You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August 2009.
Summer has a way of robbing me of my natural book giving away instincts. Time to get back in tune with nature. This time around there is one book up for grabs. If you’re interested in snagging it, contact me on Twitter, or send an email to scopenotes@gmail.com before 11:59 pm on Tuesday night. If I receive your message, your name gets tossed into my hand-crafted felt stovepipe hat. The winner will be fished out soon thereafter. Let’s take a look at the title in question:
NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley. ARC.
Best of luck!
(Top Image: ‘book wall‘
www.flickr.com/photos/69393384@N00/2136618122)
A Step-by-Step Review
Step 1 – Get your hands on this book.
You might check it out from a library, you might find it in a book store, maybe you see it at a friend’s house – no matter the avenue, you should take a look.
Step 2 – Find out what’s inside.
Open it up, check out the table of contents. Highly visual step-by-step guides to more activities than you can shake a stick at. Contemplating a fake tatoo? Page 114. Considering boogie boarding? You’re covered. You’ll likely find a whole new batch of thing you want to try.
Step 3 – Learn how to use it.
Since words are at a minimum, symbols, images, and icons do much of the talking. Show Off begins with a guide to describe how to make sense of it all.
Step 4 – Examine the illustrations.
The artwork is bright and modern. Page layouts are varied, adding visual interest. They clearly show, so fewer words are needed to tell.
Step 5 – Dive in.
Broken into broad sections with titles like Amaze, Create, and Explore, there is plenty to learn. The difficulty level of the activities covered – from the simplicity of shadow puppets to the more advanced “cereal box speakers”, is nicely varied.
Step 7 – Burn the receipt (if purchased).
You ain’t gonna need it. Add to your collection and alert reluctant readers accordingly.
Check out the Nonfiction Monday roundup at SimplyScience Blog.
Find this book at your local library with WorldCat.
When I stumble upon old children’s book covers, my eyes have a tendency to glaze over and there is a nearly reflexive loss of interest. I am uncontrollably new-school in this way. It’s embarrassing.
However, there is something about this Flickr set of children’s books from 1860-1920 that did the opposite. Some of these titles and covers I could see coming out today (Chicken World), and others which are showing their age (uh, see above).
Click the image below to view the entire set of 20.
Don’t tell my seersucker shorts, but Fall will soon be gracing us with it’s cooler temps, apples, apple cider, apple flavored doughnut holes, and other apple related consumables. It’s also a time when I crack open publisher catalogs and pick out the upcoming releases that catch my eye. I’ll likely review some of these in the coming months.
A few notes before diving in:
1. This list is subjective. Since I work with students K-6th grade, that’s the focus. It is simply a compilation of titles that strike this 28 year old elementary school librarian as interesting.
2. It’s mostly major publishers. That whole “24 hours in a day” rule didn’t allow me to peruse every fall catalog out there, so I hit the big ones.
3. If a book’s on the list, it doesn’t mean I like it. These are just titles that, in my opinion, have potential.
Now let’s get down to business:
Abrams Books for Young Readers
Monster Sleepover by Scott Beck. (Oct. 1)
I was a big fan of Beck’s last title, Happy Birthday Monster! (100 Scope Notes review), so I was excited to see this follow-up.
The Disappearance of Dave Warthog: The 323 Detective Agency by Fiona Robinson. (Out Now)
If you know me than you know that I’m an absolute sucker for graphic novels for younger readers. That’s what this is. I’m in.
John Brown: His Fight for Freedom by John Hendrix. (Oct. 1)
Cover look a bit familiar? John Hendrix illustrated last year’s outstanding Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek (100 Scope Notes review) and the man’s style has a way of jumping out at you. Looking forward to him taking on another historical figure. You can see the evolution of this cover at designer Chad W. Beckerman’s blog Mishaps and Adventures – interesting stuff.
Candlewick Press
The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen. (Sept. 22)
You likely know Van Dusen’s work in the Mercy Watson series or in his books, If I Built a Car and A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee. All of those are ace in my book, so I’m interested to see what the man has next. Little known fact – this is the first book Van Dusen has written that has a villain. I’m intrigued.
