Monthly Archives: December 2009

The Fedora on the Menorah


Elizabeth Bluemle - December 11, 2009

Today’s post comes courtesy of alert bookseller and guest blogger Kenny Brechner (in photo at right, posing for the New England Children’s Booksellers Association’s Men of NECBA Calendar) from DDG Booksellers in Farmington, Maine. In these tough economic times, independent booksellers are always looking for ways to supplement meager margins. Recent Elf on the Shelf discussions in the bookselling world led to Kenny’s proactive measure (see below), which just might turn this retail season around, at least in Farmington.

Happy Hanukkah, everyone!

Kenny writes:

One holiday item that has been in the news lately is The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition® that delightful book-and-toy kit which features an elf who "monitors" the behavior of its recipient and reports back to Santa on whether the child has qualified for Christmas by being good. At DDG we realized that a similar product was needed to help improve the celebration of Hanukkah. Now, it is true that some have criticized attempts to have Hanukkah keep up with the Joneses, as it were, with recent creations such as "The Hanukkah Bush," but no one could criticize the outstanding new product we have developed here at DDG, designed as it is to provide young Jewish gift recipients the same sort of experience that their Christian counterparts are receiving from The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition®.

The product in question, which we are launching as I write this, is called The Fedora on the Menorah. The Fedora on the Menorah™ is a hat that kids put on after receiving their nightly present, which promptly reports on whether or not they actually appreciated their gift, thereby qualifying them for, or disqualifying them from, receiving the next night’s present. Just as with The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition®, The Fedora on the Menorah™ takes the guesswork out of holiday gift-worthiness. Generations of children have been expected to put a good face on the more prosaic gifts they receive during the eight-day gift-receiving gauntlet that is Hanukkah, but with The Fedora on the Menorah™, duplicity will become a thing of the past. The routine of hiding your disappointment over Aunt Norma’s sweater will be replaced by the sort of soul-testing personal intrusion that makes the holidays an achievement, rather than an entitlement, for children.

How does it work? Well, the Fedora has a ‘gift dial’ on its brim, with categories on it such as sweaters, socks, educational computer games, books about Hanukkah, and so forth. With the category having been selected, the built-in Lie Detector registers from the gift recipient’s sweaty brow whether or not she truly appreciated her gift, and then the built-in voice chip reports its findings. For example the recipient of a sweater might be revealed as feeling that, "I’d rather have a moldy clementine than this rotten, itchy sweater," or commended for feeling that, "I’m so appreciative of receiving this sweater. In fact I’m glad I didn’t get that silly netbook I asked for. You’re right Dad, I would have gotten tired of it in a few minutes!" When you give The Fedora on the Menorah™ you’ll be giving the greatest gift of all: a conscience!

Margaux appreciates her Lightning Whirl-O Magnetic Top. Maybe she’ll get a bigger present tomorrow!

Margaux is not up to the stern challenge of this gift, she’s disappointed by receiving a package of Kugelach, the "Jewish Jacks" game, which is actually nothing but five small lumps of metal, and is broadly considered to be one of the worst sidelines of all time. Our own lab tests have revealed it to contain no fun at all, but still, no gift for you tomorrow night, Margaux!


Our product development team is always looking for dynamic new ways to improve international celebrations and security. Please submit your product development suggestions below.

2009 STARRED BOOKS WRAP-UP


Elizabeth Bluemle - December 10, 2009

Here’s the complete list of 2009 books for children and teens that have received starred reviews. (Note: we are cheating a tiny bit. There will be a few more stars twinkling in through the end of the month, and we will add them to this post. By December 31, the list should be final.)
These starred reviews come from Booklist, The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, The Horn BookKirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal. The list below covers PW through 12/7/09,  Booklist through December, Kirkus through 12/15/09, the Bulletin through December, SLJ through December, and The Horn Book through November-December.
For book covers and more information, I’ve created the 2009 Stars Library on LibraryThing.com. These are NOT yet up to date; I will probably complete the list just after Christmas.
This month, Matt Phelan’s The Storm in the Barn (Candlewick) joined the five-star list, and Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan (Simon Pulse) zipped up to the four-star list. Several books joined the 1-, 2-, and 3-star lists. Congratulations to all of you hardworking authors, illustrators, editors, art directors, and publishers who work to create books! And to the sales reps who read and recommend them—you are greatly appreciated.

***** 5 STARS *****



CHARLES AND EMMA: THE DARWINS’ LEAP OF FAITH. Deborah Heiligman. (ISBN 978-0805087215. $18.95. YA.)
CLAUDETTE COLVIN: TWICE TOWARD JUSTICE. Phillip Hoose. (Melanie Kroupa/FSG. ISBN 978-0374313227. $19.95. MG/YA.)
FIRE. Kristin Cashore. (Dial. $17.99. ISBN 978-0803734616. YA.)
THE LION & THE MOUSE. Jerry Pinkney. (Little, Brown. $16.99. ISBN 978-0316013567. PreS-Grade 1.)
THE LOST CONSPIRACY. Frances Hardinge. (HarperCollins. $16.99. ISBN 978-0060880415. Grades 6-10.)
MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD. Francisco X Stork. (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic. $17.99. ISBN   978-0545054744. YA.)
MARCHING FOR FREEDOM: WALK TOGETHER, CHILDREN, AND DON’T YOU GROW WEARY. Elizabeth Partridge. (Viking. $19.99. ISBN 978-0670011896)
MOONSHOT: THE FLIGHT OF APOLLO 11. Brian Floca. (Richard Jackson/Atheneum. ISBN 978-1416950462. $17.99. Grades 2-5.)
SEASON OF GIFTS, A. Richard Peck. (Dial. $16.99. ISBN 978-080373082. MG.)
THE STORM IN THE BARN. Matt Phelan. (Candlewick. $24.99. ISBN 978-0763636180)
TALES FROM OUTER SUBURBIA. Shaun Tan. (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic. $19.99. ISBN 978-0545055871. YA.)
WHEN YOU REACH ME. Rebecca Stead. (Wendy Lamb/Random House. $15.99. ISBN 978-0385737425. MG.)
WINTERGIRLS. Laurie Halse Anderson. (Viking, $17.99. ISBN 978-0670011100. YA.)

**** 4 STARS ****

ALL THE WORLD. Liz Garton Scanlon. Illustrated by Marla Frazee. (Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster. $17.99. ISBN 978-1416985808. Ages 4-7.)
BAD NEWS FOR OUTLAWS: THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF BASS REEVES, DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL, by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson; illus. by R. Gregory Christie (Carolrhoda. $17.95. ISBN: 978-0822567646)
BUTTON UP! WRINKLED RHYMES. Alice Schertle. Illustrated by Petra Mathers. (Harcourt. $16. ISBN 978-0152050504. PreS-Grade 2.)
CATCHING FIRE. Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic. $17.99. ISBN 978-0-439023498. MG/YA.)
DINOTHESAURUS: PREHISTORIC POEMS AND PAINTINGS; written and illus. by Douglas Florian. (Simon & Schuster. $17.99. ISBN 978-1416979784. Grades 2-5.)
THE ETERNAL SMILE. Gene Luen Yang. Illustrated by Derek Kirk Kim. (Roaring Brook/First Second. $16.95. ISBN 978-1596431560. YA.)
THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE. Jacqueline Kelly. (Holt. $16.95. ISBN 978-0805088410. MG.)
THE FROG SCIENTIST. Pamela S. Turner. Illustrated with photos by Andy Comins. (Houghton. $18. ISBN 978-0618717163)
HEROES OF THE VALLEY. Jonathan Stroud. (Disney-Hyperion. $17.99. ISBN 978-1423109662. MG/YA.)
HOOK. Ed Young. (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook. $17.95. ISBN 978-1596433632. PreS-Grade 1.)
IF I STAY. Gayle Forman. (Dutton. $16.99. ISBN 978-0525421030. YA.)
JOHN BROWN: HIS FIGHT FOR FREEDOM. John Hendrix. (Abrams. $18.95. ISBN 978-0810937987)
LEVIATHAN. Scott Westerfeld. Illustrated by Keith Thompson. (Simon Pulse, $19.99. ISBN: 978-1416971733)
MITTEN, THE. Retold by Jim Aylesworth. Illustrated by Barbara McClintock. (Scholastic. $16.99. ISBN 978-0439925440) (*Note: the publisher tells us this will move to the 5-star list in January.)
RED SINGS FROM TREETOPS: A YEAR IN COLORS. Joyce Sidman. Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. (Houghton. $16.00. ISBN 978-0547014944. Ages 5-8.)
THE SNOW DAY. Komako Sakai. (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic. $16.99. ISBN 978-0545013215. Ages 3-5.)
SWEETHEARTS OF RHYTHM: THE STORY OF THE GREATEST ALL-GIRL SWING BAND IN THE WORLD. Marilyn Nelson. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. (Dial. $21.99. ISBN 978-0803731875)
THUNDER-BOOMER! Shutta Crum. Illustrated by Carol Thompson. (Clarion. $16. ISBN 978-0618618651.Ages 4-7.)
YUMMY: EIGHT FAVORITE FAIRY TALES. Lucy Cousins. (Candlewick. $18.99. ISBN 978-076364474)

*** 3 STARS ***

ALL THE BROKEN PIECES. Ann E. Burg. (Scholastic. $16.99. ISBN 978-054508092. YA.)
ALMOST ASTRONAUTS: 13 WOMEN WHO DARED TO DREAM. Tanya Lee Stone. (Candlewick. $24.99. ISBN 978-0763636111. Grades 5-8.)
ANNE FRANK: HER LIFE IN WORDS AND PICTURES. Menno Metselaar & Ruud Van der Rol. Translated by Arnold J Pomerans. (Flash Point. hardcover, $19.99. ISBN 978-1596435469. paperback, $12.99. ISBN 978-1596435476)
ASHLEY BRYAN: WORDS TO MY LIFE’S SONG. Ashley Bryan. Pho
tos by Bill McGuinness. (Atheneum/Simon & Schuster. $18.99. ISBN 978-141690541. Ages 8-12.)
BINKY THE SPACE CAT. Ashley Spires. (Kids Can. hardcover, $16.95. ISBN 978-1554533091. paperback, $7.95. ISBN 978-1554534197)
BIRDS. Kevin Henkes. Illustrated by Laura Dronzek. (Greenwillow. $17.99. ISBN 978-0061363047. Ages 3-5.)
BREATHLESS. Jessica Warman. (Walker. $16.99. ISBN 978-0802798497)
BROTHERS STORY, THE. Katherine Sturtevant. (FSG. $16.99. ISBN 978-0374309923)
BUBBLE TROUBLE. Margaret Mahy. Illustrated by Polly Dunbar. (Clarion. $16. ISBN 978-0547074214. Ages 3-7.)
BURN MY HEART. Beverley Naidoo. (HarperCollins/Amistad. $15.99. ISBN 978-0061432972. MG.)
THE CARBON DIARIES 2015. Saci Lloyd. (Holiday House. $17.95. 978-0823421909. Grades 9-12.)
CHICKEN LITTLE. Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley. (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook. $16.95. ISBN 978-1596434646. PreS-K.)
CORETTA SCOTT. Ntozake Shange. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. (Harper/Tegen/Amistad. $17.99. ISBN 978-006125364. Ages 4-9.)
CREATURE OF THE NIGHT. Kate Thompson. (Roaring Brook. $17.95. ISBN 978-1596435117. Grades 9-12)
CROSSING STONES. Helen Frost. (FSG. $16.99. ISBN 978-0374316532)
CROW CALL. Lois Lowry. Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. (Scholastic, $16.99. ISBN 978-0545030359)
DARWIN. Alice B. McGinty. Illustrated by Mary Azarian. (Houghton Mifflin. $18. ISBN 978-0618995318. Grades 1-4)
THE DAY-GLO BROTHERS: THE TRUE STORY OF BOB AND JOE SWITZER’S BRIGHT IDEAS AND BRAND-NEW COLORS. Chris Barton. Illustrated by Tony Persiani. (Charlesbridge. $18.95. ISBN 978-157091673. Ages 8-12.)
THE DEMON’S LEXICON. Sarah Rees Brennan. (Margaret K. McElderry/Simon & Schuster. $17.99. ISBN 978-1416963790. YA.)
DINOTRUX. Chris Gall. (Little, Brown. $16.99. ISBN 978-031602777. Ages 4-8.)
THE DUNDERHEADS. Paul Fleischman. Illustrated by David Roberts. (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763624989. Ages 6-10.)
ELEANOR, QUIET NO MORE. Doreen Rappaport. Illustrated by Gary Kelley. (Disney-Hyperion. $16.99. ISBN 978-0786851416. Grades 2-5.)
A FOOT IN THE MOUTH: POEMS TO SPEAK, SING, AND SHOUT. ed. by Paul B. Janeczko, illus. by Chris Raschka. (Candlewick. $17.99. ISBN 978-0763606633. Ages 8-12.)
GERTRUDE IS GERTRUDE IS GERTRUDE IS GERTRUDE. Jonah Winter. Illustrated by Calef Brown. (S&S/Atheneum. $16.99. ISBN 978-1416940883. Ages 4-10.)
HIGHER! HIGHER! Leslie Patricelli. (Candlewick. $15.99. ISBN 978-0763632410. Preschool.)
LIAR. Justine Larbalestier. (Bloomsbury. $16.99. ISBN 978-1599903057)
LITTLE CHICK. Amy Hest. Illustrated by Anita Jeram. (Candlewick. $17.99. ISBN 978-0-763628901. Ages 3-6.)
LOOKING LIKE ME. Walter Dean Myers. Illustrated by Christopher Myers. (Egmont. $18.95. ISBN 978-1606840016)
THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT. Kate DiCamillo. Illustrated by Yoko Tanaka. (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763644109. Grades 4-7.)
MISSION CONTROL, THIS IS APOLLO: THE STORY OF THE FIRST VOYAGES TO THE MOON. Andrew Chaikin and Victoria Kohl. Illustrated by Alan Bean. (Viking. $23.99. ISBN 978-0670011568. Grades 5-8.)
MY PEOPLE. Langston Hughes. Photos by Charles R. Smith, Jr. (Atheneum/Ginee Seo. $17.99. ISBN 978-1416935407. Ages 4-8.)
THE NEGRO SPEAKS OF RIVERS. Langston Hughes. Illus. by E.B. Lewis. (Disney-Jump at the Sun. $16.99. ISBN 978-0786818679. Ages 4-8.)
NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL. Justina Chen Headley. (Little, Brown. $16.99. ISBN 978-0316025058. YA.)
ORANGUTAN TONGS: POEMS TO TANGLE YOUR TONGUE. Jon Agee. (Disney-Hyperion. $16.99. ISBN 978-1423103158. Ages 4-8.)
PHARAOH’S BOAT. David Weitzman. (Houghton Mifflin. $17. ISBN 9780547053417. Grades 4-7.)
PRINCESS HYACINTH: THE SURPRISING TALE OF A GIRL WHO FLOATED, by Florence Parry Heide. Illustrated by Lane Smith. (Random House/Schwartz & Wade. $17.99. ISBN 978-0375937538)
RAVEN SUMMER. David Almond. (Delacorte. $16.99. ISBN 978-0385738064)
REDWOODS. Jason Chin. (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook. $16.95. ISBN 978-1596434301. PreS-Grade 3.)
RIOT. Walter Dean Myers. (Egmont USA. $16.99. ISBN 978-1606840009)
ROBOT ZOT! Jon Scieszka. Illustrated by David Shannon. (S&S. $17.99. ISBN 978-1416963944)
A SAVAGE THUNDER: ANTIETAM AND THE BLOODY ROAD TO FREEDOM. Jim Murphy. (Margaret K. McElderry/Simon & Schuster. $17.99. ISBN 978-0689876332. Grades 6-10.)
THE SMALL ADVENTURE OF POPEYE AND ELVIS. Barbara O’Connor. (FSG. $16.99. ISBN 978-0374370558)
SOLACE OF THE ROAD. Siobhan Dowd. (Random/David Fickling Bks. $17.99. ISBN 978-0375849718)
TRUCE: THE DAY THE SOLDIERS STOPPED FIGHTING. Jim Murphy. (Scholastic. $19.99. ISBN 978-0545130493)
TSUNAMI! Kimiko Kajikawa. Illus. by Ed Young. (Philomel. $16.99. ISBN 978-0399250064. Grades K-3.)
THE VAST FIELDS OF ORDINARY. Nick Burd. (Dial. $16.99. ISBN 97800803733404. Grades 9-12)
WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON. Grace Lin. (Little, Brown. $16.99. ISBN 978-0316114271. Ages 8-12.)
WHIFF OF PINE, A HINT OF SKUNK, A: A FOREST OF POEMS. Deborah Ruddell. Illustrated by Joan Rankin. (McElderry/Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1416942115. $16.99. Gr. 3-5.)
WRITTEN IN BONE: BURIED LIVES OF JAMESTOWN AND COLONIAL MARYLAND. Sally M. Walker. (Carolrhoda. $22.95. ISBN 978-0822571353. MG/YA.)
YEARS OF DUST: THE STORY OF THE DUST BOWL. Albert Marrin. (Dutton. $22.99. ISBN 978-0525420774. Grades 5-8.)
YOU NEVER HEARD OF SANDY KOUFAX?! Jonah Winter. Illustrated by André Carrilho. (Schwartz & Wade/Random House. $17.99. ISBN 978-0375837388)

