Cool New Books for November

November's roundup of Cool New Books includes THE DRAGON'S EYE by Dugald A. Steer, the first installment in The Dragonology Chronicles --- full-length novels that fans of DRAGONOLOGY and THE DRAGONOLOGY HANDBOOK will simply devour; PROBUDITI! a mesmerizing new tale from two-time Caldecott Medalist (and creator of THE POLAR EXPRESS) Chris Van Allsburg; Susan Patron's THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY, about a 10-year-old girl who doesn't expect running away to turn into such a complicated adventure; and JEREMY FINK AND THE MEANING OF LIFE by Wendy Mass, a thought-provoking novel in which a soon-to-be adolescent receives a box that claims to hold the meaning of life.

Stand-Alone Chapter Books/Middle Grade Novels

THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ORDINARY BASIL
Wiley Miller
The Blue Sky Press/Scholastic
ISBN-10: 0439856655
ISBN-13: 9780439856652
Ages 7-10
128 pages

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Talented and well-known syndicated comic strip artist Wiley Miller presents a stunningly illustrated tale of a boy who is bored with his life and ready to break free from the lighthouse he calls home. Led off by a wonderfully eccentric professor in a hot-air-balloon ship, Basil travels to another dimension where he and a new friend try to save the fantasy city of Helios from destruction.

FROZEN BILLY
Anne Fine
Farrar Straus Giroux
ISBN-10: 0374324816
ISBN-13: 9780374324810
Ages 8-12
192 pages

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Ever since their mother was wrongfully imprisoned, Clarrie and her brother, Will, have been forced to live with their negligent uncle in England. Uncle Len works as a ventriloquist in the nearby music hall, and although he and his dummy, Frozen Billy, put on a good show, Uncle Len is battling a drinking problem. Will hatches a plan to improve the act --- by performing as Uncle Len's second dummy --- and soon they're making more money than ever. But to Clarrie's horror, just as things should be looking up, they begin to turn terribly sour.

THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY
written by Susan Patron
illustrated by Matt Phelan
Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books
ISBN-10: 1416901949
ISBN-13: 9781416901945
Ages 9-11
144 pages

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Ten-year-old Lucky doesn't expect running away to be so complicated. She has her survival-kit backpack; her brilliant dog, HMS Beagle; and a careful plan ensuring that nobody in the town of Hard Pan, California (with a population of 43) will be able to find her. Lucky thinks she has legitimate reasons for escaping: there's evidence that her French guardian is about to abandon her and probably will send her away to an orphanage that won't allow dogs. However, Lucky hadn't planned on a dust storm in the Mojave Desert. Why can't anything be easy?

JEREMY FINK AND THE MEANING OF LIFE
Wendy Mass
Little, Brown and Company
ISBN-10: 0316058297
ISBN-13: 9780316058292
Ages 8-12
304 pages

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In one month Jeremy Fink will be 13 years old. But does he have what it takes to be a teenager? His summer takes an unexpected turn when a mysterious box arrives. According to the writing on the box, it holds the meaning of life! Jeremy is supposed to open it on his birthday, but the keys are missing. Jeremy and his best friend Lizzy set off to find the keys, but when one of their efforts goes very wrong, Jeremy starts to think he'll never be able to open the box. But what he doesn't know is that there just might be other ways to find out the meaning of life.

ROSA FARM
written by Liz Wu
illustrated by Matt Phelan
Knopf
ISBN-10: 0375836810
ISBN-13: 9780375836817
Ages 7-12
96 pages

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Gallileon, a young rooster, has to crow to the sun on Sunday morning when his father is sent to compete at the county fair. After a few starts and stops, Gallileon manages to wake up the sun and the rest of the farm, but when the geese decide to play a mean trick on him, the sun disappears at high noon. Where did it go? Can Gallileon's irrepressible little sister Pepina save her brother from the ultimate humiliation?

Series Books

The Dragonology Chronicles

THE DRAGON'S EYE: The Dragonology Chronicles, Volume One
written by Dugald A. Steer
illustrated by Douglas Carrel
Candlewick Press
ISBN-10: 0763628107
ISBN-13: 9780763628109
Ages 9-up
256 pages

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In Volume One of The Dragonology Chronicles, THE DRAGON'S EYE, Daniel Cook and his sister, Beatrice, spend the summer with their parents' eccentric former tutor, Dr. Ernest Drake. Daniel and Beatrice begin to study dragonology and are soon caught up in the race to find the stolen Dragon's Eye jewel --- which has the power to reflect the true Dragon Master --- before it is taken by evil dragonologist Ignatius Crook. The two must work with Dr. Drake --- as well as many friendly dragons --- to foil Ignatius and recover the Dragon's Eye.

Picture Books

PROBUDITI!
Chris Van Allsburg
Houghton Mifflin
ISBN-10: 0618755020
ISBN-13: 9780618755028
All ages
32 pages

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For his birthday, Calvin's mother gives him two tickets to see Lomax the Magnificent, magician and hypnotist extraordinaire. Calvin and his friend Rodney are greatly impressed by Lomax's performance, and they decide to make Calvin's sister Trudy the first subject for their own hypnotizing machine. Much to the boys' surprise, the machine works. Unfortunately, though, they cannot undo what they've already done --- Trudy is stuck in a trance and convinced she's a dog! Calvin can't remember Lomax's magic word (Probuditi!) so Calvin and Rodney decide to take Trudy to the one man they know can solve their problem. But will Lomax help them?

BASHFUL BOB AND DOLEFUL DORINDA
written by Margaret Atwood
illustrated by Dusan Petricic
Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
ISBN-10: 1599900041
ISBN-13: 9781599900049
Ages 5-up
32 pages

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Bob, having been abandoned outside a beauty parlor and then raised by a bunch of dogs, never knew he was a human boy. Fortunately for Bob, dimple-faced Dorinda, a distressed damsel down on her luck, found him and taught him how to be a real boy. When a bureaucratic blunder puts the town in jeopardy, only Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda can save everyone from a dreadful disaster.

LIONEL AND THE BOOK OF BEASTS
written by E. Nesbit
illustrated by Michael Hague
HarperCollins
ISBN-10: 0688140068
ISBN-13: 9780688140069
Ages 8-up
48 pages

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When young Lionel becomes king, he is told not to open THE BOOK OF BEASTS. But how can he resist when mythical creatures spring to life right out of the pages? One page that should have remained unturned brings to life a terrifying dragon, and Lionel learns what being a king is truly about.

--- Compiled and written by Tom Donadio

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