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June 2009
June’s roundup of Cool New Books includes BEYOND THE GRAVE by Jude Watson, the fourth installment in the multimedia series The 39 Clues; FOOTBALL CHAMP, Tim Green’s newest sports thriller and a sequel to his bestselling FOOTBALL GENIUS; EXTRA CREDIT, a middle-grade novel from Andrew Clements that tells of the growing friendship between a girl living in Illinois and a boy from Afghanistan; THE MAGYKAL PAPERS, a fully illustrated companion book to Angie Sage’s Septimus Heap fantasy series; and WARRIORS: CODE OF THE CLANS, Erin Hunter’s in-depth guide to the code that governs all warrior cats.
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CONFETTI GIRL
Diana López
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780316029551
Ages 8-12
208 pages
• Buy from Amazon.com
Apolonia "Lina" Flores is a sock enthusiast, a volleyball player, a science lover, and a girl who's just looking for answers. Even though her house is crammed full of books (her dad's a bibliophile), she's having trouble figuring out some very big questions, like why her dad seems to care about books more than her, why her best friend's divorced mom is obsessed with making cascarones (hollowed eggshells filled with colorful confetti) and, most of all, why her mom died last year.
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DRAGONBREATH
Ursula Vernon
Dial Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780803733633
Ages 8-12
160 pages
• Buy from Amazon.com
It’s not easy for Danny Dragonbreath to be the sole mythical creature in a school for reptiles and amphibians --- especially because he can’t breathe fire like other dragons (as the school bully loves to remind him). But having a unique family comes in handy sometimes, like when his sea-serpent cousin takes Danny and his best iguana friend on a mindboggling underwater tour, complete with vomiting sea cucumbers and giant squid. It sure beats reading the encyclopedia to research his ocean report.
Using a hybrid of comic-book panels and text, Ursula Vernon introduces an irresistible set of characters with a penchant for getting themselves into sticky situations.
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EXTRA CREDIT
written by Andrew Clements
illustrated by Mark Elliott
Atheneum/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416949299
Ages 8-12
192 pages
• Buy from Amazon.com
It isn't that Abby Carson can't do her schoolwork, it's just that she doesn't like doing it. And that means she's pretty much failing sixth grade. When a warning letter is sent home, Abby realizes that all her slacking off could cause her to be held back. Unless she wants to repeat the sixth grade, she'll have to meet some specific conditions, including taking on an extra-credit project: find a pen pal in a foreign country. Simple enough (even for a girl who hates homework).
Abby's first letter arrives at a small school in Afghanistan, and Sadeed Bayat is chosen to be her pen pal.... Well, kind of. He’s the best writer, but he’s also a boy, and in his village it’s not appropriate for a boy to correspond with a girl. So his younger sister dictates and signs the letter. Until Sadeed decides what his sister is telling Abby isn't what he'd like Abby to know.
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FAITH, HOPE, AND IVY JUNE
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780385736152
Ages 9-12
288 pages
• Buy from Amazon.com
Ivy June Mosely and Catherine Combs, two girls from different parts of Kentucky, are participating in the first seventh-grade student exchange program between their schools. The girls will stay at each other’s homes, attend school together, and record their experience in their journals. Catherine and her family have a beautiful home with plenty of space. Since Ivy June’s house is crowded, she lives with her grandparents. Her Pappaw works in the coal mines supporting four generations of kinfolk. Ivy June can’t wait until he leaves that mine forever and retires. As the girls get closer, they discover they’re more alike than different, especially when they face the terror of not knowing what’s happening to those they love most.
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UMBRELLA SUMMER
Lisa Graff
HarperCollins Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780061431876
Ages 8-12
240 pages
• Buy from Amazon.com
Annie Richards knows there are a million things to look out for --- bicycle accidents, food poisoning, chicken pox, smallpox, typhoid fever, runaway zoo animals, and poison oak. That's why being careful is so important, even if it does mean giving up some of her favorite things, like bike races with her best friend, Rebecca, and hot dogs on the Fourth of July. Everyone keeps telling Annie not to worry so much, that she's just fine. But they thought her brother, Jared, was just fine too, and Jared died.
It takes a new neighbor, who looks as plain as a box of toothpicks but has some surprising secrets of her own, to make Annie realize that her plans for being careful aren't working out as well as she had hoped.
