“Palin pounces, so say book reviews - OregonLive.com” plus 4 more |
- Palin pounces, so say book reviews - OregonLive.com
- Crazy, Crafty, Crafts: Klutz Book Reviews - Kidzworld
- Palin Book Reviews; Liberal Slams Rush - Lucianne.com
- Come Explore Write What Inspires You for Book Reviews, Guest ... - PRLog (free press release)
- Children's Book Reviews - Publishers Weekly
| Palin pounces, so say book reviews - OregonLive.com Posted: 18 Nov 2009 12:13 AM PST By Elizabeth Hovde, Oregonian columnistNovember 17, 2009, 9:30AMSarah Palin's new book, "Going rogue," is getting even more attention than Levi Johnston's Playgirl pursuit. Thank goodness. But a lot of us won't be checking out either offering soon. And while I was not curious enough to read Palin's book as a new release, I was interested enough in her and in it to hear what other people thought of the autobiography. The general theme of most reviews I've read was that "Going Rogue" might have been better titled, "Sarah's sour grapes." Her attacks on former John McCain campaigners are disappointing. And she should know that instead of vindicating her for an inability to answer news anchor Katie Couric's questions the way a vice presidential candidate is expected to, her negative descriptions of people will only give her detractors more to criticize. On the upshot, many reviewers suggested Palin's perspective on family, on having a special needs child and her concern for her kids during a publicity tsunami was touching, insightful and genuine. Those thoughts sound worthy of a read in time. There is much Americans could learn about treating candidates and their families with more respect and with a greater regard for their privacy. For now, here are some excerpts from various reviews to get a feel for what you might be missing: The New York Times review titled, "Memoir is Palin's payback to McCain Campaign," by Michiko Kakutani said this: "The most sustained and vehement barbs in this book are directed not at Democrats or liberals or the news media, but at the McCain campaign. The very campaign that plucked her out of Alaska, anointed her the Republican vice-presidential nominee and made her one of the most talked about women on the planet — someone who could command a reported $5 million advance for writing this book." The author also wrote that John McCain's picking "someone with so little experience (less than two years as the governor of Alaska, and before that, two terms as mayor of Wasilla, an Alaskan town with fewer than 7,000 residents) as his running mate underscores just how alarmingly expertise is discounted — or equated with elitism — in our increasingly democratized era, and just how thoroughly colorful personal narratives overshadow policy arguments and actual knowledge. Ms. Palin herself had a surprisingly nonchalant reaction to Mr. McCain's initial phone call about the vice president's slot, writing that she was not astonished, that it felt 'like a natural progression.'" Kakutani is right. With the election of Barack Obama and the nomination of Palin, it seems clear that politics, at least for now, are more of a personality popularity contest than ever before. In a Wall Street Journal piece, Melanie Kirkpatrick writes: "One of the biggest mistakes of the failed McCain campaign — and there was no shortage of them — was its handling of Mrs. Palin. Her criticisms of the campaign's treatment of her appear prominently in 'Going Rogue.' But the book contains self-criticisms too, if not as many as there ought to be for a candidate who was ultimately responsible for her own uneven performance. "That said, 'Going Rogue' is more a personal memoir than a political one. More than half the book is about Mrs. Palin's life before the 2008 campaign. She discusses her coming of age in the 'new frontier' state of Alaska; her personal faith journey; her experiences with marriage and motherhood, including two miscarriages, a special-needs child and a pregnant teenage daughter; and the free-market convictions that have guided her political career. As a politician, she comes across as a prodigious worker capable of mastering complicated issues — not least the energy policies that matter so much to Alaska's economy — and of building bridges to Democrats. "Through it all, Mrs. Palin emerges as a new style of feminist: a politician who took on the Ole Boy network and won; a wife with a supportive husband whose career takes second place to hers; and a mother who, unlike working women of an earlier age, isn't shy about showcasing her family responsibilities. She writes with sensitivity and affection about her gay college roommate, and she confesses her anguish when she found out that she was carrying a baby with Down syndrome. That experience, she says, helped her to understand why a woman might be tempted to have an abortion. This is not the prejudiced, dim-witted ideologue of the popular liberal imagination." Nick Gillespie wrote a review for The Washington Post about two other books just released that "attempt to explain why the hockey mom from Wasilla, Alaska, drives both detractors and fans alike to something approaching insanity. Each is serious, well researched and well written, but neither quite fully explains the oversize reaction to Palin." He says "The Persecution of Sarah Palin," written by Weekly Standard staffer Matthew Continetti and published Nov. 12, "is flatly sympathetic to Palin, whom he paints as the victim of a conspiracy as vast and punishing as the Alaskan landscape. 