Fablehaven Book of Imagination, by Brandon Mull, (Oct. 2016, Shadow Mountain), $14.99, ISBN: 978-1-62972-241-2
Recommended for ages 7-12
Fablehaven Fans, get ready! If you’ve ever wanted to draw your own magical preserve map, mix your own potions, or make an origami Olloch, the Fablehaven Book of Imagination is for you! It’s an activity book that has recipes, origami, writing prompts, and coloring pictures all through the book – anything to spark your creativity and imagination. There are quotes about imagination and creativity throughout the book; I was thrilled to see quotes from Neil Gaiman, JK Rowling, and JRR Tolkien, who may well be considered my personal trinity. Fans who are waiting patiently (or impatiently) for Dragonwatch, the new sequel series to Fablehaven, can track down a secret message from Brandon Mull, hidden throughout the book. A note at the beginning explains how.
Make this book yours – color in it, cut out and make the beasties, color and frame the quotes. This is your journal: you even get to write your name on it. Librarians already know that this isn’t the type of book we can put in circ, but we can have entire programs using this book as a guide – hello, summer reading in Fablehaven! – let your kids create codenames, place classified ads for help with their magical preserves, make magical webs – everything you need to run a successful Fablehaven program is in here if you’re a librarian, and it’s a great stocking stuffer for anyone whose imagination likes to run wild. (I’m totally coloring Neil Gaiman’s quote page to frame at my desk.) There are games online at the Fablehaven Preserve; there are also downloadable educators’ guides, and videos to prompt discussion.
The Last Cherry Blossom, by Kathleen Burkinshaw, (Aug. 2016, Sky Pony Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781634506939
Recommended for ages 10-14
Narrated in the first person by 12 year-old Yuriko, The Last Cherry Blossom tells the story of a family living in Hiroshima during the last year of World War II. Yuriko lives with her widowed father, her aunt Kimiko, and obnoxious 5 year-old cousin, Genji. She and her best friend Machiko stealthily listen to American Jazz records; Machiko’s father got rid of (almost) all of their records because the government wants to be rid of any American influence. She’s used to the air raid drills, even if they annoy her, but when her neighbor is called to fight for Japan, and then Machiko is called to leave school to work at the factory, Yuriko starts feeling the impact of war. She hears whispers from the neighborhood – and her father does run a newspaper – that Japan is not faring as well as the radio and newspapers would have you believe. When the true horror of war is brought to Yuriko’s door, we see, through her eyes, the devastation that the bombing of Hiroshima brought.
The Last Cherry Blossom is powerful. Even as an account of a family’s life during World War II, it’s a strong book, because it shows readers – in parallels we can make today – that the “enemy” isn’t an entire country; an entire group of people. The enemy were children teasing one another, rolling their eyes at annoying aunts and cousins, worried about their parents remarrying, and secretly listening to music that their parents may not approve of. The enemy loved eating sweet treats and held celebrations and cried when they lost people they loved in war, just like we did. Inspired by the author’s mother’s own life living as a child in Hiroshima, Ms. Burkinshaw writes so beautifully, yet packs a literary gut-punch that left me biting back tears.
There has been some strong World War II realistic/historical fiction for middle grade in the last couple of years, for which I am grateful. I’m very happy to see fiction that explores life outside the U.S. during World War II: we need perspective; reminders to look outside ourselves; to see the cost that war demands on everyone.
An author afterword tells readers about the author’s mother, and how her daughter’s class visits eventually led to the book being written. There’s also a bibliography, notes on the use of honorifics in the story, a glossary, and statistics about Hiroshima, complete with sources.
This is a good add to historical and realistic fiction collections. Booktalk with Sandy Brehl’s World War II books, taking place in Norway under the Nazi occupation; Sharon McKay’s End of the Line, taking place in Amsterdam, and most closely related to Burkinshaw’s work, Sadako and the Thousand Cranes (and please have tissues available).
The Lunch Witch #2: Knee-Deep in Niceness, by Deb Lucke, (Oct. 2016, Papercutz), $14.99, ISBN: 9781629915036
Recommended for ages 8-12
In this sequel to 2014’s Lunch Witch, Grunhilda is still pulling shenanigans at the school cafeteria – lately, she’s been putting chopped-up pink erasers into the ham and beans – but there’s a soft spot on that black and crusty heart of hers. She tries to hide it from her ancestors and her familiars: she gets a letter from Madison, the student she kinda sorta befriended in the first book, and keeps it hidden under her mattress. But Mr. Williams, her dog, knows something’s up, and finds the letter. Distressed, he talks the familiars into finding a cure: a meanness potion from the book that IS NOT TO BE USED BY ANYONE OTHER THAN WITCHES. What could go wrong, right? Right.