** 2 STARS **

11 BIRTHDAYS. Wendy Mass. (Scholastic. $16.99. ISBN 978-0545052399)
14 COWS FOR AMERICA. Carmen Agra, with Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah. Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez. (Peachtree. $17.95. ISBN 978-1561454907)
1968. Michael T. Kaufman. (Roaring Brook/Flash Point. $22.95. ISBN 978-1596434288)
ADVENTURES IN CARTOONING: HOW TO TURN YOUR DOODLES INTO COMICS. James Sturm and Andrew Arnold et al. (Roaring Brook/First Second. $12.95. ISBN 978-1596433694)
AFRICAN ACROSTICS: A WORD IN EDGEWAYS. Poems by Avis Harley. Illustrated with photos by Deborah Noyes. (Candlewick. $17.99. ISBN 978-0763636210)
AFTER THE MOMENT. Garret Freymann-Weyr. (Houghton. $16. ISBN 978-0618605729)
AL CAPONE SHINES MY SHOES. Gennifer Choldenko. (Dial. $17.99. 978-0803734609)
ALBERT EINSTEIN. Kathleen Krull. Illustrated by Boris Kulikov. (Giants of Science Series) (Viking. $15.99. ISBN 978-0670063321)
ALL GOD’S CRITTERS. Bill Staines. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. (Simon & Schuster. $16.99. ISBN 978-0689869594)
ALL IN A DAY. Cynthia Rylant. Illustrated by Nikki McClure. (Abrams. $17.95. ISBN 978-0810983212)
ALL OF BABY, NOSE TO TOES. Victoria Adler. Illustrated by Hiroe Nakata. (Dial. $14.99. ISBN 978-0803732179)
ALONG FOR THE RIDE. Sarah Dessen. (Viking. $19.99. ISBN 978-0670011940)
ALPHABEASTIES AND OTHER AMAZING TYPES. Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss. (Blue Apple. $19.99. ISBN 978-1934706787)
ANYTHING BUT TYPICAL. Nora Raleigh Baskin. (Simon & Schuster. $15.99. ISBN 978-1416963783)
THE ASK AND THE ANSWER. Patrick Ness. (Candlewick. $18.99. ISBN 978-0763644901)
BEFORE COLUMBUS: THE AMERICAS OF 1491. Charles C. Mann. (S&S/Atheneum. $24.99. ISBN 978-1416949008)
BILLY AND MILLY, SHORT AND SILLY. Eve B. Feldman. Illustrated by Tuesday Mourning. (Putnam. $16.99. ISBN 978-0399246517)
BLOODLINE. Katy Moran. (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763640835)
BOG BABY, THE. Jeanne Willis. (Random House/Schwartz & Wade
. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375861765)
A BOOK. Mordicai Gerstein. (Roaring Brook. $16.95. ISBN 978-1596432512)
BOOK OF SLEEP, A. Il Sung Na. (Knopf/Borzoi. $15.99. ISBN 978-0375862236)
BRING ME SOME APPLES AND I’LL MAKE YOU A PIE: A STORY ABOUT EDNA LEWIS. Robbin Gourley. (Clarion. $16. ISBN 978-0618158362)
BROKEN SOUP. Jenny Valentine. (HarperTeen. $16.99. ISBN 978-0060850715)
CARS ON MARS: ROVING THE RED PLANET. Alexandra Siy. (Charlesbridge. $18.95. ISBN 978-1570914621)
A CHAIR FOR ALWAYS. Vera B. Williams (Greenwillow. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061722790)
CHASING LINCOLN’S KILLER: THE SEARCH FOR JOHN WILKES BOOTH. James L. Swanson. (Scholastic Press, $16.99. ISBN 978-0439903547)
CHILDREN OF WAR: VOICES OF IRAQI REFUGEES. Deborah Ellis. (Groundwood. $15.95. ISBN 978-0888999078)
CITY I LOVE. Lee Bennett Hopkins. Illustrated by Marcellus Hall. (Abrams. $16.95. ISBN 978-0810983274)
COLD SKIN. Steven Herrick. (Front Street/dist. Boyds Mills. $18.95. ISBN 978-1590785720)
THE COLOR OF EARTH. Kim Dong Hwa, trans. from the Korean by Lauren Na. (Roaring Brook/First Second. ISBN 978-1596434585)
THE CUCKOO’S HAIKU AND OTHER BIRDING POEMS. Michael J. Rosen. Illustrated by Stan Fellows. (Candlewick. $17.99. ISBN 978-0763630492)
DAYS OF LITTLE TEXAS. R.A. Nelson. (Knopf. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375855931)
DENIED, DETAINED, DEPORTED: STORIES FROM THE DARK SIDE OF AMERICAN IMMIGRATION. Ann Bausum. (National Geographic. $21.95. ISBN 978-1426303326)
THE DEVIL’S PAINTBOX. Victoria McKernan. (Knopf. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375837500)
DJANGO: WORLD’S GREATEST JAZZ GUITARIST. Bonnie Christensen. (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter. $17.99. ISBN 978-1596434226)
DOOM MACHINE, THE. Mark Teague. (Scholastic/Blue Sky. $17.99. ISBN 978-0545151429)
DOPE SICK. Walter Dean Myers. (HarperTeen/Amistad. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061214776)
DUCK! RABBIT! Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. (Chronicle. $16.99. ISBN 978-0811868655)
EVERYTHING FOR A DOG. Ann M. Martin. (Feiwel and Friends. $16.99. ISBN 978-0312386511)
FLASH BURNOUT. L.K. Madigan. (Houghton. $16. ISBN 978-0547194899)
THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH. Carrie Ryan. (Delacorte. $16.99. ISBN 978-0385736817)
FUNNY BUSINESS: CONVERSATIONS WITH WRITERS OF COMEDY. Leonard S. Marcus. (Candlewick. $21.99. ISBN 978-0763632540)
GENTLEMEN. Michael Northrop. (Scholastic Press. $16.99. ISBN 978-0545097499)
GHOSTS OF WAR: MY TOUR OF DUTY. Ryan Smithson. (HarperTeen/Collins. $16.99. ISBN 978-006166468-7)
GIANT-SLAYER, THE. Iain Lawrence. (Delacorte. $16.95. ISBN 978-0385733762)
GOING BOVINE. Libba Bray. (Delacorte. $17.99. ISBN 978-0385733977)
GRACIAS / THANKS. Pat Mora. (Lee & Low. $17.95. ISBN 978-1600602580)
THE GREAT AND ONLY BARNUM: THE TREMENDOUS, STUPENDOUS LIFE OF SHOWMAN P. T. BARNUM. Candace Fleming. Illustrated by Ray Fenwick. (Random House/Schwartz & Wade. $18.99. ISBN 978-0375841972)
HANNAH’S WINTER. Kierin Meehan. (Kane/Miller. $15.95. ISBN 978-1933605982)
HATE LIST. Jennifer Brown. (Little, Brown. $16.99. ISBN 978-0316041447)
HEART OF A SHEPHERD. Rosanne Parry. (Random House, $15.99. ISBN 978-0375848025)
HEARTSINGER. Karlijn Stoffels, trans. from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson. (Scholastic/Levine. $16.99. ISBN 978-0545069298)
HELLO BABY! Mem Fox. Illustrated by Steve Jenkins. (S&S/Beach Lane. $15.99. ISBN 978-1416985136)
HIGHWAY ROBBERY. Kate Thompson. Illustrated by Johnny Duddle and Robert Dress. (Greenwillow. $15.99. ISBN 978-0061730344)
HOME ON THE RANGE: JOHN A. LOMAX AND HIS COWBOY SONGS. Deborah Hopkinson. Illustrated by S.D. Schindler. (Putnam. $16.99. ISBN 978-0399239960)
HONK, HONK, GOOSE! CANADA GEESE START A FAMILY. April Pulley Sayre. Illustrated by Huy Voun Lee. (Holt. $16.95. 978-0805071030)
HOW TO SAY GOODBYE IN ROBOT. Natalie Standiford. (Scholastic. $17.99. ISBN 978-0545107082)
THE ISLANDS OF THE BLESSED. Nancy Farmer. (Atheneum. $18.99. 978-1416907374)
JANUARY’S SPARROW. Patricia Polacco. (Philomel. $22.99. ISBN 978-0399250774)
JEREMY DRAWS A MONSTER. Peter McCarty. (Holt. $16.99. ISBN 978-0805069341)
JUMPED. Rita Williams-Garcia. (HarperTeen/Amistad. $16.99. ISBN 978-0060760915)
KALEIDOSCOPE EYES. Jen Bryant. (Knopf. $15.99. ISBN 978-0375840487)
KING OF THE SCREWUPS. K.L. Going. (Harcourt. $17. ISBN 978-0152062583)
LAST NIGHT I SANG TO THE MONSTER. Benjamin Alire Saenz. (Cinco Puntos. $19.95. ISBN: 978-1933693583)
THE LAST OLYMPIAN. Rick Riordan. (Hyperion. $17.99. ISBN 978-1423101475)
THE LION’S SHARE: A TALE OF HALVING CAKE AND EATING IT, TOO. Matthew McElligott. (Walker. $16.99. ISBN 978-0802797681)
LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES. Laini Taylor; illus. by Jim Di Bartolo. (Scholastic/Levine, $17.99. ISBN 978-0545055857)
LISTEN TO THE WIND: THE STORY OF DR. GREG & THREE CUPS OF TEA. Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth. (Dial. $16.99. ISBN 978-0803730588)
LUCY LONG AGO: UNCOVERING THE MYSTERY OF WHERE WE CAME FROM. Catherine Thimmesh. (Houghton. $18. ISBN 978-0547051994.
MACHINES GO TO WORK. William Low. (Holt. $14.95. ISBN 978-0805087598)
THE MAN WHO LIVED IN A HOLLOW TREE. Anne Shelby. Illustrated by Cor Hazelaar. (Atheneum. $17.99. ISBN 978-0689861697)
MOON RABBIT. Natalie Russell. (Viking. $16.99. ISBN 978-0670011704)
THE MUSEUM OF MARY CHILD. Cassandra Golds. (Kane/Miller. $16.99. ISBN 978-1935279136)
MY UNCLE EMILY. Jane Yolen. Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. (Philomel. $17.99. ISBN 978-0399240058)
NAKED MOLE RAT GETS DRESSED. Mo Willems. (Hyperion. $16.99. ISBN 978-1423114376)
NEIL ARMSTRONG IS MY UNCLE AND OTHER LIES MUSCLE MAN MCGINTY TOLD ME. Nan Marino. (Roaring Brook. $16.95. ISBN 978-1596434998)
NIC BISHOP BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. Nic Bishop. (Scholastic. $17.99. ISBN 978-0439877572)
NIGHT LIGHTS. Susan Gal. (Knopf. $14.99. ISBN 978-0375858628)
NOTHING BUT GHOSTS. Beth Kephart. HarperTeen. $17.99. ISBN 978-0061667961)
ONCE UPON A TWICE. Denise Doyen. Illustrated by Barry Moser. (Random. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375856129)
ONCE WAS LOST. Sara Zarr. (Little, Brown. $16.99. ISBN 978-0316036047)
ONE BEETLE TOO MANY: THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF CHARLES DARWIN. Kathryn Lasky. Illustrated by Matthew Trueman. (Candlewick. $17.99. ISBN 978-0763614362)
ONLY A WITCH CAN FLY. Alison McGhee. Illustrated by Taeeun Yoo. (Feiwel & Friends/dist. by St. Martin’s. $16.99. ISBN 978-0312375034)
THE ORANGE HOUSES. Paul Griffin. (Dial. $16.99. ISBN 978-0803733466)
OUR ABE LINCOLN. Jim Aylesworth. Illustrated by Barbara McClintock. (Scholastic. $16.99. ISBN 978-0439925488)
OUR CHILDREN CAN SOAR: A CELEBRATION OF ROSA, BARACK, AND THE PIONEERS OF CHANGE. Michelle Cook. Illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera, R. Gregory Christie, Bryan Collier et al. (Bloomsbury. $16.99. ISBN 978-1599904184)
OUTLAW: THE LEGEND OF ROBIN HOOD. Tony Lee. Illustrated by Sam Hart and Artur Fujita. (Candlewick. hardcover, $21.99. ISBN 978-0763643997. paperback, $11.99. ISBN 978-0763644000)
PEACE, LOCOMOTION. Jacqueline Woodson. (Putnam. $15.99. ISBN 978-039924655)
PIPPO THE FOOL. Tracey E. Fern. Illustrated by Pau Estrada. (Charlesbridge. $15.95. ISBN 978-1570916557)
RABBITS. Anita Ganeri. (Heinemann. Pb $7.99. ISBN 978-1432934019)
RATTLE AND RAP. Susan Steggall. (Frances Lincoln (PGW, dist). $15.95. ISBN 978-1845077037)
ROSIE AND SKATE. Beth Ann Bauman. (Wendy Lamb/Random House. $15.99. ISBN 978-0385737357)
THE SECRET SCIENCE ALLIANCE AND THE COPYCAT CROOK. Eleanor Davis. (Bloomsbury. $18.99. hardcover ISBN 978-1599901428; paperback, $10.99. 978-1599903965)
SHIVER. Maggie Stiefvater. (Scholastic Press. $17.99. ISBN 978-0545123266)
SHOOTING STAR. Fredrick McKissack, Jr. (Atheneum. $16.99. ISBN 978-1416947450)
SNEAKY WEASEL. Hannah Shaw. (Knopf. $15.99. ISBN 978-0375856259)
SO PUNK ROCK (AND OTHER WAYS TO DISAPPOINT YOUR MOTHER). Micol Ostow. Illustrated by David Ostow. (Flux. paperback. $9.95. ISBN 978-0738714714)
SOJOURNER TRUTH’S STEP-STOMPING STRIDE. Andrea Davis Pinkney. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. (Jump at the Sun. $16.99. ISBN 978-0786807673)
SOPHIE PETERMAN TELLS THE TRUTH. Sarah Weeks. Illustrated by Robert Neubecker. (S&S/Beach Lane. $16.99. 978-1416986867)
STICK MAN. Julia Donaldson. Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. (Scholastic/Levine. $16.99. ISBN 978-0545157612)
THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY. Jenny Han. (Simon & Schuster. $16.99. ISBN 978-1416968238)
SURFACE TENSION: A NOVEL IN FOUR SUMMERS. Brent Runyon. (Knopf. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375844461)
SURPRISE SOUP. Mary Ann Rodman. Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. (Viking. $15.99. ISBN 978-0670062744)
SYLVIE AND THE SONGMAN. Tim Binding. Illustrated by Angela Barrett. (Random House/David Fickling. $15.99. ISBN 978-0385751575)
TALES OF THE MADMAN UNDERGROUND: AN HISTORICAL ROMANCE 1973. John Barnes. (Viking. $18.99. ISBN 978-0670060818)
THIS FULL HOUSE. Virginia Euwer Wolff. (HarperTeen/Bowen. $17.99. ISBN 978-0061583049)
TRAVELING THE FREEDOM ROAD: FROM SLAVERY AND THE CIVIL WAR THROUGH RECONSTRUCTION. Linda Barrett Osborne (Abrams. $24.95. ISBN 978-0810983380)
UNFINISHED ANGEL. Sharon Creech. (HarperCollins. $15.99. ISBN 978-0061430954)
UP CLOSE: HARPER LEE. Kerry Madden. (Viking. $16.99. ISBN 978-0670010950)
A VOICE OF HER OWN: BECOMING EMILY DICKINSON. Barbara Dana. (HarperTeen. $16.99. ISBN 978-0060287047)
WAITING FOR WINTER. Sebastian Meschenmoser. (EDC/Kane Miller. $15.99. ISBN 978-1935279044)
WE TROUBLED THE WATERS. Ntozake Shange. Illustrated by Rod Brown. (Harper/Amistad. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061337376)
WHALING SEASON: A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF AN ARCTIC WHALE SCIENTIST (Scientists in the Field Series). Peter Lourie. (Houghton, $18) ISBN 978-0618777099
WHAT’S COMING FOR CHRISTMAS? Kate Banks. Illustrated by Georg Hallensleben. (FSG. $15.99. ISBN 978-0374399481)
WHEN STELLA WAS VERY, VERY SMALL. Marie-Louise Gay. (Groundwood. $16.95. ISBN 978-0888999061)
WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS. Fran Cannon Slayton. (Philomel. $16.99. ISBN 978-0399251894)
WHY I FIGHT. J. Adams Oaks. (Atheneum. $16.99. ISBN 978-1416911777)
WINTER’S END. Jean-Claude Mourlevat. Translated by Anthea Bell. (Candlewick. $17.99. ISBN 978-0763644505)

