Cool New Books for June
June's roundup of Cool New Books includes two titles from popular middle-grade novelist Andrew Clements: ROOM ONE, in which a fifth-grader tries to figure out why he sees a face in the window of a supposedly empty house, and A MILLION DOTS, an informative picture book that actually contains one million dots. We're also featuring a hip, contemporary retelling of the classic Cinderella fairy tale, a charming true-life story about a missing pet tortoise, and the exciting return of everyone's favorite porcine diva in OLIVIA FORMS A BAND, courtesy of author and illustrator Ian Falconer.
Stand-Alone Chapter Books/Middle Grade Novels
 BARKBELLY
Cat Weatherill
illustrated by Peter Brown
Knopf
ISBN-10: 0375833277
ISBN-13: 9780375833274
Ages 8-12
320 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
One silver-starry night, a shiny, wooden egg falls from a flying machine high in the air, down to the small village of Pumbleditch, where Barkbelly --- the only wooden boy --- is born. Suddenly, Barkbelly's only choice is to flee for his life. As he tries to escape his haunting past, he faces extraordinary adventures and dangers. Every wooden step leads Barkbelly toward the dark and startling truth about where he comes from and the burning question of where he really belongs.
 CINDERELLA (AS IF YOU DIDN'T ALREADY KNOW THE STORY)
Barbara Ensor
Schwartz & Wade Books/Random House
ISBN-10: 0375836209
ISBN-13: 9780375836206
Ages 7-11
128 pages
• Read a Review
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Almost everyone is familiar with the Cinderella fairy tale, and some probably think they know all that there is to know about it. But did you remember that Cinderella was such a nice girl --- so smart and funny? Did you know that "Cinderella" was just a nickname? And that her handsome prince loved Jell-o and was a wonderful dancer? Readers will delight in following Cinderella through all the usual happenings, presented in a most unusual way. And they'll finally see what becomes of her after she marries the prince. So maybe you should hear the story one last time. Because it's actually much different from what you might have thought…
 FIREGIRL
Tony Abbott
Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 0316011711
Ages 8-12
160 pages
• Read a Review
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
From the moment Jessica arrives, life is never quite the same for Tom and his seventh-grade classmates. They learn that Jessica has been in a fire and was badly burned, and will be attending St. Catherine's while getting medical treatments.
Despite her startling appearance and the fear she evokes in him and most of the class, Tom slowly develops a tentative friendship with Jessica that changes his life.
 ROOM ONE: A Mystery or Two
Andrew Clements
illustrated by Brian Sel
Simon & Schuster
ISBN-10: 0689866860
ISBN-13: 9780689866869
Ages 8-12
176 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Ted Hammond loves a good mystery, and in the spring of his fifth-grade year, he's working on a big one. How can his school in the little town of Plattsford stay open next year if there are going to be only five students? But the mystery that has Ted's full attention at the moment is about a face he sees in the upper window of the Andersons' house as he rides past it on his paper route. The Andersons moved away two years ago, and their old farmhouse is empty, boarded up tight. At least it's supposed to be…
 TANGLEWRECK
Jeanette Winterson
Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
ISBN-10: 1582349193
ISBN-13: 9781582349190
Ages 8-12
416 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Something frightening is happening to time. Time tornadoes are ripping people from the present, never to return them, while a woolly mammoth inexplicably appears on the banks of the River Thames. Eleven-year-old Silver and her guardian live in a house called Tanglewreck, which is somehow at the center of these mysterious time warps. A strange heirloom called the Timekeeper is hidden somewhere in the house, and Silver must find it and protect it…because whoever gets hold of the Timekeeper will have the power to control time --- and life as we know it --- forever.
