Ten Rules for Living With My Sister
Why I'm looking forward to it: It's an Ann M. Martin novel about a sister relationship from the nine year old little sister's perspective. It's already received a starred review from Publishers Weekly (praising Martin's "credible characterizations, on-the-nail humor, and well-observed family dynamics") and excellent reviews from other sources.
13 Gifts
Why I'm looking forward to it: Wendy Mass is a fantastic writer, and she's popular with tween girls. School Library Journal is among its admirers, noting that "[B]y fusing middle-school drama with just a sprinkle of magic and mystery, Mass provides an optimistic and and genuine addition to the coming-of-age genre."
The Astonishing Secret Of Awesome Man
Why I'm looking forward to this book: Looks like an action-packed "superhero" story with a moral that's not overly preachy.
The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories
Why I'm looking forward to it: Frankly, I think calling these "lost stories" is rather pushing it. When I heard (about a year ago) that a collection of "lost" Dr. Seuss stories was being published, I imagined that a bunch of looseleaf papers were discovered by a nephew twice removed or something like that. Actually, these stories were published in various publications during the 1950s and were never found in book form until now (some were recorded). Not really lost, in my opinion, but the stories will be new to the vast majority of people (including me). And that's cool.
Breadcrumbs
Why I'm looking forward to it: This is a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen. I love expanded fairy tales (Jane Yolen has one coming out in November; it's a Snow White story set in 1940s West Virginia...wow!), and this is getting terrific reviews.
City of Orphans
Why I'm looking forward to it: It's a mystery by Avi set in 1890s New York. I'm not a fan of everything that Avi has written, but I usually enjoy his historical fiction books. That's why! Starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly.
Cows to the Rescue
Why I'm looking forward to it: Himmelman's other "--To the Rescue" books are hilarious. Let's hope that he won't run this clever idea into the ground.
Every Thing On It: Poems and Drawings
Why I'm looking forward to it: Okay, here's your honest-to-goodness "never before seen" book. Shel Silverstein's family selected these poems and drawings from his archive (so, not lost, but they're not advertising them as "lost"). The reviews have been very positive; it sounds like classic Silverstein, with a good mixture of silly and poignancy (particularly the final poem).
Wisdom's Kiss
Why I'm looking forward to it: One of my favorite YA authors. I love the fact that Catherine Gilbert Murdock writes about football-playing girls and princesses (not in the same book). Obviously, this is a princess-y book. However, some of the reviews make me wonder if this is a bit too clever for its own good (she uses a variety of devices through which to tell the story: diaries, letters, a play, encyclopedia entry, etc). We'll see.
There's a lot that I've left out and that I'm planning on highlighting once I've read them. Must read faster!
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2 comments:
Superheroes are a hard sell in middle school, and I finally had to deaccession Summerland but the other books look good.
A nice bunch of stuff to look forward to here. I love Dr Seuss - still (at 56 years old)
I'm always looking for good books for teen boys to encourage them to read.
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