* 1 STAR *

3 WILLOWS: THE SISTERHOOD GROWS. Ann Brashares. (Delacorte. $18.99. ISBN 978-0385736763)
AFTER. Amy Efaw. (Viking. $17.99. ISBN 978-0670011834)
ALEX AND LULU: TWO OF A KIND. Lorena Siminovich. (Candlewick. $14.99. ISBN 978-0763644239)
ALIS. Naomi Rich. (Viking. $17.99. ISBN 978-0670011254)
ALMOST PERFECT. Brian Katcher. (Delacorte. $17.99. ISBN 978-0385736640)
ALPHABEASTIES AND OTHER AMAZING TYPES. Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss. (Blue Apple/Chronicle dist. $19.99. ISBN 978-1934706787)
ALVIN HO: ALLERGIC TO CAMPING, HIKING, AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS. Lenore Look. Illustrated by LeUyen Pham. (Random House/Schwartz & Wade. $15.99. 978-0375857058)
ALWAYS. Alison McGhee. Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre. (S&S. $15.99. 978-1416974819)
THE AMARANTH ENCHANTMENT. Julie Berry. (Bloomsbury. $16.99. ISBN 978-1599903347)
THE ANATOMY OF WINGS. Karen Foxlee. (Knopf. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375856433)
ANDROMEDA KLEIN. Frank Portman. (Delacorte. $17.99. ISBN 978-0385735254)
THE ANNE FRANK CASE: SIMON WIESENTHAL’S SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH. Susan Goldman Rubin. Illustrated by Bill Farnsworth. (Holiday. $18.95. ISBN 978-0823421091)
APPLESAUCE SEASON. Eden Ross Lipson. Illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein. (Roaring Brook. $16.99. ISBN 978-1596432161)
ARCHIE AND THE PIRATES. Marc Rosenthal. (Cotler/HarperCollins. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061441646)
ASH. Malinda Lo. (Little, Brown. $16.99. ISBN 978-0316040099)
ATTICA. Garry Kilworth. (IPG/Atom. $11.95. ISBN 978-1904233565)
ATTILA THE HUN: LEADER OF THE BARBARIAN HORDES. Sean Stewart Price. (Scholastic/Franklin Watts. $5.95. ISBN 978-0531207376)
THE AWAKENING (DARKEST POWERS 02). Kelley Armstrong. (HarperCollins. $17.99. ISBN 978-0061662768)
BACK HOME. Julia Keller. (Egmont. $15.99. ISBN 978-1606840054)
BAD APPLE. Laura Ruby. (HarperTeen. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061243301)
BAIT. Alex Sanchez. (S & S. $16.99. ISBN 978-1416937722)
BANQUET FOR HUNGRY GHOSTS, A: A COLLECTION OF DELICIOUSLY FRIGHTENING TALES. Ying Chang Compestine. Illustrated by Coleman Polhemus. (Holt/Ottavianio. $16.99. ISBN 978-0805082081)
BARNYARD SLAM. Dian Curtis Regan. Illustrated by Paul Meisel. (Holiday House. $16.95. 978-0823419074)
BARTLEBY SPEAKS! Robin Cruise. Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. (Farrar/Melanie Kroupa Bks. $16.99. ISBN 978-0374305147)
BAYOU. V.1. Jeremy Love. (DC Comics/Zuda. $14.99. ISBN 978-1401223823)
BECAUSE I AM FURNITURE. Thalia Chaltas. (Viking. $15.99. ISBN 978-0670062980)
BENAZIR BHUTTO. Sean Stewart Price. (Heinemann. $38.93. ISBN 978-1432932220)
BENNY AND PENNY IN THE BIG NO-NO! Geoffrey Hayes. (Raw Junior. $12.95. 978-0979923890)
THE BEST BAD LUCK I EVER HAD. Kristin Levine. (Putnam. $16.99. ISBN 978-0399250903)
BETTINA VALENTINO AND THE PICASSO CLUB. Niki Daly. (Farrar. $16. ISBN 978-0374307530)
BIG AND SMALL, ROOM FOR ALL. Jo Ellen Bogart. Illustrated by Gillian Newland. (Tundra. $18.95. 978-0887768910)
BIG WOLF AND LITTLE WOLF: THE LITTLE LEAF THAT WOULD NOT FALL. Nadine Brun-Cosme. Illustrated by Olivier Tallec.(Enchanted Lion / Macmillan. $16.95. ISBN 978-1592700882)
BILL PENNANT, BABE RUTH, AND ME. Timothy Tocher. (Cricket. $17.95. 978-0812627558)
BILLY TWITTERS AND HIS BLUE WHALE PROBLEM. Mac Barnett. Illustrated by Adam Rex. (Hyperion. $16.99. 978-0786849581)
BIRD, BUTTERFLY, EEL. James Prosek. (S&S. $16.99. ISBN 978-0689868290)
BLADE: PLAYING DEAD. Tim Bowler. (Philomel. $16.99. ISBN 978-0399251863)
BLESSING’S BEAD. Debby Dahl Edwardson. (Farrar/Melanie Kroupa. $16.99. ISBN 978-0374308056)
BLOOD AND GOO AND BOOGERS TOO! A HEART-POUNDING POP-UP GUIDE TO THE CIRCULATORY AND RESPIRATORY SYSTEMS. Steve Alton. Illustrated by Nick Sharratt and Jo Moore. (Dial. $18.99. ISBN 978-0803733251)
BLUE MOON. Alyson Noël. (St. Martin’s Griffin. $9.95. ISBN 978-0312532765)
BLUE MOUNTAIN TROUBLE. Martin Mordecai. (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic. $16.99. ISBN 978-0545041560)
BOATS: SPEEDING! SAILING! CRUISING! Patricia Hubbell. Illustrated by Megan Halsey. (Marshall Cavendish. $17.99. ISBN 978-0761455240)
BOBBY VS. GIRLS (ACCIDENTALLY). Lisa Yee. Illustrated by Dan Santat. (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic. $15.99. ISBN 978-0545055925)
BOOK OF SLEEP, A. Il Sung Na. (Knopf. $15.99. ISBN 978-0375862236)
BOY WHO INVENTED TV, THE: THE STORY OF PHILO FARNSWORTH. Kathleen Krull. Illustrated by Greg Couch. (Knopf/Borzoi. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375845611)
BREAK. Hannah Moskowitz. (Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse. $8.99. ISBN 978-1416982753)
BRENDA BERMAN, WEDDING EXPERT. Jane Breskin Zalben. Illustrated by Victoria Chess. (Clarion. $16. ISBN 978-0618313211)
BRIDGET FIDGET AND THE MOST PERFECT PET! Joe Berger. (Dial. $16.99. ISBN 978-0803734050)
BRIEF
HISTORY OF MONTMORAY, A. Michelle Cooper. (Knopf. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375858642)
THE BROOKLYN NINE. Alan Gratz. (Dial. $16.99. ISBN 978-0803732247)
BUILDING ON NATURE: THE LIFE OF ANTONI GAUDI. Rachel Rodriguez. Illustrated by Julie Paschkis. (Holt. $16.99. ISBN 978-0805087451)
BYE-BYE, BABY! Richard Morris. Illustrated by Larry Day. (Walker. $16.99. ISBN 978-0802797728)
BYLINES: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY OF NELLIE BLY. Sue Macy. (National Geographic. $19.95. ISBN 978-1426305139)
CALLIE’S RULES. Naomi Zucker. (Egmont. $15.99. ISBN 978-1606840276)
CAMILLE MCPHEE FELL UNDER THE BUS. Kristen Tracy. (Delacorte. $16.99. ISBN 978-0385736879)
CAN YOU MAKE A SCARY FACE? Jan. Thomas. (S&S/Beach Lane. $12.99. ISBN 978-1416985815)
CAROLINA HARMONY. Marilyn Taylor McDowell. (Delacorte. $16.99. ISBN 978-0385735902)
A CAROUSEL TALE. Elisa Kleven. (Tricycle. $15.99. ISBN 978-1582462394)
CARTER FINALLY GETS IT. Brent Crawford. (Disney-Hyperion. $15.99. ISBN 978-1423112464)
THE CASE OF THE STINKY SOCKS. Lewis B. Montgomery. Illustrated by Amy Wummer. (Kane Press. paperback. $6.95. ISBN 978-1575652856)
CATHERINE THE GREAT: EMPRESS OF RUSSIA. Zu Vincent. (Scholastic/Franklin Watts. $5.95. ISBN 978-0531207383)
CELESTINE, DRAMA QUEEN. Penny Ives. (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. $16.99. ISBN 978-0545081498)
CHARLES DARWIN AND THE BEAGLE ADVENTURE. A. J. Wood & Clint Twist. (Candlewick/Templar. $19.99. ISBN 978-0763645380)
CHICKEN CHEEKS. Michael Ian Black. Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. (S&S. $15.99. ISBN 978-1416948643)
CHILD OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. Paula Young Shelton. Illustrated by Raul Colon. (Schwartz & Wade. $17.99. ISBN 978-0375843143)
CHILDREN OF THE SEA, VOLUME 1. Dalsuke Igarashi. (Viz. $14.99. ISBN 978-142159141)
THE CHOSEN ONE. Carol Lynch Williams. (St. Martin’s Griffin. $16.95. ISBN 978-0312555115)
CHRISTMAS MAGIC, THE. Lauren Thompson. Illustrated by Jon J. Muth. (Scholastic. $16.99)
CHRISTO AND JEAN-CLAUDE: THROUGH THE GATES AND BEYOND. Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan. (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook. $19.95. 978-1596430716)
THE CIRCUS SHIP. Chris Van Dusen. (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763630904)
CLOVER OMNIBUS EDITION. Clamp. (Dark Horse Manga. paperback. $19.95. ISBN 978-1595821966)
CLOVER TWIG AND THE MAGICAL COTTAGE. Kaye Umansky. Illustrated by Johanna Wright. (Roaring Brook. $16.99. ISBN 978-1596435070)
COLD HANDS, WARM HEART. Jill Wolfson. (Henry Holt. $17.99. ISBN 978-0805082821)
COLOR OF HEAVEN, THE. Dong Hwa Kim. Translated by Lauren Na. (First Second. $16.99. ISBN 978-1596434608)
THE COMPOSER IS DEAD. Lemony Snicket. Music by Nathaniel Stookey. Illustrated by Carson Ellis. (HarperCollins. $17.99. ISBN 978-0061236273)
COOL CAT. Nonny Hogrogian. (Roaring Brook. $17.99. ISBN 978-1596434295)
CREEPY CRAWLY CRIME. Aaron Reynolds. Illustrated by Neil Numberman. (Holt. $16.95. ISBN 978-0805082425. paperback. $9.95. ISBN 978-0805087864)
THE CURIOUS GARDEN. Peter Brown. (Little, Brown. $16.99. ISBN 978-0316015479)
DARKWOOD. M.E. Breen. (Bloomsbury. $16.99. ISBN 978-1599902593)
DESSERT FIRST. Hallie Durand. Illustrated by Christine Davenier. (S&S/Atheneum. $14.99. ISBN 978-1416963851)
DEVIL’S KISS. Sarwat Chadda, (Disney-Hyperion. $17.99. ISBN 978-1423119999)
DIEGO: BIGGER THAN LIFE. Carmen T. Bernier-Grand. Illustrated by David Diaz. (Marshall Cavendish. $18.99. ISBN 978-0761453833)
DINOSAUR TAMER, THE. Carol Greathouse. Illustrated by John Shroades. (Dutton. $16.99. ISBN 978-0525478669)
DINOSAUR WOODS: CAN SEVEN CLEVER CRITTERS SAVE THEIR FOREST HOME? George McClements. (Beach Lane./S&S. $16.99. ISBN 978-1416986263)
DISTANT WAVES: A NOVEL OF THE TITANIC. Suzanne Weyn. (Scholastic. $17.99. ISBN 978-0545085724)
DO NOT BUILD A FRANKENSTEIN! Neil Numberman. (Greenwillow. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061568169)
DOG AND BEAR: THREE TO GET READY. Laura Vaccaro Seeger. (Roaring Brook. $12.99. ISBN 978-1596433960)
DOG BISCUIT. Helen Cooper. (FSG. $16. ISBN 978-0374318123)
DOG DAYS. Jeff Kinney. (Abrams.Amulet. $13.95. ISBN 978-0810983915)
DOG IN THE WOOD, THE. Monika Schroder. (FSG. $17.95. ISBN 978-1590787014)
THE DOLL SHOP DOWNSTAIRS. Yona Zeldis McDonough. Illustrated by Heather Maione. (Viking. $14.99. ISBN 978-0670010912)
DOWN DOWN DOWN. A JOURNEY TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. Steve Jenkins. (Houghton. $17.00. ISBN 978-0618-966363)
DRAGONBREATH. Ursula Vernon. (Dial. $12.99. ISBN 978-0803733633)
DRAGONFLY. Julia Golding. (Marshall Cavendish. $17.99. ISBN 978-0761455820)
THE DREAM STEALER. Sid Fleischman. Illustrated by Peter Sis. (Greenwillow. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061755637)
DUCK AND THE KANGAROO, THE. Edward Lear. Illustrated by Jane Wattenberg. (HarperCollins/Greenwillow. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061366833)
DUCK TENTS. Lynne Berry. Illustrated by Hiroe Nakata. (Holt. $16.95. ISBN 978-0805086966)
THE DUEL: THE PARALLEL LIVES OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON & AARON BURR. Judith St. George. (Viking. $16.99. ISBN 978-0670011247)
DUST BOWL THROUGH THE LENS, THE: HOW PHOTOGRAPHY REVEALED AND HELPED REMEDY A NATIONAL DISASTER. Martin W. Sandler. (Walker. $19.99. ISBN 978-0802795472)
EARTH IN THE HOT SEAT: BULLETINS FROM A WARMING WORLD. Marfé Ferguson Delano. (National Geographic. $16.95. ISBN 978-1426304347)
EARTHGIRL. Jennifer Cowan. (Groundwood. $17.95. ISBN 978-0888998897)
THE EAST-WEST HOUSE: NOGUCHI’S CHILDHOOD IN JAPAN. Christy Hale. (Lee & Low. $17.95. ISBN 978-160060361)
EGG DROP. Mini Grey. (Knopf. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375842603)
EIDI. Bodil Bredsdorff. Translated by Kathryn Mahaffy. (Farrar. $16.99. ISBN 978-0374312671)
EL BARRIO. Debbi Chocolate. Illustrated by David Diaz. (Holt. $16.95. ISBN 978-0805074574)
THE ELEVATOR MAN. Stanley Trachtenberg. Illustrated by Paul Cox. (Eerdmans. $18. ISBN 978-0802853158)
EMMA-JEAN LAZARUS FELL IN LOVE. Lauren Tarshis. (Dial. $16.99. ISBN 978-0803733213)
