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Cool New Books for November
 THE ART OF FREDDY
Walter R. Brooks
illustrated by Kurt Wiese
Overlook Press
ISBN: 1585673153
Ages 8-up
224 pages
The year 2002 marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the first appearance of Freddy the Pig, the charming and ingenious pig who has been featured in 26 stories. This special book captures the humor and drama of Freddy's world - his adventures and misadventures, as well as his human and barnyard friends and foes. Freddy also appears in many different roles - as a detective, poet, banker, and pilot, just to name a few!
 BECAUSE OF ANYA
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 0689832982
Ages 8-12
128 pages
Anya is a fourth-grader who wears a wig, and her classmates have no idea why she wears one. Is she sick? Is she going to die? Anya becomes very embarrassed when, one day, her wig falls off in front of the entire class. She finally tells them that she is suffering from alopecia areata, a disease that results in hair loss. One of Anya's classmates, Keely, wants very much to help Anya. But it's very hard for her to help, because all Anya wants is to have hair again.
 THE LEWIS AND CLARK TRAIL: Then and Now
Dorothy Hinshaw Patent
Dutton Books
ISBN: 0525469125
Ages 9-up
64 pages
When the Lewis and Clark expedition departed on its voyage of exploration in May 1804, the region of North America west of the Mississippi River was a blank spot on the map. Lewis and Clark filled it in with rivers and mountains, Indian tribes, and animals new to European Americans. Today, the West is a completely different place from what it was two hundred years ago. Every inch has been mapped, and much of its land has been covered by farms, ranches, cities, and towns. This informative book captures the differences between the American West then and now --- with the help of old prints, photographs, and paintings.
 MUTINY!
Brad Strickland and Thomas E. Fuller
Aladdin
ISBN: 0689852967
Ages 8-12
160 pages
The lawless Caribbean of the 1670s was a hotbed of stolen goods, spies, seamen, and pirate gold. In Port Royal, 14 year-old orphan Davy Shea is apprenticed to his dishonorable Uncle Patch, a surgeon aboard the H.M.S. Retribution. When a mutiny led by their friend Philip Hunter goes wrong, Davy joins Patch and Hunter as they escape and steal the warship Aurora. But Hunter and Patch aren't outlaws. They're secret agents going undercover to search the Caribbean for pirates. Davy joins the hunt and finds excitement and danger at every port!
 RATS: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Richard Conniff
Crown
ISBN: 0375812075
Ages 8-12
40 pages
Most people are completely turned off by the sight of a rat --- even the thought of one makes a person cringe. But Richard Conniff provides a very different account of rats in this book. Just think of all the different things rats can do: they can gnaw through lead, wriggle through a hole the size of a quarter, and survive high doses of nuclear radiation. And consider how much us humans have helped rats - we have unintentionally provided them with food, shelter, and transportation. And contrary to popular belief, rats are quite clean. Some people keep them as pets, while others worship them. After reading this book, I'm sure you'll agree that rats are fascinating and impressive creatures --- one of the most successful animals on earth!
 REMEMBERING MANZANAR: Life in a Japanese Relocation Camp
Michael L. Cooper
Clarion Books
ISBN: 0618067787
Ages 9-12
96 pages
In REMEMBERING MANZANAR, social historian Michael Cooper looks at the first relocation camp built for Japanese evacuees living on the West Coast after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He makes extensive use of the actual words --- from diaries, journals, memoirs, and news accounts-of the people who were held behind barbed wire in the high California desert. Many were American citizens who felt betrayed by their country. They had to leave their jobs, their homes, and their friends, and go live in crowded barracks, eat in noisy mess halls, and survive without supplies or books for work or school. They showed remarkable bravery and resilience as they tried to lead normal lives, starting their own schools, playing baseball, attending Saturday night dances, and publishing their own newspaper. Archival photographs, some by Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange, are included in this fascinating book.
 COUNTRY KID, CITY KID
Julie Cummins
illustrated by Ted Rand
Henry Holt & Company
ISBN: 0805064672
Ages 4-8
32 pages
Ben and Jody are miles apart from each other. Ben lives on a quiet farm, where he wakes up each morning to the peaceful sounds of birds chirping and cows mooing. Jody is a city kid. She lives in an apartment building, where her mornings begin with honking horns and wailing sirens. Their lives are nothing alike --- or are they?
