Books for Young Readers

 

 

Recommendations from our staff that appeared in our 2009 Winter Newsletter. 









Bring Me Some Apples and I'll Make You a Pie: A Story About Edna Lewis (Hardcover)

By Robbin Gourley
$16.00
ISBN-13: 9780618158362
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Clarion Books, 1/2009

Edna Lewis was born in 1916, in Freetown, Virginia, a community founded by her grandfather and two other emancipated slaves. “The people of Freetown were farmers,” says Robbin Gourley in her afterword to the book, “and they lived by the seasons, growing and harvesting their own crops, gathering nature’s wild bounty.” This vibrant fictionalized account of the childhood of Edna Lewis—chef and pioneering proponent of the fresh and local food movement—follows the seasons through food and song, from the first strawberries of spring to the last pecans and walnuts of fall.

“But I have never tasted meat,/nor cabbage, corn, or beans,/nor milk or tea that’s half as sweet/as that first mess of greens,” sings Edna, amidst watercolor dandelion greens so vibrant they could be plucked right off the page. An informative author’s note and five kid-friendly recipes accompany this timely ode to food, family, and the seasons. For ages 5–8. —H.S.

Orangutan Tongs: Poems to Tangle Your Tongue (Hardcover)

By Jon Agee, Jon Agee
$16.99
ISBN-13: 9781423103158
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Hyperion, 3/2009

Walter Witter called a waiter: “Waiter, over here!
I want some water, waiter. Water, waiter! Is that clear?”
The waiter brought some water. Walter Witter shouted: WRONG!
This water’s really watered-down! I like my water strong!”
The waiter brought more water. Walter Witter was upset.
“This water’s dry!” said Walter. “I like my water wet!
Bring me wetter water, waiter!” Walter Witter said.
The waiter brought a pitcherful and poured it on his head.

The Georges and the Jewels (Hardcover)

By Jane Smiley
$16.99
ISBN-13: 9780375862274
Availability: Usually ships from warehouse in 1 - 5 days
Published: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 9/2009
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Pulitzer Prize–winner Jane Smiley (A Thousand Acres) has written a quiet novel about a 12-year-old growing up in the 1960s on a farm in California, where her family trains horses. With so many other books revolving around fast pacing and plot twists, Smiley lets this book unfold in a way that calls attention to the simple joy of reading. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t that nothing happens in this book, it’s just that Smiley uses her talent to unveil and layer her story in a way that when you close the book and lean back, you find yourself somehow calmed and eased into all that she has offered. You trust the author, the tale, the characters, and read because you want to read, at your own pace, quietly curious about what will happen next. I mention this because this quiet pacing, based on curiosity, is also the best way to train a horse, so that the moves the horse makes are slightly directed by the rider, but are also based on the horse’s own interest, curiosity, and joy. If I was trained in the reading of this novel, I am glad of it, and am amazed at the quiet calmness that has settled in since. For ages 10 and up. —S.M.C.

The Problem with the Puddles (Hardcover)

By Kate Feiffer, Tricia Tusa
$16.99
ISBN-13: 9781416949619
Availability: Usually ships from warehouse in 1 - 5 days
Published: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 2/2009
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“‘Romp: to play or frolic in a lively, boisterous manner.’ That’s what we have right here. Take one endearing, exasperating family, two cozily canny canines, a plot that insists on going where you least expect it to, and just enough outrageous wordplay and you have as much fun as you can handle.” —Norton Juster, author of The Phantom Tollbooth. For ages 8–11.

Marcelo In The Real World (Hardcover)

By Francisco Stork, Francisco X. Stork
$17.99
ISBN-13: 9780545054744
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Published: Arthur A. Levine Books, 3/2009
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Marcelo Sandoval, 17, is comfortable with his job caring for the ponies at Patterson, the expensive special education school he’s attended since first grade, comfortable with conversations with his mother’s friend, a down-to-earth woman rabbi, with whom he explores his obsession with religious writing and philosophy, comfortable living apart from (but close to) his family in what is essentially a luxury treehouse. Arturo, his father and a high-powered lawyer, wants Marcelo to move beyond his comfort zone into the “real world” by working a summer job in the mail room of his corporate law office. Marcelo, he promises, could then decide, himself, where to attend his senior year—a mainstream high school (which Arturo wants), or Patterson. Marcelo reluctantly agrees. Maneuvering his careful way around unfamiliar places, beginning an important relationship with his boss—a competent and beautiful young woman—questioning the ethics of his father’s most important client (and understanding that this will have financial and emotional fallout), Marcelo proves himself to be capable of enormous insight and growth. And essential goodness. It is a very great pleasure to have met Marcelo. For ages 13 and up. —G.L.

