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Cool New Books for March
March's roundup of Cool New Books includes THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY, Trenton Lee Stewart's mind-bending, puzzle-packed debut novel for children in which readers are taken on a dazzling adventure that puts friends, family and enemies to the test; LADY FRIDAY, the fifth installment in Garth Nix's seven-part fantasy series, The Keys to the Kingdom; FEATHERS, a novel about differences, understanding, faith and hope from award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson, who introduces her audience to two memorable characters; and picture books featuring a young mouse who attends college, the return of Fancy Nancy, and a twist on the tale of the Little Red Hen.
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Stand-Alone Chapter Books/Middle Grade Novels
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THE BIG ONE-OH
Dean Pitchford
G. P. Putnam's Sons
ISBN-10: 0399245472
ISBN-13: 9780399245473
Ages 8-up
176 pages
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• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Charley Maplewood has never been a fan of parties --- that would require friends, which he doesn't have. But now that he's turning 10 --- the big one-oh --- he decides to throw a birthday party for himself, complete with a "House of Horrors" theme. Unfortunately, things don't work out as he plans. In trying to make friends, he ends up inviting the class bully to come, and that's before he ruins the cake and sets the garage on fire. Will Charley be able to pull it together before the big one-oh becomes the big OH-NO!?
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EMMA-JEAN LAZARUS FELL OUT OF A TREE
Lauren Tarshis
Dial Books for Young Readers
ISBN-10: 0803731647
ISBN-13: 9780803731646
Ages 8-up
208 pages
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• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Emma-Jean Lazarus is a lovable oddball who thinks she can use logic to solve the everyday problems of her seventh-grade peers. It's easy --- she just follows the example of her late father, a brilliant mathematician. Of course, the more Emma-Jean gets involved, the messier her own life gets. Suddenly she's no longer the person standing on the outside of all social interactions. But perhaps that's a good thing…
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FEATHERS
Jacqueline Woodson
G. P. Putnam's Sons
ISBN-10: 0399239898
ISBN-13: 9780399239892
Ages 8-up
208 pages
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• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
"Hope is the thing with feathers" starts the poem Frannie is reading in school. Frannie hasn't thought much about hope. Each day, her friend Samantha seems a bit more "holy." There is a new boy in class everyone is calling the Jesus Boy. And although the new boy looks like a white kid, he says he's not white. Who is he?
During a winter full of surprises, good and bad, Frannie starts seeing a lot of things in a new light --- her brother's deafness, her mother's fear, the class bully's anger, her best friend's faith and her own desire for "the thing with feathers."
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THE FRISKATIVE DOG
Susan Straight
Alfred A. Knopf
ISBN-10: 0375837779
ISBN-13: 9780375837777
Ages 8-12
160 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Sharron was five when her father gave her the Friskative Dog. And just like the best-loved toys from THE VELVETEEN RABBIT, Sharron has made the Friskative Dog real through her love and devotion. Now Sharron is nine and her father is missing, making the Friskative Dog more necessary to her than ever. Her father walked out about a year ago and has been lost to her ever since. Sharron thinks that if he were a dog, he'd be able to find his way home. But people don't have the same homing instincts as canines, and you can't train them to be true.
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THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY
Trenton Lee Stewart
Little, Brown and Company
ISBN-10: 0316057770
ISBN-13: 9780316057776
Ages 8-12
496 pages
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• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
ARE YOU A GIFTED CHILD LOOKING FOR SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES? Dozens of children respond to this peculiar ad in the newspaper and are then put through a series of mind-bending tests. Only four succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and inventive children could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where there are no rules. But what they'll find in the hidden labyrinth of the school's underground tunnels is more than your average school supplies.
