Fiction – Page 45 – Mom Read It

Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Enter a dream world with Nightlights

Posted on January 13, 2017December 27, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Nightlights, by Lorena Alvarez, (March 2017, Nobrow), $18.95, ISBN: 9781910620137

Recommended for ages 9+

Sandy loves the stars that appear out of the darkness in her bedroom each night. She plays with them, catches them, creates wonderful dreams with them, and in the morning, creates drawings that cover her room. A new girl named Morfie shows up at Sandy’s strict Catholic school and befriends her, but she also starts showing up in Sandy’s dreams, demanding Sandy’s time and drawings. Sandy’s exhausted, but Morfie is always there, always asking her to draw for her.

Nightlights is an unexpected, beautiful graphic novel that looks at fear, insecurity, and creativity. The colorwork is stunning and the dream sequences are breathtaking. Lorena Alvarez’s imagination runs free on the pages of her novel, and she invites readers to join her for the ride.

Nightlights is a very good addition to graphic novel collections and has received a starred review from Kirkus. See more of Lorena Alvarez Gomez’s beautiful and colorful illustration at her website.

Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade

Happy Warren the 13th!

Posted on January 13, 2017January 13, 2017 by Rosemary Kiladitis

What better way to greet a Friday the 13th than with a specially created Warren the 13th story just for you?

Readers met Warren the 13th in his first adventure, Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye, in late 2015. The story is a little bit steampunk and a lot of fun as we meet Warren, an orphan working in his family’s hotel and trying to thwart his evil aunt and clueless uncle. Warren’s second adventure, Warren the 13th and the Whispering Woods, will be hitting shelves in March, but author Tania del Rio couldn’t let a Friday the 13th go by unnoticed! She’s created a special short story, celebrating Warren’s unlucky day on Friday the 13th, and you can enjoy it right now, along with additional activities! The booklet is available for download on Scribd, absolutely free.

friday-the-13th-image

Visit Quirk’s Warren website for previews, trailers, and activities, and find out more about Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye and the upcoming Warren the 13th and the Whispering Woods at their Quirk pages.

Happy Warren the 13th!

Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

The Time Museum has something for everyone – no matter what time you’re from!

Posted on January 8, 2017August 29, 2019 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Time Museum, by Matthew Loux, (Feb. 2017, First Second), $14.99, ISBN: 9781596438491

Recommended for ages 8-12

Delia’s the class bookworm, the class nerd… you get the idea. When school’s out for the summer, all her brother wants to do is go swimming, but Delia has found something much more exciting: the possibility of an internship at The Time Museum, courtesy of her Uncle Lyndon! The Time Museum is kind of like the Natural History Museum, but on an Earth-wide basis. All time eras are welcome, as Delia learns when she meets some of the kids she’s competing against for the internship: Michiko, a Japanese girl from 2217; Titus Valerius Marianus, from Ancient Rome; Dex, who’s a Neanderthal, thank you very much, not a caveman; Reggie, a 51st century Canadian boy genius, and Greer, a prickly Scottish girl who’s already been time traveling. As they train for the internship, they must also go through time trials – going back – or forward – in time to find and collect anachronisms. They’ll also learn that working as a team is much harder, but more beneficial, than going it alone.

The Time Museum is a fun middle grade romp for every kid that wants to live Night at the Museum or catches every episode of The Librarians. Whether Delia and her friends are running away from dinosaurs or discovering a robot playing strip poker, there’s something here for everyone to laugh at. There’s a positive message about healthy competition and teamwork going hand in hand, there’s a giant, talking brain, and a super-cool android librarian that uses android cats to fetch books. If I had a library like that, I’d never leave; I’d just hang out at my reference desk, covered in robot kittens.

The Time Museum is a lot of fun, and maybe it’ll turn even reluctant readers into readers who see the fun in history. Add to your graphic novel shelves, and talk this one up with some good, tried and true Geronimo Stilton, our favorite time-traveling journalist mouse. Get out your Time Warp Trio series to create a fun display for everyone.

Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Tween Reads

I’m a CYBILS Judge!

Posted on January 7, 2017January 7, 2017 by Rosemary Kiladitis

I can finally talk about it! I’m thrilled to be a CYBILS judge again, returning to the Middle Grade Speculative Fiction category. There have been SO many great books published, and I’ll be diving into the finalists this time around, as a second round judge. Wanna see who’s up for the award? Take a look, and adjust your TBRs accordingly.

When the Sea Turned to Silver, by Grace Lin, (Oct. 2016, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), $18.99, ISBN: 978-0316125925

Inspired by Chinese folklore, this companion to the Newbery Honor Winner, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, is the story of a girl on a mission to save her kidnapped grandmother.

The Voyage to Magical North, by Claire Fayers, (July 2016, Henry Holt & Co.), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1627794206

An orphan keeps house for an irritable magician and his equally obnoxious apprentice, and ends up accidentally becoming a pirate.

The Evil Wizard Smallbone, by Delia Sherman, (Sept. 2016, Candlewick), $17.99, ISBN: 978-0763688059

A boy runs away from his uncle’s home, discovers a bookstore run by a self-proclaimed Evil Wizard who won’t let him leave, but calls him his apprentice.

