|
|
Cool New Books for May
May’s roundup of Cool New Books includes SAVVY, an enchanting first novel from Ingrid Law that introduces readers to the Beaumont family, whose members have harbored a magical secret --- they each possess a special supernatural power that strikes when they turn 13; THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH by Rick Riordan, the fourth adventure featuring Percy Jackson and the other half-blooded Olympians who populate Camp Half-Blood; RIVERS OF FIRE, a riveting sequel to Patrick Carman’s ATHERTON: THE HOUSE OF POWER, in which the world collapses and a new danger emerges; EVER, Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine’s spellbinding tale of a girl confronted with a terrible destiny; and SEEKERS, the debut of a thrilling new animal fantasy series from the author of the bestselling Warriors books.
 |
|
Stand-Alone Chapter Books/Middle Grade Novels
|
 |
|
100 DAYS AND 99 NIGHTS
Alan Madison
Little, Brown for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780316113540
Ages 8-12
144 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Author Alan Madison looks at the way a family copes with having a parent away on a 100-day, 99-night military tour of duty through the eyes of the very loveable Esmerelda (Esme) Swishback McCarthur. Esme wants to be good while her dad is away. In fact, she feels like it's her duty to be good. But being good can be hard, especially if you have a little brother like Ike. By following Esme's story, as she awaits her father's return, readers will see how heroism can translate to every member of a family.
|
 |
|
ALL SHOOK UP
Shelley Pearsall
Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780375836985
Ages 8-14
272 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
When 13-year-old Josh finds out he has to stay with his dad in Chicago for a few months, he’s not too thrilled. But when he arrives at the airport, he’s simply devastated. His father --- who used to be a scatterbrained, but pretty normal, shoe salesman --- has become a sideburn-wearing, hip-twisting, utterly embarrassing Elvis impersonator. Josh is determined to keep his dad’s identity a secret, but on his very first day at his new school, a note appears on his locker. It’s signed Elvisly Yours, and instead of a name, a sneering purple smiley face. The secret is out, and when his dad is invited to perform at a special ’50s concert at his school, Josh is forced to take drastic action.
|
|
|
THE CROSSROADS
Chris Grabenstein
Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780375846977
Ages 9-12
336 pages
• Read a Review
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Zack, his dad and his new stepmother have just moved back to his father’s hometown, not knowing that their new house has a dark history. Fifty years ago, a crazed killer caused an accident at the nearby crossroads that took 40 innocent lives. He died when his car hit a tree in a fiery crash, and his malevolent spirit has inhabited the tree ever since. During a huge storm, lightning hits the tree, releasing the spirit, who decides his evil spree isn’t over…and Zack is directly in his sights.
|
|
|
EVER
Gail Carson Levine
HarperCollins Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780061229626
Ages 10-up
256 pages
• Read a Review
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Falling in love is never easy, but falling in love with an immortal god while your days on earth are numbered is almost more than a young girl can bear. Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine has created a stunning new world of flawed gods, unbreakable vows and ancient omens in this spellbinding story of Kezi, a girl confronted with a terrible destiny. Attempting to thwart her fate, Kezi and her love, Olus --- the god of wind and loneliness --- embark on a series of dangerous and seemingly impossible quests.
|
|
|
THE MYSTERY OF THE MARTELLO TOWER
Jennifer Lanthier
Laura Geringer Books/HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780061257124
Ages 8-12
272 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Hazel and Ned are home for summer vacation and looking forward to long, lazy days of sleeping late, shooting hoops, building stink bombs and spending time with their art-dealer father. But when he disappears without saying good-bye, their summer plunges into chaos. The babysitter leaves town, their apartment is burgled, and two menacing thugs start turning up everywhere. Ned and Hazel try escaping to an island castle belonging to long-lost relatives, only to find there's no escaping this adventure. As the siblings work to untangle the threads that ensnare their father, they learn of a second, darker secret --- one that surrounds their mother's death years ago. Only by solving both mysteries can they bring their father home.
|
|
|
SAVVY
Ingrid Law
Dial Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780803733060
Ages 9-11
352 pages
• Read a Review & Excerpt
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
For generations, the Beaumont family has harbored a magical secret. They each possess a “savvy” --- a special supernatural power that strikes when they turn 13. Grandpa Bomba moves mountains, her older brothers create hurricanes and spark electricity…and now it’s the eve of Mibs’s big day.
