And Now You Know...The Rest of the Story

Sequels are the name of the game today!



Al Capone Shines My Shoes is the eagerly anticipated sequel to Gennifer Choldenko's Newbery Honor book, Al Capone Does My Shirts (and a Battle of the Books selection several years ago). Moose is still living with his family on Alcatraz Island, and Al Capone is looking for a favor from Moose. This book already has several holds on it, so if you want to read it quickly, place a hold on it.



One of the best things about attending an ALA conference is the exhibit floor. You can scoop up advanced reader copies of forthcoming titles and chat with publishing representatives about their fall/spring lineup. I went to this summer's ALA conference with two books in mind: Kate DiCamillo's The Magician's Elephant and Ann M. Martin's Everything for a Dog. The absolutely lovely Candlewick rep apologetically explained that the only way to get a *chance* at getting an ARC of The Magician's Elephant was to stand in line for DiCamillo's book signing. Which was three hours away. In the middle of a session that I really wanted to attend.

Oh, well. Lose some, win some. Undaunted, I found Feiwel & Friends's booth and voila! Everything for a Dog was there. By this time, I was *starving*, so I stood in line for 20 minutes for an overpriced sandwich and chips, took my lunch outside, and started to read Everything for a Dog.

It's not technically a sequel to A Dog's Life; just more of a companion. It's a moving story that will leave you teary-eyed at times! I adore Ann M. Martin's writing. Fans will not be disappointed, and I'm sure she'll gain new ones with her latest book.



The Benedict Society members are back in their latest adventure, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (love that the books are so popular, hate that the titles are so long!). We have a number of holds for this already, so get in line!



Whenever a parent asks for a series recommendation, I ask if his/her child has read the Peter and the Starcatchers series. If not, I lead them to its section while giving them some info on the series. The fact that a) it serves as a backstory for Peter Pan and b) that one of its authors is Dave Barry usually piques their interest. "Dave Barry? Really?" Yes, really. The other author is Ridley Pearson, known for his suspense stories. The third (and as far as I know, last, since it is billed as a trilogy, but you never know) tale, Peter and the Sword of Mercy, will be released soon.

(I guess this could have gone in the series post. Oh, well.)



Richard Peck's Grandma Dowdel character is back in A Season of Gifts. Meant as a companion novel to A Long Way From Chicago and A Year Down Yonder, A Season of Gifts is set in late 1950s Illinois.

Kate Coombs's Princess Meg is back in The Runaway Dragon, the sequel to The Runaway Princess. Laddy the dragon has run away from home, so it's up to Princess Meg and her cohorts to save him! Princess Meg is a fun character; highly recommended.

Believe it or not, there are some stand-alone titles this season. I'll tell you about them in the next post.

The Inevitable Has Arrived!

I've done it! I've gone and joined Twitter! Follow me here.

Last But Definitely Not Least....New Chapter Books

Almost to the finish line! We have so many awesome chapter books coming in (or already on the shelves) that I'm going to split up the list (and I'm not even including every single new title-just the ones that I'm really excited about and/or the ones that I think will go over like gangbusters). Today, I'm going to focus on new additions to series. Upcoming posts will focus on sequels and stand-alone titles.




We'll start with what is one of the most anticipated book of the fall season, Diary of a Wimpy Kid 4: Dog Days. I'm not sure why a book about Greg's summer vacation isn't being released until October, but it's not like DOAWK fans will really care. Anyway-if you want to read a library copy, you really want to place a hold on a copy (there are already quite a few people ahead of you).



Jennifer Holm's wildly successful Babymouse is back in her eleventh adventure: Babymouse: Dragonslayer. Babymouse finds herself on the school math team, competing for the big Golden Slide Rule. Since the Babymouse series is particularly popular with girls (although I know boys who love it, which is great), this is a really cool plotline.