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The 39 Clues
THE 39 CLUES Book Four: BEYOND THE GRAVE
Jude Watson
Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 9780545060448
Ages 9-12
192 pages
• Read a Review & Excerpt
• Buy from Amazon.com
A Clue found in Book 3 sends Amy and Dan jetting off to find out just what’s behind the fierce rivalry between the Tomas and Ekaterina branches of the Cahill family. Was a Clue stolen from the Tomas branch? Where is it now? And most important, can Amy and Dan get their hands on it before their rivals do?
It's a wild race that will take Amy and Dan deep into the bowels of the earth…and right into the hands of the enemy.
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Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
OATH BREAKER: Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #5
Michelle Paver
HarperCollins Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780060728373
Ages 10-up
304 pages
• Buy from Amazon.com
Torak circled the fire and Thiazzi came after him: slowly, cracking his whip, playing with his prey as a lynx plays with a lemming. Torak was exhausted. He wasn't going to last much longer.
When he was outcast, Torak was the hunted one. Nine moons later he becomes the hunter, when he vows to avenge the killing of one of his closest friends.
Racked by guilt and grief, he follows the killer into the Deep Forest, where the World Spirit stalks the hidden valleys as a tall man with the antlers of a stag. But there is a rottenness at the heart of the Forest, for its clans have succumbed to the lies of the Soul-Eaters. Here Torak must face fire, war and overwhelming evil.
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The Cronus Chronicles
THE IMMORTAL FIRE: The Cronus Chronicles, Book Three
Anne Ursu
Atheneum/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416905912
Ages 8-12
528 pages
• Buy from Amazon.com
After surviving the perilous Underworld and barely escaping a murderous Poseidon, cousins Charlotte and Zee know better than to expect their lives to return to normal. After all, vengeful gods do not like to be foiled by mere mortals...especially when those mortals are 13.
So when a fire-breathing Chimera descends on their middle school, Charlotte and Zee are determined to fight --- not only for their lives, but for humankind. With nothing but a mysterious map and hints of a powerful weapon to guide them, the cousins journey to Mount Olympus, home of Zeus himself. But they're not alone. Their arch-nemesis Philonecron dreams of taking Zeus's place at the throne of the universe --- and now he has Poseidon's trident to help him do it.
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The Navigator Trilogy
THE FROST CHILD: The Final Battle of the Harsh
Eoin McNamee
Wendy Lamb Books/Random House
ISBN: 9780385735636
Ages 9-12
352 pages
• Buy from Amazon.com
Twice the Harsh have tried to destroy time, and twice Owen and the Resisters have banded together to stop them. In CITY OF TIME,Owen killed the Harsh king, and now the Harsh are hungry for revenge. Their massive fleet is ready to set sail on the sea of time and hunt down the wily Navigator. In this third and final adventure, the Navigator and his friends use every last ounce of bravery and endurance to fight the toughest battle ever. As Owen searches for a solution, he travels through time to meet his father and grandfather, and discovers that the mysterious Frost Child holds the key to the power of the Harsh.
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Ottoline
OTTOLINE GOES TO SCHOOL
Chris Riddell
HarperCollins Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780061449000
Ages 8-12
176 pages
• Read a Review
• Buy from Amazon.com
Intrepid Ottoline Brown and her hairy sidekick, Mr. Munroe, decide to join new friends at the Alice B. Smith School for the Differently Gifted. But Mr. Munroe is afraid of the ghost rumored to haunt the school halls at night. And Ottoline soon worries that she may not even have a special gift --- although she of course does!
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Septimus Heap
SEPTIMUS HEAP: THE MAGYKAL PAPERS
Angie Sage
Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780061704161
Ages 9-up
176 pages
• Read a Review
• Buy from Amazon.com
Enter the world of Septimus Heap with this collection of previously unpublished papers.
This rich compendium includes: The private journals of Septimus, Jenna and Marcia Overstrand. The best --- and worst --- places to eat as described in The Egg-on-Toast Restaurant Guide. Sirius Weazal's Speedy Guides to the Palace, the Wizard Tower, and Wizard Way. Excerpts from the Pigeon Post Biography series and the Heaps of History series. Alther Mella's Guide to Being Dead: Ten Handy Rules for New Ghosts. Beautiful maps, quirky flyers, funny letters, and much more!
