Monday, May 13, 2013

Entertaining New Books for Young Readers



Saige Paints the Sky by Jessie Haas

Painting in her grandmother’s studio and riding her favorite horse, Georgia, helps fourth-grader Saige cope with missing Mimi and sparks an idea for funding the school art program, but more creativity will be needed to keep Georgia from being sold.
 
Bramble and Maggie: Horse Meets Girl by Jessie Haas

Come along for a spirited ride as Bramble - a horse with interesting "little ways"- and her devoted girl, Maggie, make their debut in this inviting early reader.

Maggie wants a pony to ride and take care of, and to prepare she's been reading a big book on horse care. Meanwhile, Bramble is bored with giving riding lessons and walking in circles. She's looking for just the right person to take her away from her routine. Is it a perfect match? Maggie loves Bramble as soon as she sees her, but there are some things Bramble has to be sure of. 


Will Maggie let Bramble venture into new places? Will she protect Bramble from strange objects in the yard? Will she, most importantly, know when Bramble needs her undivided attention? This charming and funny early reader is an ideal match for young animal lovers and anyone who has ever longed for a friend who truly understands.

The Girl with the Destructo Touch by Thomas Sniegoski
Billy Hooten, Owlboy Series Book Two

One day, using the magical passage that will take him to Monstros City, Billy forgets to close the door to the crypt, and is followed by . . . Victoria. Oh, no. Victoria is Billy's neighbor, his constant shadow, and a huge pain in the butt. Worse, Monstros City seems to exaggerate the traits people have in Bradbury—and Victoria arrives in Monstros with something that Billy and Archebold name the Destructo Touch. 

Owlboy is supposed to protect Monstros City—but has he just introduced the agent of its destruction?
 
Billy Hooten, Owlboy by Thomas Sniegoski
Billy Hooten, Owlboy Series Book One

Billy Hooten is a weird kid. He gets beat up a lot, and spends the rest of his time doggedly trying to build a robot. One day, Billy Hooten hears a cry for help coming from the cemetery that borders his backyard. Against his better judgment, he runs toward it. And after that, everything changes for Billy Hooten. Because Billy Hooten, you see, is Owlboy. 

A quickthinking, goggle-and-feather-wearing superhero who protects the bizarre and monstrous citizens of Monstros City, a city that exists under Billy's hometown of Bradbury, Massachusetts. But is Billy truly worthy of the moniker Owlboy?
 
The Book of Lies by James Moloney
Book Trilogy Book One

The newest boy at Mrs. Timmins's Home for Orphans and Foundlings awakes at first light with no name and no memory. But a strange girl who hides among the shadows of the orphanage tells him that a mysterious wizard's creation, the Book of Lies, holds the answers, and then gives him one clue: "Your name is Marcel."

With that knowledge, and the help of three new friends, Marcel begins a quest to find the truth about his real identity--a truth that is hidden in the Book of Lies. As Marcel learns more about his past, he realizes that truth can change at any moment and can be manipulated by anyone, and he begins to wonder if the old book's so-called magical truth might be the greatest lie of all.

 
I, Lorelei by Yeardley Smith

Lorelei Connelly is no ordinary eleven-year-old. She's practical and a forward thinker. When her favorite cat, Mud, dies, she starts a journal to him, chronicling her daily life as a sixth grader so that he can continue to follow her rise to fame and fortune as a beloved actress, celebrated chef, and/or bestselling author. She figures it's also a good way to make sure her future biographers don't get anything wrong about her. 

But when her parents' marriage starts to unravel, Lorelei's lighthearted daily log becomes a poignant and defiantly humorous account of a family in distress as Lorelei grapples with the ground shifting under her feet.

Starcross by Philip Reeve
Larklight Series Book Two

Art, Myrtle and their mother accept the kind invitation of a holiday to an up-and-coming asteroid resort. But they set out with visions of rest and relaxation only to be sucked into a dastardly plot involving spies, time travel, and mind-altering clothing! Before their adventures are out, they'll sail an aether-ship amid asteroid-strewn seas, dodge demonic puppets, and learn wisdom from an unlikely ally: the Moobs! 

With faster-than-light plot twists and enough tongue-in-cheek vim and vigor to keep a galaxy in laughter, this dynamic sequel to Larklight is a tour de force of the most intergalactic kind.

Under the Green Hill by Laura Sullivan

Meg and her siblings have been sent to the English countryside for the summer to stay with elderly relatives. The children are looking forward to exploring the ancient mansion and perhaps discovering a musty old attic or two filled with treasure, but never in their wildest dreams did they expect to find themselves in the middle of a fairy war.

