Encore Performances
A crop of sequels and series additions greet fans this fall. Australian author John Marsden's The Other Side of Dawn brings his Tomorrow series to its dramatic conclusion. Bestsellers in Australia, the seven-
book series revolves around a dwindling group of teenagers fighting for their lives—and Australia's survival—against a brutal invading army. Here, as the war enters a final phase, the dangers for narrator Ellie and her friends seem greater than ever. Who among them will find a lasting peace? (Houghton, $16 344p ages 12-up ISBN 0-618-07028-1; Aug.) In the fourth title in the Sam and Robert Bamford series (including Dracula Is a Pain in the Neck and Frankenstein Moved In on the Fourth Floor), Sam's online chess partner, Vlad, visits New York City from Romania in Vampire State Building by Elizabeth Levy, illus. by Sally Wern Comport. Sam and family suspect Vlad's a vampire; Levy sensitively handles the post—September 11 realities of New York. (HarperCollins, $14.99 112p ages 7-10 ISBN 0-06-000054-6; Sept.)
Holly's world expands—and moving into a new neighborhood with her mother and stepfather is just the beginning—in The Trouble with Babies, the follow-up to The Trouble with Cats by Martha Freeman, illus. by Cat Bowman Smith. (Holiday, $15.95 80p ages 6-9 ISBN 0-8234-1698-4; Aug.) With two new students in the one-room schoolhouse featured in Seal Island School, Pru and her pals start the year off with a bang in The Seal Island Seven by Susan Bartlett, illus. by Tricia Tusa. They discover that someone's been destroying fairy houses, and they band together to save an island tradition. (Viking, $15.99 80p ages 7-10 ISBN 0-670-03533-5; Aug.) In the eighth book of the series starring the Hatford boys and Malloy girls, the sexes do battle on the baseball diamond, then challenge one another to a bottle race down the Buckman River for the title of king or queen for a day in The Girls Take Over by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. (Delacorte, $15.95 160p ages 9-12 ISBN 0-385-32738-2; Sept.)
The heroine of Boston Jane, whom PW called an "outspoken, self-reliant young woman readers will long remember," returns for Boston Jane: Wilderness Days by Jennifer L. Holm. As the novel opens, Jane receives news that her father has passed away in Boston. Her ex-fiancé describes his plans to move all of the Washington Territory's Shoalwater Bay Indians to a reservation. (HarperCollins, $16.99 256p ages 10-up ISBN 0-06-029043-9; Sept.)
Lola, star of Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and called by PW an "irresistible heroine glittering with wit and charm," returns in My Perfect Life by Dyan Sheldon. Here, Lola urges perfect Ella to run against the (in PW's words) "deliciously despicable villainess," Carla Santini, in the race for school president. (Candlewick, $16.99 224p ages 12-up ISBN 0-7636-1839-X; Sept.)
Like its predecessor, Space Race, Sylvia Waugh's whimsical yet thought-provoking fantasy Earthborn chronicles the doings of visitors from the enlightened planet Ormingat. Nesta Gwynn, a 12-year-old living in northern England, has grown up believing her parents are from Boston, but after the publicity surrounding the disappearance of a father and son (the protagonists of Space Race), she learns the truth—that the Gwynns came from Ormingat and that she, Nesta, is destined to return with them. Can she manage to stay on Earth? (Delacorte, $15.95 240p ages 10-up ISBN 0-385-72964-2; Sept.)
A Native American teen experiences a life-altering encounter after reading about Mary Newbury—the 17th-century protagonist of Witch Child—who may be connected with one of her own relatives, in Sorceress by Celia Rees. (Candlewick, $15.99 336p ages 14-up ISBN 0-7636-1847-0; Sept.)
Michael Cadnum follows up The Book of the Lion, which PW called a "majestic novel" in a starred review, with The Leopard Sword. Hubert and Edmund, fresh from the Crusades, take on a covert challenge while sailing home to England. (Viking, $15.99 224p ages 12-up ISBN 0-670-89908-9; Sept.) With Firesong, author William Nicholson brings the Wind on Fire trilogy, begun with The Wind Singer, to a close. Led by their prophetess mother, twins Bowman and Kestrel travel with the Manth people to their promised land, struggling along the way—Bowman with desire, and Kestrel with the troubling realization that she cannot foresee life beyond this journey. (Hyperion, $17.99 384p ages 10-14 ISBN 0-7868-0571-4; Sept.)
WWII Remembered
A pair of titles helps young readers understand events during the Second World War. The first, World War II for Kids: A History with 21 Activities by Richard Panchyk provides a comprehensive survey of the era, beginning with Hitler's rise to power in 1933 to the Japanese surrender in 1945 (a time line opens the volume). Wartime letters, interviews with former soldiers, ordinary citizens and Holocaust survivors provide a personal perspective. Activities include creating a CARE package for enlisted soldiers and writing and performing a radio adventure; Bill Clinton and John McCain provide forewords. (Chicago Review [IPG, dist.], $14.95 paper 176p ages 9-up ISBN 1-55652-455-2; Oct.)
When Smoke and Ashes: The Story of the Holocaust by Barbara Rogansky first appeared in 1988, PW noted the author's ability to "elicit considerable power from an unexpected source—statistics and lists, and the cold-blooded notations of officers carrying out their duties." Now, Rogansky's account has been revised and expanded, with roughly one-third of the volume including new information that has come to light since publication. (Holiday, $27.50 272p ages 12-up ISBN 0-8234-1612-7; $14.95 paper -1677-1; Aug.)
