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August 2008
August's roundup of Cool New Books includes THE DIAMOND OF DARKHOLD, the fourth and final Book of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau that finds Linda and Doon having to go back underground; KINGDOM KEEPERS II: DISNEY AT DAWN, which marks the return of our heroes from Ridley Pearson’s DISNEY AFTER DARK as they embark on another adventure to save Walt Disney World; THE NEW GIRL, the second installment in Meg Cabot's middle-grade series featuring Allie Finkle, who's starting fourth grade at a brand-new school; KENNY & THE DRAGON by Tony DiTerlizzi, a fully illustrated retelling of Kenneth Grahame's classic short story "The Reluctant Dragon"; and GROOSHAM GRANGE, a fun thriller from Anthony Horowitz in which a 13-year-old quickly discovers that his new boarding school is far from ordinary.
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Stand-Alone Chapter Books/Middle Grade Novels
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1001 CRANES
Naomi Hirahara
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780385735568
Ages 10-up
240 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
When 12-year-old Angela Kato arrives in L.A., the last thing she wants to do is spend the entire summer with her grandparents. But in the Kato family, one is never permitted to complain. Grandma Michi and Aunt Janet put Angela to work in their flower shop, folding origami and creating 1,001 crane displays for newlyweds. At first, Angela learns the trade begrudgingly. But when her folding skills improve and her relationships with family and friends grow, Angela is able to cope with her troubles, especially her parents' impending divorce.
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BILLY BONES: A Tale from the Secrets Closet
Christopher Lincoln
Little, Brown for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780316014731
Ages 8-12
304 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Deep within High Manners Manor, Billy and his skeleton parents live in the Secrets Closet, where they're in charge of filing all the secrets and lies of the unscrupulous Biglum family. Then Billy meets Millicent, Sir Biglum's niece who has been recently orphaned. Together, Billy and Millicent encounter ghosts and other uncanny creatures as they explore each other's worlds and uncover the biggest secret of all: Billy was once a Biglum.
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GO LONG!
written by Tiki & Ronde Barber, with Paul Mantell
Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416936190
Ages 8-12
160 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
It's Tiki and Ronde's second year on their junior high school football team. The eighth-grade season is here, and the boys have come together as a team. Now key starters, Tiki and Ronde are ready for a great season, and with hard work and determination, maybe they will even go all the way to the State Championship. But when Coach Spangler announces that he has been asked to move up to the high school team, and Mr. Wheeler, the science teacher, will be named head coach, the season seems over before it begins.
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KENNY & THE DRAGON
Tony DiTerlizzi
Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416939771
Ages 8-12
160 pages
• Read a Review & Excerpt
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
What do you do when your new best buddy has been designated a scourge by the community and marked for imminent extermination? Just ask Kenny Rabbit. When the simple folks in the sleepy little village of Roundbrook catch wind that there's a dragon running loose in the countryside, they get the wrong idea and the stage is set for a fight to the death. So it's up to Kenny to give his neighbors front-row seats to one of the best-known battles in history --- the legendary showdown between St. George and the dragon --- without losing a friend in the fray.
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UP AND DOWN THE SCRATCHY MOUNTAINS
Laurel Snyder
Random House
ISBN: 9780375847196
Ages 7-11
256 pages
• Read a Review
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Until recently, Lucy and her best friend, Wynston, spent their days paddling in the river, picking blackberries and teasing each other mercilessly. But now, King Desmond has insisted that Wynston devote every spare second to ruby-shining and princess-finding. Lucy feels left out. So she sets off for the Scratchy Mountains to solve the mystery of her missing mother. When Wynston discovers that Lucy is gone, he tears after her, and together they embark on a series of strange and wonderful adventures.
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Series Books/Sequels
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Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls
THE NEW GIRL: Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls, Book 2
Meg Cabot
Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780545040495
Ages 8-12
240 pages
• Read a Review
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Allie is very excited for her first day of school at Pine Heights Elementary. She is going to be in the same class as her new friends Erica, Caroline and Sophie, and she loves her new teacher, pretty and stylish Mrs. Hunter. Plus, she's getting a new kitten --- the first pick of showcat Lady Serena Archibald's litter. There is only one problem in Allie's perfect new life: one of the girls in Allie's new class, Rosemary, doesn't like her. In fact, Rosemary says she's going to beat Allie up after school!
Everyone has an opinion on how Allie should handle the situation: Erica thinks she should tell Mrs. Hunter. Caroline thinks Allie should handle it with nonviolent conflict resolution. Dad teaches Allie how to fight, while Uncle Jay says you have to psych out your opponent. How can Allie tell who's right?
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Amelia Bedelia
AMELIA BEDELIA TALKS TURKEY
written by Herman Parish
illustrated by Lynn Sweat
Greenwillow Books
ISBN: 9780060843526
Ages 6-10
64 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
When Amelia Bedelia is put in charge of the school Thanksgiving pageant, things are bound to get a little mixed up. After all, she thinks roles are a type of bread, the dressing room is where the turkey's stuffing goes, and that a cast party happens after you've followed a well-wisher's command to "break a leg!" Will Amelia Bedelia bring the house down…literally?
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Books of Ember
THE DIAMOND OF DARKHOLD: The Fourth Book of Ember
Jeanne DuPrau
Random House
ISBN: 9780375855719
Ages 8-12
304 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
It’s been several months since Lina and Doon escaped the dying city of Ember and, along with the rest of their people, joined the town of Sparks. Now, struggling through the harsh winter above ground, they find an unusual book. Torn up and missing most of its pages, it alludes to a mysterious device from before the Disaster, which they believe is still in Ember. Together, Lina and Doon must go back underground to retrieve what was lost and bring light to a dark world.