When Rowan pledges to fight for the beautiful fairy queen, Meg is desperate to save her brother. But the Midsummer War is far more than a battle between mythic creatures: Everything that lives depends on it. How can Meg choose between family and the fate of the very land itself? 


The Monsters of Morley Manor: a Madcap Adventure by Bruce Coville

What do you get when you mix together--werewolves, vampires, mad scientists, wizards, aliens, alternate dimensions, tiny people, Transylvania, ancient curses, giant frogs, evil clones, ghosts, lawyers, shape-changers, fallen angels, journeys through hell, zombie warriors, body snatchers, and two clever kids in whose hands rests the fate of Earth?

The craziest adventure-comedy-fantasy-mystery from bestselling novelist Bruce Coville, that's what.


The Big One-Oh by Dean Pitchford

Charley Maplewood has never been one for parties? that would require friends, which he doesn?t have. But now that he?s turning ten?the big oneoh? he decides to throw a birthday party for himself. Of course things don?t work out as he plans. In trying to make friends, he ends up inviting the class bully, and that?s before he ruins the cake and sets the garage on fire. 

Will Charley be able to pull it together before the big one-oh . . . becomes the big OH-NO?

The Wyvern’s Treasure by R.L. LaFevers
Nathaniel Fludd Beastologist Series Book Three

After tangling with the deadly basilisk, Nathaniel Fludd is glad to return to England with his Aunt Phil. But someone has ransacked their home, and their best suspect is the sinister man who's been trying to steal the Book of Beasts.

Before Nate and Aunt Phil can find the culprit, they are called to Welsh countryside. The wyverns (giant dragons) are in an uproar. Could the same man who ransacked the Fludd house be behind the rift with the wyverns? And just what does he want with The Book of Beasts? But before Nate can solve that mystery, he must calm the dragons before it's too late. It's just another day at work for the world's youngest beastologist!

 
The Seige by Kathryn Lasky
Guardians of Ga'Hoole Series Book Four

Tensions erupt in the owl kingdom when the forces of evil wage war against the protectors of good. Enraged by his clash with Soren and driven by an all-consuming desire for power, Kludd and his group, the Pure Ones, launch an attack upon the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. The noble owls who live there must fight fiercely to protect their resources and defend their honor.

Meanwhile, Soren is called upon by the elders of the Great Tree to lead a mission back to the one place he thought he'd never see again-St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. He and his crew will have to enter St. Aggie's as spies, then leave unnoticed once their work is done. If peace is to be restored, he must do it again.


The Rescue by Kathryn Lasky
Guardians of Ga'Hoole Series Book Three

Ever since Soren was kidnapped and taken to the St. Aegolius School for Orphaned Owls, he has longed to see his sister, Eglantine, again. Now Eglantine is back in Soren's life, but she's been through an ordeal too terrible for words. And Ezylryb, Soren's mentor, has disappeared. Deep within Soren's gizzard, something more powerful than knowledge tells him there's a connection between these mysterious events.

In order to rescue Ezylryb, Soren must embark upon a perilous quest. It will bring him face-to-face with a force more dangerous than anything the rulers of St. Aggie's could have devised-and a truth that threatens to destroy the owl kingdom.

 
Mutant Mammoths of Montana by Jonathan Rand
American Chillers Series Book Twenty

Beth Farris and her brother, Reese, are camping with their parents in Montana's Glacier National Park. But when the pair set out together on a short hike, they find strange footprints in the earth . . . footprints far bigger than any normal creature could have made.

What kind of animal could have made such enormous tracks?

Beth and Reese follow the footprints into the mountains. When the ground suddenly begins to tremble, they begin to wonder if they'd done the right thing by following the tracks. Further, when they see an enormous, hideous beast emerge from the forest, they know they're in for a fight for their lives . . . and fight they must win to survive. But how can two ordinary kids from Montana defend themselves against such gigantic, mutated monsters?

Oklahoma Outbreak by Jonathan Rand
American Chillers Series Book Twenty Six

Everyone knows cooties don't really exist. Or do they? Tricia, Carlos and Tommy find out in a horrifying way that cooties are for real. Tiny, vicious insects whose bite turns humans into living, bloodthirsty zombies!
 
Oregon Oceanauts by Jonathan Rand
American Chillers Series Book Twenty Nine

Jacob and Shannon Brenner have a new favorite hobby: scuba diving. But a suken submarine at the bottom of the sea is now bringin about and environmental tradgedy. Can the young divers save the crippled sub and the impending eco-disaster?