EMMALINE AND THE BUNNY. Hannigan. Katherine. Illustrated by Katherine Hannigan. 112p. Greenwillow. $17.99. ISBN 978-0061626548)
THE ENEMY: A BOOK ABOUT PEACE. Davide Cali. Illustrated by Serge Bloch. (Random/Schwartz & Wade Bks. $15.99. ISBN 978-0375845000)
EPOSSUMONDAS PLAYS POSSUM. (Coleen Salley. Illustrated by Janet Stevens. (Harcourt. $16. ISBN 978-0152064204)
ERIKA-SAN. Allen Say. (Houghton Mifflin. $17. ISBN 978-0618889334)
ERNEST HEMINGWAY: A WRITER’S LIFE. Catherine Reef. (Clarion. $20. ISBN 978-0618987054)
EVERY HUMAN HAS RIGHTS: A PHOTOGRAPHIC DECLARATION FOR KIDS. National Geographic. $17.95. ISBN 978-1426305108)
EVERYTHING MACHINE, THE. Matt Novak. (Roaring Brook. $17.99. ISBN 978-01596432864)
EVOLUTION REVOLUTION. Robert Winston. (DK. $16.99. ISBN 978-0756645243)
EXTREME SCIENTISTS: EXPLORING NATURE’S MYSTERIES FROM PERILOUS PLACES. Donna M. Jackson. (Houghton. $18. ISBN 978-0618777068)
AN EYE FOR COLOR: THE STORY OF JOSEF ALBERS. Natasha Wing; illus. by Julia Breckenreid. (Holt. $16.99. ISBN 978-0-805080728)
EYES LIKE STARS (THEATRE ILLUMINATA, ACT I . Lisa Mantchev. (Feiwel & Friends/St. Martin’s. $16.99. ISBN 978-0312380960)
THE FABULOUS FEUD OF GILBERT AND SULLIVAN. Jonah Winter. Illustrated by Richard Egielski. (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. $16.99. ISBN 978-0439930505)
FACE TO FACE WITH GORILLAS. Michael “Nick” Nichols & Elizabeth Carney. (National Geographic. $16.95. ISBN 978-1426304064)
THE F
ACELESS ONES (SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT 03). Derek Landy. (HarperCollins. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061240911)
FAITH. Maya Ajmera, Magda Nakassis, & Cynthia Pon. (Charlesbridge. hardcover, $16.95. ISBN 978-1580891776. paperback, $7.95. ISBN 978-1580891783)
FAITH, HOPE, AND IVY JUNE. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. (Delacorte. $16.99. ISBN 978-0385736152)
FAMILY SECRET, A. Eric Heuvel. Translated by Lorraine T. Miller. (Farrar. $18.99. ISBN 978-0374322717. Pb $9.99. ISBN 978-0374422653)
THE FANTASTIC UNDERSEA LIFE OF JACQUES COUSTEAU. Dan Yaccarino. (Knopf. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375855733)
THE FATAL CHILD. John Dickinson. (Fickling/Ranom House. $17.99. ISBN 978-0385751100)
THE FETCH. Laura Whitcomb. (Houghton. $17. ISBN 978-0618891313)
FINN THROWS A FIT. David Elliott. Illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering. (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763623562)
FLAWED DOGS, THE NOVEL: THE SHOCKING RAID ON WESTMINSTER. Berkeley Breathed. (Philomel. $16.99. ISBN 978-0399252181)
FLETCHER AND THE SPRINGTIME BLOSSOMS. Julia Rawlinson. Illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke. (Greenwillow. $17.99. ISBN 978-0061688553)
FLYGIRL. Sherri L. Smith. (Putnam. $16.99. ISBN 978-0399247095)
FOOD, GIRLS, AND OTHER THINGS I CAN’T HAVE. Allen Zadoff. (Egmont. $16.99. ISBN 978-1606840047)
FRANKIE PICKLE AND THE CLOSET OF DOOM. Eric Wight. (S&S. $9.99. ISBN 978-1416964841)
FRANNY PARKER. Hannah Roberts McKinnon. (Farrar. $16. ISBN 978-0374324698)
FROGS. Nic Bishop. (Scholastic. $17.99. ISBN 978-0439877558)
THE FROGS AND TOADS ALL SANG. Arnold Lobel. Illustrated by author & Adrianne Lobel. (HarperCollins. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061800221)
FUNNY HOW THINGS CHANGE. Melissa Wyatt. (FSG. $16.95. ISBN 978-0374302337)
GATEWAY. Sharon Shinn. (Viking. $17.99. ISBN 978-0670011780)
THE GEORGES AND THE JEWELS. Jane Smiley. Illustrated by Elaine Clayton. (Knopf. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375862274)
THE GIRL WHO THREW BUTTERFLIES. Mick Cochrane. (Knopf. $15.99. ISBN 978-0375856822)
GINGERBREAD PIRATES, THE. Kristin Kladstrup. Illustrated by Matt Tavares. (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763632236)
THE GIRL WHO THREW BUTTERFLIES. Mick Cochrane. (Knopf. $15.99. ISBN 978-0375856822)
THE GIRL WHO WANTED TO DANCE. Amy Ehrlich. Illustrated by Rebecca Walsh. (Candlewick. $17.99. ISBN 978-0763613457)
THE GOAT-FACED GIRL: A CLASSIC ITALIAN FOLKTALE. Retold by Leah Marinsky Sharpe. Illustrated by Jane Marinsky. (David R. Godine. $16.95. ISBN 978-1567923933)
THE GOBLIN AND THE EMPTY CHAIR. Mem Fox. Illustrated by Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon. (S&S/Beach Lane. $17.99. ISBN 978-1416985853)
GOLDILOCKS. Ruth Sanderson. (Little, Brown. $16.99. ISBN 978-0316778855)
GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS. Adapted by Gennady Spirin. (Marshall Cavendish. $17.99. ISBN 978-0761455967)
THE GOLDSMITH’S DAUGHTER. Tanya Landman. (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763642198)
GOOD DOG, AGGIE. Lori Ries. Illustrated by Frank W. Dormer. (Charlesbridge. $16.99. ISBN 978-1570916454)
GREAT DEATH, THE. John Smelcer. (Holt. $16.99. ISBN 978-0805081008)
GREENER GRASS. Caroline Pignat. (Red Deer. paperback. $12.95. ISBN 978-0889954021)
HAMLET: A NOVEL. John Marsden. (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763644512)
HAPPENSTANCE FOUND. P. W. Catanese. (S&S/Aladdin. $16.99. ISBN 978-1416975199)
HARRY AND HORSIE. Katie Van Camp. Illustrated by Lincoln Agnew. (Balzer & Bray/HarperTeen. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061755989)
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A SNEEP? Tasha Pym. Illustrated by Joel Stewart. (FSG. $16.95. ISBN 978-0374328689)
HENRY’S NIGHT. D.B. Johnson and Linda Michelin. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $16. ISBN 978-0547056630)
HOW DO I LOVE YOU? Marion Dane Bauer. Illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church. (Cartwheel/Scholastic. $8.99. ISBN 978-0545072700)
HOW DO YOU WOKKA-WOKKA? Elizabeth Bluemle. Illustrated by Randy Cecil. (Candlewick. $15.99. ISBN 978-0763632281)
HOW MANY BABY PANDAS? Sandra Markle. (Walker. $15.99. ISBN 978-0802797834)
HOW OLIVER OLSON CHANGED THE WORLD. Claudia Mills. Illustrated by Heather Maione. (Farrar. $15.95. . ISBN 978-0374334871)
HOW TO SCRATCH A WOMBAT: WHERE TO FIND IT…WHAT TO FEED IT…WHY IT SLEEPS ALL DAY. Jackie French. Illustrated by Bruce Whatley. (Clarion. $16. ISBN 978-0618868643)
HOW TO STEAL A CAR. Pete Hautman. (Scholastic. $16.99. ISBN 978-0545113182)
HURRY UP AND SLOW DOWN. Layn Marlow. (Holiday House. $16.95. ISBN 978-082342178-7)
I AM A GENIUS OF UNSPEAKABLE EVIL AND I WANT TO BE YOUR CLASS PRESIDENT. Josh Lieb. (Razorbill. $15.99. ISBN 978-1595142495)
I AND I: BOB MARLEY. Tony Medina. Illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson. (Lee & Low. $19.95. ISBN 978-1600602573)
I HEARD GOD TALKING TO ME: WILLIAM EDMONDSON AND HIS STONE CARVINGS. Elizabeth Spires. (Farrar/Frances Foster Bks. $17.95. ISBN 978-0374335281)
I WANT TO BE FREE. Joseph Slate. Illustrated by E. B. Lewis. (Putnam. $16.99. ISBN 978-0399243424)
THE IMAGINARY GARDEN. Andrew Larsen. Illustrated by Irene Luxbacher. (Kids Can. $16.95. ISBN 978-1554532797)
IMOGENE’S LAST STAND. Candace Fleming; illus. by Nancy Carpenter. (Schwartz & Wade/Random. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375836077)
INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER. Julie Halpern. (Feiwel & Friends. $16.99. ISBN 978-0312382520)
INVISIBLE I (AMANDA PROJECT). Stella Lennon. (HarperTeen. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061742125)
IT’S USEFUL TO HAVE A DUCK. Isol. (Groundwood. $10. ISBN 978-0888999276)
IT’S A SECRET! John Burningham. Illustrated by John Burningham. (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763642754)
ITTY BITTY. Cece Bell. (Candlewick. $9.99. ISBN 978-0763636166)
JACK TUMOR. Anthony McGowan. (Farrar. $17.95. ISBN 978-0374329556)
JASPER DASH AND THE FLAME-PITS OF DELAWARE. M. T. Anderson. (Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane. $16.99. ISBN 978-1416986393)
JESSICA’S GUIDE TO DATING ON THE DARK SIDE. Beth Fantaskey. (Harcourt. $17. ISBN 978-0152063849)
JOE AND SPARKY GET NEW WHEELS. Jamie Michalak. Illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz. (Candlewick. $15.99. ISBN 978-0763633875)
JOE RAT. Mark Barratt. (Eerdmans. $9.00. ISBN 978-0802853561)
JOURNEY OF DREAMS. Marge Pellegrino. (Frances Lincoln/PGW. $15.95. ISBN 978-1847800619)
JUMPING OFF SWINGS. Jo Knowles. (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763639495)
JUST THE RIGHT SIZE: WHY BIG ANIMALS ARE BIG AND LITTLE ANIMALS ARE LITTLE. Nicola Davies. Illustrated by Neal Layton. (Candlewick. $14.99. ISBN 978-0763639242)
THE KING’S TASTER. Kenneth Oppel. Illustrated by Lou Fancher. (HarperCollins. $17.99. ISBN 978-0060753726)
KIT FEENY: ON THE MOVE. Michael Townsend. (Knopf. hc $12.99. ISBN 978-0375956140. pb $5.99. ISBN 978-0375856143)
LADYBUG GIRL AND BUMBLEBEE BOY. David Soman and Jacky Davis. (Dial. $16.99. ISBN 978-0803733398)
LAST DECEMBER. Matt Beam. (Front Street. $18.95. ISBN 978-1590786512)
LEARN TO SPEAK MUSIC: A GUIDE TO CREATING, PERFORMING, AND PROMOTING YOUR SONGS. John Crossingham. Illustrated by Jeff Kulak. (OwlKids. hc $27.95. ISBN 978-1897349649. pb $17.95. ISBN 978-1897349656)
LEAVING GLORYTOWN: ONE BOY’S STRUGGLE UNDER CASTRO. Eduardo F. Calcines.( Farrar. $17.95. ISBN 978-0374343941)
THE LEGEND OF NINJA COWBOY BEAR. David Bruins. Illustrated by Hilary Leung. (Kids Can Press. $16.95. ISBN 978-1554534869)
LEO AND THE LESSER LION. Sandra Forrester. (Knopf. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375856167)
LET’S DO NOTHING! Tony Fucile. (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763634407)
LIFE IN THE BOREAL FO
REST. Brenda Z. Guiberson. Illustrated by Gennady Spirin. (Holt. $16.99. ISBN 978-0805077186)
LINCOLN AND HIS BOYS. Rosemary Wells. Illustrated by P.J. Lynch. (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763637231)
LINCOLN SHOT: A PRESIDENT’S LIFE REMEMBERED. Barry Denenberg. Illustrated by Christopher Bing. (Feiwel & Friends. $24.95. ISBN 978-0312370138)
LITTLE PANDA. Renata Liwska. (Houghton. $12.95. ISBN 978-0618966271)
LIVING SUNLIGHT: HOW PLANTS BRING THE EARTH TO LIFE. Molly Bang and Penny Chrisholm. (Scholastic/Blue Sky. $16.99. ISBN 978-0545044226)
LONG WAIT FOR TOMORROW, THE. Joaquin Dorfman. (Random House. $16.99. ISBN: 978-0375846946)
LONG WALK TO FREEDOM. Nelson Mandela and Chris Van Wyk. Illustrated by Paddy Bouma. (Roaring Brook/Flash Point. $16.99. ISBN 978-1596435667)
LOUSY ROTTEN STINKIN’ GRAPES. Margie Palatini. Illustrated by Barry Moser. (S&S. $15.99. ISBN 978-0689802461)
LOVE, AUBREY. Suzanne LaFleur. (Random/Wendy Lamb. $15.99. ISBN 978-0385737746)
LOVEY AND DOVEY. Elle van Lieshout, Mies Van Hout, & Erik van Os. (Lemniscaat. $16.95. ISBN 978-1590786604)
LUKE ON THE LOOSE. Harry Bliss. Toon Bks. $12.95. ISBN 978-1935179009)
LUV YA BUNCHES. Lauren Myracle. (Abrams. $15.95. ISBN 978-0810942110)
LYONESSE: THE WELL BETWEEN THE WORLDS. Sam Llewellyn. (Orchard. $17.99. ISBN 978-0439934695)
MAGIC AND MISERY. Peter Marino. (Holiday. $17.95. ISBN 978-0823421336)
MAGIC UNDER GLASS. Jaclyn Dolamore. (Bloomsbury. $16.99. ISBN 978-1599904306)
MALICE. Chris Wooding. Illustrated by Dan Chernett. (Scholastic. $14.99. ISBN 978-0545160438)
MAMA SAYS: A BOOK OF LOVE FOR MOTHERS AND SONS. Rob D. Walker. Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. (Scholastic/Blue Sky. $16.99. ISBN 978-0439932084)
A MAP OF THE KNOWN WORLD. Lisa Ann Sandell. (Scholastic. $16.99. ISBN 978-0545069700)