Shadow Magic, by Joshua Khan, (April 2016, Disney-Hyperion), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1484732724

An outlaw’s son is sold into slavery. A girl is the last surviving member of her family, a line of dark sorcerers. Together, they’ll break the rules.

The Memory Thief, by Bryce Moore, (Sept. 2016, Adaptive Books), $16.99, ISBN: 9781945293030

This was published as a Barnes & Noble exclusive in 2016, but is being published in wide release this March.

Twins wander off at a county fair; Benji, the brother, wanders into a tent where he meets an old man who collects memories. He asks to train as a Memory Thief and ends up on an adventure.

The Goblin’s Puzzle: Being the Adventures of a Boy with No Name and Two Girls Called Alice, by Andrew Chilton, (Jan. 2016, Knopf Books for Young Readers), $16.99, ISBN: 978-0553520705

A fantasy adventure filled with dragons, goblins, and puzzles.

The Firefly Code, by Megan Frazer Blakemore, (May 2016, Bloomsbury USA), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1619636361

When a new girl moves to Firefly Lane, a girl and her friends start questioning everything they’ve known.

I’ll recap after we select a winner!

Adventure, Animal Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade

Cats Aloft! Anton and Cecil’s third adventure takes to the air!

Posted on January 3, 2017January 2, 2017 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Anton and Cecil: Cats Aloft, by Lisa Martin and Valerie Martin/Illustrated by Kelly Murphy, (Dec. 2016, Algonquin Young Readers), $16.95, ISBN: 9781616204594

Recommended for ages 8-12

Anton and Cecil, the lovable, adventuring feline siblings, are on their third adventure, where they’ll discover a carnival, find themselves recruited to solve a mystery of missing puppies, and discover that ballooning is yet another way to travel!

Taking place in Victorian England, this third book in the Anton and Cecil series is filled with fun and adventure. It’s not necessary to read the first two in the series; there’s enough exposition to jump right in with the animals and enjoy. Kelly Murphy’s black and white illustrations add depth and breathing room for readers. These are stories that will make parents remember the books we read growing up – The Wind in the Willows, The Rescuers, A Cricket in Times Square – and be glad that there are still sweet stories like this to be told.

This book – this series – is a great add to collections where animal fiction does well.

Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

And they lived happily ever after…

Posted on January 3, 2017January 2, 2017 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Princess Princess Ever After, by Katie O’Neill, (Sept. 2016, Oni Press), $12.99, ISBN: 9781620103401

Recommended for ages 9-13

Princess Sadie is so over the princes and their lame rescue attempts that she quietly sabotages her own rescues – that is, until Princess Amira happens along. Mohawked and determined to strike out on her own, in no mood to settle down to standard princess life herself, Amira frees Sadie and gives her self-esteem a much-needed boost. Joining forces, the two princesses face a jealous sorceress who has a very personal grudge with Sadie, and discover that they can create their own happily ever after, no princes necessary.

I adore this story. It has so many empowering messages, I want to hand copies of them out to every kid I see, every classroom I visit. It’s a story of doing it yourself; of self-esteem and loving yourself; of the freedom to love. The cartoon art is bright, happy, and even includes the cutest little dragon to fall in love with, because at heart, this is a princess story. It’s soft and feminine while delivering a strong, gorgeous message. Display and booktalk this with the Princeless and Lumberjanes series of comics and trade paperbacks – and read them yourself! They’re fantastic!

This book has received a lot of buzz, including a lovely Lambda Literary review and a 2016 Best Elementary/Middle Grade Graphic Novels nomination from the CYBILS. It was also awarded best book/graphic novel and shortlisted for best overall comic in the first annual Autostraddle Comic and Sequential Art Awards. Visit Katie O’Neill’s website to see and read more about her work.

This is an important book to have in your collections, and an adorable fantasy tale on top of it. Why wouldn’t you want a one-two winner like this?

Art courtesy of StrangelyKatie.com

Adventure, Espionage, Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

There’s a Section 13 loose in the Lost Property Office!

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Lost Property Office, by James R. Hannibal, (Nov. 2016, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), $16.99, ISBN: 9781481467094

Recommended for ages 10-14

Thirteen year-old Jack Buckles is usually pretty great at finding things, but that doesn’t extend to his father, who’s disappeared in London. His mother goes out to search for him, leaving Jack in charge of his younger sister, Sadie. All they need to do is stay in the hotel room until their mom gets back, but Sadie manages to nudge Jack into going for breakfast – and then she swears she sees their dad, and takes off. Before Jack knows what’s going on, he’s learned that his father was a member of a secret society of detectives, and Jack is next in line for membership – maybe. He also learns that a villain calling himself the Clockmaker is holding his dad hostage in exchange for the Ember, an artifact linked to the Great Fire of London. Jack and Gwen, a young clerk at the Lost Property Office, dive into adventure that takes them through the history of London in order to save Jack’s father and her uncle, who worked with Jack’s dad.

