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If you’re looking for some children’s books that might be good for your kids this summer, Publisher’s Weekly reviews books every week. Reviews are short and give the price of the book, ISBN to help readers order books, and will give an age range which comes in helpful when deciding if the book will be appropriate for your child’s reading level.
Here are some of the reviews that looked most interesting to me this week.
- Trouble Gum Matthew Cordell. Feiwel and Friends, $16.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-312-38774-7
Working with a stripped-down palette of black, white, red and bubblegum pink, Cordell's (Mighty Casey) first solo effort evokes irrepressible boyhood with laughs throughout. Stir-crazy on a rainy day, older brother Ruben and his little brother, Julius, two piglets at loose ends, are given some gum by their Grammy, but not without a reminder from Mom about the bubblegum rules (“Don't swallow your gum. Don't play with your gum. And don't blow big, sticky bubbles with your gum”). Unsurprisingly, they can't resist the temptation to do all these things and more (“Fortunately, this wasn't the first piece of gum Ruben had gotten stuck in Mom's knitting,” reads the text as spot art shows Ruben frantically tearing at a gum-smeared blanket. “He knew just what to do”). Dozens of Steig-like pen and ink drawings show the antics of the partners in crime and Ruben's attempts to educate Julius in the ways of acting like a “big pig.” The picture of a loving, unpretentious family sustains the hilarity throughout, while creative onomatopoeia (“SMAK SMAK SMIK SMAK”) provides yet more giggles. Ages 2–6. (Aug.)
- Monsters Don't Eat Broccoli Barbara Jean Hicks, illus. by Sue Hendra. Knopf, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-375-85686-0
“Fum, foe, fie, fee, monsters don't eat broccoli!” With a toe-tapping beat and loud, splashy spreads, this paean to mealtime chaos will charm small monsters everywhere. The monsters in Hendra's paintings are lumpy, friendly-looking things who stomp through cities and forests, refusing broccoli in favor of more appetizing fare: “We'd rather snack on tractors/ or a rocket ship or two,/ or tender trailer tidbits,/ or a wheely, steely stew.” They roam through a monster grocery store past shelves of multicolored construction vehicles (“3 for 2 tractors”) and skyscrapers; in another scene they perch on cliffs while fishing for boats (“we crave our fish 'n' ships”). In the final spreads, two picnicking monsters (one striped, the other with polka dots) are revealed to be a pair of children, munching not on maple trees but on—wait for it—broccoli florets (“And WOW are they delicious!/ Another helping, please”). Hicks's (The Secret Life of Walter Kitty) message about healthy eating comes off comic, not preachy. Too much fun to limit to kids who don't like broccoli. Ages 5–8. (Aug.)
- Strawberry Hill Mary Ann Hoberman, illus. by Wendy Anderson Halperin. Little, Brown, $15.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-316-04136-2
In this old-fashioned coming-of-age story, set during the Great Depression, 10-year-old Allie's father finds a new job, and her family moves to a street called Strawberry Hill. Poet and first-time novelist Hoberman draws a full portrait of life on Strawberry Hill—where in fact there are no strawberries—as Allie agonizes over her conflicting feelings about the two other girls on her street: pretty, popular Martha, whom Allie wants as a best friend; and pudgy, sweet Mimi, who wants to be best friends with Allie. Circumstances of time and place are woven into the narrative, from details like the cost of popsicles to larger themes of poverty and prejudice. A number of Allie's friends' fathers are out of work, and Martha's best friend Cynthia calls Allie a “dirty Jew” at one point (Allie notes, “I wondered why I still wanted to be best friends with someone who still wanted to be best friends with someone like Cynthia”). Allie's plight will be utterly relatable to contemporary readers and the resolution is both satisfying and realistic. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. (July)
- The Dragon's Pearl Devin Jordan. Simon & Schuster, $16.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-4169-6410-0