'When they weren't mangling facts,' he writes, 'the press did their best to undermine Palin's accomplishments.'" And "Sarah from Alaska," by Scott Conroy and Shushannah Walshe, Gillespie writes, explains the reasons Palin was unable to score every time she appeared on the campaign trail. Conroy and Walshe covered the Palin campaign for CBS News and Fox News Channel, respectively. In the book they write, "Palin is neither an unblemished victim of fiendish, unpatriotic forces nor a preposterous dolt worthy only of a smirk." Adding that she is "outwardly confident but frequently shows signs of profound insecurity." Her confidence and hypersensitivity often got in the way of the preparation, they suggest. Read more about these Palin-centered books here. Finally, a Nov. 13 article in POLITICO has McCain campaigners calling Palin's book "all fiction." Andy Barr and Jonathan Martin write, "Top aides to Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign hit back at Sarah Palin Friday and Saturday, calling the former vice presidential nominee's soon-to-be-released book 'revisionist and self serving.' "Campaign manager Steve Schmidt, who emerges as Palin's nemesis in the advance excerpts that have surfaced from her forthcoming account of the campaign, 'Going Rogue,' told POLITICO Saturday that Palin's charges about him were made up. 'It's all fiction,' he said. With a laugh, the shaved-headed political operative asked: 'Why is the bald guy always the villain?' "Schmidt, Palin writes, was 'grim-faced' and 'cool,' and tried to pin the campaign's troubles on what he claimed was Palin's post-partum depression, and even went to so far as to try and dictate her diet. According to excerpts published on the Huffington Post, Palin 'took in his rotund physique and noted that he used nicotine to keep his own cognitive connections humming along.'" Read the rest of that piece here. And happy Sarah Palin week. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. | |
| Crazy, Crafty, Crafts: Klutz Book Reviews - Kidzworld Posted: 18 Nov 2009 12:27 AM PST Klutz comes up with some CRAZY, CRAFTY, COOL books (seriously, we're impressed) that include pretty much everything you need to: make quick draw flip books; keep a vacation doodle diary; create spiral drawings; and survive the back seat on your next family road trip! Klutz Quick Draw Flip Books The Quick Draw Flip Book from Klutz teaches you how to make "motion pictures" using the patented "rip, clip, grip and flip" method! You can sketch, color and practice drawing right in this book using the special perforated pages with partially finished drawings to make unique, funny stories. Then, just tear out the finished pages, use the special clip and flip through your very own flip book – eight in all! Includes four sturdy slip-book clips, five colorful mini-markers and an easy technique guide. The Klutz Vacation Doodle Book The Klutz Vacation Doodle Book isn't just for line drawings – it's also a journal and a scrap book for your next vacation! The book includes over 50 vacation-themed doodles you get to complete yourself – translation: no drawing skills required! All you need to fill in this journal is a bit of imagination and a pencil. The book also lets you design your own sandcastle, draw your vacation home, figure out how much money you're spending on holiday, record your favorite day on vacation, design a flag for your family, fill a beach with seashells and draw the twists and turns of a rollercoaster. The Klutz Spiral Draw Book The Spiral Draw Book is another fun fun drawing book from Klutz. This one comes with four cool, translucent drawing wheels that make it easy to create zillions of dizzying designs right in the pages of the book, three gel pens and lots of ideas for drawing twirly swirly spirals. You can fill a gumball machine with candy-colored spirals, make a fun mobile or create tie-dye soak spirals. Your head will be spinning! Klutz Kids Travel: A Backseat Survival Kit Kids Travel is a self-proclaimed Backseat Survival Kit from the editors of Klutz. This extraordinary book/kit is the best thing you can pack for your next family road trip. It's filled with things to do and comes with all the supplies necessary to play the games, activities and quizzes. A plastic pouch is bound right into the book to hold game pieces, markers, etc. in place there's a clip board with a pad of printed paper at the back that includes bingo pages, grids and more. The book will lead you through tons of activities, including classic car games and quizzes you can give your parents. There's also a colorful, detailed map of North America, dice games, Parcheesi, mysteries, palm reading, song lyrics, sign language, decoders, hand games and more. Related Stories: Read more: Art This content has passed through fivefilters.org. | |
| Palin Book Reviews; Liberal Slams Rush - Lucianne.com Posted: 17 Nov 2009 11:48 AM PST
Reply 4 - Posted by:
planetgeo, 11/17/2009 11:48:14 AM (No. 6035582) | I'm going to play devil's advocate here. Why is this a good thing? Creating "separate but equal" book reviews is a bad solution to an obvious problem. What it ends up doing is institutionalizing polarized political agendas throughout the newspaper. Whatever happened to the principle and practice of objective reporting? Political positions are fine...in the Opinion Section. Everywhere else, they're not fine. A quality newspaper with a quality editorial staff should be able to find objective reporters/reviewers and enforce strict standards on all articles that are not in the Opinion Section. I am tired of talking bobbleheads, both verbal and print, shouting over one another. A newspaper that returns to traditional, quality news would rejuvenate this market. How hard is that to figure out?
