Ready for Anything!
Keiko Kasza.Putnam, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-399-25235-8
When gung-ho Duck arrives at Raccoon’s house toting a picnic basket, his timid pal announces he doesn’t want to go on their planned outing after all. “What if we are attacked by killer bees?” he asks worriedly. Raccoon goes on to imagine an escalating series of picnic disasters, culminating with the discovery of a ferocious dragon, causing the friends (back in reality) to cower under a blanket on Raccoon’s sofa. But optimistic Duck counters by envisioning more uplifting scenarios: what if they encounter butterflies instead of bees and the dragon they meet is benign, helping them toast marshmallows with its fiery breath? Convinced, Raccoon agrees to the picnic, but insists on bringing along supplies to cope with all the fiascos he’s envisioned, plus one he hasn’t: the picnic basket Duck accidentally leaves behind. Breezy dialogue and amusing gouache renderings of the characters’ changing moods will endear Kasza’s (Badger’s Fancy Meal) amiable protagonists to readers, while helping them understand that life’s surprises—good or bad—are best faced directly, rather than fearing the worst. Ages 3—5. (Sept.)
June and August
Vivian Walsh, illus. by Adam McCauley.Abrams, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8109-8410-3
By moonlight, two sinuous silhouettes share a conversation. They dearly want to meet again, so they describe what they’re like in the daytime. “ ‘I am very handsome,’ said August. ‘And I,’ said June, ‘am very clever.’ ” Such vague descriptions do not suffice in the sunshine, until a yellow-and-orange boa wonders, “What is this strange gray cloud hanging over my head?” and an elephant hears her voice and asks, “June?” Getting acquainted, the unlikely couple goes on a stroll/slither through the jungle. When the other animals stare, August says, “We must look grand,” but in fact they are camouflaged; each animal thinks it sees its own reflection, or a fanged threat, in the rustling foliage. McCauley (Mom and Dad Are Palindromes), illustrating in grainy scratchboard, gouache and colored pencil, has lots of fun with symmetry and visual trickery (when June and August meet in lavender twilight, her body and tail mirror his trunk and tusk). But unfortunately Walsh’s (Olive, the Other Reindeer) story offers little besides an ambiguous appeal for open-mindedness. Ages 4—8. (Sept.)
Beautiful Ballerina
Marilyn Nelson, photos. by Susan Kuklin.Scholastic Press, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-545-08920-3
Four ballerinas from the Dance Theatre of Harlem—from a very young newbie to an advanced older student—serve as muses for Nelson’s (Pemba’s Song) poetic tribute to dance, self-discipline and African-American pride. “Beautiful ballerina, you are the dance,” she writes. “To the traditions of port de bras and arabesque,/ of pirouettes, jetés, and pas de deux,/ you bring a tiny hint of Africanness,/ juju and beautiful joy danced in your every move.” Kuklin’s (All Aboard: A True Train Story) photographs set the dancers against solid color backgrounds that focus all attention on their outstretched limbs and confident poses. The dancers never seem overly idealized or doll-like; these are real girls, and aspiring ballerinas should be both fascinated and heartened by the stages of physique and technique they represent. Ages 7—10 (Sept.)
Flight of the Phoenix
R.L. LaFevers, illus. by Kelly Murphy.Houghton Mifflin, $16 (144p) ISBN 978-0-547-23865-4
LaFevers (the Theodosia books) gets the Nathanial Fludd, Beastologist series off to a sprightly start with this wry story introducing a 10-year-old orphaned when his parents’ airship crashes in the North Pole in 1928. Born into a long line of explorers and beastologists (entrusted with the care and protection of mythical creatures), Nate likes reading and drawing (some of Murphy’s spot art is meant to represent Nate’s sketches), though he “wasn’t sure his love of adventure had shown up yet.” But he’s plunged into high adventure when he goes to live with his Aunt Phil (short for Philomena), a beastologist who he accompanies on her mission to oversee an event that occurs every 500 years: the rebirth of a phoenix. Nate’s transition from timid boy to intrepid apprentice beastologist involves some droll exploits, as when he’s forced to venture onto the wing of his aunt’s open-cockpit plane to dislodge whatever is caught in the propeller. That turns out to be a gremlin who becomes a key player in this quick-paced adventure, which should entice kids to return for Nate’s next escapade. Ages 8—12. (Sept.)
