Saturday, March 27, 2010

The Lost Children by Carolyn Cohagan

Cover ImageFrom the Publisher: "Josephine Russing owns 387 pairs of gloves. She's given a new pair every week by her father, a sullen man known best for his insistence that the citizens in town wear gloves at all times. A world away, the children of Gulm have been taken. No one knows where they might be, except the mysterious and terrifying leader of the land: The Master. He rules with an iron fist, using two grotesque creatures to enforce his terrible reign.
When a peculiar boy named Fargus shows up on Josephine's property and then disappears soon afterward, she follows him without a second thought and finds herself magically transported to Gulm.  After Fargus introduces her to his tough-as-nails friend Ida, the three of them set off on an adventure that will test everything Josephine has ever thought about the rules of the universe, leading to a revelation about the truth of the land of Gulm, and of Josephine's own life back home."
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2010, 320 pp.

The Firefly Letters: a Suffragette's Journey to Cuba by Margarita Engle

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A portrait of early women's rights pioneer Fredrika Bremer and the journey to Cuba that transformed her life.
Publisher: Henry Holt, 2010,  160 pp.

The Wish Stealers by Tracy Trivas

Cover ImageFrom the Publisher: "Griffin Penshine is always making wishes. But when a sinister old woman tricks her into accepting a box of eleven shiny Indian Head pennies from 1897, Griffin soon learns these are no ordinary pennies, but stolen wishes." Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2010, 288 pp.

Daniel at the Siege of Boston 1776 by Laurie Calkhoven

Cover Image From the Publisher: "Twelve-year-old Daniel Prescott cheered when the Sons of Liberty dumped English tea into Boston Harbor. Then King George sent his soldiers to take over Boston and its port. Now Daniel's home is a city under siege. When his father slips away to join the rebels, Daniel works in the family tavern and eavesdrops on Redcoat officers. He soon learns how to slip across British lines and becomes a messenger and spy, bringing vital news of the enemy to his father, and even to General Washington. To do so puts Daniel's life in danger. But, to a Patriot, liberty is well worth any risk."  Publisher: Penguin, 2010, 160 pp.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Lucky: Maris, Mantle, and My Best Summer Ever by Wes Tooke

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From the Publisher: "Louis May doesn't like his new home in White Plains, New York. He doesn't get along with his new stepbrother, who is the best athlete in the neighborhood; he misses his mother, who lives among poets and artists in the East Village; and he just doesn't fit in at his new school. But one thing hasn't changed: Louis still loves the game of baseball and, more than anything, the New York Yankees. So when he gets a chance to be a batboy for the team, to be in the dugout with Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, he thinks that life can't get any better. But then Mickey and Roger make that summer of 1961 one of the biggest anyone has ever seen, and Louis gets a front-row seat to their record-setting home-run race. Louis's worst summer ever becomes his best summer ever, and he finds himself learning about much more than just baseball from the two greatest players in the game." Publisher, Simon & Schuster, 2010, 180 pp.

Wishing for Tomorrow: the sequel to A Little Princess by Hilary McKay

Cover ImageFrom the Publisher: "Nothing is quite the same at Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies since Sara Crewe went away with the Indian gentleman. Lavinia is once again the girls’ leader, but she hungers for a more interesting life. Lottie is still busy making mischief, as is the new neighbor, the red-headed boy. Alice, the new maid, brings a breath of fresh air and slapdash practicality to the school. But Sara is much missed — especially by her best friend, Ermengarde. Can Ermengarde find her own way and be happy? Will she and Sara ever be able to be friends the way they were before?  Hilary McKay opens the door to Miss Minchin’s again and invites listeners to take a peek at the new adventures beginning in a beloved tale."
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster, 2010, 273 pp.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Willowood by Cecilia Galante

Cover ImageFrom the Publisher: "There's nothing ten-year-old Lily Sinclair likes about her new life in the city with her single mom. She misses her best friend, who seems to have forgotten her and their secret place, Willowood. She never sees her mom, who's working long hours at her new job. She's managed to make an enemy of the class bully. Mrs. Hiller from across the hall, who takes care of Lily after school, keeps preparing yucky healthy snacks for her. And she can't get her mother to tell her anything about her absent father. Her only source of comfort is her beloved pet gecko, Weemis. Everything changes when Mrs. Hiller introduces Lily to the owner of the Pet Palace, a nearby pet store, and his adult Down's syndrome son, Nate Lily finds herself with an unofficial after school job—and forges a tentative friendship with Nate that's threatened by a dark secret about Nate Lily knows nothing about."
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2010,  272 pp.

