PICTURE BOOKS
Baby Blessings: A Prayer for the Day You Are Born
Deloris Jordan, illus. by James E. Ransome. S&S/Wiseman, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4169-5362-3
In Jordan's (Did I Tell You I Love You Today?) latest, an African-American mother and father express their promises and hopes for their newborn son in the form of a blessing: "You will always be loved with a love that knows no bounds. You will touch the world in your own special way. We pray that you will always be kind." Under their loving and watchful eyes, the boy matures into a kindergartner, and by the book's end, he's also become a big brother (astute readers will notice that the mother's tummy starts growing at the book's midpoint). Ransome's (Sky Boys) rich oil palette adds some emotional heft, helping Jordan's pedestrian sentiments ("Always strive to do you best") feel a little bigger than they actually are. But his vignettes feel predictable and Pollyannish—a butterfly alights near the toddler as his mother looks on as she tends the garden; the parents sit side-by-side on the boy's bed, book in hand, as he gazes out at the night sky—as if they were the "do" examples in an inordinately upbeat parenting book. All ages. (Jan.)
Seven Little Bunnies
Julie Stiegemeyer, illus. by Laura J. Bryant. Marshall Cavendish, $15.99 ISBN 978-0-7614-5600-1
As bedtime approaches, seven little bunnies show no signs of slowing down. One bunny "thumps a big drum,/ hums and drums with a rum, pum, pum." His brothers and sisters prance around him and pursue other evening distractions. One snacks on a carrot with gusto, one splashes in the tub, and another enjoys a book. In rhyming stanzas that never falter, Stiegemeyer (Gobble Gobble Crash!) describes each restless bunny in turn and wonders, "will he stop?" The answer is always the same, and always appears on the facing page as the antic youngsters give in, one by one, with a repeated, hypnotic "Cozy,/ dozy,/ drowsy... / drop." Bryant (Yummiest Love) pictures the light brown, white-chinned bunnies in unique, identifiable blouses and shorts. As each of them drops off, they pile up in an ever-growing heap, with their long ears and paws floppy and eyes softly closed. Their parents tuck them "snug in bed,/ with Mama's kiss upon each head." Stiegemeyer and Bryant do justice both to the intense energy of children resisting slumber, and the sweet relaxation that eventually follows. Ages 3-8. (Feb.)
Love Your Heart
Tim McGraw and Tom Douglas, illus. by Abigail Marble. Tommy Nelson, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4003-1473-7
In this sweet if excessively earnest down-home tale, country music star McGraw and songwriter Douglas (who collaborated on My Little Girl) return to the subject of the love between a father and a daughter. After Katie spends a day trying out different skills for the upcoming school talent show (she unsuccessfully attempts to do a cartwheel and teach her dog to juggle eggs), Daddy reminds her that "Mom and I are your biggest fans" and advises her to ask for God's help to her find the right talent to showcase. She knows what to do when she discovers that her friend has injured her hand and can't jump rope solo in the show: Katie and (implausibly) her dog take to the stage as rope swingers, helping her friend win the competition. Marble's (My Secret Bully) pictures of the fresh-faced heroine and her devoted, cowboy hat-wearing father are in harmony with the story's feel-good message. Typography of various sizes and colors enlivens the pages, and McGraw's wife, Faith Hill, and their daughters contribute a foreword. Ages 3-8. (Feb.)