Mr. Williams mixes up a positivity potion, further illustrating why the spell book is NOT TO BE USED BY ANYONE OTHER THAN WITCHES. The positive vibes spread to the whole town; the ancestors are aghast, and Brunhilda has to fix things before her own black and crusty heart gives way to the shiny happy people business that’s running rampant.
The first Lunch Witch novel is still hugely popular – it’s still circulating here in my library, and kids are still asking for it by name. Wait until I put this one up. I love the rainbow beam, almost capturing Brunhilda in its happy rays on the cover. The interior art is still wonderfully bleak, in its blacks, browns, and washed out whites; the occasional splashes of color are fun and add effect (and humor, especially when Mr. Williams has to wee). Add this one to your graphic novel collections and give a copy to your Lunch Witch fans; they’ll lap it up.
Teaching Lunch Witch in your classroom? There’s an Educator’s Guide on the Papercutz website – I hope they add one for the new book, but you can always expand on the first one by creating new vocabulary lists and creating some discussion questions about the new story. Visit The Lunch Witch’s website for “recipes”, character profiles, and a Bad Advice section.
Barbie: Fashion Superstar, by Sarah Kuhn/Illustrated by Alitha Martinez, (Oct. 2016, Papercutz), $7.99, ISBN: 9781629915876
Recommended for ages 6-10
Papercutz continues their graphic novel license domination with every little girl’s (okay, just about every little girl) best friend, Barbie. In this first graphic novel under Papercutz, we get a brief history of Barbie comics (first published by Dell in 1962, later, in the ’90s, by Marvel) and an original Barbie story where she tackles a big fashion show panic with her enthusiasm and quick thinking. Her best friend, Liz, helps Barbie make everything fall right into place, and mega-fashion designer Whitney Yang is grateful when the dynamic duo save the day.
Alitha Martinez’s art is on point. It’s bright, fun, and looks consistent with other Barbie illustrated books and media. The friends talk about what inspires their creativity, embrace science (Barbie even creates a special ink to help her combine her doodling and fashion design), and think on their feet to solve problems. A diverse cast of characters makes this an all-around fun read for Barbie fans to enjoy. There’s a preview for the second volume of the Papercutz import series, Sisters, at the end.
I’ll add this one to my shelves – Barbie has a strong fan following here at my library; I can think of two sisters in particular that will be thrilled to see this appear on my graphic novels shelf. I may buy one copy for now, just to get it on the shelves, but invest in the hardcover copy when it’s published in January.
Goodnight Batcave, by Dave Croatto/Illustrated by Tom Richmond, (Oct. 2016, MAD Magazine), $14.99, ISBN: 9781401270100
Recommended for ages 5+
“In the great gray cave, there were a lot of bats, and souvenirs saved…”
Margaret Wise Brown could never have seen this coming: her sweet bedtime story has been turned into seemingly countless tongue-in-cheek retellings, including Goodnight iPad and Goodnight Goon. Goodnight Batcave is MAD Magazine’s take on the sleepytime classic and takes readers inside Batman’s inner sanctum, The Batcave. Batman’s wiped out and ready for bed, but his rogues gallery – including both fan favorites and old reliables, from Joker to Bane – just won’t behave and decide to attack the Batcave, maybe in the hopes of catching Bats unawares for the night? Using Goodnight Moon‘s familiar rhythm, Dave Croatto hilariously inserts Batman references that any fan worth their Bat-insignia pajamas will love. Bats flips and whips, knocks out knaves and bowls Penguins down the stairs. At the end of the night, Alfred is there, as always, to send Master Bruce off to sleep.
Tom Richmond’s art is classic MAD style, with exaggerated facial expressions and a superhero chin that you could land a Bat-Plane on. There are fantastic little references and Easter eggs for fans, including a nice showing by Ace, the Bat-Hound, and a quietly, ever-present Bat-mite, who snuggles up to Bats when their shift is finally over. The giant penny and T-Rex are there, and – this isMAD, after all – Alfred E. Neuman makes a cameo.
Younger Bat-fans will get a kick out of the fun take on a Bat-time story, and grown-up Batfans will love having this one on their bookshelves alongside favorite graphic novels and trade paperbacks.
