ages 13+

Brooklyn Brant isn’t your ordinary 16 year-old with a blog. She’s determined to break into  celebrity journalism, and has a blog – Deadline Diaries – that’s gaining some momentum. When she gets call from Simone, the assistant to white-hot teen celebrity Taylor Prince, claiming that Taylor’s been kidnapped and needs help, Brooklyn has the opportunity of a lifetime handed to her. Using her police officer dad’s investigative techniques, she launches her own investigation – but as she gets too close to the truth, could she find herself in danger?

Taylor Prince has it all – fame, fortune, screaming fans – but she just wants one night as a normal teenager. Her Sweet 16 party has no security, no press, just friends and a really, really cute guy that her assistant set up for her. She has no idea how vulnerable she is until she’s abducted at her own birthday party and wakes up in a strange place, where she’s told she’s been put in rehab for her own good.

Told in dual narratives following Brooklyn and Taylor, Ken Baker creates a story that shows readers that what we see isn’t always what we should believe in the world of celebrity journalism; we also get a chilling look at medical quackery in chase of eternal youth. It’s a mystery that touches in social issues like drug and alcohol abuse, OCD, dealing with grief and loss, and faith.

Baker, an E! news correspondent, has likely seen and heard about stories like this and more, and his writing is fast-paced and keeps the pages turning. The chapters revolving around Taylor’s abduction were interesting, even disturbing at points, but I had trouble connecting with the book overall because there’s a lot of pontificating. The main antagonist has an unhealthy Peter Pan/youth fixation and talks at length about it. Taylor’s attempts to play along come off as just letting victimization happen to her. Brooklyn tends to preach when she’s not suffering an attack of OCD.

It’s a good, light read for teens who may not gravitate to most realistic fiction, but enjoy a celeb fix.

 

Posted in Early Reader, Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads

It’s a great day for A Visit to the Library!

visit to the libraryA Visit to the Library, by Mary Lindeed (Aug. 2015, Norwood House Press), $21.95, ISBN: 9781599536910

Recommended for ages 4-7

Take a trip to the library! Read a book, listen to a story at storytime, and use the computer! See what the librarian does, and check out a book! This Easy Reader is a great introduction to the library for young audiences and readers. There are vivid photos and informational, large print text, plus sight words and vocabulary at the end of the book. Activities round out the book and provide a neat little lesson for kids who are about to start using the library through school, maybe without a parent for the first time.

I’m going to read this with my preschoolers at my next storytime as a way to introduce them to the library, and talk with them about using the library. Norwood’s website suggests pairing At The Library with its fiction counterpart, Dear Dragon Goes to the Library by Margaret Hillert. Teachers may want to consider this pairing for a pre-library visit warmup, and parents could borrow this to read to their children in anticipation of a library visit.

A great addition to nonfiction collections.

Posted in Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Uncategorized, Young Adult/New Adult

What do you NEED and what are you willing to do to have it?

needNeed, by Joelle Charbonneau (Nov. 2015, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s), $17.99, ISBN: 9780544416697

Recommended for ages 13+

A social network promises you whatever you need – but nothing comes for free, and the teens at Wisconsin’s Nottawa High School discover just how far they are willing to go for concert tickets, gym equipment, or just the thrill of a mission. Kaylee Dunham, social outcast at Nottawa, needs a kidney for her sick brother, but she discovers pretty quickly that the site is causing havoc around her. When things turn deadly, Kaylee starts digging to find out who’s behind NEED, but what happens when you’re up against a social network that can send someone to kill you in exchange for someone’s greatest wish?

NEED is a fast-paced thriller that teens – boys and girls – will enjoy. Everyone’s life seems to revolve around a multitude of social networks, so joining one more – that promises to give you free stuff for just one little task – will click. The tasks start off almost innocuously – more like pranks, really – but as the situations escalate and everything starts falling into place, the book becomes tense and unputdownable. The pervasiveness of social media and a seemingly invisible antagonist who can contact you anywhere, anytime – and can assemble your own classmates against you – is truly unsettling.

NEED is a good addition to collections for fans of tech fiction and a good thriller. It also lends itself to a good discussion on wants versus needs.

Joelle Charbonneau is a New York Times bestselling author of the Testing trilogy. Her author website offers links to social media, information about her books and appearances, and a section dedicated to authors united in support of Ferguson, Missouri’s youth by supporting their library, which stayed open and provided a safe space for the community during the riots. NEED will be available in November 2015, but you can pre-order a signed copy from Ms. Charbonneau’s site.

Possible booktalk: Kaylee signs up for NEED because she wants a kidney for her sick brother. Other classmates sign up for NEED because they want material possessions like concert tickets and gym equipment. What is a want versus a need? If someone offered you the chance to have something you really wanted, but you had to complete an anonymous task, would you blindly do it? Would you question it at all? Is there always a price to pay for something that appears to be free?