The Humblebee Hunter
Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Jen Corace. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4231-1356-0
Hopkinson (Stagecoach Sal) draws upon Charles Darwin's twin loves of nature and children to pen a playful, fictional account of an experiment the great naturalist might have conducted with his offspring. Initial spreads find the young narrator—Darwin's daughter, Henrietta—unwillingly making a honey cake and reflecting on life with her famous father. "We grew up asking what? And why? And how?" When Darwin recruits the eager Etty and her siblings to assist with the "Great Bee Experiment," the tale takes on compelling tone. He assigns each child a humblebee (bumblebee) to follow and count its flower visits for one minute. Enlarged typeface enumerates Etty's bee's landings: "Four, five, six... How quick and sure this tiny creature was," until the one-word ending from her father ("STOP!") surprisingly concludes both experiment and book. With graceful lines and subdued hues, Corace's (Little Pea) illustrations evoke nature's simplicity. Soft closeups of bees and blooms will sweep readers into the garden excitement. Deftly weaving the bee motif throughout, Hopkinson crafts a beautiful glimpse into the exhilaration of science. Brief notes on Darwin and his family are included. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)
The Brothers Kennedy: John, Robert, Edward
Kathleen Krull, illus. by Amy June Bates. Simon & Schuster, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4169-9158-8
The creators of Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight celebrate the lives of these political icons, spotlighting their personal and professional interactions and underscoring their mutual affection. Short chapters describe the brothers (including oldest sibling Joe) as children and young men: bookworm and aspiring leader John; serious, compassionate Robert; and loyal Edward, who, as the youngest, felt the weight of his brothers' expectations as a child: "With each brother putting pressure on the next, Edward got the most." Krull offers streamlined accounts of the trio's careers and, somewhat prosaically, emphasizes the importance to each of "hope, compassion, and loyalty." Rendered in watercolor, gouache, and pencil, Bates's art features lifelike depictions of the siblings and convincingly captures the emotion and drama inherent in their stories. In perhaps the most poignant picture, Robert and Edward embrace on a seaside dune after John's assassination ("And then there were two brothers"). Supplementary notes, more accessible to those on the older edge of the targeted age range, round out this admiring portrait. Ages 4-8. (Jan.)
No Easy Way: The Story of Ted Williams and the Last .400 Season
Fred Bowen, illus. by Charles S. Pyle. Dutton, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-525-47877-5
"He knew there was no easy way to become the greatest hitter who ever lived," writes Bowen (the All-Star Sports Story series) in this compelling account of slugger Williams's 1941 season. His vigilant practice and minor-league play won Williams a job with the Boston Red Sox, hitting 31 home runs in his rookie season—impressive, yet shy of his .400 batting average goal. Reaching that milestone two years later involved considerable drama: although Williams's average "took off in the cool of the spring and floated above .400 during the heat of the summer," it fell in the fall. Knowing there was "no easy way" to finish the season as a .400 hitter, he faced a tough decision during the final game. That this was the last season before Williams left to fight in WWII adds to the poignancy. Pyle, who used himself as a model for Williams in his artwork, contributes arresting paintings (supplemented by photos) that are at times reminiscent of those of Norman Rockwell and readily convey the emotion of the story, which kids will easily be swept into. Ages 5-8. (Feb.)
Erroll
Hannah Shaw. Knopf, $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-375-86105-5
Loopy illustrations and emphatic typography amplify the nuttiness of Shaw's (Sneaky Weasel) scattered story of a boy and a talking squirrel he finds in a snack pack of Nutti Nutts. Wide-eyed Bob "could only imagine how Errol had gotten inside the package of nuts in the first place." And he does just that in a Rube Goldsbergesque visual sequence that transports the squirrel from forest to grocery store (with plenty of tubes, gears, and conveyer belts in between). The frisky, peanut butter sandwich–loving critter creates mayhem in Bob's house—swinging from an overhead light, chomping on a table, and decorating a wall with footprints—as the boy's oblivious mother works in the garden. When she finally spies Erroll's handiwork, she announces that he must go back home, and mother and son return Erroll to the woods. Kids will enjoy the pandemonium, which Shaw's cartoons play up at every opportunity. But similarly to how squirrels leap from branch to branch and race around tree trunks for reasons opaque to human observers, the story jumps from scene to scene with little holding it all together. Ages 5-8. (Feb.)