Gertie’s Leap to Greatness, by Kate Beasley/Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki, (Oct. 2016, Macmillan), $16.99, ISBN: 9780374302610
Recommended for ages 8-12
Gertie Reece Foy is a fifth grader on a mission. She lives in Alabama with her dad, who works on an oil rig, and her great-aunt, who loves her to pieces. But Gertie’s on a mission to be the GREATEST fifth grader: she’s got quite a few plans. See, she wants to go up to her absentee mother – who lives in the same town – and let her know that she didn’t need her after all. Only one thing is standing in Gertie’s way, and that’s the new girl, Mary Sue Spivey. Mary Sue has a Hollywood director daddy and seems to have the world on a string, and she and Gertie do not hit it off at all.
This is a quick read that middle graders will enjoy. Caldecott Honor artist Jillian Tamaki’s (This One Summer) illustrations really bring a gentle life to the characters, particularly the headstrong Gertie, who takes a little bit to love, no lie. Like most middle grade protagonists, she can get a bit caught up in herself, especially considering her circumstances. Her mom abandoned her family when Gertie was just a baby, yet lives in the same town. Gertie passes her mother’s house on the bus route to school every day, and by some crazy happenstance, she and Aunt Rae only bumped into her mother once while grocery shopping at the Piggly Wiggly. I was confused as to why someone would abandon her husband and child, yet stay in the same neighborhood to continue on with her life.
Gertie becomes much more sympathetic when Mary Sue’s mean girl act kicks into high gear. Mary Sue is a truly awful mean girl. The author tried to soften her and make her more human at the end, but I wasn’t having it, nor was I having what appeared, to me, her mother sanctioning Mary Sue and her new mean girl clique’s behavior in targeting Gertie via a “Clean Earth Club” (Gertie’s dad works on an oil rig, and Mary Sue’s mom is an environmental lobbyist.) There’s some good diversity in the book, as you’ll see in the illustrations and the descriptions of some characters.
Entertainment Weekly is calling Gertie the “next Ramona Quimby”, and that’s a great starting point for display and booktalk/readalikes. Gertie’s Leap to Greatness is a good middle grade addition to collections where realistic fiction is popular. A story thread about oil rigs and the environment provides some good discussion topics.
There’s a Gertie webpage that offers some of Gertie’s Tips for Greatness, and illustrator Jillian Tamaki’s webpage has more artwork to enjoy.
Some pages from Gertie’s Leap to Greatness, courtesy of Macmillan:
One great thing about being able to have my own little corner of the blogosphere is discovering all these great, smaller publishers I may never have discovered before. I hope that by sharing these books, authors, and publishers with you,that you enjoy discovering them, too.
Everton Miles is Stranger Than Me is the sequel to 2014’s The Strange Gift of GwendolynGolden. It’s the continuing story of a teenage girl who discovers that she’s got an incredible gift – but there are always strings attached, and being able to fly comes with some pretty big strings. It’s a fun tale of magical realism, family, and friendship, and you don’t need to have read the first one to pick up the second; the book fills you in on the basics that you need to know to enjoy the story. I enjoyed visiting Gwendolyn, Everton and their friends; they’re characters you genuinely like and want to see good things happen for them. The supporting characters are all strong and empathetic; I especially love Gwendolyn’s headstrong younger sister, Christine.
If you’ve got readers who enjoy a little bit of magic in their daily lives – Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me is a great read-alike here – add the Night Flyers series to your bookshelves.
Everton Miles is Stranger Than Me, by Philippa Dowding, (Oct. 2016, Dundurn Press), $9.99, ISBN: 9781459735286
Recommended for ages 10-14
I was lucky enough to have author Philippa Dowding put together a fun Q&A for this post. Read and enjoy!
The 5 Questions No One Has Asked Me About This Book – Yet!, by Philippa Dowding
1. What’s your new book about? Everton Miles is Stranger than Me (Dundurn Press), is a sequel to my 2014 title, The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden, which was nominated for the OLA Red Maple award in 2015. In the first book, Gwendolyn, my 14-year-old protagonist, wakes up one morning on the ceiling of her bedroom, which is odd, but doesn’t particularly shock her. Floating around is just another weird thing that seems to be happening to her during puberty. As the story develops, however, she realizes she’s part of a larger community of Night Flyers, and that her dead father was a Night Flyer, too.
In the new sequel, I pick up where we left off: Gwendolyn has one year to decide whether or not she will become a Night Flyer forever. As she enters grade nine, she has all the problems of a regular teenager, PLUS she’s also part of this magical community of Night Flyers, which imbues everything with a sense of wonder, and a little darkness too, frankly. Everton Miles shows up at the beginning of school, a grade older, much cooler than her, and surprise, surprise … he’s a Night Flyer, too! The two mismatched teenagers are thrown together, and as Gwendolyn discovers more about the death of her father, she and Everton have to face Abilith, a fallen Rogue Spirit Flyer, kidnap, and the unspeakable horror of the Shade, together. Gwen discovers that with the help of Everton Miles, her community, and The Night Flyer’s Handbook, she might actually survive grade nine!