How Oliver Olson Changed the World (Hardcover)

By Claudia Mills, Heather Maione
$15.95
ISBN-13: 9780374334871
Availability: Usually ships from warehouse in 1 - 5 days
Published: Square Fish, 3/2009
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Excited by a “space sleepover” planned for his third-grade class, Oliver (with the help of his solar system project partner, Crystal) persuades his loving, overprotective parents that he can begin to handle his own responsibilities—from homework to class sleepovers. For ages 7–9.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Hardcover)

By Jacqueline Kelly
$16.99
ISBN-13: 9780805088410
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Published: Square Fish, 5/2009
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It’s summer 1889 and hot in Fentress, Texas. Eleven-year-old Calpurnia—intensely interested in the natural world—“tries to carve a place for herself as a scientist amidst very different expectations for her future. Calpurnia’s perseverance and confidence gained working side-by-side with her grandfather are evidence that she’s more than capable of meeting her goals. Kelly, without anachronism, has created a memorable, warm, spirited young woman who’s refreshingly ahead of her time.” —Horn Book. For ages 10 and up.

Redwoods (Hardcover)

By Jason Chin
$16.99
ISBN-13: 9781596434301
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Flash Point, 3/2009
A boy on a New York City subway finds a book (with what appears to be his own image on the cover) and his train ride becomes a trek through the redwood groves of the Pacific Northwest. In this playful picture book, Chin juxtaposes clear factual text with fantastical watercolor illustrations of the boy’s hike—and climb—through the coexisting realities of the city and the forest. The result is as much an informative science book as it is an exciting adventure story and a celebration of learning and imagination. For ages 5–9. —H.S.

The Lion & the Mouse (Hardcover)

By Jerry Pinkney
$16.99
ISBN-13: 9780316013567
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9/2009
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In this nearly wordless adaptation of the classic fable, Caldecott Award-winning illustrator Jerry Pinkney visually tells the story of the lion, who unexpectedly releases a captured mouse, and the mouse, who just as surprisingly returns the favor by freeing the lion from a hunter’s trap. Although this is an incredibly “human” story of kindness and reciprocation, Pinkney is careful not to anthropomorphize, producing characters that are at once wonderfully expressive and entirely believable. His choice of setting—the African Serengeti—gives the narrative depth and relevance. Pinkney renders the moral of this story with subtlety and grace, and the result is arguably one of the most breathtakingly illustrated books of the year. Each spread is a delight to the eye and the imagination. For ages 3–8. —H.S.

When You Reach Me (Hardcover)

By Rebecca Stead
$15.99
ISBN-13: 9780385737425
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Wendy Lamb Books, 7/2009
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This book is not to be missed—and I don’t care how old you are! Written for young adults, but a must-read for all, this book is easily one of my all-time favorites. I don’t want to give too much away, but it is reminiscent in storyline of The Time Traveler’s Wife, but even more grounded in reality (just go with me here). I don’t know how to talk about it without also risking taking something away from your reading experience, but please read it. Please. Here’s something I can say: I can no longer walk by any standard blue mailbox without either tearing up or using every muscle in my body to resist shimmying myself underneath to stare up at the rusted bottom and see if there is a secret message of love that awaits me. Curious? Read this book.

(I loved this book so much that I became obsessed with Rebecca Stead and read her backlist title, First Light, a tale that tells parallel stories about a boy who travels to Greenland with his parents on a trip to research global warming, and a girl who is a resident of Gracehope—a secret and captivating world below the ice. Did I mention that Rebecca Stead may be one of the most talented writers ever?) Ages 12 and up. —S.M.C.

Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) (Hardcover)

By Suzanne Collins
$17.99
ISBN-13: 9780439023498
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Scholastic Press, 9/2009
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In the amazing The Hunger Games, readers learn that each year in Panem, the dystopian nation that rises up where the United States used to be, the Capitol holds a televised tournament in which two teen “tributes” from each of the surrounding districts are pitted against each other in a fight to the death. But this year, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, the tributes from impoverished District Twelve, thwart the Gamemakers, and both make it out of the arena alive. Catching Fire picks up where The Hunger Games left off, only this time it quickly becomes clear that the dangers Katniss and Peeta faced in the arena have not been left behind with their victory, for it seems that Katniss has become a symbol for rebels trying to overthrow the Capitol. As it becomes clear to sinister President Snow that Katniss and Peeta’s subversive victory is what’s fueling a spreading rebellion and rumors of a secret district, he does the unthinkable in an attempt to stop the reach of their influence. A sequel that—dare I say it?—is better than the original, Catching Fire harnesses the growing power of its narrator as she steps into her status as the symbol of the revolution. Ages 13 and up. —R.M.