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| Come Explore Write What Inspires You for Book Reviews, Guest ... - PRLog (free press release) Posted: 17 Nov 2009 03:38 PM PST Website: http://www.donnamcdine.com M E D I A R E L E A S E CONTACT: Donna M. McDine
For Immediate Release Come Explore Write What Inspires You for Book Reviews, Guest Interviews,
Cruise on over to Write What Inspires You at: http://www.donna- Take the time out and follow along with the schedule below: Monday, November 16th – Fish For a Free Book by Lori Calabrese
Friday, November 20th – Book Review: The Crypto-Capers in the Case of the Red Rock Canyon, by Renee Hand Monday, November 23rd – Guest Interview: Children's Author, Renee Hand Tuesday, November 24th – Write What Inspires You Newsletter Thursday, November 26th – Happy Thanksgiving Monday, November 30th – Book Review: Bitter Tastes, by V.B. Rosendahl Tuesday, December 1st – Media Release: Nicole Weaver Introduces Fun With French and Spanish Wednesday, December 3rd – Virtual Book Tour and Book Review: Just Breeze by Beverly Stowe McClure Monday, December 7th – Media Release: Poets Suggest The Real Thing Should Compete with Greeting Cards, Carolyn Howard-Johnson Wednesday, December 9th – Book Review: Ten Hats A Counting Book by Carolyn Mott Ford Friday, December 11th – Book Review: The Canada Goose and You by Jennifer S. Burrows Monday, December 14th - Tricks of the Trade: Learn to Write for Children in Just Six Weeks – My personal experience Part 1 Wednesday, December 16th - Tricks of the Trade: Learn to Write for Children in Just Six Weeks – My personal experience Part 2 Friday, December 17th - Tricks of the Trade: Learn to Write for Children in Just Six Weeks – My personal experience Part 3 Mark your calendar today, stop by for a spell, and comment if you are so inclined. http://www.donna- Thank you in advance for your interest. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. | |
| Children's Book Reviews - Publishers Weekly Posted: 16 Nov 2009 05:30 AM PST Picture Books Kids Go! They Might Be Giants, illus. by Pascal Campion. Simon & Schuster, $19.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-7432-7275-9Indie rock artists They Might Be Giants (Bed Bed Bed), fresh off a 2009 Grammy win for their children's recording Here Come the 123s, hop back into the kids' arena with an original song–cum–picture book designed to inspire kids to get moving. Called to action by the words "Hey, kid!" a tired-looking boy and girl are encouraged to stand up, get up off the couch, "[j]ump up off the floor and go/ Get up off your chair and go! go! go!" Soon they're moving like a monkey, jumping like a jack-in-the-box, and getting a high-energy groove on (there's even a dance break). With just a hint of retro style about them, Campion's thick and loose black ink lines provide a sense of fluidity in riotous scenes that use a limited but appealing palette of green, gray, and peach, splashed over lots of white space. Befitting the action words in the text, the font size bounces from small to large, adding to the energetic tone (as do a healthy number of monkeys). An accompanying DVD features an animated video of the song. All ages. (Nov.) Puffling Margaret Wild, illus. by Julie Vivas. Feiwel and Friends, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-312-56570-1Vivas's meticulously drafted pastels distinguish this coming-of-age story by the team behind Our Granny. Big Stripy Beak and Long Black Feather, a pair of loving puffin parents, prepare Puffling for his launch into the wide world, where scary gulls wait just outside the opening of his burrow, and the sea, teeming with puffins, beckons beyond. The roundness of the birds' bellies is sculpted with hundreds of evenly stroked white lines, while glowing sea-green linework makes nocturnal scenes come alive. As Puffling grows, his parents feed him, coach him on what's to come ("When you are strong enough and tall enough and brave enough, you'll leave the burrow all by yourself"), and reassure him that all is going according to plan ("Am I brave enough?" Puffling asks. "Almost," his parents reply). If some younger readers are disturbed by the parents flying away and leaving Puffling to brave the world on his own, most will identify with his nascent sense of independence and adventure—and the confidence Puffling demonstrates when he successfully makes the big plunge. Up to age 5. (Nov.)  Henry in Love Peter McCarty. HarperCollins/Balzer & Bray, $16.