2. The series is called The Night Flyer’s Handbook. Why did you choose that as a series name?
Part of the new story is built around an 800-page book, The Night Flyer’s Handbook, that Gwendolyn’s mentor, Mrs. Forest, hands her. It’s quite hilariously the exact opposite of the flimsy 3-page brochure for the Less-than-Willing-Reader that Gwen received in book 1, (which ended up being entirely unhelpful). The much larger Handbook is intended to help her understand her new life as a Night Flyer, if she chooses to become one forever. Gwen isn’t a great reader, and finds the book daunting just to look at, but she does slowly read it, as the story progresses.
I’ve been both an academic and a copywriter in my life, and have written probably thousands of brochures, as well as a few academic papers in university. I thought it would be fun to introduce a tiny taste of academic-style writing into the story, since it couldn’t be more different from the useless 3-page brochure Gwen gets in book one. The Handbook has hilariously earnest chapter headings, like “Enemies and Entities,” or “History and Hysteria.”
Here’s a sample: “There appears to have been spirited rejection of the medieval European Night Flyer population, and as Professor Gertrude L. Lisquith (N.F., PhD, Oxford), concludes in her lengthy and definitive 1963 study, The Dialectic Presented by the Earliest Records of Night Flying/Non-Witch Identified Populations in Medieval England, France, Germany and Belgium, (Oxford University Press, pp. 816–865), although Night Flyers most likely existed before 1437, we have virtually no written record of them…”
Gwen finds it mystifying, but she doesn’t give up. The Handbook also has illustrations by a mythical 15th century illustrator, “T. Bosch,” who is a fictional, lesser-known relative to Hieronymus Bosch. As Gwen’s story progresses, and she eventually finishes the enormous Handbook, she realizes that it actually does help her, and is a valuable tome about her Night Flyer community. The message? You can still find the answers to life’s questions in books!
3. The teenagers in the story build a beautiful bottle garden with thousands of recycled glass bottles. Where did you get the idea for a bottle garden?
I was reading an article about wind catchers. There’s a low-tech wind-maker people create, using plastic bottles with the ends cut off, poked neck-first into plywood, which catches the breeze. This led to more reading about what to do with bottles, and I was astonished to discover the beauty of glass bottle garden sculptures.
One of the characters in both books, Mr. McGillies, is an old bottle collector. He has a fairly large role in Everton Miles is Stranger than Me, so I wanted to do something useful with all the bottles he hoarded on his property, plus I wanted to show that teenagers are remarkably resourceful, and beauty can pop up in the most unusual ways. I also wanted a tip of the hat to recycling.
Search “glass bottle sculpture” on the web, you’ll be amazed!
4. You HAVE to choose a favourite character from the book. Who is it, and why?
Abilith the Rogue, hands down. He was fascinating to write, and who doesn’t love creating a brilliant, powerful, menacing sociopathic antagonist, a fallen outcast from a race of immortals? For more about Abilith the Rogue, you can follow my blog tour this week, the schedule is on my blog: http://www.phdowding.blogspot.ca
5. What are you publishing next?
I have a middle-grade series with Dundurn Press called Weird Stories Gone Wrong, so I am currently expanding on those three books, hopefully there will be two more in the next year. I’m also considering a third book in The Night Flyer’s Handbook series, so stay tuned on that!
Enjoy a book trailer for The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden right here!
Avenging the Owl, by Melissa Hart, (Apr. 2016, Sky Pony Press), $15.99, ISBN: 9781634501477
Recommended for ages 9-13
Solo Hahn (his mom is a huge Star Wars fan) is a tween having a heck of a time. Not so long ago, in a galaxy not terribly far away – although it may seem that way – he had a great life: home in Redondo Beach, California; surfing with his buddies and loving his life; his mom loved her job as a professor, and his dad drew comics for a living. But things have changed; his dad has moved them to a trailer on a patch of land in Oregon, his mom has all gone vegetarian, crunchy granola on him, and his father is a shadow of the man he once was. The only thing Solo still had to hold onto was the kitten he found on the property as they were moving in; and then, an owl swooped in and took that away from him, too. Solo wanted revenge, but now he’s been labeled an “at-risk youth” and is doing community service at a raptor rescue center, where he’s taking care of the very types of birds that took his kitten from him.
Avenging the Owl is a great realistic fiction novel that tackles depression and suicide, and the toll it takes on a child when it happens to a parent. Even greater is the frustration of being a kid and having no control over anything in your life. Solo’s parents upend his life without any consideration as to its effect on him, and then voice frustration with him. It’s a valid, real portrait of adolescence, where kids’ independence are ultimately subject to their guardians’ plans.