MARE’S WAR. Tanita S. Davis. (Knopf. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375857140)
MARTHA DOESN’T SAY SORRY! Samantha Berger. Illustrated by Bruce Whatley. (Little, Brown. $15.99. ISBN 978-0316066822)
ME AND YOU. Geneviève Côté. (Kids Can. $16.95. ISBN 978-1554534463)
ME AND YOU. Janet A. Holmes. Illustrated by Judith Rossell. (NorthSouth. $14.95. ISBN 978-0735822504)
MELONHEAD. Katy Kelly. Illustrated by Gillian Johnson. (Delacorte. $12.99. ISBN 978-0385734097)
MERMAID QUEEN: THE SPECTACULAR TRUE STORY OF ANNETTE KELLERMAN, WHO SWAM HER WAY TO FAME, FORTUNE & SWIMSUIT HISTORY! Shana Corey. (Scholastic. $17.99. ISBN 978-0439698351)
MILES BETWEEN. Mary Pearson. (Holt. $16.99. ISBN 978-0805088281)
A MIRROR TO NATURE: POEMS ABOUT REFLECTION. Jane Yolen. Photos by Jason Stemple. (Boyds Mills/Wordsong. $17.95. ISBN 978-1590786246)
MISSILE MOUSE. Jake Parker. (Graphix. $10.99. ISBN 978-0545117159)
MONSTRUMOLOGIST, THE. Rick Yancey. (S&S. $17.99. ISBN 978-1416984481)
THE MORGUE AND ME. John C. Ford. (Viking. $17.99. ISBN 978-0670010967)
MORIBITO II: GUARDIAN OF THE DARKNESS. Nahoko Uehashi. Translated by Cathy Hirano. (Scholastic/Levine. $17.99. ISBN 978-0545102957)
MOST LOVED IN ALL THE WORLD: A STORY OF FREEDOM. Tonya Hegamin. Illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera. (Houghton Mifflin. $17. ISBN 978-0618419036)
THE MOSTLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF HOMER P. FIGG. Rodman Philbrick. (Scholastic/Blue Sky. $16.99. ISBN 978-0439668187)
THE MOUNT RUSHMORE CALAMITY (FLAT STANLEY’S WORLDWIDE ADVENTURES 01). Sara Pennypacker. Illustrated by Macky Pamintuan. (Harper. hardcover, $15.99. ISBN 978-0061429910. paperback, $4.99. ISBN 978-0061429903)
MOUSE WAS MAD. Linda Urban. Illustrated by Henry Cole. (Harcourt. $16. ISBN 978-0152053376)
MOXY MAXWELL DOES NOT LOVE PRACTICING THE PIANO: BUT SHE DOES LOVE BEING IN RECITALS. Peggy Elizabeth Gifford. Photos by Valorie Fisher. (Schwartz & Wade/Random House. $12.99. ISBN 978-0375844881)
MR. AND MRS. PORTLY AND THEIR LITTLE DOG, SNACK. Sandra Jordan. Illustrated by Christine Davenier. (Farrar. $16.99. ISBN 978-0374350895)
MRS. LINCOLN’S DRESSMAKER: THE UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP OF ELIZABETH KECKLEY AND MARY TODD LINCOLN. Lynda Jones. (National Geographic. $18.95. ISBN 978-1426303777)
MY BROTHER BERT. Ted Hughes. Illustrated by Tracey Campbell Pearson. (Farrar. $16.95. ISBN 978-0374399825)
MY LIFE IN PINK AND GREEN. Lisa Greenwald. (Amulet/dist. by Abrams. $16.95. ISBN 978-0810983526)
MY MOM IS TRYING TO RUIN MY LIFE. Kate Feiffer. Illustrated by Diane Goode. (S&S/Wiseman. $16.99. ISBN 978-1416941002)
MY NAME IS JASON. MINE TOO: OUR STORY. OUR WAY. Jason Reynolds & Jason Griffin. (HarperCollins/Joanna Cotler Bks. $12.99. ISBN 978-0061547881)
MY PAPA DIEGO AND ME: MEMORIES OF MY FATHER AND HIS ART / MI PAPA DIEGO Y YO: RECUERDOS DE MI PADRE Y SU ARTE. Guadalupe Rivera Marin. (Children’s Book Press. $17.95. ISBN 978-0892392285)
NASREEN’S SECRET SCHOOL: A TRUE STORY FROM AFGHANISTAN. Jeanette Winter. (S&S/Beach Lane. $16.99. ISBN 978-1416994374)
NEVER SMILE AT A MONKEY. Steve Jenkins. (Houghton. $16. ISBN 978-0-618966202)
NEVERMORE: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY OF EDGAR ALLAN POE. Karen E. Lange. (National Geographic. $17.95. ISBN 978-1426303982)
NEW YEAR AT THE PIER: A ROSH HASHANAH STORY. April Halprin Wayland. Illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch. (Dial. $16.99. ISBN 978-0803732797)
NEWSGIRL. Liza Ketchum. (Viking. $16.99. ISBN 978-0670011193)
NIC BISHOP MARSUPIALS. Nic Bishop. (Scholastic. $17.99. ISBN 978-0439877589)
THE NINE LIVES OF ROTTEN RALPH. Jack Gantos. Illustrated by Nicole Rubel. (Houghton Mifflin. $16. ISBN 978-0618-800469)
NO MORE US FOR YOU. David Hernandez . (HarperTeen. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061173332)
NOT ALL ANIMALS ARE BLUE: A BIG BOOK OF LITTLE DIFFERENCES. Béatrice Boutignon. (Kane/Miller. $15.95. ISBN 978-1933605968)
NUBS: THE TRUE STORY OF A MUTT, A MARINE, & A MIRACLE. Major Brian Dennis and Kirby Larson and others. (Little, Brown. $17.99. ISBN 978-0316053181)
ODD AND THE FROST GIANTS. Neil Gaiman. Illustrated by Brett Helquist. (HarperCollins. $14.99. ISBN 978-0061671739)
THE ODD EGG. Emily Gravett. (S&S. $15.99. ISBN 978-1416968726)
ODDLY. Joyce Dunbar. Illustrated by Patrick Benson. (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763642747)
OK GO. Carin Berger. (HarperCollins/Greenwillow. $17.99. ISBN 978-0061576669)
OLD POSSUM’S BOOK OF PRACTICAL CATS. T.S. Eliot. Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. (Harcourt. $16. ISBN 978-0547248271)
OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA, THE: THE SECRETS BEHIND WHAT YOU EAT. Michael Pollan and Richie Chevat. (Dial. $17.99. ISBN 978-0803734159)
ON THE FARM. David Elliott. Illustrated by Holly Meade. (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763633226)
THE ONE AND ONLY MARIGOLD. Florence Parry Heide. Illustrated by Jill McElmurry. (Schwartz & Wade/Random House. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375840319)
ONE LONELY DEGREE. C.K. Kelly Martin. (Random House. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375851636)
ONE WORLD, ONE DAY. Barbara Kerley. (National Geographic. $17.95. ISBN 978-1426304606)
OPEN THE DOOR TO LIBERTY!: A BIOGRAPHY OF TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE. Anne Rockwell. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. (Houghton. $18. ISBN 978-0618605705)
OPERATION YES. Sara Lewis Holmes. (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. $16.99. ISBN 978-0545107952)
ORANGE. Benjamin. (Tokyopop. paperback. $14.99. ISBN 978-1427814630)
OSCAR AND ARABELLA AND ORMSBY. Neal Layton. (Hodder (IPG. dist). $14.95. ISBN 978-0340884546)
OTIS. Loren Long. (Philomel. $17.99. ISBN 978-0399252488)
OTTER MOON. Tudor Humph
ries. (Boxer/dist. by Sterling. $16.95. ISBN 978-1906250693)
OUR CORNER GROCERY STORE. Joanne F. Schwartz. Illustrated by Laura Beingessner. (Tundra. $19.95. ISBN 978-0887768682)
PALE ASSASSIN, THE. Patricia Elliott. (Holiday House. $17.95. ISBN 978-0823422500)
PANORAMA: A FOLDOUT BOOK. Fani Marceau. Illustrated by Joelle Jolivet. (Abrams. $19.95. ISBN 978-0810983328)
PEARL AND WAGNER: ONE FUNNY DAY. Kate McMullan. Illustrated by R. W. Alley. (Dial. $14.99. ISBN 978-0803730854)
PEARL HARBOR: A PRIMARY SOURCE HISTORY. Jacqueline Laks Gorman. (Gareth Stevens. $31.00. ISBN 978-1433900471)
PEEP!: A LITTLE BOOK ABOUT TAKING A LEAP. Maria Van Lieshout. (Feiwel & Friends. $12.99. ISBN 978-0312369156)
PELÉ. KING OF SOCCER/PELÉ. EL REY DEL FUTBOL. Monica Brown. Illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez. (Rayo/HarperCollins. $17.99. ISBN 978-0061227790)
A PENGUIN STORY. Antoinette Portis. (HarperCollins. $17.99. ISBN 978-0061456886)
PERSEPHONE. Sally Pomme Clayton. Illustrated by Virginia Lee. (Eerdmans. $18. ISBN 978-0802853493)
PHILOSOPHY, INVENTION, AND ENGINEERING. Derek Hall. (Brown Bear. $24.95. ISBN 978-1933834481)
PHOTOGRAPHER: INTO WAR-TORN AFGHANISTAN WITH DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS. Emmanuel Guibert. Photos by Didier Lefèvre. Translated from French by Alexis Siegel. Illustrated by author & Frédéric Lemercier. (Roaring Brook/First Second. $29.95. ISBN 978-1596433755)
PLUTO, VOLUME 1. Naoki Urasawa and Osamu Tezuka. Translated by Jared Cook. (VIZ Media. $12.99. ISBN 978-1421519180)
POP. Gordon Korman. (HarperTeen. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061742287)
POP-UP GUIDE TO NURSERY RHYMES, A. Matthew Reinhart. (LittleSimon. $26.99 ISBN 978-1416918257)
POSY. Linda Newbery. Illustrated by Catherine Rayner. (S&S/Atheneum. $16.99. ISBN 978-1416971122)
POUCH! David Ezra Stein. (Putnam. $15.99. ISBN 978-0399250514)
PRETTY DEAD. Francesca Lia Block. (HarperTeen. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061547850)
THE PRINCESS AND THE BEAR. Mette Ivie Harrison. (HarperTeen. $17.99. ISBN 978-006155314X)
THE PROBLEM WITH THE PUDDLES. Kate Feiffer. Illustrated by Tricia Tusa. (S&S/Wiseman. $16.99. ISBN 978-1416949619)
PROPHECY OF THE SISTERS. Michelle Zink. (Little, Brown. $17.99. ISBN 978-0316027427)
PUFFLING. Margaret Wild. Illustrated by Julie Vivas. (Feiwel & Friends. $16.99. ISBN 978-0312565701)
PUNKZILLA. Adam Rapp. (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763630317)
PUPPET. Eva Wiseman. (Tundra. $17.95. ISBN 978-0887768288)
PURPLE HEART. Patricia McCormick. (HarperCollins/Balzer & Bray. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061730900)
PUT IT ON THE LIST! Kristen Darbyshire. (Dutton. $16.99. ISBN 978-0525479062)
RACHAEL RAY: FOOD ENTREPRENEUR. Dennis Abrams. (Chelsea House. library edition. $30. ISBN 978-1604130782)
RAIDERS’ RANSOM. Emily Diamond. (Chicken House/Scholastic. $17.99. ISBN 978-0545142977)
READ IT, DON’T EAT IT! Ian Schoenherr. (HarperCollins/Greenwillow. $17.99. ISBN 978-0061724558)
RECYCLE THIS BOOK: 100 TOP CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHORS TELL YOU HOW TO GO GREEN. Dan Gutman, ed. (Random House/Yearling. pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-0385737210)
THE RED BLAZER GIRLS: THE RING OF ROCAMADOUR. Michael D. Beil. (Knopf. $15.99. ISBN 978-0375848148)
THE REFORMED VAMPIRE SUPPORT GROUP. Catherine Jinks. (Harcourt. $17. ISBN 978-0152066093)
RISE AND FALL OF SENATOR JOE MCCARTHY, THE. James Cross Giblin. (Clarion. $22.00. ISBN 978-0618610587)
RIVER OF DREAMS: THE STORY OF THE HUDSON RIVER. Hudson Talbott. (Putnam. $17.99. ISBN 978-0399245213)
ROAWR! Barbara Joosse. Illustrated by Jan Jutte. (Philomel. $16.99. ISBN 978-0399247774)
THE ROCK AND THE RIVER. Kekla Magoon. (Aladdin. $15.99. ISBN 978-1416975829)
RUINED: A NOVEL. Paula Morris. (Scholastic/Point. $16.99. ISBN 978-0545042154)
SALT, VOLUME 1. Maurice Gee. (Orca. $18. ISBN 978-1554692095)
SAME DIFFERENCE. Siobhan Vivian. (Push/Scholastic. $17.99. 978-0545004077)
SAME SAME. Marthe Jocelyn. Illustrated by Tom Slaughter. (Tundra. $15.95. ISBN 978-0887768859)
SAVING THE GHOST OF THE MOUNTAIN: AN EXPEDITION AMONG SNOW LEOPARDS IN MONGOLIA. Sy Montgomery. Photos by Nic Bishop. (Scientists in the Field Series). (Houghton. $18. ISBN 978-0618916450)
SAY THE WORD. Jeannine Garsee. (Bloomsbury. $16.99. ISBN 978-1599903330)
SCAT. Carl Hiaasen. (Knopf/Borzoi. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375834868)
SEARCH, THE. Eric Heuvel & Ruud Van der Rol. Lies Schippers. Translated by Lorraine T. Miller. (FSG. $18.99. ISBN 978-0374365172)
THE SECRET LIFE OF PRINCE CHARMING. Deb Caletti. (Simon & Schuster. $16.99. ISBN 978-1416959403)
SECRET OF ZOOM, THE. Lynne Jonell. (Holt. $16.99. ISBN 978-08050885640
THE SECRET WORLD OF WALTER ANDERSON. Hester Bass. Illustrated by E.B. Lewis. (Candlewick. $17.99. ISBN 978-0763635831)
SECRETS OF TRUTH AND BEAUTY. Megan Frazer. (Disney-Hyperion. $15.99. ISBN 978-1423117117)
SEPTEMBER 11: A PRIMARY SOURCE HISTORY. Alan Wachtel. (Gareth Stevens. $31.00. ISBN 978-1433900488)
SERENDIPITY MARKET. Penny Blubaugh. (HarperTeen. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061468754)
SIGNAL. Cynthia DeFelice. (Farrar. $16.99. ISBN 978-0374399153)