Peggy Elizabeth Gifford's Moxy Maxwell is back in Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Practicing the Piano (But She Does Love Being in Recitals). The Moxy Maxwell books are fun reads; if your library branch's copy is checked out, read the previous two books if you aren't familiar with the series.



Another fun series is the Piper Reed series by Kimberly Willis Holt. In the third entry of the Piper Reed series, Piper and her friends start a party-planning business in order to purchase their coveted clubhouse. Piper Reed is perfect for readers who have "graduated" from the Junie B. Jones series.

Spiderwick Chronicles fans, take note! The third book in the Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles series, The Wyrm King is out. The Wyrm King concludes the Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles series. Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black are on a "farewell" to promote The Wyrm King (not farewell to writing forever...just to the series).



Not to be outdone, Angie Sage's fifth book in her Septimus Heap series, Syren, will be available soon. I'd go ahead and place a hold on this book; we already have a few holds, and once people realize that a new Septimus Heap book is out, it will be difficult to find on the shelves for a little while. And if you're a fantasy fan, but not familiar with Septimus Heap, give the series a try.



Cressida Cowell's Heroic Misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III series is usually a hit with readers want a truly laugh out loud read. I've known families who have listened to the CDs while on long car trips, and they said that listening to the CDs was one of the highlights of the trip! Cowell's latest book, A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons, includes a Hairy Scary Librarian as Hiccup's nemesis.

Whew! And that's *just* the new books in some of our most popular series! Happy reading!

Get 'Em While They're Hot! New Picture Books and Easy Readers

Lots of awesome stuff here, including one book that's already getting some strong Caldecott buzz.



First up in our fall line of returning heavyweights is Michael Rosen, with Bear Flies High. Bear loves the seagulls at the beach and wishes he could fly just like them. Luckily, four young friends help him to achieve that dream (look at the cover for a clue). Awwww.



Laura Vaccaro Seeger continues her Dog and Bear series with Dog and Bear: Three to Get Ready. Bear's head is stuck in a bucket! Uh oh! Will Dog be able to help? Dog and Bear are sooo silly. Great series.



I was introduced to Mem Fox's work when I took my first children's literature class in library school. My professor was a huge fan and quickly made me an admirer of Fox's picture books. The Goblin and the Empty Chair tells the tale of a goblin who has hidden himself away for years, not wanting to terrify people with his presence. You can listen to Mem Fox read the book (and see the illustrations) here. It's a beautiful story in both spirit and illustration (naturally, being the work of Leo and Diane Dillon); the family's loss is never fully explained (the empty chair and a family photograph also give clues), but the loss is obvious to adult readers (who may need to discuss with their children why the family is sad). It's a story of enormous grief, healing, and the need for fellowship and inclusion. Marvelous.



I've seen Otis described as a modern day Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. It is a story about something that was once useful but is now outdated (in this case, a tractor is replaced by a bigger tractor); the illustrations also have an old-fashioned feel to them. Otis's true worth is rediscovered when he saves the day on the farm!



Uri Shulevitz's When I Wore My Sailor Suit looks to be a fun and spirited book about a boy and his imagination. He's a modern classic author; check him out.



I cannot wait to read Lucy Cousins's Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales. Well-known for her Maisy series (it was also a show on Noggin for a while). Yummy is something altogether completely different from sweet Maisy, and I am so curious as to how our patrons will respond. Cousins has taken traditional fairy tales and retained some of the original Grimm flavor. To quote from the book's publicity: "the heroes are courageous, the villains are horrible, and the children are tasty." Parents that prefer that the Big Bad Wolf run away instead of being boiled in the Third Little Pig's boiling water and that the Little Red Hen share the bread at the end of the story with her good-for-nothing friends will likely shudder at this book; those that don't will eat this up (pun intended).