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-06-114288-8McCarty (Jeremy Draws a Monster) keenly observes a schoolyard crush in this charmer. The cover pictures Henry, an openhearted boy cat, sitting at his desk alongside Chloe, a coquettish bunny. Chloe wears a mysterious grin and a flowered dress of palest pink, and her long ears flop carelessly to one side ("He thought she was the loveliest girl in his class"). McCarty nails several aspects of grade-school life (Henry demonstrates his "best forward roll" to impress Chloe) and loads his compact sentences with meaning and longing. At one point, Chloe, who sits in the back row, coyly asks, "Are you looking at me?" as delicate wildflowers roar across the page, blithely encapsulating Henry's adulation. And in a playground game of tag, she taunts him from atop the jungle gym, "You will never catch me!" McCarty crafts Chloe as a perfect flirt, who claims the blueberry muffin Henry has saved for snack time, and Henry as smitten and quietly hopeful. This gentle, pitch-perfect romance will have readers' hearts thumping with the thrill of first love. Ages 3–6. (Jan.) Call Me Gorgeous! Giles Milton, illus. by Alexandra Milton. Boxer (Sterling, dist.), $14.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-906250-71-3A Franken-animal gradually offers a self-portrait by describing each of its striking physical characteristics, which are borrowed from recognizable animals. Next to each line of text ("I've got reindeer antlers") are beguiling textural close-ups of each feature, created with colored pencil and lush handmade papers. The animal's pig's ears are wispy and fibrous, and a "flamingo's neck," in marbled pinks and oranges, resembles luridly vibrant cotton candy. Additionally, the creature has a porcupine's spines, the beak of a toucan, and charcoal bat wings. The Miltons, a husband-and-wife team, don't have a surprise ending in store in their debut children's book. What you see is what you get, and in this case, it's a "reinde-piggy-porcu-croco-touca-flami-roos-dalma-chameleo-bat-frog," a tongue-twister that will have kids in stitches. The enthusiastic hybrid creature, finally seen in full on the final page, delivers the closing quip, "But you can call me gorgeous!" After all the suspense, the sum of its parts might not be as dramatic as some might have hoped, but this unique book is as fun and brassy as it is visually striking. Ages 3–6. (Nov.) Weezer Changes the World David McPhail. S&S/Beach Lane, $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4169-9000-0Much as he did in No! McPhail underscores the power of a single individual to bring about broad change. Understated text and loose, unadorned pen-and-ink illustrations introduce Weezer, a typically mischievous puppy who acquires extraordinary talents after being struck by lightning (as a jagged yellow bolt appears to tap the dog's nose, the text reads, "Then one day, something striking happened that changed him"). He's helpful with math homework and knows "which drapes went best with the new furniture," but his ambitions soar higher, as he gives piano concerts to benefit the poor, works to cure diseases, and meets with world leaders "to show them the way to Peace on Earth." Hit by another lightning bolt, Weezer recovers in bed while get-well notes pour in from fans who vow to carry on his good works. Back on his feet, Weezer returns to being "a plain old dog," but, because of him, people all over the world "were changed forever." This parable works well as a springboard for conversation about making a difference—despite Weezer's comically overblown achievements, McPhail delivers his message with subtlety. Ages 3–7. (Dec.) Red Ted and the Lost Things Michael Rosen, illus. by Joel Stewart. Candlewick, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7636-4537-3; $8.99 paper ISBN 978-0-7636-4624-0For this story of a lost teddy bear's journey home by former British Children's laureate Rosen, Stewart (Addis Berner Bear Forgets) provides subdued but wonderfully imaginative backdrops. Left on the train, Red Ted is deposited in a lost property office so crammed with forgotten possessions that he and his new friend Crocodile are nearly lost on the shelves. As Red Ted and Crocodile search for Stevie, Red Ted's owner, Stewart draws city streets, bridges, bus stops, and downpours as cloudy gray scenery, like remembered dreams. By contrast, Red Ted, Crocodile, and Stevie (when they finally find her), appear in color and in sharp focus; they jump out from their foggy surroundings. Rosen lets Red Ted and Crocodile languish for a time ("It's no use crying. She can't hear you," Crocodile points out), but restores them to Stevie in a gentle but triumphant finale. In an especially charming addition, Stevie proves she can hear the unspoken thoughts of the stuffed animals and a cat they have befriended. Readers will ponder the tangents and possibilities of this funny-sad story long after they put it down. Ages 3–up. (Nov.) One Shoe Blues Sandra Boynton. Workman, $10.95 (64p) ISBN 978-0-7611-5138-8Adding a new dimension—video—to her children's media oeuvre, author-illustrator Boynton transforms a song from her 2007 book-and-CD title Blue Moo: 17 Jukebox Hits from Way Back Never into a stand-alone book-plus-DVD, starring blues legend B.B. King. Boynton weaves the lyrics of her original song into an extended tale about some colorful sock puppets who watch King perform the song