SIGNING THEIR LIVES AWAY: THE FAME AND MISFORTUNE OF THE MEN WHO SIGNED THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. Denise Kiernan & Joseph D’Agnese. (Quirk. $19.95. ISBN 978-1594743306)
SILKSINGER (DREAMDARK 02). Laini Taylor. (Putnam. $18.99. ISBN 978-0399246319)
SILVER PHOENIX: BEYOND THE KINGDOM OF XIA. Cindy Pon. (Greenwillow. $17.99. ISBN 978-0061730214)
THE SINGING (BOOKS OF PELLINOR 04). Alison Croggon. (Candlewick. $18.99. ISBN 978-0763636657)
SKY HIGH: THE TRUE STORY OF MAGGIE GEE. Marissa Moss. Illustrated by Carl Angel. (Tricycle. $16.99. ISBN 978-1582462806)
SKY MAGIC. Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Illustrated by Mariusz Stawarski. (Dutton. $17.99. ISBN 978-0525478621)
SLEEPSONG. George Ella Lyon. Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. (Atheneum. $16.99. ISBN 978-0689869738)
THE SLEEPY LITTLE ALPHABET: A BEDTIME STORY FROM ALPHABET TOWN. Judy Sierra. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. (Knopf. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375840029)
SLITHER AND CRAWL: EYE TO EYE WITH REPTILES. Jim Arnosky. (Sterling. $14.95. ISBN 978-1402739866)
SLOB. Ellen Potter. (Philomel. $16.99. ISBN 978-0399247057)
SNIPER, THE. James Riordan. (Frances Lincoln. $8.95. ISBN 978-1845078850)
SOLDIER’S SECRET: THE STORY OF DEBORAH SAMPSON. Sheila Solomon Klass. (Holt/Christy Ottaviano. $17.95. ISBN 978-0805082005)
THE SONG OF FRANCIS. Tomie DePaola. (Putnam. $16.99. ISBN 978-0399252105)
SOPHOMORE SWITCH. Abby McDonald. (Candlewick. $17.99. ISBN 978-0763639362)
SOUL ENCHILADA. David Macinnis Gill. (HarperTeen. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061673016)
SPELLS. Emily Gravett. (S&S. $16.99. ISBN 978-1416982708)
SPIDERS. Nic Bishop. (Scholastic. $17.99. ISBN 978-0439877565)
STAGECOACH SAL. Deborah Hopkinson. Illustrated by Carson Ellis. (Disney-Hyperion. $16.99. ISBN 978-1423111498)
STARCLIMBER. Kenneth Oppel. (HarperCollins/Eos. $17.99. ISBN 978-0060850579)
STEADY HANDS: POEMS ABOUT WORK. Tracie Vaughn Zimmer. Illustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy. Clarion. $16. ISBN 978-0618903511)
STEALING DEATH. Janet Lee Carey. (Egmont. $16.99. ISBN 978-1606840092)
STEEL PAN MAN OF HARLEM, THE. Colin Bootman. (Carolrhoda. $16.95. ISBN 978-0822590262)
STITCHES: A MEMOIR. David Small. (Norton. $23.95. ISBN 978-0393068573)
STORIES FROM
THE BILLABONG. James Vance Marshall. Illustrated by Francis Firebrace. (Frances Lincoln. $19.95. ISBN 978-1845077044)
THE STORY BEHIND TOILETS. Elizabeth Raum. (Heinemann. $28.21. ISBN 978-1432923501)
THE STORY OF SNOW: THE SCIENCE OF WINTER’S WONDER. Mark Cassino with Jon Nelson. Illustrated by Nora Aoyagi. Photographs by Mark Cassino. (Chronicle. $16.99. ISBN 978-0811868662)
STORY OF THE CHICAGO BEARS, THE. Nate LeBoutillier. (Creative Education. $32.80. ISBN 978-1583417508)
STRAWBERRY HILL. Mary Ann Hoberman. Illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin. (Little, Brown. $15.99. ISBN 978-0316041362)
THE SUPER HUNGRY DINOSAUR. Martin Waddell. Illustrated by Leonie Lord. (Dial. $16.99. ISBN 978-0803734463)
SUPERHERO SCHOOL. Aaron Reynolds. Illustrated by Andy Rash. (Bloomsbury. $16.99. ISBN 978-1599901664)
SWEETHEART OF PROSPER COUNTY, THE. Jill S. Alexander. (Feiwel & Friends. $16.99. ISBN 978-0312548568)
SWIM THE FLY. Don Calame. (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763641573)
SWOON. Nina Malkin. (Simon Pulse. $17.99. ISBN 978-1416974345)
T-MINUS: THE RACE TO THE MOON. Jim Ottaviani. Illustrated by Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon. (Aladdin/Simon. hardcover, $21.99. ISBN 978-1416986829. paperback, $12.99. ISBN 978-1416949602)
TACKY GOES TO CAMP. Helen Lester. Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. (Houghton. $16. ISBN 978-0618988129)
TAKEN BY STORM. Angela Morrison. (Razorbill. $16.99. ISBN 978-1595142382)
TEEDIE: THE STORY OF YOUNG TEDDY ROOSEVELT. Don Brown. (Houghton. $16. ISBN 978-0618179992)
THE TERRIBLE PLOP. Ursula Dubosarsky. Illustrated by Andrew Joyner. (FSG. $15.99. ISBN 978-0374374280)
THANK YOU, GOD, FOR EVERYTHING. August Gold. Illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin. (Putnam. $16.99. ISBN 978-0399240492)
THANKS A LOT, EMILY POST! Jennifer LaRue Huget. (Random/Schwartz & Wade. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375838538)
THERE. Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick. (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter. $17.95. ISBN 978-1596430877)
THIRTEENTH CHILD (FRONTIER MAGIC 01). Patricia C. Wrede. (Scholastic. $16.99. ISBN 978-0545033428)
THREE LITTLE KITTENS AND OTHER FAVORITE NURSERY RHYMES. Comp. and Illustrated by Tony Ross. (Holt. $16.95. ISBN 978-0805088854)
THUMB AND THE BAD GUYS. Ken Roberts. Illustrated by Leanne Franson. (Groundwood. $17.95. ISBN 978-0888999160)
TILLIE LAYS AN EGG. Terry Golson. photos by Ben Fink. (Scholastic. $16.99. ISBN 978-0545005371)
TOBY ALONE. Timothée de Fombelle. Illustrated by Francois Place. Translated by Sarah Ardizzone. (Candlewick. $17.99. ISBN 978-0763641818)
THE TOLL BRIDGE. Aidan Chambers. (Abrams/Amulet. $8.95. ISBN 978-0810983588)
TOON TREASURY OF CLASSIC CHILDREN’S COMICS, THE. Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly, editors. (Abrams ComicArts. $40. 978-0810957305)
TOUCH. Francine Prose. (HarperTeen. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061375170)
TRICKING THE TALLYMAN. Jacqueline Davies. Illustrated by S. D. Schindler. (Knopf. $17.99. ISBN 978-0375839092)
TROPICAL SECRETS: HOLOCAUST REFUGEES IN CUBA. Margarita Engle. (Holt. $16.95. ISBN 978-0805089363)
TRUCKS GO. Steve Light. (Chronicle. $8.99. ISBN 978-0811865425)
TUMTUM & NUTMEG: ADVENTURES BEYOND NUTMOUSE HALL. Emily Bearn. Illustrated by Nick Price. (Little, Brown. $16.99. ISBN 978-0316027038)
THE TWILIGHT PRISONER. Katherine Marsh. (Disney-Hyperion. $17.99. ISBN 978-1423106937)
UNDER SIEGE: THREE CHILDREN AT THE CIVIL WAR BATTLE FOR VICKSBURG. Andrea Warren. (Farrar/Melanie Kroupa. $17.95. ISBN 978-0374312558)
THE UNINVITED. Tim Wynne-Jones . (Candlewick. $16.99. ISBN 978-0763639846)
THE UNKNOWNS. Benedict Carey. (Amulet. $16.95. ISBN 978-0810979918)
UP CLOSE: BILL GATES. Marc Aronson. (Viking. $16.99. ISBN 978-0670063487)
UP CLOSE: THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Michael L. Cooper. (Viking. $16.99. ISBN 978-0670011346)
USAGI YOJIMBO: YOKAI. Stan Sakai. (Dark Horse. $14.95. ISBN 978-1595823625)
VOICES OF CHRISTMAS. Nikki Grimes. Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. (Zonderkidz. $16.99. ISBN 978-0310711926)
A WALK IN NEW YORK. Salvatore Rubbino. (Candlewick.$16.99. ISBN 978-0763638559)
WAR GAMES. Audrey Couloumbis and Akila Couloumbis. (Random House. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375856280)
THE WATERS & THE WILD. Francesca Lia Block. (HarperTeen. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061452444)
WE ARE THE WEATHER MAKERS: THE HISTORY OF CLIMATE CHANGE. Tim Flannery. Adapted by Sally M. Walker. (Candlewick. $17.99. ISBN 978-0763636562)
WE’RE ALL IN THE SAME BOAT. Zachary Shapiro. Illustrated by Jack E. Davis. (Putnam. $16.99. ISBN 978-0399243936)
WHAT BLUEBIRDS DO. Pamela F. Kirby. (Boyds Mills. $16.95. ISBN 978-159078-6147)
WHAT IS THIS? Antje Damm. (Frances Lincoln /PGW. dist.. $15.95. ISBN 978-1845078997)
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO HUMPTY: FROM THE FILES OF A HARD-BOILED DETECTIVE. Jeanie Franz Ransom and Joe Dumpty. Illustrated by Stephen Axelsen. (Charlesbridge. $15.95. ISBN 978-1580891097)
WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE?: HOW ALICE ROOSEVELT BROKE THE RULES, CHARMED THE WORLD, AND DROVE HER FATHER TEDDY CRAZY. Barbara Kerley. Illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham. (Scholastic. $16.99. ISBN 978-0439922319)
WHAT WOULD EMMA DO? Eileen Cook. Simon Pulse. paperback, $7.99. ISBN 978-1416974321)
WHEN ROYALS WORE RUFFLES: A FUNNY & FASHIONABLE ALPHABET! Chesley McLaren and Pamela Jaber. Illustrated by McLaren. (Schwartz & Wade. $16.99. ISBN 978-0375851667)
WHEN THE SNOW FELL. Henning Mankell. Translated by Laurie Thompson. (Delacorte. $15.99. ISBN 978-0385734974)
WHEN YOU MEET A BEAR ON BROADWAY. Amy Hest. Illustrated by Elivia Savadier. (Farrar/Melanie Kroupa. $16.99. ISBN 978-0374400156)
WHERE TEDDY BEARS COME FROM. Mark Burgess. Illustrated by Russell Ayto. (Peachtree. $16.95. ISBN 978-1561454877)
WHITE NOISE: A POP-UP BOOK FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES. David A. Carter. (Little Simon. $22.99. ISBN 978-1416940944)
THE WHITE WITCH. Janet Graber. (Roaring Brook. $17.95. ISBN 978-1596433373)
WHITEFOOT: A STORY FROM THE CENTER OF THE WORLD. Wendell Berry. Illustrated by Davis Te Selle. (Counterpoint. $22. ISBN 978-1582434322)
A WHOLE NOTHER STORY. Dr. Cuthbert Soup and Gerry Swallow. Illustrated by Jeffrey Timmins. (Bloomsbury. $16.99. ISBN 978-1599904357)
WHOO GOES THERE? Jennifer A. Ericsson. Illustrated by Bert Kitchen. (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter. $17.99. ISBN 978-1596433717)
WHY IS SNOT GREEN? AND OTHER EXTREMELY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS (AND ANSWERS). Glenn Murphy. (Flash Point. $9.95. ISBN 978-1596435001)
WILD GIRL. Patricia Reilly Giff. (Wendy Lamb/Random House. $15.99. ISBN 978-0375838903)
WILD THINGS. Clay Carmichael. (Front Street/ dist. by Boyds Mills. $18.95. ISBN 978-1590786277)
WILLOUGHBY AND THE LION. Greg Foley. (HarperCollins/Bowen. $17.99. ISBN 978-0061547508)
WILSON AND MISS LOVELY: A BACK-TO-SCHOOL MYSTERY. John Stadler. (Random/Corey. $9.99. ISBN 978-037584478-2)
WINK: THE NINJA WHO WANTED TO BE NOTICED. J. C. Phillipps. (Viking. $15.99. ISBN 978-0670010929)
WINTER WOOD (TOUCHSTONE TRILOGY 03). Steve Augarde. (David Fickling/Random House. $17.99. ISBN 978-0385750749)
THE WIZARD OF RONDO. Emily Rodda. (Scholastic. $16.99. ISBN 978-0545115162)
WOMBAT WALKABOUT. Carol Diggory Shields. Illustrated by Sophie Blackall. (Dutton. $16.99. ISBN 978-0525478652)
WONDERLAND. Tommy Kovac. Illustrated by Sonny Liew. (Disney. $19.99. ISBN 978-1423104513)
WOOF: A LOVE STORY. Sarah Weeks. Illustrated by Holly Berry. (HarperCollins. $16.99. ISBN 978-0060250072)
THE YANKEE AT THE SEDER. Elka
Weber. Illustrated by Adam Gustavson. (Tricycle. $16.99. ISBN 978-1582462561)
THE YEAR THE SWALLOWS CAME EARLY. Kathryn Fitzmaurice. (Harper. $16.99. ISBN 978-0061624971)
YOU ARE THE FIRST KID ON MARS. Patrick O’Brien. Illustrated by Patrick O’Brien. (Putnam. $16.99. ISBN 978-0399246340)
THE YOUNG INFERNO. John Agard. Illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura. (Frances Lincoln. $19.95. ISBN 978-1845077693)
YOUNG SAMURAI: THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR. Chris Bradford. (Disney-Hyperion. $16.99. ISBN 978-1423118718)
YUM YUM! WHAT FUN! Mara Bergman. Illustrated by Nick Maland. (Greenwillow. $17.99. ISBN 978-0061688607)
ZENITH. Julie Bertagna. (Walker. $16.99. ISBN 978-0802798039)
ZERO IS THE LEAVES ON THE TREE. Betsy Franco. Illustrated by Shino Arihara. (Tricycle. $15.99. ISBN 978-1582462496)
****
Any mistakes are mine; collating all of these is quite a project, and definitely subject to human error. Authors and publishers, please let me know if I’ve missed any, at shelftalker2 @ gmail dot com.

