And Then What Happened?

Favorite chapter book tales continue this fall—some come to their riveting conclusions. The adventures of the Grace children, The Spiderwick Chronicles #5: The Wrath of Mulgarath by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, concludes as Jared, Mallory and Simon square off against an evil ogre who has kidnapped their mother. They enlist help of a brownie, hobgoblin and more in their quest to reunite their family. (S&S, $9.95 160p ages 7-up ISBN 0-689-85940-6; Sept.)

Shredderman: Attack of the Tagger by Wendelin Van Draanen, illus. by Brian Biggs, continues the adventures of Nolan Byrd (aka Shredderman) begun with Secret Identity, which PW called " 'Revenge of the Nerds' for the elementary crowd." When someone vandalizes Nolan's favorite teacher's van, it's up to Shredderman and his digital camera to unmask the villain. (Knopf, $12.95 144p ages 7-10 ISBN 0-375-82352-2; Aug.)

Cassie, the imaginative eight-year-old daughter of Sarah (from Sarah, Plain and Tall), narrates the fourth tale in the series, More Perfect than the Moon by Patricia MacLachlan. The girl writes her observations on prairie life (which she twists into funny, invented stories) into her journal, and is stunned to find out that her mother is pregnant again and must reconcile her feelings of abandonment. (HarperCollins/Cotler, $14.99 96p ages 8-10 ISBN 0-06-027558-8; Aug.)

In The Education of Patience Goodspeed by Heather Vogel Frederick, the 14-year-old heroine of the swashbuckling The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed returns for adventures on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Interspersed with details about the lives of the native Hawaiians, Patience's narrative centers on her clashes with a cannibal chief, Reverend Wiggins (the headmaster of the female seminary she attends) and Fanny Starbuck, a simpering socialite who seemingly has her eyes on Patience's father. (S&S, $15.95 320p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-689-86411-6; Sept.)

Fans of Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Alice series here find the fifth-grader navigating new trials and dramas in Lovingly Alice. She learns from her father (begrudgingly) about periods and discusses sex at a slumber party (later poor Dad must clear up the confusion); she also must cope with the death of her beloved cat, Oatmeal. Naylor once again deals with these pivotal issues in a child's life with humor and compassion. (S&S/ Atheneum, $15.95 176p ages 9-12 ISBN 0-689-84399-2; Sept.)

Using the same "scrapbook" style as their Regarding the Fountain, sisters Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise visit the students of Geyser Creek Middle School in Regarding the Sink: Where, Oh Where, Did Waters Go? The school seeks out Florence Waters, who devised the eccentric fountain for Dry Creek Middle School (in the previous book, which PW called "a good-natured story with an irrepressible main character who won't take no for an answer") to design a new cafeteria sink—despite 90% cuts to the school's budget. (Harcourt/Gulliver, $15 144p ages 9-12 ISBN 0-15-205019-1; Aug.)

In the second title in the Underland Chronicles series, Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane by Suzanne Collins, Gregor returns to the world beneath New York City, seeking his young sister, Boots, who has been kidnapped by giant cockroaches that are trying to protect her from murderous rats. PW said of Gregor the Overlander, "Collins does a grand job of world-building.... Unlike Gregor who cannot wait to leave, readers will likely find it to be a fantastically engaging place." (Scholastic, $16.95 320p ages 9-14 ISBN 0-439-65075-5; Sept.)

Midnight Over Sanctaphrax: The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell is the third title in the series. Here, Twig, the teenage sky pirate from the earlier titles, and his crew of elves, goblins and other creatures find Twig's father after braving a weather vortex. They are then entrusted with a quest that will save the lands of the Edge. Of the series' launch title, Beyond theDeepwoods, PW said: "The narrative will cast a spell over readers from the beginning with its utterly odd, off-kilter sense of logic and a vocabulary that is equal parts Dr. Seuss and Lewis Carroll." (Random/Fickling,$12.95 368p ages 10-12 ISBN 0-385-75072-2; Sept.)