CECELIA GOODNOW
c.2008 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Jun. 20 2008 7:05 am
This could be the perfect summer for young readers. No schoolwork to cramp the schedule, no sun to distract from the pleasures of reading by flashlight -- at high noon.
Fortunately, there's plenty of good reading on the shelves right now, and we've got suggestions for nearly every age, from preschool to teen.
Our list includes stories about a persistent mouse, a vanishing sculpture, a family of modern-day "little women," and of teens struggling with domestic drama and interstellar apocalypse.
For the 12-and-older crowd, here's something else to look forward to: "Breaking Dawn," the fourth and final book in Stephenie Meyer's hugely popular Twilight saga, will hit stores Aug. 2. Thanks to presales, the chastely romantic vampire series, set in Forks, already is a best-seller.
Now switch on those flashlights and have fun.PICTURE BOOKS"The Sea Serpent and Me," by Dashka Slater, illustrated by Catia Chien; Houghton Mifflin, $17, ages 4-8
When a baby sea serpent plops from a bathtub faucet, a little girl takes him into her heart. But the serpent grows bigger by the day, so the girl agrees to restore him to the sea. How the serpent finally takes the plunge makes for a touching tale of friendship and growing up. The illustrations, awash in frothy greens and sea-deep turquoise, have a fluid beauty.
"A Visitor for Bear," by Bonnie Becker, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton; Candlewick, $17, ages 3-7
"No Visitors Allowed," says the sign on Bear's door. But that doesn't stop a mouse -- small and gray and bright-eyed -- from popping up despite Bear's best efforts at home security. The peekaboo anticipation, coupled with gently comic artwork, should unleash giggles among the read-aloud crowd.
"The House in the Night," By Susan Marie Swanson, illustrated by Beth Krommes; Houghton Mifflin, $17, ages 2-5
"Here is the key to the house. In the house burns a light. In that light rests a bed. On that bed waits a book." And so the pattern unfolds as a little girl assures herself that all's right in her nighttime world. Inspired by a lesser-known nursery rhyme, this solemnly reassuring bedtime tale also owes a nod to Margaret Wise Brown's "Goodnight Moon." Striking black-and-white scratchboard art complements the cumulative text.
CHAPTER BOOKS
"The Penderwicks of Gardam Street," by Jeanne Birdsall; Random House, 320 pages, $19, ages 8-12
Home from a summer adventure in the Berkshires, Rosalind, Skye, Jane and Batty are just settling into the school year when Aunt Claire announces it's time for their widowed father to start dating again. Au contraire, the sisters decide, it's time for the Save Daddy Plan. Full of old-fashioned warmth and family affection, this is a worthy sequel to "The Penderwicks," which won the 2005 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
"The Calder Game," by Blue Balliett, illustrated by Brett Helquist; Scholastic, 400 pages, $18, ages 9-12
After visiting an Alexander Calder show at a Chicago museum, seventh-grader Calder Pillay is stunned to find a Calder sculpture resting uneasily in an ancient town square in Woodstock, England. When the boy and the sculpture vanish, friends Petra and Tommy fly to England in search of clues. As she did in "Chasing Vermeer" and "The Wright 3," Balliett builds intriguing, page-turning puzzles that explore art and the nature of friendship.
"The Big Field," by Mike Lupica; Penguin, 288 pages, $18, ages 10-14
With the Florida championship at stake, 14-year-old Hutch tries to captain his American Legion baseball team to victory while dealing with his estrangement from a father left bitter by his fall from the majors. With play-by-play tension and characters to root for, Lupica -- a New York sports columnist and best-selling children's author -- delivers a solid double that will connect with kids who love the game.
"Savvy," By Ingrid Law; Dial/Walden Media, 352 pages, $17, ages 9-12
In two days, Mibs Beaumont will turn 13 and come into her "savvy," her personal paranormal power. Will it be sparking electricity, like her big brother Rocket, or whipping up winds, like brother Fish? Before Mibs can find out, a terrible accident lands her father in the hospital and sets Mibs on a comically ill-conceived journey aboard a pink, Bible-sales bus she hopes will take her to the hospital. The countrified fantasy elements are great fun, and Mibs' tenderness toward her father and other storm-tossed characters is touchingly real.
