Encore! Encore!

This fall marks the return of many favorite characters. Philip Ardagh wraps up the Eddie Dickens Trilogy, illus. by David Roberts, with Terrible Times, in which Eddie, in the care of Mad Uncle Jack and Even Madder Aunt Maud (if one can call it that), sets out for America and washes overboard—will he ever cross the pond? PW said in a starred review of the series' launch, A House Called Awful End, "Kids who lap up Lemony Snicket's series will take quickly to this tale and clamor for the next." (Holt, $14.95 160p ages 9-up ISBN 0-8050-7156-3; Sept.)

Judy Moody Predicts the Future in the famously temperamental third-grader's fourth adventure by Megan McDonald, illus. by Peter H. Reynolds. Here Judy, equipped with a mood ring, convinces herself and her classmates of her clairvoyant capabilities. Fans can track their own mood swings with The Judy Moody Mood Journal; the paper-over-board volume, with lined pages and Reynolds's occasional spot art, sports a spinner set into the cover, whose arrow (when spun) lands on one of 10 possible Judy moods. Sections such as "Favorite Pets" suggest prompts and provide quotes from the books to spark budding writers' entries. (Candlewick, $15.99 160p ages 6-10 ISBN 0-7636-1792-X; Journal $9.99 -2236-2; Aug.)

The porcine star of Lady Lollipop is back in Clever Lollipop by Dick King-Smith, illus. by Jill Barton, this time with a royal tutor who arrives to teach Princess Penelope and Johnny Skinner math and science and such, and even instructs Lady Lollipop in pig language. (Candlewick, $15.99 144p ages 7-10 ISBN 0-7636-2174-9; Aug.)

Paula Danziger's unsinkable heroine is put to the test in Amber Brown Is Green with Envy, illus. by Tony Ross, when Amber's dad spends time with his dates instead of her, and Mom and Max step up the wedding plans and consider moving to a new town. Danziger probes universal issues with her characteristic compassion and humor. (Putnam, $14.99 160p ages 7-11 ISBN 0-399-23181-1; Sept.)

Jack Gantos continues the Jack Henry Books (Jack on the Tracks; Heads or Tails) with Jack Adrift: Fourth Grade Without a Clue. Jack's father rejoins the Navy and the family relocates from their home just south of Pittsburgh, Pa., to Cape Hatteras, N.C. On the car ride south, Jack solicits advice from his parents on how to make friends, and their contradictory advice ("Tell [people] what they want to hear," says Dad; "Always be yourself," Mom says) sets the stage for a series of conflicts for the nine-year-old, who develops a crush on his teacher, and reluctantly winds up a stool pigeon for the principal. (FSG, $16 208p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-374-39987-5; Aug.)

Another Chet Gecko mystery by Bruce Hale unfolds in Trouble Is My Beeswax. A test-cheating ring is operating at Emerson Hicky Elementary, and Chet's pal Shirley Chameleon is being framed as the chief operator. Luckily, Chet and his mockingbird partner, Natalie Attired, are on the case. (Harcourt, $14 120p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-15-216718-8; Sept.)

The sixth installment of the Cirque Du Freak series by Darren Shan, The Vampire Prince, finds Darren accused of being a traitor, after Kurda betrays him, and being pursued by the vampire clan. To save his skin, he must outfox a vampire prince, as his initiation on Vampire Mountain comes to a surprising close (though a teaser indicates yet another book). Vampire Mountain, book four, is also being released in September as a paperback. (Little, Brown, $15.95 168p ages 10-13 ISBN 0-316-60709-6; Mountain $6.50 paper 208p -60542-5; Sept.)

Brian Jacques's Redwall carries on with Loamhedge, a deserted abbey that a wheelchair-bound young hare-maid thinks could hold a cure to her lame condition. Two warriors traveling back to Redwall agree to seek out the legendary place, but unwittingly leave Redwall Abbey vulnerable to vermin intruders. (Philomel, $23.99 432p ages 10-up ISBN 0-399-23724-0; Sept.)

Hands Up for Hands-on

With the familiar, inviting format Klutz fans know and love, a quartet of spiralbound titles comes packed with fun accoutrements. For those who enjoy a needle and thread, Simple Embroidery by Marilyn Green comes with 10 skeins of embroidery thread, two needles, an embroidery hoop, a piece of fabric, reusable iron-on designs and instructions for 11 basic stitches. Beginners will appreciate the very detailed instructions plus bright and beckoning photographs. (Scholastic/Klutz, $21.95 58p ages 8-up ISBN 1-57054-947-5; Aug.)

For kids who like threads but not needles, Wax Strings: Make Things with Strings That Cling by Michael Sherman provides a less prick-y alternative with ideas for creating string-on-paper projects such as "Tacky Jewelry," "Sticky-Tac-Toe" or "Web Drop" (a game in which little wax bundles are dropped onto a wax-string spider web, with more points for the person who gets closer to the bull's-eye). Includes more than 50 no-mess and reusable wax-dipped strings. ($12.95 40p ages 5-up ISBN 1-59174-262-5; Aug.)

With Clifford the Big Red Dog Window Art by Barbara Kane, young fans can create images of their favorite canine to stick on any glass or mirrored surface. Three colors of paint, two plastic overlays and an instruction book and traceable designs will bring Clifford home for lots of big red fun. ($14.95 30p ages 4-up ISBN 1-59174-265-X; Aug.)

Googly Eyes: Making Funny Faces dispenses with a text in favor of a fully photographic gallery of faces created out of everyday objects by the addition of stick-on googly eyes, 96 of which come with the package. Their varying sizes will transform a basketball or a watering can into a character with a personality. ($6.95 40p ages 4-up ISBN 1-59174-256-0; Aug.)

For kids turned on by electricity, Battery Science by Doug Stillinger comes with a battery and various accessories such as a light bulb and a three-blade propeller, as well as instructions on how to combine them with household items for eight powerful projects, from a submergible submarine (a plastic water bottle) to a walking robot. ($19.95 64p ages 8-up ISBN 1-59174-251-X; Aug.)

A Message of Love and Hope

More than 60 years ago, just days before she was sent to the concentration camp where she died, Valli Ollendorff wrote a letter to her son, who had escaped to America. Fate Did Not Let Me Go: A Mother's Farewell Letter, with a foreword by Valli's grandson Stephen Ollendorff and photos by Ivo Pervan and Alex Bemporad, reproduces her inspirational message. Valli tells her son Ulrich, "I will thank you a thousand times for all the love, for all the gratitude, for all the joy and sunshine which you brought into your father's and my life, starting from the day of your birth." Though lost for 43 years, the letter finally reached Ulrich when he was 79 years old, and now his son has shared it with the world as a testament to love in the face of despair. Duotone photos depict the family in happier times as well as images of a concentration camp, and the text provides further family background. (Pelican, $14.95 48p all ages ISBN 1-58980-153-9; July)