in a cozy country house complete with clapboard walls and an old Zenith clock radio. "We might be in Mississippi. Or maybe not," opens the story as the song plays on the radio, and King himself, sporting one green high-top sneaker, plays along on his guitar: "Well I woke up this morning. Couldn't find my shoe." Still photographs from Boynton's music video and other complementary shots illustrate the story, creating an offbeat package—the overall effect is that of a Sesame Street or Muppets short transcribed to picture book format. In addition to King's humorous and engaging performance (complete with sock puppet accompaniment), the DVD contains other kid-pleasing tidbits such as a "making of" feature and screen tests for the sock puppets. Ages 3–up. (Nov.) Odd Owls & Stout Pigs: A Book of Nonsense Arnold Lobel, color by Adrianne Lobel. Harper, $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-180054-2Adrianne Lobel has retrieved another one of her Caldecott Medalist father's handmade gift books from obscurity (this one had been in storage for 40 years). But it is not nearly as inspired as last season's The Frogs and Toads All Sang, which shared a similar back story. The poems—rhymed couplets about a variety of owls, followed by limericks about pigs—tend to be literal and light on wordplay. Rhyming words are often repeated ("There was a small pig with a tail./ Not curly but straight as a nail./ So she ate simply oodles/ Of pretzels and noodles,/ Which put a nice twist to her tail"), and variations on a closing line in the owl poems (one tosses cakes in the air because "He likes the mess it makes," while another gulps down 10 milkshakes because "He likes the slurp it makes") contribute to a sense of sameness that creeps in after a few pages. The images of the owls and pigs, however, have glimmers of Lobel quirkiness, and Adrianne Lobel's cheery pastel coloring heightens the gentle comedy. But the individual pleasures to be had are rather mild. Ages 4–7. (Nov.) Give Me the Moon Roxane Marie Galliez, trans. from the French by Susan Allen Maurin, illus. by Cathy Delanssay. Langenscheidt/Hammond, $14.99 (44p) ISBN 978-0-8416-7138-6Set in Venice, this epic of passion, gorgeously illustrated by French illustrator Delanssay, is a meditation on romantic love that evokes the magic-tinged courtships of fairy tale princes and princesses. Beautiful Ava, whose swirling white-blond hair reaches almost to the hem of her ball gown, is drawn to the violinist Marcello, but loved by Vincent, who eventually takes Ava to live on the moon. In the end, Ava comes to her senses: "It was the music she needed, not Marcello, even though she was very fond of him." Children may respond to the embedded fable of the origin of the cello (Ava's tears nourish the seed of a mighty tree from which Marcello makes an instrument larger than his violin, so Ava can hear his music from the moon), and they'll pore over Delanssay's windswept, moonlit spreads. Galliez's prose puts heavy emphasis on the consuming power of love and music ("A note touched Ava in a secret place, a place that she had forgotten. It was low and soft, and it felt like a kiss"). A slight erotic undercurrent will likely go unnoticed by the intended audience. Ages 4–8. (Nov.) Fiction The Giant-Slayer Iain Lawrence. Delacorte, $16.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-385-73376-2This memorable novel, a skillful combination of real life and fantasy, is by turns uplifting and saddening. Set in 1955 against the backdrop of the polio epidemic in the period just before Jonas Salk's vaccine, the story follows three "polios"—Dickie, Carolyn, and Chip—as their once-lithe bodies deteriorate in iron lungs in a polio ward. A bright spot comes when 11-year-old Laurie Valentine, a gifted storyteller and Dickie's best friend, regales them with tales of a boy's quest to slay a marauding giant with the help of a majestic unicorn hunter, an oxen driver, and Jessamine, the Swamp Witch. As Laurie concocts each installment, Dickie, Carolyn, Chip, and other kids from the ward begin to recognize themselves in the parable's heroic characters—their first glimmer of hope (and distraction from their illness) in years. Grave illnesses such as polio are a difficult topic, and Lawrence's (the Curse of the Jolly Stone trilogy) delicate intermingling of fantasy and reality brings poignancy to the material. Distinctive, emotionally honest characters and consistently engrossing prose make this book a standout. Ages 8–12. (Nov.) The Moon's Prophecy Jonathan Sparrow. Wings (Diamond, dist.), $16.99 (272p) ISBN 978-1-60701-100-2In this first book in the planned Brave Tails series, debut author Sparrow offers a generic high-fantasy adventure about anthropomorphic forest-dwellers. Ever since the mysterious Brave Tails, a band of woodland creatures, banded together to rid their mountain home of carnivores and predators, Riversplash Mountain has been a peaceful haven. Now, an army of malevolent