As if waiting wasn’t hard enough, the family gets scary news two days before Mibs’s birthday: Poppa has been in a terrible accident. Mibs develops the singular mission to get to the hospital and prove that her new power can save her dad. So she sneaks onto a salesman’s bus…only to find the bus heading in the opposite direction. Suddenly Mibs finds herself on an unforgettable odyssey that will force her to make sense of growing up --- and of other people, who might also have a few secrets hidden just beneath the skin.
|
|
|
THE UNDERNEATH
written by Kathi Appelt
illustrated by David Small
Atheneum/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416950585
Ages 8-12
320 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
A calico cat, about to have kittens, hears the lonely howl of a chained-up hound dog deep in the backwaters of the bayou. She dares to find him in the forest, and the hound dares to befriend this creature he is supposed to hate. They are an unlikely pair, about to become an unlikely family. Ranger urges the cat to hide underneath the porch, to raise her kittens there because Gar-Face, the man living inside the house, will surely use them as alligator bait should he find them. But they are safe in the Underneath...as long as they stay in the Underneath. Kittens, however, are notoriously curious creatures. And one kitten's one moment of curiosity sets off a chain of events that is astonishing, remarkable and enormous in its meaning.
|
|
|
WELL WITCHED
Frances Hardinge
HarperCollins Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780060880385
Ages 8-12
400 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Ryan and his friends don't think twice about stealing some money from a wishing well. After all, who's really going to miss a few tarnished coins?
The well witch does.
And she demands payback: Now Ryan, Josh and Chelle must serve her…and the wishes that lie rotting at the bottom of her well. Each takes on powers they didn't ask for and don't want. Ryan grows strange bumps --- are they eyes? --- between his knuckles; Chelle starts speaking the secrets of strangers, no matter how awful and bloody; and Josh can suddenly --- inexplicably --- grant even the darkest of wishes, the kind of wishes that should never come true.
|
|
|
|
Series Books/Sequels
|
|
|
Atherton
ATHERTON #2: RIVERS OF FIRE
Patrick Carman
Little, Brown for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780316166720
Ages 8-12
320 pages
• Read a Review & Excerpt
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Atherton was once a magnificent three-tiered world, but few inhabitants know the truth of its dark origin: it is a giant man-made satellite, created as a refuge from a dying Earth. Now this strange place is torn apart --- its three lands, formerly separated by treacherous cliffs, have collapsed and collided. But a gifted climber and adventurous orphan boy, Edgar, is determined to discover the secret of Atherton's survival, and embarks on a life-or-death quest to find its mad maker.
|
|
|
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
OUTCAST: Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, Book Four
Michelle Paver
Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780060728342
Ages 10-up
336 pages
• Read a Review & Excerpt
Click here to buy from Amazon.com
For two moons Torak has hidden a terrible secret --- and now it is revealed. He bears the mark of a Soul-Eater and must pay the price. Cast out of the clans and on the run from clan members who will kill him, he settles on an island in the Lake for the summer. But he is not safe there, either. Relentlessly pursued by Seshru the Viper Mage, one of the strongest Soul-Eaters, Torak must defend himself and the clans from her terrible plans. But how?
|
|
|
Julian Rodriguez
JULIAN RODRIGUEZ: Episode One - TRASH CRISIS ON EARTH
Alexander Stadler
Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780439919661
Ages 7-10
128 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Julian Rodriguez is on a mission for the Mothership. He's been sent to Earth to study human lifeforms and their bizarre habits --- from their disgusting diet (orange sticks named carrots, flavorless liquid called water, and the revolting substance known as vegi-dogs) to their repressive treatment of their young (forcing them to carry out menial tasks known as chores, withholding access to the great cultural masterpieces called cartoons). When Julian's Maternal Unit assigns a hideous task, it's nearly too much for the hardened space veteran to bear --- but he finds his courage at last.