Waiting for Winter (Hardcover)

By Sebastian Meschenmoser
$15.99
ISBN-13: 9781935279044
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Kane/Miller Book Publishers, 6/2009
Kids books are a mysterious thing, at least for an adult. They are always more than the sum of their parts, seemingly tied together by some ineffable magic. It is this ineffable quality that separates the good children’s books from the extraordinary. And it is this quality that comes through on every page of Waiting for Winter. When Squirrel learns from his friend, Deer, that with winter comes snow, and that snow is worth waiting up for, Squirrel is determined to find some. Pretty soon he is joined by his should-be-hibernating friends, Hedgehog and Bear. But how will they know what to look for if none of them has ever seen it? Meschenmoser’s illustrations are thrilling and his style is mesmerizing. His pencil strokes appear frenetic, almost agitated. While the text of the book is smart and extremely funny, it is the silent comedies of the two-page wordless spreads that truly make Waiting for Winter shine. This is a book for anyone who has ever wanted anything badly enough to wait up for it, to stick it out through the long dark night. It is also a book for anyone who has ever tried to make sense of their world, and who hasn’t, at one point or another, had to do that? For ages 4 to adult. —R.M.

Lucky Breaks (Hardcover)

By Susan Patron, Matt Phelan
$16.99
ISBN-13: 9781416939986
Availability: Usually ships from warehouse in 1 - 5 days
Published: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 3/2009
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Lucky is back in this sequel to Patron’s Newbery Award-winning, Higher Power of Lucky (now in paperback), along with all the charming, eccentric inhabitants of Hard Pan, California. This new escapade is as sweet, funny, and profound as the first. We’re lucky. For ages 9–11.

Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith (Hardcover)

By Deborah Heiligman
$18.95
ISBN-13: 9780805087215
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 12/2008
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Heiligman’s lively biography “uses the Darwin family letters and papers to craft a full-bodied look at the personal influences that shaped Charles’ life as he worked mightily to form his theories. This intersection between religion and science is where the book shines, but it is also an excellent portrait of what life was like during the Victorian era, a time when illness and death were ever present, and, in a way, a real-time example of the survival of the fittest.” —Booklist. For ages 13 and up.

All the World (Hardcover)

By Liz Garton Scanlon, Marla Frazee
$17.99
ISBN-13: 9781416985808
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Beach Lane Books, 9/2009
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Scanlon’s text has the perfect simplicity of a Margaret Wise Brown book. “Rock, stone, pebble, sand/Body, shoulder, arm, hand/A moat to dig, a shell to keep/All the world is wide and deep.” Marla Frazee’s illustrations remind us of Robert McCloskey’s timeless sense of place. The book—a celebration of the natural world and humankind—is both old fashioned and contemporary. The clothing is sun faded and salt washed, the vehicles are old and rounded like those in Virginia Lee Burton’s books. The town’s residents are diverse: The very young and old interact; we see interracial and same-sex couples at the farmers’ market, beach, and café, in the garden, gathered together in front of a fire with family and friends at the end of an idyllic day. All the World evokes, with wonder and joy, the beauty of a small West Coast seaside town. For ages 2–6. —G.L.

Extreme Scientists: Exploring Nature's Mysteries from Perilous Places (Hardcover)

By Donna M. Jackson
$18.00
ISBN-13: 9780618777068
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 5/2009
Horn Book raves, “The outstanding Scientists in the Field series cranks it up a notch with profiles of three stereotype-shattering scientists whose field research sites provide some pretty intense experiences.” And Booklist, in a starred review, says, “Hurricane hunter Paul Flaherty doesn’t just track a storm from his office; he flies into its eye to observe it and to collect readings that can’t be obtained from the ground. Hazel Barton, a microbiologist specializing in single-cell organisms living in extreme conditions, finds them by going wherever she must, scuba diving through underwater passageways and rappelling into glacial crevasses and deep underground caves. Ecologist and college processor Steve Sillet, who scaled and measured the world’s tallest living tree (379.1 feet), climbs into the canopies to study redwoods…The many excellent color photos portray these adventurers as scientists intently focused on their work, though sometimes in unusual or unusually beautiful surroundings.” For ages 8–13.
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