boars has invaded, intent on despoiling the mountain's resources. A small group of rebels, including the farmer mouse Thrym, the wise hedgehog Muspul, a father-and-son team of shrews, and the beautiful mouse maiden Olweena, must claim the long-lost mantles of the Brave Tails to repel this new threat. While the Zorro-like concept is workable and the setting well-done, it's hard not to compare this adventure to the vastly superior Redwall series. The relentless use of assorted accents and dialects for the various species is distracting ("Mountain farmers be tough an' wily.... We'd not be the first boar horde crushed marchin' uphill 'gainst war machines rainin' rocks an' spears down on us"), eroding the potential of the premise and the characters. Ages 8–12. (Nov.) Buck Fever Cynthia Chapman Willis. Feiwel and Friends, $16.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-312-38297-1Willis's (Dog Gone) second novel nicely weaves a few familiar tropes into an entertaining and intense tale. Twelve-year-old Joey has the talent to be an amazing hunter: he's a great shot and, thanks to an ear infection that left him partially deaf, his sense of smell borders on the super-human. His father, an avid hunter, expects Joey to bring down his first buck during deer season, but Joey is more interested in playing hockey and drawing. With Joey's mother constantly out of the country on business trips, Joey struggles to tell his father that he doesn't want to shoot a deer, as well as whether to enter the art show his neighbor and mentor, Mrs. Davies, is pushing him toward. Subplots revolving around illegal hunting tactics and a creepy neighbor eventually merge into Joey's story, leading to a tense and dangerous climax. Willis avoids easy answers, clichés, and moralizing, instead focusing on Joey's inner struggle and the stress his mother's absence causes. The result is a satisfying novel filled with solid characters who learn the consequences of making some hard choices. Ages 9–13. (Nov.) The Dog in the Wood Monika Schröder. Boyds Mills/Front Street, $17.95 (168p) ISBN 978-1-59078-701-4Ten-year-old Fritz lives in a small village in eastern Germany toward the end of WWII. His father died years earlier in the war, leaving Fritz with his younger sister, mother, a Polish farmhand, and his paternal grandparents (his Grandpa Karl is a Nazi sympathizer). When news reaches the family that the Germans have lost, Fritz's grandparents hang themselves, and sensitive Fritz takes solace in tending to the vegetables in his family's garden until Russian soldiers arrive. Fritz struggles with his identity and what to believe—are the Russians truly the enemies his grandfather believed them to be?—when he befriends Mikhail, a Russian commander stationed at his farm. Things take a turn for the worse when the family is forced to move in with Fritz's maternal grandmother in another village after their farmland is redistricted, and his mother is arrested for purported weapon possession. With nuanced characters (Russian and German alike) and a cautiously hopeful ending, Schröder's well-crafted debut, inspired by her father's childhood in Germany, is especially attuned to her protagonist's internal conflicts and worries, and reveals alarming truths about the far-reaching effects of war. Ages 10–14. (Nov.) Million-Dollar Throw Mike Lupica. Philomel, $17.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-399-24626-5.In 2005, an army veteran won $1 million by throwing a football through a target during a halftime show at a college football game. Lupica (The Big Field) inserts a 13-year-old in the contestant role and moves the action to Massachusetts, where QB Nate Brodie stars for his eighth-grade team and idolizes the New England Patriots' Tom Brady. The pressure to win is intense—Nate's father has lost his job, the house is close to foreclosure, and his best friend, Abby, needs money to go to a special school since she is rapidly going blind. Though the entire cast is a bit too perfect, many kids will relate to Nate's fears about his family's finances: "You were going along, having what felt like a pretty cool life, and then all of a sudden came the economy trying to wreck everything." The ups and downs of Nate's peewee football team provide sports play-by-play, but the thread that will pull readers through is whether Nate can save his and Abby's families with one well-aimed spiral on Thanksgiving night. Ages 10–up. (Nov.) Witch & Wizard James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet. Little, Brown, $17.