Acorns Everywhere!
Kevin Sherry. Dial, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8037-3256-8
It is a truth universally acknowledged that squirrels obsessively bury nuts and then promptly forget where they put them. Sherry’s (I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean) comically frenetic cartooning is ideally suited to this premise, and he heightens the totemic desirability of the acorns by rendering them in photographic cutouts (“I must hide them,” the wide-eyed squirrel says, staring at readers with the utmost seriousness and intensity). But while Sherry’s bold colors, large-scale images and exclamatory text have lots of get-up-and-go (“Gather! Dig! Bury!” is the squirrel’s refrain as he nabs acorns from other creatures), the story devolves into a lame homophonic joke: for a second, it looks like a large brown bear might just “bury” the squirrel, but it turns out he’s just after a “berry” snack of his own. The squirrel then abruptly decides that those are just fine for sating his appetite, too, and his cycle of thievery restarts. Ages 3—5. (Sept.)
Bye-Bye Baby!
Richard Morris, illus. by Larry Day.Walker, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-80279-772-8
Felix, a preschooler, has a new baby sister and he isn’t happy about it. “This isn’t working out,” he says, ready to push her bassinette out the door after a particularly rough night of baby crying. “I think we should take her back.” A trip to the zoo presents Felix with a number of intriguing possibilities for restoring order (like feeding the baby to the hippo), but a change of heart dawns when his sister unexpectedly comforts him after a meltdown. Although the premise doesn’t break any new ground, debuting author Morris has a pithy voice and a promising eye for emotional detail—his depiction of how a car drive home can disintegrate should ring true for kids and adults (“On the ride home Felix cried. And cried. And cried”). Day (Duel!) isn’t the most graceful of draftsmen, but he does have an eye for those small but telling domestic moments, and he’s particularly good at bringing the life Felix’s unwavering affection for his beloved stuffed donkey Poncho. Ages 3—6. (Sept.)
Ride ’Em, Cowboy!
Kate McMullan, illus. by Lorelay Bove.Disney Press, $15.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-4231-1056-9
Readers who can’t get enough of Woody, Buzz Lightyear and crew will welcome this spinoff story from the Disney/Pixar films. But it’s not the boys who come out on top; instead, Jessie the cowgirl dominates when young Andy leaves for a rodeo and the toys, home alone, decide to stage one of their own. Bove, a visual development artist for Disney, renders the familiar characters in soft-edged portraits that give them a retro vibe, with backgrounds marked by wood paneling and other vintage-feeling patterns underscoring that idea. Rodeo-poster typography adds punch to notable moments, helping emphasize Woody’s scream as he loses his grip in the bull-riding event, as well as Buzz’s trademark response—“To infinity and beyond!”—as Woody soars skyward. It’s all conversation and action, and McMullan’s (I Stink!) gags provide lots of laughs: as Woody struggles to hogtie Hamm the piggy bank, the pig quips “Give it up, Woody.... I’m packin’ twelve-fifty in quarters.” Jessie’s triumph and Woody’s gracious concession (“You know, it doesn’t matter who’s champ.... It’s all about having fun with the other cowpokes”) supply an easy-to-swallow moral. Ages 3—7. (Sept.)
The Circus Ship
Chris Van Dusen.Candlewick, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7636-3090-4
Mr. Paine, the greedy, mustachioed manager of a 19th-century circus, browbeats his ship’s captain into sailing onward on a foggy night: “Don’t stop! Keep going!/ I’ve got a show to do!/ Just get me down to Boston town/ tomorrow, sir, by two!” The ship crashes and sinks, but the animals swim to a small Maine island, where they confound the villagers until the tiger saves a girl from a fire. After that, the islanders help hide the animals when Mr. Paine returns for them. Van Dusen’s (the Mercy Watson books) verse is tightly constructed, and his cartoonlike spreads are polished, literally and figuratively: the exaggerated chins and noses of the humans gleam, and sunsets and firelight illuminate the scenes dramatically. Other than Mr. Paine, readers don’t get too close to any of the characters; the focus is on the action. The fantasy of African wildlife on a quiet Maine island will absorb a read-aloud audience, and a clever hide-and-seek page lets readers hunt for the animals, which are concealed from Mr. Paine. A final page supplies the story’s (much sadder) historical source. Ages 4—8. (Sept.)
The Long Wait for Tomorrow
Joaquin Dorfman.Random, $16.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-375-84694-6
In this thoughtful exploration of free will versus predestination, high school senior Patrick, a talented musician, barely registers on his parents’ radar. They’re unable to move past the death of Patrick’s younger brother and, like everyone else in Patrick’s town, they’re enraptured by his best friend, Kelly, a golden boy and star quarterback headed to Ohio State on a football scholarship. That is, until the day Kelly wakes up a changed man. Unable to remember specific details about the present, filled with an irrational, newfound joy and possessing traits he lacked before (including a love of coffee and a talent for shooting pool), this Kelly seems determined to live life to the fullest. He also claims he’s from 20 years in the future, where he is in a mental institution. As Patrick, Kelly and his girlfriend, Jenna, work to answer these questions, they race against the clock to prevent a tragedy that could affect all of their futures. Though the crisis at the end is somewhat predictable, Dorfman’s (Playing It Cool) prose is magnetic and will keep readers guessing alongside his protagonists. Ages 12—up. (Sept.)
Once a Witch
Carolyn MacCullough.Clarion, $16 (304p) ISBN 978-0-547-22399-5
MacCullough (Drawing the Ocean) offers an absorbing and elegant urban fantasy involving magical “Talents,” devious spells and family ties. When Tamsin Greene was born, her grandmother prophesied that Tam would be one of the most powerful witches in her huge and extended family. Tam’s Talent was due to manifest by the time she turned eight, but at 17 she is still a dud, drifting on the outskirts of the family (“I know the looks I must be getting behind my back—the lifted eyebrows, the overly expressive shrugs, the whispers of sympathy”). When Tam is mistaken for her older and vastly Talented sister, Rowena, Tam can’t resist the chance to secretly take on the task of locating a missing clock to prove her resourcefulness and make the Greenes proud. Enlisting the help of her old friend Gabriel, Tam unwittingly sets off a chain of events that could destroy her entire family. MacCullough’s writing is evocative without distracting from her story; readers will identify with Tam’s desire to create a space away from parental expectations and take comfort that even extraordinary families make mistakes. Ages 12 —up. (Sept.)