Who the Wild Things Have Inspired


Alison Morris - December 9, 2009

Now that the Spike Jonze Wild Things movie has worked its way to the cheap theaters, I think it’s time I did a round-up of some of the creative outpouring I’ve been seeing online from adults who were inspired by Where the Wild Things Are in book form, as children, and/or as parents. The anticipation of and enthusiasm for Jonze’s film has lately inspired a great number of these folks to pay tribute to Sendak’s most beloved book, proving that has indeed been a VERY influential and important for the generations fortunate enough to know it.

Most of you have probably already spent some time perusing the artwork featured at Terrible Yellow Eyes and recently showcased at L.A. gallery Nucleus. If you haven’t, go look now!

Vice has created a similar blog called 24 Artists Inspired by Where the Wild Things Are.

Photographer Kwannam Chu did a Wild Things-inspired photoshoot for Economic Journal.

Casa Sugar features Wild Things-inspired home accessories. I particularly like the "Shady Tree Forrest [sic] Pendant." Or rather, I would particularly like it, if I weren’t appalled by its $638.40 price point.

The Thread (which calls itself "The Inside Line on New York Fashion") has a slide show of fashions inspired by the film.

My favorite feature, though, is a list of Wild Things crafts featured on The Crafty Crow. There are SO many fun crafts pulled together for this post, all linked to tutorials posted by their respective bloggers. I’ve posted three examples below. Click on them to go to the Crafty Crow’s post, and from there you can travel to more info. about each of them.

Cardboard tubes have never looked cuter.

Cupcakes have never been more awesome.

And who could resist a tote like this?

Finally, whether you’ve seen the film or not, be sure to pay a visit to We Love You So, a blog created "to help shed some light on many of the small influences that have converged to make [Spike Jonze’s feature film rendition of Maurice Sendak’s classic story Where the Wild Things Are] a reality." There has been such a fun mix of creative posts on this blog — few of them obviously related to the film, but all of them eye-opening and/or entertaining. Take a look!

Saving the Indies 3 by 50


Josie Leavitt - December 8, 2009

Every once in a while I’m surprised by what my customers respond to. I have been harping, very nicely and calmly, about the benefits of shopping locally, and while some have absorbed the lesson, nothing has been more effective than a small flyer we had on the back of our newsletter called the 3/50 project.

The 3/50 project is the brainchild of Cinda Baxter, who posted it last March on her blog, Alwaysupward.com. Quite simply she thought about independent stores, not just bookstores (I found out the 3/50 project from my local pizza place), and how to save them. Her idea is to think about three businesses you’d miss if they were gone, and go spend money there. This absence approach, taking the dim, but sadly realistic view, of what *not* shopping local means seems to be getting through to customers. They are encouraged to spend some money at the independent store,  ideally $50 a month. The tag line is simple: Pick 3. Spend 50. Save your local economy.

This simple statement has had more customers coming in my waving their newsletters saying, "I finally get it." There is something about this little flyer that just gets the message across. And happily for us, they are spending money, and they feel good about it, and I feel good about it.

Go to their website — it’s full of great info and easy downloadable materials that can help you get the message about keeping consumer dollars in  your town. I see the 3/50 project working hand in hand with local Shop Local efforts. Honestly, the more ways I can help get my customers to understand why they should spend their money with me and the coffee shop, the toy store and the home goods stores in town, the more we’ll all thrive. And that’s a great thing.

The Funniest Reasons Customers Reject Books


Elizabeth Bluemle - December 7, 2009

We do a lot of handselling at our store, and not just in the children’s section. People who shop at independent bookstores generally enjoy talking about books, and many become used to getting a bookseller’s imprimatur on a novel or nonfiction title before they commit to buy it. While the reasons people choose books surprise us occasionally, the reasons they reject them are infinitely various.

One of our most loyal, longtime customers flatly dismissed Water for Elephants because "I don’t do books about elephants set during the Depression." Didn’t matter that about a hundred of her closest friends had read and loved it; she was unmoved: no elephants during the Depression. We still laugh about this with her.

We had a customer reject a book that delights us—Kevin Sherry’s I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean—because the cover was "too blue."  Well, okay then. She wouldn’t even look inside! What a loss; it’s a terrific book. But of course we found something less blue that suited her just fine.

A very earnest new mother once turned down The Story About Ping "because the duck gets spanked at the end." It’s a quick bop on Ping’s behind as he scurries up the boat ramp, late to join his siblings, but that was too much. "I worry about the message it sends," she said. While I do see her point in a broad way, and would prefer to err on the side of nonviolence in general, The Story About Ping is hardly The Lonely Doll. (Actually, I loved The Lonely Doll as a kid, though the spanking was definitely, um, unsettling. See right.) What I mean to say is, dozens of my friends grew up with Ping and were not traumatized, nor became spanking parents.
 
This weekend, Josie was helping an older customer who came in to look at nature books for her four-year-old grandson. Josie handed her a little stack of nonfiction possibilities, along with a charming picture book about a friendly man who uses his truck and backhoe and chainsaw to help his neighbors throughout the year. The book is Here Comes Darrell by Leda Schubert and Mary Azarian. The customer loved it, at first. Then came a spread suggesting that Darrell might put in a pond for someone at the edge of some woods. The customer was incensed. Not a single environmental impact study had been made or mentioned! She refused the book. "I can’t have Johnny growing up to think you can just put a pond anywhere," she said. Never mind that Johnny was four, and would surely learn (if not from training or education, then certainly from his grandmother) that digging a pond is not to be undertaken lightly.

