Stay Tuned...

Long-awaited sequels and favorite characters return in a slew of novels this winter. Continuing the action-packed series begun with Shredderman: Secret Identity, which PW hailed as "a one-man Revenge of the Nerds for the elementary crowd," Wendelin Van Draanen returns with Shredderman: Meet the Gecko, illus. by

Brian Biggs. Here Nolan (aka Shredderman) meets his hero—or should one say, superhero—Chase Morton, who plays The Gecko on TV. But Chase is being chased, and Nolan is determined to expose the stalker on Shredderman.com. (Knopf, $12.95 176p ages 7-10 ISBN 0-375-82353-0; Jan.)

Limpy, from Toad Rage, which PW called "a hilarious dark comedy," takes another star turn in Toad Heaven by Morris Gleitzman. Here the fellow seeks a paradise for cane toads, where they can be free from human threats such as bike pumps and folding chairs. (Random, $14.95 240p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-375-82764-1; Jan.)

Tiger's Blood by Laurence Yep continues the tale of human boy Tom Lee, Mistral the dragon and Monkey from The Tiger's Apprentice. Here the trio and other allies engage in more high adventure as they attempt to safekeep the magical phoenix egg, introduced in the debut title, and ensure that it does not fall prey to the underwater dragon kingdom. (HarperCollins, $15.99 240p ages 10-up ISBN 0-06-001016-9; Jan.)

The hero of Bartlett and the Ice Voyage ("a charming fantasy about the perils of desire," according to PW) features in a third episode, Bartlett and the Forest of Plenty by Odo Hirsch, illus. by Andrew McLean. Bartlett, Jacques le Grand and their apprentice, Gozo, head to a mysterious, virgin forest, and Gozo, who longs to take part in an adventure, wonders if this might be his chance. (Bloomsbury, $16.95 240p ages 8-12 ISBN 1-58234-931-2; Dec.)

If Footprints on the Roof contemplated the earth and environment, this companion volume, Central Heating: Poems About Fire and Warmth by Marilyn Singer, illus. by Meilo So, explores all aspects of fire. From fire's very nature ("Fire has contradiction/ at its heart,/ from that wintry blue part/ to its jagged golden crown") to the legendary creatures that breathe it ("Who wouldn't care to be/ a dragon?/ To be master of fire/ and air?") to the fire fighters who squelch it. So's illustrations, appropriately rendered in red ink, set the scenes ablaze with energy and vitality. (Knopf, $15.95 48p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-375-82912-1; Jan.)

Those who enjoyed watching the teen stars of Chloe, Queen of Denial and You Are So Cursed get hot in the Egyptian desert may enjoy the third Smooch novel, Beaner O'Brian's Absolutely Ginormous Guidebook to Guys by Naomi Nash. The title derives from the 15-year-old narrator's summer assignment for school, and every close encounter with the opposite sex is fodder for her project. (Smooch, $5.99 paper 208p ages 12-up ISBN 0-8439-5403-5; Dec.)

Welcome Back!

Several favorite authors and artists showcase their work in reissued editions. Fans of N.M. Bodecker's wit will be pleased to see a pair of his books return to print. The Mushroom Center Disaster, originally published in 1978 as a collaboration with his good friend, artist Erik Blegvad, describes what happens when a U.F.R. (Unidentified Flying Rubbish) descends upon the habitat of Mr. Beetle, Miss Ladybug and friends. Ahead of its time, this brief cautionary tale, accompanied by Blegvad's charming cross-hatch drawings, demonstrates to readers the hazards of litter. (MacAdam/Cage [866-986-7470], $14.95 48p ages 6-up ISBN 1-931561-98-2; Dec.)

Quimble Wood (1981), also by Bodecker, illus. by Branka Starr, tells of four quimbles who live in a box, "each wearing a tall, pointed hat, and each no bigger than your little finger." The adventures of these elfin characters, their diminutive stature brought to life in Starr's gently humorous half-tone illustrations, will enchant readers. (MacAdam/Cage [866-986-7470], $14.95 32p ages 6-up ISBN 1-931561-97-4; Dec.)

Marit Törnqvist reimagines Astrid Lindgren's wistful tale of two children "left alone in the world" and The Red Bird that gives them hope (first published in 1959, and here translated from the Swedish by Patricia Crampton). Fans of Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking tales may miss the author's sense of humor here, but Törnqvist's pen-and-ink and watercolor wash fluidly charts the children's transition from a sepia-toned, colorless world of poverty to the many-hued meadow filled with birch trees they discover, thanks to the red bird. (Scholastic/Levine, $16.95 48p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-439-62796-6; Jan.)

Leo Lionni's Fish Is Fish (1970) brings back the tale of a friendship between a tadpole and minnow, and the changes wrought when the now-fully-fledged frog tries to describe the wonders above ground to his finned friend. Lionni's palette, as iridescent as the scales of a minnow gleaming in the sun, is as captivating as ever. (Knopf, $15.95 40p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-394-80440-6; Jan.)

Peter, a fatherless, lame boy living in a literal Shantytown, meets a homeless man, Peter King, who gives the boy a spade and helps him to see the possibilities of their modest surroundings in A Tree for Peter, a novel by Kate Seredy (originally published in 1941). Seredy also provides sepia-tone full-page illustrations that neither glamorize nor downplay the boy's plight. (Purple House [859-235-9970], $19.95 112p ages 6-10 ISBN 1-930900-26-0; Dec.)

Exploring a similar theme, Rumer Godden's An Episode of Sparrows (1955), set in WWII London, tells of two street kids who attempt to create a secret garden, inspiring other children and shaking up the neighborhood. (New York Review Book [PGW, dist.], $16.95 264p ages 10-up ISBN 1-59017-124-1; Jan.)

Carbonel: The King of the Cats by Barbara Sleigh, illus. by V.H. Drummond, first published in 1955, stars young Rosemary, whose plan to buy a broom to clean houses over the summer takes an unexpected turn. The woman who sells her the broom also throws a cat into the bargain (for a few farthings extra), and the feline turns out to be enchanted. (New York Review Book [PGW, dist.], $16.95 192p ages 8-12 ISBN 1-59017-126-8; Jan.)

Fans of Half Magic by Edward Eager, illus. by N.M. Bodecker, can rejoin Jane, Mark, Katharine and Martha and their magical wish-granting coin in celebration of a half-century of Half Magic. This 50th-anniversary edition features a special green ribbon place-marker that matches the enchanting green-ink drawings. (Harcourt, $18.95 240p ages 9-12 ISBN 0-15-205302-6; Dec.)