Karen Ackerman, Author Atheneum Books $13.95 (117p) ISBN 978-0-689-31583-1
This message-heavy novel attempts to explore the desperate realities faced by a homeless family. Unfortunately, Ackerman ( Song and Dance Man ) consistently fails to move the plot and characters beyond superficial, flawed bibliotherapy. She spins a...
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Karen Ackerman, Author Philomel Books $14.95 (160p) ISBN 978-0-399-22254-2
The new family next door is odd--but that's okay with Solly Freedom, who considers his own kin to be a little off-center. It isn't until Solly becomes friends with Daniel that he realizes just how different they are: Daniel is mentally disturbed and
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Karen Ackerman, Author Atlantic Monthly Press $0 (24p) ISBN 978-0-87113-054-9
When Commander Ahab Flannery goes off to sea, he says goodbye to his 26 children in alphabetical order. (Everyone has a name, by the way, except for Ahab's ""missus.'') This book, told in rhyme, is slight. For older readers, there isn't much of a...
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Karen Ackerman, Author, Betsy Lewin, Illustrator Aladdin Paperbacks $6.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-689-82091-5
As Araminta's family make their way west in 1847, her wooden paint box goes astray; it takes on a number of uses before artist and paints are reunited. Ages 6-8. (Sept.)
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Karen Ackerman, Author, Elizabeth Sayles, Illustrator Yearling Books $4.99 (64p) ISBN 978-0-679-87040-1
Set in Austria in 1938, this tale of a Jewish family's escape to Switzerland, said PW, ``has plenty of heartstopping moments... [but] the historical details are treated lightly.'' Ages 7-11. (May)
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Karen Ackerman, Author, Elizabeth Sayles, Illustrator Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers $14 (56p) ISBN 978-0-679-83169-3
Set in Austria in 1938, Ackerman's ( Song and Dance Man ) tale of a Jewish family's escape to Switzerland is long on drama but somewhat short on facts. When Clara's father decides the family must leave their home in Innsbruck, he begins by selling...
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Karen Ackerman, Author, Stephen Gammell, Illustrator Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers $15.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-394-89330-3
Grandpa, once a song-and-dance man on the vaudeville stage, is invigorated by a visit from three grandchildren. They climb the stairs to the attic where mementoes of the past glitter invitingly through the dust. The reminders of days gone by beckon...
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Karen Ackerman, Author, Stephen Gammell, Illustrator Dragonfly Books $6.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-679-81995-0
In this Caldecott winner, Grandpa relives his vaudeville days for an adoring audience--his grandchildren. Ages 3-7. (Feb.)
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Karen Ackerman, Author, Sylvie Kantorovitz Wickstrom, Illustrator Atheneum Books $14.95 (1p) ISBN 978-0-689-31741-5
There's more to an abandoned house than meets the eye in this slight picture book: wild creatures from the surrounding yard have made the rundown dwelling their own. Mice scurry on the floor, spiders spin webs in the cabinets and kittens nap beneath
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Karen Ackerman, Author, David Ray, Illustrator Philomel Books $14.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-399-21924-5
In the evening, ``when Darkness has left no place for Light to hide,'' a banshee drifts through a small village, searching for a lonely soul to keep her company. Readers follow her as she peers in one window after another, but there are no desolate...
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Karen Ackerman, Author, Alexa Grace, Illustrator Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers $15 (1p) ISBN 978-0-679-80289-1
Many women--and some enlightened men--will attest to the fact that running a household and caring for children is an often thankless, full-time job. In this flashback to World War II Mama considers ``retiring'' from housework and taking on a factory
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