Leaving Gee's Bend by Irene Latham

Cover ImageFrom the Publisher: "Ludelphia Bennett may be blind in one eye, but she can still put in a good stitch. Ludelphia sews all the time, especially when things go wrong. But when Mama goes into labor early and gets deathly ill, it seems like even quilting won't help. That's when Ludelphia decides to do something drastic—leave Gee's Bend for the very first time. Mama needs medicine that can only be found miles away in Camden. But that doesn't stop Ludelphia. She just puts one foot in front of the other. What ensues is a wonderful, riveting and sometimes dangerous adventure. Ludelphia weathers each challenge in a way that would make her mother proud, and ends up saving the day for her entire town.  Set in 1932 and inspired by the rich quilting history of Gee's Bend, Alabama, Leaving Gee's Bend is a delightful, satisfying story of a young girl facing a brave new world."  Publisher: Penguin, 2010, 240 pp.

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Cover ImageFrom the Publisher: "In Caitlin's world, everything is black or white. Things are good or bad. Anything in between is confusing. That's the stuff Caitlin's older brother, Devon, has always explained. But now Devon's dead and Dad is no help at all. Caitlin wants to get over it, but as an eleven-year-old girl with Asperger's, she doesn't know how. When she reads the definition of closure, she realizes that is what she needs. In her search for it, Caitlin discovers that not everything is black and white—the world is full of colors—messy and beautiful." 
Publisher, Philomel, 2010, 224 pp.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Falling In by Frances O'Roark Dowell

Cover ImageFrom the Publisher:  "When Isabelle starts listening to a buzzing instead of, say, her boring teacher, strange things happen. She gets sent to the principal's office (that's not so strange), but then while awaiting her punishment, she tumbles into an adventure — into another world that's a little bit different, a little bit Hansel & Gretel-y, a little bit like a fairy tale, which would be great, but...did I mention that Isabelle is an unusual dresser? When she shows up in fairy-tale land wearing her favorite high, pointy boots, the fairy-tale people start thinking that Isabelle is a witch — and not just any witch, but the witch!"
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2010,  245 pp.

Stuck on Earth by David Klass

Cover ImageFrom the Publisher: "Ketchvar III’s mission is simple: travel to Planet Earth, inhabit the body of an average teenager, and determine if the human race should be annihilated. And so Ketchvar—who, to human eyes, looks just like a common snail—crawls into the brain of one fourteen year old Tom Filber. The more entangled Ketchvar becomes with humans, the harder it is to answer the question he was sent to Earth to resolve: Should the Sandovinians release the Gagnerian Death Ray and erase the human species for good? Or is it possible that Homo sapiens really are worth saving?" 
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2010, 240 pp.

The Line by Teri Hall

Cover Image From the Publisher: "An invisible, uncrossable physical barrier encloses the Unified States. The Line is the part of the border that lopped off part of the country, dooming the inhabitants to an unknown fate when the enemy used a banned weapon. It's said that bizarre creatures and superhumans live on the other side, in Away. Nobody except tough old Ms. Moore would ever live next to the Line. Nobody but Rachel and her mother, who went to live there after Rachel's dad died in the last war. It's a safe, quiet life. Until Rachel finds a mysterious recorded message that can only have come from Away. The voice is asking for help." Publisher: Penguin, 2010, 224 pp.


A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata

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From the Publisher: "A boy and his elephant escape into the jungle when the Viet Cong attack his village immediately after the Vietnam war." Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2010, 216 pp.