Fun and fast-moving, this work by first-time novelist Jordan feels very cinematic—perhaps unsurprising as the story began as a screenplay. The rollicking fantasy takes plenty of license with the life of Marco Polo, opening at the dawn of the 14th century with 16-year-old Marco in Venice, where he longs for an adventurous life like his father—only to get his wish when he learns his father has been abducted by the powerful Eastern sorcerer Arghun. With the help of his reluctant friend Amelio, the warrior Aziz and the mysterious guide Kokachin, Marco travels east through the Insurmountable Mountains to the Peking court of the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, battling everything from wily shopkeepers to Arghun's almost undefeatable magic and servants, to rescue his father. The prose is standard, though the story has an engaging mix of adventure, Asian mythology and historical detail—all filtered through the amazed eyes of a young man who is experiencing them for the first time. The pace is unrelenting, but action-loving readers won't mind. Ages 10–up. (July)
- Days of Little Texas R.A. Nelson. Knopf, $16.99 (400p) ISBN 978-0-375-85593-1
Ronald Earl, at the center of this multidimensional coming-of-age/ghost story, earned the moniker “Little Texas” at age 10, after performing a spontaneous healing while touring with his great-aunt's tent-revival ministry. But at 16, burgeoning sexual feelings and the apparition of a girl named Lucy, who died when he failed to heal her, cause Ronald to question his integrity as a spiritual leader. When Ronald loses his composure on stage, his great-aunt and his two evangelical companions take him to a former slave plantation to deliver what is hoped to be his greatest sermon and to drive out a malicious force there. However, Ronald's understanding of the spiritual realm becomes even murkier as his relationship with Lucy develops. A chilling yet tender presence, Lucy challenges Ronald's beliefs with provocative insights: people who do “evil things” are “Already in hell. Nothing can be worse... than to live the life they are already living,” she explains. At a dramatic final crossroads, Ronald discovers a kind of personal solace, but Nelson (Breathe My Name) offers no easy revelations, instead suggesting that human nature may be as unknowable as the supernatural. Ages 12–up. (July)
- Libyrinth Pearl North. Tor Teen, $17.95 (336p) ISBN 978-0-7653-2096-4
In this complex and rewarding novel set on a decaying, far-future colonial world that barely remembers Earth, Haly is an apprentice Libyrarian, dedicated to protecting the countless books housed in the enormous and decrepit maze known as the Libyrinth. Opposed to her order are the Eradicants, a powerful civilization that defines books as evil. When Haly—who has the ability to hear the contents of books, letters and other pieces of writing without reading them—learns that the Eradicants have discovered the location of the near-mythical tome, The Book of the Night, which “held the secrets of the Ancients, all of their machines and miracles,” she sets off to recover it and save her society. Among this novel's pleasures are the many anonymous quotations scattered throughout, snatches of prose that Haly hears as she goes about her chores, from such sources as Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl, Charlotte's Web and Fahrenheit 451, all of which are carefully identified at the end. The complex moral issues posed by this thoughtful and exciting tale are just as fascinating. Ages 13–up. (July)
- The Word Snoop Ursula Dubosarsky, illus. by Tohby Riddle. Dial, $16.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-8037-3406-7
Using word puzzles, codes, puns and a wealth of information, Australian author Dubosarsky (The Red Shoe) explores the enigma that is the English language. The eponymous Word Snoop leads an entertaining adventure that researches the peoples and influences that have shaped English over the past 1,500 years (“I sometimes think English is like a big old wall that people have been scribbling on for centuries,” quips the snoop). Beginning with an overview of early writing (cuneiform, hieroglyphics) and alphabets before moving on to the ins and outs of English, the snoop's reader-directed narration offers playful and engaging explanations of punctuation and silent letters (“They're a bit like stray cats that wander into the house”) among other elements of language, including nicknames, onomatopoeia, clichés, Internet slang and pig latin. The book is a useful tool for teachers, but should also delight language enthusiasts of all ages. Riddle's cartoons provide humorous flourishes as well as drive home certain points. The clever approach grants insight into the complexity and beauty of communication and the inherent power of language. Ages 10–up. (July)
For more reviews as well as to read a list of current bestsellers and other articles, visit www.publishersweekly.com
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