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-316-03624-5Patterson (the Maximum Ride books) and Charbonnet launch a new series about political and cultural oppression, which suffers from some questionable storytelling choices. Ordinary teenagers Whit and Wisty are taken from their house by representatives of the oppressive "New Order." Accused of being a wizard and a witch, they're thrown in a dank prison to await execution. While there they begin to master previously unknown powers and, thanks to some otherworldly help, they manage to escape and are united with the resistance movement. The authors rely on coincidence and plot holes—each teen is allowed to bring one possession into the otherwise barbaric jail, and thus end up with magical implements. The story is further undercut by frequent recapping and short chapters, alternately narrated by the siblings, which break up the narrative for no perceivable reason. There's some fun world-building, including a stream of thinly disguised pop culture references in Wisty and Whit's alternate world (from the books of Gary Blotter to the artist Margie O'Greeffe), but even these are inconsistent (their world also includes Red Bull and the adjective Dickensian) and come across as groaners. Ages 10-up. (Dec.) Beautiful Creatures Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Little, Brown, $17.99 (640p) ISBN 978-0-316-06836-9Garcia and Stohl's debut is a tale of star-crossed teenage lovers entwined with history, magic, and family. Narrator Ethan, a high school senior being raised by his distant father and their tarot-reading housekeeper, longs to escape the history and sameness that afflicts his hometown of Gatlin, S.C. He gets his wish when he meets beautiful Lena, who arrives in town to live with her reclusive Uncle Macon (making her an outcast as well). Ethan and Lena connect quickly and intensely: he sees her in his dreams, they can converse telepathically, and the discovery of a buried locket gives them Civil War–era visions. Ethan realizes that there is a magical dimension to stultifying Gatlin—and that he, Lena, her family, and even his mother's death are all wrapped up in it. As Lena's 16th birthday approaches, bringing life-changing consequences, more questions are raised than answered, and the protracted climax is a long time coming. But readers who like angst-filled teenage romance will be swept up by the haunting and detailed atmosphere, the conventions and strictures of Southern life, and a compelling and dimensional mythology. Ages 12–up. (Dec.) The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove Lauren Kate. Penguin/Razorbill, $9.99 paper (248p) ISBN 978-1-59514-265-8In debut novelist Kate's racy gothic tale, set in the town of Palmetto, S.C., high school senior Natalie—a ruthless, sharp-tongued queen bee who has worked hard to bury her roots on the wrong side of town—dreams of being elected to her school's Palmetto Court alongside her boyfriend, Mike. But the night of the bawdy annual Mardi Gras party, the couple ties drunk party-boy J.B. to a tree as a prank, to sabotage his chances at beating Mike to becoming Palmetto Prince. When J.B. is found dead, an investigation ensues, and Natalie ropes Mike into scheming to preserve her fairy tale plans. Natalie's acid perspective drives Kate's deliciously twisted story. "I've always known girls from the South could get a bad rap for being kind of saccharine, but Palmetto should have taken out a patent on its own brand of artificiality," she muses. "These girls could change their attitudes more quickly than their clothes and never look worse for the wear." It's a philosophy that Natalie exemplifies perfectly, but by book's end, Kate demonstrates that there's more to Natalie than meets the eye. Ages 14–up. (Nov.) wtf Peter Lerangis. Simon Pulse, $8.99 paper (272p) ISBN 978-1-4169-1360-3Action-packed from first page to last, this contemporary tale of a "deal-gone-wrong" rotates among six New York teenagers, including Cam, the instigator of a plan to sell drugs at a suburban party; Byron, his partner in crime; and Jimmy, who's just looking for a good time. The first stroke of bad fortune occurs when the boys' car crashes into a deer. Presuming Cam to be dead, his companions flee and are eventually separated. From that point on, Byron, Jimmy, and Cam (who survives with only minor injuries) embark on very different adventures, with danger and surprises around nearly every corner. The book's message, which remains hazy until the last few pages when ironies come to light, is overshadowed by bizarre events—cat-and-mouse chases, miraculous recoveries, convoluted plot twists, and farfetched confrontations. Lerangis (the Drama Club series) particularly delights in metaphor—one character's Long Island accent is "thick as Manischewitz," and the boys' ill-fated car "was a big What's-Wrong-with-This scenario." But while suspenseful, the book comes off as gimmicky, straining too hard to be hip. Both the characters and their motives remain underdeveloped. Ages 14–up. (Nov.) Pop Stars Here's a selection of pop-up books to entertain and awe. Chick Ed Vere. Holt, $9.99 (16p) ISBN 978-0-8050-9168-7A beak cracks through an orange pop-up egg—"crick crack crickety crack"—and out pops a yellow chick whose loud "cheep!" brings its mother rushing to its side. She's a red chicken with a three-fingered crest, and together they