Reviews
Down in the Dumps: Book 3
“Middle-grade readers will relate to the angst of changing relationships that comes with adolescence.” —Booklist Online View →
“For their part, young readers will enjoy the episodic nature of the stories while relishing the vicarious thrills of a helter-skelter family who favor fun over fastidiousness.” —Booklist Online View →
The Planet of Wind: Book 1
“Clever, funny, and beautifully translated, this story is worth the price of admission.” —Booklist View →
Fly, Chick, Fly!
“There are lively, eloquent touches in the text, and the softly rendered, evocative pastel illustrations are appealing.” —Booklist Online View →
Little White Duck: A Childhood in China
“The stories are vivid even without Martinéz’s bold artwork that evokes both traditional Chinese scrolls and midcentury propaganda posters. The result is a memoir that reads like a fable, a good story with a moral that resonates.” —Booklist Online View →
Forensic Identification: Putting a Name and Face on Death
“In a straightforward, no-nonsense manner, this focuses on how forensic scientists are able to solve the mystery of human remains that are not easily identifiable… The resolutions of the case files at the end of each chapter provide a satisfying wrap-up while demonstrating… View →
Brazilian Jiujitsu: Ground-Fighting Combat
“This compact volume, heavily illustrated with photographs of participants in many poses, also covers the history of the sport, its relationship to a peaceful and harmonious life, the founders of Brazilian jiujitsu, and the spread of its popularity.” —Booklist View →
Shadow of Doubt
“Readers who prefer their mysteries spun around affairs of the heart and finished off with a neat package of confessions and explications will enjoy this latest episode and look forward to the next.” —Booklist View →
“The pleasant, childlike story is simply told and punctuated by the title phrase. Created in ink, pencil, and watercolor and digitally enhanced, the artwork is lively and expressive…. A cheerful addition to the growing list of math-related picture books.”… View →
Tales from the Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest with Pete Athans
“Accompanying plenty of color photos of climbers and rugged slopes, frequent side boxes contain stories of feats and rescues, an ‘Ask Mr. Everest’ feature, and background material from maps and charts to lists of required gear and types of high-altitude illness. This… View →
The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories
“If you have a yen for dark, yearning, challenging yarns that often have a delightfully ambiguous, fairy-tale ambiance, there is plenty here to sate your curiosity… The inventive idea is fresh enough to draw plenty of interest on its own. But add in three high-wattage YA… View →
A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return
“As she puts an accessible face on a foreign culture through her characters, Abirached also distinguishes her piece with striking and unique design work. Her use of heavily contrasted black-and-white spaces, as well as elegant flourishes like crowding an anxious room with ticks and View →
Let's Make a Circle Graph
“Each title logically ends with questions that ask the reader to draw information from the very graph being discussed, making these great kickoff points to classroom discussion.” --Booklist View →
The King Who Wouldn't Sleep
“Singleton’s humorous story elegantly combines a fractured fairy tale with counting and weekday timekeeping.” —Booklist View →
Guitar Notes
“Lyla and Tripp’s chaste relationship makes this accessible for younger tweens, much in the style of Meg Cabot’s Princess Diaries books. Amato is able to produce both silly fiction for the juvenile crowd and poignant, realistic fiction for older readers without… View →
“An attractive package bolstered with anecdotes from real-life teen sitters, this is a solid, useful choice for all libraries.”—Booklist View →
Death of a Dreamer: The Assassination of John Lennon
“This study offers not only a detailed account of the events surrounding Lennon’s murder but also a lucid—if, as it must be, puzzling and inconclusive—picture of his killer’s life and conflicting, enigmatic motives… Equally useful for its particular focus and as an updated… View →
Queen Latifah: From Jersey Girl to Superstar
“This very readable biography is a good starting place for curious fans.” --Booklist View →
Rashad's Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr
“The brightly colored, uncluttered illustrations are true to the boy’s viewpoint, at the mosque and at home, and colored boxed inserts explain more about the holiday observance and its meaning… Young children of all faiths will find lots to talk about.”… View →
Steve Jobs: Technology Innovator and Apple Genius
“Insertion of documented photographs adds interest to the text, which includes at the end a satisfying time line. Part of the Gateway Biographies series, this is a good addition to middle grade library collections.” —Booklist View →
I Date Dead People: Book 5
“Fans will welcome the return of Görrissen’s appealingly rounded and cheerful art… the fun, romantic, middle-school-appropriate stories are sure to circulate well.” —Booklist View →
The Loners
“Though not totally implausible, this is for fans of gritty sf dystopia, and Thomas’ whirlwind pace, painful details (‘old socks in a zip-lock freezer bag’ serve as one character’s pillow), simmering sexual content, and moments of truly shocking… View →