Ursula Le Guin, master storyteller of fantasy, brings us Cat Dreams, in which the dogs have run away and mice are raining from the sky. Kibbles and cream all around, and naps in catnip trees. Just what every cat dreams! All dreams must end, but reality is just as good: a warm lap in which to cuddle. Gorgeous illustrations and simple text will make this appealing to toddlers and preschoolers alike.



Sandra Boynton, the queen of board books, presents Night-Night, Little Pookie. It's time for Little Pookie's bedtime, but Little Pookie is wiiiide awake. What's Mommy to do?



When I saw our copy of Michael Rex's The Runaway Mummy, I quickly read it before we put it on our New Books shelf. A parody of The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown, this is the story of a mummy who desperately wants to escape from his mother, yet his mother keeps reassuring him (!) that she will always be there. See, folks, some people interpret the mother in The Runaway Bunny as being a rather suffocating and overbearing bunny mummy (while others see it as a reassuring tale-it's all how you take it, and isn't it grand that we can have different interpretations of books). Whether or not Rex's personal amusement while writing the story will equal the amusement kids and parents not in on the joke is unclear to me. It's busily circulating, so who knows. I get it because I know what and why he is parodying. However, it IS close to Halloween, and mummy books are cool.



Most people reading the Emberleys's There Was An Old Monster will get that the "story" is a take on "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly." A poor old monster gets a terrible stomachache when he swallows a tick. And just as any normal being would do when faced with that condition, he swallows a bat, a lizard, ants, and a menagerie of other creepy crawlies in order to assuage his discomfort. Rebecca Emberley, daughter of Ed, has proven to be a fine children's picture book author in her own right. With son Adrian providing the music for the song (available as a download), There Was an Old Monster is a three-generations collaboration.



Jon Scieszka (rhymes with chess-ka) adds Truckery Rhymes to his wildly popular Trucktown series. Scieszka and trucks...do I really need to sell it? No need, for it's flying off the shelves!





We have two new additions to two of our most popular easy reader series: Mr. Putter & Tabby Spill the Beans and Young Cam Jansen and the 100th Day of School Mystery.



Finally, Jerry Pinkey's The Lion and the Mouse has received outstanding critical praise and has already garnered significant Caldecott chatter. However, I see that none of our copies are checked out, and I know it's because it's a wordless book. Wordless books are just not big crowd-pleasers, for the most part. I understand that. 9 times out of 10, I would prefer text *and* pictures. But, wordless books are wonderful for children who want to pretend to read; they can look at the pages and talk about what's going on in the illustrations. They're also great for creative writing exercise for older students. Try this one out. You may become a fan of wordless books. It's simply outstanding.

I'm saving the biggest batch for last: chapter books!

Neat Nonfiction...Coming Right Up

Children's nonfiction. It's not just for reports anymore! From Nic Bishop's amazing photo-rich books, to engrossing narratives by Candace Fleming and Russell Freedman, to established publishers like DK and National Geographic, children's nonfiction has the power to attract the attention of both avid readers and reluctant readers. I'm going to tell you about the titles I'm particularly excited about, as well as a few new titles that are currently popular at our libraries.



Candace Fleming is a fabulous talent; not only does she write great picture books, she writes some of the most readable and exciting children's biographies that I have read. When I heard that she was working on a biography of P.T. Barnum, the great circus impresario, I knew it would be a fabulous read. Having read an advanced reader's copy of the book, I can attest that The Great and Only Barnum is as fascinating as you can imagine.



Fans of Nic Bishop are undoubtedly marking the days until his latest, Nic Bishop Marsupials, is released. If you're not familiar with his work, you'll definitely want to check out his previous books. Bishop's photographs have to be seen to be believed!



It shouldn't be any surprise that National Geographic publishes awesome children's nonfiction books. Their Face to Face series is particularly noteworthy. If their latest, Face to Face With Leopards, is not available when you next visit the library, try the other books in the series.