Princess Pigtoria and the Pea
Pamela Duncan Edwards, illus. by Henry Cole. Scholastic/Orchard, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-545-15625-7
This heavily alliterative retelling of "The Princess and the Pea" from the creators of The Old House is more like "The Princess and the Letter P." The porcine princess's palace is in disrepair, and in hopes of improving her digs, she answers Prince Proudfoot's personal ad for a "proper princess" to be his bride. Arriving at his palace, she orders "plenty of pizzas" and feasts with the palace staff ("everyone performed the polka until they were pooped"). After getting a poor night's sleep, Pigtoria is outraged to discover that the prince put a pea under her pillow (the leftovers of her meal are actually to blame), but after a few romantic twists and turns, everyone gets a happy ending. The incessant single-letter repetition takes precedence over the meandering story line and makes for some strained sentences ("Let us become a pair," suggests Pigtoria's new suitor, the pizza delivery pig, to which she replies, "Peachy!"). Cole's watercolors—accented with pinks and purples—offer plenty of comic details, especially the prince's expressive staff, which includes a poodle, parrot, and platypus. Ages 5-8. (Feb.)
Muhammad Ali: The People's Champion
Walter Dean Myers, illus. by Alix Delinois. Collins/Amistad, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-029131-0
This artful biography of Muhammad Ali begins with his childhood in Louisville, Ky.—he started learning how to fight after his bicycle was stolen—and offers snapshots of his hard-earned career in the world of boxing. Myers (Looking Like Me) attends to the tempestuous political and social climate that so profoundly shaped Ali, while newcomer Delinois's powerfully expressive illustrations evoke the energy and emotion of the civil rights movement and Ali's stance as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. In the boxing rink, Ali's and his opponents' bodies are fluid, with kinetic chalky outlines and blocks of paint capturing the glistening heat and intensity of the fight. Myers makes good use of direct quotations from Ali, his family members, and other contemporaries (at the Rumble in the Jungle, Ali taunts George Foreman, "Punch, sucker. I thought you could hit. That's a sissy punch"), though the lack of citation for the quotes is surprising. This visually striking account ends with Ali, stricken with Parkinson's disease, lighting the torch at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, still determined to fight. Ages 5-8. (Jan.)
FICTION
Chocolate Dreams
Helen Perelman, illus. by Erica-Jane Waters. S&S/Aladdin, $4.99 paper (128p) ISBN 978-1-4169-9454-1
Some girls who savor frothy reading (or Strawberry Shortcake—the character) may enjoy this first book in the Candy Fairies series, but others will succumb to sugar shock. Set in the Candy Kingdom, home to the Chocolate Woods and Candy Corn Fields, Perelman's (the Camp Rock series) story centers on Cocoa the Chocolate Fairy, chosen by Fairy Princess Lolli (who has "a heart of sugar") to guard the precious first chocolate eggs of spring. When the eggs disappear, Cocoa realizes "She'd need every ounce of chocolate courage she had" to deal with this "huge chocolate mess." Knowing there's only one person "sour enough" to steal the eggs, Cocoa and Lolli travel to the cave of a "salty old troll." They feed him so many chocolate-covered pretzels that he falls into a "chocolate coma" and they retrieve the purloined candy. Though unabashedly saccharine, the tale contains an occasional dollop of spice: when one fairy shows off her sugarcoated fruit-chew necklace, another gushes, "You have the best taste." Final art not seen by PW. Also out: Rainbow Swirl. Ages 6-9. (Jan.)