When I put out a call on the children’s bookseller listservs for some of their rejection anecdotes, Camille DeBoer, co-owner of Pooh’s Corner in Grand Rapids, MI, had these to share:

Funniest (or sad) customer rejections:

Taro Gomi Coloring Books: "if he colors in these, how will he know he can’t color in just any book?"

Books in general: "Don’t you think in the internet age, kids are bored by books?"

Three Bears (Galdone, maybe, I can’t remember): "The middle bear doesn’t look enough like a girl"…referring to a possible relationship with which the customer did not agree. [Shelftalker can’t help adding: "Yes, where are all those eyelashes and aprons and big hair bows that bears in the wild wear to identify themselves as girls?"]

King’s Equal: "She really likes girly stories but I don’t want her growing up all princessy and feeling subservient to men."…The book is called the King’s EQUAL!

****

Booksellers, what’s the funniest failed handselling experience you’ve had? Customers, what’s the strangest reason you’ve ever had for turning down a book suggestion?

How, Ultimately, to Get a Book on My Shelves


Josie Leavitt - December 4, 2009

Here’s a true story of one very tenacious self-published author and what not to do to get your book on my shelves.

– First thing of all: do not try to get your book in any store in December. It’s just too busy a time for me and most other booksellers. 

– Do not call more than once. Leave a message, trust the system and know that the right people, i.e. the buyers, will get the message.

– Do not have three different members of your family call suggesting I carry the book. This just takes up staff time saying the same thing: Please, either send an email with details of the book, or better yet, send a copy for the owners to look at. But do not take up my staff time with the same message multiple times a week.

– Do not pretend to be a customer looking for the book when you are in fact, the author. We have Caller ID and we check it before we answer the phone.

– Do not offer to send an invoice me for five copies, sight unseen, during the sixth phone call of the week.

Here are some things the author could have done differently:

– Do be patient. December is a very, very busy time. Try to get your book to us after the holidays.

– If you’re that confident of your book and are frustrated with an inability to reach a buyer, offer to send one copy as a consignment. This way you can get one in the store without endlessly calling staff.

– I know your book is very important to you, but please understand that this is the busiest time of the year for me. This is when I make my money for the year and I barely have time to restock the bestsellers, deal with special orders and unpack boxes; I do not have time to tell you again that I cannot make a decision about a self-published book I have no information about.

– Find out the store’s email and send me a nice email about why I should carry your book.

– Understand that if I don’t respond right away, I’m probably just busy. Send a follow-up email in a month and then let it be. Not every book is going to work at my store.

– Consignment works for me. This way I take no risk and your book comes to my store.

Did I take the book? Well, yes I did, because the author came in and she let me take two on consignment. I had her sign the books. I put autographed stickers on the books and put them on the Vermont shelf, spine out. To which she said, "Is that how you’re going to display them?" I was dumbstruck at her boldness. After I calmly explained that we had other books to feature, bestsellers, newsletter books, and holiday books, she backed off. I also suggested that she send some of her friends in to buy the books because, honestly, I’d like nothing more than selling these books.

I’ll keep you posted about the book’s sales as well as how it winds up displayed. It would not surprise me if this book "somehow" wound up face out.

Store Newsletters: The (Mostly) Pros, and Cons


Elizabeth Bluemle - December 3, 2009

Every year, The Flying Pig creates a 16-page full-color newsletter (to be precise, it’s a book-recommendation catalog, but we’ve always called it "the newsletter"). It’s a mammoth project, containing somewhere in the neighborhood of 150-165 short reviews, but we’ve done it for 13 years, and it brings huge numbers of people into the store while selling boatloads of books. Customers keep it for months, even years, and every holiday season (which is when we publish it, for obvious reasons), they come in with it marked up as a wish list by every member of the family.

A bookstore newsletter is personal, store-specific, and completely independent, but it’s also a time- and resource-consuming effort. Is it worth it? For booksellers wondering, here are some of the pros and cons, and a little Q&A, about creating your own printed piece for distribution.

Con: It’s a LOT of work. A lot a lot a lot.
Pro: For the reviews, you can get help from your staff. The more viewpoints you have, the richer your newsletter, and the more invested your frontline booksellers are in the books they’re handselling. For the design and layout, you can learn to do it without hiring a designer. I just noodled around on InDesign and Photoshop, learning. In 1997, we started with a one-color, four-page newsletter, and over time, the thing grew in accordance with my own learning.

Con: It’s expensive. Ours costs about $1.06 per piece. Postage is extra.
Pro: Once you’ve decided on your titles, you can get publisher co-op for many or most of them. We never choose titles based on available co-op, but your mileage may vary. Send your reps the newsletter with their books circled and a list of titles included, and claim that co-op! It makes a nice dent in the printing and mailing costs.

Con: Did we mention it’s expensive? (Following are several pros that, in our opinion, justify the expense.)

Pro: Whenever we send out the newsletter (our current mailing list numbers around 4,500), we get long-distance and website orders—usually for several books at a time—that otherwise would never have been placed with us. The newsletter reminds our far-away customers that we’re still here, we’re still reading and loving books, and that we fulfill orders like any online book source. We’ve even found that it’s a great tool to get busy local customers to make a point to stop in; people’s commuting patterns shift, and any concrete reminder of what they love about your bookstore helps bring people back in.

Pro: It’s wonderful to have something to hand to new and potential customers. It makes an instant impression, and gives readers a sense of the store’s unique character. We also use them at author visits, teacher booktalks and in-store interactions, offsite events, and in mail orders. It’s print advertising that lasts far beyond a single day or week.

Pro: The newsletter can serve as an extra frontline bookseller. It’s very handy when the store’s particularly busy and more people want recommendations than we have staff available to help them. In those cases, we can hand them the newsletter, open it to a relevant page, and invite them to browse through those books on the newsletter display case we set up (during November and December) while they’re waiting for further assistance. Often, the newsletter turns out to be enough help for people to make buying decisions.

Pro: You can find ways to cut costs. Paper and color choices can have a big effect on prices, and your printer can help you find the most affordable options.

Here’s one of the best pros about doing a store newsletter:

Pro:
It’s as local as "Shop Local" gets. You can use a newsletter to celebrate local authors, share news about the store and your staff, celebrate regional authors. People really, really value the newsletter.
Con: You will inevitably forget to include a book you meant to include, and you will hurt someone’s feelings. With so many thousands of books published each year, it’s tough to keep track of every new book by local authors (especially new or unfamiliar folks), and so you risk alienating someone whom (and whose work) you care about. Happily, most authors understand, and we try to make it up to them on our website and/or in the next newsletter.

Q&A

Q: How do you choose what goes in the newsletter?
A: Booksellers, you already know the answer to this: you choose the books you feel most strongly about, the ones you love to handsell, and you strive for a balance of genres and diversity while thinking of the full range of your intended audience.

Q: There are regional catalogs and association catalogs available. Why not just use those instead, especially since they can be imprinted with your store name?
A: We still use those catalogs, too, but have found that our own brings in a significantly higher number of sales. Bookstore customers grow to trust and even depend upon recommendations from the booksellers they know, so there’s a native advantage to providing a source of those recommendations over even the finest catalog from an outside source.

We have always loved and used the ABC (Association of Booksellers for Children) catalog as a supplement to our own, since it’s (1) a wonderful teacher and parent resource fully dedicated to children’s books (ours is a mix of adult and children’s books), and (2) the books are independently chosen by children’s booksellers around the country. "Independently chosen" refers to how the books are selected: most catalogs are funded by publisher support, but in the ABC’s case, we request the books we most want to include, and ask the publishers to support those titles.

We also use the NEIBA (New England Independent Booksellers Association) catalog. NEIBA is our regional trade association, and they put together a diverse mix of books, many of which have a New England focus. NEIBA has a very generous, supportive program for bookstores, picking up a significant amount of the costs of distributing the catalogs (as inserts in local newspapers). Bookstores imprint their own store log
os
on the mailing side of the catalog, and many readers think the NEIBA catalog is created by the bookstore that sends them out.

I use the NEIBA catalogs every fall, and am grateful for them because they include titles I might not have discovered or thought to include. At the same time, I really enjoy having a catalog that has only the titles that we at the Flying Pig have read and loved. The one drawback to the regional catalog is that its contents are shaped to a greater degree by publisher input. As I mentioned before, publishers fund the catalogs by supporting titles, and while many, perhaps most, of the included books are also titles booksellers love, once in a while, these aren’t the titles a bookseller might have picked.

Q: Why not just send a PDF to your email list? You’d save money, and it would be a greener choice, too.
A: Email is a fantastic communication tool for the store, but I’m 100% sure that a PDF would not have the same impact as the printed piece. Few people would print out all 16 pages, so we’d lose the serendipitous sales that come from happening upon an item as someone flips through the newsletter. Even more likely, people might glance at it quickly, then delete or forget about it. A hard copy has presence. The green issue is important, and we use a printer with the highest level of green certification that a printer can receive, and choose paper with the highest possible recycled content that still allows for our color.

***

There are many, many ways to make your store stand out, and for us, the newsletter is key. Bookseller colleagues out there: do you produce newsletters? And if so, what makes them particularly special to you and your customers?

Giving Thanks, Or, the Trouble with Acknowledgments


Elizabeth Bluemle - December 2, 2009

Thanksgiving got me thinking about acknowledgments pages in novels, and my mixed reaction to them. Initially, my ambivalence confused me; I’m all for expressing appreciation and I love the generosity of spirit expressed in these pages. Why, then, do I sometimes wish authors would put those thankful words in a handwritten note to their intended recipients instead of into the novel?

Dedications, I understand. They are special, they are personal, they are brief. They generally preserve an author’s mystery and privacy, while still reaching out to someone special. And I have no quarrel with nonfiction acknowledgments; those are de rigeur. It would be, at the very least, unprofessional to ignore the sources and resources behind the research process. Acknowledgments pages for a fiction title, on the other hand, are trickier. I’m of two minds about them.

Here’s what happens when I come upon the acknowledgments pages of a book:

A) How thoughtful! Publicly thanking all the people who have helped one along the journey of a novel is a lovely thing to do. And it’s a little window into the personal life of the author. It’s fun to read these tidbits, and especially wonderful to know who edited the book. (Side note here: I wish publishers included the editor’s name on the copyright page. So interesting!)

B) Ack! Publicly thanking all the people who have helped one along the journey of a novel is so … public. And, it’s a little window into the personal life of the author. (Meaning, Wow, am I kicked right out of the world of the story and its magic.)

Mind B, I’ve discovered after much rumination, is disconcerted by two main issues:

First, acknowledgments pages have the potential to project a—certainly innocent and obviously unintentional—self-congratulatory air. When I mentioned the topic of this post to Flying Pig staffer Kelly Dousevicz, she succinctly observed, "They often read like an award acceptance speech, without the award." Especially disconcerting is the experience of reading acknowledgments pages before reading the novel itself. Designers, please don’t undermine your authors this way; acknowledgments belong at the back of the book, where the reader has a sense of the author’s accomplishment, and a chance to agree that the novel has earned its acceptance speech.

What’s paradoxical is that the purpose of acknowledgments pages is the opposite of self-congratulation; authors are self-deprecating, grateful, trying to pass around and share the appreciation. But I’m not sure the public expression of that gratitude serves the book itself, because of the second concern of Mind B: the revelation of the all-too-human wizard behind the curtain.

Acknowledgements pages can have the subtle psychological effect of undercutting the authority of the storyteller by being a little too revealing, by broadcasting an author’s private uncertainties about the work, self-consciousness as an artist, or by laying bare the scaffolding of craft. In this age of direct contact with fans, and Twitter and Facebook updates where personal and professional lines are ever more blurred, I think there is something to be said for a certain amount of reserve (not that I achieve that myself; I simply admire it). Many of the most revered writers are those who retain some privacy and mystery, and I don’t think that’s necessarily a coincidence.

The world of a book, after all, is a private conversation between author and reader. Acknowledgments pages break that spell by bringing in the outside world. When agents and managers start to appear in acknowledgments, things get even weirder: here comes the world of commerce and deal-making, crashing the story party.

I’m not as anti-acknowledgments as this post might make me sound. I just think it’s difficult to achieve the right balance of brevity, humility, gratitude, and self-restraint.  Don’t get me wrong; if I wrote a novel, I’m pretty sure I would be tempted to write Proustian acknowledgments, wanting to thank the village it took to rope me to my chair to work that hard, and who put their own hard work and amazing creative efforts into making the book its best possible incarnation. I put acknowledgments in my first picture book, and picture books don’t generally include acknowledgments. So I do understand the impulse, and sympathize. But I’m starting to notice acknowledgments "sticking out" from the book in a different way than they used to, and am trying to figure out why this bothers me.

How do *you* feel about acknowledgments pages in novels? Is it just me?

Henparty: A New Font on the Block


Alison Morris - December 1, 2009

While I don’t know that I qualify as a bona fide "font junkie," it is true that I’ve got a thing for typography. I’m considerably irked by book covers or ads that sport poorly chosen type, and am considerably warmed by sightings of good type, well-chosen and carefully placed.

For the past year or so I’ve been charmed by frequent sightings of Henparty, a playful font family of two created by Tart Workshop (a collaboration by artist/illustrator Crystal Kluge and type designer Stuart Sandler). It includes Henparty Sans and Henparty Serif and warrants a mention here because recent book sightings have shown that a number of designers are also under its spell.

Henparty plays a prominent role in the design for Tanja Askani’s new picture book A Friend Like You (Scholastic, December 2009). It’s the font used throughout the book in bold, oversized type, and it’s also featured on the book’s cover.

Henparty also appears as the title font on two galleys I just received: Things I Know About Love by Kate Le Vann (Egmont, June 2010) and Sunshine Picklelime by Pamela Ellen Ferguson (Random House, June 2010).

   

Have you spotted Henparty in other places? The fact that I’ve seen three sightings in such close pub date proximity makes me suspect that there will be more. Please report them here if you see them!

In the meantime I’ll be drooling over a newer Tart Workshop creation, Nelly Script

and falling for everything printed with Milk Script from Sudtipos and…

loving Slim Pickens from Alison Argento. (To name just a few!)