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Warriors
WARRIORS: CODE OF THE CLANS
Erin Hunter
HarperCollins Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780061660092
Ages 10-up
176 pages
• Buy from Amazon.com
The secrets behind the warrior code will finally be revealed.
An ominous sign from StarClan that signaled the need to patrol borders. The unexpected help from a warrior ancestor that cemented the importance of elders. A secret coup that led to a deputy's new role. A medicine cat's pleas that stopped a spree of interClan bloodshed.
And many more never-before-told stories!
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Sequel to FOOTBALL GENIUS
FOOTBALL CHAMP
Tim Green
HarperCollins Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780061626890
Ages 8-12
288 pages
• Buy from Amazon.com
When Troy White proved his remarkable "football genius" to the Atlanta Falcons, they brought him on board as a team consultant. Now, thanks to Troy's ability to predict winning plays, the Falcons are pulling in victories. Troy loves his starring role behind the scenes and the thrill of having NFL star linebacker Seth Halloway (who's dating Troy's mom) to coach his own Duluth Tigers team on their way to a state championship.
Then Troy's perfect world comes crashing down. Reporter Brent Peele is out to smear as much mud on the Falcons as he can, and that means going after Troy. The vicious media storm that descends on the football genius threatens not only his job with the Falcons and the Tigers' run at a championship but his mother's career --- and Seth's --- as well.
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AMELIA BEDELIA’S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
written by Herman Parish
illustrated by Lynn Avril
HarperCollins Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780061544552
Ages 4-8
32 pages
• Buy from Amazon.com
Amelia Bedelia is sure she will love everything about the first day of school: New friends. A new teacher. Her own desk. Music, books, gym, art. Recess and lunch.
She can't wait. What could be better?
Amelia Bedelia has been making readers laugh since 1963, when the first Amelia Bedelia book was published. Now, for the first time, you can meet the young Amelia Bedelia.
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FANCY NANCY: TEA PARTIES
written by Jane O’Connor
illustrated by Robin Preiss Glaser
HarperCollins Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780061801747
Ages 4-7
40 pages
• Buy from Amazon.com
Fancy Nancy knows how to throw quite a bash! From what to wear, what to serve, and which fun-filled activities to do with your guests, this party planning guide will give you all the tips you need for hosting classic tea parties, buffet tea parties, and even doll tea parties! After all, who can resist the perfect tea party given by the fanciest hostess?
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FINDING SUSIE
written by Sandra Day O’Connor
illustrated by Tom Pohrt
Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780375841033
Ages 4-8
40 pages
• Buy from Amazon.com
Sandra is growing up on a desert ranch surrounded by animals, but she wants one to have as her very own pet. A tortoise isn’t really friendly, a little rabbit is too fearful, and a young coyote howls to rejoin his pack. A bobcat almost fits the bill, but soon grows too big and fierce to be a housecat. Sandra’s parents let her learn for herself that these animals are best suited to the wild, though it is often hard to let them go. Finally, a smiley little stray dog finds Sandra. Sandra names the dog Susie, and the two become wonderful friends.
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THE HAIR OF ZOE FLEEFENBACHER GOES TO SCHOOL
written by Laurie Halse Anderson
illustrated by Ard Hoyt
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
ISBN: 9780689858093
Ages 6-10
32 pages
• Buy from Amazon.com
Mom and Dad Fleefenbacher think their daughter Zoe's hair is wild and beautiful. And for her kindergarten teacher, Zoe's vivacious tresses were a comfort. But Zoe is about to start first grade, and her new teacher doesn't fool around: "School has rules," she says. "No wild hair in my class!" So what are Zoe and her free-spirited hair going to do now?
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THE HERMIT CRAB
written and illustrated by Carter Goodrich
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
ISBN: 9781416938927
Ages 6-10
40 pages
• Buy from Amazon.com
The hermit crab would prefer to blend into the background. He is happy to spend his time alone, looking for food. But when he finds a flashy new shell, he can’t resist trying it on for size. He is so taken with it that he doesn’t notice the mysterious contraption that floats down from the surface. While the lobster wonders if the contraption is the restaurant and the bluefish thinks it’s a trap, the poor flounder gets stuck underneath! When the hungry hermit crab investigates the delicious smells coming from the contraption and frees the flounder, he inadvertently becomes a hero. But is the hermit crab ready for the limelight?
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--- Compiled and written by Tom Donadio
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