The Lost Property Office stumbled a bit for me because I had trouble unraveling exactly what the Lost Property Office was. Was it the secret headquarters of the secret society? Was it a more amorphous concept that I wasn’t getting? The action kicks in quickly and the pace doesn’t let up, but a bit more exposition would have given me a more helpful grasp on the story; I found myself getting lost trying to relate all the subplots and elements. I wasn’t a big fan of Gwen, who I found more obnoxious than a foil/humorous frenemy.

This one’s an additional purchase for your puzzle and mystery/espionage fans. Pair this with Gitty Daneshvari’s League of Unexceptional Children, and James Ponti’s Florian Bates series. The Alex Rider series is always a good pick for adventure fans, too.

Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade, Middle School, Tween Reads

Who’s the newest and fairest of them all?

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Charmed, I’m Sure, by Sarah Darer Littman, (Sept. 2016, Aladdin), $17.99, ISBN: 9781481451277

Recommended for ages 8-12

What happens when you’re the daughter of the fairy tale world’s version of Brangelina – Snow White and Prince Charming – and you can’t get a date for the Fall Festive school dance? This is Rosie White Charming’s dilemma in Charmed, I’m Sure. She grits her teeth and asks her mom – now a lifestyle blogger for her hugely famous brand – for help, receiving a complete makeover and magic compact from Snow White. At first, it’s great – guys are noticing her! Her friends think she looks fabulous! – but things aren’t always what they seem. Rosie swears the compact is talking to her, and it’s sounding a heck of a lot like the magic mirror that her evil step-grandmother used; next thing she knows, her friends are mad at her, and so is the cute guy she was talking up at the coffee joint. Rosie isn’t giving up, though – she’s going to find a way to get her happily-ever-after.

Charmed, I’m Sure is another fun entry into the flipped/fractured fairy tale genre for middle graders. It’s fun, has some cameos from other famous fairy tale offspring, and the characters are light and silly. There’s a nice message about staying true to yourself, and Snow White gets her message across to her daughter in a very sly way that will make you realize that she knows a lot more than she lets on. (Like most parents, am I right?)

A fun addition to your fun fairy tales collection. Talk it up with Jen Calonita’s Fairy Tale Reform School series and The Secret Destiny of Pixie Piper for extra fun reading!

Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Humor, Intermediate, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Little Knight and Edward return: Hocus Focus!

Posted on December 23, 2016August 29, 2019 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Hocus Focus, by James Sturm, Alexis Frederick-Frost, and Andrew Arnold, (Jan. 2017, First Second), $14.99, ISBN: 9781596436541

Recommended for ages 7-12

I love the Little Knight graphic novels from First Second! The latest adventure has Little Knight and her ever-present and faithful steed, Edward, learning magic. Well, right now she’s peeling turnips, but the wizard swears it’s teaching her patience! When the wizard turns his back for just a second, Little Knight steals his magic wand and spell book to learn some magic on her own, and gets much more than she bargained for when her spell merges Edward with a worm to create a giant, hungry, horseworm!

If you’ve never picked up a Little Knight graphic novel, there are a bunch to choose from, but don’t worry – you don’t need to read them in any kind of order. Each story has a young knight, her faithful horse, and a fun adventure. That’s all you need to know! The lesson in this book is all about patience; something Little Knight learns about after rushing her magic lessons. The art is cartoony and fun, bright and bold. The endpapers have the usual goofy how-to-draw tutorials, including Little Knight as a tuba player, Edward busting some sweet dance moves, and the Wizard’s Magical Mix-‘Em-Up Cauldron of mashups.

A fun add to any kid’s graphic novel collection and library collections alike. Program-in-a-book: have a book group read the Little Knight books and draw one of the endpaper suggestions!

Animal Fiction, Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade

Geronimo Stilton goes to the ends of the earth in his latest graphic novel adventure

Posted on December 21, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Geronimo Stilton #18: First to the Last Place on Earth, (Nov. 2016, Papercutz), $9.99, ISBN: 9781629916033

Recommended for ages 6-10

Journalist mouse and time traveler Geronimo Stilton’s latest adventure takes him and a group of friends (including his younger sister, Thea!) back to 1911, where they join explorer Roald Amundsen’s expedition to the South Pole. They have to beat the awful Pirate Cats, who plan to sabotage the expedition and ruin history, so Geronimo will need to stay extra sharp!

The Geronimo Stilton graphic novels are fun because they’re another addition to the Stilton family of storytelling. The stories are original – no rehashes of the chapter books here! – and offer kids some interesting facts mixed in with their fun. Geronimo is insanely popular, as are all his spinoff titles; your intermediate and middle grader readers will gobble these up. You won’t even need to booktalk this book – just put it out and stand back.

Want to use Geronimo to promote your exploration titles? I don’t blame you. Talk up Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 Antarctic expedition; Matthew Henson’s exploration of the North Pole, and the lost Franklin expedition of 1845. Nomad Press’ Mysteries and Mayhem: Survival is a good book to talk up, and the I Survived series will always get kids listening and reading.