 VICTORY
Susan Cooper
Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster
ISBN-10: 1416914773
ISBN-13: 9781416914778
Ages 9-12
208 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Two children cross an ocean, 200 years apart. One is Sam Robbins, a farm boy aboard HMS Victory, the ship in which Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson will die a hero's death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The other is Molly Jennings, an English girl transplanted from London to the United States in 2006, fighting a battle of her own against loss and loneliness. This extraordinary time-shifting adventure tells the interwoven stories of Sam and Molly, linked by a mystery.
Series Titles / Sequels
M. T. Anderson's Thrilling Tales
 THE CLUE OF THE LINOLEUM LEDERHOSEN: M. T. Anderson's Thrilling Tales #2
M. T. Anderson
Harcourt Children's Books
ISBN: 0152053522
Ages 9-12
272 pages
• Read a Review
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
In need of a vacation after their last laser-beam-filled adventure, Lily, Jasper and Katie have flown off for a restful stay at a distant mountain lodge, which just so happens to be hosting a gathering for characters from other middle-grade series novels. Two --- the marvelous Manley Boys --- look suspiciously like a pair of crime-solving brothers named Frank and Joe Hardy. Two others are a pair of boy-crazy twin sisters who attend a high school in some sweet valley somewhere. And then there are the Hooper Quints, who, along with a wealthy heiress's priceless diamond necklace, have suddenly gone missing.
Ranger's Apprentice
 THE BURNING BRIDGE: Ranger's Apprentice, Book Two
John Flanagan
Philomel Books
ISBN-10: 0399244557
ISBN-13: 9780399244551
Ages 8-12
256 pages
• Read a Review
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Bracing for a final clash with the evil warlord Morgarath, the Rangers rally the kingdom's allies, and Will is chosen, along with his friend Horace, as special envoys to nearby Celtica. But the simple mission soon takes an unsettling turn --- the Celticans have disappeared, their town abandoned. Morgarath has found a way to bring his legions over the once impassible eastern mountains and is planning to ambush the king's army in a rout. Now with help many miles away, Will and Horace are the only ones standing in the way of the dark lord's plans. They have shown great skill and courage in their training, but how will they fare in the face of true evil?
Picture Books
 LUCILLE LOST: A True Adventure
Margaret George and Christopher J. Murphy, DVM, PhD
illustrated by Bob Dacey and Debra Bandelin
Viking Children's Books
ISBN-10: 0670060933
ISBN-13: 9780670060931
Ages 6-up
32 pages
 • Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Lucille, a pet Burmese tortoise, has found a way out of her safe pen. Now she'll have the adventure she's always wanted! After meeting a nice, old tortoise, and a not-so-nice snapping turtle in a nearby forest, Lucille discovers that adventure can be more scary than fun. And little does she know but her human family is heartbroken that she's missing and has organized a neighborhood search. Will they ever find her?
 A MILLION DOTS
Andrew Clements
illustrated by Mike Reed
Simon & Schuster
ISBN-10: 0689858248
ISBN-13: 9780689858246
Ages 4-8
48 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
It's a long way to a million, right? Of course it is. But do we really know what a million looks like? In this one-of-a-kind picture book, be prepared to see one million dots on the page --- and learn some interesting things along the way. You'll discover how many shoeboxes it takes to make a stack to Mount Everest, and how many times the average person's heart beats along the way. Be prepared to be amazed!
 OLIVIA FORMS A BAND
Ian Falconer
Atheneum/Simon & Schuster
ISBN-10: 141692454X
ISBN-13: 9781416924548
Ages 3-7
44 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
There are going to be fireworks tonight, and Olivia can hardly wait to hear the band. But when she finds out that there isn't going to be a band, she can't understand why not. How can there be fireworks without a band?! And so Olivia decides to put a band together herself...all by herself. Using pots, pans, her brother's toys, and even her father's suspenders, Olivia forms a band spectacular enough to startle any audience. Lavishly brought to life in Ian Falconer's signature style, and introducing an eye-catching shade of blue, here is Olivia doing what she does best -- making noise.
--- Compiled and written by Tom Donadio
Back to top.
|