I saw an advanced copy of The Grand Mosque of Paris and couldn't stop admiring the beautiful illustrations. This true story of how the Grand Mosque of Paris's rector and fellow Muslims saved French Jews during the Holocaust is a very much welcomed addition to children's nonfiction on the Holocaust.





And on a completely different note, Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers fans have been scooping up our copies of Hannah Montana: The Essential Guide and Jonas: The Essential Guide. The iCarly: Essential Guide will be out in February (as of today).

Next post: children's picture books and easy readers for the fall.

The First Day of Fall, Part II

More cool YA fiction, coming right up:



Graceling fans take note: Kristin Cashore's Fire is on order and available for holds. If you missed Graceling, check it out (or if you didn't, reread it again).




If your teen reader is not a huge fan of scary stories and/or fantasy, pick up Jane Smiley's The Georges and the Jewels. It's a horse story set on a California ranch in the 1960s. I haven't read it (I've read good reviews), but I'm guessing that the main character learns a lot about life and family in this story, while tending to her horses. I, for one, am eager to read it.



I'm sure teen readers who just can't get enough of stories involving teens with tragic illnesses (don't laugh! I was one of them, and Lurlene McDaniel, with her seemingly endless supply of illnesses and accidents, remains popular...it was partly because of her books and similar books that I started volunteering at Children's Hospital in New Orleans when I was in high school) will want to scoop up Libba Bray's Going Bovine. Bray fans should know that this is far removed from her Gemma Doyle stories (which are pretty awesome). Is this the first YA book about mad cow disease? Or one involving a "video-obsessed dwarf?"



Or how about historical fiction and mermaids? I'm really curious about Kathryn Lasky's (such a great author) Daughters of the Sea: Hannah.



Imagine you're a compulsive liar. Now imagine that your boyfriend is murdered. Even if you decide to tell the truth, would anyone believe you? I've been waiting to read Liar for several months now, and hope it's as good as it sounds.



A novel centered around 19th century New York and ghosts? Freaky twins who have to deal with an ancient prophecy? Sign me up! I'm sure this will be very popular at our branches (hello, look at the cover). Borders had a *huge* display of this when I recently made a trip there; I went back to work and immediately put Prophecy of the Sisters on order!



If you think a ghost story set in 19th century New York sounds great, wait till you hear about Ruined. Try a ghost story set in New Orleans. Ruined is definitely #1 on my TBR (to-be-read) list.



Some teens gravitate toward realistic and very gritty stories. Shooting Star, focused on a high school football star who gets involved with performance-enhancing drugs, sounds very promising.



I haven't forgotten about YA "chick-lit" fans. The Sweetheart of Prosper County , set in a small Texas town, involves an independent teen living in a sleepy town, facing up to a bully, making new friends, and dealing with her widowed mother. Sounds like a great read. Love that cover, too.



Finally, Virginia author Adriana Trigiani enters the YA world with Viola in Reel Life. Although authors of adult fiction aren't always successful (creatively and otherwise) when they try their hand at YA or children's fiction, I've heard positive things about this one. It seems like an appealing read for teen girls (girl goes to boarding school, with all the trials and tribulations that follow), and apparently, there's a bit of the supernatural in it as well. Sounds like a fun read (I've read a few of her Big Stone Gap books, and loved them). Cover has the ubiquitous headless girl/woman on the cover, however. Oh, well...everything can't be perfect!

Next time, I'll tell you about the great children's nonfiction that's out or headed our way, including a fabulous book by Candace Fleming.

First Day of Fall

If you pay attention to weather forecasts on TV or the radio, the fact that this is the first day of fall probably did not escape your notice (5:18 PM, I believe, is the magic moment). I love the fall. It's probably my favorite season (followed by spring, summer, and winter). Having lived all my life in Louisiana and Texas until three years ago, I never really experienced four seasons until recently. I adore having four seasons (I don't love winter very much...I like having a few snow days, but that's about it, although I love walking to work after new snow has fallen). I love the leaves changing, the beautiful fall produce at the farmers' markets, and pumpkin bread.