eat and rest (in between, the chick also "poops," and readers will delight in turning a wheel to make the chick's droppings fall to the ground). Humor, bold colors, and clever engineering make for a simple, memorable package. Ages 1–3. (Feb.) Double Delight Pop-Up Alphabet Mary Novick, illus. by Sybel Harlin. Little Hare (Trafalgar, dist.), $12.99 (20p) ISBN 978-1-921272-61-5This basic but lively alphabet book features three letters on each spread along with various words and objects. Sometimes a cluster of letters pops up from the center of a spread, as when O, P, and Q emerge along with an ostrich, surrounded by an octopus, piano, and quilt. Other pop-ups are hidden behind flaps, such as an erupting volcano and a rolling wheelbarrow. Additionally, readers can turn a wheel to line up all 26 letters with corresponding cutouts. Also available: Double Delight Pop-Up Numbers. Ages 2–4. (Dec.) Dinosaur Park Hannah Wilson, illus. by Steve Weston. Kingfisher, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7534-6383-3The four, full-spread pop-up scenes that make up this entertaining book are sandwiched between a narrow "Field Guide," which contains basic dinosaur facts (as well as images of their footprints, for matching purposes), and an envelope containing nine paper dinosaurs to play with. Each of the scenes, labeled "T. Rex Valley," "Triceratops Volcano," etc., asks playful questions that encourage investigation, such as "Who is trying to eat the eggs?" An enjoyable interactive exploration. Ages 3–up. (Oct.) White Noise: A Pop-Up Book for Children of All Ages David A. Carter. Little Simon, $22.99 (20p) ISBN 978-1-4169-4094-4In Carter's final "color" book (after One Red Dot, Yellow Square, and others), abstract paper pop-up sculptures form a symphony of white noise—clicks, clacks, and the like—as they expand. Gently batting "a tangle of bits and pieces" that hang by string produces "tinkling white noise," while on another page, readers can drag their fingers along fibrous, crenellated wings to make a strumming sound. References to sculptor Sir Anthony Caro and artist Bruno Munari, among others, will be lost on young readers, but the expressive, intricate shapes, blistering primary color palette, and subtle audio dimension are entrancing. Ages 3–up. (Oct.) Cars: A Pop-Up Book of Automobiles Robert Crowther. Candlewick, $17.99 (12p) ISBN 978-0-7636-4448-2Following Trains, Flight, and Ships, this interactive book features automobiles throughout history. Except for the final spread, the pages read vertically, as the book explores vehicles from the ordinary (the Citroën 2CV and Fiat 500) to the exotic (a pop-up 1929 Bugatti Type 41 Royale and a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, with liftable gull-wing door). Kids into faster cars will like the final scene: a racetrack with pull-tabs that allow them to get in on the action. Full of trivia, history, and effects that should delight the auto-obsessed. Ages 6–up. (Oct.) Human Body Anna Claybourne, illus. by Elaine Kurie. Silver Dolphin, $24.95 (12p) ISBN 978-1-59223-938-2Part of the Learning in Action series, this interactive pop-up book focuses on the systems of the body. Pushing a button causes the heart on the cover to visibly and audibly beat, while a heart monitor lights up. In the first section, on reproduction and human development, a pop-up infant emerges to the sound of crying. Readers can pull away sections of a brain to reveal clear, straightforward information about the cerebrum and thalamus, and can fold back a lung to learn about breathing. Ages 8–up. (Oct.) Ice Age Stewart Ross. Barron's, $19.99 (30p) ISBN 978-0-7641-6251-0This energetic guide to Earth's ice ages pairs photographs, digital artwork, and three pop-up spreads with information about life in these prehistoric periods, for animals and early humans alike. Details about extinct species like the kangaroo-lion and four-tusked gomphotheres sit alongside facts about animals who survived to the present, such as polar bears; several significant fossil finds are also discussed. With a compelling visual presentation and a closing time line, it's an exciting glimpse at a vanished era. Ages 8–up. (Oct.) The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, trans. from the French by Richard Howard. HMH, $35 (64p) ISBN 978-0-547-26069-3This unabridged edition of the classic story about the prince from a tiny planet "hardly bigger than a house" integrates the original illustrations into pop-ups, wheels, and flaps. The text is gracefully balanced against the interactive elements as the Prince shares his story: flaps reveal images like the drawing of a sheep that the narrator makes for him, and delicate pop-ups feature characters he's met, like the clownlike lamp lighter. The pleasing visual effects are subtle, but add an appropriate sense of magic. Ages 9–12. (Oct.) This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
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