TEENS
"The Dead and the Gone," by Susan Beth Pfeffer; Harcourt, 336 pages, $17, ages 14-up
In "Life as We Knew It," a lauded 2006 tale of apocalypse (now in paperback), an asteroid has knocked the moon out of orbit, unleashing worldwide disasters. While "Life" centers on a teenage girl in rural Pennsylvania, this bleak but utterly gripping companion novel shifts the focus to New York City, where 17-year-old Alex Morales struggles to protect his sisters as they await word of their missing parents. As life grows feral (more graphically so than in "Life"), the devout boy who once fretted over his college resume now ponders the morality of desperation: Will Christ forgive him for robbing the dead to feed his sisters? Almost impossible to put down.
"How To Build a House," by Dana Reinhardt; Random House, 240 pages, $16, ages 14-up
When divorce rips her blended family, Harper flees Los Angeles for a summer in Tennessee to help build a house for a family displaced by a tornado. As the teenage crew bonds under the brutal sun and a home takes shape (and romance blooms with the family's son), Harper finds the courage to work through her family's emotional wreckage and begin rebuilding. The fully realized, older-teen characters ring true, and though the story contains some underage drinking and sexual pairing, it's in the service of a thoughtful story of emotional growth.
"My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park," by Steve Kluger; Dial, 416 pages, $17, ages 14-up
In a sprawling, comically pitched story told through IMs, e-mails and journal entries (addressed to the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy, Lauren Bacall and a boy's deceased mother), three high school juniors chronicle a year as tangled and entertaining as a production of "Kiss Me Kate."
EMERGING READERS
"Otto's Orange Day," by Frank Cammuso and Jay Lynch; RAW Junior, 40 pages, $12.95, ages 4-8
When Otto the orange cat gets a magic lamp from Aunt Sally Lee, he asks the genie to color the world orange, then regrets the results. This is one of three inaugural Toon Books, a series of high-quality, hardcover comics for beginning readers. Created by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly, the imprint has educator input and taps big talents. Cammuso is an Eisner-winning cartoonist, and Lynch founded Bijou Funnies, one of the big underground comics of the 60s.
"The Twin Giants," by Dick King-Smith, illustrated by Mini Grey; Candlewick, $17, ages 7-9
When Lottavim and Normus, identical in all but their eating habits, split up to find wives, confusion reigns among the giantess population. Just as the guys despair of finding true love, each brother meets his match, in a happily-ever-after twist. King-Smith ("Babe") lends droll humor to a slim, fast-paced tale that's one step up from an easy reader and doubles as a great read-aloud. The bright, abundant artwork is a rare treat in a beginning chapter book.
NONFICTION
"Three Little Words: A Memoir," by Ashley Rhodes-Courter; Simon & Schuster, $18, ages 14-up
Little Orphan Annie had it easy compared to this young author, who bounced around 14 foster homes in nine years. Most horrifying was her stint with the sadistic Marjorie Moss, who, with her husband, was later arrested in Florida on 40 felony child-abuse and neglect charges. Incensed by the outcome -- Moss got five years probation -- Ashley enlists her loving, adoptive parents in an Erin Brockovich-style legal battle in hopes of securing justice for all abused, castoff children. Powerful and moving, this memoir is an inspiring testament to one young woman's triumph over a system that, with few exceptions, failed her miserably.
"We Are the Ship: The Story of (inappropriate term) League Baseball," words and paintings by Kadir Nelson; Jump at the Sun/Hyperion, 88 pages, $18.95, ages 8-teen
Many people have heard of the (inappropriate term) Leagues but know little about the incredible athletes, the poor conditions they endured and the rough brand of ball they played. Nelson tells their story through glorious oil paintings and a riveting narrative that assumes the voice of an old-time player looking back. This oversize, beautifully designed book includes end notes and a foreword by Hank Aaron.
"How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming," by Lynne Cherry and Gary Braasch; Dawn Publications, $17.95, ages 9-13
Described as "a hopeful book in a discouraging time," this book shows the objective ways scientists measure climate change -- through mud samples, bloom dates, butterfly migration, etc. -- and how they synthesize the data to construct a unified theory. Bountiful color photos help connect kids with the extensive text, and a theme of empowerment encourages them to help change Earth's worrisome course.
POETRY
"My Dog May Be a Genius," By Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by James Stevenson; HarperCollins, $19, all ages
Long before he became the nation's first children's poet laureate, Prelutsky was reducing kids to snorts of laughter with his sweetly zany wordplay. This collection of more than 100 rhymes, joyously illustrated with Stevenson's pen-and-ink cartoons, romps through a fanciful world that includes a pig in a bathing suit, athletic chickens that are "poultry in motion" and improbable creatures such as "The Preposterous Wosstrus."