|
|
|
Pain & the Great One
COOL ZONE WITH THE PAIN & THE GREAT ONE
written by Judy Blume
illustrated by James Stevenson
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780385733069
Ages 5-9
128 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
The Pain and the Great One hardly agree on anything. But deep down, they know they can count on each other, especially at school, where it often takes two to figure things out. Like when that first baby tooth falls out on the school bus. Or when an unwanted visitor on Bring Your Pet to School Day needs to be caught. Or, worst of all, when a scary bully says you’re burnt toast. On days like these it can feel good not to go it alone. (And don’t forget Fluzzy the cat, who knows a thing or two himself.)
|
|
|
Percy Jackson & the Olympians
THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH: Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book Four
Rick Riordan
Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN: 9781423101468
Ages 10-up
368 pages
• Read a Review
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Percy Jackson isn't expecting freshman orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears on campus, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to worse. In this latest installment of Rick Riordan's series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos's army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop the invasion, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth --- a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn.
|
|
|
Seekers
THE QUEST BEGINS: Seekers #1
Erin Hunter
HarperCollins Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780060871222
Ages 10-up
320 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
From the author of the nationally bestselling Warriors books comes a brand-new animal fantasy series. Three young bears from different species --- black, polar and grizzly --- are separated from their families when they are just young cubs. They find themselves brought together on a perilous journey. Fate is about to change all these bears’ lives forever, setting their paws on a path toward a future they cannot yet imagine.
|
|
|
Skulduggery Pleasant
SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT: PLAYING WITH FIRE
Derek Landy
HarperCollins Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780061240881
Ages 10-up
400 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Valkyrie Cain --- once known to the world as 12-year-old Stephanie Edgley --- has learned a great deal since beginning her apprenticeship to Skulduggery Pleasant, the well-dressed living-dead wizard-detective. But she hasn’t learned nearly enough to defeat the horrors massing against her and her friends: An old foe of Skulduggery’s, Baron Vengeous, is bent on bringing back to life the horrible Grotesquery --- an unkillable monster assembled from the most fearsome beasts of legend. It’s up to the ingenious, fearless and hilarious Valkyrie and Skulduggery to stop the Grotesquery from coming fully to life.
|
|
|
|
Picture Books
|
|
|
AS GOOD AS ANYBODY
written by Richard Michelson
illustrated by Raul Colon
Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780375833359
Ages 6-10
40 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Martin Luther King, Jr. grew up in a loving family in the American South, at a time when this country was plagued by racial discrimination. He aimed to put a stop to it and became a minister like his father, preaching and marching for his cause.
Abraham Joshua Heschel grew up in a loving family many years earlier, in a Europe that did not welcome Jews. He found a new home in America, where he became a respected rabbi like his father, carrying a message of peace and acceptance.
AS GOOD AS ANYBODY is the story of how these two icons for social justice formed a remarkable friendship and turned their personal experiences of discrimination into a message of love and equality for all.
|
|
|
SERGIO MAKES A SPLASH
written and illustrated by Edel Rodriguez
Little, Brown for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780316066167
Ages 3-6
40 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Sergio is a penguin. He loves fish, soccer and water. He loves drinking water, bathing in water, spraying water, just about anything with water! But he has one big problem --- he can't swim. So when his class takes a field trip to the ocean, Sergio must decide whether he should face his fear or avoid something he loves.
|
|
|
SNORING BEAUTY
written by Bruce Hale
illustrated by Howard Fine
Harcourt Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780152163143
Ages 5-8
44 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Everyone knows the story of Sleeping Beauty: A handsome prince rescues a beautiful princess from a wicked fairy's terrible sleeping spell. This tale by Bruce Hale is just like the original. Except for the sarcastic frog narrator, the garlic-scented fairy, and --- oh right --- the princess in this book not only sleeps and snores…she's also been turned into a hot-pink and purple dragon!
|
|
|
STEEL TOWN
written by Jonah Winter
illustrated by Terry Widener
Atheneum/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416940814
Ages 4-8
40 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
In Steel Town, the mills blaze all day and all night, making steel and even more steel to be shipped over the Magic Mountains, down the Pitch-Black River, and far, far away. The men who work in the mills work as hard as the machines that make the steel, never stopping. But when the men go home at night, a different side of Steel Town emerges --- one filled with music and neighbors, pierogies and spaghetti, churches and front porches.
|
|
--- Compiled and written by Tom Donadio
Back to top.
|