There are good supporting characters in Avenging the Owl, including Solo’s group at the raptor rescue and Eric, Solo’s neighbor and friend. The story is a voyage of self-discovery for Solo, who emerges a different person than he was going into the story. He develops a relationship with Eric, a teen with Down Syndrome, initially at his mother’s behest but ultimately, develops genuine admiration and feeling for him. He learns to accept that Nature is not always fair. He learns to love his parents again, and just as important, they learn to see Solo for who he is. The thread running quietly through the novel about conservation and preservation is a great discussion theme for reading and discussion groups.
I enjoyed this book, and will add it to my realistic fiction collection. My middle graders enjoy animal fiction and often need to read realistic fiction for school, so this brings their two worlds together in a powerful way. Check out a great interview with author Melissa Hart on the From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors blog for some more insights.
A couple of years ago, I was a first round Cybils judge for Middle Grade realistic fiction, so I had the chance to read a lot of new, independent fiction that I never would have discovered otherwise. One of the books, Odin’s Promise by Sandy Brehl, is the story of a young girl and her beloved dog, Odin, living in Norway during the Nazi occupation during World War II. The sequel – the second in a planned trilogy! – continues the story of Mari and her family, living under the tightening yoke of the Nazi invasion.
We see Mari, her family and friends, staying strong as the Nazis move into Mari’s home and encroach on every facet of her life. Her friend, Leif, is thrilled to be a member of the Unghird – Norway’s answer to Hitler Youth – and insists on reminding Mari that she should be honored to receive his attention. The families are faced with increased rationing, book banning, and watching friends and neighbors disappear under the Nazi regime, yet engage in quiet acts of resistance; Bestemor still has her radio to receive BBC broadcasts, her father shelters refugees in the attic; and, most importantly, Mari’s brother Bjorn is a full-fledged member of the resistance. Although absent throughout the story, Bjorn’s presence is strongly felt through Mari’s journal, taking the form of letters to him, and his carved toys that give Mari and her friend, Per, the strength to carry on.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading Odin’s Promise yet, I highly recommend it. It’s a reminder that the Nazi occupation and their reign of terror against anyone of the Jewish faith or those who would dare to disagree with their policies was not limited to Germany. It’s an uplifting story about how everyone makes a difference in face of overwhelming odds. And Bjorn’s Gift is every bit as heart-rending and inspirational as its predecessor. I was so happy to revisit Mari and her family, and am so grateful to know that I will get to meet them again in one more novel.
Henry Hunter and the Beast of Snagov (Henry Hunter #1), by John Matthews, (Sept. 2016, Sky Pony Press), $15.99, ISBN: 9781510710382
Recommended for ages 8-12
Tween sleuth Henry Hunter and his sidekick, Adolphus (Dolph, for short) head to Transylvania to investigate the vampire myth and its relation to the Beast of Snagov in this new series debut. Henry is an adventure seeker, a tween millionaire with absentee parents who let him do just about whatever his minds sets itself to; Adolphus is his chronicler, much like Watson to Holmes. Henry reads about the Beast of Snagov – a creature more terrifying than Dracula himself, and who’s rumored to be the origin of the vampire myth – and decides that he and Dolph need to investigate. Off they go to Transylvania, where they’ll investigate the historical Vlad Tepes – Vlad the Impaler, the model for Count Dracula – and meet an interesting ally in the process.
There are secret societies, supernatural creatures, and a very nice tribute to Bram Stoker’s Lair of the White Worm in this fun supernatural mystery series. Kids will get a kick out of Henry Hunter and Dolph. Kids get to vicariously enjoy an adventure without parental intervention, with unlimited resources, and a teamup with a supernatural force in her own right. The characters are light and fun, and there’s some good information about Bram Stoker and his literary creations as well as the historical figure that birthed a legend, to be found here.
The kids in my library love mystery and supernatural/spooky books, so this will be a fun addition for me. I’ll mention Dracula and Lair of the White Worm, and display with the usual spooky suspects: Goosebumps, Cornelia Funke’s Ghosthunters series, and Angie Sage’s Araminta Spookie series. Originally published in Australia, Henry’s got another book in the series, Henry Hunter and the Cursed Pirates, so interested readers can keep their fingers crossed that he makes his way to our shores.
Fablehaven Book of Imagination, by Brandon Mull, (Oct. 2016, Shadow Mountain), $14.99, ISBN: 978-1-62972-241-2
Mom Read It 