In the fourth Book of Ember, bestselling author Jeanne DuPrau juxtaposes yet another action-packed adventure with powerful themes about hope, learning and the search for truth.
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Groosham Grange
GROOSHAM GRANGE
Anthony Horowitz
Philomel Books
ISBN: 9780399250613
Ages 10-14
192 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Sent to Groosham Grange as a last resort by his frustrated parents, 13-year-old David Eliot quickly discovers that his new boarding school is very peculiar. New students are made to sign their names in blood, the French teacher cancels classes on days there's a full moon, and there are chilling secrets hidden in the assistant headmaster's office. What's the meaning of the black rings everyone wears? Where do the other pupils vanish to at night? Suddenly, David's biggest problem isn't staying in school --- it's getting out alive.
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The Joy of Spooking
FIENDISH DEEDS: The Joy of Spooking, Book One
P. J. Bracegirdle
Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416934165
Ages 8-12
192 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Joy Wells is a proud resident of Spooking, the terrible town at the top of the hideous hill. At the bottom of the hill is Darlington, a plastic suburban "paradise" where Joy and her brother go to school. When the mayor of Darlington announces that a water park is going to be constructed over the Spooking bog, Joy is horrified. She decides that she has to save the mysterious bog and the endangered species in it. Too bad that someone is determined to stop her!
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The Kingdom Keepers
KINGDOM KEEPERS II: DISNEY AT DAWN
Ridley Pearson
Disney Editions/Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN: 9781423103653
Ages 10-up
384 pages
• Read a Review & Excerpt
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
It's supposed to be a happy day at the Magic Kingdom --- the return of the teenaged holographic hosts. But things go very wrong when a sudden lightning storm disrupts the celebration, and Amanda's mysterious sister, Jez, disappears. The only clue is the sighting of a wild monkey in the Magic Kingdom during the storm. The mystery deepens as Finn is contacted by Wayne, an old man he hasn't heard from in months. Wayne tells Finn that there's trouble at the Animal Kingdom: the evil Overtakers have gained control of one of the computer servers that will be used to operate Daylight Holographic Imaging there. That means that if any of the holographic hosts fall asleep, they will go into comas --- permanently.
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Nightmare Academy
MONSTER MADNESS: Nightmare Academy #2
Dean Lorey
HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780061693717
Ages 10-up
320 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
We're under attack! The last of the mega-monsters known as the Named are fighting their way into our world, and only a mysterious being known as the Guardian can help --- but the Guardian is dying. To save him, Charlie Benjamin and his friends from the Nightmare Academy must journey into the heart of a Hydra cave, through the spooky Bermuda Triangle graveyard, and across the treacherous, monster-filled San Diego Zoo. |
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The Pain & the Great One
GOING, GOING, GONE! WITH THE PAIN & THE GREAT ONE
written by Judy Blume
illustrated by James Stevenson
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780385733076
Ages 5-9
128 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
The Pain and the Great One are going places! In these new stories the kids are on the go --- the Pain needs a trip to the emergency room; the family goes to the mall and not everyone stays together; the kids visit a county fair and want to ride the Super Slide; and a beach outing includes a boogie board. GOING, GOING, GONE! provides lots more action and adventure for the dynamic duo who never stay still.
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Sequel to MOXY MAXWELL DOES NOT LOVE STUART LITTLE:
MOXY MAXWELL DOES NOT LOVE WRITING THANK-YOU NOTES
written by Peggy Gifford
illustrated by Valorie Fisher
Schwartz & Wade Books/Random House
ISBN: 9780375842702
Ages 7-11
176 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
It isn’t as though Moxy isn’t grateful for her Christmas presents. She is. She’s just not thrilled that she has to write a thank-you note for each one by tomorrow…or she will not be allowed to fly to Hollywood to attend a starstudded bash with the father she hasn’t seen in three years. And writing thank-you notes is not something that a world-class Creative Type looks forward to doing. But it is more than writing thank-you notes that finally prevents Moxy from taking her trip. When her father cancels at the last minute, Moxy is forced to deal with the reality of a situation she doesn’t want to accept, and can’t change.
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Picture Books
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THE PET DRAGON: A Story about Adventure, Friendship, and Chinese Characters
written and illustrated by Christoph Niemann
Greenwillow Books
ISBN: 9780061577765
Ages 4-8
40 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
When Lin's pet dragon, caged for bad behavor, escapes back into the wild, Lin is heartbroken and goes on a journey to find him. She faces numerous obstacles, and one very mysterious and magical witch. Will Lin ultimately be reunited with her best friend?
THE PET DRAGON is a playful introduction to the fascinating world of Chinese language and culture --- and a terrific story to share with children everywhere.
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PRESIDENT PENNYBAKER
written by Kate Feiffer
illustrated by Diane Goode
Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416913542
Ages 4-8
32 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Luke Pennybaker is convinced that his life is unfair. Each and every day he has to clean his room, brush his teeth and feed the fish. He's not even allowed to watch television when he wants to. He thinks that every day should be like his birthday --- with presents and ice cream and cake. So Luke makes up his mind. He will run for president and his dog, Lily, will be his running mate. Together they will make life fair for kids. But how can a boy and his dog win a national presidential race?
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TURTLE'S PENGUIN DAY
written and illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev
Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780375843747
Ages 5-8
40 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Turtle is so excited by the book about penguins that his dad reads him at bedtime that he decides he wants to be a penguin. So the next morning he creates a penguin costume, grabs his book and heads for the school bus. Turtle shows his book to his teacher, and all day long he and his classmates do as the penguins do --- they slide down the slide on their bellies during recess, form a waddling conga line at music time and snack on goldfish crackers. Turtle thinks he'd like to be a penguin every day. But, that night, his dad has a new book to read --- and this one is all about monkeys!
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--- Compiled and written by Tom Donadio
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