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Series Books/Sequels
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The Keys to the Kingdom
LADY FRIDAY: The Keys to the Kingdom, Book Five
Garth Nix
Scholastic Press
ISBN-10: 0439700884
ISBN-13: 9780439700887
Ages 9-12
320 pages
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• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Four of the seven Trustees have been defeated and their Keys taken, but for Arthur, the week is getting worse. Suzy Blue and Fred Gold Numbers have been captured by the Piper, and his New Nithling army still controls most of the Great Maze. Superior Saturday is causing trouble wherever she can, including turning off all the elevators in the House and blocking the Front Door. Amidst all this trouble, Arthur must weigh an offer from Lady Friday that is either a cunning trap for the Rightful Heir or a golden opportunity he must seize --- before he's beaten to it! |
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Septimus Heap
PHYSIK: Septimus Heap, Book Three
Angie Sage
Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins
ISBN-10: 0060577371
ISBN-13: 9780060577377
Ages 9-up
560 pages
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• Read the Septimus Heap Series Feature
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
When Silas Heap unseals a forgotten room in the Palace, he releases the ghost of a Queen who lived 500 years earlier. Queen Etheldredda is as awful in death as she was in life, and she's still up to no good. Her diabolical plan to give herself everlasting life requires Jenna's compliance, Septimus's disappearance and the talents of her son, Marcellus Pye, a famous Alchemist and Physician. And if Queen Etheldredda's plot involves Jenna and Septimus, then it will surely involve all of the other wacky, wonderful characters that made MAGYK and FLYTE so memorable. |
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Sequel to DRIFT HOUSE: THE FIRST VOYAGE
THE LOST CITIES: A Drift House Voyage
Dale Peck
Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
ISBN-10: 1582348596
ISBN-13: 9781582348599
Ages 10-up
400 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Returning for the summer to Drift House, their uncle's seagoing mansion, Susan and Charles Oakenfeld find themselves separated when a tidal wave carries the house out to sea. Charles is stuck up a tree with a parrot and a mysterious book, while Susan and Uncle Farley are adrift in the house. As each attempts to track the source of the time squall that set the tidal wave in motion, it soon becomes clear that they are separated not just by space but by centuries. Charles and Susan are in for much more of an adventure than they could have imagined, and whether or not they get home again is out of their control.
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Picture Books
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CLANCY THE COURAGEOUS COW
written and illustrated by Lachie Hume
Greenwillow Books
ISBN-10: 0061172499
ISBN-13: 9780061172496
Ages 4-8
32 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
The Belted Galloways are trapped in a vicious cycle. Every year their bossy neighbors, the Herefords, win the Cow Wrestling Contest. The winners get to graze on the best pasture, while the losers have to wait until next year. Can Clancy, a Belted Galloway who was born without a belt, do anything about their plight?
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FANCY NANCY & THE POSH PUPPY
written by Jane O'Connor
illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser
HarperCollins
ISBN-10: 0060542136
ISBN-13: 9780060542139
Ages 4-7
32 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
In this fantastic follow-up to FANCY NANCY, Nancy and her family decide to get a dog. Nancy is determined to find an appropriately fancy puppy --- one that is small, delicate and fluffy --- but her mom, dad and sister would like a large, plain dog. How unglamorous!
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GOOD SPORTS: Rhymes about Running, Jumping, Throwing, and More
written by Jack Prelutsky
illustrated by Chris Raschka
Alfred A. Knopf
ISBN-10: 0375837000
ISBN-13: 9780375837005
Ages 8-up
40 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
The poems in GOOD SPORTS capture the range of emotions --- from winning to losing to the sheer joy of participating --- that children experience as they discover the games of their choice. Included are rhymes about baseball, soccer, football, skating, swimming, gymnastics, basketball, karate and more. Whether this inspired collection will create good sports remains to be seen, but it will prove to young boys (and girls) that reading poetry can be fun.
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MAHALIA MOUSE GOES TO COLLEGE
written by John Lithgow
illustrated by Igor Oleynikov
Simon & Schuster
ISBN-10: 1416927158
ISBN-13: 9781416927150
Ages 4-8
40 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Mahalia Mouse and her family live underneath Dunster House, an old Harvard dormitory. While looking for food for her younger brothers and sisters, Mahalia gets trapped in a backpack and then finds herself inside a classroom far from home. Mahalia, intrigued by the lecture, starts attending classes and soon becomes a full-time student --- all the while wondering about the welfare of her family. But when graduation day finally arrives, Mahalia has a wonderful surprise waiting for her.
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OUT OF THE EGG
written and illustrated by Tina Matthews
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
ISBN-10: 0618737413
ISBN-13: 9780618737413
Ages 4-8
32 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
While you may think you know the tale of the Little Red Hen and how it ends, everything changes in this fresh and original twist on the story when the hard-working Red Hen lays a perfect white egg. And out of this egg comes a chick with a mind of her own!
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--- Compiled and written by Tom Donadio
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