Definitely Not for Little Ones: Some Very Grimm Fairy-Tale Comics
Rotraut Susanne Berner, trans. from the German by Shelley Tanaka.Groundwood (PGW, dist.), $18.95 (48p) ISBN 978-0-88899-957-3
The closing line of Berner’s (The Winter Book) versions of several tales—“And they would still be alive today... if they hadn’t died, that is,”—gives a good idea of the cheek and vinegar present in these retellings, delivered comic-book style. In the lesser-known story of “Mother Holle,” a cruel widow enjoys a glass of wine as her daughter smokes a cigarette, while in “Tom Thumb” two animals meet bloody ends after swallowing Tom. There’s no shying from puckish scenes, either: in one panel, a naked (but concealed under sheets) Rapunzel and her prince nestle in bed. Berner’s affable, trademark animals appear throughout; between stories they gather near a figure reading in an armchair, hidden from readers. The pacing of the stories can be erratic, with frequent time indicators (“Weeks later...”) warping readers through the action, condensing days or years of action into a few panels. Berner uses the stories’ inherent absurdities—“Stay away from the witch,” Jorindel tells Jorinda, “She’s already turned 7,000 maidens into birds!”—to her advantage, resulting in plenty of darkly funny moments. Ages 9—up. (Sept.)
The Secret of Zoom
Lynne Jonell.Henry Holt, $16.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-8050-8856-4
Jonell (Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat) takes readers into the secretive and strange world of young Christina Adnoid. Christina, who has been told that her mother died in a laboratory explosion, lives with her brilliant but overprotective scientist father in an old house on the sprawling property of Loompski Laboratories. A clandestine encounter with Taft, one of the “Happy Orphans” who live just beyond Christina’s fenced-in reach, sets off a farfetched but lively chain of events. In a matter of days, Christina locates a hidden tunnel that leads to the orphanage, helps Taft escape from the clutches of the sinister guards there, discovers “zoom” rock whose energy can only be harnessed by those who, like Christina, sing with perfect pitch, and uncovers Lenny Loompski’s plot to exploit the orphans. Though there are some harrowing escapes, and Loompski’s plan to “mash” the orphans in a garbage truck might shock younger readers, the heroic antics of Christina and Taft and the imaginative details Jonell includes make this an adventure worth embarking on. Ages 9—up. (Sept.)
The Age Altertron
Mark Dunn.MacAdam/Cage, $12.95 (150p) ISBN 978-1-59692-345-4
Slapstick and absurdity drive this novel launching Dunn’s (Ella Minnow Pea) Calamitous Adventures of Rodney & Wayne, Cosmic Repairboys. Set in 1956, it stars likable 13-year-old twin apprentices to a physics professor who theorizes that an unknown force is experimenting with their town, resulting in residents’ inability to communicate with the outside world, the disappearances of individuals (including the twins’ father) and such over-the-top occurrences, such as the morning the entire town becomes the color peach (except peaches, which are blue). The professor’s mission is to invent contraptions to counteract “all manner of continuing calamities.” When townsfolk suddenly become almost 12 years younger, and children who haven’t yet reached that age disappear, he invents the Age Altertron to reverse the time lapse. But a lab mishap causes the machine to add more than 60 years to everyone’s age, after which two former teenage bullies take control of the town. Clunky dialogue and laborious plot ramblings cause the story to drag—fittingly, time will tell if kids are compelled to revisit the series to discover how the author resolves numerous dangling issues. Ages 10—up. (Sept.)
The Silver Blade
Sally Gardner.Dial, $16 (368p) ISBN 978-0-8037-3377-0
Gardner’s sequel to The Red Necklace stands alone, a lush historical romance with great appeal for teen readers. In Paris during the Reign of Terror, Yann is the Silver Blade, working under the cover of a theater job to help innocent families escape to England, using the threads of light that allow him to move objects and read minds. His love, Sido, is in England with her aunt and uncle, her aunt trying to marry Sido off and discouraging her from her alliance with Yann. Count Kalliovski is back, with eyes “so dark and dead, eyes from which no light shines,” and the power of the threads of darkness. His quest for the key to Yann’s soul, so he can possess the threads of light too, is one of many suspenseful elements in the story, as Kalliovski kidnaps Sido, and Yann falls to despair when he learns the identity of his father. Gardner is a master storyteller and readers will be gripped until the last pages of the fully satisfying conclusion. Ages 12—up. (Sept.)
According to Kit
Eugenie Doyle. Boyd Mills/Front Street, $17.95 (215p) ISBN 978-1-59078-474-7
Katharine (Kit) Snow is a content 15-year-old until her parents pull her out of high school as a result of a perceived violent atmosphere. She is forced to spend all her time at their Vermont dairy farm working, studying and taking the occasional dance class. Her mother is depressed and inaccessible as a result of the deaths of her son, first husband and mother, which casts a shadow on the whole family: “With Mom, sadness is not art, just a way of looking at the world through dust,” Kit observes. Strong-willed and sensitive, she puts all of her energy into ballet class and sets her mind on escaping to the Academy of the Arts in Montreal (“I want to be completely original, the greatest something ever.” Along the way, she faces the challenges of achieving independence, overcoming the stereotypes of a farmer and contending with the advances of her married ballet teacher. Doyle’s (Stray Voltage) powerful descriptions, compelling characters and knowledge of the rhythm of country life produce an inspiring second novel. Ages 14—17. (Sept.)