Your Life, but Better: Step Back or Step Up
Crystal Velasquez. Delacorte, $7.99 paper (288p) ISBN 978-0-375-85084-4
Velasquez, who has written books in the Maya and Miguel series, kicks off the Find Yourself Inside series with a girl-focused choose your own adventure-type story. Written in the second person, the story places readers in the role of a 12-year-old girl, who is at the mall hoping to win two golden tickets to her classmate Shawna's "ginormous" 13th birthday bash by finding her in disguise and answering trivia questions, a riddle, or completing a dare. She has two best friends to help out, but there are numerous distractions, including her crush ("Jimmy Morehouse, aka the most perfect guy ever"), and an offer from a modeling scout. At the end of each chapter the reader takes a personality quiz (at the mall's food court do you sit "near the Johnny Rockets, where all the popular kids hang out" or "at a two-seater off to the side") to determine which chapter readers should turn to. Saturated with preteen drama, sassy humor, and pop culture references, it's a breezy read, but registers more as a game than a memorable story. Ages 8-12. (Jan.)
Roy Morelli Steps Up to the Plate
Thatcher Heldring. Delacorte, $15.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-385-73391-5
Sermon swamps story in Heldring's (Toby Wheeler: Eighth-Grade Benchwarmer) preachy novel about priorities and teamwork. The eponymous hero has his vision firmly fixed on high school—and becoming shortstop. But Roy has to pass eighth-grade history first, and his divorced parents decide he will sit out a season on the all-star team to concentrate on his grades. Roy's only baseball option is the low-key rec league team. Both Roy's history teacher and baseball coach are portrayed as imbeciles—history instruction consists of reading a chapter a night in the textbook then re-reading it aloud in class; the coach insists it's all about fun but doesn't notice team bullies picking on the smallest player. As cultural anthropology, it's a depressing portrait of modern American life: Roy's mother takes night classes, so he and his sister—whose conversations amount to insult exchanges—sullenly share dinners like "mac 'n' cheese with peas and salad out of a bag." Roy does nothing to undermine the dumb jock stereotype when, rather than study, he embraces his classmate's strategy for multiple-choice tests: "It's never, ever the same letter twice in a row." Ages 9-12. (Mar.)
Lynn Visible
Julia DeVillers. Dutton, $16.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-525-47691-7
High school freshman Lynn Vincent's bold fashion sense always makes a big impression. While Lynn knows "it would have been much easier for me to put on the typical high-schooler outfit," she can't help but be herself, creating combinations so outrageous that her best friend Taylor's mother wishes Taylor would find more traditional friends (on the first day of school Lynn wears a plaid shirt, pink tutu skirt, kneesocks, and fedora). Then popular magazine GlITter Girl sponsors a contest to find teens on the cutting edge of fashion. The day of the audition, Lynn trips and sends a homemade shoe flying onto the salad plate of one of the judges, a famous designer. Like Prince Charming pursuing Cinderella with a glass slipper, the magazine finds Lynn with the aid of her shoe and asks her to be its very first IT Girl, launching her into the limelight. DeVillers (Liberty Porter, First Daughter) keeps Lynn true to herself: her funky, conversational tone never wavers, even when the powers-that-be want to change her designs. The story celebrates individualism and friendship and should generate smiles. Ages 10-up. (Mar.)
Max Cassidy: Escape from Shadow Island
Paul Adam. HarperCollins/Walden Pond Press, $16.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-06-186323-3
Thriller writer Adam makes an inauspicious children's book debut, delivering a tale driven by characters making nonsensical choices. Max Cassidy, a 14-year-old schoolboy, is also a famous escape artist. When he was 12, his mother was arrested for the murder of his escape-artist father in the fictional Central American nation of Santo Domingo. A visit from a mysterious stranger convinces Max that his mother was framed, and he travels to the small country to uncover the truth. While there, he witnesses political corruption and discovers the titular island, now serving as a prison. When Consuela—his caretaker and his father's former assistant—vanishes, he knows he has to break into the nigh-impenetrable prison and try to discover the truth about what really happened to his father. Max's discoveries are moved ahead by boneheaded decisions on the parts of the villains—notably kidnapping Consuela for no logical reason. A few well-written escape sequences don't make up for the lack of thought put into the plot. The story ends with a cliffhanger, leaving plenty of questions unanswered. Ages 10-up. (Feb.)