Fall is also a time for new children's and YA books. With the Newbery/Caldecott/etc committees going into their final months of reading and deliberation, publishers roll out their hopefuls for these coveted awards in the fall (of course, books released in the spring and summer have won). There's also the "Best Of" lists and holiday shopping to consider! This fall in particular seems stuffed not only with promising debuts, but with new releases from some heavy-hitters in the children's literature field, including Kate DiCamillo and Richard Peck. With all the new books that are rolling out, I thought I'd highlight a few new books in our collection, as well as those that are on order (which you can reserve if you have a Fauquier County card). Today, I'll focus on new and upcoming YA titles that are currently hot at our branches, as well as upcoming releases and new books that I think deserve more attention.




Our Another Faust copies have been flying off the shelves. I had a feeling that this would happen once I heard about the book. First of all-that's a terrific YA cover. And while fabulously wealthy Manhattan teens are all the rage, this story is actually a retelling of Faust, which adds some literacy cache. Can't wait to read it.




Troy High, which has an equally teen-friendly cover, although totally opposite in spirit to Another Faust, is another retelling of a literary classic. On the surface, this is a tale of high school football rivalry, but it's actually a retelling of The Iliad. Another one I'm anxiously awaiting, just as soon as I can get my hands on a copy!




Kate Thompson returns to Ireland in Creature of the Night. Just in time for Halloween, this supernatural story is centered around a boy on a straight path to juvenile delinquency. Just be warned that the language might not be suitable for everyone.




I read "The Tell-Tale Heart" when I was in middle school, and it has got to be one of the freakiest stories I have ever read. For those in the mood for some ghoulish tales, Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Death and Dementia is just for you. Purists won't like it because the stories are a bit abridged, but it looks to be a hair-raising introduction to Poe's work, told in graphic novel form (the pictures are supposed to be intense).

(This post is getting a bit long....to be continued in the next post.)

Heavy Medal

My blog sent out a search team for me. Folks, it's been anything but routine these past few weeks or so. I'm getting back into a normal routine. I just finished reading a slew of books for Capitol Choices, and I'm (nervously) anticipating my first batch of books for Jefferson Cup (I'm on the committee this year). So it's not like I don't have anything to blog about....I'll do a recap this week.

I am happy to report that School Library Journal's Heavy Medal blog is back. For the uninitiated, Heavy Medal takes a look at the possible contenders for the 2010 Newbery Medal (balloting is super secret, so no one knows for sure which books are truly in the running until the Medalist and Honor books are announced). The bloggers are children's literature experts and are very knowledgeable about the Newbery criteria and process. Don't skip the comments-you'll miss some great discussions and debates.

Children's Literature Authors/Illustrator on Twitter

Many children's literature authors have embraced the blogosphere, and they're gaining in numbers on Twitter. Here are the authors I currently follow on Twitter:

Mitali Perkins: @mitaliperkins


Sarah Dessen: @sarahdessen

Meg Cabot: @megcabot

Sharon Creech: @ciaobellacreech

Neil Gaiman: @neilhimself

This is an impressive list of YA authors on Twitter.

This long list of authors on Twitter includes children's literature authors.

And here is a great list of picture book authors on Twitter.

You don't have to post Twitter updates in order to follow authors. You just need to sign up for an account and find them online using the @ symbol and their Twitter name.

If you want to find non-children's literature Twitter accounts, try wefollow. I've found that to be one of the better Twitter directories.

I have to confess that I find blogs much more interesting than Twitter accounts. I particularly like Mitali Perkins's style of Twittering: lots of links to interesting articles, sites, etc, posts on children's/YA literature issues, and low on the "just had a chef's salad for lunch" type of Twittering (which I find boring, no matter who it is).

Children's Literature Authors/Illustrator Blogs

Saw this on Mitali Perkins's Twitter page. Very cool.