Posted in Animal Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade

Westly: A Spider’s Tale is a good, middle-grade fable

westlyWestly: A Spider’s Tale, by Bryan Beus (Sept. 2015, Shadow Mountain), $15.99, ISBN: 9781629720685

Recommended for ages 9-13

In a contained garden of a glass chandelier, a young caterpillar is born into royalty. Destined to inherit the crown of the Monarch Butterfly kingdom, he is spoiled and naïve until he emerges from his cocoon – and he’s not exactly what he expected. Instead of a regal monarch, he’s a spider. Horrified by his appearance and afraid he’ll be ostracized from butterfly society, he runs away and lives down below, among the “dirt eaters” – the bugs that live below, on the ground. Not knowing he comes from the arrogant butterflies, they take him in and teach him how to live – but what Westly doesn’t realize is that he holds the key to uniting both societies.

Blending a graphic novel feel with a moral fable storytelling voice, Bryan Beus’ debut novel is a great read for middle graders. It’s kind of A Bug’s Life meets The Ugly Duckling, with a kind-hearted, unworldly main character who goes on a classic hero’s journey to grow up, mature, and come into the leader he’s meant to be. There are wonderfully classic elements here: the villain, the wise old sage, and the curmudgeon with the heart of gold being just a few touchstones that children and adults alike with recognize and embrace. Black and white sketches throughout the book hold the reader’s interest and have a comforting, classic feel.

 

This is a solid choice for school libraries and classrooms, especially for middle grade read-alouds and units on fairy tales and fables. Animal fiction always does well in my library, so I know this one will be happily received.

Bryan Beus is the winner of the Kirchoff/Wohlberg Award from The New York Society of Illustrators. His author website offers a sneak preview of Westly‘s first two chapters, plus an adorable webcomic called Peter and Li. Westly is Mr. Beus’ first book, but I’m hoping to see more.

Posted in Fantasy, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Blog Tour Promo: SUPERSTITION

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SuperstitionSuperstition_EBOOK
by Lucy Fenton
Release Date: 08/03/15

Summary from Goodreads:
What happens when your childhood nightmares of being bitten by strange creatures in a dark wood aren’t just dreams?

Sixteen-year-old Arden St. John’s life takes a strange turn when she finds an unusual animal injured near her new house on the south east coast of Australia. When she takes it to the local vet, a terrible truth is inadvertently exposed to her.

She discovers a secret underworld, where witches are commonplace and trolls masquerade as queen bees, terrorising the other students with impunity. A world where vampires traffic in the lives of children, draining their bodies once they reach maturity. Where adults auction their own children to extend their lives.

Arden finds out she’s one of those kids, her life traded by the mother she never knew. Now she’s caught up in this ancient and corrupt economy operating just below the surface of modern society. She’s a hot commodity, and it’s only a matter of time before the vampire who bought her comes to claim his prize.

But Arden’s not going down without a fight.

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Buy Links: Amazon

EXCERPT

The further into the bush she went, the more anxious Arden felt. If something happened to me, how long would it be before Dad noticed? I could be dead for days before someone found me, Arden thought, unhappily. The compulsion to turn around and seek out others grew stronger and her footsteps slowed.

And then through the trees, she saw something. Curiosity overcoming her disquiet, at first she thought it was a rocky outcrop and moved towards it, trying to see what was veiled by the leaves of the trees. The flash of sunlight whitened out her vision as she stepped out of the shade into the clearing. Blinded, she waited for her eyes to adjust. Squinting, the blurred shapes gradually resolved into the ruins of a stone building. The roof was gone and the walls stuck up like the blunt teeth of a fallen giant. Arden walked around what had once been a large structure that had been left to crumble back into the earth. It was built on a headland, the view of the ocean clear on the far side. A lone gum tree clung to the edge of the cliff, roots visible where the earth had crumbled away. Dead, its bare branches stood out starkly white against the dark clouds forming over the ocean. There was a storm coming in, but it was still a way out to sea. Catching sight of a marking on the stone, she moved towards it to examine it more closely. It was weathered almost flat, but tracing the rough gritty surface with her finger, she made out the distinctive shape of a convict arrow.

Amazed, she walked in through a doorway, trying to work out what type of building it had been. There had been a large central room with many tiny rooms opening from it. They were small, storerooms perhaps? Exploring deeper into the ruins, there was a room that had been more protected at the rear and the purpose became apparent. The stubbed remains of bars were still embedded in the stone in one section and in the corner of the room were cross hatched markings on the walls, counting off the days. She was standing in a convict gaol.

Beautiful female Surfer looking for the waves

About the Author
lucy fentonL. C. Fenton lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband and two children. In addition to her cake- making business, she works as a freelance copywriter and pens occasional articles for various online magazines.
Not being one of those people who had a burning desire to be anything in particular, L. C. worked her way alphabetically backwards through the available degrees at Sydney University. Surprisingly, given the amount of fun she had at school, L.C. finally managed to graduate with a completely unemployable degree in Philosophy. A Law degree soon followed, however, simply to make it possible for some organization to hire her.

After ten soul-destroying years wandering aimlessly in the corporate wilderness, L. C. threw it all in and reassessed. Deciding to bring the “one day I will write a book” idea to the present, she started and hasn’t stopped. As a huge fan of the romance genre, she writes the kinds of books that she enjoys to read.

In her spare time, L. C. Fenton…actually she has no spare time. She sleeps or reads copious amounts of romance novels instead of sleeping.

Author Links:

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