Cool New Books for September
Ages 9 - 12:
 CAM JANSEN AND THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL MYSTERY (#22)
by David Adler
illustrated by Susanna Natti
Viking
ISBN: 0670035750
Ages 7-12
It's the first day of school and Cam and her friend Eric can't wait to meet their new fifth grade teacher. Only their day turns out to be more exciting than they ever expected. First their school bus gets stuck in traffic and they have to walk to school. Then they see a car crashed into a tree. And then their new teacher is taken away by the police!
 HOOT
by Carl Hiaasen
Knopf
ISBN: 0375821813
Ages 10 and up
Roy Eberhardt is the new kid in school and having a tough time making friends. To make matters worse, the school bully has zeroed in on Roy and is making his life miserable. But Roy is about to have the adventure of his life when he stumbles into the middle of an ecological mystery surrounding some endangered miniature owls who are being threatened by a construction company. Readers will be in hysterics over alligators in portable potties and spray painted cop cars as Hiaasen brings his wacky style of humor to a novel for a younger audience.
 KEEPER OF THE DOVES
by Betsy Byars
Viking
ISBN: 0670035769
Ages 9-12
For aspiring writer Amen McBee, life at the end of the nineteenth century with her four older sisters is full of adventure. There are visits from Grandmama, who teaches them how to use the new Kodak cameras, and plenty of places to explore on the family estate. And there's the strange old man who lives in the woods and keeps a flock of trained doves. Amen is warned by her sisters not to trust him, but her father disagrees. When tragedy interrupts their idyllic southern life, there are troubling questions raised about the eccentric Mr. Tominski.
 REVENGE OF THE WHALE: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex
by Nathaniel Philbrick
Putnam
ISBN: 039923795X
Ages 10 and up
Adapted from the award winning adult novel, IN THE HEART OF THE SEA, it's the true story of tragedy and survival on the high seas when an enraged sperm whale rammed a whaling boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in the 19th century. The harrowing tale of the few men who managed to live until rescued became the basis of Herman Melville's classic tale, MOBY DICK.
 THE ROAD FROM ROXBURY
Little House, The Charlotte Years
by Melissa Wiley
illustrated by Dan Andreasen
HarperCollins
ISBN: 006440739X
The war of 1812 is over, and 7-year-old Charlotte thinks life in Roxbury is back to normal. But soon Will and Lucy move in with their baby, and Charlotte has a new teacher at school. Will her life ever be the same again? This is the third book in the series about Charlotte Tucker, the little girl who would grow up to be Laura Ingalls Wilder's grandmother.
 SO YOU WANT TO BE AN INVENTOR?
by Judith St. George
illustrated by David Small
Philomel
ISBN: 0399235930
All Ages
The Caldecott Medal-winning team who created SO YOU WANT TO BE PRESIDENT?, are back with another spirited and witty look at history. This book focuses on the inventors like Edison, Franklin and Eli Whitney as well as lesser known geniuses. From lightbulbs to automobiles to satellite communications, readers will be inspired to dream up their own amazing inventions!
 THIS GUM FOR HIRE: A Chet Gecko Mystery
by Bruce Hale
Harcourt
ISBN: 0152024913
Ages 9-12
Kidnapped! One by one, the members of Emerson Hicky's football team are disappearing and Chet Gecko's old nemesis, Herman the Gila Monster, is the number one suspect. But Herman says he's innocent and tells Chet to clear his (not quite) good name --- or else!
 TRISS: A Tale from Redwall
Redwall Series
by Brian Jacques
Philomel
ISBN: 0399237232
Ages 9-12
The fifteenth Redwall adventure introduces a new heroine --- Triss, the squirrelmaid --- who has suffered the tyranny of the evil ferret king King Agarnu and his daughter, Princess Kurda. But with the help of her fellow slaves, Shogg the otter and Welfo the hedgehog, Triss plans and executes a daring escape by sea. Meanwhile, in Mossflower forest, a new mystery has arisen: a pair of wandering Dibbuns has accidentally discovered what may be the long-lost secret entrance to Brockhall --- original home of the warrior badgers.
 WHEN PIRATES CAME TO BROOKLYN
by Phyllis Shalant
Putnam
ISBN: 0525469206
Ages 9-12
Lee Bloom is drawn to the house on Avenue J by mysterious voices from behind the rose trellis. It isn't long before the girl who lives there, Polly Burke, invites Lee in for imaginary games with Polly's imaginary friend, Peter Pan. The newfound friends join forces to fight the pirates who are coming by cloudship galleon, but Lee and Polly soon learn that not all the battles they face in Brooklyn, 1959, are imaginary. Religious and cultural differences between their families threaten to destroy their friendship.
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Ages 4 - 8:
 ALL THE WAY TO LHASA: A Tale From Tibet
by Barbara Helen Berger
Philomel
ISBN: 0399233873
Ages 4-8
In this charming tale a young boy and his yak bravely overcome all odds to get to Lhasa. The story's wisdom --- the same simple message found in the familiar fable of The Tortoise and The Hare --- will inspire children of any age to keep reaching for their dreams and goals.
 THE DAY MY RUNNY NOSE RAN AWAY
by Jason Eaton
illustrated by Ethan Long
Dutton
ISBN: 0525470131
Ages 4-8
One morning, Jason wakes up to find something missing --- his nose! According to a note left on his pillow, the nose ran off in protest. Will he convince his nose to get back on his face? Don't count on it --- only the unexpected happens in this fabulously funny fantasy.
 DEAR MRS. LARUE: Letters From Obedience School
by Mark Teague
Scholastic
ISBN: 0439206634
Ages 4-8
After terrorizing the neighbor's cat, among other naughty dog tricks, Ike is sent to obedience school by his owner, Mrs. LaRue. Ike writes letters home, painting a grim picture of life at the school (highly exaggerated, of course!) and begging to be released from the Canine Academy. Readers will enjoy the illustrations depicting real life at obedience school versus Ike's imaginative version.
 FRIGHTFUL'S DAUGHTER
by Jean Craighead George
Dutton
ISBN: 0525469079
Ages 4-8
Sam Gribley and his falcon, Frightful, return in a new picture book for younger readers. The My Side of the Mountain trilogy was written for 9 - 12 year olds, but now this newest story will introduce younger readers to Jean Craighead George and her bestselling wilderness series.
 KATIE'S WISH
by Barbara Shook Hazen
illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully
Dial
ISBN: 0803724780
Ages 4-8
Katie can't stand to look at another plain old potato, so she wishes them away. Soon after, a rot begins to spread across the fields, the potato crops wither, people get sick and Katie begins to believe she's at fault. Inspired by her own heritage, Barbara Shook Hazen has spun this poignant tale of the Irish potato famine.
 PLANTZILLA
by Jerdine Nolen
illustrated by David Catrow
Harcourt
ISBN: 0152024123
Ages 4-8
Mortimer Henryson loves Plantzilla, the plant he's been taking care of all year in his third-grade classroom. But when he takes Plantzilla home for summer vacation, life in the Henryson household takes a strange turn. A pot roast disappears, then steaks from the grill --- and where has Mrs. Henryson's prize Chihuahua gone?
 ROSA RAPOSA
F. Isabel Campoy
illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey
Harcourt
ISBN: 0152021612
Ages 4-8
Jaguar, the sharp-toothed, beady-eyed bully, is determined to eat Rosa Raposa for dinner, but Rosa is clever and very imaginative. Before the hilarious tale is finished, Rosa may just make Jaguar look like the biggest fool in the forest.
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