Oscar and the Bird by Geoff Waring. (Sept. 22)
I’ve talked about it before – nonfiction for the youngest of readers is an oft-neglected category that I’ll always be on the lookout for. Oscar and the Bird is part of the new “A Start with Science” series. This one’s about electricity.
The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan. (Sept. 8)
Matt Phelan is probably best known for his illustrations in Newbery winner The Higher Power of Lucky. From all the advance praise I’m hearing about this, his first graphic novel, I think that’s about to change.
Show Off by Sarah Hines Stephens and Bethany Mann. (Sept. 22)
This one is adapted from bestseller for adults, Show Me How. It gives step by step instructions for how to do a wide variety of things. I read this one already and will be reviewing it soon. It is as if the book were spun from pure reluctant reader gold.
The King of Quizzical Island by Gordon Snell. Illustrated by David McKee. (Sept. 7)
If David McKee is involved, I’m interested. Author/ilustrator of the classic Elmer, McKee teams up here with Gordon Snell in a book about a king setting out for the edge of the world. I like the looks of it.
Chronicle Books
The Story of Snow by Mark Cassino. (Oct. 7)
I think I first saw this one in a Fuse #8 Production post. 100 Scope Notes Research Department says “That’s affirmative“. Look, Michigan gets a lot of snow. This book should help explain it to kids. Plus I hear Snowflake Bentley is happy to have some company.
Delacorte
Andrew North Blows Up the World by Adam Selzer. (Sept. 8)
A family of spies, a graphing calculator that is really a communication device. Sounds good all around.
Dial
The Super Hungry Dinosaur by Martin Waddell. Illustrated by Leonie Lord. (Sept. 3)
Waddell’s Owl Babies is a read-aloud classic in my book. Try it out with your K-1st graders. Now that he’s tackling dinosaurs, I want to see the results.
DK
109 Forgotten American Heroes. (Oct. 5)
I’ve watched enough “One Hit Wonders” shows to know that I like things that have been forgotten about. While I’m not sure if there will be anything as amazing as At this Moment by Billy Vera & The Beaters in this book, there probably will be some amazing stories that deserve to be told.
How to be a Genius. (Oct. 5)
All about the brain, I’m anxious to see how DK covers a subject that I haven’t seen covered in a while.
Dutton
Mysterious Messages: A History of Codes and Ciphers by Gary Blackwood. (Oct. 29)
Are there kids out there that don’t like secret codes? Can’t say I know any. This history of codes looks to be a winner.
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
A Family Secret by Eric Heuvel. (Oct. 13)
A graphic novel dealing with the Holocaust. A secret hidden for years. Classroom connections. Count me in.
Harper Collins
Harry and Horsie by Katie Van Kamp. Illustrated by Lincoln Agnew. (Out Now)
I noticed this one as a Fall 2009 Kid’s Indie Next Pick (a list I would encourage everyone to take a look at). The old meets new style of illustration is alluring, to be sure. I want to read this if for no other reason than to be able to describe something as “modern-retro”. Little known fact – this book was written by the former nanny of David Letterman, who has a son named Harry. coincidence? Probably not. In USA Today, Letterman calls it “an amazing read”.
Archie and the Pirates by Marc Rosenthal. (Sept. 29)
I know Rosenthal from 2007′s Phooey!. Interested to see what else he has up his sleeve.
Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children by Conn Iggulden and Lizzy Duncan. (Oct. 6)
Reading the description for this title, I wanted to know more:
Tollins are not fairies. Though they both have wings‚ fairies are delicate creatures and much smaller. Tollins are also a lot less fragile than fairies. In fact‚ the word ′fragile′ can′t really be used about them at all. They are about as fragile as a housebrick…
Are you with me?
Henry Holt
Jeremy Draws a Monster by Peter McCarty. (Sept. 1)
Another Indie Next List pick. Peter McCarty has done some pretty nice work, including Caldecott Honor-winning Hondo and Fabian. This looks to be about imagination, which I’m always down with.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Over My Dead Body: 43 Old Cemetery Road by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise. (Oct. 19)
I loved the last one in this series (100 Scope Notes review), I’m pretty pumped to read the follow up. It will be interesting to see how the story continues, as the first book stood alone so well.