 HELLO WORLD!
Manya Stojic
Cartwheel Books
ISBN: 0439362024
Ages 4-8
48 pages
Hello! Bonjour! Ciao! Guten Tag! Learn to greet someone in French, Italian, German, and 39 other languages! This unique book is filled with illustrations of children from various countries, and each page includes a greeting translated in a different language. Readers of this book will find out that a simple "hello" has the power to unite people all around the world.
 A LIBRARY FOR JUANA: The World of Sor Juana Ines
Pat Mora
illustrated by Beatriz Vidal
Knopf
ISBN: 0375806431
Ages 5-8
40 pages
When she was just a little girl living in a Mexican village, Juana Ines decided the thing she wanted most in the world was her very own collection of books, just like in her grandfather's library. She couldn't wait to go to school, because she knew she would learn to read there. When she found out that only boys were allowed to attend university, she showed her courage and determination by dressing up as a boy. Word of her great intelligence soon spread, and eventually, Juana Ines was considered one of the best scholars in the Americas - something unheard of for a woman in the 17th century. Today, this important poet is admired throughout the world, and her verse is memorized by schoolchildren throughout Mexico.
 MAMA, DON'T GO OUT TONIGHT
Sally Gardner
Bloomsbury
ISBN: 1582347905
Ages 4-8
32 pages
A little girl doesn't want her mother to go out for the night. But Mama, who is getting ready for a fancy-dress ball, tells the girl that nighttime is for grown-ups and that Daisy will be over to baby-sit. Daisy and the little girl create their own fun with dress-up clothes and books, and the girl isn't scared anymore. Meanwhile, Mama is having a great time at the ball, dancing and twirling in her fancy dress. When Mama comes home, she gives her little daughter a goodnight kiss, the perfect ending to a very sweet story.
 THE POODLE WHO BARKED AT THE WIND
Charlotte Zolotow
illustrated by Valerie Coursen
Henry Holt & Company
ISBN: 0805063064
Ages 4-8
32 pages
This book is about a little black poodle who barks at everything - the garbage men, the telephone, the rain, and the wind. Her family wonders why she makes so much noise. No one minds the barking, except the father. He's a writer, and the barking makes him lose his concentration and forget what he wants to say. One day, the little poodle is left alone with him, and something happens that changes his mind about the dog for good.
SAMMY AND THE DINOSAURS SAY "AHHH!"
Ian Whybrow
illustrated by Adrian Reynolds
Orchard Books
ISBN: 0439326869
Ages 4-8
32 pages
This sequel to SAMMY AND THE DINOSAURS is about a boy named Sammy, who is very nervous about going to the dentist. His dinosaur friends are even more nervous. But when Sammy is able to conquer his fears, the dinosaurs do the same thing. The silly dinosaur mischief that follows will have children laughing and counting the days until their next dental exam!!
 TALKIN' ABOUT BESSIE
Nikki Grimes
illustrated by E.B. Lewis
Orchard Books
ISBN: 0439352436
Ages 5-9
48 pages
Elizabeth "Bessie" Coleman was always being told what she could and couldn't do. It was not easy to survive in a world when the Jim Crow laws and segregation were a way of life. But these unfortunate circumstances did not stop her. When she was only 11, she vowed to become the first African-American pilot. Her faith and determination helped her overcome so many obstacles - poverty, racism, and gender discrimination.
 ZATHURA: A Space Adventure
Chris Van Allsburg
Houghton Mifflin Co.
ISBN: 0618253963
Ages 5-8
32 pages
The Caldecott-winning book JUMANJI ended with young Danny Budwing running after his brother, Walter, with a game tucked under his arm. Now after twenty years, Chris Van Allsburg is ready to reveal what happens when Danny and Walter roll the dice. This time the name of the game is Zathura, and the battling Budwing boys are in for the ride of their lives. The first book in seven years by Chris Van Allsburg, ZATHURA is a dramatic adventure that promises to be a breathtaking and unforgettable experience. At the end of the story (which miraculously becomes the beginning), we find that Walter's feelings for his little brother have changed very much. Chris Van Allsburg creates a fantastic world, where shifts in time, space, and perspective take the reader on an extraordinary journey.
--- Selected and written by Tom Donadio
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