Supersister by Beth Cadena. Illustrated by Frank W. Dormer. (Oct. 19)
Girl as the hero of the family – a dose of empowerment never hurts.
Little, Brown
The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney. (Sept. 1)
Illustration at it’s finest. I looked this wordless tale over at the bookstore and it’s as good as advertised. Caldecott may come a-callin’.
School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari. (Sept. 1)
Okay, tell me this doesn’t sound good – a group of kids with severe phobias are sent to the mysterious School of Fear for treatment, but their teacher’s methods are far scarier than they imagined. I’m looking forward to this.
Random House
Dark Night by Dorothee de Monfreid. (Sept. 22)
Monfreid illustrated 2007′s I’d Really Like to Eat a Child, which was outstanding. The theme of Dark Night is taking on your fears. I’m guessing that the author will put a nice twist on things.
While I could go on and bore you, I think I’ll stop here. I’m off to go track some of these down…
(Top Image: ‘Fountain‘
www.flickr.com/photos/41864721@N00/3015359078)
Catching Fire, the much anticipated sequel to The Hunger Games will be released Sept. 1. The fine folks at NPR are providing a chance to read (and listen to) a chapter now. From the press release:
On September 1, fans of last year’s young adult best-seller The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins will get their hands on the much-anticipated second installment of a planned trilogy, Catching Fire. NPR Books is offering an exclusive “First Look” at the second chapter of Collins’ new novel one week before its publication date, along with a free download of the audio book version of Chapter 2. Both the audio and text versions are available at NPR Books.
Tim Holman, publisher of scifi and fantasy imprint Orbit, surveyed a swath of fantasy covers and charted the results. Required reading for those of you wondering about the current popularity of “Glowy Magic”.
(Thanks to BuzzFeed for the link)
Fans of indie-rock-influenced, children’s-choir-aided, group-whistling-festooned music created for soundtracks of children’s books turned into films, take notice. A song from the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack has hit the web. The singing is a bit jarring at first (courtesy of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O.), but I got into this one pretty quick. Click here, or the image below to head over to pop culture website BuzzFeed and have a listen.
(Thanks to BuzzFeed for the link)
The pet who thinks it knows better than its owner is a mainstay protagonist in children’s literature and popular culture in general. From Mark Teague’s LaRue books to Garfield, young readers enjoy animals who believe themselves to be the brains of the operation. In Binky the Space Cat, Ashley Spires takes a feline who thinks he knows better than his humans, adds deadpan humor and a gently off-beat storyline to craft a pleasingly quirky graphic novel that should make the rounds quite nicely.
He doesn’t know it, but Binky is a bit confused. Outer space and aliens? Couldn’t be farther from the truth. “Outer space” is actually the world outside the house he lives in. “Aliens” are the bugs that pester him and his owners. In order to stop an alien invasion Binky becomes Space Cat qualified and builds a rocket to take him into the great unknown. He trains hard for the big day. When the countdown begins Binky realizes that there is one thing he can’t leave behind – two things actually. The big human and the small human he protects.
Muted tones dominate the ink and watercolor illustrations, nicely juxtaposing the outlandish ideas of our hero. Everything is not as calm as it may seem.
A graphic novel for younger readers that has plenty going for it, Binky the Space Cat makes for a solid addition to your collection.
Also reviewed by Young Readers, Good Comics for Kids.
Find this book at your local library with WorldCat.
I regularly peruse USA Today pop culture blog Pop Candy. The other day I emailed Pop Candy mastermind (and occasional VH1 talking head) Whitney Matheson to see if she would partake in creating a debut YA cover (which I posted the steps for a couple weeks back). A fan of young adult lit, I figured such an endeavor would be right up her alley. Partake she did – and a post to boot. What a gal! Click the image below to have a look.
I have absolutely no comment on the following. Click the image below to enlarge.
(Thanks to FAIL Blog for the link)
All this book rental business reminds me of the recent Brian Williams video where he discusses “the Netflix of books”. This is great stuff:
